Reaction Paper to Movie Hoop Dreams Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reaction Paper to Hoop Dreams - Movie Review Example This is seen in the movie as it entails the story of two high school students In Chicago who had a dream of becoming professional basketball players. The two African American teenagers; Arthur Agree and William Gate, studied in a white, Roman Catholic high school called St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois after being recruited by the schools’ scout (Joravsky, 1996). Despite the economic adversity, long hours commuting, change in environment and difficult training, Agree and Gates worked very hard to enhance their basketball skills despite the competitive industry in the job. Their families also played an important role in supporting them with the school basketball program. In the film we get to see Americas’ present view of education, race, economic diversity, social class and values. William Gates of the two students is obsessed to play in the National Basketball Association. Four years down the line William Gates progresses to the Nike All-America basketba ll camp. During the camp one of the coaches, Mr. Lee, informs them that the only reason they were in the camp was to make their schools win and make a lot of money. At the camp, the college coaches tended to overlook high school players. This reveals the relentless procedure in which coaches and recruiting scouts neglect to recognize such people like Arthur Agree and William Gates. The life of the two students seemed to be opening up smoothly where William is aiming for a stunning college career as well as the pro basketball view whereas; Arthur Agree seems to progress downwards. The two are engaged into a system that is not ready to take them in easily (Joravsky, 1996). The film was also used as a tool to express the social issue in the American community which it achieves and puts in even more important questions. It also portrays how money affected the society as well as major institutions, for example in the case scenario where ‘coach Lee’ gives advice to Arthur Agr ee and William Gates that everything they were getting involved was at it about money and even quoted; â€Å"the whole thing is about money† and tried to explain how they were being used by the school so that it would win and make a lot of money. He even went to further to tell them that, the only way that people like them, people from the poor black neighborhood, would defend themselves as well as their interests from such situation, was through being aware of the fact that it was not just about playing basketball but everything was revolving around money (Joravsky, 1996). Arthur Agree lived with his parents who broke up but later made u and were back together after Arthur’s father had a drug problem (crack) but managed to get over it. They lived in the Cabrini-Green housing project, whereas; William Gates lived with his single mother and his older brother called Curtis who had missed out on his own basketball career in college but didn’t give up but rather inv ested his dreams in his younger brother William Gates. He had so much trust in his small brother such trust in his younger brother such that he even made a comment saying he does not see how the brother, William Gates was not

The Missing Link in Conflict resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Missing Link in Conflict resolution - Essay Example IGD also aims to identify differences across the groups brought together and to improve the capabilities of both individuals and groups to achieve social justice (Nagada and Gurin 2007, 35). This paper compares and contrast the conflict processes operative for Northern Ireland, South Africa and the Israeli/Palestinian conflicts. The object is to identify what if any of the IGD theories are reflecting in these three conflict resolution process. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is characterized as among the country’s â€Å"most effective† conflict resolution processes to date (Gibson 2006, 409). The TRC has contributed significantly to South Africa’s democratic reforms by influencing a â€Å"more reconciled society† (Gibson 2006, 409). The conflict resolution process in Northern Ireland takes a similar holistic approach in that the conflict resolution process is centered around policies and initiatives designed to foster equality and to â€Å"improve community relations† (Cairsn and Darby 1998, 754). The School of Peace approach to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict resolution is slightly different in that the process aims to heighten individual awareness of the conflict, their part in it and the facilitation of identities via intergroup interactions (Halabi and Sonnenschein 2004, 49). IGDs are built around bringing together between 12 and 16 students once a week for between ten and fourteen weeks. These students convene under the leadership of a â€Å"trained peer† who instructs from a plan that merges several learning initiatives which include â€Å"intellectual and effective engagement†; â€Å"individual reflection and group dialogue†; â€Å"individual intergroup and institutional analyses†; â€Å"affinity-based and heterogeneous groupings;† and â€Å"individual and collective action† (Nagada and Durin 2007, 35). IGD takes the position that the social justice education typically fails to implement tools of intergroup interactions

Report on Greater Galago Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Report on Greater Galago - Essay Example Males have a penis that is 20mm in length with tip wellings (Anderson 326). Furthermore, the penis is enclosed in spines that reduces in size in the direction of the tip where the baculum end is observed (Anderson 329). Otolemur crassicaudatus mainly feeds on fruits, gums from Acacia karroo, millipedes, seeds, insects and nectar (Clark 588). This species of Galogos also consumes lower sepals from Adonsonia digitata (baobab) and Genius Combretum (Coe & Isaac 123). In Transvaal south Africa this species of Galogos feeds on dry fruits that are hard shelled and woody and also Zizyphus mucronata berries. Greater Galogos also feeds on anthropoids found in orders: Isoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Chilopoda, Odonata and Coleoptera (Harcourt 492).Moreover, this species feeds on termites of Macrotermes sp and millipedes using tongue and lips while walking (Happold & Happold 118).It does this by moving from one tree to another capturing insects and foraging on gum (Clark 593). Otolemur crassi caudatus sleeps in hidden thick mesh of creepers and twigs of trees 5-12m from the ground .Greater Galogos have many sleeping sites and during the day they cannot move away from these sites Otolemur crassicaudatus moves quadrupedally in bushes and forests. While on the ground, it moves using hind limbs only with a kangaroo gait and where both hind and fore limbs are used, it has portrays galloping gait. The hindquarters are in the air when it is either running or walking (Anderson 328). In terms of social behavior, Otolemur crassicaudatus is a nocturnal primate that displays the following characteristics; first, male and female move away from their birth localities, but males sometimes return to avoid dominant male. Male’s territory overlap with that of female with no overlap home ranges while the latter have overlap home ranges. Males do not keep out other male within their home but females have a tendency of keeping out other females (Clark 1985). Social interaction mainly takes place in overlap home ranges especially after feeding and, in some cases, the whole night. In mating period, females tend to associate with juveniles and males (Clark 585). Juveniles follow mature males at night to understand areas or regions where food resources are found (Clark 589). During reproduction, females make nests which consist of unreachable and middle-depressed with dense foliage leaves to provide shelter for the infants. Greater Galagos have a gestation period of 128 days (Ehrlich 192).The species gives birth to singletons, twins or triplets in a birth season which is usually early November (Harcourt 492). Sexual organs swell in the mating seasons in Otolemur crassicaudatus. The species has one mating season which takes place in June for a period of two weeks. The species gives birth at day time with female remaining awake when other Galagos go to sleep. There are visible contractions that are followed by frequent licking of genital before birth. Female do not pr oduce any sound at the time when they are giving birth. Infants weigh about 40g and are sired with open eyes. The infants spend most of their time in conduct with their mother who transports them orally up to when they are about five weeks (Ehrlich 198). At the age of seven weeks, infants begin to explore their environment and, in some cases, they play. Weaning takes place at the age of three month. This species is found in western Africa (central), Eastern and southern parts of Africa. In South Africa, it is found

The Missing Link in Conflict resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Missing Link in Conflict resolution - Essay Example IGD also aims to identify differences across the groups brought together and to improve the capabilities of both individuals and groups to achieve social justice (Nagada and Gurin 2007, 35). This paper compares and contrast the conflict processes operative for Northern Ireland, South Africa and the Israeli/Palestinian conflicts. The object is to identify what if any of the IGD theories are reflecting in these three conflict resolution process. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is characterized as among the country’s â€Å"most effective† conflict resolution processes to date (Gibson 2006, 409). The TRC has contributed significantly to South Africa’s democratic reforms by influencing a â€Å"more reconciled society† (Gibson 2006, 409). The conflict resolution process in Northern Ireland takes a similar holistic approach in that the conflict resolution process is centered around policies and initiatives designed to foster equality and to â€Å"improve community relations† (Cairsn and Darby 1998, 754). The School of Peace approach to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict resolution is slightly different in that the process aims to heighten individual awareness of the conflict, their part in it and the facilitation of identities via intergroup interactions (Halabi and Sonnenschein 2004, 49). IGDs are built around bringing together between 12 and 16 students once a week for between ten and fourteen weeks. These students convene under the leadership of a â€Å"trained peer† who instructs from a plan that merges several learning initiatives which include â€Å"intellectual and effective engagement†; â€Å"individual reflection and group dialogue†; â€Å"individual intergroup and institutional analyses†; â€Å"affinity-based and heterogeneous groupings;† and â€Å"individual and collective action† (Nagada and Durin 2007, 35). IGD takes the position that the social justice education typically fails to implement tools of intergroup interactions

Survey on Teenagers Pocket Money Essay Example for Free

Survey on Teenagers Pocket Money Essay Pocket Money is not just representing how much money that teenagers’ get; it also represents teenagers’ buying tendency, marketing size of teenagers, their finance method and possible reasons of stress because of financial problem. It’s worth to make a statistic on the topic teenager’s pocket money, for the reference of further studies on social research. In this report, the following data would be collected and analyzed. Firstly, we want to compare the pocket money teenagers how to spend their pocket money in past and that in nowadays (e. 2006 vs. 1999), then we should reveal the differences by our statistic figures like mean , mode etc, so that we can know whether they get more money or not, and other statistical information. Secondly, we also are interested in the relation between the teenagers’ ages and the amount of money they get, and then how this found out changes from 1999 to 2006. Thirdly, we want find what kind of things teenagers prefer to buy and whether they can handle their financial overload effectively by themselves. After that, we will try to find the reasons for those phenomena and then generate the conclusion. Objective To build up an online survey, to collect sample data about teenager’s pocket money, how they use it, and any financial problem they faced. Questionnaires In this project, we use internet survey instead of questionnaire survey in collecting samples from teenagers. There are few reasons for us to choose such survey method: First, teenagers are very sensitive to the money they own and they feel too nervous when other people ask about the amount of their pocket money. For those results, they prefer to refuse to answer this questionnaire by face to face method. Secondly, teenagers have a low incentive to do the survey on the street; they think it is wasting their time. This increases the difficulties in sampling from them directly. Thirdly, as a result, we choose internet survey which should be a more effective sampling method since teenagers are easier to access to computers and more willing to answer questionnaire as they feel that they can help other people. The online survey http://freeonlinesurveys. com/rendersurvey. asp? id=o2ve66ut8bs9gh7252868 was posted to HK newsgroup and forums to invite teenagers to fill the online survey since 1st December, 2006. We end the online survey and collected the data at 20th December, 2006. The Hard Copy of the online survey as follows: Result At 20th December, 2006, we collected 111 valid online questionnaires. Result of each question is shown respectively: Over 80% interviewers are in-range below 24, which stated that most interviewers are student. It shows most teenage have around $1000-$2000 pocket money, where around 36% teenage have $1001-$1500 pocket money. Around 34% students have $1501-2000 pocket money per month, which is second highest. 68% teenagers gain their pocket money from parents, where 29% teenagers gain their money pocket by part time job. The others which stated they gained by investment or gambling. But it seems there’s not reliable. In this chat rank 5 represent the highest value option to interviewee while rank 1 is refer to the lowest value option, it show that about 50% of teenagers put ‘studying’ as the last priority(rank 1) in their consumption, after that it will come to ‘saving’ at 25 %. On the other side, ‘entertainment’ is the option which people most willing to spend their money on it and it take 30% in rank 5, beside that ‘dressing ‘also an option that’s less prefer 25% in rank 5. 32% students think that they spent more than they get, which need to pay attention. In the 36 student who said that they spent more than they get, 52% of them would borrow from the money, 42% would borrow from friend. It is need to be concern that 6% of teenagers would borrow from financial company. 37% teenagers think that they can’t handle their financial problem effectively. This data seems reliable as from this survey, 32% cannot control their expanses. Calculation As it is important of founding out statistic factors of nowadays teenagers’ pocket money, calculation of sample mean, mode and median , standard deviation and coefficient of skewness and coefficient of variation are calculate as follows Assumption: Since we don’t know the exact number of â€Å"below $500† and †above 2000†, also number of this two sample is little compare with sample size, so these figures are neglect when calculation. Group Mean: = ? fimi/? fi = (750. 5*29+1250. 5*40+1750. 5*38) / 107 =1292. 5 Median = (107/2) = 53. th, so we know that the median should be in the class 1001-1500 = Lm + [(n/2-Cum Freq. )/f]*w) =1000. 5 + [(107/2 – 29) /40]*500 =1306 Mode Modal Class: 1001-1500 =Lmo+ (d1/d1+d2)*w =1000. 5+ (11/11+2)*500 =1423. 58 We are considering 107 samples. So sample standard deviation = 395. 2638 Coefficient of skewness =3(mean-media n)/standard deviation =3*(1292. 5-1306)/395. 2638 =-0. 1025 The curve is slightly skew to the left Coefficient of variation = standard deviation/ mean *100% = 395. 2638/1292. 5*100% =30. 5813% Discussion From the data posted by education department, mean of teenagers’ pocket money are 151*4 = $604 per month. Compared with sample mean we found, difference between two samples is 1292. 5-604=$688. 5. The difference due to change of HK economic environment and more teenagers earn their pocket money from attending part time job. It is advised that performing a larger survey if analyzing the relationship of teenagers and their pocket money more deeply. According to the survey data, it points out that teenagers are more concerned in materialism spending. And also, over 32% teenagers spending their pocket money is always greater than income, and teenagers are lack of ability to have their personal planning. Lower than 10% teenagers think that saving is important when they received pocket money. They spend a lot either entertainment or dressing. The government should pay more attention to this problem, and educate teenagers how to spending their money effectively, and prevent they will have the thought of ‘Using the future money’. Hong Kong teenagers usually have some part-time jobs income, to satisfy their needs on materialism. The main reason influences teenagers’ shopping style is brand, which is a teenager like to pursuit for famous brand name. Conclusion Via this survey, basically we has the expected proposes. We understand how teenagers get their pocket money and how to spend it, and also understand consumer behavior, including their mental characteristics. As a studies’ data, it can be used in the further studies in the social science. However, since the quantity of questionnaire is relatively few, so the result cannot fully reflect the fact of pocket money spending of teenagers.

Holiday Inn Strategic Management

Holiday Inn Strategic Management Management can be generally defined as a art and science of getting the things done from others. The previous definition explains that a manager plans and guides a particular work which is done by other people. In this assignment I will be discussing about different strategic management process. Strategic management process is one of the very important management process which are been used by different organisations. Strategy :- Strategy are the resources used by the managers to achieve long term objectives. In simple term, strategies are the ideas which are been used by the management. Strategic management : Strategic management is a conduct of drafting, implementing and evaluating cross functional decisions in enabling to achieve its long term objectives. There are different types of process involved in strategic management :- Marketing is accepted globally as a life blood of any organisation. In this analysis I felt that strategic management is at the same level as marketing which decides the future and prosperity of an organisation. Practicing the management of strategies is very crucial in the competitive world. Successful managers will have to know their business market situation and position and to implement the strategies when required. I kept these objectives in mind and invented some management qualities in myself while doing a research on this topic. I feel that I need more knowledge of the management practices. So in my research on strategic management I had a good understanding of strategic management and practices. Basically the concept of strategic management closely resembles elements of foresights; this means planning a head is a major element in the business. Strategic management is considered as a life blood of any organisation. This assignment on strategic management covers the change and development in the organisation. I have also understood that having a clear idea of strategic management is crucial in todays competitive business world. Companys now a days seek ways to achieve a competitive advantage with other players in the industry that they operate. The environment in which a company operates can provide circumstances where the outcomes may be positive or negative. Many organisational studies have presented numerous theories that help companies in taking new ways in dealing with their operations. Strategic management is one of those important management theories and process that has been employed constantly by any business to address their management and decision making needs. I have chosen Holiday Inn as an example to illustrate the adaptation of strategic management and its process. In this assignment I have written about how holiday inn hotels analyse and critically evaluate the organisation practice to solve the problem connected with implementing their strategies. Main body :- Now I will be giving a short history on Holiday Inn hotel. Kemmons Wilson initially came up with the idea after a family road trip to Washington, D.C., during which he was disappointed by the quality and consistency provided by the roadside motels of that era. The name Holiday Inn was given to the original hotel by his architect Eddie Bluestein as a joke, in reference to the Bing Crosby movie. In 1957, Wilson franchised the chain as Holiday Inn of America and it grew dramatically, following Wilsons original tenet that the properties should be standardized, clean, predictable, family-friendly and readily accessible to road travellers. By 1958, there were 50 locations across the country, 100 by 1959, 500 by 1964, and the 1000th Holiday Inn opened in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968. The chain dominated the motel market, leveraged its innovative Holidex reservation system, put considerable financial pressure on traditional hotels and set the standard for its competitors, like Ramada Inns, Quality Inn, Howard Johnsons, and Best Western. By June 1972, when Wilson was featured on the cover of Time magazine, there were over 1,400 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide. Innovations like the companys Holidome indoor pools turned many hotels into roadside resorts. The company later branched into other related enterprises, including Medi-Center nursing homes, Continental Trailways, Delta Queen and various related enterprises. Wilson also later developed the Orange Lake Resort and Country Club near Orlando and a chain called Wilson World Hotels. The family of founder Kemmons Wilson still operates hotels as part of the Kemmons Wilson Companies of Memphis. Wilson retired from Holiday Inn in 1979. Although still a healthy company, changing business conditions and demographics saw Holiday Inn lose its market dominance in the 1980s. Holiday Inns, Inc. was renamed Holiday Corporation in 1985 to reflect the growth of the companys brands, including Harrahs Entertainment, Embassy Suites Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inn. In 1988, Holiday Corporation was purchased by UK-based Bass PLC (the owners of the Bass beer brand), followed by the remaining domestic Holiday Inn hotels in 1990, when founder Wilson sold his interest, after which the hotel group was known as Holiday Inn Worldwide. The remainder of Holiday Corporation (including the Embassy Suites Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inn brands) was spun off to shareholders as Promus Companies Incorporated. In 1991, Bass launched Holiday Inn Express, a complementary brand in the limited service segment. In 1994, Bass launched Crowne Plaza, a move into the upscale hotel market. In 1997, Bass cr eated and launched a new hotel brand, Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn, entering the North American upscale extended stay market. In March 1998, Bass acquired the InterContinental brand, expanding into the luxury hotel market. In 2000, Bass sold its brewing assets (and the rights to the Bass name) and changed its name to Six Continents PLC. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) was created in 2003 after Six Continents split into two daughter companies: Mitchells Butlers PLC to handle restaurant assets, and IHG to focus on soft drinks and hotels, including the Holiday Inn brand. Business relationship with Gulf Oil In 1963, Holiday Inn signed a long-term deal with Gulf Oil Corporation in which the lodging chain would accept Gulf credit cards to charge food and lodging at all of its hotels (in the United States and Canada). In return, Gulf would build service stations on the premises of many Holiday Inn properties, particularly those along or near major U.S. and Interstate highways. Many older Holiday Inns locations (including some no longer part of the chain) still have the service station properties intact today, either still in operation or closed down. With the exception of a few locations in the eastern U.S., hardly any of the still-open stations are now Gulf outlets. The portion of the agreement which permitted Gulf credit cards to be used for payment of food and lodging at Holiday Inns was copied by competing lodging chains and major oil companies during the mid-to-late 1960s. Most of those agreements fizzled out with the 1973 oil crisis. The Gulf/Holiday Inn arrangement ended around 1982 . The brand name Holiday Inn is now owned by IHG, which in turn licenses the name to franchisees and third parties who operate hotels under management agreements. In January 2002, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company, led by Ravi Saligram, was producing a new 130-room Next Generation prototype hotel to rebuild the brand. It would include a bistro-like restaurant and an indoor pool. The first of these prototype hotels, the Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center, was built in Duluth, Georgia, in 2003. On 24 October 2007, IHG announced a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand. The relaunch is focused on delivering consistently best in class service and physical quality levels, including a redesigned welcome experience and signature bedding and bathroom products The first relaunched Holiday Inn is expected to open in the USA in the spring of 2008. The whole relaunch process is planned to be complete by the end of 2010. In September 2008, IHG announced the creation of a new timeshare brand, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, a strategic alliance with The Family of Orange Lake Resorts. As told before strategic management is a set of activities undertaken in the order of time. One of the first tasks in strategic management is environmental analysis. Environmental analysis is the study of an organisations environment to pin point the environmental factors that can significantly influence the organisational operations. It provides a frame work for understanding an organisations environment with the aim of helping to find the key issues and different ways of coping up with the complexity and change. A business organisation operates in an external and internal environment. The factors which influencing the external environment is known as PESTEL. PESTEL stands for political factors, economical factors, social factors, technological factors, ecological factors and legal factors. Analysis:- The political, economical and social context stood as a big challenge for the organisation of Holiday Inn when they entered the market. the holiday inn operations are highly influenced by the policies set by the government in which ever territory or country they operate. Most of the Holiday Inn are controlled by regulations of operations and policies of individual properties. The Holiday Inn group will also focus on concerns such as health and safety employment, laws , worker protection and environment. From my studies I think all these elements are seen in the control of government that authorises licensing of hotels in different states. Being in a business environment they have to abide by the employment procedures and tax obligations where they operate. As the company is widely expanded and well developed they must co-operate with the practices set by political body. After my research I think this company should get full co-operation from the political power to succeed in local an d international market. as many private enterprise when holiday inn was opened the management had very informal sense of direction setting up a few long time goals without implementing proper strategy. How ever by implementing a new scenario in their strategy with set an international competitive advantage in hotel industry as tourist increased every where and the hotel accommodation was in demand after this the management of Holiday Inn realised the need and development of planning strategies. The management achieved a competitive advantage position and enhanced the holiday inn groups performance in relation to its competitor. Company have taken a very good advantage of this point and served this market segment all the time. They have given market what they want according to the expectations. I think by going through company history the Holiday Inn is spread all over the world. This vast expansion is because of its good economical stability. The company has its own concerns involving economic factors. The branches and franchise like Holiday Inn has the tendencies to experience the hard ships in instances where the economy of the respective countries is hit by inflation and changes in exchange rates. Because of the disposable income of the citizens in developed countries the holiday inn group gave prior importance in marketing their business because of the economic stability of these countries. Holiday Inn is a world wide chain and its international functional strategies will always yield profitable returns. The potential customers are from all over the world. It is been noted that the holiday inn company has given the market such as Europe, Asia, America with regards to their social-cultural needs. Holiday Inn, like all other hotels has established a good system in determining the needs of the market. The company uses the concept of product, personality, behaviour of the customer and purchasing to its advantage. Now I am going to talk about the technical factors influencing the company. This is because of the technical advancement due to which the company could reach in a very short span to many people about their various products and service information. Customers can contact Holiday Inn by many means such as emails, telephone, travel agents, website etc. holiday inn is providing their guests with all modern amenities and facilities to their rooms to provide the best accommodation experience. Their hotels all over are fully equipped with modern amenities and technical advancement. The above mentioned study helped me a lot to determine how much the elements of PESTEL were helpful and positive for the development of the company After the analysis of PESTEL and depending upon that outcome I have also carried out SWOT analysis of the company Holiday Inn which gives me exact position of the company in the market. SWOT stands for strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. These are the factors influencing the internal environment. SWOT analysis is extremely useful for understanding and decision making for all source of situation in business and organisation. It also provides a frame work for reviewing strategy position and direction of the company. I think it is therefore important to evaluate the environment opportunities in relation to the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation resources. Strengths: as mentioned in the history of the company it clearly states that the Holiday Inn Corporation is a well established organisation and industry leader in hospitality. Holiday Inn is well diversified hotels in the high end, business and mid priced classes in their product mix. Holiday Inn also poses a solid integration features such as owning the companies that manufacture its furniture and has invested in online reservation travel enterprises. It also has easy access to all its customers to get information and also has a excellent reservation system. Weaknesses: according to my research Holiday Inn may be narrowly focused making it susceptible to the down turn in the global economy and other world wide catastrophes that could limit global travel. Holiday inn hotels may also be venerable to employees strikes and crack down on undocumented workers. I think the aggressive expansion policies may put the company in trouble during the global down turn. Some of the branches or franchises do not follow the holiday inn set standards, recruitment process efficient accounting systems. Opportunities:- Holiday Inn corporation is a global pioneer in hospitality industry. Their position is strong financially and they are widely expanding all over the world. They offer an array of distinctive and specialised services to their guests. They also have an opportunity to expand or acquire a cruise line company. The holiday inn corporation should take advantage of emerging markets especially with business clients and mid priced markets. The holiday inn corporation has a strong affiliation with REIT (real estate investment trust) or similar organisation that provides a strong back up for hotels. It has a strong skilled work force all over. Threats: Like all other business, the major threat for holiday inn will be an emergence of a new competitor. The competitors will be more active in promoting the concept of global brand name. Holiday Inn has its own resources to sustain their global brand name. In general the hotel industry faces a threat from internet reservation channels which represents a growing share of hotel room booking. To overcome these threats Holiday Inn has its own centralised reservations system. Looking at strategic direction of the company the mission statement says GREAT HOTELS GUEST LOVE shows that holiday inn makes all efforts to exceed their customer expectation. This statement covers all aspects on hospitality firm in a brief manner. The vision statement and the values of the company states that year after year holiday inn (IHG) and the management will be regarded as the best and most sought hospitality group. From my personal experience while working with holiday inn group I can say that they are following their vision and mission statements. By observing their strategic formulation they have adopted cost leadership strategies. They are one of the lowest cost providers for their product. This makes many customers to become potential and loyal. They have targeted very broad market from high and society to middle and the lower one. While offering this wide variety of offers to the customers they have developed and achieved best value strategy. During my analysis on holiday inn I discovered the difficulties faced by them or in other words we can say their weakness. They faced great difficulties while entering the Asian markets. The reason behind this was they were not familiar with Asian market. To overcome this problem they had to take a strong action plan by signing a joint partnership with Asian hotel firms. This provided them a base to learn about the Asian environment and their establishment. Holiday Inns vision for the future was a property that delivers new levels of customer convenience by extending hotel systems for guest and employee access using the hotels wireless infrastructure. RECOMMENDATIONS :- From my analysis since holiday inn is expanding it is wise to deal with proper authorities in the respective markets where they intend to operate. The company has to accomplish and satisfy all the prerequisites for doing business. The company should also carry out a well conducted market research before penetrating the new segments of market. the company should always obtain relevant information from the target market in addition to the individual customers of organisation. A comprehensive market research is a must before granting a franchise. I think similar research should be made in areas like consumer behaviour and purchasing patterns of the market. Holiday Inn Corporation has to re-evaluate its internal environmental factors like Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and threats to overcome with a strategic direction adjusting its mission and vision and at the same time maintaining its values. These are the few strategies that holiday inn must adopt to attract more diversified clie ntele. Therefore in order to survive and maintain the brand name holiday inn corporation should be consistent with their excellent service being always innovative. They should also create the role of middle managers and let them to be more innovative. I think the biggest challenge for Holiday Inn is expansion and franchises. The main features of Holiday Inn Corporation should be put as a standard one for the franchisers to follow. Will the franchisers really set the standards followed by Holiday Inn Corporation? What are the efforts that are to be put for the franchisers to follow the standards set by Holiday Inn Corporation? Holiday Inn is also using its technology to its advantage. The interactivity and the real time effects of communication is a good way to find suppliers. CONCLUSION :- Successful strategies always demand a company to choose the market in which their unique capabilities will gain competitive advantage. However the adoptive and incremental context of strategic management means that the company starting point leads the firm to a stable position. Corporate strategies of Holiday Inn have been able to use strategic management to stay in the competition in the global market. I believe that the strategies as well as the leadership styles used by the management of Holiday inn have been the major cause of their competitive position in the hotel market. Though Holiday Inn is considered as a leader in hospitality sector there is a need of flexibility. Slight changes in the market can effect their operations of the business. They should not rely on their past success but instead they should innovative and ready for any future uncertainties. Holiday Inn Corporation focuses on services rather than accommodation itself. I truly agree that the true asset of the organisation is the staff. The staff are the one who represent Holiday Inn hotels through their excellent services. So there is a need to make sure that the staff is always happy with the behavioural integrity of work place. The corporate strategy of Holiday Inn has been able to guide the company from challengers and opportunities that appears in the market environment in order to sustain the competitive advantage. Therefore I think the leaders of the company should continue their style to motivate their employees and become a major asset for the success of the company.

Deviant Behavior Essay -- essays research papers

DEVIANT BEHAVIOR   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Just about everyone has done something that someone else disapproves of. In fact, almost all of us have done something we ourselves have reservations or second thoughts about. Perhaps we’ve stolen something, or told a lie, or gossiped about another person in an especially nasty way. Maybe on occasion we’ve gotten drunk, of high, or driven too fast, or recklessly. Have we ever worn clothes that someone else thought was out of style, offensive, or ugly? Have we belched at the dinner table, or did we ever break pick our nose in public? Maybe we failed to show up for an important class or read a crucial assignment, or permitted our eyes to wonder onto a neighbor’s answers during an exam. Do we like a television program that someone else finds stupid and boring? Didn’t we once date someone our parents and friends didn’t like? Maybe our religious beliefs and practices don’t agree with those of some other members of our society; it could be that they would regard us as too religious or not religious enough. For some people we may be too liberal, too conservative, or too much of a loser. Does someone else consider us too short or tall, too plain of exotic, to thin or heavy, too dark or to light skinned? The number of possible ways that what we believe, or do or are, could be judged negatively by others is infinite.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This means that almost any action or characteristic we could do or think of is approved in some social circles and condemned in others. Almost inevitably, we depart or deviate from someone’s rules, simply by acting or being ourselves, since we can’t conform to all the different sets of rules that exist. Sociologists refer to behavior that is regarded as wrongdoing that generates negative reactions in persons who witness or hear about it, as deviant behavior. Many definitions of deviant behavior exist. In the book titled Deviant Behavior by Alex Thio he states that there are many conflicting definitions for deviant behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many theories about how the world came to be, was it the big band, evolution or creation? Well just like there are many different theories for this category, there are also different theories to the cause and origin of deviant behavior. I will mention a few and give a brief definition on what they state. Strain theo... ... with another person that thinks totally the opposite from us makes us weird, different, deviant in there eyes. Who are we to say what deviance really is? Maybe there is a lady who killed her children because she thought it was the right things to do because she lives in a third world country and her children were starting to die of huger and thirst. Maybe there is a teenager who goes to school gets perfect grades and works part time and wastes all his money on drugs and in prostitutes. Maybe there is a man who worships God every single second of his life and he will not talk about anything else but God. He has no eyes or ears for anything else but God that’s all he talks about and he refuses to talk about anything else. So my question is which of these persons is considered deviant? Is it the lady who killed her children, the adolescent who gets perfect grades, but is involved in drugs and prostitution, or is it the man who is obsessed by God and won’t talk of list en to anything unless its about God? Maybe the answer to this question may never be answered, because we all have our different opinions on the causes and the origin of deviant behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚