Strange pulsing pain Essay Example for Free

Strange pulsing pain Essay Emily Finkle, age 14: I got very used to the jingle of chains every time I walked out of the mines to have a breath of fresh air. The mines were not as friendly to breathing as the air outside. My reflection on the polished surfaces of the water canteens often looked like an inverted skull with my nose blackened by coal dust. We all work together here in a mine in the West of Wales; boys my age toting bags of coal from inside the mine passing us, young girls bashing away at the hard rock walls to get to the coal beneath. We all wore the same clothes, whether girl or boy; trousers soiled by the black gold that we were drawing for people who sat on cushioned chairs smoking cigars, driving their fancy automobiles and eating cheeses of different kinds. The only food we had to eat most of the time was cold porridge and a few pieces of rotten fruit – fruit rots faster in the mines where the heat is trapped by the small openings and the packet of dense air hovering at every cavern opening. The sound of chains jingling as others passed us seemed like hypnotic chimes beating in tune with each strike of the pick. I barely see the sun. I am in the mine before the sun rises and out of the mine when the sun has long gone down into the horizon. I have accustomed my eyes to the flicker of the lamps we carry into the mines; lamps that cast eerie shadows with every movement we all make. The older children always told me to never sing in the mines or I would die. I wore a piece of cloth over my face all of the time to keep me from singing even when I was happy that my mama had recovered from the flu. Edna, the girl my age who picked at the mine walls just beside me sang once. She didn’t come back the following morning. Perhaps the older children were right about singing in the mines. Edna never came back to the mines again. I heard she had become thin and sickly and spat blood. Word had gone out that Edna came down with coal fever and died only a few months after singing in the mines. There are dark spirits in the mines they say – spirits that hate the sound of children’s singing voices. So, nobody ever sings in the mines. I’ve never worn a nice dress since I began working in the mine. I don’t know what hide and seek is. I do know what hide is though – this is what we do in the mines when the big brutes come running in with large leather whips. The often use the whips on the boys – we aren’t allowed to cry, lest the dark spirits get into our open mouths. We whimper, but we try to keep our mouths closed when we get our share of whipping. There’s no point in opening our mouths to the lashes; better to shrivel in pain than to die altogether. My canvass shoes are worn at the soles from walking up to the mine entrances every day. I cannot complain or I would get a heavy lashing. If we complain we do not get our porridge, or worse, our rest. Sometimes I don’t know where I am bleeding from. My fingers often bleed when shards of rock shatter from picking piercing the young skin on my knuckles. Sometimes the beige dust on the cavern floors turns brown under my feet from the blisters on my soles. I can’t feel the pain that much. I have become so used to the pain that I can tolerate it quite successfully, like I tolerate the whips or the pangs from not having anything to eat sometimes. I often think about leaving the mine, especially at nights when I am on my back staring at the stars. The stars always stare at me and sometimes they shed a tear or two. Maybe the stars are also tired from being hung up high in the night. I wonder – are the stars chained to the heavens too? Do they also spend eternities picking away at the blackness of night to draw out more of whatever it is they need to draw? I wonder. Today the mines are still where I am headed. The steep slopes have become more challenging today because of a strange pulsing pain in my belly. I don’t know is wrong with me, but I cannot complain, I cannot get lashed by the big brutes. I find it hard to drag my chained feet up the sides of the slope with my footwear almost clear of its fabric soles. The pain in my soles is not a matter of concern; I have become so used to it; but the pain in my belly is strange, I don’t know what is wrong with me and what I need to do to make it go away. I must find a way and ward the pain away before we enter the mines. I have to take a quick drink. I cannot though, there is only enough water for five drinks – one when we get to the mines, two at luncheon, another at dinnertime, and a last gulp before going to sleep in the camps. If I drink now, I will have nothing to drink at these times. I cannot – must not drink. The pain will go away. I will have to make it go away by thinking about the stars; how long they have been up there and the pains they must endure just to shine night after night after night. The stars are used to their pain, I have to get used to this pain like the way I am used to the other pains I have – the blisters on my soles, the fresh wounds on my knuckles, the nagging ache at my temples. These are just pains – I have to draw coal even when I often forget where on me does the coal mine draw blood. I have to pick and pick more, draw and draw more even with the pain in my belly. I must not open my mouth and groan or the dark spirits might enter my mouth like they did with Edna. I must not sing. I must work. I must not complain. Just before noon, I felt a warm viscous fluid trickle down my thighs underneath my trousers. This is the first time I felt something like this – I was scared the spirits might have found a way into me. I gazed down at my trousers in the flicker of the mine lamps. I can see a dark trail on my trousers – blood. I don’t know where this came from, but it was blood.

The Mission And Vision Of British Airways Business Essay

The Mission And Vision Of British Airways Business Essay British Airways is one of the oldest and the most reputed airlines functioning in the world. It was started on 1st September in the year 1974. It is the official airline of the United Kingdom. It is owned by the government of the United Kingdom but it is run by private firms. It is also known as BA. It was formed by the merger of four airlines they are The British Overseas Airlines Corporation (BOAC), The British European airways (BEA), Cambrian Airways and finally the Northeast Airlines this took place on 31st march 1974. Thus BA was formed. It was one of the few prestigious airline to fly the Concorde the supersonic passenger plane. It has a large fleet of 239 aircrafts. It flies to 300 destinations. It employees 42,755 employ . It is a public limited company also listed on the London stock exchange. The main headquarters of BA are Heathrow airport and Gatwick airport both are situated in London. It is also a star alliance member. The total revenue earned by BA in the year 2010 was  £7,994 million. Mission And Vision:- Visi Fig1.1 Mission, Vision, goals, objective cycle It is defined as A mission describes the organization basic function in society , in terms of the product and services for its customer -Mintzberg The above definition explains how important a mission is for a organization as it helps in building its own image in front of the customer that it wishes to give services to. It maybe a just a sentence but it creates a image in the mind of the reader what the organization is made up of. It also helps to give the brand a competitive edge as the mission statement will help in showing the uniqueness of the brand. The mission statement of British Airways is as follows One Destination seeks to ensure our customers fly confident that, together, we are acting responsibly to take care of the world we live in. BA mission statement on reading creates a mindset that they always be safe on ground or in air and they want the customer to feel safe and confident when they fly British airways. They have also maintained their mission statement as they have least accident history and they always have new fleets and always updated with latest technology. Values:- Organizational values define the acceptable standards which govern the behaviour of individuals within the organization. Without such values, individuals will pursue behaviours that are in line with their own individual value systems, which may lead to behaviours that the organization doesnt wish to encourage. Thus values are very important for the organisation for achieving the vision that it aims for(Value of Organizational value)(http://www.teal.org.uk/mat/page6.htm)(accsed on 22ndApril 2011) The values of BA are as follows:- OBJECTIVE:- Objectives are normally quantified statements of what the organisation actually intends to achieve over a period of time. According to Mintzberg (1997), Business Enviourment; Viva books. He says that objective help the organisation to conduct activities that will help in acquiring the mission of the organisation. He also says while forming a the objective the organisation must use the SMART technique. The objective should contain these points. Fig 1.2 SMART Objective The objective of BA is as follows:- Fig 1.3 Objective of BA 1.b) Evaluate the extent to which an organization achieves the objectives of three stakeholders. The individual or groups who have interest in how a organisation performs because they have some stake in it and thus it affects them in someway. In the modern world they are mainly of two types which include primary and secondary stakeholders (Stokes D., (2002) Small Business Management (4th edition) Thomson Publications: UK.) The primary and secondary stakeholder of BA have a effect on the airline as they are somehow related to the organization. Thus in the table below the author has shown how both of these can affect the airline Stakeholders General Interest Influence Shareholders .A Steady flow of revenue .Should be well informed about the risk and plans .Continuation of Business -Exercising ones right to vote -Checking the annual book as well as the statements. -To defend against wrong issues Managers .Pay and Status .Job Security .Job Satisfaction -Growth of the organisation -Participating to improve the organisation with recommendations Employees .Job Security .Pay and Condition .Job Satisfaction -The union may go on strike -Exposure Customers .Receiving goods and services of a reasonable quality .Receive optimum level of services .Great value for money paid -Choosing other airline over BA -Bad impression about the airline -Not using it services Suppliers .Being paid promptly for the goods and services delivered .Receiving regular repayment of the capital provided -Not delivery the Services on time. -Serving competitors Government and General Public .The organisation is meeting the relevant legal requirements .Social welfare of public is protected .Helping the nation and public to progress -Licenses, law and permits -Strict laws against them -Social activist -Boycott or appreciate the company. Fig 1.4 Shareholders their interest and influence All the organisation in the world to run smoothly and efficiently need to satisfy its stakeholders as they have a stake in the organisation which can affect the organisation in both good and bad ways as shown in the table above. Thus British airways is no exception even they have tried to meet the satisfaction of the stakeholders so as to progress more and achieve their targets. Below are given the instances where British airways have satisfied its stakeholders Employees they are the most important part of the organisation for the smooth and progressive functioning of the organisation. As BA is a large organisation hence it employs a large no of employees whos need and wants he need to caters. Thus BA has done many changes like improving the workplace where they function reasonable working hours were allotted to them then they have also introduced various crew programme which help them improve the safety of themselves as well as the customer. BA has also started recruiting people from all over the globe so as to maintain a equality among the employees. Their wages are also improved compared to what they were paid earlier some changes were done by BA for some the union had fought to get it done Society are a major concern for organisation like BA because if society is not benefited from them they wont allow smooth functioning of the airline for the same reason BA has contributed a lot towards society by giving them employment in the firm also setting up various NGOs to help the underprivileged society also contributing some amount towards charity. They have even started cutting down their co2 gases by using much more fuel efficient engines as well as machines used at the airport thus contributing o save the enviourment. Customers are the important part for the organisation to progress because e if customers arent there then who will the airline serve and earn money from. As BA is in the service industry they need to take good care of their customers so as to improve their image as well as their market standings. For the same they have improved their economy class cabin by improving the quality of service provided also they have introduced the programme known as CUSTOMER KING which is for the first and business class travellers. They have also increased their security standard so to increase the safety of their passengers. Q.1c) Explain the responsibilities of an organisation and strategies employed to meet them? Social Responsibility of an organisation may be defined as the obligations that the organisation has towards the people and the enviourment in which the business functions. In other words the corporate social responsibility is a process where the organisation can improve its functioning in outdoor as well as indoor processes so as to increase the vision, improvement and add competitive advantage to the company. BA has to maintain the business ethical criterion responsibly they also known the importance of their stakeholders and hence they follow the regulation so as to protect the social, environmental, financial, and economical of the stakeholders. In order to complete these aspects BA follows all the legislation laws and rules laid down for safety, employment and other such stakeholder related aspects. By following these laws and jurisdiction BA shows loyalty towards the corporate social responsibility as a business should show. Below are given few social responsibility that British airways follows and tries to do the needful for it (Corporate responsibilities (2007) one destination [online] (updated on 2010) Available at: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/csr-corporate-responsibility/public/en_gb?link=main_nav [Accessed 15th may 2011]. Environmental Protection Act:- BA has started to contribute a lot towards helping in saving the enviourment the reason being that there have been more strict rules by the government in recent years so to implement those and also create a healthy enviourment they have taken various steps in help protecting the enviourment The steps taken are as follows:- Fig 1.5 Enviourment Protection Act Safety and Security Act:- British airways are known for their stringent security measure that they follow. The safety of the passenger and crew are their highest priority. BA also follows the most advanced and sophisticated machinery in their services so as to assure the passenger that they are in safe hands. They also have a outstanding record in safety and security flied. Fig 1.5 Safety and Security Measures Employees Act:- The staff of a company are those people who work for a particular organisation or a industry, but apart from that they are a part of a large society where the organisation functions. The first labour law in Britain was made in 1974 for the people or employees of and organisation. The law consisted of various aspect that would help the employee to feel secured and satisfied in the workplace. Some of the laws were Self Organisation, Collective Bargains, To work what is suitable to employee, and job security. Thus BA follows these rules laid down by the government and also supports it. So as to keep the employees happy and smooth running of the organisation. 2.)Using PESTLE and any management tool you are familiar with evaluate the impact of macroeconomic policy measures and the influence of the global economy on British Airways and its stakeholders? PESTLE Policy Implications On BA Political Heavy Regulation (AEA,2009) Increased Security due to past terrorist attacks(DFT,2009) .Compliance is necessary if BA wants to continue operations .Enough security measure should be undertaken to maintain the competitive advantage and beliefs in consumers Economic -Economic Crisis the growth projected at only 2%in 2009(IMF,2008) -Pounds weakens against Euro Fluctuations of oil prices .Possible decline in the business travel as companies are using alternate methods like telephone conferencing. .BA will face poor exchange rate as well as due to the fluctuation it will affect their cost base as the rate they might get for the currency might get low Social The population in UK is ageing given by national statistics. Due to recession there is increased unemployment .This a great opportunity for BA as older generations have more money and time to spend. Technological New technologies regarding the fleet and improvement and addition to the fleet The number of people using e-check in has increased a lot .As there are new aircrafts coming in the market BA should keep its fleet updated with these machines .BA should keep itself updated so as to remain in the competition Environmental/ Ethical Expansion of its main terminal is difficult because it comes under Londons green belt area Consumer are aware of what are the effects of air travel as they are increasingly becoming more green. BA has to convert limited space into full utilisation of the capacity that it has BA has to adopt to all its environmental strategies to keep the consumer with them Legal Collusion and Fixed Pricing Open skies Agreement(AEA,2009) Restriction on having mergers will affect their alliance with American airlines .BA has a great opportunity of transferring aircrafts between him and America Fig 2 Pestle on BA (www.scibd.com) The other macroeconomic policy that can effect BA are as follows:- -Monetary Policy in the UK is concerned with the decision of rate of interest and the supply of money in the economy. The one who controls the interest rate in the UK are the Bank of England Monetary Policy committee. The current rate decided by the bank of England is around 2.0% . If they decide to increase the rate then it wont be feasible for BA to borrow loans from them as they will have to pay very high interest rate thus they wont benefit from it. But if they lower the rates then BA can borrow from the bank and achieve their objective much quickly. -Exchange Rate Policy is handled by the government. The exchange rate is controlled by how much amount of gold and foreign exchange currency do they have in reserve in the central bank. The rate is even altered when the interest rates go higher or lower. If the exchange rate is high then BA will benefit as the goods it will buy will be cheaper as the currency they using will be higher and thus they can make profits. But if it goes down then BA will face losses as the things that were cheap will became expensive and they will have to increase the air fares which will see a decline in their sales. These are some policy that the author think can BA . All the organisations in the world are affected by the social economic and enviourment factors globally. As BA is a large organisation operating in more than 300 countries hence it has to fulfil and satisfy all its stakeholder. Britains economy policy affects a lot of organisation below is given their policies that influence them Government Organisations Overall Economic Policy -Market Demand -Cost of Finance -Taxation Industry Policy -Protection vs Free trade grants, -Incentives, Sponsorship Regulation eg:- Investor protection, company law, entry barrier, capacity Social Policy -Work Place regulation, -Employment Law -Labour Supply -Skills, Education Foreign Policy -Trade promotion -Export Credits EU and WTO obligations -Export promotion to allies Environmental and infrastructure Policy -Distribution Fig 2.2 Economic Policies of UK Social Welfare policy which BA follows are it has introduced work place regulation which enables its employees to work freely in the workplace as they have been given high level of training which helps them to do their work with much ease and perfection as well. The safety standard used by BA is also very high and the crew are also given sufficient amount of rest and training to function effectively. BA also has normal working standard and all the aspect that are included in the employment law. The employees are also given a lot benefits which include perks, pension, maternity allowance, social fund as well as other benefits which help make their private life better as well. These are some of the policy that BA follows towards its employees 3.) Explain whether the problems facing the British airways can be found in a planned economic system and discuss whether the economic system in which the BA operates allocates resources better. Different nations of the world use different approaches or types of economic system. The core of the economic problem is infinite desires versus limited assets. The study of economics is basically how nations allocate their resources in the best way so as to maximize the productility and services to fulfil the satisfaction of wants. In modern economies there are various ways of dealing with scarcity. The various kinds of economy are as follows:- Fig3.1The different types of economic systems (BPP, Learning media, (2007) Business essentials: Business environment (3rd edition) viva books Pvt ltd: London) The economy followed by Britain is a mixed economy because there is a balance between the market forces and the state interventions. The advantages of mixed economies are any one can set up a business and choose what to produce and even set their own cost. Even though they pay taxes they reap benefits through social programmes. The disadvantages of mixed economy are many business find it difficult to find a market for their products also they cant control the taxes they pay, merchants always complain that they are very high.(http://www.blurtit.com/q917361.html) accessed on 14th may 2011) In mixed economy the decisions of resources provision would somewhat depend upon the forces of supply and demand curve and it might also depends on the aims and the objectives of the firm. BA after privatization faced a lot of changes as after the merger BA had changed some of its rule and accepted a few of the other airlines rule. It even started to fly to more international destination once the demand for that increased. Because of this reason their whole allocation shifted from one firm to anther and from domestic to international. Because BA is in a mixed economy there is always a chance of growth as the private firms will help them, Also BA has to complete all the requirements that are jotted down by the stakeholders or even the government. But as of now BA is fulfilling all the criteria that are laid down by the government as well as also helping the airline to grow as much as it can. Thus Mixed economy helps BA to allocate its resources better than any other economy would have. 4.) State the market in which the British Airways operate and discuss whether it is easy to merge in that type of market (regulatory environment implication etc)? The level and amount of competition faced by the firms varies a great deal. There are many types of market and no market is similar to each other in some single firms dominate in other there might be a lot of competition for the same product or service. The market structures that the firms operate are different from each other. Figure 4.1 The Different market structures. Perfect competition:- When there are many people in the market, and other condition are such , that no one can influence the price, all other things being equal. This occurs when there are lots of sellers and lots of buyers and nobody can have any effect on the total quantity for sale or the total amount that the buyers want. There is a freedom in the entry and exit of the industry. Monopoly:- When there is only one supplier for a product or service in a market we call that as monopoly market. The business owns a key source for which substitute is very hard to find. The pricing of the product is decided by the firm itself. Duopoly:- It is a market were two sellers compete with each other for a homogenous good . The output of the firm is believed to be fixed. The example can be If BA lowers its transatlantic fares then how will virgin react to it? It is a case between competition ad monopoly. Oligopoly:- When there are a few large suppliers, whose business decisions affect each other they are said to be in oligopoly market. The example that author has chosen is from the airline industry as he can link it to BA. Suppose if BA was to lower their airfare for a particular sector on which even virgin flies then to be in the competitive race even virgin will have to lower its prices. Thus in oligopoly market if one makes a decision then it has to effect the other. New firms cant enter this market as it requires huge amount of investment. This lowering of prices of both the companies is known as price wars. Competition Commission;- The competition commission is an self-governing public body established by competition Act 1998. It replaced the monopolies and Mergers Commission with a superior power to take authoritarian actions or measures in the closure of the company. BPP, Learning media, (2007) Business essentials: Business environment (3rd edition) viva books Pvt ltd: London). This body mainly makes sure that no organisation should form merger or cartels with each other to convert the market from oligopoly to monopoly market. 5.)Explain whether the British airways have benefited from international business/trade and the European Union. What will be the business implication to the BA, if the UK, joins the European Monetary Union (EMU). International trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries. An import is the UK purchase of a good or service made overseas. An export is the sale of a UK made good or service overseas. BA is a international airline which operates in more than 300 destination. It operates in continents Asia, Europe, America etc. As BA being a British company it has chosen Europe as its global market. One of the reason being that it is the member of the European union. BA has benefited from international trade big time for many of the events like given below:- -There is free trade of aircraft between BA and American airlines hence they can upgrade their fleet without paying the duties -The land cost in Britain is very high compared to rest of Europe hence they use to set up big factories which they need at places where the land is cheap. -The labour in many parts of Europe is also very cheap compared to Britain. -The currency they use is accepted all over Europe and hence they dont even lose any money on exchange rate. -The raw material which is needed by BA is obtained at much cheaper rate from European countries These are some of the benefits that BA has by doing intenational trade with the European union members. Fig5.1 Trading benefits with Europe

Tourism Policy And Planning In Australia Tourism Essay

Tourism Policy And Planning In Australia Tourism Essay Tourism makes an important contribution to Australias export earnings. The objective of tourism marketing is not merely to increase international visitor arrivals, but primarily, to increase expenditure injected into Australia on goods and services purchased by tourists. Recently there has been an increased emphasis on the importance of enhancing Australias tourism yield by attracting visitors from high-spending markets (sited in the Australian Government 2004; Dwyer et al.2007). To market Australia as a tourist destination, Tourism Australia works closely with the travel industry, the Government and the State/Territories. The demand function for international tourism for a given destination may be expressed as a function of income, prices, and marketing expenditure. Australia has had one of the strongest performing economies of the world. Australia has an efficient government sector, a flexible labour market with a very competitive business sector. Such environment is a key driver o f tourism activity. The policy settings set by the government are designed to deliver a vibrant tourism industry that makes a strong contribution to the economy. In Australia tourism is increasingly seen as an instrument for sustaining indigenous communities, many of whom look to tourism for a better future. The Australian federal, State/Territory governments has sought to create tourism policies to facilitate market growth and product development in the indigenous sector. On 5 June 2003, the Federal government released a draft medium to long term strategy to help grow a sustainable Australian tourism industry and better position it against future shocks by making it more robust and flexible. Main key themes of the strategy include sustainable growth and diversification of the Australian tourism product, and a focus on business yield and niche markets. The shift from an emphasis on quantity to quality is important for reducing pressure on infrastructure, protecting the environment, encouraging diversification and product development and improving profitability in the industry. Australian environment is unique from the unspoilt beaches, tropical rainforests, rugged mountain ranges and vast tracts of desert. Some few examples of Australias natural wonders include the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is as big as the total combined area of the UK and Ireland which contains more than 1,000 islands, from sandy bays to rainforest isles. The Wet Tro pics World Heritage Area Tropical North Queensland is the sort of place that someone would like to travel, it covers 900,000 hectares. The Uluru Ayers Rock is considered one of the great wonders of the world and one of the Australias most recognizable natural icons. Australians care about their unique environment such as sustainable tourism is an important factor in policy making. The Australian government is committed to and works closely with the tourism industry to deliver an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible tourism product. A significant contribution to tourism is made by cultural tourism. The experiences generated by Australian performances, visual arts and our heritage are unique. Australias National Tourism Policy the broad mission statement of Australias Federal government in relation to tourism policy is to contribute to Australias economic and social well being through the development of policies that achieve on internationally competitive tourism sector focused on sustainable growth. In the year 1998 a National Action Plan for Tourism was released by the Federal government to provide direction for tourism policy formulation and industry planning. Some of the key objectives of the Plan included developing potential new and emerging markets through targeted marketing strategies. Encouraging the development of efficient and competitive transportation networks, Fostering regional tourism development, enhancing industry standards and skill levels, improving the industrys information base, encouraging the conservation and preservation of Australias unique natural and cultural heritage, encouraging diversification of the industrys product base and reinforcing Australias image as a safe and friendly destination. The whole of the government approach pursued in Australia is intended to ensure a sound economic foundation that aims to create an optimum policy environment for tourism development. Community involvement is an important factor that is likely to significantly influence the sustainability of any tourism development. The involvement of locals in the planning and operational stages can ensure that development will be socially and environmentally responsible and that resulting impacts will be perceived as appropriate by the host community. Tourism businesses in Australia will continue to face a range of short- and long- term external shocks and challenges in major climate change reports. Climate change is an example of a material threat to Australias tourism industry. The Australian government should try controlling the number of visitors arriving in Kakadu Park which is a World Heritage site, the government can either do so by limiting numbers to match capacity rather than having the tourists concentrated in time in a focused tourist season. The Australian government realized in 1990s that tourism was affecting wildlife in the park. A number of bird species includin g red-winged parrots, sulphur coackatoos and shiny flycatchers were recorded as being highly disturbed when tourist boats passed them. Most activities done at the Great Barrier Reef which is made up of some 600 islands, 300 cay (reef islands) and almost 300 submerged reefs. The chef activity on the reef is scuba diving and snorkelling. There is increase in environmental impacts by these human activities which include physical destruction of reefs by anchors and divers feet and hands. Divers can even cause damage to the coral merely by resting on it, as it so sensitive. Some boats end up polluting the water by releasing sewage, furthermore divers feed or touch fish which leads to the modification of fish behavior. The Australian government should have a pandemic preparedness and planning for the Australian Tourism Industry for example an influenza pandemic in Australia would be unlike any other modern disaster and would create new challenges for communities and business that operate within them. Should an influenza pandemic emerge, the tourism industry is likely to be impacted by temporary measures to prevent its tra nsmission and spread, such as restrictions on travel, closer of public places, reduced consumer confidence. My personal critique of the policies are by developing potential new emerging markets through targeted marketing strategies the Australian government should try improving their international marketing strategies and effectiveness through a greater focus on regional dispersal and by freshing and enhancing the brand Australia. Encouraging the development of efficient and competitive transportation networks can only work if the government helps to facilitate the development and growth of sustainable air, sea and land transport services and key tourism infrastructure. Fostering regional tourism development can be achieved by supporting domestic tourism marketing and doing promotions, which include regional promotions by advertising in the newspapers or television. The policy of enhancing the industry standards and skills levels can be achieved by the government ensuring training delivers skills appropriate for the tourism workforce and businesses and promote improved productivity. Improving the industrys information base can be achieved by improving tourism information, research and forecasts to more effectively serve the needs of industry and government. Encouraging the conservation and preservation of Australias unique natural and cultural heritage policy can be a success if only the Ministry of Tourism in Australia improves Australian knowledge of Australia by encouraging domestic travel. A healthy tourism sector contributes to the economic and social well being of Australians. Major policy challenges for the future include coordination of all levels of government working towards an agreed framework between the various levels of government on the national coordination of tourism development will assist in clarifying the roles and responsibilities between the different levels of government.

Fashsion Statement :: essays research papers

Fashion Statement There are many reasons why we choose to wear a particular article or style of clothing. Many of us consider our choice in clothing as an extension of our identity; while many others pick items from their wardrobe that reflect their current mood. There are also many times when we choose to dress a certain way in anticipation of being in a particular social setting. When someone decides what to wear they need to keep in mind what messages will they be sending to the gazing eyes. Sometimes we forget or don’t realize, that we are sending both true and false message through our clothes. I am a calm, casual, musician however my clothes do not reflect this. To start, I am wearing skateboard shoes, fat toe-end and fat tongue, rather bulky. They are black except for the gum sole, and the logo on the tongue is golden. The golden logo is hidden by the cuffs of my black, neatly creased Dickies work pants. My pants fit nicely, not tight and not baggy. Holding my pants up is a black casual clamp belt, about an inch tall, with a small rectangular silver buckle. My belt is occasionally being revealed by my un-tucked, youth large, blue, button-up, collared t-shirt. The shirt is a basic plaid design, with a thin vertical line for every thick horizontal line and visa versa. Resting on parts of my shoulders and back is my surfer, guitarist length (about 8 inches long), brown, wavy hair parted down the center. Lastly, sitting backwards on my head, are my sleek, solid black Spy sunglasses. Spy is a company that makes sunglasses for the surfer, coastal alike. These clothes were not acquired in any special way, nothing more or less ordinary than anyone else. I tend to shop at stores that sell surf and skate brand clothing. These brands include Billabong, Quicksilver, Split, Osiris, Dickies, and many similar brands. Stores that sell these brands are found almost everywhere, but I tend to spend most of money at Tilly’s and Chick’s. When others decide what outfit to wear, they are making a statement on how they feel or how they would like to feel. For example, they may wear clothes that make them feel sexy, strong, smart, professional, relaxed, or powerful. The ways I feel in my clothes are relaxed and casual. I don’t feel either over or under dressed for any particular occasion.

Rae, We Pray For You :: essays research papers

Rae, We Pray for you â€Å"Murder in the murderer is no such ruinous thought as poets and romancers will have it; it does not unsettle him, or fright him from his ordinary notice of trifles; it is an act quite easy to be contemplated.† Ralph Waldo Emerson Is Rae Carruth unsettled? Is he bothered? Is Carruth in the contemplative mood yet? I certainly hope he is. Rae Carruth has taken away a human life. He has violated that certain enjoyment that exists in life. It is what separates the human race, from all others. Logic and reason that we possess in such high quantities as human beings apparently are lacking in Carruth’s case. It seems to make little sense, especially in Carruth’s situation. He seemed to have everything going for him, having achieved his dream to become a professional athlete and supporting his parents and relatives on this newfound fame as he had always promised. Yet, something was happening to Rae Carruth. Obviously, he was not happy with his li fe at that point. Still, murder is not exactly a sensible action, not even as a last resort to most who have their wits about them. It seemed as though Carruth felt that he had no other choice. He seemed to take the classic, â€Å"I don’t like you, so I’ll beat you up,† mantra of the playgrounds to a much harsher end in this case. With Carruth you must question many things about him, his sanity, his maturity, his intelligence, and above all his reason. Obviously, he soon realized the magnitude of his act, as he fled as a fugitive until he was caught. Murder is not a crime of chance, you have to get the deed done and correctly, that is why Carruth hired a few thugs to do the job for him. Even if Carruth did not pull the trigger, it is very clear that he is still a murderer. His fate is the question to most. This will probably not be determined until Carruth goes to trial, probably in about a year. The prosecution will seek the death penalty for Carruth and rightf ully so. In our current society today, only the most horrific of criminals usually get the death penalty because we do not operate on an eye for eye basis. In the present criminal justice system rehabilitation seems to be the operative word. It is not that Carruth is beyond rehibilition, but that he does not deserve to live.

Calyx flower case

Managing Profitable Growth Recommendation : Increase Internet advertising. There are several reasons to support It. 1 . Less Cost, more tailored communication with customers In case of the catalog, the acquisition cost of new customer Is too expensive. This makes new customers unprofitable. (see table 1) Instead of the catalog, the company can send email directly to their target customer with less expense. The company already have a web page, so the firm can use the system without huge investment.Also, if the company makes use of the internet more, the firm can gather customer data more efficiently. So the company can increase the ability to track the behavior of individual customer. This enable the firm not only to tailor communication with the customers, but also to build a long-term relationship with the customers compared to mass-media marketing and catalog. Eventually, it will lower the acquisition cost of the current and new customers and increase retention rate and response ra te, the taxation which makes the customer more profitable In terms of the life time value. . Concentrate on the growth of the potential customer. As the Infrastructure of the Internet Improves, the customer who purchase the product through internet will increase. This change of business environment would be a good opportunity for the company. While the competitors focus on mass-media marketing, the company can concentrate their budget on the target customers who have a high potential growth. With low advertising cost per customer and high customers' satisfaction with tailored communication, the company can differentiate itself from the other competitors. . Make the customers more inelastic to price. The products of Calyx are fresher than that of the competitors. This Is the one of the differentiated factor of the company. And also, using online could be one of the differentiated factor of the company. As mentioned above, with fluent data of the customers and tailored communication, the company can raise the customers' satisfaction. From these, Calyx can create customer loyalty.The loyalty is not from the lower price, but from the differentiation from the other competitors. This makes the customers more inelastic to price. 4. Enlarge the customer base by cross selling of the other business units' products By integrating the web pages with other business units or making bundle packages, the flower business can enlarge the customer base, which consists of professional women mostly. From this, the company can alma at market share expansion.

Functionalist and Conflict theories Essay

Sociology is the study of society and the behaviour patterns of a particular group or culture. In contemporary Australian society, a good understanding of this is needed in order to make better social changes to meet social needs. When it comes to trying to explain and understand society, there are two main points of view that a person can take. These are the functionalist view, which is largely based on works by Talcott Parsons, and the conflict view, sometimes referred to as Marxism, as Karl Marx made a significant contribution towards this theory. Although in most ways these views directly oppose each other, ultimately, they are both trying to do the same thing, that is, explain why society is like it is today. Functionalists see society in a relatively optimistic way. They see groups as interdependent, working together for the good of the whole society. They claim that organisations and groups are largely benevolent, and that they are there for useful purposes. A person who takes the functionalist perspective sees society as generally operating smoothly, and perceives that very little change is needed, as groups being interrelated means that change in one area will have an effect on the whole society. The functionalist view, while useful in explaining structures and functions of various groups in society, tends to gloss over the negative aspects of society, over-explaining them so that happenings which could have a large negative impact on society seem trivial and unimportant. Where consensus is not happening, it is the conflict view that has the better explanation. Read more: Functionalist Perspective on Social Media The conflict theory perceives society as stratified, that is, having significant divisions. It puts forward a more challenging, questioning view on society. People who support this view claim that in every institution there are some people with more power, opportunities and status than others. This view is about inequalities, disagreement, and the use of power to advantage some while disadvantaging others. The conflict theory is the direct opposite of functionalism in that it focuses on the negative aspects of society, and even when something is functioning relatively well, conflict theorists tend to analyse it until they do find something wrong, making a mountain out of a metaphoric molehill. So while the functionalist theory and the conflict theory are two extremes of sociological thinking, it is not necessary to take the view of either one or the other. Very rarely are situations clearly black and white. Most often, if not always, there are many shades of grey in between. Therefore it is important to take on the perspective of both theories, and figure out which aspect of a particular situation applies to which theory. A good example of just how much the two opposing views differ is to apply them both to the universal institution, the family. Functionalists see the family as a vital institution that is needed to carry out several important functions. These functions are:  ¨Regulating sexual behaviour and reproduction  ¨Socialising children  ¨Protecting children and the elderly  ¨Providing emotional support and affection for its members  ¨Serving as an important consumption unit for society’s products (Earle and Fopp, 1999) These functions generally still work well in the cases of socialisation and reproduction, care of the children and the elderly, and as an economic unit, earning and consuming. However in today’s society, where there is an increasing amount of domestic abuse as well as working single parents or two working parents, members of a family aren’t always able to provide emotional support and affection for other members. Also in today’s modern society there are a great amount of people having sex before marriage, and an alarmingly large amount of teenage pregnancy. Therefore families are not carrying out the function of regulating sexual behaviour and reproduction as much as they were twenty or thirty years ago. Functionalists often use biological comparisons, claiming that a family is like an organism, with each member having a particular role. These roles are considered natural, and must be carried out for the good of the whole family. These roles involve men going out into the workforce and taking economic leadership while the women stay at home looking after her children and husband and doing all the housework. The functionalist theory claims the nuclear family as the ‘norm’. The nuclear family consists of two parents, one of each gender, and their children living together in one household. Although this structure is still fairly typical of today’s society, it was much more prevalent in the 1950’s. Today there are many variations of the family, and only about half of families are nuclear. With divorce and single parent families steadily on the rise, and women wanting the same rights as men, functionalists are having to come up with ways to explain these occurrences. For example, with divorce, a functionalist would argue that divorce is a good thing because it means that when people marry the second time round they will have more experience and it will be more likely to last. However, this theory is considered outdated. In today’s society with a rising economy more and more women are going out into the workforce. But this extra role does not mean giving up their other role as carer. Women end up taking on two roles – that of the carer and the housewife, as well as that of a worker. This is becoming undesirable for women, making them reluctant to marry. The functionalist theory fails to take into consideration the simple fact that things change. And where the functionalist theory doesn’t quite apply, the conflict theory has the better explanation. The conflict view sees traditional roles in families as limiting women’s lives to caring for their husband and children. They claim that this arrangement is not biological at all, but socially constructed, that is, created by people. These roles have been around and accepted for so long that they seem natural, but the conflict view argues that in actual fact people have been trained over many years into thinking this way. The conflict theory emphasises disagreement and struggle as a part of any human group. Conflict theorists say that in any group there will be status issues, something will be unfair, and the power will be divided – some will give orders, others will obey. This applies to the family in that it is often, if not always, the parents giving orders to their children/teenagers, who are supposed to obey. Also, even in today’s changing society, men still often have more power than their wives. In modern Australian society, there are demographic changes in family form, and family households are considerably smaller. The changes in family arrangement and in family values have important consequences for the family as an institution. Fewer women are having large families and the marriage rate has declined, largely because of changes in attitudes to marriage and living arrangements. There is an increasing amount of not only de facto relationships, but also in the social acceptance of these relationships. The divorce rate has also increased, which then in turn influences the number of blended as well as single parent families. The conflict theory addresses these issues, and asks the important question ‘what needs to be changed in order for the family unit to survive?’ On the other hand, the functionalist theory tries to explain why these things are happening and how they benefit society. Both the functionalist and conflict theories raise some very valid and important points. Functionalism sometimes has a tendency to focus on the past, while the conflict theory places a bigger emphasis on the present. However, both theories are needed if the family is to survive in the future.