Social Perspectives in Population Health

From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy Essays

From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy Essays From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy Essay From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy Essay From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy By Michael E. Porter Corporate strategy, the overall plan for a diversified company, is both the darling and the stepchild of contemporary management practice- the darling because CEOs have been obsessed with diversification since the early 1960s, the stepchild because almost no consensus exists about what corporate strategy is, much less about how a company should formulate it. A diversified company has two levels of strategy: business unit strategy and corporate strategy. Competitive strategy concerns how to create competitive advantage in each of the businesses in which a company competes. Corporate strategy concerns two different questions: what businesses the corporation should be in and how the corporate office should manage the array of business units. Corporate strategy is what makes the corporate whole add up to more than the sum of its business unit parts. The track record of corporate strategies has been dismal. I studied the diversification records of 33 large, prestigious U. S. companies over the 1950-1986 period and found that most of them had divested many more acquisitions than they had kept. The corporate strategies of most companies have dissipated instead of created shareholder value. The need to rethink corporate strategy could hardly be more urgent. By taking over companies and breaking them up, corporate raiders thrive on failed corporate strategy. Fueled by junk bond financing and growing acceptability, raiders can expose any company to takeover, no matter how large or blue chip. Recognizing past diversification mistakes, some companies have initiated large-scale restructuring programs. Others have done nothing at all. Whatever the response, the strategic questions persist. Those who have restructured must decide what to do next to avoid repeating the past; those ho have done nothing must awake to their vulnerability. To survive, companies must understand what good corporate strategy is. Concepts of Corporate Strategy My study has helped me identify four concepts of corporate strategy that have been put into practice-portfolio management, restructuring, transferring skills, and sharing activities. While the concepts are not always mutually exclusive, each rest s on a different mechanism by which the corporation creates shareholder value and each requires the diversified company to manage and organize itself in a different way. The first two require no connections among business units; the second two depend on them. While all four concepts of strategy have succeeded under the right circumstances, today some make more sense than others. Ignoring any of the concepts is perhaps the quickest road to failure. PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT The concept of corporate strategy most in use is portfolio management, which is based primarily on diversification through acquisition. The corporation acquires sound, attractive companies with competent managers who agree to stay on. : While acquired units do not have to be in the same industries as existing units, the best portfolio managers generally limit their range of businesses in some way, in part to limit the specific expertise needed by top management. The acquired units are autonomous, and the teams that run them are compensated according to unit results. The corporation supplies capital and works with each to infuse it with professional management techniques. At the same time, top management provides objective and dispassionate review of business unit results. Portfolio managers categorize units by potential and regularly transfer resources from units that generate cash to those with high potential and cash needs. In a portfolio strategy, the corporation seeks to create shareholder value in a number of ways. It uses its expertise and analytical resources to spot attractive acquisition candidates that the individual shareholder could not. The company provides capital on favorable terms that reflect corporate wide fund-raising ability. It introduces professional management skills and discipline. Finally, it provides high-quality review and coaching, unencumbered by conventional wisdom or emotional attachments to the business. The logic of the portfolio management concept rests on a number of vital assumptions. If a company’s diversification plan is to meet the attractiveness and cost-of-entry tests, it must find good but undervalued companies. Acquired companies must be truly undervalued because the parent does little for the new unit once it is acquired. To meet the better-off test, the benefits the corporation provides must yield a significant competitive advantage to acquired units. The style of operating through highly autonomous business units must both develop sound business strategies and motivate managers. In most countries, the days when portfolio management was a valid concept of corporate strategy are past. In the face of increasingly well-developed capital markets, attractive companies with good managements show up on everyone’s computer screen and attract top dollar in terms of acquisition premium. Simply contributing capital isn’t contributing much. A sound strategy can easily be funded; small to medium-size companies don’t need a munificent parent. Other benefits have also eroded. Large companies no longer corner the market for professional management skills; in fact, more and more observers believe managers cannot necessarily run anything in the absence of industry-specific knowledge and experience. Another supposed advantage of the portfolio management concept- dispassionate review- rests on similarly shaky ground since the added value of review alone is questionable in a portfolio of sound companies. The benefit of giving business units complete autonomy is also questionable. Increasingly, a company’s business units are interrelated, drawn together by ew technology, broadening distribution channels, and changing regulations. Setting strategies of units independently may well undermine unit performance. The companies in my sample that have succeeded in diversification have recognized the value of interrelationships and understood that a strong sense of corporate identity is as important as slavish adherence to parochia l business unit financial results. But it is the sheer complexity of the management task that has ultimately defeated even the best portfolio managers. As the size of the company grows, portfolio managers need to find more and more deals just to maintain growth. Supervising dozens or even hundreds of disparate units and under chain-letter pressures to add more, management begins to make mistakes. At the same time, the inevitable costs of being part of a diversified company take their toll and unit performance slides while the whole company’s ROI turns downward. Eventually, a new management team is in-stalled that initiates wholesale divestments and pares down the company to its core businesses. The experiences of Gulf Western, Consolidated Foods (now Sara Lee), and ITT are just a few comparatively recent examples. Reflecting these realities, the U. S. apital markets today reward companies that follow the portfolio management model with a â€Å"conglomerate discount†; they value the whole less than the sum of the parts. In developing countries, where large companies are few, capital markets are undeveloped, and professional management is scarce, portfolio management still works. But it is no longer a valid model for corporate s trategy m advanced economies. Nevertheless, the technique is in the limelight today in the United Kingdom, where it is supported so far by a newly energized stock market eager for excitement. But this enthusiasm will wane, as well it should. Portfolio management is no way to conduct corporate strategy. RESTRUCTURING Unlike its passive role as a portfolio manager, when it serves as banker and reviewer, a company that bases its strategy on restructuring becomes an active restructurer of business units. The new businesses are not necessarily related to existing units. All that is necessary is unrealized potential. The restructuring strategy seeks out undeveloped, sick, or threatened organizations or industries on the threshold of significant change. The parent intervenes, frequently changing the unit management team, shifting strategy, or infusing the company with new technology. Then it may make follow-up acquisitions to build . a critical mass and sell off unneeded or unconnected parts and thereby reduce the effective acquisition cost. The result is a strengthened company or a transformed industry. As a coda, the parent sells off the stronger unit once results are clear because the parent is no longer adding value and top management decides that its attention should be directed elsewhere. When well implemented, the restructuring concept is sound, for it passes the three tests of successful diversification. The restructurer meets the cost-of-entry test through the types of company it acquires. It limits acquisition premiums by buying companies with problems and lackluster images or by buying into industries with as yet unforeseen potential. Intervention by the corporation clearly meets the better-off test. Provided that the target industries are structurally attractive, the restructuring model can create enormous shareholder value. Some restructuring companies are Loew’s, BTR, and General Cinema. Ironically, many of today’s restructurers are profiting from yesterday’s portfolio management strategies. To work, the restructuring strategy requires a corporate management team with the insight to spot undervalued companies or positions in industries ripe for transformation. The same insight is necessary to actually turn the units around even though they are in new and unfamiliar businesses. These requirements expose the restructurer to considerable risk and usually limit the time in which the company can succeed at the strategy. The most skillful proponents understand this problem, recognize their mistakes, and move decisively to dispose of them. The best companies realize they are not just acquiring companies but restructuring an industry. Unless they can integrate the acquisitions to create a whole new strategic position, they are just portfolio managers in disguise. Another important difficulty surfaces if so many other companies join the action that they deplete the pool of suitable candidates and bid their prices up. Perhaps the greatest pitfall, however, is that companies find it very hard to dispose of business units once they are restructured and performing well. Human nature fights economic rationale. Size supplants shareholder value as the corporate goal. The company does not sell a unit even though the company no longer adds value to the unit. While the transformed units would be better off in another company that had related businesses, the restructuring company instead retains them. Gradually, it becomes a portfolio manager. The parent company’s ROI declines as the need for reinvestment in the units and normal business risks eventually offset restructuring’s one-shot gain. The perceived need to keep growing intensifies the pace of acquisition; errors result and standards fall. The restructuring company turns into a conglomerate with returns that only equal the average of all industries at best. TRANSFERRING SKILLS The purpose of the first two concepts of corporate strategy is to create value through a company’s relationship with each autonomous unit. The corporation’s role is to be a selector, a banker, and an intervenor. The last two concepts exploit the interrelationships between businesses. In articulating them, however, one comes face-to-face with the often ill-defined concept of synergy. If you believe the text of the countless corporate annual reports, just about anything is related to just about anything else! But imagined synergy is much more common than real synergy. GM’s purchase of Hughes Aircraft simply because cars were going electronic and Hughes was an electronics concern demonstrates the folly of paper synergy. Such corporate relatedness is an ex post facto rationalization of a diversification undertaken for other reasons. Even synergy that is clearly defined often fails to materialize. Instead of cooperating, business units often compete. A company that can define the synergies it is pursuing still faces significant organizational impediments in achieving them. But the need to capture the benefits of relationships between businesses has never been more important. Technological and competitive developments already link many businesses and are creating new possibilities for competitive advantage. In such sectors as financial services, computing, office equipment, entertainment, and health care, interrelationships among previously distinct businesses are perhaps the central concern of strategy. To understand the role of relatedness in corporate strategy, we must give new meaning to this often ill-defined idea. I have identified a good way to start- the value chain. 5 Every business unit is a collection of discrete activities ranging from sales to accounting that allow it to compete. I call them value activities. It is at this level, not in the company as a whole, that the unit achieves competitive advantage. I group these activities in nine categories. Primary activities create the product or service, deliver and market it, and provide after-sale support. The categories of primary activities are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. Support activities provide the input and infrastructure that allow the primary activities to take place. The categories are company infrastructure, human resource management, technology development, and procurement. The value chain defines the two types of interrelationships that may create synergy. The first is a company’s ability to transfer skills or expertise among similar value chains. The second is the ability to share activities. Two business units, for example, can share the same sales force or logistics network The value chain helps expose the last two (and most important) concepts of corporate strategy. The transfer of skills among business units in the diversified company is the basis for one concept. While each business unit has a separate value chain, knowledge about how to perform activities is transferred among the units. For example, a toiletries business unit, expert in the marketing of convenience products, transmits ideas on new positioning concepts, promotional techniques, and packaging possibilities to a newly acquired unit that sells cough syrup. Newly entered industries can benefit from the expertise of existing units and vice versa. These opportunities arise when business units have similar buyers or channels, similar value activities like government relations or procurement, similarities in the broad configuration of the value chain (for example, managing a multisite service organization), or the same strategic concept (for example, low cost). Even though the units operate separately, such similarities allow the sharing of knowledge. Of course, some similarities are common; one can imagine them at some level between almost any pair of businesses. Countless companies have fallen into the trap of diversifying too readily because of similarities; mere similarity is not enough. Transferring skills leads to competitive advantage only if the similarities among businesses meet three conditions: 1. The activities involved in the businesses are similar enough that sharing expertise is meaningful. Broad similarities (marketing intensiveness, for example, or a common core process technology such as bending metal) are not a sufficient basis for diversification. The resulting ability to transfer skills is likely to have little impact on competitive advantage. 2. The transfer of skills involves activities important to competitive advantage. Transferring skills in peripheral activities such as government relations or real estate in consumer goods units may be beneficial but is not a basis for diversification. 3. The skills transferred represent a significant source of competitive advantage for the receiving unit. The expertise or skills to be transferred are both advanced and proprietary enough to be beyond the capabilities of competitors. The transfer of skills is an active process that significantly changes the strategy or operations of the receiving unit. The prospect for change must be specific and identifiable. Almost guaranteeing that no shareholder value will be created, too many companies are satisfied with vague prospects or faint hopes that skills will transfer. The transfer of skills does not happen by accident or by osmosis. The company will have to reassign critical personnel, even on a permanent basis, and the participation and support of high-level management in skills transfer is essential. Many companies have been defeated at skills transfer because they have not provided their business units with any incentives to participate. Transferring skills meets the tests of diversification if the company truly mobilizes proprietary expertise across units. This makes certain the company can offset the acquisition premium or lower the cost of overcoming entry barriers. The industries the company chooses for diversification must pass the attractiveness test. Even a close fit that reflects opportunities to transfer skills may not overcome poor industry structure. Opportunities to transfer skills, however, may help the company transform the structures of newly entered industries and send them in favorable directions. The transfer of skills can be one-time or ongoing. If the company exhausts opportunities to infuse new expertise into a unit after the initial post-acquisition period, the unit should ultimately be sold. The corporation is no longer creating shareholder value. Few companies have grasped this point, however, and many gradually suffer mediocre returns. Yet a company diversified into well-chosen businesses can transfer skills eventually in many directions. If corporate management conceives of its role in this way and creates appropriate organizational mechanisms to facilitate cross-unit interchange, the opportunities to share expertise will be meaningful. By using both acquisitions and internal development, companies can build a transfer-of-skills strategy. The presence of a strong base of skills ometimes creates the possibility for internal entry instead of the acquisition of a going concern. Successful diversifiers that employ the concept of skills transfer may, however, often acquire a company in the target industry as a beachhead and then build on it with their internal expertise. By doing so, they can reduce some of the risks of internal entry and speed up the process. Two companie s that have diversified using the transfer-of-skills concept are 3M and Pepsico. SHARING ACTIVITIES The fourth concept of corporate strategy is based on sharing activities in the value chains among business units. Procter Gamble, for example, employs a common physical distribution system and sales force in both paper towels and disposable diapers. McKesson, a leading distribution company, will handle such diverse lines as pharmaceuticals and liquor through superwarehouses. The ability to share activities is a potent basis for corporate strategy because sharing often enhances competitive advantage by lowering cost or raising differentiation. But not all sharing leads to competitive advantage, and companies can encounter deep organizational resistance to even beneficial sharing possibilities. These hard truths have led many companies to reject synergy prematurely and retreat to the false simplicity of portfolio management. A cost-benefit analysis of prospective sharing opportunities can determine whether synergy is possible. Sharing can lower costs if it achieves economies of scale, boosts the efficiency of utilization, or helps a company move more rapidly down the learning curve. The costs of General Electric’s advertising, sales, and after-sales service activities in major appliances are low because they are spread over a wide range of appliance products. Sharing can also enhance the potential for differentiation. A shared order-processing system, for instance, may allow new features and services that a buyer will value. Sharing can also reduce the cost of differentiation. A shared service network, for example, may make more advanced, remote servicing technology economically feasible. Often, sharing will allow an activity to be wholly reconfigured in ways that can dramatically raise competitive advantage. Sharing must involve activities that are significant to competitive advantage, not just any activity. PG’s distribution system is such an instance in the diaper and paper towel business, where products are bulky and costly to ship. Conversely, diversification based on the opportunities to share only corporate overhead is rarely, if ever, appropriate. Sharing activities inevitably involves costs that the benefits must outweigh. One cost is the greater coordination required to manage a shared activity. More important is the need to compromise the design or performance of an activity so that it can be shared. A salesperson handling the products of two business units, for example, must operate in a way that is usually not what either unit would choose were it independent. And if compromise greatly erodes the unit’s effectiveness, then sharing may reduce rather than enhance competitive advantage. Many companies have only superficially identified their potential for sharing. Companies also merge activities without consideration of whether they are sensitive to economies of scale. When they are not, the coordination costs kill the benefits. Companies compound such errors by not identifying costs of sharing in advance, when steps can be taken to minimize them. Costs of compromise can frequently be mitigated by redesigning the activity for sharing. The shared salesperson, for example, can be provided with a remote computer terminal to boost productivity and provide more customer information. Jamming business units together without such thinking exacerbates the costs of sharing. Despite such pitfalls, opportunities to gain advantage from sharing activities have proliferated because of momentous developments in technology, deregulation, and competition. The infusion of electronics and information systems into many industries creates new opportunities to link businesses. The corporate strategy of sharing can involve both acquisition and internal development. Internal development is often possible because the corporation can bring to bear clear resources in launching a new unit. Start-ups are less difficult to integrate than acquisitions. Companies using the shared-activities concept can also make acquisitions as beachhead landings into a new industry and then integrate the units through sharing with other units. Prime examples of companies that have diversified via using shared activities include PG, Du Pont, and IBM. The fields into which each has diversified are a cluster of tightly related units. Marriott illustrates both successes and failures in sharing activities over time. Following the shared-activities model requires an organizational context in which business unit collaboration is encouraged and reinforced. Highly autonomous business units are inimical to such collaboration. The company must put into place a variety of what I call horizontal mechanisms- a strong sense of corporate identity, a clear corporate mission statement that emphasizes the importance of integrating business unit strategies, an incentive system that rewards more than just business unit results, cross-business-unit task forces, and other methods of integrating. A corporate strategy based on shared activities clearly meets the better-off test because business units gain ongoing tangible advantages from others within the corporation. It also meets the cost-of-entry test by reducing the expense of surmounting the barriers to internal entry. Other bids for acquisitions that do not share opportunities will have lower reservation prices. Even widespread opportunities for sharing activities do not allow a company to suspend the attractiveness test, however. Many diversifiers have made the critical mistake of equating the close fit of a target industry with attractive diversification. Target industries must pass the strict requirement test of having an attractive structure as well as a close fit in opportunities if diversification is to ultimately succeed. Choosing a Corporate Strategy Each concept of corporate strategy allows the diversified company to create shareholder value in a different way. Companies can succeed with any of the concepts if they clearly define the corporation’s role and objectives, have the skills necessary for meeting the concept’s prerequisites, organize themselves to manage diversity in a way that fits the strategy, and find themselves in an appropriate capital market environment. The caveat is that portfolio management is only sensible in limited circumstances. A company’s choice of corporate strategy is partly a legacy of its past. If its business units are in unattractive industries, the company must start from scratch. If the company has few truly proprietary skills or activities it can share in related diversification, then its initial diversification must rely on other concepts. Yet corporate strategy should not be a once-and-for-all choice but a vision that can evolve. A company should choose its long-term preferred concept and then proceed pragmatically toward it from its initial starting point. Both the strategic logic and the experience of the companies I studied over the last decade suggest that a company will create shareholder value through diversification to a greater and greater extent as its strategy moves from portfolio management toward sharing activities. Because they do not rely on superior insight or other questionable assumptions about the company’s capabilities, sharing activities and transferring skills offer the best avenues for value creation. Each concept of corporate strategy is not mutually exclusive of those that come before, a potent advantage of the third and fourth concepts. A company can employ a restructuring strategy at the same time it transfers skills or shares activities. A strategy based on shared activities becomes more powerful if business units can also exchange skills. A company can often pursue the two strategies together and even incorporate some of the principles of restructuring with them. When it chooses industries in which to transfer skills or share activities, the company can also investigate the possibility of transforming the industry structure. When a company bases its strategy on interrelationships, it has a broader basis on which to create shareholder value than if it rests its entire strategy on transforming companies in unfamiliar industries. My study supports the soundness of basing a corporate strategy on the transfer of skills or shared activities. The data on the sample companies’ diversification programs illustrate some important characteristics of successful diversifiers. They have made a disproportionately low percentage of unrelated acquisitions, unrelated being defined as having no clear opportunity to transfer skills or share important activities. Even successful diversifiers such as 3M, IBM, and TRW have terrible records when they have strayed into unrelated acquisitions. Successful acquirers diversify into fields, each of which is related to many others. Procter Gamble and IBM, for example, operate in 18 and 19 interrelated fields, respectively, and so enjoy numerous opportunities to transfer skills and share activities. Companies with the best acquisition records tend to make heavier-than-average use of start-ups and joint ventures. Most companies shy away from modes of entry besides acquisition. My results cast doubt on the conventional wisdom regarding start-ups. While joint ventures are about as risky as acquisitions, start-ups are not. Moreover, successful companies often have very good records with start-up units, as 3M, PG, Johnson Johnson, IBM, and United Technologies illustrate. When a company has the internal strength to start up a unit, it can be safer and less costly to launch a company than to rely solely on an acquisition and then have to deal with the problem of integration. Japanese diversification histories support the soundness of start-up as an entry alternative. My data also illustrate that none of the concepts of corporate strategy works when industry structure is poor or implementation is bad, no matter how related the industries are. Xerox acquired companies in related industries, but the businesses had poor structures and its skills were insufficient to provide enough competitive advantage to offset implementation problems. AN ACTION PROGRAM To translate the principles of corporate strategy into successful diversification, a company must first take an objective look at its existing businesses and the value added by the corporation. Only through such an assessment can an understanding of good corporate strategy grow. That understanding should guide future diversification as well as the development of skills and activities with which to select further new businesses. The following action program provides a concrete approach to conducting such a review. A company can choose a corporate strategy by: 1. Identifying the interrelationships among already existing business units. A company should begin to develop a corporate strategy by identifying all the opportunities it has to share activities or transfer skills in its existing portfolio of business units. The company will not only find ways to enhance the competitive advantage of existing units but also come upon several possible diversification avenues. The lack of meaningful interrelationships in the portfolio is an equally important finding, suggesting the need to justify the value added by the corporation or, alternately, a fundamental restructuring. 2. Selecting the core businesses that will be the foundation of the corporate strategy. Successful diversification starts with an understanding of the core businesses that will serve as the basis for corporate strategy. Core businesses are those that are in an attractive industry, have the potential to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, have important interrelationships with other business units, and provide skills or activities that represent a base from which to diversify. The company must first make certain its core businesses are on sound footing by upgrading management, internationalizing strategy, or improving technology. My study shows that geographic extensions of existing units, whether by acquisition, joint venture, or start-up, had a substantially lower divestment rate than diversification. The company must then patiently dispose of the units that are not core businesses. Selling them will free resources that could be better deployed elsewhere. In some cases disposal implies immediate liquidation, while in others the company should dress up the units and wait for a propitious market or a particularly eager buyer. 3. Creating horizontal organizational mechanisms to facilitate interrelationships among the core businesses and lay the groundwork for future related diversification. Top management can facilitate interrelationships by emphasizing cross-unit collaboration, grouping units organizationally and modifying incentives, and taking steps to build a strong sense of corporate identity. 4. Pursuing diversification opportunities that allow shared activities. This concept of corporate strategy is the most compelling, provided a company’s strategy passes all three tests. A company should inventory activities in existing business units that represent the strongest foundation for sharing, such as strong distribution channels or world-class technical facilities. These will in turn lead to potential new business areas. A company can use acquisitions as a beachhead or employ start-ups to exploit internal capabilities and minimize integrating problems. 5. Pursuing diversification through the transfer of skills if opportunities for sharing activities are limited or exhausted. Companies can pursue this strategy through acquisition, although they may be able to use start-ups if their existing units have important skills they can readily transfer. Such diversification is often riskier because of the tough conditions necessary for it to work. Given the uncertainties, a company should avoid diversifying on the basis of skills transfer alone. Rather it should also be viewed as a stepping-stone to subsequent diversification using shared activities. New industries should be chosen that will lead naturally to other businesses. The goal is to build a cluster of related and mutually reinforcing business units. The strategy’s logic implies that the company should not set the rate of return standards for the initial foray into a new sector too high. 6. Pursuing a strategy of restructuring if this fits the skills of management or no good opportunities exist for forging corporate interrelationships. When a company uncovers under managed companies and can deploy adequate management talent and resources to the acquired units, then it can use a restructuring strategy. The more developed the capital markets and the more active the market for companies, the more restructuring will require a patient search for that special opportunity rather than a headlong race to acquire as many bad apples as possible. Restructuring can be a permanent strategy, as it is with Loew’s, or a way to build a group of businesses that supports a shift to another corporate strategy. 7. Paying dividends so that the shareholders can be the portfolio managers. Paying dividends is better than destroying shareholder value through diversification based on shaky underpinnings. Tax considerations, which some companies cite to avoid dividends, are hardly legitimate reason to diversify if a company cannot demonstrate the capacity to do it profitably.

Literary criticism over madness and symbols in Edgar Allan Poe short Essay

Literary criticism over madness and symbols in Edgar Allan Poe short stories - Essay Example As he tells his frequently bizarre and frightening tales, Poe presents his readers with symbol-rich imagery and descriptions based on binary oppositions to help build the suspense and horror of his tale. As Mowery explains, binary oppositions are things such as hot and cold, male and female, dark and light. â€Å"It is in the subtle shifts in our expectations of the character that tension and conflict are developed† (1997). This concept is frequently illustrated in terms of the madness that comes upon characters as they experience deep feelings that had potential to overwhelm. In â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† â€Å"The Black Cat† and â€Å"Ligeia,† Edgar Allan Poe uses madness and symbolism to convey love and hate. Poe employs two primary objects in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† to illustrate the cause of his narrator’s madness. The old man’s eye is the first of these symbols to appear within the text of the story. As the narrator attempts to explain why he felt led to murder, he says, It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture – a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees – very gradually – I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever. (156). Basic medical knowledge to the modern reader quickly identifies this condition as symptoms of a cataract, a film that gradually creeps over the eye of an elderly person, eventually rendering him or her blind while also changing the color of the eye to a pale bluish color. It is this encroachment that seems to so bother the narrator,

Animal rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Animal rights - Essay Example In that regard therefore, awareness on the rights of both human beings and animals need to be brought to the attention of the world. After shedding light as to what right entails, the general public then automatically holds the responsibility of asking why. Here, it is realized that the rights of humans are well found on the basis of the animals rights. It is clear that animal rights establish what is termed as a philosophical stand for the human rights, just as is put clear in Reagan’s theory where he considers life as the body of integrity and argues that it is to be protected. The theory further argues on the study by Tuskegee that the liberty of individual beings has to be protected. The moral theory extends this same protection to all sorts of life forms out in there globe. It beats one’s sense of reason when one tries to consider animals in the category of subject of life. Animals are subject-of-life. In reality, common sense should apply in such instances. Firstly, the behavior of both human beings and animals are the same; human beings and animals have a psychological supportive linkage that explains the similarity between the two. Firstly, the behavior of both humans and animals are the same; human beings and animals have a psychological supportive linkage that explains their similarity. It should be noted that if the rights of human beings are founded in the rights of who they are, then the rights of animals are also rooted in the sense of belonging that the human beings share. It is realized that individuals with experimental mind sets have their warfare aspects directly affects matters of their personal character. This sort of interest tends to override the common sense that supports the real aspect of rights. The science of judgment and ethical evaluations are blinded by the struggle to make an outcome from their internal element of success. In the experiment, world’s scientists have a role to

Marketing and Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing and Entrepreneurship - Essay Example The concept and significance of entrepreneurship indicated above earns further potential when linked to marketing activities. It is found that entrepreneurs mainly tied to small and medium sized business concerns with the help of potential marketing activities earned the potential to gain an enhanced space in the existing business environment. The entrepreneurial firms thus through the help of potential marketing strategies gained a competitive advantage to successfully compete with other firms in the same sector. Hence with the development of the business scenario the entrepreneurial activities are required to be increasingly linked with large scale marketing and promotional pursuits to help the entrepreneur earn success. The paper hereby discusses on the concepts of entrepreneurship through the uses of different models and draws its linkage to marketing activities. Further emphasizing on the above concepts the paper focuses on the actions and entrepreneurial processes of a specific retailer which would be analyzed through the entrepreneurial models like that of Sarasvathy’s and Burns Entrepreneurial Model and also based on the GET tests. Concept of Entrepreneurship The concept of entrepreneurship can be observed to have its emergence in relation to English and French literature when the dimensions of trade were slowly evolving. More specifically the evolution of the concept of entrepreneurship can be found to have gained in regards to French literature where the entrepreneurs were considered to be persons creating large business organizations and thereby are found to undertake large amount of business risks. Thus entrepreneurs are found to be people related to large business organizations and those with potency to manage to high amount of business risks. In the modern business context the concept of entrepreneurship earns a much larger dimension in regards to the innovative mindsets of the entrepreneur in rendering innovation to the existing organization processes and thereby enhancing the competitive advantage of the business policies. Similarly the entrepreneur working on the process of innovation can use potential technological and other resources to produce newer products and services and thus gain control of newer markets. The above discussion can be diagrammatically presented as follows. Figure 1: Entrepreneurship in Relation to Firm and

Tourism Planning Policies And Infrastructure In Egypt

Tourism Planning Policies And Infrastructure In Egypt Many councils, states or counties as a whole has understood the positive impacts of tourism economically, this sector pours a big share in the countrys economy, if analyzed, planned, chosen. Formulated and implemented strategically. There are many unfortunate countries that have not identified tourism as a sector. For this reason there is no establishment or body to look after and run this sector. Tourists have been travelling for centuries, sometimes just to relax, to have leisure time,underwent recreational activities, for attending conferences and seminars; and to meet friends and relatives. Gradually, the concept became wider when the tourists started taking interest in the history and culture of the destination like Egypt- Pyramids. Having realizedby the authorities that tourists take good interest in their heritage and history, this led the country to maintain their cultural places, events and festivals to exhibit to the tourists. Therefore new trend of cultural tourism emerged. Cultural tourism is a genre of specific interest tourism based on the search for and participation in new and deep cultural experience, whether aesthetic, intellectual, emotional or psychological. (Stebbins 1996) It makes the countries to market its rich and diverse cultural events to its local population and tourists alike. Boarding participation in the arts, increasing opportunities for arts, preserving and promoting cultural resources and investing in communitys quality of life are among the reasons. State arts agencies are key players in supporting and leading cultural tourism initiatives. For this reason successful projects need to undergo with collaboration, assessment, research, marketing and visitor services. This development of successful strategies will link the arts and tourism in communities. Tourism can present both advantages and problems. On the positive side, the preservation of heritage history and culture will attract the number of tourists and bring prosperity. At the same time maintenance of these resources will be ideal for the local population as it will create familiarity and affection with ancient history and forefathers. On the other hand, from the negative perspective the issue of controlling tourism will be challenging. Mass tourism will result in to fulfill the curiosity of the tourists and the cultural amenities will be destroyed. The Great Sphinx of Egypt with Candle Holder Poly Resin Destination Egypt: Egypt is a very well-known destination for cultural tourism. Ever since it was visited by Herodotus during the ancient time, he was surprised to see the vast differences between Egypt and his homeland. This image has been maintained throughout the middle and modern history. The discovery of Pharaonic antiquities long time ago has added a special charm to Egypt, beside its unique religious and cultural monuments. Egypt enjoys various fields of tourism, the most important are, archaeological or cultural tourism as one of the oldest types of tourism in Egypt, where the ancient civilizations are visible to the naked eye, an incarnation of the nation that constructed these civilizations since the dawn of history. Despite the multiple types of tourism and Egypts cultural tourism remains the unrepeated unique and non-competitive component of tourism as Egypt possesses one third of the worlds known monuments. The Great Sphinx at Giza in Egypt Therefore, historically speaking tourism has been a key ingredient in Egypts economy for about the last 200 years. However, over the last generation, tourism has become an essential component of the economy and is now the source of 45% of the countrys annual foreign currency earnings. Impacts of tourism: Until recently, growth in tourism was thought achievable without imposing any negative impact on Egypts cultural heritage resources. It used to be considering as non-consumable industry and a great tool to countrys development strategy. Similarly, it was regarded as a vital element to Egypts economy. But the constant research about the sector revealed that tourism consumes resources of the host nation, not just natural and man-made resources, but cultural ones, too. Cultural resources are finite and have to be managed like any other scarce resource. Positive impactsof tourism: The rise of tourism can lead the local population of Egypt to learn good things from diverse culture. This can open the door to many opportunities. For example Egyptians speaking Arabic, will come in the interaction of Asian, European, American tourists, this can influence them with their language and may lead to learn it. So that they can communicate with the tourists such a desire can make the establishments or centers to offer courses based on the languages. This can further import the native expertise and give many choices to the learners. Worldwide profile: It is the heritage of Egypt that has made it worldwide known destination. Many European and American tourists show their urge to visit the destination and see the pyramids from their eyes. The culture and heritage rich destination Egypt is taught in colleges and other vocational courses. This treasure of heritage and culture has made Egypt very important. Restoration and conservation: The heritage of Egypt is consistently restored and conserve. Conservation department is devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. It includes examination, documentation, treatment and preventive care of the historic treasure. Since it is being protected by the country for tourists, thereforeit is also greatly used by the local population. The nation knows about their ancient history which is alive in them after centuries through the preservation and maintenance of these objects. Social cohesion: It describes the bond or glue that brings the people of Egypt together in society, particularly in the context of cultural diversity. These cultural heritage and history bring them closer, united and signs their mutuality. Such a practice passes on from one generation to another and Egyptians take pride to be the part of world class ancient history. General development of infrastructure: Access to the cultural heritage site is just not possible for tourists with effective and modern infrastructure. People on holidays, curious for learning and view would like to save their energy to tour around to fulfill their purpose of tourism. This modern means of infrastructure will then are used by the locals and make their life easier too. Not only has this but such advancement queued up the country to earn title of a developed country. Negative impacts of tourism: Mass tourism: The interesting history of the Egypt has led the destination to deal with mass tourism. This form of tourism was unable to responsibly control and had ruined the area of natural beauty. It has also polluted the beaches and destroyed the habitats of wild as roads and hotels are built. Therefore such a loss and damage to such resources and infrastructure had reduced numbers of visitors. The air travel, sources of mass tourism is a major cause of global warming. Culture and tradition sensibility: Large number of tourists has undermined traditional beliefs, values, and customs and in particular risk commercializing the very culture Egyptians is proud of. Many incidents of their insensitivity to local population and tradition have caused great offence, for example the indecent dressing, indecent behavior etc. Reliance on tourism: Mass tourism ruins the environment of the destination. The incidents in past where the Egypt heritage and cultural threats emerged alarmed the local authorities to limit the tourism. It was felt that nature conservation, park management, red sea tourism need to be sustained. These authorities are now playing to implement such measures that will not destroy their treasure of history and also welcome the tourist to view and admire their ancient history. Regardless of the economic benefits tourism brings, it is very significant for the Egyptian tourists board to balance the requirements of locals and facilities tourists need. For example the sightseeing in Luxor, where the valley of the Kings is the site where the Pharoahs underground tombs have been constructed, and tomb of Tutankhamun, Rames III and IV etc. are the most visited sites. These sites in particular suffer from pollution, damage and other negative effects greatly. In short, the civilization of Egypt was in extreme danger, until the government decided to be equipped with some meaningful strategy to deal with the issue. At the same time, the influence of the European tourists industry has really motivated the government to choose the direction where the economical merits of the industry will be enjoyed but not at the risk of losing the traditions, values, monuments and other physical amenities. For this reason, effective destination planning must define the level of acceptable tourism development in Egypt and provide control to maintain that level. Pollution: Mass tourism always hooks up with pollution that is destruction to its environment, physical amenities, natural resources etc. therefore, the pollution controls should be built into all forms of infrastructure. In this regard, educational programmers should assist and invite tourist to respect and understand the local way of life, culture, history and religion. The Egyptian tourism policy should think on these lines that tourists need not to cross border line to negatively influence the local civilization, traditions, values and beliefs. Disney-fication: It means the transformation of something, usually society at large. Luxor is known for its Disney-fication as city officials approved a controversial plan to excavate an ancient processional route and develop it as a key tourist attraction. Buried in soil for centuries, the 2.7 kilometer Avenue of Sphinxes once connected the temples of Luxor and Karnak in what was then ancient city of Thebes. Such crucial impacts of culture and heritage have forced the low income families to lose their homes where water and electricity was cut off past few months ago. Government policies: The development of cultural and heritage sites on the price of influencing the local population living or houses should not be the practice of the ministry tourism in Egypt. Such a project should not be planned and implemented. When there is no source of reliable compensation schemes. The director of Luxor antiques Mansour Boraik believed uncoiling the avenue of Sphinxes was their dream, since it was the longest and biggest religious route ever built in the ancient world. Therefore many houses have demolished already. Regardless of the economic positive impacts that tourism carries, such a move by the government will increase the hostility of the local population against tourists. Reconstruction and restoration of cultural sites: Every year the government of Egypt spends billions of pounds to maintain and reconstruct the ancient architecture and monuments. Such a big budget of economy is invested on these sectors whereas; there is a need to pour handsome investment in other sectors like sports, education, health and industry. Just like many touristic islands and destination, the complete reliance ondevelopment of tourism sector only can cause many disasters and the countrys economy can face a big collapse. Local population belief: Since tourist mingle up with local population from diverse background with different lifestyles, religions, languages, values, beliefs, practices etc. Therefore, it is quite likely that host population will start getting fascinated with unique practices and thus follow them. For example, Egypt is an Islamic country and the local dress code is completely different than European tourists. Local people might get influence from European tourists and start following their dress code. Security measures: Tourism industry brings the people of all beliefs and religions together into the destination. Egypt had recently become a target land for terrorism. People from their home country fly to Egypt to satisfy their thirst of viewing historical places and learn about the ancient history. But unfortunately, destination has become marked by terrorist to kill foreigners. For this reason, new measures of security are needed to be implanted to make sure that just like local people, tourist feel the same safety and security, this might need a heavy budget on security and safety equipment. Failure to achieve the best means of security can spread a very negative reputation all around, which can drastically influence the number of tourists in future. Tourism planning policies and infrastructure: The Egypt tourist authority: The tourism industry being the largest in the Egypt needs to undergo very effective destination planning. The planning should enable the policy makers to understand the linkages between tourism and each of the economic sectors so that optional planning and management strategies can be implemented for the destination. The lucrative economic benefits of tourism are of course not ignorable but at the same time the utilization of natural, man-made, cultural and heritage resources of Egypt should not be misused. In past the policy makers were ignorant about this fact. Since tourism is generating a big share of income for Egypts economy for two centuries. But now is the time to understand the world phenomenon that tourism has increasingly important socioeconomic and cultural impact. So the heritage, nature, and culture have to be protected. Egypt has experienced many red signals that reflect the concern about controlling or limiting tourism. At the end of the 1980s, Egypts government took the decision to develop tourism, when other sources of rent income were in crisis and the government was in danger of being destabilized. Since then, tourism has been a great success story in Egypt and contributes substantially to the economic development of the country. The tremendously increasing tourism revenues have significantly contributed to the stabilization of the political system. Progressive sustainable tourism program is the initiative of ministry of tourism of Egypt to put environmental protection and conservation at the top of Egypts tourism development agenda in current as well as future tourism development plans. Being an undisputed gateway to one of the worlds fastest growing tourism markets, and with 200,000 hotel rooms planed over 15 years, Egypt has realized one of the worlds largest tourism development plans. Associated with this rapid growth are the international popularity of its natural environment and the potential threat of degradation to both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Many conferences have been organized by the Minister of Tourism, Dr.Mamdouh El-Beltaugi, about Egypts Red Sea Sustainable Tourism Initiative. Sustainable tourism which is an effective development philosophy can advance environmental conservation and promote the sustainable use of natural resources, and a catalyst for economic and local community development in Egypt. For example, over 1.2 million tourists visit the Red Sea coast annually, bringing in over $1.2 billion in foreign exchange and generating more than 275,000 jobs. The Red Sea has become one of Egypts premier tourism destinations, based in large part on its unique and fragile marine environment. In recent years, however, tourism development has come increasingly into conflict with protection and conservation of Red Sea resources. To assure that future tourism development in the southern Red Sea preserves the environmental resources that make the area so attractive to tourists, the Egyptian government proposed development of a land use management plan identifying zones for different types and levels of development and preservation. In addition, to counteract tourisms negative effects while still encouraging economic growth, the government proposed a program to protect designated marine and coastal areas through the establishment of nature reserves, and to build the capacity of national and local government agencies, as well as private tourism enterprises, to cope with the many challenges presented by a booming tourism industry. Urban tourism: Primary elements of urban tourism: Cultural Facilities: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Museums and Art Galleries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Theaters and Cinemas à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Concert Halls à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Convention Centers and other Visitor Attractions Sport Facilities: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Indoor and Outdoor Amusement Facilities: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Night Clubs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Casinos and Bingo Halls à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Organized Events à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Festivals Physical Characteristics: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Historical Street Pattern à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Interesting Buildings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ancients Monuments and Statues à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Parks and Green Areas à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Waterfronts (Harbor, Canal, River) Socio-Cultural Features: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Liveliness of the Place à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Language à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Local Customs and Costumes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cultural Heritage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Friendliness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Security Secondary elements of urban tourism: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Accommodation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Catering Facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Shopping à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Markets Additional elements of urban tourism: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Accessibility à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Transportation and Parking à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Tourist Information(maps, signs, guides) Sinbad Aquapark is a beach front hotel, situated in Hurghada, Egypt. It isjust fifteen minutes from HurghadaAirport; this well-featured resort hotel includes a water park and extensive sporting facilities. Sindbad Club Aqua Park and Resort has 685 guestrooms. http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Sindbad-hotel-2.jpg Room features Air conditioning, Bathroom with shower, Minibar, Room safe, Satellite TV, Small lounge, Telephone, Television, Windows that open Writing desk. http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Sindbad-hotel-agua-park.jpg Facilities at the hotel include various bars and restaurants, large swimming pool with Jacuzzi, childrens swimming pool, aqua park with water slides and wave pool, childrens club, tennis, billiards, bowling. http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/aqua-park-Sindbad-hotel.jpg Wellness centre with Jacuzzi, sauna, massage, medical centre, cosmetics studio and hairdresser and full entertainment programmed for adults and children. Emerging Issues: There are number of distinctive features tend to characterize Egypts urban tourism destinations, some of which could represent focal points of remedy. Such features include: The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza in Egypt Privatization: There is a great shift from Public sectors development to the privatized in Egypt to maintain and offer visitors an exciting experience. Hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, transportation etc are becoming privatized which is creating a leakage in the economy. The earnings of public sector are equally distributed into the establishment of new services and sector nationally because it is meant to be spending likely. But on the contrary, privatized firms businesses benefit the individuals and specific family for what the countries remain under developed. Convention Centers and Exhibitions: There are significant numbers of visitors to Egypt whose primary purpose of visit is not leisure-related. As convention Centers and Exhibitions are often regarded as one of the staples of urban tourism thus at the destination of Egypt, up to forty percent of those staying overnight have come for this type of business tourism. Convention Centers and Exhibitions are perceived to be strong growth sectors in which the visitor spends an above average amount and which operate for most of the years in the Egypt. Employment, publicity, image improvement, and urban regeneration are benefits that generally justify the big financial investment for those centers. Besides these advantages, it is important to remember that the conference business cannot be separated from the rest of the tourism industry particularly because most participants are also seeking urban amenities in an exciting environment. Infrastructure: Substantial existing attractions and infrastructure generally developed for non-tourism purposes in Egypt. This has made the city life very congested and of course polluted. The Egyptian Tourism Authority needs to realize the importance of green tourism to be environmental friendly. Hotels have been established like the woods in a forest which also lead to noise pollution and air pollution. Attractions: A large number, variety and scale of primary and secondary attractions have been developed which is most of the time tourists have occupied, this lead to a jealousy and frustration in host population towards tourists. The more the disputes will take place the negative impacts will emerge which mainly will ruin the publicity of the destination. Example SINDBAD HOTEL. Development: Local residents are significant, often majority, users of attractions and infrastructure. These attractions utilize money, man power, land and other resources which can be used to undergo projects like Golf, school hospital bank orleisure Centre etc. In short, the approach of the government to spend on urban tourism can turn out to be a threat in future. Distribution of the resources: Tourism is just one of many economic activities in the city, with implications for the awareness and perceived importance of tourism issues by business, government and residents. The competition for resources within cities like Luxor, Alexanderia, and Cairo also has implications for the provision of visitor services, and the cost and availability of land and labor. Strategic planning of the destination: The involvement of a multiplicity of public and commercial organizations with varying levels of interest in tourism, which has implications for the complexity of planning and policy-making processes, day-to-day operational management, and the coherence of marketing activity. At the same time, many things have not changed. The Egyptians remain a very hospitable people who truly seem to love sharing their glorious past with visitors. They are a warm people who, meeting a foreign visitor for the first time, still have a habit of inviting them home to dinner, which is usually made into a feast of sorts. So as we head into the middle of the first decade of the 21st Century, we find an Egypt that is more than ever ready to accept modern western tourists, perhaps as never before. New and sometimes very luxurious hotels are springing up everywhere to accommodate them, and younger, savvier tour operators are planning wonderful and exciting ways to entertain and engage tourists. Egypt is a land of enchantment and mystery, and now is the best time ever to experience the Mother of the World Mass tourism VS Sustainable tourism:http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTQpcTdij9YrlMdAj3PoyDm7LgA0EFTXAA6JA55EuW4wgTamGtxt=1 The term mass tourism is problematic to define with any precision and they claim that the term refers to the production, structure and organization of tourism akin to an industrial process whereby economies of scale are sought to meet market needs. Poon (1993) defines mass tourism as a large-scale phenomenon, packaging and selling standardized leisure services at fixed prices to a mass clientele. Further to this Fayos-Solà   (1996) went as far to suggest that the operational model of mass tourism no longer suffices to achieve competitiveness in tourism enterprises and regions and he proposed that a new paradigm, the New Age of Tourism (NAT), is gathering strength owing to its ability to face to prevailing circumstances. There are probably a hundred reasons why people visit Egypt. These days, perhaps the bulk of tourists actually come from various European countries for an inexpensive beach vacation, quite often in large groups by chartered airlines. For them, it is simply the least expensive means of taking a warm, beach vacation in a nice resort along the Red Sea coast of Egypt or in the Sinai. Many of these vacations are arranged by large European operations that use mass tourism to arrange considerable hotel space at very inexpensive rates. More lucrative to the Egyptians, and certainly a major source of tourism to Egypt, are the classical tourists, who come to Egypt specifically to visit the ancient monuments. Beach goers may also arrange classical tours as extensions of their holidays, but normal classical tourists will usually follow a much defined route, from Cairo along the Nile Valley down to Aswan, though they may also opt for various extensions, including a brief visit to one of the beaches. Sustainable tourism in Egypt: Egypt national tourist strategic planhttp://www.mga-ai.it/images/480/Egypt2_480.jpg After the disastrous effects of Mass Tourism Egypt is looking into the possibilities for diversifying its tourism opportunities throughout the country. The main target for expanding the tourism sector is nature-based tourism. The coral reefs and rich marine life in South Sinai and the Red Sea coast have made these two areas among the premier scuba diving destinations in the world. Many beach resorts are now in operation and there are still hundreds to be constructed. However, previous tourism development in Egypt has resulted in a series of negative environmental impacts. The ambitious development plans to receive 16 million tourists by 2017 should take into consideration sustainability concepts. The government and developers have significant roles to play in adopting and implementing environmentally sound policies and practices to avoid the degradation of the natural heritage of Egypt for the sake of the current as well as future generations. Egypt in 21st Century plan is prepared by the cabinet of the Egyptian Government in 1997,and it lays out the long-term national development plan in the beginning century. Tourismwas positioned as one of major leading industries in the strategy.Following are the tourism development strategies in the 21th century: To increase the number of visitor arrivals to 27 million by the year 2017 To extend length of stay from 7 days in 1997 to 9 days by the year 2017, and to increase total bed nightsfrom 26 million in 1997 to 230 million by 2017 To raise the accommodation capacity to 618 thousand rooms by the year 2017 To focus on tourism development projects in South Egypt To formulate integrated development programs for new tourist areas To establish new tourist camp sites for safaris in the middle of Sinai and in Wadi El Gemal of Red Sea To preserve the ancient Egyptian civilization To supply new sites for tourism development with all the required facilities like in the Red Sea, Sinai, theNew Valley, Luxor and Aswan. The impact of tourism on the Egyptian society is significant. Direct economic benefits of tourisminclude generation of employment, increase of foreign exchange earnings, incomegeneration and contribution to government revenues These benefits are the main source of income to strengthen the other sectors of Egypt greatly. Tourism also provides indirectimpacts on the economic sectors, such as agriculture, fisheries, handicraft manufacturingand construction, which supply the goods and services for tourism sector. Furthermore, the improvement of transportation and other infrastructure facilities andservices encourage the economic and culture development of the community in theregional area. Conclusion: The Egyptian national tourism sector marketing strategy emphasizes on quality, and aimsto foster and encourage high-quality tourism services at competitive prices. Since 1982,Egypt has developed a new strategy aiming to increase the number of tourists visitingEgypt. The plan was, and still is, to boost tourism demand by attracting visitors beyondthe main tourism incoming markets, namely visitors from the European Community, USA, Canada and the Arab countries and target new potential markets. Thepredominant new markets Egypt must aim to attract are: Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, EasternEurope, and Southern and Latin America. Up till now the Egyptian tourism sector has notachieved the desired travel movement from Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. Egypt Scandinavia and Eastern Europe countries such as Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Russia, they only yielded a total of 600 000 tourists compared to 3 274 377 tourists from both western and southern Europe (Papadopoulos, 2003). The main customers are the Germans followed by Italians, Russians, English, French and Saudi Arabians. Egypt mustpromoted through advertising campaigns in the mass media, participation and attendance in various exhibitions and the continuous renewal of advertising material. Egyptian organizations need to participate in all major international events, while tourist planners have developed for the demanding tourist, cultural and athletic activities reinforcing Egypt as a tourist destination and attracting people interested in these events. There is also a great need to protect Egypts unique desert and its environment and heritage resources. Sustainable development and preservation ofEgypts natural resources should be the pillars of the Egyptian tourism plans. The primary concern is to protect the environment by limiting tourism projects in natural reserves. Generally, tourism properties, hard buildings, are only allowed in 12.5% of the land. In recognition of the countrys potential for tourism, high standards of tourism services quality are strictly enforced and green marketing orientation need to be adopted within all tourism marketing activities. The budget allocated to promote Egypt as a macro-tourist destination abroad is about $50 million a year. Almost 90% of the promotion budget is spent on promotion campaigns through direct media such as the press, TV, billboards, movie and public transport advertisements. The remaining 10% goes to the international network of tourist offices. The Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) must focus its promotion activities on the European tourist market, which is considered the main market segment, as it provides about 65% of the inbound tourists coming to Egypt. ETA promotion policies should also take into consideration the changes that took place in Europe, as there are ten countries that have recently joined the European Union and they are mainly from the Eastern bloc. The ETAhas to look closely at these new potential tourist markets. The Arab tourist market constitutes the second major region sending tourists to Egypt, about 16% of the total number of travelers, and there is a need to design a new strategy that offers the Arab tourist markets requirements. Egypt has to highlight its focus of marketing campaign to attract not only culturaltourists, but also to highlight the Red Sea Resorts, with their beaches, diving activitiesand the environmental tourism facilities, taking the sustainability requirements intoconsideration (El-Khadem, 2004; Ministry of Tourism, 2004).

Drinking Water Treatment Improves Water Quality :: Drinking Water Quality

My topic for this paper is on water treatment and in this paper the places where i will be getting my info is www.aguauninternational.com and I'm getting info from and encyclopedia an a book. In a modern society, water is one of the things in life we often take for granted. When we turn on the tap, we expect water that is clean, safe and suitable for all household tasks. But in recent years, there has been a growing concern about contamination of our water supplies. We hear unsettling news accounts that make us question the safety of our water. I know that Water covers 75% of our planet's surface. It's everywhere! And it's all the same, isn't it? yes the reason it is because we use water for so many different things. like to take baths and wash clothing and other things. So what is water softening? well water softening is the process of removing(Ca)2 ,(Mg)2 , or (Fe)3 from water. Filtration? is through sand and gravel removes nearly all suspended matter from the water. Well in fact, water is definitely not all the same. It will pick up many impurities and contaminants, both natural and synthetic. And since water is so widely used in so many different ways, treatment is often necessary. Whether it's clean water for manufacturing, high purity water for medical applications or just safe drinking water, the treatment process is a vital part of our daily lives. As the 20th century draws to a close, managing our planet's resources has emerged as humanity's greatest challenge. And of all the Earth's resources, none is more precious than water. Water taken from boreholes is already clean because it is filtered as it trickles through soil and rocks. Normally it is only necessary to disinfect this water with chlorine to make it safe to drink. Water taken from rivers and reservoirs usually needs more treatment. Water Treatment Works treat water so that it is safe to drink. This involves a number of processes, both physical and chemical, and will vary depending on the quality of the raw water to be treated. I know there are several methods of treatment of water to kill living organisms the application of chlorine compounds is the most common. But another thing I know is that boiling is the favorite household emergency measure. Municipal water softening is common where the natural water has a hardness in excess of 150 parts per million .

Acme Omega

The other plant, located in Cleveland, was purchased by investors and renamed Omega Electronics. The Omega investors hired a new president who had worked in research and development for a large computer manufacturer. Some new research engineers were hired and several Copernicus personnel remained with the company but in new positions. Acme and Omega often competed for contracts to supply components to several large electronics manufacturing firms in the US. Both companies prospered in the mid-sass and early sass as computerized electronics equipment boomed.Acme had annual sales of over $170 million and employed 350 people. Omega was somewhat smaller with sales of $140 million and about 275 people. However, Acme was consistently more efficient and profitable than Omega. Acme – A close-up. Acme's president, Fred Taylor, attributed his company's success to the fact that he and his managers ran a â€Å"tight ship. † They retained the same basic structure that the division h ad when it was part of Copernicus because it was efficient for high volume production of electronics components such as switching devices and printed circuit boards.Taylor noted that, â€Å"Acme regularly undercuts the competition cause of their focus on efficient production. We are regularly the profit leader in this business. † Acme's structure is shown in Figure 1 . Workers are generally satisfied at Acme, but a few managers recently left the company because of the lack of flexibility or variety in their jobs. One recently departed manager stated that Taylor â€Å"knows one way of doing things -? his way. † He went on to say, â€Å"Fried's a good manager, but he did not provide us with much information or much freedom to make decisions. He makes all of the critical decisions himself. Revised version based on J. F. Vega and J. N. Handouts, from The Dynamics of Organization Theory, 1979, 1 984, West Publishing Figure 1 Acme Electronics Organizational Chart President Taylor UP Marketing UP Operations UP Personnel UP Finance Controller Plant Manager Production Research & Development Design Purchasing Shipping Omega – An inside view. Simon Herbert, former head of research and development at Snell Computers, was chosen as president of Omega. Based on his research and development experience at Snell, he claimed that he did not believe in a formal organizational chart.Although he said that his people loud be fit into departments similar to those at Acme, he felt that such departments formed artificial barriers between deferent functional specialists. Herbert stated that, â€Å"we are small enough so that people can usually communicate face-to-face when necessary. † Instead, Omega used a team-based structure that was adapted to fit new projects. Most of Omega's contracts were small and customized. Production runs were generally short. One manager noted that much of his time was taken up trying to understand problems and communicate solut ions.The Head of the Production Design Team noted, â€Å"Simon spends too much time trying to understand problems and communicate with everyone. † Most important decisions get made by the top management team. Part II In 1 993, the electronics component business began to change dramatically. Many of the old circuit boards disappeared from product designs and were replaced by increasingly complex chips. Miniaturization swept the electronics industry. Many complex office machines included on-board processors – basically dedicated computers. Such was the case in the copier industry.In July 1 993, Global Xerography, the company that spun off Acme and Omega, name to the two firms requesting component production for a new generation of copying machines. The component was essentially a specialized processor and memory Engineering unit that would power the copying machine. Once the copiers were in full production, the contract could be worth as much as ASS-$30 million per year. Both Acme and Omega bid on the contract for the initial 100 prototype processor memory components. Although Acme's bid was slightly lower than Omega's, XX decided to award both companies contracts for 100 units each.Ex.'s project manager told both Taylor and Herbert that speed in placement and production of the prototypes was essential. XX had already promised delivery of the new generation copiers by January 1, 1994. Customers were counting on the new products and once word of the new design got out, it would only be a matter of time before competitors began imitating the new design. Not only that, but investors were counting on the new design to add to Ex.'s profits. These demands for speed meant that XX, Acme, and Omega would need to engage in simultaneous design. Design of the components would need to begin before the final copier design was complete.Acme and Omega would have no more than two weeks to produce the first 1 00 prototype components or they would delay final product ion of the copiers. Part Ill As soon as F-red Taylor received the design specifications (July 6, 1993), he sent an email to Purchasing requesting that they determine the necessary parts to be purchased and initiate purchasing. At the same time, Taylor sent the specifications to the Design Department for design and production rendering. Engineering was then given the task to take the output from the Design Department and create the production system for the actual reduction of the prototypes.Production was to take the system and create the actual production facility and schedule production of the prototypes. Taylor sent emails to all department heads stating that speed of production was essential and that all departments should work as efficiently as possible. On July 9, Purchasing discovered that a particular chip supplied by their authorized supplier was unavailable and could not be shipped for at least two weeks. As there were few suppliers for this particular chip, the Purchasing manager assumed that Omega would face the same problem and he did not Reese to find an alternative supplier.He also informed Taylor of the problem who in turn decided that the company should go forward with production without the missing chip. The chip could be inserted once the other production processes had been completed. The Design Department was instructed to design the component in such a way that the missing chip could be inserted later. On July 1 1, Design informed Taylor that the missing chip and would substantially increase the time necessary to assemble the completed components. Taylor saw no alternative and gave approval to go forward with the design and production.The Design Department then gave purchasing specification for the chassis that would hold the memory and processor unit. Since this was a small prototype production, the company's standard procedure was to find an outside source for the metal work. On July 14 Taylor asked for a progress report and was dismayed to learn that Purchasing was still waiting for the chips and for bids on the chassis. Taylor was shocked by the lack of progress and demanded that Engineering begin fabricating the chassis internally. By July 17, all of the necessary parts (except the chip) were available and Engineering had begun producing the hashish.Production had already designed the manufacturing process, so once the parts began flowing production of prototypes began. In their haste to begin production, the Production Department and the process engineers had not consulted extensively with the Design Department or Engineering (who produced the chassis that held the memory and processor unit). The result was a production system that was rather awkward and inefficient. However, there was not sufficient time to stop now and rework the manufacturing process.Taylor and the manufacturing foreman both agreed that the kinks in he system could be worked out after the production of the prototypes. One concern voiced by t he Design team was whether the missing chip could easily be inserted at the end of the production run. That was not clear. On July 18, at about the same time that the first batch of prototypes was coming off the production line, the missing chips arrived. The designers were correct to raise concerns about inserting those chips. The process required technicians to partially disassemble the units and insert the chips. The process was messy and time-consuming.As the last of the 100 units was assembled on July 20, Taylor received a call from the project manager at XX informing him of a design error that the engineers at Omega had discovered on the previous day. Apparently, the original specifications from XX had reversed the installation of a voltage transformer. The XX engineers checked the information from Omega and found that a mistake had been made in the original design. Taylor said that the Acme units were completed and ready to ship. The designer explained that the error had to b e corrected first. The prototypes that Acme had produced would not work.The new design pacifications would be emailed later in the day. When the new specifications arrived, Taylor met with the Production manager to determine what needed to be done. It was determined that the units would once again need to be partially disassembled. The transformers would need to be removed and reinserted. This required substantial labor and re-soldering of the transformers. All of the disassembly and reassembly of the units caused damage to the chassis and some components. The finally reassembly, packaging and shipping of the first 50 units was completed on July 29.However, none of the units were inspected or tested. The final 50 units were shipped on August 2. At Omega, Simon Herbert called a meeting department heads on July 6 after receiving the email of specifications from XX earlier in the day. He told the department heads that they should look over the design specifications so they could begin production as soon as possible. The next day the department heads met to discuss the project and form a project team. At the end of the morning meeting the department heads had designated engineers, designers, production people and a purchasing agent to the new component design-production team.The team began to work closely to determine the necessary components, identify suppliers, and create a production system. Purchasing determined that one particular chip would not be available locally for two weeks. One engineer suggested that they search for alternative suppliers. At the same time, the engineers also determined that it would be faster to produce the chassis internally rather than sending specifications out for bids from contractors. The team also determined that they could modify the design for installing the missing chip at the end of the production process if they were unable to find an alternative source.On July 9 purchasing reported that they found an alternative source fo r chip in Thailand. The chips would be shipped by express mail on July ID and would arrive at Omega on July 13. Although the chips from Thailand were somewhat less expensive, the cost of shipping resulted in the final cost being about 15% higher. The purchasing agent made the decision to purchase the Thai chips without consulting with other team members or with Herbert. By July 17 the production team assembled five sample units to determine if the assembly process would work correctly.The manufacturing process irked flawlessly, however when the units were tested on the bench, they did not work. When the engineers and designers inspected the five sample units, it was obvious to them that the transformers were installed incorrectly. The units were disassembled; the transformers were removed and re- installed; and the units were reassembled. The resulting sample units performed up to specifications. Herbert called the project manager at XX to discuss the problem. On the morning of July 1 8, the project manager confirmed that the original design specifications were in error and that the Omega team was correct.

How to Prevent a Shark Attack

How to Prevent a Shark Attack Even though youre more likely to die from a lightning strike, alligator attack or on a bicycle than from a shark attack, sharks do sometimes bite humans. In this article, you can learn about the actual risk of a shark attack, and how to avoid one.​ The International Shark Attack File The International Shark Attack  File  was developed in the late 1950s to compile information on shark attacks. Sharks attacks may be provoked or unprovoked. According to the International Shark Attack File, provoked attacks are those that happen when a person initiates contact with a shark (e.g., bites occurring to a fisherman removing a shark from a hook, a bite to a diver that has touched a shark). Unprovoked attacks are those that occur in the sharks natural habitat when a human has not initiated contact. Some of these may be if the shark mistakes a human for prey. Over the years, records of unprovoked attacks have increased - in 2015, there were 98 unprovoked shark attacks (6 fatal), which is the highest on record. This doesnt mean sharks are attacking more often. It  is more a function of increased human population and activity in the water (visiting the beach, increase in participation in scuba, paddle boarding, surfing activities, etc.), and the ease of reporting shark bites. Given the large increase in human population and ocean use over the years, the rate of shark attacks is decreasing. The top 3 attacking shark species were the white, tiger and bull sharks. Where Do Shark Attacks Occur? Just because youre swimming in the ocean doesnt mean you may be attacked by a shark. In many areas, large sharks dont come close to shore. The regions with the highest percentage of shark attacks were Florida, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Hawaii, and California. These are also regions where lots of people visit the beaches and participate in water activities. According to  The Shark Handbook, most shark bites occur to swimmers, followed by surfers and divers, but the majority of these bites are minor flesh wounds or abrasions. Ways to Prevent Shark Attacks There are many ways (most of them common-sense) that you can avoid a shark attack. Below is a list of what not to do if youll be swimming in waters where sharks might be present, and techniques for getting away alive if a shark attack really does happen. How to Avoid a Shark Attack: Dont swim alone.Dont swim during dark or twilight hours.Dont swim with shiny jewelry.Dont swim if you have an open wound.Dont swim too far offshore.Ladies: dont swim if youre menstruating.Dont splash excessively or make erratic movements.Keep pets out of the water.Dont swim in areas where there are sewage (for other obvious reasons!) or pinnipeds that are hauled-out. Both areas can attract sharks.Dont swim in areas being used by fishermen, as their bait could attract sharks.Dont push your luck - never harass a shark. Get out of the water if one is spotted and never attempt to grab or touch it. What to Do If Youre Attacked: Lets hope youve followed safety advice and successfully avoided an attack. But what do you do if you suspect a sharks in the area or you are being attacked? If you feel something brush against you, get out of the water. According to an article from National Geographic, many shark bite victims dont feel any pain. And sharks may strike more than once.If you are attacked, the number one rule  is do whatever it takes to get away. Possibilities include yelling underwater, blowing bubbles, and punching the sharks nose, eye or gills and then leaving the area before the shark strikes again. Protecting Sharks Although shark attacks are a horrific topic, in reality, many more sharks are killed by humans each year. Healthy shark populations are crucial to maintaining balance in the ocean, and sharks need our protection. References and Additional Information: Burgess, George H. 2011. ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark. (Online). FL Museum of Natural History. Accessed January 30, 2012.Burgess, George H. 2009. ISAF 2008 Worldwide Shark Attack Summary (Online). FL Museum of Natural History. Accessed February 5, 2010.Burgess, George H. 1998. Just for Kids: How to Avoid a Shark Attack Reprinted with permission from The Kids How to Do (Almost) Everything Guide, Monday Morning Books, Palo Alto, California. Accessed February 5, 2010.ISAF. 2009. International Shark Attack File. (Online). FL Museum of Natural History. Accessed February 5, 2010.Skomal, G. 2008. The Shark Handbook. Cider Mill Press Book Publishers: Kennebunkport, ME. 278pp.

Linus Pauling essays

Linus Pauling essays Linus Carl Pauling was an American physical chemist who was a firm believer in high doses of Vitamin C. He introduced the concept of electro negativity in 1932, and he also formulated a model for the structure of hemoglobin. Pauling retired in 1974. Pauling was born in Portland, Oregon. Pauling had to move to several different cities in Oregon from 1903 to 1909. When is father died in 1910, of a perforated ulcer, his mom was left to care for Pauling and his two younger Siblings. Pauling read many books as a kid, and at one point his father wrote a letter to a local paper inviting suggestions of additional books that would occupy his time. In high school, Pauling studied Chemistry. He entered the Oregon State College in 1917, receiving the degree of B.Sc. in chemical engineering in 1922. During the years 1919-1920 he served as a full-time teacher of quantitative analysis in the State College, after which he was appointed a Teaching Fellow in Chemistry in the California Institute of Technology and was a graduate student there from 1922 to 1925, working under Professor Roscoe G. Dickinson and Richard C. Tolman. In 1925 he was awarded the Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in chemistry, with minors in physics and mathematics. He entered the Oregon State College in 1917, receiving the degree of B.Sc. in chemical engineering in 1922. During the years 1919-1920 he served as a full-time teacher of quantitative analysis in the State College, after which he was appointed a Teaching Fellow in Chemistry in the California Institute of Technology and was a graduate student there from 1922 to 1925, working under Professor Roscoe G. Dickinson and Richard C. Tolman. In 1925 he was awar ded the Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in chemistry, with minors in physics and mathematics. Since 1919 his interest lay in the field of molecular structure and the nature of the chemical bond, inspired by papers by Irving Langmuir on the application of the Lewis ...

Chronis Illness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Chronis Illness - Assignment Example Chronic illnesses Chronic illnesses refer to medical conditions or health problems with associated symptoms or disabilities that require long-term management usually three months or more (Brunner & Smeltzer, 2009). Chronic illnesses may also refer to illnesses that have extended or prolonged course that are unlikely to be resolved immediately and that cure may be absent or rare. Currently, the term chronic illness is gradually fading and it being replaced by the term living with a long-term condition. The import of this approach is to eliminate or reduce emphasis on the disease rather than the person. The magnitude of chronic diseases has been defined and based on the length of illnesses, recurrence, resistance to cure and severity (Power and Orto 2004). The major causes and factors that led to the increased number of people with chronic conditions include decrease in mortality from infectious diseases, lifestyle factors, longer lifespan because of advancement in medicine and improve d screening and diagnostic procedures (Ackley & Gail, 2000). Lifestyle habits such as smoking and sedentary lifestyles have contributed to the rise and risk of chronic illnesses and problems such as respiratory diseases, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity among others. Characteristics of chronic illnesses Chronic illnesses characteristic revolves around the lives of the patients and their families and its management. Chronic illness management often goes beyond the treatment of medical problems and it goes further to address other related psychological and social problems. This is because living with chronic illness and any disability has the potentially of affecting, changing and altering the identity, roles, body image and lifestyle of people (Carrier, 2009). As a result, these changes and alteration need to be managed to enable people living with chronic illnesses to continuously adapt and for them to be accommodated in the society. Another characteristics of chro nic illness is that is develops in different phases over the life span of a person. The phases may include acute periods, stable and unstable periods, flares, and remissions and each phase is normally associated with its inherent physical, psychological and social problems that need various regimens and management (Brunner & Smeltzer, 2009). Successful management of chronic illnesses requires persistent and consistent adherence to therapeutic regimes as failure or any slight deviation from the treatment may increase the risk of patients for developing other complications and it may increase the development process of the disease (Larsen, 2011). Chronic illness may lead to the development other chronic illnesses or conditions hence contributing to high risk of morbidity and mortality among patients. Chronic illness is uncertain and its management is a process of discovery that involves the collaboration of various healthcare professionals who work together with the patient and their families in the provision of various services (Nolte, Knai, & McKee, 2008). Chronic illness management is an expensive and costly as patients often incur a lot of expenses that are related to costs for hospital stays, diagnostic tests, equipment, medications and supportive services. The cost problem is further exacerbated by the fact that most living with chron

The anthropology of food and meaning in Slav cultures Research Paper

The anthropology of food and meaning in Slav cultures - Research Paper Example As a matter of fact, anthropologists have made food a separate variable while doing research on cultures, in order to assess the way of living of the different societies in the past and at present. Slavic Culture: As there are a huge number of countries in this world, so is the vast number of cultures they share. Considering different regions of the world, the Slavic culture is a prominent one and indeed the largest in Europe. The ‘Great Migration’ is what tells us about the evolution of the Slavs first in the first millennium. Before the mid-fifth century, there was not any kind of data (literary or archaeological) available on the Slav culture. By the sixth century, the archaeological verifications tell us that the Slav moved in the Central Europe. All the Slavs share parallel cultures and languages. The Slav are majorly divided into three main groups, geographically; East, West and South Slavs. The Slavs have some historical association with the Turks, and that can be witnessed in the geographic and tribal names, and noticeably the cuisines. Usually the Slavs used to live aside the woods and jungles which can get them food and obviously a place for a shelter (Randall Mack and Surina). The Slavs majorly relied on food item gathered from hunting, fishing, collecting berries, different nuts, mushrooms and other available food item in the forest to complement their diet. After the World War II, the many of the Russian territories were becoming home for the salavic expatriates and the nomads. This drastic increase in the population greatly affected their cuisine across Russia. However, the Slav identity has been affected at present due to migration, and population disruption. A great part of the Slavic culture is affected by the European cultural influence, specifically, the Scandinavia, Germany and some part of East Europe. There are other abundant significant cultures that particularly affected the food culture of Russia. Famous for its intake of f ood and their perspective on how they see food as an essential element of their life, there are certain issues which underlie from the evolution of this culture and are still present (Randall Mack and Surina). Thesis Statement: For a very long period, Russia was locked from top to bottom, it had no influence of the outside world and Russia had a Slavic food culture, but with globalization and modernization it has lost that food culture and traditions of eating, transforming the entire food culture of Russia or the Slavic culture. Discussion: The study of human and human culture across the space is termed as ‘anthropology’. It is the study of human and their cultures from the past to present (American Anthropological Association). The anthropology of food is the study of human culture focusing specifically on its food and society, the relationship between the food and society with its cultural context and sometimes within a cross-cultural context (Wilk) It is basically t he analysis of food in a culture, why people in different cultures are only confined to a limited variety of food and have certain restrictions which are not only because of the nutritional point of view that they avoid certain things but because of their culture, religion, historical background, economical or geographical factors and their financial capability (Wilk). In this paper, we will only focus on the food culture of Russia. Its evolution, what it used to be and what it is at the present. It is witnessed that the Russian food culture