Issues Surrounding Masculinity in United States Essay

Our society today has little tolerance for men and masculinity in general. Masculinity can be defined as having qualities or appearance of male. It includes behaviors typically associated with men. In his book, Ferguson takes us into the world of a sole, municipal elementary school attended by students who have been labeled as troublemakers and potential jail inmates. She identifies how a group of young boys of African American origin aged between 11 to 12 years are identified by their school work force as lovers of jail (14). Over the years black Americans boys have been subjected to a kind of discrimination both in school and outside. There are claims that teachers treat these boys as if they are doomed to fail. Ferguson (26) goes on to criticize the form of punishment given to the boys which according to him does not instill discipline but simply perpetuating troublemakers and creating potential inmates (67). According to equality index carried out by Pascoe (114), black men in America have high chances of being unemployed than white men. The black men are seven times more likely more to be imprisoned with a jail sentence of above ten months over their white counterparts. The report also discloses other disparities ranging from unemployment, school drop out rates and annual income. While there have been some improvements on the gap between the black men and white men in United States of America, black masculinity is still being faced with greater problem. Despite the condemnation given to them, Ferguson argues that Black American boys look seriously at schooling and excelling in life. In addition she identifies how the whole society beliefs in a natural difference of black children from the white children. Most people according to him identify the black men as criminal and it is this view that disproportionately put them in danger of disappointment and punishment. this is a greatly interfere with the black American boys according who in future end up taking the negative behavior as implied by their mentors. Ferguson bases her argument on a fundamental theory of learning, drawn from two sources: Marxist & Bowles speculation view of society which gives school the task of reproducing the existing communal pecking order, and Foucault’s post-structural theory of disciplinary authority that views punishment as an instrument of social segregation (82). He contrasts this speculative frame to the commonly held liberal idea that schools are meritocratic (112). But the black American boys are hyper aware of their individuality pattern. According to Fergusson (123), they act upon their masculinity through impressive performances and disruptions in class work and they achieve their self worth for themselves by using hostility behavior strategy to regain their sense of self. Â  To identify themselves as resourceful, authoritative and knowledgeable in the face of the humiliation they encounter in school. By masculinity, Malin (36) seems to mean men who not only reveal the physical qualities of toughness but also who also possesses some noble principle. In his book, Malin claimed that Clinton has been shown as a conflicted and sensitive, yet strong man (42). It is these characters according to Malin (43) that helped him win presidential elections. Clinton’s personality remained a package of conflicts that variously embraced and overthrown different stereotypes of masculinity hence he was able to remain a strong man. Malin 2005 (78). Sonenstein associates masculinity with culture, and socialization and encourages men to try to live up to cultural standards of masculinity (342). According to Malin, men fraternity face pressures and dilemmas around race- and gender-based individuality structure is always a flagrant force that works against these students maintaining an obligation to schooling. This is why schools across the nation for example in US observe a continual attrition of schoolboys as they link the ranks of troublemakers (67). According to Ferguson (112), molding our boys viewing them as Bad Boys is a powerful challenge to current views on the setback of the black males in school. Currently black males are severely constrained by the society and culture of their high school and of American society in general. This form of treatment world neither favor girl child who is always more vulnerable to several situations. Due to this unhealthy treatment the black American Male end up performing poorly in their education which lead them to drug abuse and criminal activities which in future lead them to be on the wrong side of the law. Ferguson 2000 (P 139) Both black and white men have their roles to play as men in America. Ferguson advocates for need to change the social organization and the culture of the society so as to enhance a suitable learning environment of the African American males in particular and all children in general. Solutions begin from an assurance that slight inputs, short-term interventions and person prescriptions into schools are greatly sufficient to cure an organization that is mainly flawed. The organization should aim for metropolitan black kid who seems to be the formation of a community which will basically obey the rules of civilization. A reform of the whole educational system is what is urgently necessary according to Ferguson (234). Overhauling the whole school system is the only way according to Ferguson (113) for eliminating all kind of institutionalized discrimination. She states that significant changes may take position by altering the curriculum and establishing lesser classes whereby student gets enough attention from their trainers. In addition, antiracist education for student teachers and reciprocated respect among adults and youth will also form a very good base to eliminate society and cultural constrain. Schools that are reorganized in this way would help in bringing new meaning to the Black masculinity (235).

Business Intelligence in a Corporate Environment Essay

The purpose of this literature review is to provide an overall perspective to the workings of business intelligence in a corporate environment. With the onset of massive technological gains in the past decade the implementation of business intelligence has grown accordingly. In the workplace the demand for business process improvement, responsive reporting, cutting edge forecasting, and internal business customer relations has triggered a need for a unit that understands the business needs as well as the impact on company technology. This review will focus on the various areas that business intelligence impacts in the workplace. There will also be an emphasis on understanding the longevity of these types of units. With these units in the workplace questions concerning departmental automation goals and the impact on the maturity stages that are involved with the creation of business intelligence units. Finally, with the growth of data collection and ease of use, the security and manag ement of company information is intertwined with the operation of business intelligence. The Age of Information The Role of Shifting Technology Throughout history technology has influenced the very fabric of business operations. The role of business intelligence in this shift is the implementation and continuous improvement of that technology. This role is ever changing because technology continues to improve. While to some the role of business intelligence seems new and upcoming the usage and practice goes back to the earliest days of industry. An example of this history would be in the automation industry. In years past large amounts of labor was done by hand. The role of the business analyst would be to collect and analyze the entire business process from start to finish. Once this was done the analyst would narrow their focus to the individual in an attempt to provide management with data to increase speed and efficiency. That role is now used  to analyze the systems and machines that are responsible for making the products. While the example above is simple the connection between the shift in technology and the role of business intelligence is clear. With any business the desire for information is strong. To be competitive a company needs to be aware of the business environment in which they operate. Business intelligence serves to meet the information and improvement goals that drive the company to greater success. For this literature review there is an article written by Elliot King that exemplifies the shift of technology and the role of business intelligence on it. King focuses on the large amount of company resources that are spent on the implementation, development, and management of business intelligence technology in the workplace. This attention has been driven by the increasing demand for such software products and personnel to manage them. Understanding this current shift King focuses on the role business intelligence has and will continue to have on the business that use data en mass. The article provides a brief look at the history of data storage and misconceptions about employee interest in accessing the data. This interest has largely been pushed down due to the complex nature of interacting with the information present within the data warehouse. With the explosion of the internet and user assimilation to it these technical barriers are slowing beginning to fall (King, 1998). With the ease of use and understanding increasing employees are beginning to grasp the value of data. This is where the role of business intelligence has thrived. Business intelligence has been implemented to bridge the gap between the employee and the business data stored in the warehouse. This is done through a variety methods that have made data more and more useful to the companies that have and utilize their data. King summarizes his article with the theory that as the internet was opened  far and wide to all this should concept should be applied to the data warehousing. While King understands that the two pieces of technology are different he affirms that they are similar enough in nature that the same approach can be applied. Overall, the article provide a good look at how the shift of technology in business can affect the demand for systems and the personnel that maintain and operate them (King, 1998). The impact of Business growth With the growth of business the world has begun to shrink. No longer are companies that employ a hundred or even a thousand considered to be impressive. In 2014 Bank of America was reported to have employed two hundred and eighty four thousand people to run its operations around the globe (â€Å"Bank of America,† 2014). The implications of companies of this size are astounding and have significantly impacted the demand for business intelligence. To truly understand why a company would spend millions of dollars on business intelligence operations a simple example can be provided. For Bank of America each employee is assigned a unique number or code that distinguishes him or her from the rest of the employees within the organization. On the other side of the table each customer that has interacted with the bank is also assigned a unique identifier. If these are added together the quantity of unique entities starts to become astounding. The example above shows why a business like Bank of America would be heavily interested in utilizing business intelligence assets to manage the data associated with its business units. While the example provided only touches on areas concerning employees and customers the amount of data associated with those people can be mind boggling. For employees this data could be anything from human resource forms to vacation day requests. For customers the data could be products purchased, recorded marketing calls, website interaction as well as a host of other areas. In 2000 Deborah Rowe an article that centered on business trends pushing database management systems to greater growth. Rowe focuses on the data  warehousing concept that has proved to meet a large majority of business needs in terms of information management. The focus of the article is to explain how progress is pushing for better and better systems for managing data. The article talks about how increasing competition has created a lean environment for data management. Companies that are complacent with their data are either failing or catching on to the need for better interaction and usage of their data. Rowe delves into the process of choosing these systems from a corporate perspective. The challenges presented by this type of implementation are rather glaring. These challenges include upfront cost, long term cost, and mismanagement of data. If a company chooses to implement a product that its employees don’t understand correctly the effects can be devastating on the business. Hiring knowledgeable employees to manage and implement the product is essential to long term success. With all of these hurdles of implementing a DBMS system the task can be daunting. Rowe discusses how the task of purchasing and implanting a DBMS needs to be done with great caution and a clear focus. If a business isn’t able to look further down the road and consider how the DBMS can be used in the future it will fail completely. Having a perspective that encompasses as much of the companies goals and visions is critical. This is why companies are constantly looking for individuals that are able to focus on a detailed system but be able to at the same time look at the broader scope of the company’s needs (Rowe , 2000). In summation the article leaves the reader with an interesting perspective on the increasing demand for these systems. Rowe concludes that the ERP industry will grow and tremendous pace in the future. With that growth the need for knowledgeable employees that understand the systems use and can translate the data to affect business needs will continuing to increase. The increasing corporate demand. At its very core business is driven by two simple concepts. These are the laws of revenue and expenses. In business these two laws drive companies on a daily basis. Popular opinion about these  concepts can sometimes sway in either direction. Proponents may put all of their support into revenue generation while others will focus on creating the perfect lean business model. Whatever the theory or opinion is the law of revenues and expenses will remain the same. As discussed in this review the expenses of implementing DBMS systems and employing highly skilled individuals can be massive. To a company that purely focuses on the expense side of the equation these systems may seem like a waste of precious assets. To others who understand the future and current impact of these systems the decision to utilize them is an easy one. Like the concepts of revenues and expenses the goals of a company can dictate the perspective of business intelligence units. The reason demand has begun to steadily increase over the past decade is the potential to affect both the expense and revenue side of the business structure. Business intelligence units are designed to support departments in ways that can amplify their current revenue production and decrease their expense habits. An article written by Ken Rudin explains how corporate demand for business intelligence in their companies is steadily increasing. Rudin talks about how business intelligence has become a very high priority for business executives who understand the values they can derive from business improvement. This demand has grown to the point where corporate leaders are focusing on moving past the traditional business intelligence processes (Rudin , 2007) . Rudin explains the implications of this progressive thought process by paralleling the impact of software applications that software products have had on industry to business intelligence services. The discussion is focused on how executives are looking into custom company specific solution provided on an instant. This type business process software is highly intuitive and seeks to provide all of the necessary tools needed to make an informed business decision. Examples of these on-demand solutions are software’s likes SQL Server Reporting Services by Microsoft. This software allows for not only the display of information but the real time interaction with the data that the web services are pulling their content from. Rudin discusses how these types of solutions are not only catching fire they are exploding all over the business world. This explosion of demand is driven by the complexity of the data being pulled as well as the cost associated with the data being collected and stored. This cost and complexity equation is what Rudin believes is the key piece to business intelligence demand. Like the example of revenues and expenses the idea surrounding on-demand solutions is the same. The question asked is, â€Å"What can these solutions do that allow a normal employee to do their job at a higher level which in turns into a higher rate of return for their employer?† Concluding Rudin’s article he discusses that a key factor associated with on demand business intelligence solutions is the usability of the product. Having solutions created that users do not understand or lose trust in can be a major drain on process improvement. Rudin emphasizes that the development of these processes needs to be done in such a way that they take into account the users that are interacting with them. This is essential to developing a trust relationship between the users and the product (Rudin , 2007). Business Intelligence Tools The Role of Reporting Reporting is one the most essential pieces of and type of business process. If a company sells laundry detergent it needs to know how much product it has, how much product it has sold, and how much it should produce. These three simple questions speak to the ramifications of good reporting data within a business. There is so much information that is gathered by companies with the singular intent of providing reports for business decisions. This gathering is done in a way that the information collected in stored in some type of server  which houses a virtual warehouse. Like a physical warehouse it is critical to understand how and where something is stored so that it can be retrieved for future use. When it comes to reporting the challenge presented to businesses is the quantity and placement of their data. If a business is unable to utilize their data efficiently they are sacrificing business opportunities every second the data is left idle. This quandary has been analyzed and the solution has been to purchase and employee people and products to provide this data in a useful format for business use. In a business intelligence unit a data analyst will focus on first understanding the overall goal of a report request. This is important because the impact of creating something purely based on the request can lead to disastrous results. These can range from customers not understanding the terminology used within the reporting system to not grasping the capability or usage of the system being used to provide the report. To make sure these requests are understand correctly a business intelligence unit is commonly found implemented within a specific area of the business. This cultivates a cross knowledge between the highly technical nature of the reporting systems to the broad scope goals of a particular business department. This type of side by side interaction can be a major benefit to not only getting more precise and accurate reporting it also serves as educating tool to the department through exposure. An article written in 2005 by Harry Debes explains this process in detail. The author of the article begins the discussion by emphasizing the importance of timely and accurate data. These two pieces are the bread and butter of business intelligence. The reason for this is that both factors are highly dependent on each other. Debes explains this concept by focusing on the energy market and the application of business reports in this area of industry. He shows that there various daily functions that are conducted that are in need of  constant monitoring to allow for efficient operation. Some of the examples include repair requests, credit collections, meter usage, demand fluctuations, and most important customers (Debes , 2005). All of the examples cited by Debes are common sense in nature but they require an entire business process to effectively report on. Using the example of meter usage by having daily reports energy companies can identify issues based on real time data and not be forced to swallow a catastrophe because of something as simple as mechanical fault. The problem could easily be identified by a simple reporting tool that was programmed to expect a specific range of usage. If the range was violated the system would send an alert with a level of priority based on the disparity of the ranges. The article written by Debes is a good example of how business intelligence reporting can be implemented in ways that benefit the company at levels of the corporate ladder. From interactive financial data and forecasting to specific customer energy consumption and history reliable and accurate reporting in the energy industry is a very powerful tool that has been used and is being continuously improved upon for future endeavors (Debes , 2005). Impact of data driven Forecasting Forecasting is an important an element of any business. At its most basic level it is simply looking to the future and making guesses to a specific result based on past and present data. This is where the role of business intelligence arrives. Data analysts like their namesake are paid to look at data and decipher how that data works and relates to the business. Once a data analyst is able to firmly grasp company data they can provide constructive advice based on the knowledge of that data. In addition to providing advice the data analyst can create reports that take past data and make estimations programmatically based on definable trends. These reports can be provided through an assortment of software’s and displayed in formats that best fit the target audience. Having a system in place that looks to past data and provides useful  forecasts can not only give a company an idea of where they are going they can also give an idea where their competition is going as well. This ability to compare company performance to the market and project where the company is headed is critical. With timely and reliable forecasting a company can discern opportunities and threats within the marketplace before they even occur. With market competition becoming more and more intense the role of forecasting has been prioritized highly by most companies that operate on a large scale. This is clearly supported by an article written by Susana Schwartz about the greater need for more robust forecasting technologies. The concept of the article focuses on the next level of forecasting that business intelligence units are seeking to achieve. The author talks about how the next set of tools utilized by business intelligence units will be integrated into the business processes that have already been laid down. The key factors that are emphasized are the broad categories that these tools can influence. Examples of these are products such as SSRS by Microsoft, ARGOS by Ellucian, and APEX by Oracle. Each of these tools provide granular interaction with business process data while still being able to be applied to other categories. These tools are used to be the developing platforms that take the business process driven data and formulates it into reportable information used for forecasting. In the article these are the types of tools that Schwartz describes when talking about integrated and real time driven tools (Schwartz, 2007). Concluding the article by Schwartz she emphasizes the value of report generation. She talks about how even if the emphasis might be redundant the need to focus on this factor is critical to accurate forecasting. This is because all of the past data collected is contained within the reports. Schwartz’s realizes that for business units to understand any of the forecast data they need to be familiar with the data that has been collected and displayed within the provided reports (Schwartz , 2007). Data analysis and Improvement The core of what business intelligence does is data analysis and improvement. Both of these factors contribute to each other in a never ending spiral of push and pull. When data is analyzed it is used to improve a process which in turn is analyzed. With this concept firmly in place understanding the role of business intelligence becomes clearer. As the facilitator of analysis and improvement business intelligence units are responsible for the flow between the two actions. When a department senses a need for analysis or improvement the business intelligence unit is used to facilitate that action. This responsibility to facilitate these actions is what drives the demand by corporate leadership. As expressed earlier in this review having units that are constantly looking at moving the expense line down and the revenue line up is very beneficial a corporate entity. An article that was created in response to a seminar on business data analysis describes how this process is essential to the strategy development and future readiness of company’s based on data analysis. The article provide insight into a couple areas within the sphere of data analysis. One of these is building the foundations and structure of the culture within the company to respect the data and make decisions off of it (Computer software .., 2012). This whole concept of creating a decision based culture is driven by the need for action in the market. If a company fails to take action on its corporate strategy it will fall behind its competition fairly quickly. The article discusses how through data analysis an attitude of decision making individuals can be created to promote action. The key of this data driven culture is the analysis that goes into making the data credible. Without credible data the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively is crippled. If employees can’t trust the data they are working with they will begin to question the entire infrastructure based on a single data set. In addition to data analysis the article talks about  improving recruitment through data analysis tools. Being able to create a clear picture of who a person is before the expense of bringing them in for an interview can be a great time and money saver. This is done through internal and external data analysis (Computer software .., 2012) . Once research is done on an individual the business intelligence units can categorize potential recruits and provide reports based on recruiters specifications. If an office manager needs someone with three years of experience and a knowledge of a specific software system a tool can be created to provide that data in real time to the inquiring party. When it comes to data analysis and improvement making sure that they are used in conjunction is essential for seamless implementation and continued success. An example of poor usage is providing a complicated and detailed report within a system that can’t handle the data correctly. Even though the data itself is good the system used for improvement is poor. This can create animosity towards certain products and mistrust in data (Computer software .., 2012). Data management The term data management is something that has been thrown around industry the past few years. When this happens the real meaning of the terminology begins to take on a life of its own based on the perception of those trying to comprehend its true meaning. A clear way to explain what the definition of data management is to show the similarities between an industries accepted practice. Like employee management data management requires a certain style to correctly guide the direction of the data. In a department setting a manager may spend time developing a plan that their employees will play specific roles in. The same is true with data management. Depending on the setting and usage data is set aside in specific formats to meet highly granular needs. A good example is list of information that is associated with a company’s employees. The data will stay the same but it requires a level of management to break into specific formats to meet different needs. The human recourse depar tment might need the list as a reference sheet to pull information about quickly and efficiently. That same information could also be used by the employee development department to conduct surveys and  gauge employee satisfaction. These examples are very simply but they do provide a good idea of how managing data in a succinct and efficient way can broaden its usage and usability immensely. There is an article written in the Journal of Digital Asset Management that describes the role of business intelligence on data management. This article provide a brief look into how the emergence of big data has pushed an emphasis on utilizing business intelligence units to provide levels of data management. The article talks about how business intelligence is beginning to play critical role in the storage, maintenance, and usability of the data. These three factors are critical in guaranteeing the reliability of information collected and scrubbed for company use. The first of these factors briefly mentioned is the storage factor. Arguably the most important of the three storage is the bucket where all unstructured and structured data is stored (Jordan & Ellen , 2009) . Within the context of the article the authors describ e how storage is the first step that business intelligence units have to consider when managing data. The tasks associated with this piece range from creating feeds to port information from various databases to creating tables and views within specific schemas. Within these tasks the question that is constantly asked is the question of available space. This question permeates each of the three factors but is most prevalent at the initial of data management. The second piece is the maintenance portion. This factor is most prevalent once data has been stored and refined into a usable manner. The article shows how this responsibility is what keeps business intelligence units in a critical role to companies data management needs. The tasks that occur with data maintenance can range from eliminating old data, archiving, inputting new systems, and creating methods to encourage more efficient data retrieval and reporting. The final factor addressed in the article is the factor of usability. This concept is what non-IT personnel will focus most of their attention on when looking at data resources. Business intelligence plays critical role in getting the data into an understandable and usable format at the customer level. This is the defining piece of business intelligence focus. Employers look specifically for individuals who are able to translate the technical data from a database perspective and be able to make that information as clear as possible for non-information technology users (Jordan & Ellen , 2009). Internal communications When considering things that business intelligence employees should do well is internal communications. In many companies business intelligence units will be the ambassador between the data and the customer. These individuals are responsible for understating the customers’ needs from an IT perspective. Once the needs have been determined the customer needs to be made aware of how close or far away from their original needs are to the ones seen by the business intelligence personnel. Being able to discern what a customer needs is extremely important. The emphasis placed on cultivating effective communications between all parties is absolutely critical to getting the information needed to create or improve business processes. There are so many adverse situations that occur within corporate setting that could have been avoided by simply establishing channels of communications with involved parties. A good way to do this is to provide updates on the progress of the project. This c an done by collaboration software, email, phone calls, and face to face interaction. By establishing a working and efficient internal communication structure customers are more at ease with the progress and process being developed. This is essentially a status gauge that shows that all parties are involved and have a say in what is happening. An article released by press wire gives a good example of how companies are understanding the importance of internal communications and the role of business intelligence in it. Based on the trends within industry the article shows how the shift of technology has affected the way internal communications are done between IT and the various corporate departments. What has occurred in recent years is the need for new strategy development with business intelligence as key factors in these strategies (Business intelligence..,2001). From a corporate standpoint these new strategies have ushered in a different perspective of IT individuals in the workplace. No longer are individuals that work with databases left out of conference calls a nd meetings that determine company direction. The article clearly explains that the need for individuals with technical and corporate goal understanding need to have an opinion in new processes and strategies. These individuals are becoming more and more important because of their perspective on how technology is being used in the marketplace. The final portion of the article by press wire addresses an important decision the  transitioning companies have to make. The authors emphasize that decisions makers need to reshape their perspective of units like business intelligence and truly value the opinions that are being shared. If this perception of the average IT worker from the 1970’s continues to permeate a company’s upper level management the likelihood of less opportunities and more threats to occur is much more likely than competitors who are understand the shift (Business intelligence..,2001). Business Intelligence Outlook From a sustainable field outlook the question has been raised is whether business intelligence as a field is here to stay. In any profession this question has been and will be asked as the world changes. No profession is one hundred percent guaranteed that the field will continue to be useful to the society in which operates. This simple truth puts into perspective the fragility of any profession. In regards to business intelligence determining whether the field is going to progress for years to come is difficult. Currently, the demand for business intelligence employees and or software is currently high. With many top competitors in various industries searching for ways to cut cost and improve efficiency the current market outlook is good. On the flip side of this equation the risk for business intelligence to improve itself out of a job is a definite possibility. With new software’s being created the technical barrier created by big data is beginning to slowly fall. The threat to the field is that companies will purchase a customer based software that provides cookie cutter reports that can be used by non-IT users to make business decisions. An article by the journal of Journal of International Technology and Information Management touches on this topic and describes how measuring the effectiveness of business intelligence on a company can determine its future market outlook. The authors take a detailed look at how in some situations a business intelligence department has been effective for some companies while for others the effectiveness has been limited (Vinekar,Teng, & Chennamaneni , 2009). The important factors that the authors cite for effectiveness center on corporate understanding of the role of business intelligence, implementation, defined goals, and perceived value opinion. Each of these factors are cited because of they are all touched at the inception of the business intelligence unit within the company. Without these factors being addressed correctly the ability for a business intelligence unit to operate effectively is severely hampered. The first of these factor is the identity of the department. Just like meeting a person for the first time the impression created on the meeting is what defines the perception of the relationship. The article talks about how it is the responsibility of those implementing the unit to clearly lay out the benefit that the department will bring to the company as a whole. These individuals include directors and manager. This push stage is the first step in gauging whether business intelligence will be effective within a company. If corporate leaders understand the benefit of the unit and put their support behind it the initial reaction is more likely to be positive than negative. The caution that is applied to this phase is that if there isn’t top down approval the unit will not succeed. The authors strongly emphasize the need for an executive push at the inception of the business intelligence unit (Vinekar,Teng, & Chennamaneni , 2009). The second factor discussed by the authors is the implementation phase of a business intelligence unit. This is the first step to making a concerted effort for a business intelligence impact on a company. The authors talk about how this phase needs to be handled in a way that allows for immediate impact. The rational for this approach is that if the business intelligence unit can prove its value at inception the perceived value of the unit will be cemented in its early success. With this approach the authors also caution at the risks involved. If the unit is not prepared the likelihood of error is high. Just like the  perceived value of the unit based on a positive rollout the same can occur for a negative one. The authors are adamant in their idea that to make a good impact the unit needs to be prepared and aware of the tentative situation in which the unit is placed on the onset. The third factor is defined goals. The unit needs be able to clearly express their goals for improving the company’s internal and external business processes. The article describes how the focus of the department needs to be grounded in the goals and direction set at the onset. This allows for an immediate understanding of what the unit hopes to achieve. The authors caution that without clear goals for the department the unit will not be able to work succinctly. The final and most important factor discussed in the article is the perceived value opinion of the business intelligence unit from the rest of the company. This perceived value is critical for unit to be able to provide opinions and trusted data. The reason cited by the authors why this value opinion is most important is because the opinion can be had by every employee within the company. The simple truth is that with more eyes watching the unit there is a higher level of critique applied to the actions done by the business intelligence unit (Vinekar,Teng, & Chennamaneni , 2009). Departmental Goal Impact In most businesses the unit structure is broken out into various departments that meet company specific needs. Examples of these include accounting, budgeting, marketing, human resources, R&D, and many more. These departments all do things that are subject specific but require a certain level of overlap with the rest of the company. For example the budgeting and accounting departments are joined at various stages of the financials that the company uses. Having an understanding of these departments is very important from the perspective of the business intelligence unit. The reason business intelligence units need to grasp the subject impact as well as overall impact of departments is because the processes built usually touch more than one specific department. What this means is that a data analyst needs to be able to determine what is best for not just one department but for all parties involved. With a macro perspective of the company the business intelligence units are able to impact broad groupings of departments. This in itself is a big benefit to the company as a whole. The reason for this is because the improved processes help promote better interaction between departments. This is like connecting various standalone silos to each other with an agreed on process. An article that addresses this departmental impact comes straight from the Business Intelligence Journal. The whole premise of the article is the authors argue that by assimilating business intelligence units into departments these units can change the departments core business practices. This can be done by embedding individuals from the business intelligence department into other departments through the company (Elbashir & Williams , 2007). The authors lay out a plan for making sure the company gets the best benefit when the embed business intelligence personnel in a different department. The authors talk about how it is important to make sure an understanding of the units function is clearly laid down before the unit is implemented. The importance of this is that the departments understand the business intelligence units are not directly under the units they are embedded in. The article makes it clear that to make the relationship work between the BI unit and the department the BI unit cannot be under the department they are servicing. The rational for this is that if the BI unit is under their own department they will be less inclined to favor a department when building a business process for multiple departments. This is important because it allows the business intelligence employees to say no to things that might be requested out of ignorance or selfishness. The second step for success when embedding a BI unit is to establish the  relationship. The authors describe how important it is to set up the way communication is supposed to occur. In most situations it is important to have the directors of the department as the individuals responsible for setting up the proper channels. The benefit of this is that it forces employees to acknowledge the support of the department’s directors. This means the BI unit will be able to get the information they need from department employees to formulate effective business process improvements (Elbashir & Williams , 2007). The final piece that the article discusses is how much leeway the BI unit has to make departmental decisions. In some cases the BI unit make most improvement decisions based on technology understanding and departmental trust. In others the unit has little leeway and requires approvals from the department to enact improvements. Whichever way the process is set up it is important to have that clearly explained and understood by all parties involved to avoid confusion (Elbashir & Williams , 2007). Tiers of maturity. In the business intelligence community there are various levels of maturity associated based on the length of time the unit has been in service to the company. Each of these levels are determined based on the progress the unit has made. These level begin at inception and end at forecasting. It is important to recognize these levels to determine the progress the department is making in the company that it is being utilized in. These levels are broken out into three specific categories. These are the inception phase, the break even stage, and the forecasting stage. Each of these stages is unique and presents its own set of challenges to the business intelligence unit. The most critical phase is the inception phase. Since this phase is what spawns the impact that the BI unit makes it is critical that it goes well. During the inception phase of the unit the challenges presented center on assimilation to the company. The unit must be able to find their place within the work environment if they are going to effective in the company. By analyzing company needs prior to actually meeting and planning with departments the unit can have a head start on how to make an immediate  impact on their departmental customers. The second tier is thoroughly described in an article by a group of authors writing for Information Technology and Management. This group of authors describes how the second phase of maturity is centered on getting to a point of break even. This term refers to the business intelligence unit being able to complete/automate enough critical tasks that they are able to look begin forecasting (Zeng & Duan, 2012). During this second phase the authors stress the importance of consistency and performance. These two ideas are what the authors believe drive the unit towards a proactive mindset and away from a reactive mindset. This transition of thought processes is what make this phase important. Once a unit can break though to a state of mind that is forward looking they can begin to develop ideas that will prevent problems before they happen and predict future opportunities before they occur (Zeng & Duan, 2012). The final phase is briefly addressed in the article and deals with the forecasting and future opportunities phase. This is tier of maturity that each business intelligence unit strives to get to at some point in its existence. With this phase the unit is able to think more creatively and follow leads and trails into data that could provide beneficial to the company (Zeng & Duan, 2012). The conclusion makes a final point in regards to the level of maturity. The point made is that these levels once attained are not concrete. With the ever changing needs of the company as well as the creation of new technologies the department can easily waver between different tiers. The authors suggest that having a proactive approach is the best way to stay at the highest level of maturity for the longest periods of time (Zeng & Duan, 2012). Marketplace perspective The final point of this literature review centers on the industries perception of business intelligence as a whole. This perception is what drives the demand for business intelligence within the workforce. If  industry believe the benefit of a business intelligence department is greater than the cost then demand for these units will be high. If the value garnered is perceived as minimal then the field will falter. The real question that the marketplace has been asking falls on longevity. There has been speculation the technology will eventually push this field out into the cold. This would be done by platforms that mimic the various functions and responsibilities that are currently being held by business intelligence employees. If this happens the need for large quantities of analysts would no longer be needed. An article written by Chen talks about the perspective of business intelligence by outside entities. He looks at how a business intelligence unit can provide a competitive a dvantage to a company based on the agility it affords. He argues that by having units that can provide data quickly the competitive advantage created is enough to sway popular opinion into the positive (Chen, 2012). Chen talks about the need for business intelligence units and his belief that the agility of these units will continue to drive demand. His entire argument is based on the unit’s ability to adapt to new technology and processes quickly enough to afford decision makers consistent windows of opportunity. Chen’s belief is that no matter how advanced technology gets the need for individuals to understand and communicate it to decision makers will always be needed. Chen concludes by describing how business intelligence units need to maintain a high level of flexibility. He addresses the issue of complacency and warns that if laziness creeps into the department then shifting technology will engulf the department. The real value is the ability to quickly analyze and develop a well thought out process that improves the current one using the existing resources at their disposal (Chen, 2012). Conclusion Business intelligence at its very core is business process improvement. This can be done through many different ways but the concept never changes. An individual working in a business intelligence department always ask the question, â€Å"How can I make this process better?† This simple phrase is the core of what business intelligence is and what it will always be. There are many companies that understand the importance of business intelligence. These companies have realized how important it is to strive for a lean work  environment. This is achieved by isolating areas of work that can be automated or improved through the efforts of business intelligence units. The impact that can be made by tasking a unit to think through a process from every perspective and redesign it to meet current needs can be a massive benefit. In conclusion, there are many areas in which business intelligence can be utilized to benefit a company. From data management to data security business intelligence departments are meeting the needs of companies as today’s technology moves faster and faster into the future. It remains to be seen whether these units will become a staple of the workplace but their current impact has been instrumental to the information technology industry as a whole. Reference Bank of america company statistics. (2014, March 3). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/bank-of-america-company-statistics/ BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE: Internal communication excellence is critical to business success. (2001, Jun 29). M2 PresswireRetrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/444695082?accountid=12085 Chen, X. (2012). Impact of business intelligence and IT infrastructure flexibility on competitive advantage: An organizational agility perspective. (Order No. 3522073, The University of Nebraska – Lincoln). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 124. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1035336826?accountid=12085. (1035336826). Computer software; business data analysis provides key to delivering successful workforce planning strategies. (2012).Marketing Weekly News, , 286. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/926791455?accountid=12085 Debes, H. (2005). Business intelligence for the bottom line. Energy Markets, 10(4), 36-38. Retriev ed from http://search.proquest.com/docview/228760265?accountid=12085 Elbashir, M., & Williams, S. (2007, Fourth). BI impact: The assimilation of business intelligence into core business processes.Business Intelligence Journal, 12, 45-54. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/222617043?accountid=12085 Jordan, J., & Ellen, C. (2009). Business need, data and business intelligence. Journal of Digital Asset Management, 5(1), 10-20. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/dam.2008.53 King, E. (1998, October). The business intelligence technology shift. Enterprise Systems Journal, 13(10), 17+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA21260167&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w&asid=6f3bfaa58245586c92ea5fb6ad499092 Rowe, D. (2000). Business intelligence trend leads DBMS growth. Technology in Government, 7(4), 17. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/206108771?accountid=12085 Rudin, K. (2007). On-demand business intelligence. DM Review, 17(8), 26. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214676633?accountid=12085 Schwartz, S. (2007). BI 2.0 — the next generation of business intelligence tools will be integrated within business processes themselves, enabling improved forecasting and real-time data analysis. Insurance & Technology, 32(4), 41-44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/229300747?accountid=12085 Vinekar, V., Teng, J. T. C., & Chennamaneni, A. (2009). The interaction of business intelligence and knowledge management in organizational decision-making. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 18(2), 143-159. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/205859311?accountid=12085 Zeng, L., Li, L., & Duan, L. (2012). Business intelligence in enterprise computing environment. Information Technology and Management, 13(4), 297-310. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10799-012-0123-z

Ritz Carlton Сase Study

The history of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. originates with The Ritz-Carlton, Boston. The standards of service, dining and facilities of this Boston landmark serve as a benchmark for all Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts worldwide. The legacy of The Ritz-Carlton, Boston begins with the celebrated hotelier Cesar Ritz, the â€Å"king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings.† His philosophy of service and innovations redefined the luxury hotel experience in Europe through his management of The Ritz Paris and The Carlton in London. The Ritz-Carlton, Boston revolutionized hospitality in America by creating luxury in a hotel setting: Private bath in each guest roomLighter fabrics in the guest room to allow for more thorough washing White tie and apron uniforms for the wait staff, black tie for the Maitre d’ and morning suits for all other staff, conducive to a formal, professional appearance Extensive fresh flowers throughout the public areasA la carte dining, providing ch oices for diners Gourmet cuisine, utilizing the genius and cooking methods of Auguste Escoffier Intimate, smaller lobbies for a more personalized guest experienceCesar Ritz died in 1918 but his wife Marie continued the expansion of hotels bearing his name. In the United States, Albert Keller bought and franchised the name and established The Ritz-Carlton Investing Company. In 1927 The Ritz-Carlton, Boston, opened and other hotels followed in New York (at Madison and 54th), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlantic City and Boca Raton, followed by the Miami hotels including the south beach location. However, by 1940 none of the hotels were operating except The Ritz-Carlton, Boston. The hotel embodies the vision of Cesar Ritz, Yankee ingenuity and Boston social sensibilities.The Ritz-Carlton south beach resort was first created in 1953 with the acquisition and restoration of the Morris Lapidus-designed Di Lido Hotel in Miami's South Beach district. The new resort featured 375 rooms; a 16,000 -sq.-ft. spa located on the third level; and 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including a 10,000-sq.-ft. ballroom capable of seating up to 1,000 guests. The historic restoration retains the exterior flavor of the Morris Lapidus design, characterized as Art Moderne or MiMO (for Miami Modern). A three-story addition on top of the existing eight-story hotel, along with the incorporation of other surrounding buildings into the new resort, brings the Ritz-Carlton to approximately 500,000 sq. ft. These futures along with the rich history of the building make this hotel resort one of a kind and a must see destination.II. Company ProfileThe Ritz-Carlton South Beach hotel lies on Miami’s most famous beach and is located just steps from Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road. This is a 10-block  pedestrian esplanade with the best shopping, dining, nightlife and people-watching South Beach Miami has to offer. This hotel caters to the most discerning hotel guests, dignitaries and celebrities and includes features that you may not find anywhere else. The hotel has 375 luxurious guest rooms, including two poolside lanai wings in the style of early Miami Beach. It also provides more than 20,000 total square feet of exceptional South Beach meeting and conference facilities and a 16,000-square-foot Ritz-Carlton spa.This resort is a prime location, within walking distance to Miami's Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road and South Beach nightlife. The hotel went through a complete restoration of the original 1953, Morris Lepidus-designed, landmark South Beach Miami hotel in order to provide their customers with the luxurious experience associated with the Ritz Carlton name. The hotel is rated as a triple a diamond tier 4 hotel, making it the recipient of the highest rating award for a luxury hotel. Guest Room Features & Amenities400-450 square feet Views of the Atlantic Ocean, pool, and South Beach Contemporary, warm furnishings inspired by South Beach’s vibrant ocean destination with the luxuries of home, accented with colors of blue, sea mist green, and coral Generously sized desks iPod docking stations, with AM/FM clock radios In-room laptop-compatible safe Computer and fax hookups Multi-line telephones with hold button Choice of one king or two double beds Goose down and non-allergenic foam pillows Luxurious 100% cotton linens Sumptuous marble baths Suit, skirt and padded hangers Fully stocked mini refreshment bar Rollaway beds available ($50 per day) All rooms in our South Beach hotel are non-smokingProperty Features & Amenities The Ritz-Carlton Spa The Signature Shop Two restaurants, including upscale dining and casually chic oceanfront lounge dining Elevated outdoor pool and private day beds overlook the Atlantic Ocean $2 million original art collection featuring established and emerging artists 24-hour room serviceValet parking available at our Miami hotel: Daily $27 / Overnight $36 Limousine services available upon request Personal shoppers available up on requestIII. Balance scorecardThe balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in the hotel industry to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals. The balanced scorecard has evolved from its early use as a simple performance measurement to a full strategic planning and management system. The â€Å"new† balanced scorecard transforms an organization’s strategic plan from an attractive but passive document into the â€Å"marching orders† for the organization on a daily basis.It provides a framework that not only provides performance measurements, but also helps planners identify what should be done and measured. It enables executives to truly execute their strategies. The Ritz Carlton uses this strategy and is comprised of some key basic concepts, which are Financial, Customer, lear ning and growth, and internal business processes. By adopting this crucial strategy, Ritz Carlton south beach will be able to create a consistent level of service and ensure a path of future growth.A. Service cultureWho We Are The Ritz Carlton separates itself from its competitors in the hospitality industry by offering experiences of exceptional quality. Our objective is to  be considered the best luxury hotel brand in the world with each and every location personifying that goal to our customers. We build properties that are designed to take you away to a dream of unlimited possibilities and while also creating a service culture that is the best in the industry. Doing so allows Ritz Carlton to satisfy the needs and tastes of our customers, and to maintain our position as the world's premier luxury hospitality company.What We Believe Our greatest asset is our team. We do not label our staff with the term â€Å"employee† or â€Å"worker† because it takes a true team effort to provide the type of experience that the Ritz Carlton is world renown. We believe that each team member exemplifies that notion and proudly instills the image of Ritz Carlton to our customers. Our success depends on the work of our team and we will always be known as having the best team members in the land.How We Succeed We succeed when all the core components of the BSC are achieved. We must focus on the needs and desires of our customers while also maintaining a safe and surplus level of revenues and profits while minimizing our expenditures. We must account for our outside competitive set and deliver a product to our customers that cannot be matched.How We Behave We demonstrate our behavior through hard work, compassion, and a true love for what we do. We pride ourselves on having the best code of conduct policy which adheres to all state and federal guidelines while ensuring the happiness of our guests and team members.B. Balance Scorecard table (exhibit 1) â€Å"A br oad look†(Exhibit 2) â€Å"a detailed look into BSC†Perspectives Objectives Measures Target Initiatives/Actions Financial 1.Increase Revenue 2.Increase RevPAR 3.Increase profit margin 4. Minimize expenses P&L statement STAR reports Department operations reports Operating budget -Maintain RevPAR Index Achieve higher ADR, RevPAR and OCC% than comp set 30-40% profit -secure market share from competitors. -Maintain optimal ADR by appropriate revenue management – Up sell high margin services Customer -Customer service – No guest dissonance -Happy guests-Customer Satisfaction Repeat customers Referred customers -Online surveys -100% customer satisfaction – Repeat business -Loyalty-Monitoring social media -Mystery shoppers -Score cards with incentives to give any feedback -Creating internal network for sharing customer ifo between associates Internal Business Processes – Adherence to brands standards for operations processes – Following stand ard operation and billing procedures in the catering department -Service errors -Failure rates -Maintenance and renovation of physical assets – Guest complaints – Bill disputes-3ÃŽ ´ level of quality for all business processes – Less than 1% bill disputes -Hiring an Operations control manager – standardized Training for all employees -operating inventory cycle monitoring Learning and Growth – Grooming and retaining the best associates. – Shorter work hours and rested more attentive employees in catering department. – Internal Promotion – Turnover rate – Associate retention – Employee overtime – Employee burnout – Service satisfaction ratings for F&B department -70% promotion from within -turnover below 40% hourly & 10% managerial -5-15% overtime for F&B employees maximum -Developing effective training programs-Quarterly reviews and evaluations – Incentives for employees staying in the company -promotion from withinThe BSC tables shown in exhibit 1 and 2 highlight the objectives considered important for the Ritz Carlton at south beach to succeed. Due to the fact that it is a luxury property, the objectives considered in this table are aligned with strategies targeting upscale travelers with unique demands and needs. In a luxury hotel, the top line revenues and profits depend on the level of guest satisfaction.It is assumed that wealthy travelers are willing to pay a premium if all their needs and demands are satisfied. Thus exquisite hotels such as The Ritz Carlton depend directly on the level of satisfaction of their guests as well as the public perception of their brand name and property when setting room rates and other pricing strategies. With all being said it makes sense that such an emphasis is put on the level of service in this second exhibit of BSC.The balanced scorecard approach allows a hotel to asses what its biggest area of opportunity is to succeed and buil d upon that to better serve its customers worldwide. Financial and business process measures are taken into account to assure that the company is running at optimal efficiency and that money is being made at an acceptable rate. Although these measures are important, they would mean nothing without the loyalty, retention, and happiness of your team members. In this case, the Ritz Carlton is a luxury hotel, so focusing on the retention and overall happiness of your team members is what will ultimately benefit you the most.Companies make it a priority in finding and retaining top team members, but it is very difficult. This is why managers must acknowledge the presence of such members on their staff and make an effort to keep them in the company. The retention and development of these members is key in the success of the hotel. You must also understand that not every person is suited for the luxury service culture, so finding the best mix and combinations of team members will bode help ful in the long run. Training courses and a structured system for development should also be put in place to ensure a consistent service culture.A huge retention meter would be to offer employees incentive for their performance. This can be money based, recognition based, or promotion based. Internal promotion is a practice adopted by upscale properties more than many other types of hotels because the team member is battle tested. They have been brought up from within he/she has learned the company culture along the way and already has the attitude and approach needed to be successful. Another benefit is the fact that this person is familiar with a large portion of the hotels operations, making the transition easy to any department or manager role when needed.Maintaining and exceeding financial goals and measures are important to the short-term operational success of the hotel; however, the purpose of the Balanced Scorecard is to emphasize the importance of non-financial measures fo r the success of the business. By following this objective, you will create team member satisfaction, which will cause the customers to experience the full luxury experience, and it will all trickle down to the bottom line, which is increased revenue, and high profits from all departments.C. Strategy mapThe Strategy Map below shows how the four perspectives of the BSC influence each other and how the objectives in the bottom affect the ones above them. This ultimately leads to superior workforce effectiveness. Not only does this show workforce effectiveness, but also the overall guidelines to superior financial performance.IV. Operating Budget(See attached Excel document)Market segmentsThe Ritz Carlton at south beach differentiates its potential guests into 2 main market segments – corporate (business travelers) and leisure (vacationers).Corporate Luxury hotels have traditionally focused on the business traveler because of the amount of money they make and spend, and the freq uency of their visits to the property. However, many of the luxury brands including the Ritz, have shifted their focus to other segments. Business travelers rarely use all the amenities available to them at the resort, and restrict their visit to a â€Å"professional† exposure.Even with that known, Corporate business during high season is still considerably high. Luxury brands do not discount as much as their lower end neighbors. During low season the hotel can try to attract some large corporation meetings to offset other lost opportunities.Leisure Just as stated above, the leisure segment is picking up popularity each and every year and many luxury properties have concentrated their efforts in attracting these leisure guests, whose main purpose is to utilize wide array of services and products offered, thus generating additional revenue through the alternative revenue sources. (Unlike the business traveler). There are multiple types of subgroups within the leisure segment s uch as transient, and group rates.The transient rates vary depending on the time of year or season. For luxury hotels such as the Ritz Carlton, the rates can skyrocket in season, and fall drastically off-season. Group rates are tailored to meet the needs of different companies, charities, and other organizations with better pricing for bulk deals. Rooms Department – a P&L evaluationThe sample data below was fabricated to reflect similar numbers that is shown their most recently available STR report. The data is an approximation, but will show key patterns in ADR, RevPAR, Occupancy percentage, and revenues.Jan Feb March April ADR $649 $729 1399$ $679 OCC% 80% 88% 95% 85% RevPAR $519.20 $641.52 $1329.05 $577.15 Revenue $5,841,000 $6,735,960 $15,450,021 $6,492,93730 28 31 30May June July August ADR $329 $379 $389 $299 OCC% 60% 52% 55% 41% RevPAR $197.40 $197.08 $213.95 $122.59 Revenue $2,294,750 $2,217,150 $2,487,168 $1,379,13731 30 31 30Sept October Nov Dec ADR $319 $379 $399 $ 529 OCC% 49% 65% 68% 75% RevPAR $156.31 $246.35 $271.32 $396.75 Revenue $1,817,103 $2,863,818 $3,052,350 $4,612,21831 31 30 31CATEGORY YTD AVERAGES ADR $539 OCC% 68% REVPAR $405.72 REVENUE 4,573,634 total = 54,883,612From the data above, we can get a clear picture of how the different times of year affects the hotels key measures. Average Occupancy Levels for this segment have been estimated at 68%, which was estimated from the charts above. Many luxury hotels, including the Ritz Carlton, keep a relatively high occupancy through the year because of brand recognition and popularity. The ADR rates were estimated through the research of other competing properties in the area.The RevPAR was then calculated by multiplying the OCC% by the ADR. The RevPAR indicates how well the Revenue managers did in optimizing the financial performance of the hotel. Luxury hotels such as the Ritz Carlton typically stay away from the â€Å"price war† tactic of attracting business, but on slower mon ths, doing this may actually increase your revenues and all the other key measures. Food and beverageThe DiLido Beach ClubThe only oceanfront restaurant and lounge on South Beach with a relaxed, chic ambiance perfect for people-watching Ocean-table cuisine features a selection of fresh local seafood, small plates, salads, sandwiches and a selection of homemade sangria Home to special events including the Down-home, Beachfront Crab boil or D.B.C and the Far East Summer Nights 1 Hours of Operation:Open seven days a week from 12- 8 p.m.Lobby Bar A chic, relaxed but vibrant gathering spot designed for socializing, sipping cocktails, enjoying light bites and people watching, located in the hotel's upper lobby Live entertainment at this South Beach restaurant Friday and Saturday from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Signature cocktails by master mixologist Ramsey PimentelBistro One LR Contemporary American bistro infused with Spanish flavors. Specializing in fresh, local seafood and exceptional st eaks. Miami’s leading Sunday Brunch featuring delicious cuisine, unlimited mimosas, champagne, Bloody Mary’s and live entertainment every Sunday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. 1 Hours of Operation:2 Breakfast: 7 a.m. – 11 a.m./Saturday and Sunday until 11:30 a.m. 3 Lunch: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. 4 5 Dinner: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.lapidus Lounge Lapidus Lounge, named after the famed architect Morris Lapidus – who designed the hotel when it was built in the 50s, serves specialty cocktails, light bites and sushi inside amongst the sophistication and poolside under the stars.CompetitionAlthough the Ritz Carlton has the name recognition and the luxurious fortitude to be the top dog in its competitive set, the hotel still has a few direct competitors in the south beach area of Miami. These hotels include:1. SLS hotel south beach 2. The W south beach 3. Bentley hotel south beach 4. Z ocean beach hotelThese hotels are direct competitors to the Ritz due to their similar p ricing strategy and their â€Å"suite style† rooms. These hotels do provide something that the Ritz cannot. Customized experiences. These hotels do not have the brand recognition and corporate structure so they can adapt to customer wants and needs on the fly. This is there main advantage in the marketplace. P & L overviewAfter careful review of the P&L statement, we can see that the rooms department generates the most total revenue for the hotel and food and beverage and Clubs and entertainment generate the rest of the revenue. Clubs and entertainment is very revenue driven, but lacks profit margin, so focusing on other areas is key for the Ritz. With the emergence of the Internet and mobile devices, it’s safe to say that telephone reservations are at an all time low, causing that department to bring in relatively low figures.The spa for the hotel is generally provided as a luxury for the guest but is not intended to be a moneymaking department for the hotel. Many tim es that service is deemed complimentary in which the hotel would incur a loss liter for that sale for the room. With fixed and overhead expenses being as high as they are, the key takeaway from this is to maximize the room revenue and profits by providing a luxurious experience through all of the other departments.

MRP5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MRP5 - Essay Example All countries have a duty to ensure protection of the rights of its citizens. The research design to be applied in this study is survey research which will provide thoughts, feelings and opinions of various sources that will further be used for in-depth analysis. This approach will have incorporate various groups of people with divergent views and background. The method is made of predetermined set of questions that will be presented to the target groups and organizations. Surveys attracts a number of advantages in their use such as being cost-effective, easy administration, can be developed and analyzed within a short period of time as opposed to other research design methods. The method allows collection of data from a large number of correspondents. It offers a higher degree of flexibility in the analysis of data and making conclusions that are not rigid. With the use of survey software, various statistical techniques can be used to analyze data so as to determine their reliability, validity, as well as their statistical significance. The background of this research is based on the need to identify various means of protecting the rights of individuals in the South East Asia. This region has been marked by increasing cases of abuse of human rights. The abuses ranges from denial of freedom of worship and association. People are restricted in relation to ownership of property and wealth creation. Increased cases of corruption which leads to unequal distribution of wealth is another factor of human rights violation. The population to be considered in this research will be drawn from the major cities in South East Asia in some selected countries such as India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines and Thailand. Random interviews will be conducted in the streets and low-class estates. The research will also seek to interview humanitarian organizations and civil rights movements. Final interviews will be

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 159

Discussion - Essay Example In terms of my situation for consideration in class, educational leaders employing inspirational power in their management agenda achieve better results as compared to those employing coercive power in their leadership. The theory relevant to this scenario is Jean-Jacques Rousseau postulation that the practice of edification ought to endorse and hearten learners creativeness and ingenuity (Rebore, 2013). As further outlined by Rebore (2013), this postulation was based on the notion of independence and citizenship. The kind of power employed in educational leadership therefore will determine the level of performance. For instance, Rebore (2013) points out that individuals in educational leadership positions should shun away from coercive power and should only be used when all other forms of power have failed to achieve the intended results. Inspirational power, on the other hand, is based on motivation and encouragement (Rebore, 2013) thus school districts are likely to achieve better outcomes both in and outside the school district. In summary, the situation I am bringing to class for consideration relates to the forms of power that can be employed by school districts to help achieve high levels of performance. The theory relevant to this scenario is Jean-Jacques Rousseau supposition that edification approaches must hearten ingenuity among

The Socio-cultural Impact of Media Freedom in Pakistan and Its Term Paper

The Socio-cultural Impact of Media Freedom in Pakistan and Its Implications for Public Expression and Information Accessibility - Term Paper Example e then allowed to participate in proper elections this time in 1988 but the transition to democracy has been a continuous struggle between the military and civilian organisations. In short, where some democratic practices have been permitted, they have usually been partial, controlled and incomplete under the rule of the military (Zaidi, N.d.) or else manipulated under the occasional civilian rule. The pattern that emerges from this brief historical overview is that the degree of democracy has been generally (though not steadily) increasing in Pakistan over the past few decades. It has been a difficult process of political development however, as Pakistan has had to struggle with all the associated problems since its independence from British rule in 1947, such as â€Å"identity, legitimacy, integration, penetration, participation and distribution† (Bahadur, 1998: 14). Still, one essential element for implementing a true democratic framework only came about at the start of the present 21st century. That element is media freedom. Previous transitions to democracy lacked the degree of freedom of the media that is present today The importance of media freedom Media freedom allows the citizens to be better informed and therefore become involved in important issues or even challenge the government when necessary in order to ensure a healthy democracy. With the increasing complexity of modern society, it is necessary more than ever for ordinary citizens to be able to express themselves on public matters and access information that concerns them and which they have a right to know about. As Dahr Jamail (2006) said, â€Å"Since an informed citizenry is the basis for a healthy democracy, independent, non-corporate media are more crucial today than ever before†. Although these... From the report it is clear that media freedom allows the citizens to be better informed and therefore become involved in important issues or even challenge the government when necessary in order to ensure a healthy democracy. With the increasing complexity of modern society, it is necessary more than ever for ordinary citizens to be able to express themselves on public matters and access information that concerns them and which they have a right to know about. As the essay stresses media freedom is a recent phenomenon in Pakistan’s history. With the freeing of the media in Pakistan, the media landscape is very different now compared to how it was in the past. Previously, in the 1990s there were only a limited number of private operators, i.e. in addition to the state media. The power wielded by the state controlled media was evident, for example, when General Zia-ul-Haqq mandated a massive media campaign to discredit the popular civilian leader Zulfiiqar Ali Bhutto who was later executed. During Zia’s era, the power of the judiciary too was restricted. The media has had to struggle to maintain its freedom. There have been a number of both verbal and physical attacks on some private media offices and personnel by the government. There have also been periods of intense political pressure and during which bans have been imposed discussed further on. The vulnerability of the media in creating â€Å"an opportunity for the systema tic, sustained, and nationwide use of new media platforms† showed during this time.

The Story of an immigrants life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Story of an immigrants life - Essay Example The reasons why people change the place of their living are very different. In some cases it is connected with financial problems, in others with various types of segregation and so forth. The most important thing is that change of the familiar atmosphere may bring the person to the change of all his values and purposes. The aim of this work is to analyze the cultural event connected with the history of my family and include the detailed reflection on how this story affected the sense of my identity. My story starts with the city of Bangladesh, which declared its independence in December 16, 1971. The new country faced constant contradictions between the official authorities and the ambitious struggle to move forward and achieve the success. In 1995, my uncle Ahmadur Rahman moved to the USA with his family in order to provide his children with the better life conditions. His family would have never left Bangladesh, if they knew about all troubles outside the city.

Transgender and feminism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transgender and feminism - Essay Example That said, one notices that diversity indicates strength, not weaknesses. Despite polarization and fragmentation, no force can nullify inclusive coalition politics (Connell, 2012). This paper will talk about transgender, with transgender feminists being marginalized from the mainstream of the womens movement. It will then explain relationship between transgender and feminism. Transgender individuals have been subject to extended scrutiny. Feminist literature is among the examination of these individuals. These literatures are the first to expose the antagonistic relationship between feminism and transgender individuals (Riley, 2015). A study by Butler (2010), defined transgender as ‘those who gender identity, expression, or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth (Butler, 2010, pp 2). Every time the transgender feminists, who had been previously silenced, begin to speak out, some feminists begin to rethink on what they stand for or who they represent. In many cases, the idea of rethinking by feminists leads to the painful realization of their biases. However, in the end, the feminists would have widened their perspectives and constituency (Butler, 2010). Studies indicate that, feminists movements that have expanded their views are encouraging transgender individuals to take part in the feminist revolut ion (Connell, 2012; Riley, 2015). This expands the scope of their movement. The feminism movement formed by transgender individuals is called transfeminism as noted in the study by Koyama (2001). In the past, trans-men have contributed significantly to feminism than trans-women. Experts believe that is important for more trans-women to participate in feminism movements in order to increase the chance of liberating the women (Koyama, 2001). Many people think that transfeminism is in place to take over the existing feminist institutions. However, this is not possible because

Assess the Changing Politics of Environmentalism in Chinese Civil Essay - 1

Assess the Changing Politics of Environmentalism in Chinese Civil Society - Essay Example Thus, in the hopes of assessing the changing politics of environmentalism in the Chinese civic culture, this essay briefly narrates the history of environmentalism in the country and how it changed overtime. In addition, the essay presents examples of online environmental initiatives, their hard line activities, and the corresponding impact of these internet-facilitated activities on civil society. The Chinese people have once more proven to the world their innovative prowess with the onslaught of online green social movements. Rapid development in technology has assisted the wake of environmentalism among the Chinese. â€Å"Environmental activism in China critically diverges from the popular image of social movements as ‘masses of people taking to the streets and erecting barricades’ (Peter ho and Edmonds 216). The country has wakened up to the alarming needs to protect its environment as a measure to prevent possible calamities and widespread communicable diseases with a view to minimize the operation costs in the administration of the country. In the past, Mao introduced a revolutionary industrialization program in which he insisted falling trees and leveling the surface of the land in order to support the growth of industry in China. The depletion of environmental balance in the country was constituted mainly by Mao’s policies as per the references of many a historian in the world. For instance, the agricultural policies like ‘close plating of seedlings, deep planting, the double- blade plow, peculiar fertilization techniques’ were of negative impacts on the environment (Shapiro 76). In addition, Mao’s political line was rather utopian as he considered nature his most prolific enemy to be conquered. He associated a ‘mass culture’ in China with which he formulated his policies and executed the destruction of forests. It has to be observed that

The Heart of a Teacher Essay Example for Free

The Heart of a Teacher Essay As I leaned on my headboard, I found myself heading towards the enjoyment of reading this article about how the real teacher teaches with his/her heart in the classroom. And so I started reflecting on what kind of a teacher I am. Teaching at first has not come in my wildest dream but since the family whom I came from cannot afford to send me to exclusive schools or well-known universities where I can pursue my career (fine arts which I wish to pursue), there’s no way out but to take up the course of education. I fear the fact of entering this path because in the first place, it’s not my first choice and it’s none of my choices. I think I had only the nerve to enroll since my mom is also a teacher. It was funny to recall when my professor in the graduate school, Dr. Irapta, asked who among us had experienced role playing as a teacher at home during our childhood, pretending that it was a real classroom scenario. I wasn’t sure how would I answer that question since the real thing is that I hadn’t. But years went on and I started and learned to love what teaching has to offer me. And I think that I already possess what this article is trying to imply, the heart of a teacher. With this, I do agree with the statement that quotes â€Å"We became teachers for reasons of the heart, animated by a passion for some subject and for helping people to learn. † It is very evident on us who consider teaching as a vocation wherein we put our heart not only to the occupation itself but to the student-learners and the subject as well. Sometimes we’re carried by the fact that we create harmonious relationship with this community of teachers, students and subject. We’re driven by some objectives, not only for the salary but our mission and passion to help the innocent ones to get them out of their shells and discover the reality of unbelievable ideas and concepts in this world. But, we cannot deny the fact that many of us lose heart as the years of teaching go by for so many reasons. The question becomes: How can we develop and sustain, in ourselves and each other, the heart for good teaching? Good teaching requires courage – the courage to explore one’s ignorance as well as insight, to yield some control in order to empower the group, to evoke other people’s lives as well as reveal one’s own. This means overcoming fears that block good teaching and learning. When our fears as teachers mingle and multiply with the fears inside our students, teaching and learning become mechanical, manipulative, and lifeless. Some tend to be distracted with the external forces around them; some were disillusioned with the factors and techniques for reclaiming their hearts and for keeping each heart open. When we lose our heart, we need an understanding of our condition that will liberate us from this condition. We need to keep our hearts open to students so that we can make teacher and students and subjects be interwoven into the fabric of community that learning and living require. We, teachers must try to connect ourselves, as well as our subjects to students so that we can create good rapport and learning environment. There must be an inner dialogue of reflection. â€Å"Seldom, I ask the â€Å"who† question–who is the self that teaches? How does the quality of my selfhood form–or deform–the way I relate to my students, my subject, my colleagues, and my world? How can educational institutions sustain and deepen the selfhood from which good teaching comes? † In relation to this, we need to recover the heart to teach by reclaiming our relationship with the teacher within. Listening to the voice within is somewhat easy to do and in fact, helped me to simply reflect on what I have done in a day’s work. The same thing as putting my heart while reading this article and finding solitude and silence just to cope up with the question in me, â€Å"How can I develop the capacity to stand my ground in the midst of the complex forces of both the classroom and my own life? † We must reclaim our relationship with the teacher within. A teacher who invites me to honor my true self-not my ego or expectations or image or role, but the self I am. The voice of the inward teacher reminds me of my potentials and limits as I negotiate the force field of my life. What we teach will never â€Å"take† unless it connects with the inward, living core of our students’ lives, with our students’ inward teachers. We can only speak to the teacher within our students when we are speaking with the teacher within ourselves. How does one attend to the voice of the teacher within? Some particular methods are solitude and silence; meditative reading and walking in the woods, keeping a journal, finding a friend who will simply listen. I merely propose that we need to learn as many ways as we can of â€Å"talking to ourselves. † However, conversation with my peers feels like being at ease, trusted and able to trust and above all, it helps me cultivate a sense of identity and integrity that allows me to feel at home wherever I am. I experienced sometime in my own teaching when I lose touch with my inner teacher and my own authority. During those times, I tried to regain it by wielding the threat of grades but when the voice within authorized me to teach, authority comes as I reclaim my identity and integrity, as I remember my selfhood and my sense of vocation. When the teachers struggle to survive from losing their heart, I guess it would also be practical to have some fun and techniques that ordinary teachers can use in everyday class. The same thing with my experience, I use different techniques, much practical techniques, such as motivating the students and getting their attention to focus on the subject, which will result to staying alive of the students inside the classroom. It is also a daily scenario in our faculty room where they argue about what to do with the students. Some questions their own limits and potentials when it comes to dealing with the relation between the subject and students’ lives. I won’t forget when my co-teacher told me how he was envious about my strategies and techniques on classroom management and on my way of teaching; how do I make my class in order and teach with my heart while during his class with the same set of students, he fails to control the discipline and fails to earn full respect of the whole class which must be evident on their way of interaction. While listening to his clamors, I was thinking of the best techniques I could offer him, but, to my surprise, it came to the point that he was planning to quit teaching. I don’t know why he had that thought of giving up until I read this article. I realized that he has lost his heart and he must be able to understand his condition so that he can avoid himself from truly losing it and recover from it instead. This teacher must talk with the teacher within him and find out how to overcome this condition. As I go on reading the article, I found the statement that says, â€Å"The institutions in which they work are the heart’s worst enemy,† which is indeed correct. Some leaders operate with a deep, unexamined insecurity about their own identity. These leaders create institutional settings which deprive others of their identity as a way of dealing with the unexamined fears in the leaders themselves. Institutions continually try to diminish the human heart to consolidate their own power, then, the individual self of a teacher is left with a discouraging choice. In the end, the teacher will be distant from the institution or will maintain external vigilance against institutional invasion. Teachers have leadership capabilities waiting to be unlocked and engaged for the good of the schools. But if the teachers in some schools or institutions will not be given chance to grow not only professionally but also inwardly, there’s a tendency that the teacher might withdraw from teaching. The question is, â€Å"how can the institution educate students if they fail to support the teachers’ inner life? † We must create enough spaces and trusting relationships within the teachers’ workplace. With this, we may be given opportunities to grow inwardly as teachers and we can be able to tell our own struggles and joys as teachers so that healing can happen within us – not only for our sake but our teaching and students as well. With this, we can bring back our hearts to teaching and reclaim our identity and integrity in teaching.

Thomas Cook PESTEL Analysis

Thomas Cook PESTEL Analysis This report is going to analyse and evaluate the strategic fit of Thomas Cook plc and its critical success factors using analytical tools. The PESTEL Analysis is used to evaluate conditions in the Travel and Tourism market environment and how these conditions affect Thomas Cook plc and its competitors now and in the future. A porters five forces analysis will also be used to determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of the travel and tourism industry. Introduction Thomas Cook Travel Company was first started by its namesake in June of 1841 and has since become the worlds most recognisable name in the travel industry. The merger of Thomas Cook AG and My Travel Group plc on June 19th of 2007 produced Thomas Cook plc, making Thomas Cook the second largest leisure travel group in the UK behind TUI Travel plc its major competitor. Thomas Cook specialises in providing a wide range of package holidays to destinations. (Thomascook.com) INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS (Task A) PESTEL ANALYSIS The PESTEL frame work categorises environmental influences into six main types which are political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal (see appendix A). The PESTEL framework helps managers understand the key drivers of change and also the differential impact of these external influences and drivers on the industry, markets and individual organisations. (Johnson, Gerry, 2005). Political factors According to CIPD, coalition governments spending cuts are going to result in 0.7million job losses in the public sector. The travel and tourism industry is in the public sector; therefore their employees are faced with fears of redundancy. Announcement of redundancies will invariably have an adverse impact on morale, motivation and productivity of remaining employees. The negative effects can be reduced by sensitive handling of redundant employees and those remaining and to be as honest as possible with the remaining staff to gain back their trust and confidence. (cipd.co.uk) Economic factors are of concern to travel and tourism, because they may influence demand, costs, prices and profits. Package holidays are an income elastic business, as income decreases or rises; it can have a significant effect on the demand. Therefore looking ahead, public sector cuts are likely to have a major consequence on the travel and tourism industry. Social Factors Redundancies and other government cuts will potentially result in limited disposable income for consumers. According to Mintel, some 12% of consumers are spending nothing on non-essentials, with 35% describing themselves as very cautious, 30% as quite cautious, and only 5% as not at all cautious. This is because of the decrease in disposable income. If income decreases, then spending will become more cautious, especially on income elastic items such as package holidays, therefore reducing profit  margins for the travel industry. With all the package holidays in the UK, supply will remain very high as demand decreases forcing companies to reduce their prices. The spending cuts will mean that business executives will have to cut their budgets and most likely use low-cost travel planes such as Easy Jet and Rynair. Video conferencing is improving all the time, and the price has fallen to zero using online systems such as yahoo messenger, business may be forced to use this method to communicate to reduce their costs. This going to affect the travel industry a lot, executives provide business anytime of the year whilst holidays are seasonal. This will reduce customers. If classy seats are either vacant or earning less revenue, this means less departures or soaring economy class fares. Companies will also be forced to provide bargains for leisure travelers willing to upgrade to business class. Technological Factors The most powerful example technology is the emergence and improvement of the internet, which led to reduced costs and increased operational efficiency within the tourism agencies and airports. Because the internet is becoming better every day, its causing intimacy between tour operators and clients and improving contentment for both parties. Aside the internet, other major technologies that support the continuous growth of the tourism industry are those implemented by transportation, which is becoming safer, quicker and more pleasing. The technological implementations within tourism operations have led to changes in working behaviour and will also result an increase of demand for labour force, implying as such that educational institutions place more emphasis on teaching tourism. Environmental Factors Protecting the environment is one of the most talked about and sensitive matters today, making environmental responsibility part of the factors that determine a tour operators success. According to global warming 2020, aviation which ferries hundreds of thousands of tourists across the globe is of great concern to those seeking to protect the environment. A major concern for the industry is  greenhouse  gas  emissions and their implication for climate change. Aviation produces at least two percent of emissions. One way the aviation industry is working on this problem is by rolling out newer planes that have fuel efficient engines which means less carbon emissions. However not all airlines especially in the poorer countries can afford buying new aircraft. PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Porters five forces analysis (see appendix B) was developed to as a way of assessing the attractiveness of different industries. The five forces constitute an industrys structure. (Johnson, Gerry, 2008) Threats of substitutes The lack of disposable income and the effect of coalition government spending cuts are likely to change consumer spending habits, as a result with a significant shift in demand from luxury goods to inferior goods which are much more affordable, consumers are likely to shift to local and cheaper holidays and may choose to use trains (eurostar) or their cars to local holidays. Terrorism has affected the mentality of travellers and has made travelling more difficult and uncomfortable. People have to think about security issues from when they start packing to when they reach their destination, this will convince more travellers to use trains or holiday locally. This is however a moderate threat because customers usually prefer airlines because they are much quicker. Competitive Rivalry The Travel and tourism industry occupies a big segment of the business market and therefore provides many opportunities for tour operators; however its a very competitive industry. To be successful a package holiday company needs to discover the best fit between their individual skills, competencies and resources and external market characteristics to make sure that they stay on top of their game. Brand recognition and strength also determine the success of a company against its competitors, especially if times are tough in the economy. Negotiating powers of buyers Demand in package holiday industry is extremely elastic; this means that buyers will not just accept a given price by a package holiday company. Customers will use any information sources available to them such as the internet to look for better and exclusive deals available around, and with so many package holidays available in the UK, they are likely to find one and use a different company. As discussed above about the effect of economy on the travel industry, the powers of buyers are that they have a huge influence on the setting of prices in accordance with the prices which are around in the market. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS Critical success factors are used to identify key factors that a business needs to focus on to ensure that their business is successful. To survive and prosper, all industry participants must use an emergent strategy. Emergent strategy is a way of action that develops over time in an industry without a specific mission, goals or long-term plans. Emergent approaches should be thoroughly analysed in the context of an increasingly active, highly competitive and global business market. Influential external forces mentioned in the PESTEL analysis are pushing companies to reduce costs, improve processes and identify new opportunities for growth and an emergent strategy will help companies cope with these factors. An emergent approach leads to more creative and responsive strategy making which is well suited to the hyper-competitive and unpredictable environments such as the package holiday industry. It is more suited to instigating positive, transformational organisational change such as diversification or restructuring. It also has the added benefit of helping to reduce resistance to change as it allows time to build employee support while the strategy is taking shape. (powerfulwords.co.uk)