Sustainability in the Hotel Industry Assignment

Sustainability in the Hotel Industry - Assignment Example The hotel industry forms an integral part of the tourism industry and if it is not managed properly could cause detrimental to the natural and social environment. Thus to reduce the impact, hotels are adopting the â€Å"go green† initiative. Until recently the hotel industry has been unaware of the environmental damage that it posed to the environment due to its operations and services. However the last two decades have bought about tremendous change and created awareness among the public and in the development of â€Å"green consumerism†. Therefore to achieve greater environmental responsibility, hotel industries are implementing the relevant strategies and tools. The hoteliers are aware that it is essential to protect the environment where it does its business and are crucial towards the development and performance of the industry. According to reports by Bohdanowicz et al. there exist a huge number of examples which shows the development of pro-ecological initiatives .1 With continuous growth in environmental degradation, society has become aware of the needs for adopting more effective measure towards protection of the environment. Sustainable development has therefore become vital priority as well challenge in the competitive environment. The sustainability issue should be addressed at all the levels ranging from the policy makers, industry, academia, and the general public and other stakeholders. The global tourism industry is expected to grow at a rate of 2.8% in 2012 and will represent 9% of the global GDP. The hotel and tourism industry is expected to contribute about $10 trillion to the growth of global economy by 2022 and generate... To conclude it can be said that Holiday Inn has implemented the going green strategies and has performed well in implementing the practices and this is evident as the hotel is a certified green lodging hotel and has also received awards for environmental sustainability. Holiday inn has taken into consideration the recycling process and conservation of consumption and waste. However, it is still important to keep inventing the going green process and sustain in the industry and achieve a competitive advantage. Some of the recommendation includes as follows,   Installation of the green roof will help to mitigate the effect of heat island and also helps to reduce the amount of energy to be required to heat or cool the rooms. Apart from providing environmental benefits, the green roof of the hotel will serve as a commitment of commitment towards sustainability and will provide the guest with a connection with nature. Secondly, the hotel can provide environmentally friendly transportati on for the guest. The transportation will provide fuel efficient and environmentally friendly environment to travel to the desired place by the guest. The low emission and eco-friendly bus would reduce vehicle emission, lighter traffic and a convenient way to travel for the guests. Thirdly, the hotel can install high-efficiency plumbing fixtures along with water reduction by implementing much more efficient fixtures, appliances and water landscaping outside the hotels to preserve water and reuse it.

Serious Game Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Serious Game Critique - Essay Example Farmville is a very popular game all around the world. It is meant to improve the intellectual and the creative capacity of the user. Moreover, the environmental aspects associated with the game intend to improve the aptitude of people towards farming and environment. The game has been designed based on the traits of responsibility and regularity. For instance, if a vegetable is planted by the gamer in the morning, the player will have to return on a set time to irrigate it or harvest it so as to maintain the crop. It is the regular maintenance and harvesting of the crops that advances one through the game. As I played the game, I felt that the game apparently stimulates an encouraging emotional change. The mouse clicks, through which the player plough, harvest and plant are perceived as expressions of hard work and dedication. The rewards of harvesting result in a lot of satisfaction through which a positive emotional status is created. I personally felt being proud of receiving the rewards of the labor that I put in. These rewards could further be used to enhance the farming area both qualitatively and quantitatively. As the game is played on the public forum, the farms can be showcased on the social media and can be compared with the farms of the virtual neighbors. This is an important social element associated with the game. It lets you boast over your achievement on the game in the virtual social space. Further as I advanced through the game, I discovered the game to be shallow in terms of its content. As the advanced stages I could not find the process intellectually or emotionally empowering. The game becomes simpler and less laborious as one achieves more rewards in the game. For instance, at later stages of the game the harvesting machine eases the player of the labour of clicking each square plot. Thus my experience the game fails in sustaining the emotional, physical and social excitement which it provides in the beginning. Thus at an advanced level game was delimiting the social and physical improvement of the user The game is obviously growing in its popularity. The provision for the current users to tempt the non-users through their facebook accounts severs as provision for its increasing popularity. These face book ‘updates’ creates a state of obligation for others to join. The game thus can be found to be bound by the principles of obligation along with responsibility and regularity. The commercial success and the increasing popularity of the game suggest the success of the game in catering to the targeted audience. Farmville also bound its users by adding an ethical aspect to it. The game raised almost one million dollars for the Haiti earthquake relief operations. This move could successfully bring in social and emotional change within the community of the gamers. They developed a feeling that they were playing for a social cause. This promoted more people to join the gaming community and further bound the g amers together. The physical change that the game brought forth in its gamers is however limited. The healthy physical, psychological and social development of any individual requires their active involvement in a variety of physical and social activities in the real time environment. For an individual to be healthy, happy, and productive, the integration of their physical activities, social interaction and

Women Contribution to Psychology Essay Example for Free

Women Contribution to Psychology Essay The essay is written about Margaret Flow Washburn. The essay speaks of her background from her early teenage years and progressing through her career as a psychologist, her battles of a woman during an American period where women equal rights of educational progress was not the same as men. The essay also speaks on the contributions to her field of psychology presenting theories on the animal mind and her motor theory. Women Contributions to Psychology Margaret Floy Washburn started out as a decisive student who attended Vassari College upon graduation was divided between science and philosophy. Margaret Floy Washburn would go on to be a one of the few Pioneers for women who would go onto be successful Psychologist. Today Margaret Floy Washburn is known best for her work in comparative psychology and her book The Animal Mind would go to be four editions, become the standard textbook of its day (Goodwin, 2008). Her experimental research and focus toward cognitive process of perception, attention, and consciousness of various species would go on to be groundbreaking, contributing to scientist of today experimental theories. As with any Psychologist of past time her theory or experiments should be looked as steppingstones, to apply corrective action to information they may have missed or did not at the time have the capabilities of requiring. Margaret Floy Washburn Throughout this essay briefly discussing on Margaret Floy history, struggles as a woman trying to break the barrier, and her some of her best known work as a psychologist below. Brief early history of Margaret Floy Washburn Margaret Floy Washburn was born July 25, 1871 in New York City Biography of Margaret Flow Washburn, Para. 1). At the age of 15, she attended college at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie and soon became a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. Ladd-Franklin had also attended the same college many years before Margaret and soon after Margaret graduation she applied for graduate studies at Columbia University. Women were not permitted to study at Columbia at the time, she had entered the college only as observer where she was noticed as a serious student by Cattell but could only attend his classes unofficially (Goodwin, 2008). Cattell recommended her to apply at the Sage school of Philosophy at Cornell because they were accepting women graduate students and seen the un-keen potential in her. Margaret would encounter E. B. Titchener, who accepted Margaret into his laboratory, and she would go on to be responsible for experiments and research under E. B. Titchener. Margaret will go on to be the first woman to earn a PhD in Psychology in 1894. During the rest of her adult life, Margaret taught at several colleges, including Sage College, Wells College, and University of Cincinnati and in 1903 returning to her Alma mater as Associate Professor of Philosophy for Vassar up until her retirement in 1937 (Biography of Margaret Flow Washburn, Para. 1). She died on October 29, 1939 at her home in Poughkeepsie, New York. Breaking through the Barrier Margaret Floy Washburn fought many battles as woman trying to break into Psychology. First, she had been accepted into the graduate school of Columbia University as only a â€Å"hearer† because women were not permitted entry into Columbia University graduate program. She only attended Columbia University for a year before applying at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University where she became the first woman to obtain her Ph. D. in Psychology in 1894. Margaret Floy Washburn was considered a pioneer for her fight for equal educational opportunities for women. She initially had encountered resistance to her academic pursuit at Columbia University. Margaret had to wait three months before convincing the trustees to let her attend Cattell’s classes at Columbia. Some say Margaret success came because of the contributing factor that her family was financially and emotionally supportive of her academic pursuits and Rodkey (2010) stated, â€Å"the large family inheritance allowed for her to attend private school, and which in turn led to her rapid completion of public school. † Margaret was pushing her career to limits during a period in American history when women were excluded from many academic programs and did not hold prestigious positions. This was a reason she never married. Women who married during this American period who worked in the academic field would be expected to resign their position upon marriage. Not marrying put Margaret at advantage over other women psychologist who did marry. This allowed her to hold numerous positions during her career, becoming a well respected teacher and researcher. Margaret positions were assistant professor of the Department of Psychology, professor of psychology, philosophy, and ethics, lecturer for social, animal psychology, and undergraduate psychology professor. Not only did she hold different positions through her pursuit as Psychologist she also published 69 experimental studies, and ranked top 50 psychologist of in America (Rodkey, 2010. ) Margaret became well known for her argument against Titchner’s structural psychology. After had already backing Titchner’s view’s early in her career. Margaret Floy Washburn went on the record of stating that Titchner’s views were worth while to describe conscious states, but not, in describing them, to turn them into something unrecognizable (Pillsbury, 1940, pg. ). Psychological Research and Views As stated above Margaret Flow Washburn psychological research views became unique as, she progressed in her career. With the development of her own system she would provide others with skepticism of their own formulas between the relationship of sensation and attribute and also of the exclusive use of introspection as the method of psychology. Motor Theory. She stated â€Å"While consciousness exists and is not a form of movement, it has as its indispensable basis certain motor rocesses, and†¦ the only sense in which we can explain conscious processes is by studying the laws governing these underlying motor phenomena† When discussing Margaret earlier work, she attempted to find a common ground with Tutchener, by coming up with the motor theory. Her theory argued that bodily movement and thought are similar, and cannot use one without using the other; the consciousness would arise when movement is inhibited by a tendency toward another move ment. Learning is associated with movement with a set of regular series and combinations. The motor theory is about thoughts traced back to bodily movement. This theory was presented in her early papers and chapters of her books â€Å"Feelings and Emotions: The Wittenberg Symposium and Psychologies of 1930† and Movement and Mental Imagery: Outlines of a Motor theory of the Complexer Mental Processes† (Wikipedia contributors, 2013, Margaret Floy Washburn, Para. 11). The Animal Mind. Margaret Floy Washburn would best be known for her work in comparative psychology. Her well-known text, â€Å"The Animal Mind† published in 1908. The textbook was a compiled research on experimental work in animal psychology, and covered a range of mental activities. The textbook was written during a time when research was done predominantly on rats. Margaret had cover more than 100 species, including the simplest of animals. She would look into their sense of perception; this includes hearing, vision, kinesthetic, and tactual sensation. Her main focus of the textbook is animal behavior. Her textbook would go through four editions (1917, 1926, and 1936) and became the standard textbook of its day (Goodwin, 2008). In her chapters of â€Å"The Animal Mind† suggested the animal psyches contained mental structures similar to that of human being and suggested that an animal consciousness is not qualitatively different from that of human beings. Margaret stated in her words â€Å"Our acquaintance with the mind of animals rests upon the same basis as our acquaintance with the mind of our fellow man: both are derived by inference from observed behavior. The actions of our fellow man resemble our own, and we therefore infer in them like subjective states to ours: the actions of animals resemble our less completely, but the difference is one of degree, not of kind†¦ We know not where consciousness begins in the animal world. We know where it surely resides—in ourselves; we know where it exists beyond a reasonable doubt—in those animals of structure resembling ours which rapidly adapt themselves to the lessons of experience. Beyond this point, for all we know, if may exist in simpler and simpler forms until we reach the very lowest of living being† (Wikipedia contributors, 2013, Margaret Floy Washburn, Para. 10). Conclusion Margaret Flow Washburn has been viewed as pioneer because of her push to become equally accredited for her success a woman, argumentative theories with Tutchener, and the development of her successful textbook â€Å"The Animal Mind. † She has been viewed a woman of success when encountered by obstacles would find ways to bi-past them and continue with her drive. Margaret Flow Washburn is an influential woman who has successfully set up all women after her pursuing a career in psychology to be successful and to have the same educational rights as men. This resulted in Columbia University to start Faculty of Philosophy who admits women to classes with instructor permission; authorizes the awarding of PhDs to women. Margaret has gone on to be one the most respected female Psychologist of her time and present day.

Negative Effects of Cell Phones on Society

Negative Effects of Cell Phones on Society Abstract Cell phones have become an extremely common electronic gadget for many people who may prefer their use as opposed to the house phones which has since been overtaken in the industry. The growth in the utilization of the cell phones is based on their ability to become technologically advanced since most of them can take a send photos and videos and connect to the internet of web surfing. Undoubtedly, this is the main reason why so many students in the school will always have their heads down, their headphones on and their phones to their ears. Surprisingly, most children including the kindergarten kids have always since been cell phone owners if they can respond to the calls. There are endless showing things which can be done by these implements. Typically, the use of cell phones has helped many users to communicate over long distance through the communication network. Therefore, there are multiple benefits of the use of mobile phones both for school going children and in promoting eff icient business operations that will ensure the productivity and sustainability of many businesses. There is need to determine the unfavorable the effects of the use of cell phones in our society. Introduction The usage of mobile phones can result in a significant threat to the health of the users. Many concerns have been raised on the cell phone radiation that causes other severe health hazards in the human beings. Categorically, the use of mobile phones facilitates the emission of low levels of radiofrequency energy (RF) that has an adverse biological impact to the health of human beings. Besides, the low levels of the radiofrequency energy the mobile phones emit while in use are in the microwave frequency variety. Moreover, they also emit the radio frequency energy at a substantially minimized time intervals when in the mode of standby. Similarly, the high degree of RF can produce significant health problems or effects through heating of tissues, exposure to low level of radiofrequency energy that ca not produce the heat impacts which can cause the unknown adverse health effects. Moreover, a significant level of electromagnetic energy, for instance, those found in the X-rays and the gam ma rays can ionize the biological tissues. Also, a substantial amount of the radio-frequency energy can increase the body temperature and influence the damage of the tissues (Cell Phones Health Issues). Other notable short term and long term effects of cell phones on health include the impacts on emotions as the presence of mobile phones can influence the relationship of the human being as they may develop negative feelings towards people having their devices visible. The levels of stress can also be increased with the greater use of the cell phones. For instance, the frequenting ringing, vibrating alerts and the constant reminders can put the user on a frustrating edge. Besides, the use of mobile phones can cause depression, stress and sleep disturbances on the adults. Similarly, there is increased risk of illness in the immune system with the constant use of the cell phones. The risks of chronic pain can also be influenced using cell phones. Therefore, there is no doubt that the use of mobile phones can significantly contribute to the adverse health of the users. The use of cell phones can also have great disadvantages to the school going students in their academic journey. Specifically, cheating using mobile phones has become a tremendous challenge in various educational institutions. For instance, using internet search engines, students can use the cell phones to get answers to the provided test questions. The students are reportedly distracted from their studies and other important events by the utilization of the mobile phones. Evidently, the students put much focus on attention in texting or talking with their peers or friends (Solway, 2010). Nonetheless, the use of cell phones can also hamper the real human interaction as people are usually glued to their phones while ignoring the regular interactions with the people around them. There is a possibility of a big problem in the future considering the much concentration placed on the phones as opposed to the usual socializing which is integral in the human social developments. Moreover, the use of cell phones has become instruments for constant interruptions in the business and social environment. For instance, the ringing of a phone during strategic meeting sessions may interrupt the smooth and regular business of the meeting (Solway, 2010). It is a naked fact that the use of mobile phones carries the privacy risks and the security breaches to the users. For instance, there are high chances of the private messages, financial information, photographs, the online networking accounts and other applications being leaked to a third party when ones phone is stolen, or one has mistakenly left it on office desks or the public sofa. One of the most pressing disadvantages of the frequent use of the mobile phones is the increased chances of getting into traffic accidents. Typically, the distractions from using the cell phones not only prevent people from productive interaction with others but also cost lives of both the user and nonuser in case the accident has occurred. For instance, the drivers have always been notorious for ignoring the traffic rules through engaging in texting, and checking the social media platforms hence cause loss of control of their which leads to accidents. Besides, texting or using the mobile phones by pedestrians have also proved to be the leading cause of many accidents which have resulted in losing of lives (Want, 2006). Sexting, sending the sexual messages or photos to another person is an issue all parents should consider before buying a cell phone for their kids. Particularly, the kids are prone to receive sexually explicit messages or information through the use of mobile phones. Besides, through the internet, children are likely to check the sites which are banned for the childrens view. Therefore, cell phones can significantly influence the childs social and psychological developments (Want, 2006). Evidently, cell phones are always expensive considering the regular upgrades of various gadgets and devices from the specific companies. Many mobile users will always want to upgrade to new devices as long as new updates are available in the market. This is because people are usually fascinated with the various types of cell phones such as the BlackBerry Bold and the Second-Generation iPhone. Conclusion Although there are multiple benefits of using cell phones in the various social environments, there is also the greater disadvantage of the utilization of the devices. The adverse effects of the use of mobile phones effects may be felt on the peoples health, the childrens development and education, socialization and interactions of individuals in the society among other significant influence on the business and social environment. References Cell Phones Health Issues. (n.d.). Retrieved, from https://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/HomeBusinessandEntertainment/CellPhones/ucm116282.htm Solway, A. (2010). Communication: The impact of science and technology. Pleasantville, NY: Gareth Stevens Pub. Want, R. (2006). RFID explained: A primer on radio frequency identification technologies. San Rafael, Calif.: Morgan Claypool.

The Low Cost Airline: Air Arabia

The Low Cost Airline: Air Arabia Air Arabia is one of the low cost airlines of UAE, based in Sharjah. It presently is operating in more than 45 destinations comprising of major cities in south-east Asia, Middle-East and few regions of central Asia and Africa. Air Arabia is also registered in AACO or Arab Air Carriers Organization In the recent years the threat due to its substitute competitors was almost nullified. They stood nowhere in front of Air Arabia but there had been a constant threat from the upcoming new competitors. Though the new competitors were not enough to challenge Air Arabia, there was still some kind of threat because the numbers of such competitors were increasing day by day. In UAE initially there were many air service providers, but in the recent times Air Arabia has proved to be the most effective one compared to its previous competitors. With the increasing oil prices the competitors of Air Arabia increased their prices, but Air Arabia kept its low budget fares in order to gain more and more public support at the cost of temporary loss or little marginal gain. The low cost carriers are so effective that they helped Air Arabia win Merit Award for CAPA Low Cost Airline of the Year 2006 and the World Airline Award for Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East in 2007. The biggest threat that Air Arabia has is from its competitors. The reason for the same is that once a company gets a remark of dissatisfying its customers by not doing as advertised, the competitors take advantage. Key strategies include: Entering in new segments and thus removing dependency on singe segment (low cost carrier). Arranging funds to buy more funds. Balancing between increasing inflation and controlling the prices of the tickets. Acquiring new and small airlines for faster expansion. Getting listed at new airports and starting operation in new places. Supporting governments Emiritization strategy to get more federal support. Talking about the implementation of strategies, for increasing its marketing dimension, the company has invested over DH one million in terms of Ads, both online and print media. This would result in a long term profit for the company, though its quite a heavy amount on the basis of companys current scenario. More includes: International flight connecting Abu Dhabi to more than 45 international destinations in USA, Indian subcontinent etc. Air Arabia carried over 4.6 million passengers, an augment of approximately 65.8% over in 2006. (Lowcostairlinesworld, 2009) Along with this, it also griped 175,000 tons of freight in 2007, which is an increase of over 75% than the year 2006. Introduction: Air Arabia is one of the low cost airlines of UAE, based in Sharjah. It presently is operating in more than 45 destinations comprising of major cities in south-east Asia, Middle-East and few regions of central Asia and Africa. Air Arabia is also registered in AACO or Arab Air Carriers Organization. It was the first low-fare organization in the Middle-East, started on 3rd February in the year 2003. It offers almost 40% less price than the other airlines. The main base of the airline is Sharjah. In 2007 it was the first to offer public 55% of its stock. It basically aims at attracting the people. After its foundation it kept on spreading in services. For the time in 2008 it had to back out from the Nepal region due to some uncertain political and economic issues. It has collaborated with many other airlines in many parts of the world. Vision: The ultimate goal of the company is to position itself at the top of all the Low-fare airlines in UAE and in Gulf. The key features of Vision of the company are as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expanding its aircraft range à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To provide service on more number of routes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To enhance efficiency of operations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ And to increase its revenue maintaining a low and simple structure of low air-fare industry. Mission: The companys mission includes building and creating multi-functional team, increase revenue and offering a value for money services in the region. The ultimate mission is to bring a revolution in the fright industry by new and innovative corporate standards. Industry background: The airlines industry of UAE is vast if we look at the number of service providers. There are number of low cost airlines. National airlines of UAE other than air Arabia include Gulf Air, Emirates and Etihad. Gulf air was started long ago in 1950. It provides a number of facilities to its users. Firstly it has provided many onboard facilities to children below the age of 12. For the business related people it provides the BBC world news. It also provides separate dinning for the passengers. It is treated as a standard national flight for most of the purposes. Emirates airlines were introduced after Gulf Air in 1985. It is also considered as a national flight. It has won several awards for its services. This airline consists of many air planes both for public and private issues. Etihad is the most recent one and was introduced after air Arabia in the same year. It had also become quite popular but could not compete with Air Arabia on low cost. A Kam air fare is also considered as one of the low cost airlines in UAE. Among all the existing national airlines till date Air Arabia is considered to be the cheapest one. It is not considered to be a flight with the best facility on board but of course it offers a cheap fare t its customers. The facilities provided by these national airlines to their customers vary from each other. All these airlines greatly contribute to the national economy of UAE. Statement of problem: In this report, we will talk about the key strategies of Air Arabia, alternate strategies available, implementation, and SWOT, PEST and competitor analysis of Air Arabia. For this concern, an interview with a manager of the company is organized. The Manager stated that Air Arabia is doing substantially well in its domain which is presently concentrated to low cost airline segment. For long term perspective, the company is aiming to enter in more segments than this alone. There are number of strategic problems the company is facing. These are: Entering in new segments and thus removing dependency on singe segment (low cost carrier). Arranging funds to buy more funds. Balancing between increasing inflation and controlling the prices of the tickets. Acquiring new and small airlines for faster expansion. Getting listed at new airports and starting operation in new places. Supporting governments Emiritization strategy to get more federal support. Analysis: Environmental or Industrial Analysis: Air Arabia believes in providing a superior and cost efficient life support system by introducing advanced facilities and more availability to gain customer satisfaction. It aims to be a company that has value and importance based on kind of services it provides. The organization has certain morals when it comes to staffing and team work, maintaining customer relationship, honesty, truthfulness, and flexibility are that satisfy the grounds. The customers of the Air industry are in all forms. The aircrafts are used for the security of nations and so go to the government. Then importers and exporters of the market that import goods from as small as vegetables to cars. So in turn we also are using these services. They are used for the people to travel. The aircrafts are the majority form of transportation in the recent times. Porters five forces analysis The threat of substitute competitors: In the recent years the threat due to its substitute competitors was almost nullified. They stood nowhere in front of Air Arabia. The other substitutes kept on declining and the company Air Arabia kept on improving talking in terms of profit in the market. The other companies could not offer such a low fares as compared to Air Arabia whose fares were remarkable. The threat of the entry of new competitors There had been a constant threat from the upcoming new competitors. Every now and then many new companies were launched along with the existing ones. They all tried to match up to the level of Air Arabia but ultimately failed to continue on a long run. They met with huge loss and ultimately ended up in increasing the cost. All these competitors tried to copy Air Arabia based on service it provides, but they failed to regulate them on a regular basis based on public satisfaction and demand. The intensity of competitive rivalry Though Air Arabia continued to dominate the market in the recent years, it had not been an easy job. It always had to keep itself alert and changing. Though the new competitors were not enough to challenge Air Arabia, there was still some kind of threat because the numbers of such competitors were increasing day by day. Air Arabia had to keep a survey of the prevailing market conditions and take safe decisions to keep going. Marketing aspect of the company became crucial in maintaining the market position. The bargaining power of customers Considering the bargaining power in case of Air Arabia is a mere thing if we compare it with the facilities it provides and the lack of able competitors. People were not much into bargaining because Air Arabia had been the best available among all the others. However, in times of strong competition by some new rivals there had been some kind of bargaining by the customers, which was gracefully accepted for that period. The bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers in this case refer to the stock holders of the company. They also got a huge discount on available stocks. Also the amount of available public stocks was considerably increased. They also get a good amount of annual dividend. Also due to expansion of their business the stock holders made a huge profit. Competitor Analysis: In UAE initially there were many air service providers, but in the recent times Air Arabia has proved to be the most effective one compared to its previous competitors. With the increasing oil prices the competitors of Air Arabia increased their prices, but Air Arabia kept its low budget fares in order to gain more and more public support at the cost of temporary loss or little marginal gain. This was very crucial in giving Air Arabia a position quite different from others. Among all the existing national airlines till date Air Arabia is considered to be the cheapest one. It is not considered to be a flight with the best facility on board but of course it offers a cheap fare t its customers. The facilities provided by these national airlines to their customers vary from each other. All these airlines greatly contribute to the national economy of UAE. SWOT Analysis: Strengths Considering the case of Air Arabia, the low cost fare plays a crucial role in gaining the public interest. The low cost carriers are so effective that they helped Air Arabia win Merit Award for CAPA Low Cost Airline of the Year 2006 and the World Airline Award for Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East in 2007. With the increasing infrastructure, high regional GDP and a huge demand in various regions, air travels are contributing to the success of low cost carriers in UAE. The reason for Air Arabia being so popular among all the regions of the world is its award winning strategies. These awards add a great deal in their marketing strategy which helps to bag future success. Air Arabia has been able to advertise its business in the following ways: Travel agency commissions stopped Removal of interline, code-share relationships Usage of secondary or alternate city airports (Eyefortravel, 2008) As a number of people have begun to feel the same, it is certainly a positive aspect of advertising for Air Arabia. Weakness The greatest weakness that most of the airlines companies are facing nowadays is that they have not been able to live up to their expectations. On many occasions, Air Arabia has agreed on certain flying to certain destinations but it has not lived up to it. One such concern is that when the airline company promised to fly to some of the most restricted destinations in the world, it could not make it to Cairo as it most highly expected by the tourists and other regular passengers. So, as the advertisement said they did not book their expensive tickets through different airline companies but at the same time did not get the opportunity to travel at all. Some of the major accessories as expected by the passengers in Air Arabia in spite of its low cost are as follows: Amenity Kits Air Sickness Bags In-flight socks Eye shades Blankets Headsets Opportunities High GDP Growth Rates: Petroleum extraction and refining operations have been on an all time high in the UAE in the past few years. This has helped in the boost of the economy of UAE. Air Arabia can take advantage of this fact and can help make the use of its low cost carriers more prominent. Positive Demographics: The percentage of youth (under 30 years) in the UAE is 64%. This will provide a high in the future market as liberalization opens market even to air travel. It is one of the important factors for Air Arabia to select its targeting strategy. Strong Tourism: The energy and entrepreneurial spirit of the middle-east region is attracting tourism and business traffic in its own right. Advertisement can be done with all the tourism companies so as to make the tour highly affordable for the tourists. Threats The biggest threat that Air Arabia has is from its competitors. The reason for the same is that once a company gets a remark of dissatisfying its customers by not doing as advertised, the competitors take advantage. The other reason of threat for Air Arabia is that all the newly merging airline companies are in a spree to capture the market by making a strong reputation. Once they come up with price fares lesser than Air Arabia then even the best of advertising would fail. Companys performance: Air Arabia is one of the low cost airlines of UAE, based in Sharjah. It presently is operating in more than 45 destinations comprising of major cities in south-east Asia, Middle-East and few regions of central Asia and Africa. Air Arabia is also registered in AACO or Arab Air Carriers Organization. The companys mission includes building and creating multi-functional team, increase revenue and offering a value for money services in the region. It was the first low-fare organization in the Middle-East, started on 3rd February in the year 2003. It offers almost 40% less price than the other airlines. The main base of the airline is Sharjah. In 2007 it was the first to offer public 55% of its stock. It basically aims at attracting the people. After its foundation it kept on spreading in services. For the time in 2008 it had to back out from the Nepal region due to some uncertain political and economic issues. It has collaborated with many other airlines in many parts of the world. (Amein fo, 2009) Key Strategies: A key strategic issue includes: Entering in new segments and thus removing dependency on singe segment (low cost carrier). Arranging funds to buy more funds. Balancing between increasing inflation and controlling the prices of the tickets. Acquiring new and small airlines for faster expansion. Getting listed at new airports and starting operation in new places. Supporting governments Emiritization strategy to get more federal support. The company is trying to introduce low cost flights so that more and more people avail them. There are basically targeting on two areas. First of all they are reducing some unnecessary facilities on short time journeys. Removing these facilities based on such a low cost hardly affects public interest. Secondly, they are trying to reduce the fair on some routes and at the same time increasing the number of flights on these routes. This means gaining public interest and support based on low marginal profit. Other than offering incentives to its customers it also offers heavy dividend and discounts to stock holders. It was the first flight to provide so much of rebate to its customers and stock holders. It keeps on increasing the facilities offered in order to keep the interest maintained. (Ameinfo, 2009) Air Arabia has recently expanded its aircraft ranges. It has tried to expand the business in by introducing new routes in many parts of the region. There are more and number of aircrafts in the regions where there were less no of aircrafts. Now the flights are available more frequently in some routes based on amount of profit made in the existing routes. In order to increase the value of its stocks in the market, the company has released more no of stocks to the public with discounts. The strategies, the growth and the future plans offered by Air Arabia are sufficient to attract more and more stock holders which ultimately lead to expansion in terms to money, power and public support. It has also appeared on many other stock lists and transactions are also about to start. (Eyefortravel, 2008) The company had been very particular in deciding the cost of transport. It kept in mind the rising and the falling prices of oil and other equipments, directly or indirectly related to their business. In other words, they maintained a complete survey of the prevailing market. With the increase in the fuel prices many airlines companies increased their prices and vice versa. There are other strategies which were used for marketing at financial level. The company has gained a lot from them. The profit margin has increased by 40% in the recent years and there are still chances of further increase. These all strategies have proved fruitful both for the company and the company stock holders which are directly or indirectly related to the company. The company has been able to hold up to the expectations of its employees and its customers. Air Arabia greatly contributes in the UAE economy. Recently it got an approval to appear on Dubai financial list. The Air Arabia is going to appear on stock list of Dubai financial market and trading it will be started in few days. The way Air Arabia is using the budget and the way it is applying the strategies it is believed that in the time to come if there is a slow economy progress, Air Arabia alone can handle it. Strategic Alternatives: Some strategies of Air Arabia for future few years are as follows: Expanding its aircraft range: One important constraint in companys expansion plan is the limited number of cargo and passenger planes available to the company. The company will place periodic orders for new aircrafts to support its expansions plans. To provide service on more number of routes: The company would like to serve in European countries and other untouched destinations in North and South America. The expansion will give a vast increment in companys present market size. To enhance efficiency of operations: As a long term strategy, the company would like to implement TQM strategies in its operations. Increase its revenue maintaining high and quality structure of luxurious aircraft industry Another one is Emiritization and advancement of UAE people. The company has a number of plans in this direction with long term interest which are mentioned as follows: UAE National Cadet Pilots Training or UNCPT The company invites aspirants who what to become a pilot with a statement like We are giving wings to your dreams. Its pilot training program is one of the finest in the nation. The company states that as the public Airline of the United Arab Emirate, it has an immense vision. To see further Emiratis taking their correct position as pilots in lone of the fastest mounting airlines on the planet. UAE National Graduate Entry Management Plan The public airline of the UAE, Air Arabia, is investing in its outlook and would consequently like to spend in people by giving them the chance to be 1 of the privileged students chosen to join its UNGEM program. It states that by this program, graduates will develop sturdy leadership abilities and form a collection of professionals who are organized to meet quickly expanding and developing leadership wants in various branches within the company. (Eyefortravel, 2008) Enhancing the cargo carriers flights: As shown from the contribution of profit from the cargo and customer units, the cargo unit contributes around 65% of the companys turnover, which depict the clear dominance of cargo unit over the customer unit in terms of profit. The company would like to utilize this faith of people in Air Arabias cargo unit to gain additional market share. Thus as an expansion plan for cargo unit, the company is ordering more share of cargo planes as compared to that of passenger planes. Segmentation and targeting: The Company had divided the consumer market into various segments based on income and profession. The segment which appears to be the center of consideration for the company is those of high earning boniness people who need to travel consistently and comfortably. Positioning: Its actually consumers perception about the service. Royal Jet, from the beginning has tried to establish as a symbol for a cheap but reliable air traffic business partner. Implementation: Air Arabia greatly contributes in the UAE economy. Recently it got an approval to appear on Dubai financial list. The Air Arabia is going to appear on stock list of Dubai financial market and trading it will be started in few days. It has already started offering rebates on stocks to its customers. The national economy of UAE is going to be benefited by the kind of strategies being forwarded by Air Arabia. Not only are they going to have a huge business but also a huge investment in the stocks by the common people. The market is going to be greatly affected. Many new services are being started. The UAE government believes that Air Arabia can alone increase the UAE economy from going down. It has now met with 32% profit which is the highest ever in the recent years. For increasing its marketing dimension, the company has invested over DH one million in terms of Ads, both online and print media. This would result in a long term profit for the company, though its quite a heavy amount on the basis of companys current scenario. (Arabia, 2009) Use of technology: The Company has recently brought 7 new aircrafts with increased capacities and advance technology. As the company is still very new, almost all of the aircrafts are in good condition. Talking about other technological diffusion parameters, the company has recently brought a SAP system which is an expert system from Sap international. This expert system is Artificial Intelligence based and works on knowledge representation rather than data manipulation, thus is highly technical and advance. The operation unit exploits the SAP system to efficiently monitor the various aspects and inventory constituents. The company also has an online terminal to book tickets and offers various plans in flights according to customer requirements. International flight connecting Abu Dhabi to more than 45 international destinations in USA, Indian subcontinent etc. Air Arabia carried over 4.6 million passengers, an augment of approximately 65.8% over in 2006. Along with this, it also griped 175,000 tons of freight in 2007, which is an increase of over 75% than the year 2006. (Ameinfo, 2009) Air Arabia owns complete share is its two subsidiaries, Air Arabia Holidays, a travel group and vehicle rental company and Air Arabia Crystal Cargo, which provides freight handling services. Air Arabia had a 24 hour help line for its customers. Air Arabia also provides hospitality services by providing temporary accommodation in hotels. (Arabia, 2009) The Air Arabia owned a group of 37 traveler and cargo airplanes, as depicted by the data of January 2008 and it plan is to increase its aircraft group to 300 by the year 2020. Air Arabia is also planning to fly over 25 million customers per year by 2020 and to twofold the number of metropolitans served from 50 to make it near 100. Market segmentation: Presently the market is segmented on the basis of income and travelling frequency of the people. It results in generation of segments like high business class consumers, consumers travelling too often but expending less, tourism based consumers (not fixed) etc. Apart from these segments, a variety of new segments can be created like low-spending domestic class, mainly for tourism. As example of this segment can be Indias growing domestic aviation market which depends little spending but large sized segment. Talking about the competitors involvement in these segments, Etihad is a big player of cheap flights segments along with Easy jet. Some other like Palm operates in multiple segments. Some competitors are head to head rival of Air Arabia in Luxury market like Sky jets etc. Thus the competitors are widely spread in these segments. References: Ameinfo (2009), Air Arabia marketing team takes centre stage, retrieved on 1st November, from http://www.ameinfo.com/29672.html Eyefortravel (2008), Air Arabia plans expansion, retrieved on 1st November, from http://www.eyefortravel.com/news/middle-east/air-arabia-plans-expansionddle-east/air-arabia-plans-expansion Lowcostairlinesworld (2009), Innovation and opportunity for traditional and low cost carriers and investors, retrieved on 31st October from http://www.lowcostairlinesworld.com/sg/programme.stm Air Arabia (2009), Know us, retrieved on 1st November, from http://www.airarabia.com/crp_1/know-more

Essay --

Arthrogryposis is a disorder in which a child is born with joint contractures; this means some of their joints may be stuck in one position (curved or crooked). Children born with this disorder may have thin, weak, stiff, or missing muscles around these joints. The most common cause of arthrogryposis is fetal akinesia which is where the baby doesn’t move around a lot in the womb during development. Extra tissue can form in the joints making movement more difficult for the child to move. The reasons that fetal akinesia can take place may be because the womb was abnormally shaped so there wasn’t enough room for the baby to move around, amniotic fluid may have leaked out of the womb, or the baby’s parts did not form normally such as joints, bones, and muscles. They have also found that in approximately one third of the children who have this disorder have been determined to be a genetic cause. Approximately one in three thousand children are born with this disorder and it does not progress over time. There does not appear to be any precedence as to sex or race and it is developed at conception. There are several types of Arthrogryposis which include Amyoplasia, Distal, Classic, and Syndromic. According to the Shriners hospitals for children, Amyoplasia is an overall lack of muscular development and growth with contracture, a loss of joint motion, and deformity of most joints. Babies with this type have dense fibrous tissue and fat instead of skeletal muscle. Distal affects several joints usually in the hands and feet, and range of motion may be slightly limited. Classic usually affects the hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, feet and knees with different degrees of severity. The most severe case can affect almost joint ... ...osture and weight bearing strength. In conclusion, children with arthrogryposis benefit from therapy; early intervention is important so they will not have further delays in performing tasks. Adaptive equipment can be provided to these patients so they can complete their ADLs and succeed in self-care skills. Having a supportive family is very important to these children. Children with this condition need a lot of encouragement and motivation from the people they love the most. If a family is not involved in their childs life it may cause other problems as well such as lacking emotional regulation skills or further delays in other skills from lack of opportunity. For these children to make progress, therapy should not only be worked on with the occupational therapist, but it should be carried over into the home too. Encouragement from loved ones is really the trick.

Comments on Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau :: Civil Disobedience Essays

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau    Thoreau's essay entitled "Civil Disobedience" i was an excellent way of educating the public on why people should not settle for a less than perfect government. His belief in demanding a better government was a great reminder that Thomas Jefferson insisted that it was our "duty, to throw off"(2) an unsatisfactory government in the "Declaration of Independence" ii Thoreau's essay also explained why people choose not to do anything about it. Thoreau stated that people "cannot spare the protection of the existing government, and they dread the consequences to their property and families of disobedience to it" (25). So it makes sense that most people would not be willing to risk losing their property, family, or their life. However, we should not feel this way because Jefferson also stated that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed."(2) Jefferson then went on and stated "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government" (2). It is not as if people do not have problems with the government. We protest the same things that Thoreau did: paying for wars, services that we personally do not use, corruption in our government, etc. Yet our society today does not use productive means to invoke our "Right of the People" and demand a "better government". There are people who actually do choose to abide by some of Thoreau's suggestions for dealing with our government. Many people refuse to pay taxes. Jefferson did claim that "imposing taxes on us without our Consent"(19) was grounds for a request for new government. Is there actual anyone who enjoys paying taxes? Thoreau did not have a problem with paying "for no particular item in the tax-bill"(36). He just did not want to show "allegiance to the State"(36). He believed that he did not join the "incorporated society"(25) that is the State so why should he pay its debts. The people who refuse to pay today simply prefer to keep their money. So according to Jefferson, that is technically ok. There are others who truly believe that there is a need for an improved government. Comments on Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau :: Civil Disobedience Essays Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau    Thoreau's essay entitled "Civil Disobedience" i was an excellent way of educating the public on why people should not settle for a less than perfect government. His belief in demanding a better government was a great reminder that Thomas Jefferson insisted that it was our "duty, to throw off"(2) an unsatisfactory government in the "Declaration of Independence" ii Thoreau's essay also explained why people choose not to do anything about it. Thoreau stated that people "cannot spare the protection of the existing government, and they dread the consequences to their property and families of disobedience to it" (25). So it makes sense that most people would not be willing to risk losing their property, family, or their life. However, we should not feel this way because Jefferson also stated that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed."(2) Jefferson then went on and stated "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government" (2). It is not as if people do not have problems with the government. We protest the same things that Thoreau did: paying for wars, services that we personally do not use, corruption in our government, etc. Yet our society today does not use productive means to invoke our "Right of the People" and demand a "better government". There are people who actually do choose to abide by some of Thoreau's suggestions for dealing with our government. Many people refuse to pay taxes. Jefferson did claim that "imposing taxes on us without our Consent"(19) was grounds for a request for new government. Is there actual anyone who enjoys paying taxes? Thoreau did not have a problem with paying "for no particular item in the tax-bill"(36). He just did not want to show "allegiance to the State"(36). He believed that he did not join the "incorporated society"(25) that is the State so why should he pay its debts. The people who refuse to pay today simply prefer to keep their money. So according to Jefferson, that is technically ok. There are others who truly believe that there is a need for an improved government.