Dividend Policy Of British Sky Broadcasting Group Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2922 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Dividends and the implication of dividend choices have been the subject of much debate, particularly in the recent economic crisis where investors and other stakeholders are becoming increasingly nervous about the financial standing of companies in which they have an interest. On a basic level, dividends also provide a regular income to investors and, as such, the choice of how much dividend to pay out is seen as a critical signal from the management team. Investors will often select certain companies, based on the possibility that they are likely to receive a regular dividend and any changes in the underlying policies can have a very detrimental impact on the perceptions of both current and prospective investors. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Dividend Policy Of British Sky Broadcasting Group Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Although some investors will invest in a company for capital growth, the dividend level is still seen as a strong signal; therefore, regular analysis of dividend policies and payout rates are likely to be undertaken. In this report, Sky (British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.L)) will be looked at, in terms of the way in which it has approached dividend payout in the last five years. Theory relating to dividend policy and the approaches taken will then be considered in order to determine whether Sky has complied with general theories, or whether it has deviated from what would be expected based on theory. Empirical data is contained in the appendices. Background to Sky Before going on to consider the dividend policies and how these have been applied by Sky, it is helpful to put the matter in context and to determine the way in which the company has been performing, in recent years, so that this can be correlated with any changes in dividend policy. The company was formed in its current standing, back in 1990, when there was a merger of British Satellite Broadcasting and Sky Television. This was an equal merger and created the company that we see today, Sky. Prior to the merger, both companies were sustaining heavy financial losses and it was found that by undertaking the merger, it was possible to gain economies of scale. It was also possible for the two companies to draw on each others strengths, for example, British Satellite Broadcasting had a range of solid advertisers, whereas Sky Television was renowned for having a wider range of channels. By pooling these two resources, it was possible for the company to go from strength to strength and it would be expected that this will be reflected in the financial performance of the company, from this point onwards. At the point of the merger, Sam Chisholm was the Chief Executive Officer and he remained in place, until 1997. He then handed over to Mark Booth; and, in 1999, Tony Ball went on to lead Sky during the period within which Sky Television was introduced. It was during this period that the company returned to profit and subscriber members rose at a substantial rate. As is the case with many large companies, Sky was not without its difficulties within the boardroom, particularly when James Murdoch was appointed, in 2003, as there were allegations of internal dealings from the shareholders and a general feeling of discontent, during this period. These difficulties rumbled on and in 2007 Rupert Murdoch, the father of James Murdoch, stepped down from his role as non-executive chairman, but was then replaced by his son who stepped down from the position of CEO, being replaced by Jeremy Darroch. During 2010, a takeover bid was made by News Corp where it attempted to gain control of the 61% of shares that it did not own, but were owned by other shareholders. The price offered was 700 pence per share; the shareholders rejected this offer, stating that they believed an offer of in excess of 800 pence per share would be necessary to make the deal appropriately valuable for the shareholders. It should be noted that, were this takeover to continue, it would be necessary to gain permission from both the European Commission and the Office of Fair Trading, due to anti-competitive dangers of having such a large player in one industry. Over the last 10 years, the profit within Sky has gone up and down with a particularly bad period being experienced during 2000 to 2002. Sky suffered a further drop in profit, in 2008, although this was largely attributed to the general financial crisis and individual inability to pay for what was perceived to be a luxury product. These difficulties and corporate movements are likely to have a direct impact on the perceptions of investors and are therefore relevant to the way in which management boards deal with dividend payouts. Maintaining confidence in the company is critically important and when there are period of difficulties, such as those experienced in 2008, the decisions relating to issues such as dividend become even more critical for the management board, which is likely to pay particular attention to the messages that it is sending out through its dividend decisions. Based on this, when the dividend payments are being considered and the policies looked at, it is important to bear in mind that there are underlying commercial issues that could have a direct bearing on the choices being made and the impact that these choices have on the company. Sky Dividend Approach Despite the variable performance of Sky (BSkyB, 2010), it has maintained a growth policy when it comes to dividends. This is indicated by the fact that, when looking at the discussion on dividends, during the last five years reports, there is an emphasis placed on management confidence and the decision to offer strong dividends, even when the profit levels are weak. Appendix 1 contains the earnings per share calculations, as well as the dividend per share calculations. Earnings per share reflect the amount of profit that can be attributed to each share. For example, in 2010, the calculation reflected profits before tax of 878 million divided by 1743 million shares, resulting in earnings per share of 50.4 pence. This earnings per share figure is the highest seen, in the last five years, with a figure in 2006 being 30.2 pence, dropping to a negative figure in 2008, before recovering, in 2009. Despite this dramatic fluctuation in the earnings per share, the company has maintained a consistent dividend policy because it had confidence in the strength of its position in the market. This consistent growth and confidence can be seen when looking at the dividend per share which is a reflection of the amount of equity dividends paid out per share. As would be expected, this is the highest in 2010; however, even in 2008, where the profit levels were negative, the dividend per share still increased on the 2007 figure. In fact, in every year of the last five y ears, the dividend per share figure has grown from the original figure of 12.2 pence per share, in 2006 to the current 19.4 pence per share. Essentially, these dividend per share figures show that the company has smoothed the negative impact of the downturn, in 2008. Appendix 2 shows the dividend cover and dividend yield within the company, in the last five years. Dividend cover effectively shows how many times the profit could have paid the dividends actually paid. This is a measure of the companys ability to pay its dividends and is a reflection of how realistic the dividend payments are. Interestingly, the coverage rate in 2010 is very similar to that in 2006, at 2.6 times and 2.5 times, respectively. This suggests that the financial health of the company, in terms of the dividend promised, has remained relatively consistent, over the five years. However, as indicated earlier, there was a substantial drop in 2008 and this is reflected in the fact that the coverage ratio shows that the profits did not cover the dividend payments, during this period. Although it recovered slightly, in 2009, with the coverage of 1.2 times, it was not until 2010 that recovery was seen on the ratio returned to 2.6. Again, this would be expected, given the fact that the dividend payment increased year-on-year, despite a substantial dip in profits, during 2008. It has, however, shown by the confidence displayed by the management team, in 2008, that recovery was imminent and this confidence was correctly placed with those investors that have stayed with the company for the previous five year s being rewarded by a higher dividend payment and higher share prices that they can now obtain for their shares. Finally, we shall now look at the dividend yield, i.e. the return an investor obtains on the capital, which involves taking the dividend per share and dividing it by the share price. Many investors see this as the key figure as it indicates the financial return that they are receiving on each share and this can be used in comparison with alternative investment that may be available to the investor, for example bank accounts. In this case, the dividend yield has fluctuated, in the last five years, reaching a high point in 2009, before dropping in 2010. It is not entirely unexpected, given the fact that, in 2009, the share prices were reasonably low after the poor performance of 2008 and the lack of general investor confidence and desirability of the shares. Despite this low share price that was in existence, in 2009, the dividends remained relatively high and therefore the return was naturally higher. As confidence increased in the shares, the share price would naturally rise, as there was a greater demand for shares in Sky and this will have the impact of reducing the dividend yield, as the dividends do not increase at the same rate. It should be noted, however, that the dividend yield is based on the share price in that given year and it is possible that investors who had purchased the shares, at an earlier date, when the prices were either higher or lower will find that there individual return is diffe rent. This supports the notion that those investors that have stayed with the company for the difficult period of 2008 and 2009 or alternatively those that chose to purchase shares during the troubled period will be gaining an increasing dividend yield, now the company is recovering. The approach taken by Sky will be considered in the context of wider dividend policy theories, in the following section. Dividend Policy Underlying Theories Given the importance of dividends to the investors in the companies, it is unsurprising that there is a range of different theories underlying the ways in which companies deal with the dividend policy. From the previous analysis, it can be seen that Sky has opted to maintain a policy of dividend growth, regardless of underlying profit levels, in order to maintain confidence in the company and, in this case, confidence has been well-placed due to the fact that there was a substantial recovery, in 2010, despite the weak performance, in 2008. However, alternative theories exist that could have been used in order to determine the appropriate dividend policy for Sky, during the previous five-year period. One theory which is often subscribed to is that of the residual policy. In accordance with this theory, a company will only pay dividends when it has residual earnings in place, for example, where it has taken advantage of all possible internal investment approaches. The argument in favour of this type of approach is that the shareholders will feel that the company is undertaking all possible action, in order to promote its long-term growth. By paying dividends when the company simply does not have the residual earnings to do so, there is an argument that the company is not putting itself in a good position for long-term growth. A secondary benefit from following this type of approach is that it refocuses the management team on ensuring that investment is undertaken and dividend policy becomes almost secondary. Furthermore, it reduces the chances of having to raise further equity by issuing new shares because any investment has been funded from the internal earnings; this can also ha ve a benefit to shareholders, as their own shareholding will not be diluted. This is not an approach that has been taken by Sky as, had it followed this type of approach, no dividend would have been paid, in 2008. Instead, the company prioritised a dividend growth theory and did not make investments a priority (Gordon, 1963). Another theory which has been developed by Modigliani and Miller (MM), back in the 1960s, is that which argued that dividend policy was irrelevant when all factors were pulled together (Baker, 2009). They argued that the way in which a firm divides its earnings pot between paying out to shareholders and retaining the funds, internally is, in essence, irrelevant in the long term. When developing the theory, MM relied on a range of assumptions including the notion that the way in which the company invests in growth is independent of its dividend decisions, and also that the company operates within a perfect capital market. For example, there are no transaction costs and no taxes and all investors have exactly the same information, at the same time. In theory, they argue that investors will act in a way that produces the correct level of dividend by either buying or selling shares, depending on how the company is performing. For example, if the company is not producing the level of divi dend that an investor requires, then it will simply purchase more shares to get more dividends and vice versa. This suggests that the dividend policy of Skys management team would be largely irrelevant, as investors would simply shift, in order to obtain the returns that suit their own needs. John Lintner (1962) also developed a dividend theory, namely the bird in the hand theory. The theory suggested that investors generally prefer to receive regular dividend payments, rather than reinvesting capital growth, in the future. This suggests that investors, on the whole, are risk-averse and prefer to receive dividend, in the current year, rather than potential growth in 5 to 10 years time. To a certain extent, Sky has followed this approach, because it recognises that providing a return to investors, on a year by year basis, is seen as preferable to promising long-term investment. Clearly, however, this type of theory will vary, depending on the needs of the individual investor. Some investors will be investing in shares with the view to long-term growth and therefore are less likely to pay attention to the dividend returns, on a year by year basis, (Frankfurter and Wood, 2002). Finally, and arguably the most influential theory, when it comes to the approach taken by Sky is that of the dividend signalling theory. It is argued that, contrary to the dividend irrelevant theory, the dividend value actually does have a dramatic impact on the share price, due to the fact that the choice of dividend policy gives a signalling effect as to how well the management team thinks the company will perform, in the future (Brittain, 1966). A change in the dividend payment, either upwards or downwards, has been argued to offer a signal to shareholders and investors, in terms of what the likely future earnings will be. For example, if the management team is positive about the future of the company as a whole and that they may maintain a high dividend. When dividend payment is reduced, this can often negative signal to the market and is therefore something that a company will often avoid, even where profit levels are low, as was seen in the case of Sky, in 2008. Summary and Conclusion By analysing the background commercial position of Sky, in the last five years, its financial performance in relation to dividends and also wider dividend policy theories, it is clear to see that Sky is following a dividend signalling approach, as well as the dividend growth theory, by increasing its dividend, year-on-year, regardless of the underlying position of the company. There are several concerns associated with this approach. Firstly, where dividends are being paid out at a high level in years where the income is simply not there to sustain this level, it is possible that the company is missing out on investment opportunities and therefore long-term growth may not be as rapid as it could be. Clearly, this depends on the underlying ethos of the company and whether or not investment is essential to sustain growth or whether it prefers to follow the bird in hand theory, which suggests that shareholders prefer to have immediate returns. Furthermore, paying out high levels of divi dend, even when there is no profit at all, is only sustainable for a certain period of time. Whilst, in this case, Sky returned to profit rapidly in 2009 and 2010 and therefore paying dividends in 2008 did not produce long-term financial difficulties for the company, had this not occurred, it is possible that the company would, ultimately, have suffered and run out of money to pay dividends. This may have required it to take out additional long-term loans, or to issue equity, which would eventually have had the impact of increasing costs and making the position within the company even more difficult to return to profit. In this case, however, the management team at Sky correctly assessed that the company was in a strong position and likely to grow, in the coming years and signalled as much to the shareholders through maintaining a high level of dividend. This, in turn, meant that the share prices increased and this has been reflected in the dividend yield dropping slightly, in 2010. Overall, Sky has followed a growth and signalling theory, which has resulted in positive trends of the company, but nonetheless, caution should be used when applying this type of approach, as it relies on recovery, in order to be sustainable.

Organ Procurement And Transplantation Network - 2065 Words

How do you like to wait for something you really want? What if it was something you just couldn’t live without? What if your doctor told you that your time was limited to less than six months, unless a compatible donor came along? This is what many people go through every day. They are put in the â€Å"National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network or OPTN† which is the transplant waiting list (Tara.B). Organs that become available through the OPTN are matched with the recipients. Here is where most of the people will wait months, years, or even the remainder of their life for a compatible donor to become available. When there is a potential donor there is a small window to make the miracle happen. Many people will receive a call†¦show more content†¦Your age doesn’t make you ineligible to donate and you don’t have to be in perfect health like many people think. This means almost everyone is able to be an organ donor. In the end your ability to donate is determined at the time of your passing. That doesn’t mean that you cannot register as a donor right now. There are more than enough people on the transplant list to fill a stadium more than twice. So, someone you know could be on the transplant list, waiting for a new organ. On average there are â€Å"†¦ 79 people that will receive a new organ daily and on average 22 people die each day in hopes of receiving a new organ† (Gonzalez). Every number in these statistics represents a someone important to you, someone important to someone else or maybe even yourself. Each number is life. â€Å"†¦ the number of patients waiting for organ donation far exceeds the number of potential and available donors† (Berntzen). The first organ transplant was a kidney in 1954 and was between identical twins. As of May 2009, the percent of recipients still living after 5 years of receiving their new organs is astonishing: â€Å"95% for kidn ey, 85% for heart and liver, 75% for lungs† (BCW). â€Å"The high success rates of transplantation make the shortage of organs and tissues all the more tragic† (BloodCenter). The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed there were 2.5 million deaths in the

Agile V. Waterfall Free Essays

Waterfall to Agile References Pavolka, R. , Mount, V. , Neymeyr, A. We will write a custom essay sample on Agile V. Waterfall or any similar topic only for you Order Now , Rhodes, C. From Waterfall to Rapid Prototyping (2005). Supporting Enterprise-wide Adoption of the Oncourse Collaboration and Learning (CL) Environment at Indiana University. SIGUCCS ’05 Proceedings of 33rd Annual ACM SIGUCCS Fall Conference, 312 – 319. Northrop, Robert (2004). The Fall of Waterfall. Intelligent Enterprise 7. 3, 40-41. Adams, John (2013). Change in Software Techniques Helps FHLB Reduce Defects. American Banker, Technology Section, Volume 178 No. 3. I. Agile v. Waterfall Agile Development Methods (Agile) and the Waterfall Method (Waterfall) are two different styles of designing and managing the Soft Development Life-Cycle (SDLC) within an organization. Waterfall being the more traditional approach and Agile newly born just twelve years ago, there is much debate over which approach works best and when. Companies have used Waterfall for decades of successful projects and in most companies the approach has been ingrained into the very fabric of the compa ny. The organization of teams and human resources in information technology (IT) can be anywhere from loosely to entirely based on the method that the organization is using. More and more organizations are starting to see the advantages of Agile now and are questioning older methods almost entirely because of the fast-paced business world of the twenty-first century. Agile allows an organization to respond to that change more quickly without sacrificing quality work or customer satisfaction. Waterfall, on the other hand, with its precise planning can offer better time management and money savings. In a fast-paced society where the time it takes to bring a product to market could mean the difference between success and failure, Agile is making its way into more and more organizations everyday. And, everyday more and more of these organizations are struggling with the change that is required to adopt Agile methods as well as the woes that this fast-paced development style introduce to the organization. II. What is Waterfall Waterfall is the classical system development model. The model of software development hones its ideas from the manufacturing world. It is based on a step-by-step approach to creating products from the conceptual phase to implementation and maintenance. Waterfall focuses its development strategy on the distinct phases of a project: concept, design, implementation, testing, installation, and maintenance. In larger organizations and on larger scale projects these phases of production are often handled by different people and even different teams. Using Waterfall, the concept phase of a project tends to be the single most important phase. This is the step during which the development team gathers and analyses its customer’s needs and documents the problem that the software solution is expected to solve. The documentation and analysis needs to be precise, in depth and even flawless because once the phase is complete there is no turning back—modifications to a project, no matter what phase its in when the modification or change order is received, require that the project fall back to the concept phase. While several techniques such as use cases and customer interviews are used to gather this information the results of the analysis and requirements gathering that are carried out in this phase are typically relayed to the next phase in the form of a formal document. This document serves as the sole resource for the team who handles the second phase: design. Design entails actually making determinations as to exactly how a team intends to in later phases execute the solution. This is when platforms, programming languages, data storage methodology, equipment types, standards and graphical user interface decisions are made. Design also entails other high-level project decisions on ideas such as how security will be handled and resource management. The design step delivers its decisions on these matters, commonly know as the design specifications to the third phase: implementation. Implementation is very simply put the execution of the requirements in the design specifications document. During this phase, developers actually write the code that makes the software system work. Hardware specialists similarly setup the equipment and hardware that are necessary for the solution. The application is developed, debugged and tested against the design document and once it passes muster, the product is handed off to the next phase: testing. Testing is often handled by a quality assurance team. The team upon taking delivery of the product refers back to the documents created during conception and ensures that all of the requirements are satisfied by the solution. This team documents the project and uses business cases or test cases to determine whether the solution actually is the complete solution and whether or not it actually works in its entirety. This team generally hands off the functioning solution, its documentation and a user manual to the next phase: installation. An installation or delivery team then hands the product over to the customer. This team also often provides formal training to the end-user. Delivery is followed by maintenance. Maintenance of a product usually includes end-user support, debugging of system flaws that are discovered after delivery, and change requests. If Waterfall is executed to the letter of its design, there will be no overlap between the separate phases of the project. Clearly defined timelines for each step are known at the onset of the project and serve as milestones for progress during development. The requirements in a well executed Waterfall project will be so very detailed of point driven that little time is wasted in later phases on things like re-writing blocks of code or back-and-forth’s that question ambiguity in understanding on the developers part. It is a tried and true and has advantages such as minimal wasted time and easy handover—handover of the project or a part of a project in waterfall can be a very smooth process because of all of the documentation that is produced in the analysis and design phases of the project. The documentation can even smooth over team-member attrition. III. What is Agile Agile Software Development is an umbrella for a particular style of development methods that focus on self-organization or cross-functional teams to develop smaller packages of a product more quickly than has been traditionally done. The basis for all of these methods is The Agile Manifesto (www. agilemanifesto. org). The author of the manifesto argues that working software, delivered in small packages, delivered in shorter timeframes (weeks not months) by teams who are self-organized and able to communicate freely throughout the process with both the customer and other stakeholders can respond to change and deliver a more effective approach to software development in the volatile business world today. The manifesto declares that individuals and interactions are more important than processes and that following a design document is not as necessary as having the ability to change quickly. Agile’s focus is on a rhythmic continuity in the lifecycle of a project. The packages that are delivered tend to be broken down into timeframes as small as a week and generally not more than four weeks long. Customers receive working software continuously and the project is more of a living, breathing software that can overtime change to meet the needs of a rapidly changing marketplace. Agile teams meet frequently, as often as daily to discuss status and approach. Teams focus on reusing code blocks and making decisions about platforms and languages as necessary and with a better chance that standards and new technologies won’t change or become outdated before delivery takes place. IV. Which is the better way? The question so many teams and organizations are debating regularly these days is ‘which is better Agile or Waterfall? ’. Both Waterfall and Agile offer benefits and shortcomings and neither can be called universally better or universally out-of-date. The decision must be made based on each organization’s and each project’s circumstances. Team size can be a significant factor. Waterfall methodology is hard to manage with a small team. Waterfall relies on division of responsibilities and in very small teams this may result in an overwhelming workload for team members. Time to market with Waterfall; however, is longer whereas Agile methods can get product to market quicker so if time is a very high priority Agile may be the methodology to use. Indiana University documented a case in which its own IT Training and Education (ITTE) department underwent the change from its previous standard Waterfall approach to an Agile methodology. The team started questioning its approach to development of training materials first when its materials started becoming obsolete before they were even delivered. The team found itself being tasked to develop and deliver training materials for a product that it saw as a â€Å"moving target†. It quickly became clear that the old Waterfall methodology would not work given the rapidly changing requirements. The situation required more constant contact with the stakeholders and that the team be able to deliver consistently changing and updated training materials as the system it was training on was an ever-changing system itself. ITTE faced problems in the transition. One such hurdle was changing the mindset of its customer. The team’s customer had grown used to having ITTE deliver large Waterfall sized training packages on static, tried and true, well planned, designed, thought-out and fully-functional software systems. The overhaul of it Course Management System (CMS) was, however, being updated constantly and the customer often expressed feeling of being Beta Testers rather than end users. In addition, ITTE’s own team members struggled with the behavioral changes that were necessary to adapt in order to make a more Agile model of development work for the team. Communications amongst team members, for example, became more necessary on a more frequent basis. The team also faced the task of training users on a system that was not fully functional. Users were, at times, resistant to the change themselves and found confusion in the fact that incomplete software was being delivered. The users were as accustomed to receiving fully functional systems and training as the ITTE team was used to delivering. ITTE also soon learned it necessary to assign team members exclusively to this project. In the past, the team’s Waterfall approach had allowed resources to be more spread out, whereas with the new Agile approach team members were so consistently involved with the living project that they were necessarily exclusively assigned to the CMS project. With all of the challenges that it faced, ITTE concluded that the change in methodology improved its reputation with the customer. More frequent face time and feedback response made the customer happier. It also concluded that, as a team, ITTE was able to produce more products cheaper, faster and more efficiently using its new approach to the SDLC. A single case, however, can’t be used to make a determination for the next company facing this decision. The fact is the right approach to software development is the approach that works best on a case-by-case basis. While Waterfall may still be the best approach for fixed-price, fixed-scope, short-term projects, Agile may be better suited to a project where the scope is expected to creep because of a changing marketplace. And there are teams that have even begun applying Agile methodologies to a Waterfall approach and vice versa. So perhaps the appropriate approach for an organization is to not decide on one or the other for the organization but to embrace both Agile and Waterfall methodologies and to learn to apply each appropriately. How to cite Agile V. Waterfall, Essay examples

Managing Heritage and Cultural Tourism Resources †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Managing Heritage and Cultural Tourism Resources. Answer: Introduction The position paper is in the form of essay and inculcates the advice given to the Tourism Industry Advisory Council Canberra (TIAC) to sustain the resources for the coming generation so that they could be able to learn about the culture, values and history of the country. The resources that have been discussed are social, cultural, natural and build resources. The importance of sustainability and how to grow the resources have been discussed in the paper (Canberra business, 2016). Initially the brief of TIAC will be elucidated in the position paper thereafter the importance of sustainability will be discussed supporting the four sustainable destinations resources. First of all social resource has been described which depicts the benefits to the society in the context of tourism and the pros and cons of tourism in rural areas. The second resource is cultural resources that are generally been depicted in the historical monuments explaining the tradition and values of the places and the people residing over there. The third one is natural resources that will be explained using the example of polar areas of Arctic and Antarctic. The final resource is relevant to the man-made resources which are creating history due to its uniqueness and economy involved in it. It is the combination of all the three sustainable resources. Overall, the paper investigates the sustainability of resources and the effects of sustainability on the coming generation have been focussed in the position paper and strategies have been explained to the council along with suggesting the valuable advice. Tourism Industry Advisory Council Canberra The Tourism Industry Advisory Council (TIAC) is the representative of the tourism industry within the region and performing the ACT. Its aim is to get united at the regional, local and national level and provide facility to ensure the growth, improving the performance and increasing the profitability of tourism industry. The Canberra Business Chamber is the view to enrolling people with a similar mindset and developing the opportunities for those who are enthusiastic to promote the business in terms of business development and improvising the economic situation (Tourism connect, 2011). It is the view to build positive business relations and making the people learn from one another. The Canberra business chamber has decided that the government should start the investment in tourism industry so that more successful business could be ensured and the economic development is likely to take place along with the increasing flow of foreign currency which stabilizes the countrys position in t he foreign market (Thistleton, 2016). Sustainability is savage for the upcoming future. It could also be termed as restoration of resources for the coming generations so that they do not get deprived of it. These could be social, cultural, natural and man-made resources. The social culture is related to the society where the business prevails and the industry needs to respect eth social norms, cultural resources are in the context of values and belief of the business in support to the services they provide, it is relevant to the tradition of the country as well. The natural resources are the minerals and mines that is been extracted from the ground, they involve water, stones and richness of the soil and lastly the man-made resources which could also be termed as build resources that inculcates the building of infrastructure like roads, bridges, railways and other sources of transport and different facilities that contributes to the development of the nation (Kuscer, Mihalic Pechlaner, 2017). These resources and the imp ortance of their sustainability have been discussed as under: At the initial stage the people were satisfied enough with the prevailing situation and upcoming of the tourism. Later on when the industry catches the boom they became worried as the immense growth was to take place and for that much of the resources will get utilized to ensure the development. The local resources and values were been used up and local people at the destination place were highly worried (Alston, Whittenbury Western, 2016). The non-local entrepreneurs were taking over the business of local people and specialty of the particular town and its location are getting lost and been copied and artificial location have been built up to attract the customer and making up the business. The disturbance in the physical and cultural environment has been caused and the conflict is likely to arise if it affects the economic development of the particular destination place. When the benefits and costs derived out of the tourism is equally distributed among the local people and the bus iness does not get affected adversely then it becomes the part of social sustainability (Cheer Lew, 2017). The tourism industry also contributes to the development of society by providing adequate education and making people learn about the new environment and new trend that is been prevailing in the present market area. The employment opportunity created by the way of tourism is also the healthy option for the development of social resources. The council could focus on creating the job opportunity for youngsters. As per the current situations tourism has been counted under the fastest emerging industry that contributes a major part in the GDP of the country and thereby increasing the opportunity to learn more things (Boluk, Cavaliere Higgins, 2017). The creation of opportunity helps the local people to stay back in their hometown and contribute towards the growth of their very own place. The youngsters do not have to migrate to other big cities in search of the employment and the y could earn their livelihood at their place and contribute their opinions, views and ideas and implement the fresh suggestions is likely to develop the small town and initiate modernization within it. There are various responsibilities that get attached to opening up of tourism services and this result in the emergence of new jobs, new skills, enhancement of knowledge and new services are welcomed (Gossling, 2017). Along with the development of tourism there are multiple things that need to be developed to make the place attractive and simultaneously other related areas also get developed and improved which was lying in the delay list for eth long period of time, for instance the infrastructure development, opening up of the public facilities and improvement of transport will take place so as to attract the tourist and maintain the reputation of the area visited and recommendations could be gained (Cucculelli Goffi, 2016). On learning the current scenario of tourism around 74% of the people are stating that they are satisfied with the present tourism situation. They believe that with the enhancement of tourism the living standards and lifestyle of the people have changed and much other business opportunity have aroused thereby progressing towards the list of developing cities. The remaining 33% people are on the view that with the development of tourism the peace of the place has been lost and stress of competition has taken place which made the life lavish but hard and tensed (Jokinen Sippola, 2007). Cultural tourism is based on the values, beliefs and tradition that the country follows. These cultures and traditions are becoming the attractive point for the tourists as they depict a lot of the country and the people residing over there. It is not only essential for the tourism purpose or to promote the tourism industry but also for other businesses that search for the better place to establish the company and earn the living (Kunasekaran, Ramchandran Gill, 2016). Even MNCs get attracted with the culture of the country and make efforts to invest in those countries where the cultural sustainability is high. The cultural tourism also involves the heritage of the country and people are keen to know the history behind the particular place and how they have been maintained and the measures taken to manage these resources and ethnic values. The cultural sustainability focuses on retaining the lifestyle, traditions, values, language and custom of the country (Mkono, 2016). In the era o f development there need to have certain things which stays intact for the knowledge and awareness of the future generation, with the changing lifestyle and standard of living the appearance, might get changed but the purity of thoughts and inner soul should stay intact to attract the foreigners towards the country. The cultural sustainability also contributes to the enhancement of the economic aspect of the country. The financial development also takes place when the cultural sustainability is focussed on (Adie, 2017). The two aspects of cultural sustainability are cultural and heritage which concentrates on the improvisation of quality of life, altering the conditions of living, promoting civilisation and moreover reduction of poverty are the attributes that need to be focussed by TIAC for the development of the country as well as for the growth of council and applying unique strategies to attract and conserve the people right and serving them unforgettable experiences so that wor d of mouth publicity could be gained. The country in order to gain popularity and ensuring the growth need to keep up the positive aspect and negativity should be ignored as the rays of positivity grabs attention in the better manner and positivity is the symbol that happiness prevails at the particular place (Hsieh, Tsai Chen, 2017). It also depicts the creativity, diversification in culture and awareness in terms of establishing the importance of cultural tourism, these factors leave a positive imprint in the mind of visitors and make them visit back with the same zeal and efforts need to be made for serving even better in the upcoming times. The sustainability of culture in tourism describes the complex relations among culture and tourism. It is of the view to investigating over how the planning is been conducted to develop the tourism industry, they focus on the architecture of the country and what are the designs and artwork that the particular country pertains (Timothy, 2017) . Through the sustainable cultural tourism the correct messages and the preaching are been focused and the gist of values is been depicted which assists in spreading the correct perspective and also helps in improvising perception of the outer world in context of the cultural tourism of the particular country, for instance, the heritage and historical view of Venice is famous and the citizens contributed a lot in preparing and retaining the image. Thus, the cultural tourism helps in signifying the importance of cultural sustainability and council must adopt and focus on the maintenance of cultural tourism so that the upcoming generation could also get to learn from it and adopt those principles and practice them in daily routine thereby residing the values and beliefs for themselves as well as for eth outer world and continue to be the point of attraction for the tourists (IEREK, 2017). The natural resources sustainability is another important factor that needs to be focused upon. The natural sustainability depicts the nature, plantation, vegetation, wildlife, remoteness, landscapes and meadows of the country. It involves the promotion through the sustainable water bodies and introducing a variety of water sports to attract the tourists who enjoy the adventurous trips. Wildlife is another crucial perspective that needs to be focussed upon. Wildlife is not only for the attraction of the tourists but also ensures the existence and well-being of animals and conserving the species for the future generation so that people may get to know about the existence of this kind of animals and as per the characteristic of animal the learning get developed accordingly (Joshi, Poudyal Larson, 2017). There are lot more things that could be learned from the lifestyle of these animals. For understanding the natural sustainability in the clearer manner Polar areas must be focussed whi ch depicts the climatic changes and adaptability of such climate by the species surviving over there? Also the adversity could be explained in case if the changes in the lifestyle are made by changing the food habits and vegetation at that place (Dwyer, Corak Tomljenovic, 2017). Therefore to maintain the standards and living natural resources need to be conversed and disturbance with the environment should be avoided and for that purpose the council must keep a watch over the tourism and related agencies and adequate laws must be established along with the imposing of penalties in case the rules and norms of natural sustainability are breached. In order to promote the natural sustainability in tourism the community interactions have to made with the tourism agencies and enterprises of the area where the focus needs to be paid, like both the polar ends where development need to be done without disturbing the plantation and weather over the place through the pollutants. The land use competition could be made to wisely use the place for the sustainable development and enhancing the importance of the place and adding on the cultural and depicting the values of that place (Khairat Maher, 2017). The study of geographies of such places has to be made so that circumstances if any could be handled and prevented. The transportation facilities must be introduced to the places so that awareness get s created and people could note down the lacking portions. This is basically not for the purpose of tourism and fun but is generally chosen by the researcher to know the history and mystery related to the place. They are the evaders who find out the stories, history and myths related to the place and convey it to the world. The natural resource sustainability also focuses on the social performance and creating the provision for the people to come and know about the place and the hidden secrets behind it so that the knowledge enhancement is made (Blancas et al, 2016). It also provokes the global changes as many countries might adopt the similar vegetation and culture for awareness as well as self-promotion purpose. For the sustainability of natural resources the memory or symbol must be constructed to protect the history of those areas and use those resources at the adverse time when their value will be actually realized (Huijbens Lamers, 2017). The build resources could also be termed as the man-made resources which are constructed by the human beings after undergoing a lot of research and they are later on considered to be the historical monuments, tourists spots or the adventurous venue (Chin Lo, 2017). The build resources are considered to be the hybrid of all the sustainable resources, it involves the social-cultural resources where the societal norms are been followed where the community and countrys tradition has been depicted. These monuments and parks involve the cultural sustainability as well. The construction and designing of these parks, peaks, tombs and religious places are all collectively gathered under the cultural sustainability. The designing depicts the thoughts, opinions and value that exist in the particular country (Edgell, 2016). These man-made sculptures and structures are the symbols of beliefs that summarise the culture that prevails and the goodness that has been adopted, it also shows the religi on that is been followed and the preaching of religion are also engraved in the stone and marbles to attract the tourists. The natural resources are also emphasized in the manmade sustainability by the use of natural learning and using the natural resources efficiently in such a manner that could be retained for the next many years spreading awareness and sustainability of these resources and making people learn about the things. The economic factor is also considered of high importance, it financially supports the country. Constructing the man-made resources requires a lot of investment and government support and maintenance is also required (Mearns Boshoff, 2017). There are many man-made structures that are considered to be the representative of their country and now considered to be the part of history and will continue to prevail in the coming times benefiting the upcoming generation with the richness of culture, tradition and adventure. Some of the man-made sustainable resourc es contributing in the tourism industry are National parks, Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal and other similar tourist spots that are discussed in todays age as well and will continue to increase the beauty of tourism in coming times (Puustinen et al, 2009). Therefore, it could be cultivated from the above position paper that Tourism Industry Advisory Council Canberra (TIAC) that council looks towards the working of tourism agencies and enterprises. This council set the standards that every agency and broker has to follow, the heritages need to be respected and damage of them shall not be entertained. The legal norms, values and penalties have to be imposed on the traveling agents so that respect to the resources are paid and sustainability of these resources retains. The paper discusses the sustainability of various resources. These resources are social, cultural, natural and build resources. The importance and sustainability of these resources have been elucidated along with quoting the importance of these resources for the coming generation. References Adie, B.A., 2017. A Review of Cultural heritage tourism: five steps for success and sustainability, by Cheryl M. Hargrove: Lanham, MD, Rowman Littlefield, 2017, xxvi+ 377 pp., 120.00(hbk),ISBN978-1-4422-7882-0, 62.00 (pbk), ISBN 978-1-4422-7883-7, 58.00(ebk),ISBN978-1-4422-7884-4. Alston, M., Whittenbury, K. and Western, D., 2016. Rural community sustainability and social work practice.Ecological Social Work: Towards Sustainability, p.94. Blancas, F.J., Lozano-Oyola, M., Gonzlez, M. and Caballero, R., 2016. Sustainable tourism composite indicators: a dynamic evaluation to manage changes in sustainability.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,24(10), pp.1403-1424. Boluk, K., Cavaliere, C.T. and Higgins-Desbiolles, F., 2017. Critical thinking to realize sustainability in tourism systems: reflecting on the 2030 sustainable development goals: Guest Editors. Canberra business, 2016, About us, viewed on 23rd October 2017, https://www.canberrabusiness.com/about-us/. Cheer, J.M. and Lew, A.A. eds., 2017.Tourism, Resilience and Sustainability: Adapting to Social, Political and Economic Change. Routledge. Chin, C.H. and Lo, M.C., 2017. Tourist's perceptions on man-made elements, natural elements and community support on rural tourism destination competitiveness.International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing,5(3), pp.227-247. Cucculelli, M. and Goffi, G., 2016. Does sustainability enhance tourism destination competitiveness? Evidence from Italian Destinations of Excellence.Journal of Cleaner Production,111, pp.370-382. Dwyer, L., ?orak, S. and Tomljenovi?, R., 2017. Introduction. InEvolution of Destination Planning and Strategy(pp. 1-14). Springer International Publishing. Edgell Sr, D.L., 2016.Managing sustainable tourism: A legacy for the future. Routledge. Gossling, S., 2017. Tourism, information technologies and sustainability: an exploratory review.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,25(7), pp.1024-1041. Hsieh, C.M., Tsai, B.K. and Chen, H.S., 2017. Residents Attitude toward Aboriginal Cultural Tourism Development: An Integration of Two Theories.Sustainability,9(6), p.903. Huijbens, E. and Lamers, M., 2017. Sustainable Tourism and Natural Resource Conservation in the Polar Regions: An Editorial. IEREK, 2017, Cultural sustainable tourism (CST), viewed on 23rd October 2017, https://www.ierek.com/events/cultural-sustainable-tourism. Jokinen, M. and Sippola, S., 2007. Social sustainability at tourist destinationslocal opinions on their development and future in Northern Finland.Environment, local society and sustainable tourism. Arctic Centre Reports,50. Joshi, O., Poudyal, N.C. and Larson, L.R., 2017. The influence of sociopolitical, natural, and cultural factors on international tourism growth: a cross-country panel analysis.Environment, Development and Sustainability,19(3), pp.825-838. Khairat, G. and Maher, A., 2017. Integrating sustainability into tour operator business: An innovative approach in sustainable tourism.ARA: Revista de Investigacin en Turismo,2(2). Kunasekaran, P., Ramachandran, S. and Gill, S.S., 2016. Utilizing cultural and natural resources towards sustainability of indigenous tourism: A case study of Mah Meri community in Carey, Island, Malaysia. Kuscer, K., Mihalic, T. and Pechlaner, H., 2017. Innovation, sustainable tourism and environments in mountain destination development: a comparative analysis of Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,25(4), pp.489-504. Mearns, K.F. and Boshoff, D., 2017. Utilising sustainable tourism indicators to determine the environmental performance of the Sun City Resort, South Africa.African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences (AJPHES),23(Supplement 1), pp.89-114. Mkono, M., 2016. Sustainability and Indigenous tourism insights from social media: worldview differences, cultural friction and negotiation.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,24(8-9), pp.1315-1330. Puustinen, J., Pouta, E., Neuvonen, M. and Sievnen, T., 2009. Visits to national parks and the provision of natural and man-made recreation and tourism resources.Journal of Ecotourism,8(1), pp.18-31. Thistleton. J., 2016, Canberra business chamber wants tourism marketing budget doubled, viewed on 24th October 2017, https://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-business-chamber-wants-tourism-marketing-budget-doubled-20160417-go8n9e.html. Timothy, D.J. ed., 2017.Managing heritage and cultural tourism resources: Critical essays, Volume one. Routledge. Tourism connect, 2011, Canberra and region tourism industry associations and related organizations, viewed on 23rd October 2017, https://www.tourismconnect.com.au/industry-action-kit/view-the-kit/the-tourism-industry-explained/canberra-and-region-tourism-industry-associations-and-related-organisations/.

Immigration To America Essays - Geography Of The United States

Immigration to America Immigration to America In the late 1800's and early 1900's there were massive waves of immigration to America. These new immigrants were largely Italians, Hungarians, Jews, Serbians, Irish, and Slovaks. Fleeing such hardships as poverty, religious persecution, and political unrest in their homelands, immigrants journeyed to the United States in search of freedom and opportunity. During their voyage from their homelands to Ellis Island, many immigrants suffered. Traveling by steamships, voyages lasted anywhere between seven days to a month. Many immigrants ate off of tin plates with only soup or bread to choose from. To alleviate themselves from the unpleasant smells on the steamships, immigrants went on deck for some fresh air. At times many of the immigrants prayed for the steamships to go under so they could relieve themselves from the fear and worry. While approaching Ellis Island, nearly all immigrants' eyes filled with tears as they admired the beauty of the land. It was argued that if a large number of immigrants entered the United States, it would be difficult to absorb them all because of the language and cultural differences among them. This instilled fear within these immigrants. Uncertain of their future, several immigrants saw America has an adventure and a "beacon of hope." Upon arriving at Ellis Island immigrants underwent questioning, medical examinations, and other upsetting ordeals. Each passenger had to answer a series of about 30 questions that were recorded on lists. These questions included name, age, sex, marital status, occupation, nationality, etc. Several immigrants didn't know how to write or spell their own names, so immigration inspectors created one for them. Passengers were inspected for contagious diseases such as small pox, yellow fever, scarlet fever, and measles. The cultural habits of immigrants were frequently targets of criticism, especially when the new arrivals came from a different background. Numerous immigration officers looked down upon these immigrants. Immigrants were told to "sit down and shut-up." Many families were separated. If family members were with one another , their lives were considered to be tolerable. With only little food to eat, the immigrants were supplied a dining area to eat with 3,000 others joining. Americans looked at these people with hatred and disgust. They saw only the awkward clothing, the strange foods eaten, and the different languages spoken by these immigrants. At Ellis Island up to as many as 5,000 immigrants each day would be checked, questioned and sent on their way. This process took between three and five hours possibly further. For others, a longer stay meant additional testing, and for an unfortunate two - percent, exclusion and a return trip home. Finally the doors to the immigrants had opened. Although several immigrants had money taken from them in an unorderly manner, many departed and went to cities like Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh to start their new lives. Employees at the Money Exchange would simply lie about the exchange rates and pocket the difference. While the immigrants provided industries with a cheap source of labor, Americans were both afraid of and hostile towards these new groups. If an immigrant gains employment, he does so only by displacing an American who previously held that job. For an immigrant to find an employer, he would have to offer himself at a lower wage than an American worker was earning. In addition to, if Americans were to keep their jobs, they had to match the lower wages. Although they stood alone on the doorsteps of the nation's largest cities, immigrants overcame their fears and faced reality. Ellis Island was the gateway for more than half of the immigrants that entered the United States. Turning back was seldom an alternative for these immigrants. Even though immigrants still have the same views on America , many immigrants say, "God's promise had finally been fulfilled." The vast majority of immigrants to the United States came in search of jobs and the chance to create a better life for themselves and their families.

Hopi Indians and their pottery essays

Hopi Indians and their pottery essays Hopi Indians lived in the western part of America (Arizona). Their civilization is about 3000 years old and they usually farmed for living. The Hopi reservation is a remote area, comprising approximately 650,000 acres, and is surrounded on all sides by the Navajo Reservation. The Hopi people have lived in this area for over a thousand years, with one of its native villages on Old Oraibi, having the distinction of being the oldest continuously inhabited village in the United States. Hopi brought a lot of influences to many people. Hopi people were famous for their pots they make. Hopi pottery is assumed to have been made by women, there are few early historic references to men making pottery. Pottery varied from village to village so all the neighboring villages showed different blending of style. Hopi pottery are made very similar today as the olden days just that now days, it is much expensive. Modern Hopi potters make their pottery in the traditional manner. The clay is hand dug on the Hopi mesas and hand processed. The pots are carefully hand constructed using the coil and scrape techniques their ancestors taught them. The paints used are from naturally occurring materials. For example, boiling Beeweed for a long time until it becomes very dark and thick makes black paint. Before making a pottery, they found clay near the ocean or by inland streams and pond. They would wedge the clay to help remove air bubbles from the clay. If air is not removed from the clay pottery may break or crack when dried and fired. They tasted the clay to choose which clay is better. They picked sweet clay because it would be smoother than the bitter clay. After choosing which clay they were going to use, they started to make the pot, known as the coil pot method. They would roll a piece of clay into a thin line. After, they would add the thin line and built it up step by step placing the rolled up clay on top of each other. ...

Arguments Participation Paper 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Arguments Participation Paper 3 - Assignment Example (lines 17- 24) the mother cries out the guilt and pain of abortion; unborn children are robbed off their basic rights to live and do other common activities during a life time; 3. (lines 30,31) show how the mother tries to convince herself of the abortions; the first part of the poem addresses the mother and the later part addresses the child. It clearly shows how the mother takes abortion very seriously and wants to overcome the guilt and pain associated with it. The loss is even more painful and is clearly portrayed in the first part. The second part convinces of the love the mother had for her aborted children. Characters and their symbolic use: 1. dead person conversing with the poet; this character is imaginary and is a metaphor for death; 2. the poet is yet another character who interacts with the dead person to know how death feels to be and what it is. Citations and how they fit the Argument: 1. (line 3) gives the theme of the poem; 2. (lines 5-7) say how powerful death is; the facts about death could burn a hole; 3. (lines 11, 12) brings out the fact that death strikes like an accident and is barely noticed till it arrives; 4. (lines 18-20) hint that death is unavoidable and inexplicable factor in each one’s life. Everyone born must die and the poet is made to realize it; 5. (lines 28-32) talk about how it feels to be dead. â€Å"Conversation† by Ai explores the experience of death. It is a conversation between the poet and a dead person. Like a Dramatic Monologue, the poem captures the voice of the dead man and the response of the poet. Death is described as horrible; it is like an accident. The color of death is presented as blue. The truth about death is so powerful that it could cause holes on the floor. The poet is made to realize the universal truth that someday all the lives will snap. It is unavoidable and is the

Individual case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual case study analysis - Essay Example Government spending was reduced and the ‘National Wage Partnership Programme’ was signed. As a result, wage increases were limited at 3 percent for three years. The comparative low wages and the fact that it was not rising, as in other countries, attracted FDI. With lower wages and higher productivity than the rest of Europe, Ireland attracted foreign direct investment (FDI). The economic transformation, that was taking place in the country, where a direct result of the political transformation. The protectionist policies, tariffs and subsidies, had created an economy where exports fell and per capita income was low. There was no FDI and the economy in general was bleak. However, as political powers opened up the economy to foreign trade and investment, the economy improved. In the 1980’s, the government was following a fiscal policy that was conservative, to meet with the criterion set by the Economic and Monetary Union. The annual budget deficit and the level of national debt were lowered to create the environment for FDI. Whereas previously the government was involved in key sectors such as energy, communication and transport, by the early 2000s, government involvement got limited to the state-owned enterprises such as Aer Lingus (airlines), electricity distributor ESB, natural gas distributor Bord gas, etc. With the opening up of the market, particularly with its exports to the US rising, the Irish GDP grew at a rate of 9.9 percent during 1996 and 2000. That the political system of a country can influence the economy through appropriate policies and laws can be best demonstrated through examples. The growth of the Irish economy in computer software was a result of the government’s responsiveness and political will. When Microsoft decided not to locate a key web hosting operation in Ireland in 1998, because of the insufficient connectivity, the government responded by

Metal Suppliers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Metal Suppliers - Essay Example As the study outlines when Metal Suppliers offered this deal to Shanghai Steel, and Shanghai Steel accepted the offer this made a contract, and the contract was made verbally before was written. There was a mutual agreement made between a representative of Metal Suppliers, and Shanghai Steel. The mutual agreement was made prior to the written agreement being made, and signed. From this paper it is clear that the consideration of the contract is missing from this contract. The legal purpose of a contract is to make the promise are responsible to the receiver. If the person, our company making the promise does not honor the promise to the receiver, the receiver might be entitled to damages caused by the person who made the promise nine keeping the promise. So, for all purposes in signing the contracts, and having all negotiations that forth in the contract the legal purposes of a contract have been fulfilled. There is belief that a competent member from Metal Suppliers, and Shanghai Steel have signed the contract. The parties would not know up front weather, or not the person signing the contract was a competent member of society, and able to sign the contract. However, it is believed that a competent member from each company signed the contract. The contract takes legal form. The way the contract is written will make it bind, and if there is a breach in th e contract the other party can legally enforce the contract. Metal Suppliers agrees to supply scrap metal to Shanghai Steel in the amount of $7,500,000 USD. The buyer, Shanghai Steel agrees to pay Metal Suppliers in the amount of $7,500,000 USD. Shanghai Steel agrees to pay Metal Suppliers for the shipment of scrap metal prior to the scrap metal being loaded on the ship to be shipped to Shanghai, China. The due date for the $7,500,000 was removed from the contract. In taking out the due date for the $7,500,000 it will make the contract effect if, because Shanghai Steel can procrastinate about giving Metal Suppliers the money.  

Contemporary Issues In Administration And Management Management Essay

Contemporary Issues In Administration And Management Management Essay As according to the case study about the Accent hotel Group (AHG), which is a family owned business. It has got 7 hotels running four in two major capital cities(4star) and three at an international airport (two 3 star and one 4 star) . The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AHG is Daniel Rycart which is also followed by the eight boards of directors. The hotel is operated as a semi-autonomous profit centre and supported by in-house and outsourced services. There are 800 rooms in each hotel and they employ 800 staffs. The hotel offers a number of high class facilities like indoor swimming pool, gym, sauna, bar, restaurants etc. For the quality standards of the hotels, Daniel (CEO) has set a vision of commitment to excellence for the group. Administration: Administration as design and implementation of systems and procedures instigated by management to help meet stated objectives (Mullins, 2007.p.414). So in other words Mullins states that administration is very important in the organization as it performs day to day operational activities to achieve the organizational goals and targets with the different types of departments operating in the organization. Like in the Accent hotel group there are CEO, IT Department, Finance department, Hospitality Hotel services, Human Resource Department, Legal Service Department, Operational Department, Risk Management Department, and Sales Marketing Department who has major roles in administration process. So administration helps them in strategic planning process in order to formulate or implement the strategy through proper guidance and coordination. According to (Richman Farmer, 1977) administration connects all the departments from top level to lower level so there is a flow of information with the necessary suggestions and feedback that helps the top level management to plan for the future. Without the administration it is very difficult to operate because there are number of routine decision-making, operational activities, internal controlling and observation and formulation of strategies and goals takes place (Richman Farmer, 1977). Generally effective administration means the process and systems of administration being run smoothly through proper coordination and controlling of activities, staffs and information in an efficient and effective manner (Richman Farmer, 1977). Through the effective administration, the organisation is benefited in number of ways as it stores the necessary documents of the organization like record keeping, utilizes the resources efficiently and effectively, there is a satisfaction of customer and employees and makes the brand image of the organisation (CfA, 2001). According to the research conducted by the CfA (2003), an organization (Accent Hotel Group) can provide effective administration through: 1. Effective Communication: Communication is the act of exchanging views, news, ideas, process, information, etc. between the sender and receiver (Hartley and bruckmann, 2002). In the organization communication plays a vital role because without the communication, the organization cannot operate its activities. As we know communication helps to send information throughout each and every department. While communicating, ones should use proper language to be effective. Daniel Rycaart could communicate properly with different department (Human Resource, Finance, Operational, etc) so that the information or instructions or rules laid down by him are correct, understandable and to the point so that it will bring effective administration otherwise miscommunication leads to disputes, employee turnover, etc. 2. Resource Allocation: Resources are assets that are required by an organization. For the Accent Hotel Group (AHG) to run smoothly it requires raw materials, human resources, financial resources, etc. These resources need to be managed properly taking in consideration the efficient use of time as a resource. For example if there is lack of resources (i.e. computers, heating, chairs, etc.) then the works will be delayed because of bad working environment and no interest of employees at work might be witnessed. So, allocating the resources and time management helps to make administration effective. 3. Training and Development: According to Torrington et al. (2007) in order to provide effective administration for an organization (like AHG), their staff should be well trained which can be done by providing different types of on-the-job or off-the-job training to increase their capability, knowledge and make them flexible in handling or dealing with different types of problems that are met by the AHG. This brings the commitment to the organization from the employees (Rae. L, 2000). 4. Performance Management: It is very much necessary for the AHG to measure the performance of their staff as low performance could decrease the quality standard of the AHG. It is a forward looking and developmental as it provides the platform for the managers to help or support their staff (Armstrong. M, 2000) 5. Culture As of the case study culture plays a vital role in planning, process and systems of the AHG. Culture helps in understanding the behaviour and working background of the organisation because it teaches us through the experience and develops ourselves (Handy. C, 1993). Like if the organization has a culture of helping each other while tackling or facing the problems , good communication between the staffs or co-workers instead of being rude or showing attitude openness then the future staff will also follows the same culture and in the end they will be committed towards the excellence (Schien. E. H, 2004) Conclusion In conclusion, we can conclude above points that administration helps the organization to perform its day to day activities and in strategic planning process in order to achieve the organizational goals and objectives (Mullins, 2007). In order to attain the organizational goals and objectives the administration needs to be effective. Effective administration provides coordination and control of staffs and activities, records documents and information, satisfies the customer and employee, etc (CfA, 2001). So in the Accent Hotel Group, effective administration can be achieved through effective communication, resource allocation, training and development, performance management and culture (CfA, 2003). Hence commitment to excellence can be achieve through effective administration. PART B Commitment to Excellence In commitment to excellence there are two words commitment and excellence in which commitment refers to the act of devoting oneself towards the accomplishment of something and excellence refers to a valuable quality by which one excels (brainyquote.com). So, commitment to excellence in business terms it means being committed towards the achievement of quality standard in terms of price, products, services, materials, etc that highlights the company images and development (Hannagan. T, 2007). According to Hannagan (2007), commitment to excellence is a very useful strategy that is used by many organizations like AHG has also used commitment to excellence in order to make the professional image and develop the organization internally. Because once all the employees are committed then their full interest, positive attitude and behaviour towards the accomplishment and development of organizational goals and objectives can be drawn which is the good advantage for the AHG. Overall it is abo ut diverting towards committing with less freedom in order to achieve quality. So commitment to excellence can be achieved in following ways through: 1. Motivation: Motivation is the desire within a person causing that person to act (Mathis. R.L and Jackson. J.H, 2008.p.72). In other words motivation is the act of influencing the employees behaviour towards the achievement or fulfilment of goals and objectives. It increases the performance, goodwill and overall image. Motivation helps the employees to motivate towards their work which can be done by providing salaries, rewards, promotion, recognition, etc and also through job design, job rotation and job enrichment (Torrington et al, 2007). So when employees would be motivated then they would be fully committed to work towards achieving the excellence. 2. Learning and Development: In regarding to Argyris and Schon (1978), they have defined learning as a process in which the mistakes and errors are ascertained by the organisation and correct their mistakes by improving or increasing their knowledge through learning from experience database. Organization can do so by providing training that develop skills, efficiency, better opportunities, job satisfaction, better inter-personal relationship, etc in order to avoid mistakes and errors in the output result so that quality can be achieved (Torrington et al, 2007). In the office if a person knows what to do, what not to do, what are their targets and goals, etc then it is more likely that they will be committed towards the excellence 3. Leadership: Leadership is defined as the ability to influence people towards the achievement of a common goal (Amandi et al, 2003.p.1077). Leadership is very much important in the organization as it guides, leads or motivates all the organizations staffs towards the goals and targets. So a leader should be visionary, creative, flexible, imaginative, decisional, etc so if an organisation has a leader with that quality then the people working under it will be organized, cooperative, and together and satisfied to be committed to the organization. Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement can be defined as a concept of being or remaining excellent in the field with whatever the circumstance to be in (hutchins.co.uk). It is about continuously finding out even if there are small mistakes or errors and resolving them by eliminating completely from the system or process for the improvement. It helps in growth and development of the organization because it improves products, services and processes. Continuous improvement can be achieved by using: 1. Kaizen (Japanese Management): According to Torrington et al (2008), Kaizen it is a Japanese strategy used as a continuous improvement of the organization. The techniques like Just in Time (JIT) technology which is used for continuous improvement. This teaches the business to start from the very ground level and taking small steps towards improving even small things to big things with the involvement of everyone i.e. managers and workers also. It tells everyday there needs to improvement of something. 2. Total Quality Management (TQM): TQM is defined as comprehensive approach to improving competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility through planning, organising and understanding each activity and involving each individual at each level (Oakland, 1994.p.40). TQM mainly focuses on the quality control, quality assurance and quality management through which it satisfies the customers, less faulty products, motivates employees and competes with rivals with the chance of expansion and diversification. Since TQM is a continuous process that facilitates employee empowerment, involvement and participation, is customer focused and all that helps in continuous improvement of an organization (Torrington et al, 2007). 3. Benchmarking: In contrast with the Oakland (1994), benchmarking can be defined as improving the performance of the organisation by marking its progress to other leader competing in the market place. It is basically setting targets or goals of another successor that he/she/organization will achieve to set targets in a certain time in order to increase their performance or growth and development. It is also a continuous process as it compares the other companies process and systems and how they are operating in order to design plan to improve their performance and be continuously innovative at all the times (Torrington et al, 2007). It also facilitates the creation of organizational culture that is outward-looking and learning oriented which means comparing the other companies systems, process, etc (Hannagan, 2008). Conclusion From the above information what it says is commitment to excellence helps the organization to be committed towards excellence that is quality, develops the performance of the staff and makes the professional image of the company (Hannagan, 2007). So Accent Hotel Group can achieve commitment to excellence by motivating the staff, leading the staff and providing learning and development to the staff. Continuous improvement helps the organisation to develop consistently and to be or remain best in the field (hutchins.co.uk). Continuous improvement can be seen in the Accent Hotel Group through total quality management, benchmarking the success and using Japanese strategy-Kaizen. REFRENCES Mullins, L. J. (2007) Management and Organisational Behaviour. London: Financial Times-Prentice Hall. Richman, B. M. and Farmer, N. (1977) Leadership; Goals and Power in Higher Education. Jossey-Bass. Council for Administration (2001, 2003) Business and Administration Skills Survey. London Hartley, P. and Bruckmann, C. G. (2002) Business Communication. London: Routlegde. Rae, L. (2000). Effective Planning in Training and Development. London: Kogan Page Limited. Armstrong, M. (2000) Performance Management: Key Strategies and Practical Guidelines. 2nd Edition. London: Kogan Page Limited. Handy, C. (1993) Understanding Organisation, 4th Edition. USA: Oxford University Press Schien, E. H. (2004) Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hannagan, T. (2007) Management: Concepts and Practices, 5th Edition. Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Mathis, R.L and Jackson, J.H. (2008) Human Resource Management, 12th Edition. USA: Thompson South Western Inc. Argyris, C. and Schà ¶n, D. (1978) Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Addison-Wesley Amandi, B., Oppedisano, J. and Sherman, H. (2003) Leadership Theory and Practice: A Case in Point, Management Decision, 41(10): 1076-1088 Torrington, D., Hall, L. and Taylor, S. (2007) Human Resource Management, 7th Edition. Europe: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Oakland, J. (1994:40) cited in MDP (2010) BSc (Hons) Management and Business Administration: Contemporary Issues in Administration and Management, Part 2. Bangor: MDP Hannagan, T. (2008) cited in MDP (2010) BSc (Hons) Management and Business Administration: Contemporary Issues in Administration and Management, Part 2. Bangor: MDP http://www.brainyquote.com/words/ex/excellence162353.html Accessed on: 08/03/11 http://www.brainyquote.com/words/co/commitment146024.html Accessed on: 08/03/11 http://www.hutchins.co.uk/tr_contimp.aspx Accessed on: 08/03/11

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Punishment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Should Christians support the death penalty? The answer to that question is controversial. Many Christians feel that the Bible has spoken to the issue, but others believe that the New Testament ethic of love replaces the Old Testament law. Old Testament Examples Throughout the Old Testament we find many cases in which God commands the use of capital punishment. We see this first with the acts of God Himself. God was involved, either directly or indirectly, in the taking of life as a punishment for the nation of Israel or for those who threatened or harmed Israel. One example is the flood of Noah in Genesis 6-8. God destroyed all human and animal life except that which was on the ark. Another example is Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18-19), where God destroyed the two cities because of the heinous sin of the inhabitants. In the time of Moses, God took the lives of the Egyptians' first-born sons (Exod. 11) and destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea (Exod. 14). There were also punishments such as the punishment at Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 13-14) or the rebellion of Korah (Num. 16) against the Jews wandering in the wilderness. The Old Testament is replete with references and examples of God taking life. In a sense, God used capital punishment to deal with Israel's sins and the sins of the nations surrounding Israel. The Old Testament also teaches that God instituted capital punishment in the Jewish law code. In fact, the principle of capital punishment even precedes the Old Testament law code. According to Genesis 9:6, capital punishment is based upon a belief in the sanctity of life. It says, "Whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God, He made man." The Mosaic Law set forth numerous offenses that were punishable by death. The first was murder. In Exodus 21, God commanded capital punishment for murderers. Premeditated murder (or what the Old Testament described as "lying in wait") was punishable by death. A second offense punishable by death was involvement in the occult (Exod. 22; Lev. 20; Deut 18-19). This included sorcery, divination, acting as a medium, and sacrificing to false gods. Third, capital punishment was to be used against perpetrators of sexual sins such as rape, incest, or homosexual practice. Within this Old Testament theocracy, capital punishment was extended beyond murder to cover various offenses.