Healthcare ecosystems influences Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healthcare ecosystems influences - Research Paper Example In addition, the $5 billion system has managed to unite scientists and physicians of this renowned hospital with various health facilities and professionals. As such, the quality of services provided by the institution has improved, and patients can be assured of prompt and up-to-date service delivery. Ideally, the success and growth of the hospital is embedded on the development of School of Medicine. Although competition has been felt across the medical sector, John Hopkins has always performed immensely due to the frequent research on the current trend of medical operations. John Hopkins Hospital mission statement provides a pictorial presentation of the activities undertaken by the organization. The mission of the organization is to improve the health of individuals in the society and to set the required standards that the world can emulate. As such, the success has been felt in clinical care, research, and education. Although this success has not been effectively achieved, the management is undertaking strategies that will enhance the attainment of its mission. Some of the strategies include educating medical students on the current trends in the medical field, providing medical seminars to health care professionals and scientists, conducting research on biomedical, and providing patient-centered medicine that prevents, diagnoses, and treats various ailments (Kushniruk, 2008). Indeed, the report provided by World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the superiority of John Hopkins Hospital in disseminating its services in the community. The hospitalà ¢â‚¬â„¢s vision is to provide an inclusive and diverse environment that enhances intellectual creativity, discover, and transmission of innovative knowledge in the world. In improving the health of individuals, though adequate medical services and practitioners, John Hopkins Hospital thrives to achieve its vision. Medical leadership has been

The Nature of Culture Essay Example for Free

The Nature of Culture Essay The term â€Å"culture† is mentioned almost everywhere—in the television, at school, in politics, and in the media. What is the nature of culture? What is its function in the society? How does culture relate to individuals and how does culture change? The Nature of Culture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Culture refers to the collectivity of human activities and symbols that are generated to give deeper meaning and significance to these activities. According to Findley and Rothney (2006, p.14), culture may be â€Å"understood as systems of symbols and meanings that even their creators contest, that lack fixed boundaries, that are constantly in flux, and that interact and compete with one another. † The culture of any given society may be seen in the lifestyle of people, the music and literature, as well as the painting, sculpture, film, and in the technology being used by the society. Culture may also be seen in terms of consumption patterns of people. According to anthropologists, however, culture is far broader than consumption because consumption falls into the broader framework that gives meaning to consumption goods being purchased by people. The science, religion, and relationships between and among people and institutions are all part of culture (Findley Rothney, 2006). On the other hand, cultural anthropologists use the term â€Å"culture† to denote the process and the ability of humans to think about, classify, and communicate experiences and other things in symbols. This means that the experiences, goods, services, and commodities that humans get access to are assigned particular meanings and importance. This process becomes even more important in the case of communities where individuals interact with each other and with the institutions and traditions of the community or society (Findley Rothney, 2006). Culture, the Individual, and Culture Change   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An individual gets the symbols, traditions, and modes of thinking that are prevalent in the society. Given this, an individual’s mode of thinking is shaped by the culture of the society that they are in. Cultural change, no matter how difficult it appears to be, happens all the time. As generations come and go, the modes of behavior, conduct, and arts of a society change because new inventions and factors in the society are introduced. This can be explained by Thomas Kuhn’s theory on paradigm change. When new technologies, ideas, and processes are introduced, the symbols also change and the way that these processes are understood must change as well. Take for example the nature of the rapid technological change in our society. These changes are happening now at a breakneck speed. Instant communications, instant foods, and other instantaneous processes affect arts, music, and more fundamentally, the nature of interactions between and among people. The prevailing culture and traditions, however, will not simply be supplemented by the emerging new culture. Traditions also affect ways of thinking and how these changes shall be viewed in the broader society. With fast technological change, and the rapid obsolescence of gadgets and technology, the mode of thinking in the society is also changing. The elements of tradition and the modes of thinking in the present culture are also necessary for the transition to be effected. As the negotiation between the old culture and the emerging one proceeds, a new culture emerges in the process. Reference Findley, C. V. Rothney, J. A. (2006). Twentieth-century World, 6th edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

The Contradictions in Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics Essay -- Philosop

When I think about what makes me happiest in life, I put my family and friends at the top of the list. I know that there is no way I would be who I am today without them. My family loves me and has taught me most of what I know about how to live. Friends have taught me so much more about myself than I could ever have imagined; how to laugh at myself, how to love myself, how to learn from my mistakes, etc. All these people in my life have given me so much and I have in return offered what I have to give. Secondly, I would probably put my knowledge. It is what I need to be able to understand how the world works today and voice my opinion in the community; to benefit myself and teach others. Next on my list, I would put art. It allows an inner, more down-to-earth part of me to be expressed that cannot be done in words. All these things are actions and they define who I am. Without them I don't know what I would do. In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics there is emphasis on the importance of action. From action of life, friendship, and happiness (which are voluntary ac...

cloning :: essays papers

cloning Abstract As bioethics Leon R. Kass points out in his essay The Wisdom of Repugnance, those who defend human cloning regard themselves mainly as friends of freedom: the freedom of individuals to reproduce, the freedom of scientists and inventors to discover and devise and to foster ‘progress’ in genetic knowledge and technique." Kass goes on to stress that in fact, a "right to reproduce" has always been a peculiar and problematic notion. Rights generally belong to individuals, but this is a right which (before cloning) no one can exercise alone. Does the right then inhere only in couples? Only in married couples? Is it a (woman’s) right to carry or deliver or a right (of one or more parents) to nurture and rear? Is it a right to have your own biological child? Is it a right only to attempt reproduction, or a right also to succeed? Is it a right to acquire the baby of one’s choice? Critical analysis Kass debate on human cloning has brought to the surface a glaring deficiency of bioethics. It has few if any good methods for dealing with new and novel technologies. By that I mean those technologies where there seem to be no relevant historical precedents and where the potential benefits and harms are speculative only, not yet available for empirical testing. How might we best try to assess such technologies, and what counts as a good or bad argument for ethics and for public policy? Nor is it reasonable to insist on "empirical evidence" of benefit or harm when the scientific outcomes are still in the future and wholly speculative in nature. Such evidence could become available only when human cloning was a reality; and then it could take years or decades after that to determine whether it had been a wise move to allow the research to go forward in the first place. The key issue here is not genetic determinism or genetic identity but the preservation of individuality — by no means the same as genetic identity. Even so-called "identical" twins are not wholly identical genetically; that is well known. More to the point here is the issue of parents trying to use children for parental ends, procreating them with traits chosen by the parents for the purr-poses of the parents, not the welfare of the children. We happily accept twins when they are born, but no parents I have heard of go out of their way to procreate twins, or turn to assisted reproduction specialists to procreate twins. cloning :: essays papers cloning Abstract As bioethics Leon R. Kass points out in his essay The Wisdom of Repugnance, those who defend human cloning regard themselves mainly as friends of freedom: the freedom of individuals to reproduce, the freedom of scientists and inventors to discover and devise and to foster ‘progress’ in genetic knowledge and technique." Kass goes on to stress that in fact, a "right to reproduce" has always been a peculiar and problematic notion. Rights generally belong to individuals, but this is a right which (before cloning) no one can exercise alone. Does the right then inhere only in couples? Only in married couples? Is it a (woman’s) right to carry or deliver or a right (of one or more parents) to nurture and rear? Is it a right to have your own biological child? Is it a right only to attempt reproduction, or a right also to succeed? Is it a right to acquire the baby of one’s choice? Critical analysis Kass debate on human cloning has brought to the surface a glaring deficiency of bioethics. It has few if any good methods for dealing with new and novel technologies. By that I mean those technologies where there seem to be no relevant historical precedents and where the potential benefits and harms are speculative only, not yet available for empirical testing. How might we best try to assess such technologies, and what counts as a good or bad argument for ethics and for public policy? Nor is it reasonable to insist on "empirical evidence" of benefit or harm when the scientific outcomes are still in the future and wholly speculative in nature. Such evidence could become available only when human cloning was a reality; and then it could take years or decades after that to determine whether it had been a wise move to allow the research to go forward in the first place. The key issue here is not genetic determinism or genetic identity but the preservation of individuality — by no means the same as genetic identity. Even so-called "identical" twins are not wholly identical genetically; that is well known. More to the point here is the issue of parents trying to use children for parental ends, procreating them with traits chosen by the parents for the purr-poses of the parents, not the welfare of the children. We happily accept twins when they are born, but no parents I have heard of go out of their way to procreate twins, or turn to assisted reproduction specialists to procreate twins.

Owning a car when one turns 16 Essay

There are many advantages and disadvantages to owning a vehicle. A life style change can occur or an empty wallet or purse I can almost expect someone will have when they first start driving a vehicle of their own. This impact in ones life can not only change their life style and their money situation but also there grades, sports, social life, and most of all their physical health. These advantages and disadvantages can be for the better but most of all the worst. In my opinion, owning a vehicle at a young age develops a good source of financial planning, responsibility, and awareness of what can happen to them if they become an uncontrolled driver. Next, with the purchase of a car there can be a life style change and also a huge financial decrease. If one owns a car, especially a teenager, they become cocky and act like a hot shot because they have a vehicle. With this problem a teen may start to develop a new driving style. They will drive with only one arm and will constantly change the CD player to different compact discs and radio station. With having them do this they will increase the chances of not paying attention to the rode and will cause an accident. So, a driver needs to keep their eyes on the rode to not only protect to their own life but the lives of others. Then, the new driver has already developed the bad habits of driving and this will lead them into a having bad grades, missing practices for sports, and lose a social life. The bad grades can come from driving too much, but if one drives, they will need a job. A job is where a loss in a social life comes together. If they are working to drive, they will not have enough time to spend with their friends. Now that they are trying to find time out of work to drive, hang out with friends, and play sports. Sports are after school each day. I don’t expect a driver to play sports all week and only work two days and still have enough money to pay for their vehicle. Finally, the most difficult sacrifice to give up is their physical health being tampered with. By working all the time and constantly trying to join sports and hang out with friends this will affect their health. Where is their time to sleep? One will be doing it all but; they do need time to sleep. All of these advantages and disadvantages will change their entire  life style. I believe owning a vehicle will do that but in some cases a change is a good thing so there is always something to look out for. Change can be good but the time will keep ticking away. So, do what makes one happy and make it how you want it.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Essays - English-language Films

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Essays - English-language Films 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne was born in France in 1828 and always had a love for the sea. He once tried to be a sea captain on a boat but things did not work out. Jules Verne has written many very famous books such as Journey To the Center of the Earth, Five Weeks in a balloon and Around the World in Eighty Days. I have written a review on one of his most famous books 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This book combines adventure, suspense and mystery throwing in a few pieces of information about life under the sea. The book begins with some great suspense, it begins with a boat chasing a giant monster that has destroyed some huge unsinkable ships. Every time they get close to this monster a giant stream of water shoots hundreds of feet into the air, causing the boat to back off. Once in a while the monster will disappear from sight for hours. While reading this part of the book the reader feels like he is on the boat chasing the monster also. A lot of times the boat gets close enough to the monster to catch it and thoughts of what you think the monster could be run through your head like crazy. When they finally make an attempt to capture it, it disappears beneath the depths of the ocean. One of the most suspenseful and mysterious parts of the book was when the characters were thrown into a big room inside the submarine that seemed to have no doors. At this point in the book the characters have no idea what was going on, neither does the reader. The only thing that happens during the time in this room is a man comes in and gives them some food, minutes later they all fell asleep. Why where they put to sleep, where is this room that seems to have no doors? This is just one of the hundreds of questions going through your head during these couple chapters of the book. When they wake up all the lights in the room are off and the submarine is shaking. When they finally meet and become comfortable with the captain they get an invitation to go hunting 2 miles under the sea. They put on these huge underwater suits that can withezd the pressure two miles under the sea, then the cabin fills up with water and a door opens. Two miles under the sea, what adventures are down there waiting for them? What amazing sites are two miles under the sea? What dangerous are awaiting people in the depths of the sea?

Add a Print Button or Link to Your Web Page

Add a Print Button or Link to Your Web Page CSS (cascading style sheets) give you considerable control over how content on your web pages is displayed on the screen. This control extends to other media as well, such as when the web page is printed. You may be wondering why you would want to add a print feature to your web page; after all, most people already know or can easily figure out how to print a web page using their browsers menus. But there are situations where adding a print button or link to a page will not only make the process easier for your users when they need to print out a page but, perhaps even more importantly, give you more control over how those printouts will appear on paper. Heres how to add either print buttons or print links on your pages, and how to define which pieces of your page content will be printed and which will not. Adding a Print Button You can easily add a print button to your web page by adding the  following code to your HTML document where you want the button to appear: onclickwindow.print();return false; / The button will be labeled as  Print this page  when it appears on the web page. You can customize this text to whatever you like by changing the text between the quotation marks following value in the code above. Note that there is a single blank space preceding the text and following it; this improves the appearance of the button by inserting some space between the ends of the text and the edges of the button displayed. Adding a Print Link Its even easier to add a simple print link to your web page. Just insert the following code into your HTML document where you want the link to appear: print You can customize the link text by changing print to whatever you choose. Making Specific Sections Printable You can set up the ability for users to print specific parts of your web page using a print button or link. You can do this by adding a print.css file to your site, calling it in the head of your HTML document and then  defining those sections you want to make easily printable by defining a class.   First, add the following code to the head section of your HTML document: typetext/css mediaprint / Next, create a file named print.css. In this file, add the following code: body {visibility:hidden;}.print {visibility:visible;} This code defines all elements in the body as hidden when being printed unless the element has the print class assigned to it. Now, all you need to do is to assign the print class to the elements  of your web page that you want to be printable. For example, to make a section defined in a div element printable, you would use Anything else  on the page that is not assigned to this class will not print.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Union Membership Essays

Advantages and Disadvantages of Union Membership Essays Advantages and Disadvantages of Union Membership Paper Advantages and Disadvantages of Union Membership Paper Union Advantages and Disadvantages I was raised In a union family but grew up to be a company man. I can see both sides and their opinions. I believe we need unions to keep the companies who are not union from treating their employees unfairly, regarding wages, days off, etc. There are good unions that are so effective and there are weak unions who give unions a bad name. Some companies will always treat their employees well and be fair but for those who dont, there has to be someone watching out for their rights. If those companies know that if their employees are treated unfairly, there is an organizer ailing to step in and help, the company generally will step up to the plate and do the right thing. My father and uncles worked for the plumbers, electrical, and teachers unions growing up and they were good strong unions that looked out for its employees. I spoke to my father about his opinion of the plumbers union and what he saw as the good and the bad of it. An advantage to being a union member Is that you have an advocate to stand up for you If there has been a wrong done to you In the work place. There are generally many more safety precautions taken for the errors safety with a union than when not. A business agent will locate Jobs for you In such trades as Pipettes, sprinkler fitters, welders, or construction workers. When you work on a job and then when that job is completed they work to have another job for you to move on to. You do pay dues, which seem to be a little steep at times, but when a member passes away, there is a death benefit paid to the family to help with funeral expenses. He remembers that the insurance coverage was excellent also. It pays 100% for him and 75% for the family. He also remembers how difficult it was to get into the union. How he had to apprentice for five years doing all the hardest work for half the pay. He also felt that the union is only interested in doing what generates work for union plumbers and not necessarily what is best for the building owners. The Business agents would also always play favorites with their buddies and send them to Jobs first and say they were requested by name. My uncle was a teacher and Vice principle of Bragger High School In Newark, and moved on to be a union superintendent. He says he has seen some good and some very ugly sides to unions. One of the biggest advantages is having representation during the performance review process. He has seen principals misuse the process to get rid of a teacher they Just dont get along with. Union contracts provide a structure for the reviews and usually support for a struggling teacher. The contract will also cover details, such as how much time a teacher has to set up a classroom and move items if he or she is involuntarily reassigned to another school due to enrollment or other hangs. In many cases he has seen where unions have kept bad teachers in their jobs where they would have been fired anywhere else. He has seen teachers that once they became tenured, stopped doing their Job altogether. Working out of the headquarters building shared by the Verizon union, I also have my own pollens of unions. When the company was doing well, It was able to meet the union requirements. Now as the landlines side has begun to lose money, the union has been went on strike when the company tried to move to non union shops during a merger. Three days into the strike Verizon managers claimed to have counted 455 acts of vandalism, which they attributed to union members. Managers blamed unionists for throwing rocks, eggs, and bottles at workers and managers who crossed picket lines, as well as disrupting service by cutting cables and wires. Verizon is still in talks with the CAW and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers over a new contract that would cover roughly 45,000 workers and replace an agreement that expired Gauge. 6.

Understanding the Ethics of Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Understanding the Ethics of Engineering - Essay Example If any company or organization does not behave ethically regarding any kind of business matter, various destructive effects occur as a result. â€Å"Business ethics, like most areas of ethics, often tends to focus on principles of actions, on the action itself and its consequences† (Frederick 30). In the field of engineering, ethics means the standards of moral behavior of individuals, not the standards of the engineering business as a whole. A business that behaves ethically induces other business associates to behave ethically as well (Posters). In this report regarding understanding the ethics of engineering, the factors which will be covered are ethical behaviors, importance of ethics in mechanical engineering, and various ethical issues in mechanical engineering. Ethical behavior promotes the self-respect, self-esteem, diversity and basic rights of individuals and groups of people. Personal ethics are the moral foundation on which people build their lives (Scivicque). Some examples of ethical behavior include truthfulness, fairness, respect, honesty, equality, sincerity, helping other individuals, taking care of others, obeying laws, and social values. Truthfulness is meant to inform others about any unwanted situation in order to provide them with awareness regarding the seriousness of the issue. For example, a doctor should always inform the patient about the disease even if the patient is not capable of bearing treatment expenditures. Fairness is that ethical behavior which is of extreme importance in any individual’s life. Fairness means to deal with every individual evenhandedly. For example, if a person is at a high rank, he is not supposed to make negative or improper use of his authority in any case. He should show fairness in every case which he deals with. Respect is another ethical behavior which deals with the admiration, approbation, and deference among individuals. For

Islamic Banking case Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Islamic Banking case - Term Paper Example Moreover, the fact that the owner of the bank plays a huge role in managing the bank is strength, which makes it possible to analyze the bank’s current position in the market and make management decisions in a quick way. The biggest weakness in the bank regards the vulnerability posed by the lack of knowledge on other products in the market, and especially by competing products. In this regard, it is evident that Sultan does not know the principles and concepts of Islamic Banking, which is a major weakness since the bank is losing customers to other banks that offered products based on these concepts and principles. ABB’s major opportunity for development and growth lies within the bank’s niche market amongst the local community. With proper restructuring of the bank’s policy in banking, the bank can maintain this segment of clientele since locals have been the target market since the bank’s inception. In addition, the CEO, who is also the owner, has a â€Å"substantial inherited personal wealth† that he wishes to reinvest in the bank. In effect, this potential source of capital is essential as the bank seeks to position itself in the competitive banking industry due to the increasing role of Islamic Banking principles and concepts. Finally, the major threat that the bank faces is the increasing role of Islamic Banking, which has made some of ABBs customers switch to banks that offered services based on Islamic Banking principles and concepts. In line with this, the threat posed by Islamic Banking concepts and principles requires a rethinking since the bank is losing existing and potential customers due to its failure to establish Islamic Banking principles and concepts. Hence, this market trend is a threat to the long-term objectives of the bank and the bank can only restructure to accommodate this market trend. Sultan can restructure ABB’s banking structures and systems to accommodate

Auditing. The series of scandals caused a general crisis of confidence Essay

Auditing. The series of scandals caused a general crisis of confidence in the integrity of the entire system of corporate accoun - Essay Example Thereafter the author described financial scandals as those corporate scandals that involve misappropriation and misuse of money or economic resources. The chronicles of business history are filled with errors related to accounting, judgements, financial management and financial skulduggery. Over the last few decades unscrupulous entrepreneurs have been heavily involved in financial scandals where they allegedly diverted funds from one stated use to another, paid dividends out of borrowed money or capital, traded stocks on the basis of insider information as well as concealed vital information regarding those stocks, practiced creative account thereby altering the company’s records so on and so forth. Auditing failure has been a major concern over the last two decades with case of Enron and WorldCom coming into the limelight. According to Tackett, Wolf and Claypool (2004), a severe distortion in the financial statements that has not been reported in the audit report can be ter med as audit failure. Thus the auditor has committed a serious mistake while conducting the auditing process (Arens, 2002). Normally, auditing failure would not happen if an auditor is abide by the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards despite the fact whether the financial statement is accurate or fair. ... Thirdly, auditing failure occurs when the auditor is lured into committing such frauds by the company. Lastly, auditing failure might occur if the audit officer may commit fraud intentionally because of having some private relationship with the client beyond a certain level which is normally not expected in normal audit between independent parties. The following sections will highlight the integrity in the System of Corporate Accountability thereby commenting on the role of auditors and their effectiveness in the auditing process. The issues which undermine the credibility of audit reports will also be discussed. Thereafter, the changes that have been made in the auditing regulation will be explained followed by an explanation of the corporate governance framework that exists in Parmalat. Henceforth, the issues of audit reporting will be discussed and appropriate conclusions will be drawn. Integrity in the System of Corporate Accountability Corporate accountability is of utmost impor tance in debates around social issues, ethics and businesses (Brenkert, 2004). Accountability generally refers to the reliability and authenticity in the financial accounts reporting related to the financial status of any corporation. Integrity in the corporate accountability system should be maintained in order to reduce fraudulent activity within the financial reporting system. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the social and environmental issues were also brought under the financial accountability making them responsible for the environmental and social records. Linkage between the accountability and the integration of the Corporate Social Responsibility within the businesses helped to take the Business for Social responsibility to greater heights. It

Product Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product Evaluation - Essay Example good thing about this product is its added features and benefits such as affordability above all, while ensuring quality, availability of spare parts, customer support and more added values. Starting with affordability, other brands such as those from Apple Incorporated, Sony, Acer and others are becoming expensive because of the higher rating they obtained from customers and third parties. In general this is the bottom line of highly influential marketing activity, which is an integral part of creating significant needs for certain product or service offerings – the essence of advertising or promotion (Boone and Kurtz 482). Once these needs are created, it would now become easy to take control of the price on the part of the producers or manufacturers because of their higher or strong market power (Porter 4). This is evident in the case of Apple brands and others which substantially take hold at the top of the competition even though their prices are relatively higher. The case of Dell is different because it tries to create its market share by ensuring affordability while maintaining high value for customer support and availability of spare parts, which would result further to opportunity for long-term usage (Dell Official Site). All of these based on experience could be justifiable and are substantially met by Dell as it continues to cater price-conscious customers who also want to get something more at remarkably cheaper price. Dell is a good brand of choice among customers who are substantially looking forward to cheaper price but would also want to get something more. This is the area where Dell is making out the most of its market opportunity. It continuously seek to cater market segments where the basic criteria they considered is affordability at high level of functionality and including value-added features such as quality, availability of spare parts, and reliable customer support. In other words, Dell has what it takes to have something more

Anything Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Anything - Essay Example I could feel that I was no longer active. I felt lethargic and sluggish all the time. I was most of the time feeling sleepy during classes and while doing homework. I would quickly lose my breath after some walk. My parents got very much concerned, and took me to a physician, who referred me to a nutritionist after getting to know my eating habits. The nutritionist was an angel in disguise, who convinced me that my poor eating habits, too much consumption of junk food, and scarcity of healthy food in my diet, led my weight to increase. He told me that obesity was a growing concern, which brought with it a lot of diseases. I followed his advice and food charts, and started including healthy food in my diet. Leaving all the pizzas, burgers, and cakes was the hardest task for me in the world. But, I was determined to gain back my health; and, now, after two years of my decision, I have been able to shed my extra pounds, and feel quite active all the

Product Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product Evaluation - Essay Example good thing about this product is its added features and benefits such as affordability above all, while ensuring quality, availability of spare parts, customer support and more added values. Starting with affordability, other brands such as those from Apple Incorporated, Sony, Acer and others are becoming expensive because of the higher rating they obtained from customers and third parties. In general this is the bottom line of highly influential marketing activity, which is an integral part of creating significant needs for certain product or service offerings – the essence of advertising or promotion (Boone and Kurtz 482). Once these needs are created, it would now become easy to take control of the price on the part of the producers or manufacturers because of their higher or strong market power (Porter 4). This is evident in the case of Apple brands and others which substantially take hold at the top of the competition even though their prices are relatively higher. The case of Dell is different because it tries to create its market share by ensuring affordability while maintaining high value for customer support and availability of spare parts, which would result further to opportunity for long-term usage (Dell Official Site). All of these based on experience could be justifiable and are substantially met by Dell as it continues to cater price-conscious customers who also want to get something more at remarkably cheaper price. Dell is a good brand of choice among customers who are substantially looking forward to cheaper price but would also want to get something more. This is the area where Dell is making out the most of its market opportunity. It continuously seek to cater market segments where the basic criteria they considered is affordability at high level of functionality and including value-added features such as quality, availability of spare parts, and reliable customer support. In other words, Dell has what it takes to have something more

Operations Management Master Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operations Management Master - Case Study Example From this study it is clear that the operations being highly decentralised, with most of them being managed by unit heads designated for each profit centre gives them the operational flexibility and also the confidence among the customers to involve into a long term relationship. This could certainly help Globalcast managers to insulate the external impacts or disturbance experienced in the other regions of the globe from having a chain reaction on their business process. Thus the globally operated companies functioning in the specific locations would be confident in entering into long term associate ship with Globecast. The relationship marketing strategy adopted by Globecast is another important aspect that would give long and stable established relationship with their customers. The primary step in establishing a marketing link with the customers was through the word of mouth recommendations passed by their customers. The marketing analysis report presented has shown that the most of their businesses are repeat business which shows the reliable customer base they have continued to enjoy. Even through Globecast have not created a well planned strategy for its marketing operations, they were able to retain the position as the lead suppliers for most of the global giant's requirements for in different type of product components justify this aspect. Of course, it is understood that national level promotional exercise is being undertaken simultaneously. But the impact it have shown is very feeble considering the manner in which the business targets are achieved by Globalcast over these period. Further, it must also be observed that the in spite of the wide options for the entry of the competitors for such wide range of requirements exist in most of the emerging industries, Globalcast still remains as the prime choice for the customers shows the trust and confidence that their operation shave created in the minds of the customers. The widely spread operations by G lobecast too would be of considerable advantage in consolidating their business with the clients, as any inability for delivery at any one location could also be offset by proper intervention from the production support by the other Globalcast centres. This study stresses that the technical competence the Globecast have demonstrated in the past have resulted in the least cost production units, which are also very attractive for their customers. The capability of design assistance to their customers would too give the added reliability of the operations of Globecast which in turn would help the customers to turn their operations also very efficient. Also, the strength of their networks, supply capability and after sales support all add to the support they have enjoyed in the past. Also, even in such a monopolised business environment, Globecast have never been complacent and is quite obvious that it strives hard to see the benefit of the business continuously reaches all its customer s. This is clear from its future plans for expansions that have been necessitated by the growth potential of the customer organisations.

Adoption Of ICT In The Tourism And Hospitality Industry Essay Example for Free

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

Major Causes Of Voltage Instability

Major Causes Of Voltage Instability I. INTRODUCTION Power system stability is defined as the characteristics of a power system to remain in a state of Equilibrium at normal operating conditions and to restore an acceptable state of equilibrium after a disturbance. The power systems are heavily stressed due to the increased loading and this leads to voltage stability problem. Voltage Stability can also be called as the load stability. A power system lacks the capability to transfer an infinite amount of electrical power to the load. The main factor causing voltage instability is inability of the power system to meet the demands for reactive power in the heavily stressed systems to keep desired voltages. Voltage instability in the system generally occurs in the form of a progressive decay in voltage magnitude at some of the buses. A possible outcome of voltage instability is loss of load in an area, or tripping of transmission lines and other elements by their protective system leading to cascading outages. FACTS devices have been used, both for steady state power flow control and dynamic stability control. Using controllable components, such as controllable series capacitors and phase shifters, line flows can be changed in such a way that thermal limits are not violated and losses are minimized. These also increases stability margin, help in fulfilling contractual requirement, without violating system operating limits. II.VOLTAGE STABILITYANALYSIS Continuation Power Flow Continuation power flow was introduced to solve this singularity problem. The continuation power flow can be described as a power flow solution that can maintain the stability of the power system under normal and disturbances conditions. Therefore the main purpose of Continuation Power Flow is to find the continuity of power flow solution for a given load change. It employs the predictor-corrector scheme with an addition of load parameter ÃŽÂ » and the technique used is local parameterization. Figure 1 Predictor and Corrector illustration in CPF As shown in Fig.1, it starts from a known solution and uses a tangent predictor to estimate a subsequent solution corresponding to a different value of the load parameter. This estimate is then corrected using the same NR technique employed by a conventional power flow. The local parametization provides a means of identifying each point along the solution path and plays an integral part in avoiding singularity in the Jacobian. First let ÃŽÂ » represent the load parameter such that 0 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ ÃŽÂ » à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ ÃŽÂ » critical Where ÃŽÂ »=0 corresponds to base load and ÃŽÂ »= ÃŽÂ » critical corresponds to critical load. We incorporate ÃŽÂ » into conventional Newton Raphson load flow equations. Load change in PLi and QLi terms are modified by breaking each term into two components- one corresponds to original load and other represents load change brought about by a change in load parameter ÃŽÂ ». Thus PLi= PLi0 + ÃŽÂ »(kLi SΆbase cos ÃŽÂ ¨i) (1) QLi= QLi0 + ÃŽÂ »(kLi SΆbase sinÃŽÂ ¨i) (2) Where the following definitions are made; PLio, QLio original load at bus i, active and reactive respectively. kLi multiplier to designate the rate of load change at bus i as ÃŽÂ » changes ÃŽÂ ¨i power factor angle of load change at bus i SΆbase- a given quantity of apparent power which is chosen to provide appropriate scaling of ÃŽÂ » In addition, the active power generation is modified as: PGi = PGio (1+ÃŽÂ » kGi ) (3) Where PGio is the active generation at bus i in the base case and kGi is a constant used to specify the rate of generation as ÃŽÂ » varies. Now the Jacobian gets modified with the addition of a new element dÃŽÂ ». The tangent vector is calculated and the predicted solution is determined. With the local parametrization technique corrected solution is obtained. B. Contingency Ranking 1) Static Loading Margin Contingencies such as unexpected line outages often contribute to voltage collapse blackouts. These contingencies generally reduce or even eliminate the voltage stability margin. To maintain security against voltage collapse, it is desirable to estimate the effect of contingencies on the voltage stability margin. Action can then be taken to increase the margin so that likely contingencies do not cause blackout. Contingency can be defined as to a condition which involves removal of line, disconnection of generator or transformer. This creates a condition which disturbs the normal state of the system and may lead to voltage instability. A number of methods have been proposed for static voltage stability based contingency ranking. However there exists a need of efficient method requiring minimum computational time to accurately rank the contingencies based on static voltage stability Figure 2 Static loading margin The system contingencies have been ranked based on post contingency VAR requirement using two methods-Static Loading Margin (SLM) and Reactive Compensation Index (RCI). True ranking of the various contingencies have been obtained considering post-contingency static loading margin. The foremost step is to perform continuation power flow by using PSAT software. The static loading margin is the distance between the base case operating point and the nose point. A contingency having smaller value of the static loading margin can be considered more severe. 2) Reactive Compensation Index Reactive compensation index is used to perform voltage stability based contingency ranking by measuring severity of the outages. It is based on the premise that the distance between the normal case (pre contingency) nose point (max loadability point) and the post-contingency case nose point can be approximated by the total reactive injection required at the load buses to maintain similar voltages. The ranking obtained by reactive compensation index is compared with the true ranking. III. FACTS DEVICES The flexible AC transmission systems controllers have been established as an effective means in improving the system stability including voltage stability, enhancing loadability and also providing voltage control. TCSC Figure 1 shows the simple diagram of TCSC comprised of a series capacitor bank, shunted by a Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR), to provide a smoothly variable series capacitive reactance. It is a one-port circuit in series with transmission line; it uses natural commutation; its switching frequency is low; it contains insignificant energy storage and has no DC port. Insertion of a capacitive reactance in series with the lines inherent inductive reactance lowers the total, effective impedance of the line and thus virtually reduces its length. As a result, both angular and voltage stability gets improved. However, the sub synchronous series resonant frequency is produced that introduces negative damping of generator models leading to unstable system. That is the reason for not placing TCSC between lines having generators at both the ends. Figure4 Equivalent circuit of TCSC SSSC Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) is a voltage sourced converter based series FACTS device that provides capacitive or inductive compensation independent of line current. The SSSC is a synchronous voltage type compensator which is analogous to an ideal electromagnetic generator that produces a set of alternating voltages at the desired fundamental frequency with controllable amplitude and phase angle. The operating principle is based on conventional series capacitive compensation which is used as a means of reducing the line impedance, which in turn increases voltage, current and transmitted power across given physical line. The SSSC offers fast control and it is inherently neutral to sub-synchronous resonance. Figure 5 Equivalent circuit of SSSC IV. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS For optimal placement of series FACTS devices, linear sensitivity of loading factor (ÃŽÂ ») with respect to line reactance has been computed using MATLAB coding technique. The calculation of the index is done such that transformers and lines connected between generators at both ends are excluded. The line having the most negative value of the Æ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ »/Æ Xij sensitivity factor for the critical contingency cases has been identified for optimal series FACTS devices placement. Sensitivities are calculated under severe outage conditions at a stressed point near to maximum loadability point i.e. the values of voltage, angle and power factor are taken at the critical point as obtained from Continuation Power Flow results. The optimal location of TCSC placement has been considered in a line producing maximum in each line A criterion for the optimal placement of TCSC, in this work, has been that it should not be placed in aq line connecting two generator buses. V. DYNAMIC ANALYSIS Dynamic voltage stability is analyzed by monitoring the Eigen values of the linearized system as a power system is progressively loaded. When the ÃŽÂ » parameter varies, the equilibrium points of the dynamic system also vary accordingly, and so do the Eigen values of the corresponding state matrix ASYS. The equilibrium points are asymptotically stable if all the Eigen values have negative real parts. The point where a complex conjugate pair of Eigen values reaches the imaginary axis with respect to changes in ÃŽÂ » is known as Hopf Bifurcation point. Power system oscillations are associated with a pair of complex Eigen values of equlibria crossing the imaginary axis of the complex plane, from the left half plane to the right half plane, when the system undergoes sudden changes. If this particular dynamic problem is studied using gradual changes it can be viewed as Hopf bifurcation problem. Thus by predicting these types of bifurcations well in advance, a possible dynamic instability problem may be avoided. Figure 6 Hopf Bifurcation point VI. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS To implement the optimal placement two case studies were taken of IEEE 14 bus system and 39 bus New England system. The software packages used in the system analysis are MATLAB, and PSAT (power system analysis toolbox) A.STATIC ANALYSIS: Continuation power flow for intact system was performed and SLM was found to State of the system Divergence point Weakest Bus Intact 2.88 5 With TCSC 3.10 4 With SSSC 3.20 4 Table 2 Comparison of loadability of the 14 bus system Line outages SLM True Ranking RCI Ranking 1-2 * 1 0.308 1 2-3 0.5593 2 0.2798 2 1-5 0.5596 4 0.1292 3 5-6 0.65508 3 0.1271 4 7-9 0.7066 5 0.0815 5 Table 1 Contingency based ranking for SLM and RCI for 14 bus system Fig7 PSAT simulink model of IEEE14 bus Test system For the placement of series FACTS devices sensitivity index for various cases is calculated and it is inferred that line 1-5 is the optimum location as the index is having most negative value for it. Newton Raphson load flow was performed on the 14 bus system and the values of P load were incremented in steps of 0.2 percentage of loading with NR load flow being performed again on the modified system. The NR diverged at 2.88 times of loading and system suffered voltage collapse. The weakest bus observed to be is the 5m bus followed by 4m bus. With TCSC placement, the NR diverges at 3.1times loading while it does the same for 3.2 when SSSC is incorporated. Thus proving that compensation provided by series FACTS devices enhances the capacity of the system to bear stress in the form of increased load. The improvement in the voltage profile for the 5th bus is better with SSSC as compared to TCSC. B. DYNAMIC ANALYSIS: The test case considered for the dynamic analysis is IEEE 14 bus system. The approach to study the stability is Hopfield Bifurcation as already mentioned. For the analysis of dynamic stability, dynamic model of 14 bus system was made which includes synchronous generators and AVR connected at the PV buses apart from the other static components. After obtaining the Hopf bifurcation of the system for the weakest bus the optimal location of the FACTS devices is determined and they are placed accordingly to provide stability to the system. The power flow is performed for the intact system and the Eigen values are found to be negative with PL = 0.076 p.u. at bus 5. When the PL is increased to 2.419 times of the initial load, two Eigen values cross the imaginary axis leading to Hopf bifurcation and instability. To render stable conditions, TCSC is optimally placed in line 1-5 based on the sensitivity index already calculated and it is found that the load can be increased till 5.58 times of the actual load before reaching the Hopf bifurcation point. The comparison of the stable and unstable system due to increased loading effect is depicted by the Figures 9 and 10. The placement of SSSC is not possible as it produced negative compensation in the system which can be related to the presence 3 synchronous condensers in the IEEE 14 bus system. This is inferred from the fact that SSSC, also acting as a VAR generator at times, adds to the reactive power generated from the other dynamic components present in the system. VII. CONCLUSION: Static voltage instability in the system may occur due to deficit of reactive power. The reactive power requirement of the system may increase under severe contingencies. Therefore, contingency ranking based on Static voltage stability criterion, can be obtained based on the extra reactive support requirement from existing sources. Dynamic voltage instability, on the other hand has been attributed to Hopf bifurcation when one pair of Eigen values of the systems state matrix reaches imaginary axis, following change in the system parameters such as load. FACTS devices prove to be an effective remedy in enhancing system voltage stability. But due to high cost of FACTS controllers their placement should be such as to improve both static and dynamic voltage stability. The comparison between the placement of TCSC and SSSC has been shown for both the static and dynamic analysis. SSSC is found to be best suited for the static stability enhancement whereas the dynamic stability improvement incorporates only TCSC.

Essay --

Introduction Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has become the foremost biopesticide since the beginning of the 1970s, due to the lethality of the toxin to insects. It has attracted industry to use it worldwide as an efficient weapon against agri-cultural pest. formerly, B. thuringiensis was considered an entomopathogen. Within the last four decades the complexity and diversity of B. thuringiensis as an insecticidal microbe have been elucidate. The first report on the crystalline parasporal body in the bacterium that might be related with the insecticidal activity appeared by 1953 (Hannay, 1953). Angus (1954) demonstrated that this crystal contains an alkaline- soluble toxin for insects. B. thuringiensis produces a f3-exotoxin well-known also as the fly-toxin, thermostable toxin, or thuringiensin, but this toxin was not permitted for use in agriculture because its toxicity was not limited to insect pests (Sebesta et al., 1981). The 8-endotoxin shows potential characteristics of an insect-specific bioinsecticide. By the end of the 1950s, the toxicity of the spore–crystal complex was classif...

Mexicos War for Independence :: essays research papers fc

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico is the northernmost country of Latin America. It lies just south of the United States. The Rio Grande forms about two-thirds of the boundary between Mexico and the United States. Among all the countries of the Western Hemisphere, only the United States and Brazil have more people than Mexico. Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It also is one of the world's largest metropolitan areas in population. Hundreds of years ago, the Indians of Mexico built large cities, developed a calendar, invented a counting system and used a form of writing. The last Indian empire in Mexico, the Aztec, fell to Spanish invaders in 1521. For the next 300 years, Mexico was a Spanish colony. The Spaniards took Mexico's riches, but they also introduced many changes in farming, government, industry and religion. The descendants of the Spaniards became Mexico's ruling class. The Indians remained poor and uneducated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the Spanish colonial period, a third group of people developed in Mexico. These people, who had both Indian and white ancestors, became known as Mestizos. Today, the great majority of Mexicans are Mestizos, and they generally take great pride in their Indian ancestry. A number of government programs stress the Indian role in Mexican culture. In 1949, the government made an Indian the symbol of Mexican nationality. The war for independence is sometimes considered a revolutionary war. It is not, however. The war for independence was fought to end colonial rule. The war was based on politics and a separation of powers. In this essay I will start from the rising discontentment amongst the indigenous population and how the higher ranking classes exploited their failures for their own societal class gain in a system where they have always been favored more by societal leaders. Once New Spain settled in its new territory, inner cores were created as part of the system. New Spain, from now on, would be under direction of the mother country Spain. Its colonial system would be entrenched in the new colony and therefore, its economy would strive to gain profit and make Spain richer and stronger. The economy was based on agriculture, ranching, mining, industry, and commerce. The majority of labor that would go into doing these jobs would be from the indigenous people, or â€Å"Indians†. Although some â€Å"Indians† were paid decent wages, most were treated unfairly or poorly. They worked long, hard hours.

Growing Pain Essay

So by the end of 1992, Waterway had begun selling its own line of compact, inexpensive, high-impact plastic kayaks. Within one quarter, Maher had known that the move had been a smart one. Almost all of Waterway’s existing canoe customers— mostly wholesalers who then sold to liveries and sporting goods stores—had placed sizable kayak orders. A number of private-label entities had also inquired about Waterway, and Maher was considering producing privatelabel kayaks for those companies on a limited basis. For the most part, the staff had adjusted easily to the company’s faster pace. The expanded business hadn’t changed Waterway’s informal work style, and people seemed to appreciate that. Maher knew that most of his employees were avid outdoor types who viewed their jobs as a means to an end, and he respected that perspective. On days when the weather was particularly good, he knew that the building would be pretty empty by 4 P. M. But he also knew that his employees liked their jobs. Work was always completed on time, and people were outspoken with new ideas and with suggestions for improving current designs and processes. There was no mistaking the genuine camaraderie. Maher walked through the design room, stopping to talk with one of the two designers and to admire the latest drawings. Then he headed for the administrative suite. His thoughts returned to the company’s recent history. Until 1990, Waterway’s sales and revenues had increased with the market, and Maher hadn’t been motivated to push any harder. But when he had decided to venture into kayaking, he also had thought he should gear up marketing— get ready for the big trend if it came. Until then, there had never been a formal, structured marketing department at Waterway. He had thought it was time. That’s why he had hired Lee Carter. Carter had gotten her M. B. A. when she was 31. To do so, she had left a fast-track position in sales at Waterway’s major competitor in the canoe market to devote her full attention to her studies. Finch, who was something of a mentor for Carter, had told her that she would hit the ceiling too early in her career if she didn’t have the credentials to compete in her field. In her final term at business school, which had included a full course load plus a demanding internship with the Small Business Administration, Carter had interviewed ith Waterway. Finch had called to introduce her, but once Maher had met her and she had begun to outline the ways in which she could improve the company’s sales and marketing efforts, Maher had needed no other references. He had thought from the start that Carter might be the right person to nurture the company’s interest in the growing kayaking business and to run with it if the sp ort’s popularity really took off. When it had, he was proved right. True, the market was extremely favorable, but Carter had brought in more orders than even Maher had thought possible. Fortunately, the company had been able to keep up by contracting with other manufacturing companies for more product. Waterway had been extremely effective in keeping inventory in line with customer demand. Maher was impressed with Carter’s performance. From day one, she had been completely focused. She traveled constantly— worked so hard that she barely had time to get to know the staff. She came in on weekends to catch up with paperwork. Along with two of her direct reports, she had even missed the annual Waterway picnic; the three had been on the road, nailing down a large order. It was a dedication—a level of energy—that Maher had never seen before, and he liked what it said about his company. Back in his office, Maher found that he couldn’t concentrate on the product development report in front of him. That bit of conversation he had overheard outside Carter’s office was troubling. He certainly knew about the lucrative packages that were being offered in the sporting goods industry—even in Waterway’s niche. He’d even heard that some sales managers were commanding a quarter of a million dollars or more. He had read enough of the annual reports of his publicly traded competitors to know that larger organizations created all sorts of elaborate systems—supplemental retirement packages, golden handcuffs, stock options, deferred compensation arrangements— to hold on to their top performers. harvard business review †¢ july–august 1996 page 2 Growing Pains †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ †¢HBR C AS E S TUDY â€Å"The business could stand to pay more,† Maher said, â€Å"but I want to avoid the habit of paying now for results down the road. † Maher wanted to recognize Carter’s contribution.