What Are the Essential Skills to Be Possessed by a Manager Essay Example

What Are the Essential Skills to Be Possessed by a Manager Essay What are the essential skills to be possessed by a manager? A:- In order to perform your role as a good manager, you need to possess and exhibit a range of skills to plan, control, organize, lead and take decisions of an organization. In this article I am giving a brief idea of those unique set of skills needed for a professional manager. Planning skills It’s often needed to define the future of an organization. Managers must be able to ensure that his company does exist in the future. Hence his planning skills include ability to Forecast future environment Think ahead Plot organizational objectivesChoose strategies to attain these objectives Reach their performance standards When an organization increases its complexity, it needs its managers to acquire skills as needed to fit the present needs of the system. Organizing skills Organizing process follows the planning process. Its skills can be broadly spelled as the ability to Analyze and describe various tasks Select, train a nd appoint people Define roles, authority and controls Change these working links whenever necessary and make these changes flexible It depends upon the managerial skills to achieve the best you can, with the limited resources available.Leading skills A leader must be able to know the values, personality, attitudes and perceptions of his subordinates. Value is an opinion or belief a person holds about something while personality is a sum up of personal traits of an individual. It’s determined by our physical constitution, beliefs and values he holds. Perception is how a person interprets something from what he see, smell or feel while attitude is a person’s behaviour to a particular event, situation or person. Though we can’t observe it directly, we can observe its consequences.Attitudes can be learned and have three aspects – cognitive, affective and behaviourial. manageskills2 Controlling skills It consists of actions and decisions which managers undert ake to ensure that outputs obtained are consistent with desired ones. Any difference between the actual and planned results must be corrected by management by taking appropriate actions. So, a management has a pre-determined standard according to which outputs are needed to be checked. manageskills1 Decision making skills They are related to planning process and pervade all other modules of managerial skills.A manager’s skills and effectiveness lies in making appropriate and timely decisions most suited to that particular situation. Sometimes repetitive or routine problems are involved which are to be verified periodically. So, at the end of all the above managerial skills, you may be able to know the overall skills of a manager. Also, there are different levels of managers – first level managers, having the direct contact with the employees, middle level managers to whom the first level managers report, comparatively less in number than first level managers and top le vel managers who are the overall decision makers of the company.Managerial skills at various levels These skills refer to the ability of managers at different managerial levels of the system hierarchy. Katz in 1974 categorized managerial skills into three types. Technical skill It’s the ability to work with resources in a particular area of expertise. For example, a lab assistant must know his subject well, to help the project students. An accountant should know everything about accounts and balance sheet and a surgeon should be well expert in surgery.In a small manufacturing organization, top boss should have a clear idea of technology skills. Very often, training programs can help employees to expertise in technical skills. Human skill It deals with the ability of a manager to work effectively among his group of members, interact well and take suitable decisions to lead them from front. Communication skill of a manager is very important. Also, to provide a better working at mosphere for his subordinates, a manager is needed to possess certain human skills and it can be developed without any formal training. Conceptual skillIt’s the ability to see organization as a whole and recognizing relationships or links of different modules within the system. Also, it identifies the impact of changes of one module affecting other modules, it may be one or two or a group. As a manager you need to view situations and determine the inter-related factors. Also, his ability to co-ordinate and integrate a variety of factors is very important. Top management skills No doubt, top management has to run the organization as a whole and hence they need some special, distinct management skills to control the whole organization.Most important of them include Building a strong and efficient team of people at the middle management level and should encourage his subordinates to learn some of his management skills as well. Need to monitor and review the functioning of an org anization at different time intervals and check if the outputs are matching the already set targets. Keep in touch and share ideas with planners, policy makers and intellectual and skilled people of the organization. To find competent human resources to fit their organization and encourage and appreciate them in the form of rewards if needed.Develop a distinct and special skill to make you different from others and prompt others to follow you. You can even guide your subordinates by sharing your experiences and piece of knowledge. Thus skills of a manager is essentially two ways – functional, which involves planning, organizing, leading, controlling and decision making and skills of managers involving technical, human and conceptual. Through this article, I have given a brief description of managerial skills needed for an organization.

Don`t Know How To Cite An Infographic Here We Go!

Don`t Know How To Cite An Infographic Here We Go! Proper Infographic Citing It is not a secret that visual information has a bigger influence on the audience and it is easier to remember. In addition, it makes the content of your text more colorful and vivid, and grabs attention even of the most demanding audience. That is why infographic occupies solid positions among various types of in-text materials. For the past years, illustrations with statistics and numbers have become an important part of texts. To grab the interest of the audience and to stimulate information mastering, writers and authors tend to transform words and numbers into colorful images. This approach was a real bomb in the world of content. It started occupying more and more web traffic, improving SEO and giving marketers a chance to deliver information in a more usable and comprehensive way. With time its popularity has decreased, and only a few years ago infographics became an important marketing instrument. Nowadays there are hundreds of various templates and designs, which can deliver quality and digestible content to different groups of users. As you see, an infographic is an essential part of any content, and it is necessary to understand what sort of information it is, how to create a quality infographic and how to cite it properly. To help you deal with such a complex task, we have gathered the most important information on a topic and spiced it up with the most powerful tips. Infographics: Definition and Importance Basically, an infographic is a combination of information and graphics. It was first mentioned in 2009 by McCandless, as he included data visualization to his book. However, in some cases, combining these two elements become a real headache. The first and the most important question you need to ask yourself is whether the data benefits from such visualization? Does infographic make your information easier to master? It shouldn’t be a pointless picture that is only occupying space. Moreover, Google is not able to analyze images and to use that text in promoting your works. To put it simply, infographic won’t contribute to the search ranking, although you may spend days on creating a stylish and useful image. If you still want to include infographic to your text in the form of a jpg file, you need to provide suitable information in the image. However, keep in mind that search engines will most likely not be able to read the data you include. Things to Know When Creating an Infographic Even if you are crazy with the idea of working on the infographic, you need to understand that the first thing to keep in mind is visibility on social media. To achieve it, you will need to know certain rules and instruments, which will allow your infographic to become a front content. With a proper approach, your infographic has great chances of gaining popularity, earning links, enhancing recognition and improving ranking in search engines. That is why before simply using a common template you need to explore the market, understand your audience and see what infographic tools exist. Get Familiar With the Audience Your infographic should render information that will interlink with the way your audience things. The best way to lead your text or product to success is to stir feelings of the audience. Such an approach is especially important if your niche is dry and filled with information. You need to explore what the audience thinks and feels, so that in future you will come up with something unique and engaging. To build a proper marketing image of yourself you need to know who the potential buyers are. For example, if your company creates software for security and encrypting, your buyers will probably be enterprises and brands that want to protect their data. That is why including information about safety, possible online crimes and the latest statistics will be a good idea. Tell the audience how your product, content or idea benefits them by combining both: statistics and information about your own company. Stick to an Engaging Topic Now, when you know who your audience is and what its main interests are, it is much easier to come up with an interesting topic. You can use Google Search or BuzzSumo to find topics that will make your infographics valuable. In addition, you can read articles on general topics and simply surf the internet, looking for non-standard ideas. Then you can gather them, creating your own templates for infographic. However, you should always choose an idea that is relevant to your issue and has enough space to include statistics or any other valuable information. Be Selective While you are still on a stage of building a concept, it is necessary to conduct thorough research on the topic before starting your work on an infographic. Make sure you use only authentic data that supports your idea. Such information must be relevant, modern and unique. Ideally, it shouldn’t be easily accessible. That is why you need to dig deeper, reading official reports, presentations, and multiple PDF files. Organize Your Data Readability is what predetermines the success of your infographic, so on the next stage, you need to organize and carefully filter all the information you have found. There is no need to include to your infographic all of the data you have found because it will make your images heavy and difficult to read. Remember that the majority of readers simply scroll the content without spending too much time on reading the whole template. Now, when you have chosen the things you want to add to your infographic, it is the right time to learn what the elements of a winning infographic are. Features of a Strong Infographic There are several features that may greatly influence the result: whether your infographic will reach its goals or not. Remember, an infographic is very time-consuming and requires lots of your efforts and energy. Below we have gathered the most important traits that a winning infographic should possess. Density of Data When you have filtered gathered information and kept only relevant data, it is the right time to think about how to present that data in an attractive way. Don’t forget to highlight the juiciest details, so that the readers will notice important elements at once. The density of data is crucial if you want your infographic to be successful. That is why choosing reliable, and up-to-date sources should take the first place when you work on your infographic. If your readers have doubts on the quality of provided information, you can always provide links and proofs from original sources. Keep It Simple Many people just want to stuff as much information as possible, thinking that it will make their infographic more attractive. However, if you simply add data to the image, it will become heavy to read, and you risk losing your audience. Your goal is to organize it and to make it appealing to the reader. Be Creative If you want to stand out from other content creators, it is important to generate something valuable and unique. If you are not sure whether you are skilled enough, you can hire a designer, who will help to work on the project. This will help to come up with a creative and personalized infographic, and you will additionally get a piece of advice on professional marketing. Only Relevant Information For most of the content creators, it is quite difficult to keep the balance of relevant and clear content. It is great that you have conducted profound research and collected a huge variety of information on the topic. However, you don’t need to include everything to your infographic. Unfortunately, this is one of the most common mistakes marketers make. While remaining precise, you need to include only the most important and relevant data. On the other hand, including little information won’t seem appealing. So you should find the right balance and stick to it! Do not Promote Yourself Many content creators make self-promotional graphics. However, it may have a negative impact on the audience and will lead your whole content to failure. Statistics show that such an approach is not effective at all and is not able to attract the attention of the audience. That is why it is much better to include information that talks about your company or website, and not about you as its creator. Always stick to the rule: your infographics must be focused on the industry, not on yourself. Market Your Brand Based on the previous point, you need to stick to the formal format of the infographic, including your company’s logo and name to the image. Do not include your personal details or name, because such information won’t have any value. If you are willing to sell your products or services, brand marketing is the key. You should also pay attention to the font, color scheme and style of the infographic to make it relevant to the brand and its format. Infographic Should Be Goal-Oriented This is probably the most important feature of your future infographic. Remember: not depending on the style or font, the content you provide must be goal-oriented. In addition, it should focus on one topic, not distracting attention on other issues. Moreover, your goal must be to explain what you offer in a clear and understandable manner. To achieve this, you should create an outline or a plan in order to organize the content properly. For example, you can focus on explaining how your brand is going to solve a certain problem. You can target the relevant audience by including data and statistics that show the importance of the discussed problem. In such a way your infographic will provide readers with a clear understanding of the goals you are planning to achieve and how you can be useful in solving a particular issue. Infographic Sourcing The sources you use for getting information are more than important. The more reliable they are, the more credible the infographics become. It helps to evaluate the quality of your content, so using non-reliable sources will make your infographics looks poor and uninteresting. Luckily, it is no longer difficult to find proper sources. Due to a variety of online sources, you can get access to official documents, websites of international organizations and even books of reputable scientists and researchers. In addition, there are hundreds of official research institutes, which regularly post information on their latest studies. You just need to know the right places to look for credible and trustworthy information for your infographic. A Right Source Always Tells a Story Infographic is a way to tell readers a certain story, so if this story is not present in the chosen sources, you won’t be able to create engaging infographics. Below the infographic, you can duplicate information in the form of a story so that it will explain the data you have included in the picture. Always Use Trustworthy Sources As you know, not all of the information online can be trusted. That is why you need to do your best to fill infographics only will reliable data. Always look for information on official websites - for example, various governmental agencies and bureaus. Even if you use a source from a regular website or forum, but it contains surveys and statistics from academic sources with proper citing, you can use it. If you don’t have time or energy to process only official data, here are a few questions that will help you to distinguish a reliable source: Does this website have any relation to a reliable organization? Who is the author of the article? Does the article contain up-to-date statistics? Does it include a bibliography? What’s the goal of the web site? Cite Your Sources Citing sources is not a common thing for infographics, so very often readers question themselves whether the information they see is reliable. If you want your infographic to be trustworthy, don’t be lazy and provide the audience with links to the websites you have taken information from. It is one of the simplest but yet effective ways to support the information you provide. Limited Number of Sources Used Even if you have used tens of various sources in the process of collecting data, it is better to stick to a few of them. This will help you to remain focused on more comprehensive and clear content. More than three sources may puzzle the reader, and they will find it difficult to track the reliability of the information. Conclusion It is obvious that infographic is a great way of grabbing and holding the attention of the reader. However, the provided information must be both interesting and stimulating. Hopefully, the tips above will help you to manage your infographic and to create powerful content.

Liberal Democracies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Liberal Democracies - Essay Example People themselves do not form an individual identity. If it really so happens, there will be chaos and disorder everywhere. Everyone as 'people' and people's representative will have to form a smaller network or group to act like a "Vanguard" of the people interacting one with another as committed members of the so-called democratic government and State. Democracy inherently is self-defeating in effect. Democracy just cannot be there in its full and complete form - where no one exploits one's co-citizen; fulsome equal opportunities are there for each and every human being; dignity, self-respect and freedom for each individual at all levels of a social and political system are readily available; and where Prime Minister of United Kingdom and President of United States can freely roam amongst their citizens and electorates. Democracy is not just freedom of expression and partial right to life. It also involves justice to each and every individual. These imperatives of a liberal democracy in particular do not appear to exist in any of the modern liberal democracies in the world. Liberal democracies are becoming dominance of one person, group or system over another. Electoral politics is further helping divide people through racism, ethnicity, culture and language and sex etc. These forces function like an Italian Mafioso or 'God Fathers' working through their 'clout' way up upon the political ladder ahead. Media and information technology are fur... P Snow's 'corridors of power' in a very effective and subtle fashion quite like power brokers in politics. This is how an inner mafia networking is taking place in every democracy in the world. Media, political leaders and Industrialist are the top actors for evolving an Ariadnae's Thread all around the people to bring them into their fold or web of so-called 'democracy'. As such, democracy is becoming a way to lure people through 'glittering media', 'political promises' and 'money power' - away from vicissitudes of people's routine difficulties and stresses of daily life. This is not democracy. Quite a few select people use and abuse power at the cost of billions and billions of people. Democracies, dictatorships and fundamentalists alike are churning out terrorists today. What else is all this other than an attempt to bring about disorders after disorders in the larger social and political ethos Security of common citizens is also not assured. People cannot rule by themselves. Their leaders - all the Prime Minister's men - rule the roost. It is the people who suffer the most. State Force In view of terrorism emerging as a global threat to apparently more peaceful democratic part of the world, State as an institution and protector of democratic regimes is emerging as ever more forceful and intensely violent variable and actor. The question of security of State is being given the top most priority specially to plunge in the 'war on terrorism' on a fuller and more massive scale. This increasing aggressiveness of the State is resulting in a great and continuous threat to established traditions of democracy - even in such States like United States and United Kingdom. These aspects of violence and 'State Terrorism' are all spoiling various democratic norms

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Case study - Essay Example This has necessitated the establishment of marketing communications plan aimed at rekindling the interest of the customers who have deviated their loyalty to other in hotels (Kenneth & Baack 67). For this to happen the marketing and advertising team have to establish the internal and external causes of the customers deviation of loyalty then find a plan to reverse this process in a manner that will benefit both the hotel and its customers. Situation Analysis A SWOT analysis was conducted and the following was ascertained: the strengths of the hotel related to the predicament included; it is among the units of the third most dominant hotel chain in the globe and the most important strength is that the hotel has an unsurpassed marketing and advertising team and vast pool of resources. This gives the hotel an added advantage in the cutthroat competition. The weakness is that the expendable funds had been already allocated to another project thus leaving the marketing communications plan with a limited budget. The opportunity that presented itself is that the city where the hotel is located was recently made the headquarters of an international body and that meant that a lot of foreign dignitaries would be coming to the city and this was a big potential market for the hotel. Finally, the threat was that the rival hotels were really stiffening the competition and to add salt to the injury even more hotels of the same kind were being established. Alternatives The team came up three different sets of solutions to counter the predicament that the hotel had suddenly found itself in. the first alternative was to change the format the hotels rooms and facilities so that the hotel could have the ability to accommodate the customers who want a budget accommodation and those who want a luxurious experience. This would be a good strategy for getting customers want to save a buck and get good accommodation and those who want to spend an extra buck to get an extremely luxurious experience. It would also enable the hotel to get back the customers it had lost for either of the reasons stated above. However, the trick would be to craft an advertisement of this strategy in a manner that wouldn’t drive away the customers because the advertisement pastes a picture of the hotel either as a cheap or an extremely expensive or a contradiction of both. Creating a new way to bring back the customers who had deviated to other hotels by introducing a system of rewarding loyalty was the second plan. This would not only bring old customers back but also introduce a new customer base. The problem in this is that it would limit the profits of the hotel but if well executed the small incentives given to the loyal customers wouldn’t matter because the new customers would improve the profits of the hotel. The final plan was to tap into the newly established market of foreign dignitaries. The advertisement strategy would be to come to an arrangement with several airline industries so that the hotel could advertise itself to any persons coming to the city from another country. This would give the hotel a head start in getting the foreign market interested in it but this would have a negative impact on the demand of the local market. Recommendation The marketing and advertisement committee suggested the best way forward was an execution of alternative two. This is because a proper execution would enable the hotel

Recommendation and advice for sher holder in companies Research Paper

Recommendation and advice for sher holder in companies - Research Paper Example Following the same pattern, the dividend yield has also shown sign of improvement. Evaluating the financial outlook of Morrisons from investor’s point of view, it would be most prudent to invest in it, and the current shareholders of the company should hold their investment in the company as it promises to reap more benefits in the future. The fact that the investors should further invest or hold their investments in Morrisons is advocated by the fact that the company offered notable dividend of 8.20 per share. The dividend offered by the company during the current financial year is almost 41% higher than the one offered in the prior year. Selling stakes in Morrisons at this point of time when the company is offering attractive dividends to its shareholder, would be reckless and not at advisable. As quite obvious from the gearing ratio of the company, the operations are now more driven by the capital raised through issuance of share in the capital market, rather than acquiring financings from institutions. This shows that the investors have confidence in the company and are ready to bear the risk. The prospective and current investors should also analyze that the company is making the best use of its capital which is represented by the inclining return on equity (ROE) and return on capital employed (ROCE).

Pricing and Distribution Channels: Hilton Amsterdam

Pricing and Distribution Channels: Hilton Amsterdam Selling a hotel room used to be simple; business would literally walk in off the street. No more. As the number of channels a customer can use to book a hotel room grows, hoteliers will be forced to take a more holistic view of their technological infrastructure, as quoted by Bruno des Fontaines (2007), Vice President for Amadeus Hospitality Group Asia Pacific. Revenue Management is a complex phenomenon with many factors affecting the final outcome. Out of these innumerous factors, playing their role in revenue management, price is indeed one the most powerful tools a hotel can use to increase revenue. The key however is to know how to set the right prices and which distribution channels to use in order to maximize your revenue. Tools using which, any product or service is provided to end consumer, constitute Distribution Channel of that product or service. Success or failure of a product relies greatly upon distribution channels. In hospitality business, a successful channel management strategy consists of selling inventory at the highest possible rates, while pushing reservations through the lowest-cost channels. (Barash 2005) It is therefore of prime importance that a hotel chooses most effective distribution channels in order to manage prices and eventually to maximize its revenue. There is, however, a great array of approaches available to manage distribution channels which makes it a very challenging task for hoteliers, requiring for them to understand all distribution options available. In past hotel distribution channels used to be most simplistic, the traditional main distribution channels were: Brochures Advertising guide books mail shots call centers and Travel agencies. All of these modes, even though very simple and easy to manage, are extremely expensive and have a very limited range. They could be effective for local clientele only. With the passage of time and advancement in technology, other sophisticated and complex distribution channels originated that were never even thought of, such as Central reservations Global Distribution systems Hotel Booking Agent Tour Operator Online wholesalers However most of these channels only acted as a go-between hotel and the global-distribution-system (GDS)/travel agent. (Barash 2005). This wide array of distribution channels no doubt provide a great deal of benefit to the hotel in the sense that its availability to customers increases infinitely, customers all over the world can get to know about any hotel anywhere in the world through a travel agent or website etc. however at the very same time this phenomenon makes hotel distribution channels most complex and difficult to manage. Reasons for decline of GDS as an effective distribution channel as reported by HeBS (2002) can be due to following reasons: Slower than expected travel industry recovery and the weak economy Channel shifting from traditional Consumer-Travel Agent hotel reservations to online bookings (leisure and unmanaged business travelers) and self-booking corporate systems. Growing popularity of online business models (e.g. merchant) that do not utilize the GDS. The emergence of direct interfaces between major online agencies and major travel suppliers thus bypassing the GDS. Services like WorldRes, which utilize direct interfaces to the major hotel brands CRSs also undermine GDS distribution. Decreased corporate travel: the latest survey by NBTA (September 2002) showed that 68% of corporate travel managers said travel was down in their companies from last year, in some cases by as much as 20%. Also, 72% of them said that current travel is below the 2000 levels-the last time travel was at normal volumes. Distribution of hotel rooms through traditional distribution channels such as GDS/travel agent and call center/reservation office, proves to be inefficient and extremely expensive, especially in light of the current weak economic situation. Focusing only on traditional distribution channels will result in lower occupancy rates, and higher distribution and operational costs. In this current scenario internet channels are emerging as more popular distribution channels that are being given increasing preference over traditional channels of distribution. Internet distribution of hotels is of two types: Direct Online Distribution Indirect or Third party online distribution Direct online distribution is where hotel pushes its property through a website constructed and owned by the hotel itself. Whereas third party web-based travel intermediaries such as online travel agents, have a certain number of rooms allocated to them that they sell through their own sites where mostly air tickets and car rentals are also offered among other things. The indirect distribution channel can be further subdivided into further subcategories such as channel to sell distressed inventory such as priceline. (HeBS 2002) A hotels revenue is greatly affected by the method that a customer uses to book his/her room. If a lot of middle parties are involved in booking process then hotels share, in the amount that a guest pays for booking a room, can reduce to a great extent. According to Marvel (2004) a room booked through a travel agent and the GDS (global distribution system) typically costs the hotel 15% of the reservations total. Contrary to popular belief, third-party websites are no bargain either for the hotelier, as they keep about 13% of a bookings value. So-called merchant websites (such as Priceline.com or Hotwire) which basically buy inventory from hotels usually average a 33% mark-up on the rooms they sell. Bookings arriving via the central reservation system of voluntary chains (such as Minotel) can cream over 25% of the clients original payment between travel agent, tour operator and chain fees. Many tour operators working in mass leisure destinations only pay 50%-60% of the normal room pri ce to the hotelier who is lodging their clients. Looking at Hilton Amsterdams site also reveals similar facts, as can be observed from following table: ADVANCE PURCHASE FULL PREPAYMENT, NO REFUND OR CHANGES (price in GBP) Hilton website 243 Laterooms.com 258.76 Orbitz 243.5 Booking.com 254.871 (Rate differences between Hotels website and other online sources: The rate for Twin Hilton Deluxe Amsterdam room, on different booking sites available online, for one day 30th April 1st May 2011. These rates were observed on 4th April 2011) The fact can be clearly observed that best rates for room bookings are given by hotels own website, and obviously so because direct online booking on hotels own website has proven to be the best and cheapest source of distribution for a hotel. eTRAK Full Year 2009 report on hotel bookings by distribution channel as quoted by Starkov (2010) shows that the online channel is the only channel that is growing even in todays difficult economic conditions where demand for rooms is far less than the supply, Internet bookings for the top 30 hotel brands increased by a remarkable 6.6% in 2009 vs. 2008. Whereas hotel room bookings through GDS and Voice Channels, decreased considerably. HeBS findings based on the latest eTRAK benchmark report, surveys and industry data from PhoCusWright and ARC as quoted by Starkov (2010) are as follows: 1) GDS Channel Is in Steady Decline: GDS hotel bookings via the CRS of the top 30 hotel brands declined by 3.7% 2009 vs. 2008, and constitute 23.6% of total CRS bookings in 2009 vs. 27.3% in 2008 (eTRAK). Back in 2006, GDS CRS reservations constituted 31.3% of total CRS bookings for the top 30 brands. GDS share has decreased by 24.6% from 2006 to 2009, when it was reported at the 23.6% level. Travel Agency Share from Total Travel Market in the U.S. dropped from 41% in 2006 to 33% in 2009 (PhoCusWright). U.S. Travel Agency Locations decreased by 7% in 2009 vs. 2008. The number of locations has been decreasing at an average rate of 4% every year since 2001, and the number of travel agencies has declined from as high as 35,000 in 1995 to less than 16,450 in September 2009 (ARC, HeBS). 2) The Voice Channel Contribution Is Decreasing: Voice channel hotel bookings via the CRS of the top 30 hotel brands declined by 2.9% in 2009 vs. 2008, and now constitute 22.2% of total CRS booking in 2009 (eTRAK). Last years decrease is in addition to a decline of 2.8% for the full 2008 vs. 2007 (eTRAK). The Voice Channel is in decline for the 6th consecutive year (HeBS). 3) The Shift from Offline to Online Channel is Permanent: 54.2% of overall CRS bookings for the top 30 hotel brands come from the online channel, which is an increase of 6.6% vs. 2008 (eTRAK). 60% of leisure and 40% of business travel will be booked online in the U.S. this year (PhoCusWright). 45% of hotel bookings in 2010 will be via the Internet (direct + indirect online channels) (HeBS). 4) Direct online bookings are on the rise: In 2009, 70.9% of online bookings came from the direct online channel (i.e. the major hotel brands own websites), while 29.1% came from the indirect online channel i.e. the Online Travel Agencies. Whereas in 2008 direct online bookings constituted 75.2% part of online bookings and indirect bookings were 24.8%. This represent a great increase in the number of bookings made directly on the hotels website as compared to indirect bookings. (Starkov 2010) Hotel management perceptibly has greater interest in promoting the online booking, especially direct booking on the hotels own site, because it is far cheaper. According to a report on E-commerce estimated cost of direct reservations by traditional means (i.e. fax, telephone, e-mail, etc.) could be as much as 300% higher than processing the same reservation through the GDS, which costs between $3-$5.Furthermore, most reservations, passing through the GDS, are generated by travel agents who charge an average fee of 10%. Bookings via a chain central reservation system cost the hotel $6 to $10 and reservations by a toll free telephone number $4 to $8. However for hoteliers the cheapest and most satisfactory mode of booking a room is direct online booking variable cost of which is only about $1.50. (Marvel 2004). Even though GDS still constitutes the major distribution channel for hotel rooms with a 68% share in 2003, their share is diminishing fast due to higher growth rate of the internet, according to Marvel (2004) overall electronic booking increased by only 1.6%, while online reservations rose by 35.5%. However the best source of distribution for any hotel is direct online booking because in indirect bookings the third party intermediaries take away the major chunk of hotels revenue in the form of commission. Therefore the major concern of hoteliers nowadays is to devise ways to attract customers to make room bookings directly to the hotels website. Several examples of such efforts are as follows: Four Seasons do not allow any direct bookings over third-party websites. Hilton (USA) declines HHonors points or air miles for online bookings to all the bookings that are made indirectly i.e. not on Hiltons own website. As of January 1, 2004, Starwood has also take a step in this regard i.e. all bookings made through indirect internet channels will not be eligible for any in-house benefits. Marvel, M. (2004). Therefore all in all direct online bookings are on the rise and they appear to be the preferred mode in present conditions of recession. However in order to take advantage of this growth in the online distribution channel especially the direct online channel, hoteliers need to make strong and proactive Direct Online Channel Strategy. This strategy should be backed by funds. Hoteliers must carefully employ ROI-centric initiatives, including website redesign, website optimization and SEO, paid search, email marketing, online display advertising and proven social media initiatives. (Starkov 2010) Even in this economy, the budget for internet marketing, and most importantly of direct online channel, should not be decreased or even diminished, because after observing past trends and results of various researches it can be safely said that online channel is the only growth channel for hoteliers and the only light at the end of the tunnel in this environment. Even in these difficult times we see Return on ad spend (ROAS) as high as 3500% from Internet marketing campaigns we run for our clients. (Starkov 2010) Another obvious pattern in Hilton Amsterdams direct online pricing is that the rates given on hotels website are the most expensive when the booking is completely flexible (customer has complete liberty to alter his/her plans as well as they get their full money returned if cancellation is made before or on the day of arrival) whereas other sites give cheaper rates in this situation. However on the other end Hotel website gives best rates in case of fixed reservations i.e. reservations in which no room is available for any changes and in case of cancellation hotel keeps all the money. This could be due to the reason that in case of cancellation hotel has to bear the entire cost whereas booking sites that usually have rooms allocated to them do not have to face any such penalties. ADVANCE PURCHASE FULL PREPAYMENT, NO REFUND OR CHANGES (price in GBP) FLEXIBLE RATE, (Price in GBP) Hilton website 243.524 278.438 Laterooms.com 258.76 277.31 Orbitz 243 262 Booking.com 254.871 273.201 Another observation is that Advance booking rates are different from immediate booking rates. It is an effective tactic to increase confirmed sales. Customers are encouraged to book their rooms well in advance, by offering them lower than usual rates. Booking cycle of a hotel determines how well in advance customers can book rooms, a hotel offers greater discount at the beginning of a cycle whereas higher rates are offered towards the end. (Ismail, 2001). This also helps in managing the bookings in lean seasons i.e. in off seasons lower booking rates are offered to attract greater distribution. Best rate for Hilton deluxe twin room decreases to  £202 from  £243 if the booking date was moved from 30th April to 31st April. Hilton also offers package rates, hotel package comprise of a hotels room combined with any other service of the hotel, most commonly it is room and meal package that hotels offer. There are many kinds of package deals available at Hilton hotel, such as: Bread and breakfast package, where room is bundled with breakfast for two at a discounted price. Another package combines air ticket, car rental and room all three in one package price. Beside package pricing Hilton also offers group rates, i.e. booking a larger number of rooms for a party mostly at a lower rate. Keeping in view the benefits and complexities of using multiple channels in hotel distribution we can say that the key to adopting best distribution channels and increasing revenues is to choose distribution channels as per hotels needs without falling prey to an increasingly convoluted snakes nest of technology. Managing these distribution channels also costs money and considerable time of hotel employees. . (Fontaines 2007) Complex hotel distribution systems are strategically dangerous for a hotel as managing a complex distribution may raise the price for customer who may switch to low cost channels. Spend Analysis: Application and Strategies Spend Analysis: Application and Strategies In spend analysis, skills to do with data analysis are extremely important. However, experts in related fields question the use of a software application to automatically generate the required data. In most cases, automated application does not necessarily give the accurate data as some processes require practical skills needed in the respective field. In everyday life, individuals come across a lot of information and data that is less likely important in decision making. This implies that an individual must possess data analysis skills to identify the information that is required and the less vital. In decision making, some major characteristics of vital information are; consistency, having a pattern and without errors. â€Å"Spend analysis is referred to as the systematic review of historical purchase data† (Pandit Marmanis, 2008). One of the major reasons why spend analysis is carried out is to be able to identify savings opportunities. Despite the fact that there are several indicators used to identify such opportunities, an automated software application would be incapable of successfully identifying such opportunities depending on the order of accuracy and precision. Some of the key indicators in spending analysis require analytical skills such as in price and applying best practice in various processes in an organization or household setting. If there is a consistent increment of prices of goods and services with time, it would be prudent for an individual or an organization to pay more attention to the purchases in specific categories and ensure that the factors leading to the rise in prices is well addressed. Such a process would require data analysis skills with specific attention to identifying a pattern of price increase. The application of best practice has over the years not been fully adopted by businesses. This is because, this technique is considered as simplified and less likely to come up with a saving opportunity. However, there is always the likelihood that an organization or an individual is overpaying for goods and services. Best practice requires data analysis skills which are applied to areas that provide the best cost saving strategy. Other indicators in spending analysis, such as the purchase price variance (PPV) can use software application to identify patterns or any irregularities from the data collected. According to Barone Franco. (2012) the six sigma methadolo0gy is used to enhance organizational performance through the use of statistical process meant to reduce process variation that characterizes most organizations. Currently, the six sigma methodology is commonly used by many organizations to identify areas of wastage in addition to improving the overall productivity of the organization through the improvement of business processes. The six sigma indicator shows the variation in parts, processes and products. However, of importance to note is that the six sigma method is not used independently in an organization. Most of the businesses that use six sigma also incorporate other lean methods. The six sigma methodology has over the years evolved to become a dynamic process that is used to improve performance and also maintain the process environment. Whats the strategy does is identify the major causes of performance gaps, then propose appropriate methods of addressing the performance gaps with an overall aim of increasing performance. The six sigma uses a sequential method known as the DMAIC, which stands for define, measure, analyze, improve and control. This is the guide that is used to identify the performance gaps and propose remedies to the gaps. Define: This step is expected to identify the performance gaps and develop alternatives that would lead to a higher sigma. Measure: In the step of measuring, there’s the use of metrics to come up with the baseline data to be used to identify the major cause of the problem. In addition, information must be gathered first before any data is incorporated. Analyze: In this step, statistical tools are used to confirm that the problem identified is admissible and that the factors found to cause the problem are the root causes of the problem. Improve: This step seeks to offer alternative solutions aimed at addressing the problem. Some of the key questions that are frequently in this step include; which way is cheaper, which way is faster? There are many solutions that are commonly identified as the alternatives to performance gaps. The most common solutions under this step include; mistake proofing and cellular manufacturing. Control: The control stage is also known as the institutionalization stage. This stage modifies parts, processes or products in accordance to the proposed solutions and also periodically monitor the changes that arise from such substitution. When carried out effectively, spend analysis can be greatly beneficial to an organization. This is because in addition to maximizing productivity and efficiency of business processes, spend analysis also encourages insightful decision making that is backed by both facts and figures. In addition, spend analysis is responsible for viable, cost-saving techniques that assists businesses identify areas of wastage and address the issue for better performance. These roles on spend analysis are more inclined to the financial aspect of business. Most of the problems that spend analysis aims to solve are issues to do with the expenditure and supply management. While most business processes seem intertwined and thus cannot occur individually, the financial aspect of business is the hub of all the performance gaps that spend analysis seeks to solve. By analyzing the concept of ‘spend’ most businesses are able to compare the spending behaviour with the production output and identify areas that need to be improved so that the organization can achieve higher performance. As stated by Ramsey and Silverman, (2002) research has established that businesses that use spend analysis are more likely to improve on performance with an approximated improvement rate of 24% in terms of general efficiency. With such statistics, there is no doubt that spend analysis has immense benefits to an organization in terms of driving performance and through the establishment of viable cost-saving techniques. Considering that spend analysis is a process that is meant to improve on the efficiency of products, processes and parts, there are numerous challenges that most organizations face during the implementation stage. Most organizations consider the spend analysis to be a dynamic process that is difficult to initiate and manage. More importantly, the processes involved in spend analysis require a high level of accuracy. For a business to develop a well leveraging spend analysis, integration of data from various different sources is required. However, a spend analysis is not only made possible by accurate data. There are various other factors that complement the methodology including finance, supply chain and IT. The prevailing economic times dictate that organization take advantage of any spending opportunity that comes across. The best technique to do this would therefore be through spend analysis. References Barone, S., Franco, E. L. (2012). Six Sigma methodology. Statistical and Managerial Techniques for Six Sigma Methodology: Theory and Application, 1-21. Ramsay, J. O., Silverman, B. W. (2002). Applied functional data analysis: methods and case studies (Vol. 77). New York: Springer. Pandit, K., Marmanis, H. (2008). Spend analysis: the window into strategic sourcing. J. Ross Publishing.

Culture and the Environment on Easter Island and Tikopia Essay examples

In his book Human Natures: Genes, Culture and the Human Prospect , Paul Ehrlich argues that the cultural practices of a given society develop largely as a result of the large-scale environmental factors of the area in which the society lives. He gives the striking example that all religions that developed in deserts are monotheistic, whereas those that began in rainforests are polytheistic (Ehrlich, pp 9 of handout, 2000). Ehrlich argues that the size and geography of a region, its climate, the availability of resources - the "macroevolutionary" forces - will have an enormous effects on the cultures that develop there. Ehrlich continues by pointing out that cultures do not only develop as simple, predictable reflections of their environments. The influences do not only run in one direction; cultural beliefs and practices may lead to large-scale environmental changes made by a society. The culture of a given society may influence how and to what extent that society interacts with its environment. The rate at which cultures acquire new technologies has historically been highly variable; on the one hand, a culture may deliberately restrict the use of a given technology or simply may not have the cultural demand for an available technology (1) . On the other hand, many cultures seem to have desires and appetites that far exceed a sustainable method of utilizing their environment. All too often, the practices of a society over-strain its existing resources in ways that leave those resources irretrievably damaged. A telling example of the complex interactions between a culture and its surroundings is the relative fates of two Pacific islands: Easter Island and Tikopia. Although it would be impossible to pin-point a simple cause-an... ...because they had received early notice and were able to protect themselves in caves. However, their water supply was affected, threatening their fruit supply. These storms have historically hit the island with terrible frequency. In one instance in the 1950s, 200 islanders were killed by a famine in the aftermath by a storm. (ABC News Online, January 4, 2003) Literature Cited: Ehrlich, Paul. Human Natures: Genes, Culture, and the Human Prospect. Island Press, 2000. Firth, Raymond. History and Traditions of Tikopia. New Zealand: Avery Press Limited. 1961. Kirch, Patrick Vinton and Yen, D.E. Tikopia: The Prehistory and Ecology of a Polynesian Outlier. Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press. 1982 Ponting, Clive. A Green History of the World. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1991. Ross, Marc Howard. The Management of Conflict. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1993.

Recipe for the American Dream

Writing 100 October 28, 2009 Essay 2 Recipe for the American Dream Since the establishment of this country, Americans have set their eyes on success. The way we define success has changed along with technology. The American Dream is â€Å"that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. †[1] When repeating this phrase out loud one draws up images of fancy cars, big houses, quality clothes, etc. What Adams fails to mention is that success requires work, furthermore success in terms of fancy cars, big houses and other luxuries require over 40 hours a week of work. The more time one spends at work, the less time one has to spend doing other things. Ellen Goodman’s â€Å"The Company Man†, is a prime example of why spending an excessive amount of time working is harmful to a human being. In providing a comfortable life for his family, the main character neglects to have a presence in his home. The pursuit of the American Dream calls for an unbalanced lifestyle, which alienates individuals from their families. Very early on, Americans are taught to believe that the more one does, the more one receives in return. It is undeniable that this ideology stems from biblical teachings; â€Å"for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. † (Galatians 6:7) This ideology continues to get instilled in every aspect of the average American’s life. The more studying a student does, the better grade the student receives. The more an athlete practices, the better athlete he’ll become. It is not odd that adults keep this ingrained in their minds as they go into the workforce. The more time and energy spent on the job, the more money and benefits an employee will receive. Money is an important ingredient in making the American Dream become a reality, and Americans experience constant reminders of the need to live the dream, through the media and peers. Living the Dream is not a crime in itself, but what gets sacrificed in the process may prove to be more valuable than most of the objects themselves. Christopher Clausen helps readers to understand in â€Å"Against Work† that â€Å"the workaholic†¦neglects his family, withdraws from social life and loses interest in sex. (Clausen 673) Phil, the main character in Goodman’s, â€Å"The Company Man† works â€Å"himself to death, finally and precisely at 3:00 am Sunday morning. † (Goodman 629) Before his death, Phil â€Å"worked six days a week, five of them until eight or nine at night, during a time when his own company had begun the four-day week for everyone but the executiv es. He had no outside extracurricular interests† (Goodman 329), not even his life at home. It is heartbreaking for someone to die leaving their offspring to go around â€Å"asking the neighbors what [their father] was like† the â€Å"day and a half before the funeral. (Goodman 630) Phil is so consumed by his job that his children never have the opportunity to connect with him and get to know him as a person, rather than simply their biological father. His wife admits to â€Å"missing him all these years† (Goodman 629), which shows his absence as her companion. Phil never grasps the concept of balance, which is understandable considering the Dream he makes a reality never puts balance into the equation. â€Å"Working to earn one’s bread is something few people can escape. Working out of moral vanity is sheer self-deception. [2] It is true that the majority of people work because they are conscious of the fact that they will receive compensation for their time spent working. While it is imperative to earn enough to put food on the table and clothing on the backs of our loved ones, it is also imperative keep life outside of work in mind. Although working to obtain a â€Å"comfortable† life, without having to live from paycheck to paycheck demands a lot of time from a weekly schedule, there are benefits to hard work besides earning more disposable income. Some would agree with Voltaire who states that â€Å"Work spares us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need. [3] Work will absolutely remedy boredom, and vice, but people will always have a need for something else. Work satisfies the need of money to provide food, clothing and shelter, but it disregards the need for love, care and affection. Many Americans struggle with finding a balance of work and family. It is far too often the case that individuals choose to pursue riches, while leaving every other aspect of their lives to suffer. It is ironic that Phil and many oth ers like him work to provide the family with a â€Å"better† life, according to American standards, while neglecting everything that makes a life meaningful. A study of Workaholism states that â€Å"spouses and children of workaholics report feeling lonely, unloved, isolated, and emotionally and physically abandoned. †[4] This behavior is reflected in Phil’s wife and children. â€Å"His second child†¦lives near her mother and they are close, but whenever she was alone with her father, in a car driving somewhere, they had nothing to say to each other. † (Goodman 630) Since Phil was absent so frequently, his own daughter feels no connection to him, even when he is present, it is as if she is riding along with a stranger. Phil works his way near the top of his company, but has nothing to show for it. Yes, he earns a great deal of money, but look at what it costs him in the long run. â€Å"He works like the important people† only to have the company president, on the afternoon of the funeral to begin, â€Å"discreetly of course, with care and taste to make inquiries about his replacement. † (Goodman 630) To the company, Phil, and others like him are disposable, like plastic spoons used to mix up the ingredients for turning the Dream into a reality. His hard work at the job did not console his wife, nor did it establish a strong relationship with his children. Phil’s work ethic even steered the youngest of his children away from obtaining a â€Å"serious† job. â€Å"The youngest†¦has spent the last couple of years, like a lot his friends, doing enough odd jobs to stay in grass and food. He was the one who tried to grab at his father, and tried to mean enough to him to keep the man at home. † (Goodman 630) The boy is traumatized by the way his father lived his life. Work is what causes his father to withdraw from his family, and there is no doubt that the American Dream is what spearheads the separation. The need to ensure the family â€Å"happiness† pushes Phil to working toward the top of his career, eventually causing the detachment. It is very easy to get wrapped up in wanting to procure certain material things for one’s family, especially living in America. It is understandable that an individual may want to acquire the â€Å"finer† things in life, but doing so should not take precedence over any other aspects of life, such as one’s family. Once family alliances become solidified in the workaholic father's absence, spouses resent having their turfs violated when workaholics do try to become more actively involved in their families. Older children, too, often rebuff the workaholic's attempts to reconnect with the family because they feel the reentry is too little, too late, or both. â€Å"[5] Too much of one thin g is never a good thing, there needs to be a balance in order achieve more in life. In attempting to take the ingredients for cooking up the American Dream, one needs to consider adding the spice of balance into the recipe, without it, the Dream is bittersweet. Works Cited Sheet †¢ (Adams-Truslow, John). â€Å"What is the American Dream? † The Epic America. 2002. 28 Oct. 2009 http://memory. loc. gov/learn/lessons/97/dream/thedream. html †¢ (Clausen, Christopher) â€Å"Against Work† Occasions for Writing, Di Yanni & Hoy. Eds. New York: Thompson, 2008 672-676. Print †¢ (Goodman, Ellen) â€Å"The Company Man† Occasions for Writing, Di Yanni & Hoy. Eds. New York: Thompson, 2008 629-630. Print †¢ Healthcare Training Institute. Study of Workaholism Part II: Spouses and Children of Workaholics http://www. homestudycredit. com/courses/contentWK/secWK16. html †¢ Voltaire http://www. uotesdaddy. com/quote/302901/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need ———————– [1] Adams-Truslow, John. â€Å"What is the American Dream? † The Epic America. 2002. 28 Oct. 2009 http://memory. loc. gov/learn/lessons/97/dream/thedream. html [2] Clausen, Christopher. Against Work [3] Voltaire http://www. quotesdaddy. com/quote/302901/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need [4] Healthcare Training Institute. Study of Workaholism Part II: Spouses and Children of Workaholics http://www. homestudycredit. com/courses/contentWK/secWK16. html [5] Ibid

Definition and Examples of Visual Euphemisms

Definition and Examples of Visual Euphemisms Visual euphemism is the use of a pleasing or inoffensive image to represent an object, concept, or experience thats considered unpleasant, distasteful, or distressingly explicit. In  Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language (2006),  Keith Allan and Kate Burridge point out that visual euphemisms are commonplace; for example,  low-calorie salad dressing (usually  oil-free) is presented in shapely, slender-waisted bottles. The shape, the cleverly altered spelling and reversed coloring on some of the packaging sends out the message non-fattening loud and clear. Examples and Observations Good  visual euphemisms are  to be found in advertisements concerned with false teeth- something that no one wants to see. An advertisement for one fixative simply shows two beautiful slim blue cylinders fitting together perfectly, as a voice  Ã‚  praises the efficiency and salubriousness of the product.(Toni-Lee Capossela,  Language Matters. Harcourt Brace,  1995) Visual Euphemisms in Everyday Life: Romance in the Toilet Bowl CleanerSociety has many instances of visual euphemisms. Bald men wear toupees. Both sexes wear contact lenses. Fig leaves hide the genitals of statues. Pubic hair was airbrushed out of soft-porn photographs until the 1960s. The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals designed boxer shorts, knickers, and petticoats to cover the sex organs of animals during the 1960s (cf. Fryer 1963:19). Frilled pantalettes modestly hid the limbs (legs could not properly be mentioned, especially in America, see Read 1934:265) of the table and the pianoforte during the V ictorian era. . . .Attractive packaging itself is a kind of euphemism: emphasis on appearance instead of the product contrasts strikingly with the old-time grocer who displayed items in bulk. Lighting effects that redden meat, the waxing of fruit, and the attractive packaging are cosmetic; and like verbal euphemism, they create a positive illusion. Still photography, film, and television are superb media for deceptive euphemisms. . . . These media present a world of perfected forms in which there is romance in the toilet bowl cleaner, poetry in the sanitary napkin, temptation in the tampon, and beauty in a glass of dentures.(Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as a Shield and Weapon. Oxford University Press, 1991) SharksAs trash-happy and ridiculous as it sounds, the movie [Spring Break Shark Attack] isnt just another load of tired old beach bunk. For one thing, the scary parts really are scary, enough so that little kids should be sent to their roomswhere, presumably, they can watch the less menacing aquatic antics of SpongeBob SquarePants. . . .When a partly eaten shark victim washes up onshore, for example, he really looks like a partly eaten shark victim, not the scrubbed-up visual euphemism of TV times gone by. Is this progress? Wellkinda?(Tom Shales, Cue the Shark Music and Prepare to Be Scared. The Washington Post, March 19, 2005) Sexual EncountersVictorian novels and pictures frequently feature a woman enthroned on a gentlemans knee as a visual euphemism for sexual encounter. Although William Holman Hunts famous picture The Awakening Conscience (1854) indicated that the fallen woman regained her moral conviction by showing her in the act of rising from her lovers knee, many pictures a nd stories celebrated the happy wife, held by her husband on his knee as both sweetheart and child.(Judith Farr, The Passion of Emily Dickinson. Harvard University Press, 1992) Deception and SecrecyThere is no doubt that some euphemism adds dimensions of deception and secrecy. And in the case of the visual euphemism the illusion is very effective. Its always much harder to prove misrepresentation when a claim is expressed non-verbally; in other words, not in propositional language with actual nouns and verbs. The visual euphemism can be a lot more sneaky.(Kate Burridge, Weeds in the Garden of Words: Further Observations on the Tangled History of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2005)

List of Obama Gun Control Measures and Executive Orders

List of Obama Gun Control Measures and Executive Orders President Barack Obamas record on gun control is a fairly weak one, even though he was often portrayed  as the most anti-gun president in American history and called for more regulations in the wake of the numerous mass shootings that occurred during his two terms in office. We do not have to accept this carnage as the price of freedom, Obama said in 2016. The National Rifle Association once claimed Obamas obsession with gun control knows no boundaries. Did You Know? Only two gun laws made it through Congress during Obamas two terms in office, and neither placed additional restrictions on gun owners.   In fact, the two gun laws signed by Obama actually expanded the rights of gun owners in the United States. Attempts to limit the size of gun magazines, expand background checks of gun buyers and ban gun sales to buyers on terrorism watch lists all failed to pass under Obama. Perhaps the most significant Obama gun control measure was not a law but a rule that required the Social Security Administration to report disability-benefit recipients with mental health conditions to the FBI’s background check system, which is used to screen firearm buyers. Obamas successor, Republican President Donald Trump, rescinded the rule in 2017. Obama Gun ControlProposals Had No Teeth That is not to say Obama was not critical of the use of guns to commit the numerous mass shootings and acts of terrorism during his tenure in the White House. Quite the opposite. Obama sharply criticized the gun lobby and the easy access to firearms. President Barack Obama pauses during a meeting to observe a moment of silence for Sandy Hook Victims. Pete Souza/Wikimedia Commons Obama also made curtailing gun violence a central theme of his  second-term agenda  after the  mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School  in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012. The president signed  executive orders  calling for mandatory  criminal background checks on gun-buyers  and several other measures that were unpopular in Congress including  a ban on assault weapons  and high-capacity magazines. But he was unable to win passage of  new laws and insisted authorities do more to enforce measures already on the books. Executive Actions Not Executive Orders Critics, however, point to Obamas issuance of 23 executive actions on gun violence in January 2016 as proof that the Democratic president was anti-gun. What most fail to point out is that those executive actions contained no new laws or regulations; and they were not executive orders, which are different than executive actions.   For all the pomp and ceremony, nothing in the president’s proposals is going to put a dent in U.S. gun crime or even substantially change the federal legal landscape.  In that sense, apoplectic opponents and overjoyed supporters are both probably overreacting, wrote  Adam Bates, a  policy analyst with the libertarian Cato Institutes Project on Criminal Justice. Gun Laws Signed by Obama Expanded Rights During his first term, Obama didnt call for any major new restriction on guns or gun owners. Instead, he urged authorities to enforce the state and federal laws already on the books.  In fact, Obama signed only two major laws that address how guns are carried in America, and both actually expand the rights of gun owners. One of the laws allows gun owners to carry weapons in national parks; that law took effect in February 2012 and replaced President Ronald Reagans policy of required guns be locked in glove compartments of trunks of cars that enter national parks. Another gun law signed by Obama allows Amtrak passengers to carry guns in checked baggage, a move that reversed a measure put in place after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A Strong Tradition of Gun Ownership Obama often mentions the expansion of gun rights under those two laws. He wrote in 2011: In this country, we have a strong tradition of gun ownership thats handed from generation to generation. Hunting and shooting are part of our national heritage. And, in fact, my administration has not curtailed the rights of gun owners- it has expanded them, including allowing people to carry their guns in national parks and Obama repeatedly expressed support for the Second Amendment, explaining that If you’ve got a rifle, you’ve got a shotgun, you’ve got a gun in your house, I’m not taking it away. National Rifle Association HammersObama During the 2008 presidential campaign, the NRA Political Victory Fund mailed out tens of thousands of brochures to gun owners and like-minded voters that accused Obama of lying about his position on gun control. The brochure read: Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history. Senator Obama says words matter. But when it comes to your Even though the president didnt sign a single bill into law limiting the use or purchase of guns the NRA Political Victory Fund continued to warn its members and like-minded voters during the 2012 election that Obama would make weapons a target in a second term. If Barack Obama wins a The NRA Political Victory Fund also falsely claimed that Obama had agreed to give the United Nations authority over the guns owned by Americans, saying: Obama has already endorsed moving ahead toward a U.N. gun ban treaty and will likely sign it after it’s negotiated.

Physical Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Physical Education - Essay Example However, this teaching and learning approach minimizes teachers overall participation in the students learning process. Marching students and teachers experience together ensures a successful learning outcome (Vickerman 2006). Therefore, the minimization of teacher’s participation is a negative impact that this teaching and learning approach can bring to the implementation of national curriculum for PE. It is believed that it can hinder skills development in physical activities and thus hinder achievement of successful learning outcomes. That is why it is always advisable to use this teaching and learning approach in combination with other approaches. The other most widely used learning style is the command style. In this learning style, the teacher makes all the decisions in the learning process (Mohnsen 2008). Command style can combine well with all our three learning styles, which are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. When combined with these learning styles it assists in the delivering of the PE curriculum in several ways. According to Stidder (2010), this type of teaching style could promote safety during the implementation of the curriculum. This is because the teacher is always under control of all the activities undertaken during a learning process. This actually makes this teaching and learning approach to be very popular in PE education due to the risky activities involved. When this approach is adapted in implementing a PE Curriculum, both positive and negative impacts are experienced. This kind of approach allows delivering of information to a large group of people in a short period (Galligan 2000). The national curriculum for PE is large in terms of content and thus in most cases... The other most widely used learning style is the command style. In this learning style, the teacher makes all the decisions in the learning process. Command style can combine well with all our three learning styles, which are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. When combined with these learning styles it assists in the delivering of the PE curriculum in several ways. According to Stidder (2010), this type of teaching style could promote safety during the implementation of the curriculum. This is because the teacher is always under control of all the activities undertaken during a learning process. This actually makes this teaching and learning approach to be very popular in PE education due to the risky activities involved.When this approach is adopted in implementing a PE Curriculum, both positive and negative impacts are experienced. This kind of approach allows delivering of information to a large group of people in a short period. The national curriculum for PE is large in terms o f content and thus in most cases, the time allocated is not sufficient. Furthermore, there is always a need to administer it to a large group of students within the little time allocated. This makes this approach very fundamental when it comes to implementation of the curriculum for physical education. However, it also has some negative impacts, especially when used alone to implement a curriculum. The major negative impact of this approach is that it does not give students freedom of choice to reason out a solution to a particular problem.

Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example The contention of this paper was that the principles of need and partnership were incongruous for cohabitant couples. Most of the instances of such couples with children involve limited assets. Therefore, the court had to assess the extent of the economic requirements of the children and then divide the assets. After taking into account the recommendations of various legal luminaries, eminent jurists, sociologists and other experts a final report will be published in the year 2007. Its recommendations are expected to substantially benefit separating cohabitees2. If a divorce ensues, then the court can issue pension adjustment orders. However, the Law Commission opined that this facility should not be extended to a cohabitation relation that breaks down, because it does not accord the same importance to cohabitation that it does to marriage3. It is an onerous task to consider the legal treatment of cohabitants as it involves important questions of social policy. Its complexity can be attributed to the laws and its social impact. The larger problems posed by this phenomenon have been dealt with in Parliament and the Law Commission has restricted its endeavours to the establishment of technical deficiencies in the law and to recommending the procedure to be adopted in order to ensure that reform takes place4. In October 1999, the Law Society made several proposals to the Courts to pass such orders as would ensure payment of capital and maintenance on separation. The Law Commissioner, Charles Harpum, opined that the law in respect of home sharing was biased, ambiguous and irrational. In addition, the Office for National Statistics had disclosed that the number of cohabiting couples was on the increase. The rights of cohabitants are far fewer in comparison to the rights of married couples. Further, it would be incorrect to maintain that this situation is ideal as only