E-Business Plan (Supply Chain Management, Competitive Tracking, and Research Paper

E-Business Plan (Supply Chain Management, Competitive Tracking, and Conclusion) - Research Paper Example The main geographic market being targeted by the company is that of United States of America (USA). Some of the characteristics of primary target market of Kidz-IDz are that they are caring and concerned with respect to the safety of their children and are ready to spend money in order to ensure that the children are protected and safe. At the same time, the target market of the company is ready to take part in the educational process for learning different safety precautions. Marketing Mix: One of the important elements of the marketing plans is the marketing mix or most commonly known as the 4P’s of marketing (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). In this section the strategies of 4P’s of marketing with respect to the e-business are presented. Product: Kidz-IDz presents the parents with different options and products which can facilitate the parents in the process of keeping the children safe. Different kits offered by the company includes different identification details about the child along with the picture identity. The main kit, known as Kidz-IDz kit consists of different products like identification card with photo, medical card, fingerprinting, and several other tools (Kidz-IDz). With the help of all of these tools, parents can make sure that all essential measures are taken for the safety of the children. This product will carry all necessary information about the child and if he or she get lost somewhere or get indulge in some medical emergency, it will become easier to take life saving measures and contact the parents. Apart from this, the data and information can be converted into electronic information which can be forwarded to different institutions quickly in the case of emergency. Along with this the company allows the parents to update the data regularly in order to make sure that the data is not outdated. Price: All these safety items or tools in the Kidz-IDz kit are available at the price of $100.00. All products of the company are reason ably priced, so that most of the parents can afford the child safety products. Promotion: The company is currently promoting and marketing itself by taking part in different fundraising and charity programs. Kidz-IDz has positioned itself as the leader in the field of providing the all required information in order to keep the children safe and protected. In order to target more customers and ensuring that more and more children are protected, the company will promote itself online. For this purpose, Kidz-IDz will focus more on social media marketing and will launch the e-business with the help of TOP shelf marketing. Place: Along with the traditional brick and mortar physical store, the company will now also enter into the industry of e-commerce or e-business and launch the online store. The company will use penetrating pricing in order to increase the penetration of the product in the market. Online Strategies: In order to make sure that more and more traffic is targeted towards t he website and there are more revenues, the company will

Hawaii Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hawaii - Essay Example According to the paper the diversity of the place is also evident through its people, as it is full of culturally rich communities that are as charming and welcoming just as much as they are outgoing. Due to the small geographical foot print of Hawaiian Islands, it gives the impression of friendliness and safety, which is actually the case. Hawaii is generally safe and offers one comfort.This essay stresses that  there are some unique features and places that make Hawaii particularly so special and important to me. One of these is the Volcano National Park, which is a relatively expansive park that gives a very unique experience and view of the beauty of nature. Being a nature loving person, this is one of the features that most resonates with me. The numerous nature trails are always something to look forward to, and so is the general vicinity of the park. Additionally, the cuisine that characterizes the visitor center is among the best in the world, and always gives the impressio n that Hawaii is arguably the best place to be on a warm sunny day. Moreover, it is possible to get some accommodation to enjoy rest after a long day of hiking and exploring the area. Additionally, there is also a host of other geographical features that are equally mesmerizing to view first hand, from the lava beds, to the different types of beaches, one gets to see more than expected, and this gives individuals an open and wide perspective of nature’s finest details.

English Legal System vs Inequalities between Individuals and Groups Essay Example for Free

English Legal System vs Inequalities between Individuals and Groups Essay English Legal System vs Inequalities between Individuals and Groups Introduction Does The English Legal System Do Enough To Address Inequalities Between Individuals And Groups?            Addressing inequalities are a vital aspect of any government legal system, not only for the economic growth and for the development of the goals such as the millennium goals, but also for security and peace perspective. The legal system of English has not been left aside in the fight against inequalities among its citizens. This is the system of law that has developed in England. Horizontal inequalities have developed and increased among people globally and England has been affected. The inequalities are taken as increasing factor to the risk of violence, conflict, which can in turn worsen the inequalities among people or groups (Haskel Slaugther, 1999).            This paper looks into how and what the English Legal System is undertaking in the fight against inequalities among groups of people or individuals. There are increasing concerns about persistent and often rising inequalities. These inequalities includes aspects such as age, pregnancy and maternity, disability; race, gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership, religion or sexual orientation among other grounds where discrimination can occur. All these grounds of inequalities are applicable to both individuals and groups people. However, each and every legal system in different countries is tasked with the fight against any form of inequality among individuals or groups of people in the society. The English Legal system has been as well on the forefront in the fight against the inequality menace among its people (Pontusson, 2005).            The law has been and continues to be a tool through which essential democratic ideals have been expressed not only in the English legal system but also in other legal systems around the globe. The egalitarian ideals expressed include the same employment chances, equal right of entry into schooling among many other aspects. Simultaneously, the legal system is on its own a site of unusual discrimination, as discovered in different degree of access of first-class legal aid, discrepancy in arrest rates, or disparity in sentencing. The researches within this field attend show how good has the English legal system done to address the issues of inequalities between individuals and groups of people. Hence, law can be used as a mechanism for equalization and in turn can produce or express inequality as well (International Labor Office, 2007).            Disparity in the legal system, the main question behind the issue of inequality is whether the law is applied fairly to all members of any group? Courts appointed attorneys providing a sufficient protection for their needy clients? Is the death judgment more likely to be forced on African Americans than on whites? Who bears the brunt of the notable increase in the detention rate? When the prisoners re released from the jails, do their potential employers discriminate against them this creating an even larger underclass? In addition, how has the increase in the number of privatized prisons affected how captives are handled? How has it altered the political process (e.g. Entrance by the prison industry) that manages how large our imprisoned residents will be? Discrimination could be integrated as a concern into goals and targets on different sectoral/thematic issues such as (politics, security, justice, poverty, education and health), through speech stressing additio n, fairness, accountability and responsiveness to all social groups throughout the framework is essential in the English legal system (Witte Green, 2012).            There is numerous discrimination by type that is experienced amongst people in the United Kingdom. These include: age, disability, equal pay or compensation, religion, retaliation, sex and sexual harassment, genetic information, harassment, national origin, pregnancy, race/color,. One of the major areas of concern in the English legal system is the issue of inequality among the disabled people in the community. Not only in the United Kingdom, there has been a unison call from all the corners of the world from the people and groups of people for the disabled people to be respected in the society just like the normal individuals in the community. There have been campaigns all over the globe fighting for the rights of the disabled people. This has been dubbed as disability discrimination, which has resulted in inequality between different people in the society. According to Equality Act 2010, disability discrimination is when a disabled person is treated less favorabl y than a non-disabled person, and is treated in this way for a reason arising from their disability, and the treatment cannot be justified (Keister et all, 2012).            The fight against disability discrimination, in the United Kingdom has been defined by numerous acts in the English legal system. These include ‘The Equality Act 2010’ this provides disabled people with protection from discrimination in the workplace. England and Wales have had laws against, against discrimination since the 1960’s. For example, the Race Relations Acts of 1965, 1968 as well as that of 1976, all of which outlawed race inequity among groups of people or individually. In addition, there is also the 1970 Equal Pay Act and the ‘Sex Discrimination Act’ of 1975 which themselves proscribed discrimination in the line of gender. Moreover, there was the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which outlawed disability discrimination. Putting all of these acts together, in the year 2010, all, the anti-discrimination laws were confined together under one Act, namely the Equality Act 2010 (Chant, 2010).            The English Legal System comprises one of the greatest tools for people with disabilities, in order to ensure and also protect their fundamental rights. According to the ‘Equality Act 2010’ section 6 disability is defined as a ‘person who have an impairment either physically or mentally, however, the impairment should have substantial adverse as well as the lasting effects on their capability to perform their normal daily activities’. Under the act, there is direct disability discrimination as well as indirect form of discrimination. Section 15 of the Equality Act forbids the  unfavorable treatment  of a disabled person where the reason for the unfavorable treatment is not the disability itself, but something that comes up as a result of the disability (Partington, 2014).            Despite the wide and all inclusive act in the fight against disability inequality in the United Kingdom, there have been numerous cases reported of disability inequality among people, more so in the private sector of employment. The government has, however, embarked on the massive implementation of disability discrimination laws. Some of the achievements that have been beneficial to the fight against disability inequality in the United Kingdom are the implementation of the required facilities for the disabled in order for them to access services. This includes laws in building and constructions, whereby public buildings should be accessible to the disabled; this is through revision of the relevant facilities and services such as no stairs, washrooms for the disables among others. In addition, an important issue for some disabled people is the provision of adaptations of dwellings to improve safety, mobility and quality of life. Effective adaptations can lead to red uced pain and enhanced well being, self-esteem and control. Hence it can be said that the English legal system has done quite a lot in the fight against inequality among the disabled people or groups and in turn more should be implemented in terms law, implementation for the complete acceptance of the disabled people. The most affected sector where inequality is most felt is through employment (Fafinski Finch, 2008).            Another aspect that has given rise to inequality is the United Kingdom is the religious identification or differing peoples beliefs. According to human rights and anti-discrimination legislation in the UK, every person has the right to hold their own beliefs as well as any other philosophical beliefs that are similar to religion or beliefs. Under the Equality Act 2006, it is or prohibited or illegal for someone to differentiate or discriminate against another person or a group of people because of their religion or belief or else for the reason that, they have no religion or belief (Elliott, 2012).            There has been a case of religious discrimination in the United Kingdom, especially the issue of Britain’s divided schools that has been a disturbing portrait of inequality. With the increased differences between the Middle East countries and the western especially between the Muslims and other religions groups. In many cases, there has been a correlation between the increasing trend in terrorism and the Muslim religion. This has resulted in the inequality between the Arabs/Muslims in the UK and other people especially whites. Advance in achieving liberty of religion or belief and thwarting inequity based on religion or belief in the place of work and in public services has been widely advocated in the United Kingdom. Equally, the capability to draw conclusion continues to be stalled by Government’s reluctance to distinguish between the various Christian denominations, when recording people’s religious profession, either in the population censu s or the Labor Force Survey (Boaler, 2011).            Generally, the act on equality, human rights and religion or belief has been interpreted watchfully in domestic tribunals and courts as according to section 5.3 of the equality act. While some indirect inequity claims relating to dress codes and working hours have been successful, most claims based on religion have failed. This is largely because courts have mostly found that intrusion with the autonomy of belief or religion under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not easily recognized. Over the years, religious conviction has played a less leading role in public culture. Temporarily, the rival status hierarchies have fallen away. The meritocratic ladder of specialized success is pretty much the only one left standing. We can see a correlation between inequality and religious faith (Warren, 2006).            The presence of religious diversity in today’s times in the United Kingdom has resulted in increased contact between religious, which has sometimes revealed deep-rooted stereotyping and prejudice, which in turn leads to tension and sometimes conflict between individuals or groups of people in the community. Indeed, religion is an indispensable component in the identity of some of the groups that make up our society, however, it has also been connected with stereotypes or depressing preconception, including the assumption of a so-called ‘clash of civilizations. Political events and popular discourse have repeatedly been revealed in the media and have negatively linked terrorism and Islam. This has in turn prejudiced social attitudes and led to a Renaissance of religious and racial discrimination in the community and most public places. A latest information on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) found that Muslims are often fat alities of inequity, negative stereotyping and of manifestations of prejudice and hatred. These take the form of verbal threats and physical attacks on people and property and racial and mostly religion affiliation profiling (Oliva, 2008).            The growing visibility of religious and belief variety in Europe and especially United Kingdom has been depicted by an increase in unfairness, inequity, and prejudice against religious and ethnic minorities. While a great deal of development has been achieved, biasness on grounds of racial or ethnic origin and religion is still a problem for many people in our societies, even though this is tricky to accurately measure due to short of data on the religious composition of the inhabitants of the UK, mainly in regard to minority religions. The English Legal system has created a structure of legal tools, policies, and initiatives for fighting religious and racial unfairness and in turn promoting fairness. Nevertheless, it could be argued that the principles of equality and non-discrimination and the respect for the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion have not been fully implemented in all Member States (Lansley, 2012).            Despite the tremendous effort by the government and the vast established English legal law, there are still cases of religion inequality and discrimination within individuals and the UK citizens towards either an individual or a specific group or community. People affiliated to religious minorities, especially migrants; also, experiences disproportionately lower incomes and higher rates of unemployment, as they face problems accessing housing and in turn living in poor environs. They suffer from prejudice and experience exclusion or marginalization in social, political, and economic activity and from unfair treatment in public or social services (Blanden Machin, 2013).            The enactment of the Equality act 2010 in United Kingdom has redefined people’s rights regardless of their religion affiliation. The introduction of the law has targeted all people in the country, and in turn offering the right protection to people. In addition, the human rights movements have been active in fight for the people’s rights and in turn bringing along equality among the countries populace. English Legal system has been deemed as one of the all-inclusive legal system and has been a positive aspect in the fight for equality among the United Kingdom citizens. The ‘Equality Act 2010’ has been drawn-up to deal with inequality and also prevent prejudice against all sorts of people on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’. It brings together several presented laws and aims to make understanding the law simpler. It also introduces a new single public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to actively advan ce equality. This has enabled the UK government to be able to handle the numerous issues of inequality in the society. In accordance to the question posed ‘whether the ‘English Legal System’ is doing enough to address Inequalities between Individuals and Groups, the answer is YES. Although there has been numerous handles in the full achievement of equality, the government has been able to implement laws that has been effective in curbing inequality. Moreover, the legal system has developed an effective criminal justice system which has enabled in the fight against inequality (Keister et al, 2012).            In conclusion, there are many experiences that remain invisible and ignored within the wider agendas in the fight against inequalities within the English legal system. While the inequalities are widespread and all-encompassing, the legal systems have tried to be all inclusive in solving all forms of inequalities that are experienced within the individuals, and groups in the society. It is clear that there can be an experience of far-reaching inequality, prejudice, favoritism and racism from politicians, the media, and the public. However, numerous recommendations have been made in different chapters for the introduction of ethnic monitoring, for example in health, social work, substance use services and criminal justice. In many of these domains, existing equality and human rights law provides the framework for addressing these injustices, but it needs to be proactively and effectively implemented. References Haskel, J., Slaugther, M. J. (1999).  Trade, technology and U.K. wage inequality. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Pontusson, J. (2005).  Inequality and prosperity: Social Europe vs. liberal America. Ithaca, NY [u.a.: Cornell Univ. Press. International Labour Office. (2007). Equality at work: Tackling the challenges : global report under the follow up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Geneva: International Labour Office. Witte, J., Green, M. C. (2012). Religion and human rights: An introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Keister, L. A., McCarthy, J., Finke, R. (2012). Religion, work, and inequality. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Pub Limited. Chant, S. (2010). The International Handbook of Gender and Poverty. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub.Partington, Martin. (2014). Introduction to the English Legal System 2014-2015. Oxford Univ Pr.Fafinski, S., Finch, E. (2008). English legal system. Harlow: Longman. Elliott, C. (2012). English legal system. Harlow: Pearson. Stephenson, M., Harrison, J. (2011). Unravelling Equality: The Impact of the United Kingdoms Spending Cuts on Women.Political Quarterly,  82(4), 645-650. doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2011.02256.x Boaler, J. (2011). Mathematics and science inequalities in the United Kingdom: when elitism, sexism and culture collide.  Oxford Review Of Education,  37(4), 457-484. Warren, T. (2006). Moving beyond the gender wealth gap: On gender, class, ethnicity, and wealth inequalities in the United Kingdom.  Feminist Economics,  12(1/2), 195-219. doi:10.1080/13545700500508502 Oliva, J. (2008). Religious Symbols in the Classroom: A Controversial Issue in the United Kingdom.  Brigham Young University Law Review,  2008(3), 877-896. Lansley, S. (2012). Inequality, the Crash and the Ongoing Crisis.  Political Quarterly,  83(4), 754- 761. doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2012.02357.x Blanden, J., Machin, S. (2013). Educational Inequality and The Expansion of United Kingdom Higher Education.  Scottish Journal Of Political Economy,  60(5), 597-598. doi:10.1111/sjpe.12031 Source document

Strategy Implemented In Starwood Hotels And Resorts Tourism Essay

Strategy Implemented In Starwood Hotels And Resorts Tourism Essay To critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to the Environmental Concern: A Case Study of Element Hotel ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to critically evaluate the green initiatives implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts by introducing a green hotel chain, Element hotel. The author intend to assess to what extent the implemented strategies are all-encompassing in responding to environmental concern as one of major contemporary issue in todays hospitality industry. As the matter of fact that the global environment is severely affected by todays business, natural resources are predictably running out in next 50 years if no improvement is being made by all business. In the last decade, peoples awareness of environmental protection is significantly increasing. For instance, new emerging market of eco-conscious traveler and pressure from eco-ethic group act as the driven force to urge business companies rapidly launch environmental friendly program to support sustainability development. In this research, green initiatives implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts are critically examined basing on ISO 14001 model. The positivism philosophy with deductive approach will be adopted throughout the research. The author will critically review the literature related to environmental management. Secondary research will be used to investigate the green initiatives implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts with a case study focused on Element hotel, followed by a critical analyze on the strategies with application of ISO 14001 model. Last but not least, the author will assess to what extent the implemented strategies are all-encompassing in responding to environmental concern. The research has shown that Starwood Hotels and Resorts have successfully implemented comprehensive green initiatives by introducing a green hotel chain, Element hotel. The author suggests that further evaluation and improvement should be continuously carried out to strive be the leader in supporting sustainability development in hospitality industry. Moreover, the author advises that primary research should be carried out for future study in order to gain more generalized and specifically up-to-date result. TABLE OF CONTENTS _______________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND INFORMATION Background of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Element Hotel NECESSITY TO RAISE THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN LONG RUN Increasing pressure from ethical consumers New emerging market, Eco conscious traveler The impact of environmental problem onto hospitality industry AIM AND OBJECTIVES Aim Objectives THE ISO 14001 MODEL Environmental Policy Planning Implementation and Operation Checking and Corrective Action Management Review Continual Improvement RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOG Proposed Study Design Secondary Research Limitations 3.0 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 3.1 Environmental Policy 3.2 Planning 3.3 Implementation and Operation 3.4 Checking and Corrective Action 3.5 Management Review Continual Improvement CONCLUSION 5.0 REFERENCES 6.0 APPENDICES 1.0 INTRODUCTION __________________________________________________________________________ In the past few years, environmental issue has severely plagued hospitality industry (Pasiuk, 2006). The significant changes in global environment and climate definitely draw attention to all business. People start to think about how the mother earth can be saved from harm and the way to sustain hospitality industry. The popularity of eco-friendly hotel is closely related to the growing awareness of global warming (Guitierrez, 2008) and also the new emerging market segment Eco-traveler (Patterson, 2007). According to Forbes (2007, cited in Go Budget Travel, 2007), it stated that traveler with sense of eco-awareness is a new trends nowadays. Hence, many hotels and resorts make effort to launch wide variety of initiatives on green management (Enz, 2010). As a global leader in hospitality industry, Starwood Hotels and Resorts steps forward responding to the trend with action on building up its own culture of sustainability by introducing its innovation Eco-Friendly hotel chain called E lement (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010). The purpose of this report is to critically evaluate how Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern by introducing a green hotel chain, Element hotel. In order to achieve the purpose, the author first highlights Eco-traveler as one of the mainstream in hospitality industry and identify the importance of taking environmental concern as a corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, the author is then illustrates the theoretical framework of ISO 14001 model and critically evaluates its application to the strategies implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to the contemporary issue of environmental concern. Last but not least, a brief summary and recommendation will be provided. BACKGROUND INFORMATION __________________________________________________________________________ 1.1.1 Background of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Element Hotel Starwood Hotels and Resorts grow to be a hotel behemoth through every effort made by Mr. Barry Sternlicht (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010). At the present time, Starwood is widely renowned as one of the luxury hotel chain worldwide. Starwoods fleet is currently owns and operates approximately 750 hotels under premium leading brands including Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis, Westin, W brand, the luxury collection and notably its latest innovation product Element, in 80 countries over every continent (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010). Element hotel is a green hotel chain newly launched by Starwood Hotels and Resorts by the year of 2008 (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010a). The inspiration is induced by travelers eco-etiquette. According to Savage (2008, cited in Press Release, 2008), most of the traveler adopts green routine at home however only a few of them do the same at the hotel. In response, Element hotels take the lead in going green. Element is built green to reduce from the ground up, as the first major hotel brand pursue U.S. Building Councils LEED Certification for every property (Press Release, 2008a), depicting the importance of the environment in todays world. Element is committed to provide the guest with a no-compromise, eco-chic experience and also as an easy way responsible to be eco-friendly without sacrificing guest experience, in addition, the element philosophy is to satisfy guests needs with the environment in mind (Elements hotel, 2010). Nowadays, Starwood is recognized as the environmentally friendly luxury brand within the hospitality industry (Rockmael, 2007). With the recognition of its remarkable green initiatives, the author is intended to critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern. Green initiatives undertaken by Starwood Hotels and Resorts will be further elaborated in details by focus on the case study of Element hotel. Necessity to raise the importance of sustainability in the long run __________________________________________________________________________ Increasing pressure from ethical consumers It is not surprising to find that a significant growing number of large-scale corporate are experiencing an exerting pressure from consumer activist groups requiring betterment on the performance of both social and environmental aspect. An elevating level of these issues are gradually becoming mainstream and the consumers are commonly raising question about the general performance in terms of ethical, social and environmental of the service and product they consume. More enlightened companies treat these prompting changes as a golden opportunity of embracing social and environmental concerns integrated into their operation (Gupta, M.C., 1995). 1.2.2 New emerging market segment, eco-conscious traveler According to the research conducted by Green Hotel Association (2007), about 43 millions travelers in the United States are concerned about environmental consciousness in the hospitality industry. Meanwhile, referring to the survey done by USA Travel Association (2008), 54 million peoples search for companies that are concerned with the protection of local environment and incline to book travel arrangement with these companies. Korman (2008, cited in Press Release, 2008: 2) also agree that Todays consumers including guests who stay with us, corporate customers who select hotel providers and the development community who build our hotels are increasingly demanding green options when they select hotel brands. At the present time, eco-awareness is very popular in travel trends (Harding, 2010). And Chemla (2007, cited in Vora, 2007:1) also argued that now upscale travelers want to do whatever they can to be eco-conscious. The characteristics of eco-conscious traveler (refer to Appendix 1) can be concluded as lack of knowledge about environmental issue, however, they are keen to learn. Element hotel is tailor-made for eco conscious traveler, as Savage (2008: 1) stated that We know our guests want to be eco conscious, it is our job to make it easy for them. Eco-conscious traveler is defined as a person who yearns for making positive contribution while travelling with the companies that sustain development on environmental practices (Eco media group, 2010). With the emerging segment of eco-conscious traveler, in response many hotels and resorts started to launch green management program to emphasize their concern in environmental sustainability. Green initiatives are implemented into the hotel s operation to maintain brand image (Grant, 2007), reputation and remain competitive in the marketplace (Schulz, 2009). As Ryan (2006 :1) stated that Going green isnt necessarily about saving the environment, rather its about saving the business. All the undertaken green initiatives are viewed as marketing strategies helps to boost up the sales as well as the occupancy rate (Honey, 2008). According to the research conducted by Watkins (1994), the findings shown that about 71 percent of respondents would likely or extremely likely to stay in a hotel implemented with environmental strategy. Furthermore, in the case of The Sol Elite Falco Hotel, they recorded a significant growth of 15% in business after the adoption of environmental practices (Honey, 2008). 1.2.3 The impact of environmental problem onto hospitality industry In the past few decades, as a matter of fact that global population is dramatically escalating, it is not surpirsed to find that both rural and urban area are densely-populated. It leads to accelerating demand on not only living space but also resources to accommodate peoples physical need for basic living. Besides, with the promising stability of global economy, at the present time vast majority of people are capable to lead a better living, to pursue a quality of life. Driven by that reason, many businesses habitually utilize limited resource to fulfill the unlimited needs and wants from the consumer. In the meantime, the consequence is commonly neglected. Overusing resource on the mother earth, many negative impacts and problems can be severely affecting the society such as occasion of global warming, pollution and climate change. As Aldunce and Leon (2007:33) stated that disaster risk does not only exist because of the presence of a physical hazard, and it is compounded by the pr esence of vulnerable populations. In that sense, both direct and indirect impacts are possibly brought to hospitality industry. Greenhouse gases are the driven force to the elevating average level of temperature on the planet (Tisdell, 2008). It is resulted as rising sea level that leads to drastically changing of water availability geographically. Thats the reason why the weather is in instability correlated with the harvest of agricultural and the phenomenon of natural disasters happen more frequently in last ten years (Mckibben, 2007). Above mentioned circumstances are inevitably threaten hospitality and tourism industry (Kirby, 2007). For instance, in 2004, tsunami in Phuket (BBC News, 2009) brought relentless damage to the local community. The infrastructure and the landscape were completely destroyed. Phuket is as a renowned tourist destination with approximately 7 millions of tourist annually (TourismThailand Org, 2010). Tsunami was harshly hit the hospitality industry which is the mainstream sector in Phuket. Tsunami caused the local communities and business to spend large sum of money on reconstruction of the environment and infrastructure including numerous hotel property and facilitates. As mentioned, the changing climate is associated with the harvest of agricultural. It impacts on the reduction of the availability of agricultural thus the food cost raise up correspondingly. Likewise, due to water pollution, reduction of water supply leads to increasing price of water. As the result, hotels are undoubtedly affected with larger expenditure on acquiring water supply and food materials from the suppliers. To conclude, water and energy are the necessity to hotels daily operation. In the viewpoint of hotel, they would acquire this necessity to sustain the business at all cost. Consequently, hospitality industry should not hesitate and to take proactive measures to against the potential challenge and also encourage the sustainable development incorporated with environmental concern. Natural disaster is inevitably takes place, however, hospitality industry could strive to launch environmental management program to at least minimize the probability of its occurrence. 1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES __________________________________________________________________________ 1.3.1 Aim To critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern by introducing Element Hotel 1.3.2 Objectives To identify the environmental concern as a contemporary issue affecting Starwood Hotels and Resorts To review the literature related to environmental management and ISO 14001 model To identify the associated challenges and factors of environmental concern in hospitality industry To critically investigate and evaluate the strategies implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern by using ISO 14001 model THE ISO 14001 MODEL __________________________________________________________________________ Source: EnviroManager (2009) Environmental Management Software; (http://www.enviromanager.net/index.htm) According to Latham (2007), an appropriate theoretical framework can be guidance for the research study thus enhances the efficiency. ISO 14001 model is renowned as a global green standard, therefore, it is being chosen by the author as a tools to critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern. In-depth explanations and critical analysis of this framework will be carried out in the following session. ISO 14001 is recognized as one of the most noteworthy initiatives on sustainable development. It is an Environmental Management System (EMS) providing any organization a theoretical framework for effectively managing environmental responsibilities to facilitate its efficiency and better integration into business operation (Hansen, Mowen Guan, 2007). This model is clearly presenting the whole procedure towards effective environmental management. Moreover, continual improvement is particularly emphasizes within the process which indicates that it is an essential component contributing toward the success of environmental management. On the contrary, Plan, Do, Check, Act Model known as Deming cycle, is another approach of Environmental Management System. However, it is not adopted by the author as its simplified structure, relatively low accuracy and the process of continual improvement is not encompassed in the model. Most importantly ISO 14001 model is basically built on the Plan, Do, Check, Act model. Hotels that efficiently integrate an Environmental Management System into organizations operation can enjoy so many benefits. Nowadays, majority of consumers seeking guarantee they are sustaining and choosing operations that encourage protection of the environment. An Environmental Management System helps to uplift the hotels reputation, awareness of the public and creates an opportunity to develop new market segment, environmentally conscious consumers (Bill and Monaco, 1999). In general, hotel can facilitate efficiency and achieve reduction of operating costs through setting an unambiguous and realistic performance goals and objectives that hotel can put efforts towards. It also helps to increase competitiveness in global market, expand tactical advantage over non-certified competitors, meet consumer requirement and demonstrate commitment to quality (Anderson, 2000). Moreover, the potential economic benefit is surprisingly far more than enough to launch an Environmental Management Systems in the property (Tibor and Feldman, 1996). Environmental Policy Establishing an Environmental Policy is certainly requiring the participation of top management of the organization to deeply define the policy that is consistent with the span of an EMS and suitable to the organization (Johnson, 1997). According to Moore (2000: 14-6), Environmental Policy is the statement by the organization of its intentions and principles in relation to its overall environmental performance which provides a framework for action and for the setting of its environmental objectives and targets. The Environmental policy should be embodied with an obligation to continual improvement, prevention of all kind pollution and obedience to the legal requirements (Woodside, Aurrichio and Yturri, 1998). Lastly, this policy ought to be documented and published to the public before communicating with all the personnel working for or the representative of the organization. A comprehensible vision of the policy helps the management in planning activities. Planning An effective planning is necessary and a crucial process to determine an assessable organizational goal and offer guidance to fulfill the achievement (Johnson, 1997; Montana and Chamov, 2000). For that reason, the author recognizes the importance of Planning process in ISO 14001 model. Besides, the organization should be pragmatically stipulating the objectives with reference to both direct and indirect impacts deriving from previous management for instance reduction of water consumption. According to Block (1999; 1), Organization shall ensure that environmental aspects related to these significant impacts are considered when setting environmental objectives. Furthermore, environmental activities should be inclusively all-encompassing supplies, waste management and notably obligation of responsibilities (Rao, 2008). From the authors point of view, a comprehensive planning would drive the organization to the right direction on developing its culture of sustainability program in respon ding to environmental concern. Implementation and Operation In this stage, the author suggests that the roles and responsibilities of job task need to be clearly assigned to every employee in order to efficiently implement the environmental management system. Furthermore, senior management must employ a representative especially in charge of environmental management. Representative is responsible to extract report on the performance of EMS and potentially offer recommendation for betterment on a regular basis. Senior management is also responsible to ensure the availability of the materials which is needed for implementation and further improvement on EMS in the property (Tibor and Feldman, 1996). Specific practice is necessarily established to facilitate internal and external communication as regards to environmental issues, For instance, company report of its adopted environmental practice can be issued to the public to maintain continual communication externally thus raise up public awareness to the company (Culley, 1998). Continuous train ing and regular meeting is essentially held frequently to increase awareness of employee on environmental practices and its impact (Cascio, Woodside and Mitchell, 1996) consequentially to ensure that employees are completely understand the system and their roles within the EMS (Sullivan and Wyndham, 2001). Checking and corrective action According to Withcer, Chau and Harding (2007), the significance of checking is in relations to the long-run strategy and effectively manages organizations performance. Checking process helps to identify and ensure the environmental performance in terms of quality and standard of ISO 14001 model is on the right track and facilitate betterment to meet the purposed organizational goals. Corrective action should be undertaken appropriately to the magnitude of the problem as immediate measurements (Rao, 2008). Management review It requires senior management of the organization to evaluate the EMS to make certain the continuous capability, aptness and effectiveness. Evaluation is necessarily undertaken to promote further improvements. Also, management review can benefit an organization to experience more extraordinary environmental performance (Rao, 2008). Continual improvement Continual improvement is the methodical approach to recognize the potential problem, seek opportunity, establish measurement, collect data, and make comparison to the trend purposing to verify if the progress is smoothly ongoing toward the set objectives embodied in the environmental policy and planning (Johnson, 1997). According to Rao (2008:87), continual improvement helps to achieve the fulfillment of the urge for contributing toward sustainability. RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOGY __________________________________________________________________________ This section provides the reader with better understanding on the research method that the author has been adopted throughout the research. The research design and data collection method is justified in this chapter. Proposed study design The purpose of this research is to find out how Starwood Hotels and Resorts is responding to the challenge of environmental concern, therefore the author will adopt positivism as research philosophy for this study. And the author will use deductive approach to test whether the organizations strategy is all-encompassing with the theoretical framework of ISO 14001 model. In order to achieve the research purpose, the author conducted secondary research to collect information on environmental issues theories and the strategies that the Starwood Hotels and Resorts put on practice. Primary research is not conducted for this report, because the author recognized there is a bulk of data was published online that is sufficient for the author to make analysis. The author decided to analyze the strategy the organization adopted by using a theoretical framework and academic theories related to green management.. Since the author can easily access the information required for the research, therefore, only secondary research is conducted. Secondary research Veal (2006) stated that secondary research enriches the reader with existing information which has already been collected. The author collected both quantitative and qualitative data on the organizations environmental-friendly strategies and literature of environmental issues. Information was sourced from the SHMS-UC library; where textbooks with hospitality-related topics are available; in addition, online articles and journals were sourced from the online database such as Emerald. Through the use of internet, the author can access a wider range of up-to-date information about environmental issues. 3.0 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS __________________________________________________________________________ In this section, an in-depth evaluation on how the Element Hotel responds to environmental concern with the application of ISO 14001 framework will be carried out. The green initiatives launched by Element Hotel will be elaborated and categorized into the process of ISO 14001 model. 3.1 Environmental Policy According to Element Hotels official website (2010), Element embrace the responsibility for continual environmental stewardship and are committed to integrating leading environmental practices and sustainability principles into the core business strategy. Element has focused on the conservation of natural resources, reduction on waste and pollution, betterment and enhancement of indoor environmental quality and raising awareness of environmental concern between employees, guests and local community (Element Hotels, 2010). Moreover, Element is committed to develop an economically responsible LEED-certified hotel concept that is promising a more sustainable future (Paasschen, 2008:1). In authors opinion, the statement of Element environmental policy is clearly showed the intentions and principles related to environmental practices by Element hotel and evidences of complying with legislation requirement. To contrast with the ISO 14001 model, Element hotel has developed a statement which is committed to green environment. The principles of the hotel are all about green. In addition, employees and customers can have a better understanding about the green strategies undertaken at the Element. In this section, the author strongly agrees that Element hotel has implemented the environmental policy successfully. Planning Element hotels are primarily introduced to the public by Starwood Hotels and Resorts as a strategic plan to against the challenges in environmental concern. The element philosophy is to satisfy guests needs while keeping the environment in mind (Element Hotels, 2010a). Element is actively make effort striving to minimize the environmental impact stemming from business activities and enhance continual improvement and innovation on practices. As McGuinness (2009) stated that elements efforts around green are great for the Earth and great for our guests. Element endeavors to launch green initiatives to diminish the operation cost as well as expend the market share by building up a reputable green image. The planning of green initiatives at Element are categorized into Reducing, Reusing and Recycling (Element Hotels, 2010a). At Element, departmental managers are participated in environmental management planning in order to fulfill different range of needs within each department, and establish a realistic and effective plan on environmental management. The author agrees that an accessible plan is essentials to provide employee a better understanding thus to take action properly following the proposed planning. In the planning process, the author mentioned the planning will establish an assessable organizational goal. The reducing, reusing, and recycling planning could help the hotel to achieve the hotels strategy which is to develop the green philosophy to the employees and customers. In the next section, the operations will be discove red in order to complete Elements planning. Implementation and Operation Element hotels score high marks from U.S. Building Green Council (USBGC, 2010), that indicates the significance of its variety of cost-effective green principle on the improvement of environmental sustainability. Element have launched a responsible business program to staff on seeking feedback. As Potts, Christenbury Wolak (1994: 41) mentioned that The hotel staffs are a key source of information, their input and suggestions for improvement are critical to implementation of a good plan. Feedback can make certain the inaccuracy and errors to be corrected before problem arise once again (Lancaster and Stanhope, 2004). Moreover, meeting holds in a regular basis in order to maintain staff awareness of the implemented environmental program at Element. The author suggests that social activities such as picnics and hikes or competition can be organized to encourage motivation and enhance communication within the workforce. Management can allow people to take ownership of certain project al so a means of motivation. In addition, suggestion boxes and reward staff for success in terms of introducing and educating the guest with on-site green initiatives. At Element hotel, a module on its comprehensive environmental policy is en-compassing in staff induction and also refresher training. Adequate Training is important to endow the staffs with necessary tools in order to maximize the benefits to staff member (Remenyi, 2007). Reduced water consumption According to Green Lodging News (2008), Element efficiency features saving 942,000 gallons of water per guestroom every year through the adoption of water conservation measures. Element implemented Grey water system which is any wastewater has been used within the property except toilet water can be re-used for watering plants and toilet water through filtering treatment. Dual-Flush toilet is installed in all guest room and public area that helps to lower water consumption up to 67%. Low flow shower heads and water-efficient faucet aerators also means to conserve water, all dramatically increase the efficiency and ease the burden of water supplies while giving the guest a great experience. Reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions Element conserve energy by launching energy conservation measures en-compassing an environmental friendly lighting system throughout the property supported by compact fluorescent light (CFL) and Light-emitting diode (LED), Energy-Star labeled appliances in each guest room and high efficiency ventilating and conditioning system. And the roof top is equipped with solar reflect panal that reflect heat from the sun so as to ease the burden on hotel air conditioning systems. Element also encourages the development of renewable energy technology through purchasing credits of renewable energy to compensate partial electricity consumption. According to Element Hotels (2010), 35% of the used electricity comes from renewable sources such as wind power at Element Hotel. Recycling by Element hotel is estimated to have already conserved enough energy to supply approximately 9 million households in United States (Press Release, 2008a). Improved indoor environmental quality measures Element hotel is in partnership with EcoLab for the implementation of Green Housecleaning practices, to encourage using environmental friendly cleaning products and facilitate day-lighting throughout the property by installing oversized window in every guest room (Green Lodging News, 2008). Smoking is strictly prohibited in and around the property to ensure good air quality. Furthermore, element hotel applies low Volatile Organic Compunds paints and carpets made of 100% recyclable materials. Traditional Do Not Disturb sign paper tag is replaced by the environmental friendly magnet (Press Release, 2008). Execution of waste management and Recycling At Element hotel, pa

Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf is a well-known Anglo-Saxon poem that has been in English classes around the United States for almost as long as there have been schools around. Beowulf is not an actual picture of historic Denmark, Geatland, or Sweden around 500 A.D., yet it is on a general view, a self-consistent picture, a construction bearing clearly the marks of design and thought. Beowulf to us can only truly be enjoyed if one reads it in the old English version. The effects of the poem are not the same, although the sense of the heroic beast is very true. The story of Beowulf is still relevant to today’s society and relates to problems faced in current everyday life. In our society we face simple problems and difficult problems and all problems have a good and bad about them. It all depends on the person’s outlook for the course of action that they will take.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beowulf strikes peculiar reactions among scholars, historians, and professors. The increase in the amount of confusion is caused by new twists to old theories and by new theories. Beowulf was composed for an audience that would take into account the struggles that the main character took, and the audience would see the poem in its own way. Though few can clearly understand the value of the poem, we must realize that judging the poem from a twentieth century point of view would be unjust to the author or authors of Beowulf.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most pleasing trends in recent old English studies has been the increasing awareness of the truth and importance of this simple observation. It is one which often has been overlooked by scholars and the ever growing critics. These people prefer to regard Beowulf as a source book for historians. Some people tend to overlook the meanings of Beowulf and perceive them in a wrong manner. In a profound lecture given by J.R.R.Tolkien in 1963, he tried to do what many people were trying to do, make sense of Beowulf. He gave an amusing and persuasive summary of the variety of theories of Beowulf’s poet’s ideas and aims.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tolkien said, â€Å"Beowulf is a half baked native epic which was killed by Latin learning, it is feeble and incompetent as a narrative.†(Crossley.9-17). Tolkien also said much more on behalf of Beowulf’s poet. It is not the fault of the poet but the result of our ignorance of the conventions in which Anglo-Saxon poems were written.

Analysis of Act 3 of A Dolls House Essay -- A Dolls House Act Three

Analysis of Act 3 of A Doll's House For most of the play, we see Torvald delighting in Nora’s dependence upon him but not in his control over her, but as the play progresses the side of Torvald we see is more pushover than dictator. In the scene following the party, Torvald’s enjoyment of his control over Nora takes on a darker tone. He treats her like his possession, like the young girl he first acquired years ago. Contributing to the feeling of control that Torvald is exercising over Nora is that the evening has been of Torvald’s design—he dresses Nora in a costume of his choosing and coaches her to dance the tarantella in the manner that he finds â€Å"desirable.† The hollowness of Torvald’s promises to save Nora shows how little he appreciates her sacrifice. Nora expects compassion from Torvald after he finds out about her predicament, especially since, after learning of Dr. Rank’s imminent death, Torvald confesses that he fantasizes about risking his life to save Nora’s. Once given the opportunity, however, Torvald shows no intention of sacrificing anything for No...

Broadworth general hospital Essay

For the past 20 years our hospital has contracted all training seminars with your company, your company has been dependable and always gets the job done. In March, we need to train 20 supervisors in the area of Sexual Harassment and Unlawful Discrimination in the workplace. We would like your company Wydade Consulting Services to complete the training for us. The training will take place on the first floor of the hospital room. We would like your trainer Ms. Deb Walker, to teach the seminar. In the past, Ms. Walker has presented a strong and powerful power point presentation followed by a question and answer session. On the day of training we will need the following. Projector Presentation Brochures/handouts Notepads Pens light refreshments Please respond to me as soon as possible with a date MS Walker will be available in March. I can be reached at (598) 597 1234 Thank you Sincerely yours, Karen Lawrence A.A. KL/xx To: Deb Walker CC: Jeremy Dittmer @ Miriam Hopkins Subject: Sexual Harassment and Unlawful Discrimination in the work force Dear Deb: I would like to confirm our arrangements as we previously discussed regarding the seminar which is to be held on March 10 ,2016 at 2:00 . Located on the first floor in room 109 of the hospital you are more than welcome to come early to set up. We will be starting promptly at 2:00, refreshments and snacks will be there at approximately 4:15 to 4:30. If you require further assistance or have any questions, please contact me at (598) 597 1234 or via email at Lawrence.lawrence@ yahoo .com To: Miriam Hopkins, Director of Human Resources From: Karen Lawrence, Administrative Assistant Dec 17, 2012 Subject: Sexual Harassment and Unlawful Discrimination in the workplace We received a confirmation from Jeremy Dittmer regarding the seminar details, the date is March 10, 2016 and the time is 2:00 and has provided the trainer with all the necessary materials. The trainer he has assigned is MS Deb Walker, the seminar will be on the first floor room 109.We will make sure that we will have all the necessary materials. Ms Walker will be providing, pens; paper; pamphlets; follow along booklets. Refreshments such as coffee; tea; water; juice, and snacks will be provided and scheduled for delivery the afternoon of March 10 between 4:15 and 4:30. If you have have questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can also contact Deb Walker directly by email at Deb walker@ yahoo .com or by phone at (802) 559 6315 ext. 2206. KL/AA