The American Health Care System’s Limited Access

Identify and discuss the factors that limit access to health care services for many people in America. According to a published Guidebook for providers entitled â€Å"Achieving Cultural Competence: A Guidebook for Providers of Services to Older Americans and Their Families (January 2001)†, there are two general and primary factors that limit certain groups of the American population in their access to appropriate health care.   These are the structural barriers and the cultural barriers.Structural barriers are further categorized into two sub-factors. These are the   External barrier factors such as lack of health insurance coverage and out of pocket costs and the Logistical difficulty factors such as lack of transportation, language difficulty (or comprehension) and illiteracy (CC Guidebook, 2001).Meanwhile, Cultural barriers are also categorized into internal and external factors.   Internal factors are those caused by traditional practices among certain ethnic groups like Asians – particularly the older Chinese generation – who refuse to reveal details about their affliction or disease because they regard these matters as purely personal and should be kept within tight family circles only.   Particularities of these traditional beliefs usually affect the provision of a more thorough health scanning and diagnosis, thus resulting to usual misdiagnoses or prognoses (CC Guidebook, 2001).Cultural external factors include a lack of comprehensive background data or earlier studies about the cultural nuances and statistics for these underserved minority groups (CC Guidebook, 2001).   As a direct result, the lack of available research data affects the decision of policy makers and federal level planners to incorporate cultural nuances into intervention programs that could break the trend of a â€Å"cultural block† or absence of data.Furthermore, policy makers tend to group together certain ethnic groups as those â€Å"not needin g† specific care like nursing home services or elder care because of the assumption or misconception that all elderly people from a specific ethnic group like the Hispanics who have close personal ties and the Asian groups, that they will take care of their elderly.   Research did confirm this fact (CC Guidebook, 2001, p10) but this shouldn’t be the norm or primary continuing assumption in the future.   To quote from the Guidebook (CC Guidebook, 2001, p10):â€Å"Research does confirm that a significant proportion of minority elders live with their family. Unmarried older African Americans are twice as likely to live with family  members as whites, Hispanic American and Asian American elders are three times as  likely, and half of urban Native American elders live with family members (controlling for income, health status, and other characteristics)†.2. Identify the specific populations and groups that face difficulties with access to health care services. According to the Fact Sheet published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, two predominant ethnic minority groups lack the basic access to primary and preventive care in the US.   These groups are the African-Americand and the Hispanic population in the US (AHRQ, February 2000). To quote:â€Å"About 30 percent of Hispanic and 20 percent of black Americans lack a usual source of health care compared with less than 16 percent of whites.Hispanic children are nearly three times as likely as non-Hispanic white children to have no usual source of health care.African Americans and Hispanic Americans are far more likely to rely on hospitals or clinics for their usual source of care than are white Americans (16 and 13 percent, respectively, v. 8 percent)†.These data from AHRQ and other agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services formed the (HHS) formed the basic tenets and foundation for the 18 out of 28 focal areas for their Ten year Plan entitled â⠂¬Å"Healthy People 2010†.   Six out of these 18 focal areas are geared toward eliminating factors to health barriers and disparities such as: gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation.   According to the OMH, there is â€Å"Compelling evidence indicates that race and ethnicity correlate with persistent, and often increasing, health disparities among U.S. populations in all these categories and demands national attention’ (Fact Sheet, AHRQ, 2000).References:Achieving Cultural Competence: A Guidebook for Providers of Services to Older Americans and Their Families (January 2001). (Chapter 10 and 11). Retrieved on February 28, 2007. From: https://aoa.acl.gov/#search=`Achieving%20Cultural%20CompetenceAddressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Fact Sheet, February 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AHRQ Publication No. 00-PO41. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,    Rockville, MD. Retrieved on F ebruary 28, 2007. From:                   https://www.ahrq.gov/research/disparit.htmCover the Uninsured Week 2007 (April 23 to 29).   Retrieved from the homepage on February 28, 2007.   From: http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2011/06/looking-back-on-cover-the-uninsured-week.html?cid=xdr_ccs_001Keppel, K. et. al. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Trends in Racial and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ethnic-Specific Rates   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   for the Health Status Indicators: United States, 1990-98.    Retrieved on February 28, 2007.   From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/statnt/statnt23.pdfNational Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Midcourse Assessment of Healthy People   Ã‚  Ã‚   2010 Goal II (PPT). (2006). Retrieved on February   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   28, 2007.   From:http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/4/176/PatientversionFINAL.pdfOffice o f Minority Health website. â€Å"Eliminating Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities†.Retrieved on February 28, 2007. From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.cdc.gov/omh/AboutUs/disparities.htmâ€Å"What Healthcare Consumers need to know about Racial and Ethnic disparities in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Healthcare†. (March 2002). Institute of Medicine. Retrieved on February 28,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2007. From:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/4/176/PatientversionFINAL.pdf

Steve’s Needs as a student

Steve is a 20 year old male student; he lives away from home as he is in his final year at university. Steve lives in student accommodation with 6 other male students. The area he lives in is deprived of the city and the local housing is poor quality. There are busy roads and factories surrounding the area he lives in. He smokes up to 120 cigarettes per week and binge drinks a lot. He doesn't exercise at all and he eats unhealthily. Steve's housing is very dirty and messy therefore causing a lot of dust. This is affecting his asthma. Steve's Needs Steve has many needs to improve his PIES. Firstly for his physical health he should stop drinking so much as it will be affecting his liver. Also he should stop eating so unhealthy and get on a healthy diet and start to exercise regularly. He should also use the exercise as well as to get fit to loose weight so he is at a healthy BMI. For his emotional health he should make sure that he stays motivated to loose weight and drink less alcohol and smoke less and eventually quit. He should keep self-confidence in himself that he can loose weight and that he will look much better in the long run after all his hard work.Dying of Breast Cancer in the 1800s Lastly for emotional health he should have support from people in order to help him loose weight and get healthier. People offering him support should be his friends, family and the nurse and doctors who are helping him. These could include the dietician and the community nurse. For Steve's intellectual health he should make sure he concentrates more at university, in order to achieve a high standing grade. Also he should make sure that he gets educated on the risks of what he is doing to himself as he needs to realise what he is really doing to damage his body. Lastly for Steve's social health needs he needs to reassess his social life and stop going out more and maybe even find more supportive friends rather than people who find it funny that he gets into a complete state. Also he should take up a hobby in order to keep himself busy rather than turning to alcohol and causing himself harm. Steve should also think about how he spends his money and that he should stop spending it on alcohol and cigarettes and he should use it in a more useful way such as joining a gym or towards a hobby he may want to take up. Steve should also make sure his housing environment is clean as it is affecting his health as it is very unhygienic. Community Nurse Lisa is a community nurse. She is helping Steve to get healthier and giving him advice on how he can loose weight and get healthier. Roles Lisa works within the community but she is based in a doctor's surgery. A community nurse acts as a teacher and counsellor primarily, but also plays an important role in preventing widespread illness and disease in the community she serves. Lisa offers a supportive role; she supports patients as well as other professionals. She does visits to schools, GPs and home visits in order to spread awareness of illness disease and also to support people in any health issues they may have. Lisa is part of the PCT (primary care trust). She offers general health care to patients and she gives out general advice. The main roles that Lisa undertakes are monitoring people's health, providing nursing care to the sick and disabled, she is also a health teacher letting the community she serves in know about health risks and what you can do to prevent them. Also she is a councillor; giving an appropriate advice and broadening a client's insight about a problem so that appropriate decisions are made which can lead to a positive resolution of the problem. Tasks One of the tasks Lisa may undertake is screening tests to find out about their health such as she could look at the height, weight, BMI and blood pressure of Steve. Also she could do tests on Steve for his cholesterol levels and test their lung functions. These screening tests can help to promote good health. This is because if there is an issue involving the Steve's health then doing one of these screening tests Lisa may be able to notice the problem and then look at it in more detail. If the problem is noticed soon enough then Lisa will be able to inform Steve of what it is and help him sort the problem out and recommend him to a doctor or advise him on what he can do in order to retain a healthy state. Also a task Lisa may do as a community nurse is educating the community. She may give out education and advice on certain issues patients may have. These could include pregnancies, exercise, drinking, smoking, diet and contraception. A community nurse can also provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on medication regimens, side effects and interactions. However if Lisa thinks that the patient needs more than just her advice such as Steve may need to see a dietician in order to plan out a healthy lifestyle and diet she may advise him to go see the specialist person as she may not be able to help him as much as the dietician can. She may also advise the patient to go to a specialist support group. Such as if she thinks that Steve is showing signs of being an alcoholic she may advice him to attend an AA meetings or if she sees that Steve is overweight and needs help in loosing weight she may send him to groups that are specialised in helping people loose weight such as weightwatcher meetings. Lisa may also give out leaflets to a patient in order to help them with their health issue and for them to learn more about what it may consist of and how they can help themselves to get better health. Such as giving Steve leaflets on stopping smoking. The leaflet would contain information of what stopping smoking consists of and what different methods he can use to stop smoking. If Lisa is incapable of giving the patient the knowledge they need she may have to refer them onto someone who will have much more knowledge about the issue. Such as if Lisa found that there may be an issue with a Steve's health that would need him to have more tests and more examining then she will refer him to a doctor who will have more knowledge on what the issue is and they will be able to advise give more advice to the Steve than Lisa may be able too. Lisa educating the community and giving them advice is another way to show that she is promoting good health to the community. The education she is providing will help people to see the first symptoms of serious diseases such as lumps on the breast, which should be checked out for breast cancer. This education of people finding out about diseases in the early stages will help a person to overcome the disease and get their good health back as soon as they can. Rather than having no education on looking out for the disease they may end up noticing the disease months down the line when it may be too late. Also if people are being given positive advice they may feel better about themselves and therefore their lifestyle may become of a better quality and more positive. Such as if she was telling Steve how much fitter and healthier he will be if he looses weight and cuts down his drinking and smoking. Also that he will look much better and people will find him more attractive. This positive encouragement will help Steve to take on Lisa's advice and make him want to loose weight so he can achievement a positive outcome. The advice may also help people to seek out more medical help in order for them to maintain good health, without the advice they have been given by Lisa they may not know what to do about their health issue and things could have got much worse. Another task that Lisa might do as a community nurse is minor treatments. Lisa will not have the full medical training and knowledge as a doctor may have so therefore she will not be able to administer extreme drugs to the patient or be able to attend to serious wounds. However she will be able to dress wounds and make sure they are kept clean. Such as if Steve has a minor injury from being out drinking all night and falling over as he was drunk. He will need the wound dressing and Lisa will be able to clean it to prevent infection and then bandage it up to avoid further damage. Skills Lisa will need a variety of different skills as a community nurse. Firstly she will need mathematical skills. These mathematical skills can be put to use when she is making sure that numerical data is interpreted properly. If the data is interpreted properly then patients will have a correct understanding of what is going on with their body. Also Lisa can put her mathematical skills to use when she is doing Steve's BMI. If she correctly uses her mathematical skills to work out Steve's BMI then Steve will see Lisa as a knowledgeable, reliable person. If he sees Lisa as this then he will be more likely to listen to her advice and trust her. If he is listening to her advice because she has shown him that she is correct at her job and can help him then that will be helping Steve needs. Lisa should also have good communication skills. She can put these skills to use when she is trying to get her message across to Steve. If she is giving Steve results from a screening test she must make sure that she doesn't upset him and that she knows how to correctly communicate with him in order to get the best outcome. If Lisa seems to be nice and helpful towards Steve and she looks like she knows what she is saying and she is comforting Steve when he finds out some shocking news then Steve will maybe become to like Lisa and understand why she is there for him. If he understands that she is there to help him then he is more likely to listen to her and in listening to her and getting her advice Lisa will be helping Steve to loose weight and cut back on the bad things he is doing to his body. This will be helping Steve's needs. Lisa will have to have medical knowledge as a skill to be a community nurse. She will have to have medical knowledge so when she is giving out medical advice she will need to know that what she is saying is accurate and correct. If her medical knowledge is accurate and correct and she has the skill to advise people on what they should do and help people with their descriptions she will be trusted and respected a lot more than if she didn't have any knowledge on what she was doing. The medical knowledge can come in useful when she is working with Steve and helping with his needs. If Lisa shows Steve that she knows what she is doing and her knowledge is correct then Steve is going to want to follow her advice on how he can get his body fitter and healthier. Steve needs to lose weight and if he wants to follow Lisa's advice then she will be helping with his needs. If she had bad knowledge and seemed as if she didn't know what she was doing Steve would be put off by this fact and may not want to or follow her advice as he may seem it to be incorrect, or that its her opinion and not a medical one. Lisa also should have good communication skills. She must make sure that she gets her message across to her patients such as Steve in a way that won't offend them and will make them feel confident that she knows what she is saying. She must make sure that if she is giving out results such as screening tests to someone that she is professional and makes the person feel comfortable. If Lisa puts this skill to use when working with Steve she will be helping with his needs. She will be doing this by communicating to Steve what is going on with his body in a positive non-offensive way then Steve is going to want to listen to Lisa and he will see what she is saying is important and that will help him in being confident that he is in the right hands to lose weight and get healthier. Qualities There are many qualities that Lisa should have to be a good community nurse. Firstly she should be patient with the patient. She should never rush them into anything she must make sure she remains calm and not stressed out with the patient. Some patients may need to lose a lot of weight and if they aren't doing it as quick as the community nurse would like, they must make sure they still remain calm and patient. If they start to rush a patient into loosing weight and telling them there not doing well enough or quick enough then they may lose their self-esteem and that could cause them to stop the course of treatment and therefore they won't be loosing any weight. However if Lisa is patient and calm with patients like Steve throughout the whole time they are seeing them which could be many months, Steve will more likely to become more confident that what he is doing is going to be beneficial and that he is doing everything correctly therefore Lisa will be helping him with his needs. Another quality that Lisa should have as a community nurse but also in helping Steve with his needs is being encouraging. If Lisa is encouraging then Steve will want to carry on with what he is doing as he is being encouraged to do so. If Lisa is giving him positive encouragement and keeps reminding Steve how much better he will look and feel when he is healthier and fitter then Steve will become more determined to listen to her advice and participate in what she is doing to help him. If he listens to her advice then his needs will be for filled. Lisa should also make sure that she is very friendly towards her patients and that she doesn't come across as being very nice then patients like Steve will be put off from talking to her. If Steve is put off from talking to Lisa then he is unlikely to listen to her advice. If he doesn't follow or listen to her advice then he won't have his needs met. However is Lisa is friendly and kind towards Steve and shows him that she cares about him as an individual then Steve is more likely to listen to her advice and encouragement and have his needs met. Dietician Roles Sue is a dietician for the NHS. She works in partnership with doctors and a nurses who can refer their patients to Sue to get specific help that Sue as a dietician can help them with. Sue will have specialist knowledge about diets and nutrition as she is trained in them areas. Therefore Sue will be very useful in helping Steve with his diet and loosing weight. A dietician plans nutrition programs and food programs for their patients. Dieticians such as Sue can help prevent diseases and obesity problems because they teach people about the role of food in their diet. They usually run food programs in institutions, such as hospitals and schools. A dietician promotes healthy diets through education and education programs. Another role that Sue may have is to be able to create a diet based on what the doctor prescribes. The dietician must be able to prepare and calculate a diet based on the nutrients a person needs. Tasks A few tasks Sue may have to do as a dietician is educate her patients. The education is often about appropriate diets and what diet may be appropriate for their health needs. Sue could educate Steve on what diet he could start to take and how it will benefit him. Sue can also educate her patients by telling them the different types of food groups and why their all individually important. She could educate Steve on what the different foods he eats do for him and maybe what food group he should start eating and why. Also Sue can educate her patients about the risks of an unhealthy diet and being overweight. Steve would benefit from this education very well as he may not understand the full risks of what he is doing to his body, but if Sue educates him on what he is doing to it and how bad it is then it may encourage Steve to take action. One of Sue's tasks may also be giving her patients a diet that they specifically need and that will fit into their lifestyle. She could give Steve a diet that specifically is for him and fits around his university timetable. Both hospital and community dieticians educate people who need special diets as part of their medical treatment, for example patients with kidney disease, food allergies, eating disorders, diabetes, HIV/AIDS etc. Another task that Sue may do is to run food programmes. Running food programmes in places such as schools can help the young pupils to get more knowledge on nutrition and what diets they should be taking in order to be healthy. Sue could run a food programme at Steve's university to show Steve that it is important to lose weight and be healthy, not just him but everyone. Another task that a dietician may have is giving out advice. Sue could give out advice on diets and nutrition in many different ways. A few of these ways could be giving out leaflets in a school or community place to get people to read into more detail on how important a healthy diet is. Also she could give leaflets out to her specific patients advising them on how to cope with their new diet etc. Sue could also show videos and tell about case studies in communal places such a school or a GP. These videos will show awareness of a what an unhealthy diet can do and what you can do in order to maintain a good health and how you can do it. One of a community nurse's tasks are to produce diet plans to suit the individual and what's best for them. If Sue produced a diet plan that was suitable for Steve in order to lose weight then that will benefit him a lot. A dietician also monitors weight, they do this in order to see how well the patient is doing on the diet they have been set. If the patients diet plan isn't working for them and regular weight monitoring shows this then Sue may change their diet to something else to see if that diet plan works. Constant updating is needed in order for Sue to see if she needs to change diet plans for the patients. A dietician might incorporate exercise into the process, but this would only be minimum information such as that they should exercise regularly and often after meals etc. Skills Sue should have mathematical skills as a dietician. She will need these skills in order to produce accurate diet charts and to accurately work out a person's BMI. If the information Sue produces is correct because she has accurately used her mathematic skills then she will be able to tell Steve what to do to get healthier and lose weight. Steve will then believe that Sue knows what she is saying, he will then follow her advice and start to lose weight, this will be helping with his needs. Therefore he will feel better about himself as he will look and feel great. Sue should also have good communication skills. Good communication skills are useful as the information is given face to face so therefore its important that the message is given across appropriately. Steve is more likely to listen to Sue's information as she will be giving immediate responses and making him feel comfortable. This will help him as he will understand what to do to get himself healthier and this will help him to lose weight leading to him having a good self esteem, again Sue will be helping with what he needs. Sue should also be able to have a skill in order for her to be able to give good advice. Sue will have to give good advice with reason behind the advice she has given, she will also have to have medical and nutritional knowledge to back up what she is saying this is because Steve will then know that she is giving a medical overview on his body and that it is a serious fact that he is unhealthy and needs to lose weight, not just Sue's personal opinion. The knowledge that Sue has is important as she will be letting Steve know she knows what she's doing and he will follow what she is saying and he will lose the weight he needs also he will get much fitter and healthier and he will then feel much better about himself, therefore his needs will have been helped by Sue. Sue should also have knowledge on nutrition and dieting. This knowledge she has on nutrition and dieting will help her to provide accurate and immediate advice to her patients. If she is providing accurate and immediate advice to patients they will feel confident that she knows what she is doing. If Steve believes that Sue has knowledge and accuracy on what she is telling him then he will trust her and he will want to take her advice and he will stick to diet plans she sets him, if he loses weight as a result of Sue's work she will be helping his needs. Qualities Sue should have many good qualities in order to be a good and helpful dietician. Polite and friendly should be one quality. She will need to make sure she doesn't offend the patient in what she is saying. She shouldn't say that they are ‘fat' and need to lose all their ‘chubbiness†. She should be polite and professional and use the correct terminology to avoid any offence. Steve is overweight and if Sue worked out his BMI and saw this she shouldn't call him ‘fat'. She should tell him that he is overweight and borderline obese. Even though it sounds worse if Sue uses the correct terminology then Steve is less likely to get offended and more likely to take things seriously. If he takes things seriously he is more likely to want to lose weight and therefore his needs will be met. Sue should also have being approachable as a quality. If the Sue is approachable and friendly and nice the message she must give to Steve that he is overweight and does need to diet may make him accept these things more lightly than just saying he's fat and needs to lose weight fast. If Steve can accept things more lightly and understand what Sue is saying to him then he is more likely to be confident and want to lose weight. If he loses weight then his needs will have been met. Sue should also make sure that she is relaxed and patient with her patients but that she is also firm. Things may get irritating if a patient is refusing to diet or doesn't seem to think they should lose weight. Sue should stay relaxed and patient but however she must make sure that she doesn't give in and she stays firm. Such as making Steve stick to his diet plan. She must understand that it may be difficult at first but must be consistent and firm with Steve and keep reminding him that his needs can only be met if he works with her and takes onboard her advice. Sue must also make sure she stays positive. Being positive is a quality that Sue needs. She must make sure that she tells them how much better they will look and feel after all their hard work and that it will be very beneficial. If she does this then her patients will then want to aspire for the positive goals. If she is negative and rude patients such as Steve may not listen to her and may not lose weight and may even start to gain weight. If Steve doesn't lose weight then his needs will not be met. However if Sue stays positive with Steve and makes sure that he is in a positive frame of mind and he is in a determined lose as she tells him of all the benefits then Steve's needs will be met as he will eventually lose weight and feel and look much better.

The American Dream in the Jungle

Many immigrants migrate to America everyday with the hopes to achieve their American dream. For most immigrants the American dream consist of finding a country where effort and morality transcend to success. In â€Å"The Jungle† by Upton Sinclair, a family of hard working optimistic Lithuanians migrate to America with the belief that equality and opportunity dictates that all people should have the same opportunities open to them if they put out efforts. They arrive to the US expecting to find a land of opportunity, freedom, and equality, and acceptance.Instead they find a land where only crime, moral corruption and crookedness enables them to succeed. The hopes and dreams of these individuals are destroyed as they encounter a land of moral corruption, crime, exploitation and a life of depression and unhealthy daily labor that brings them physical and mental pain. Sinclair clearly shows that the American Dream is simply an illusion. The title of the book â€Å"The Jungle† creates an atmosphere of predators and prey like survival of the fittest.The predators being the criminals and the prey being the Rudkus family. The title of the book symbolizes how the lower class represented by the Rudkus family is being exploited or attacked by the capitalist society and how the country is turned into a jungle . Sinclair uses similes and metaphors to demonstrate the comparison between animals of the jungle and the people . For example in chapter 15, when Jurgis finds out that Connor â€Å"the great beast† rapes Ona, Jurgis â€Å"eyes were wild and his hair flying, and he was breathing hoarsely like a wounded bull†.Jurgis â€Å"sprang† into a room to find Connor, â€Å"his prey,† and â€Å"sunk his teeth into the man’s cheek, and when they tore him away he was dripping whit blood, and the little ribbons of skin where hanging in his mouth† (Sinclair 162). Such imagery is portrayed through out the novel. Exploitation is f oreshowed at the beginning of the story when Jurgis and Ona celebrate their weeding and the guest refuse to leave money to pay for the weeding. Ona is concerned that they wont be able to pay for the expenses and that they will be in serious debt but Jurgis assures her that he will work harder and earn all the money back. Leave it to me, leave it up to me. I will earn more money-I will work harder† (Sinclair 21). This quotation shows how in the beginning of the novel Jurgis is very optimistic, strong, determine, energetic and, devoted to his family and his new country, being unaware of how the system works. Even when the family tries to purchase their new home which is symbolize by what their American dream is, they get exploited by the real state agent. Grandmother Majauszkiene tells them â€Å"You are all alike all the rest, they trick you and eat you alive. They never sell the house without interest.Get your deed, and see†(Sinclair 73). The tone of this quote also exp resses the jungle atmosphere when she mentions how they are been tricked and eaten alive. Another individual that serves as an opposing force to the Rudkus family is Phil Connor. He is Ona’s boss at the factory and represents the higher corrupt authority in Chicago. He also rapes and takes advantage of Ona by pushing her into prostitution and makes life harder for Jurgis and his family when he decides to put him in the blacklist, making it absurd for Jurgis to get a new job.He is clearly an example of someone who abuses his power over others for his own personal profit It is an argument that its up to everyone to do whatever is in their power to be happy. By exploiting the Rudkus family the real estate agent was happy because his American dream is to sell and make as much profit as possible. But up to what extend is it fair to achieve one’s American Dream? It is not fair to exploit other individuals in order to achieve ones goals and dreams. These people are coming to America unknowingly of how the system works blind to the ways of capitalism.For example, in chapter 3 Jurgis is portrayed as a naive individual that is not familiar on how the labor system works, he is overwhelmed with his new job that he doesn’t understand Jokubus' cynicism when he cynically points out the signs posted that demand cleanliness, â€Å"That was why to Jurgis it seemed almost profanity to speak about the place as did Jokubas, skeptically†. Jurgis was grateful to have a job and that’s all he knew at the time â€Å"to be given a place in it and a share in its wonderful activities was a blessing to be grateful for, as one was grateful for the sunshine and the rain† (Sinclair 43).Is not until later on when he starts to understand more and more about the bitterness he sees in his co-workers. Another form of exploitation that doesn’t allow Jurgis and his family to achieve their American dream is the long hours of labor they must work in ord er to maintain the family alive. These unhealthy long hours of labor that they must work brings the family physical and mental pain. When Jurgis starts to work in the meat packing plant he is exited and happy to have a job, soon after he discovers that he is engaged in unfair labor activities as well as unsafe food handling.In chapter 11 Jurgis suffers from a terrible accident at work. The company doctor tells him that he'll be laid up for months with a severe ankle and foot injury. The accident poses a terrible problem for the family. Without Jurgis' wages, they might starve. â€Å"It was dreadful that an accident of this sort, that no man can help, should have meant such suffering. The bitterness of it was the daily food and drink of Jurgis. It was of no use to them to try to deceive him, he knew as much about the situation as they did, and he knew that the family might literally starve to death† (Sinclair 120).Soon after Ona becomes terribly ill with a cough similar to the one that killed Dede Antana, she also becomes pregnant and not long after dies when giving birth. â€Å"They were beaten; they had lost the game, they were swept aside. It was not less tragic because it was so sordid, because that it had to do with wages and grocery bills and rents. They had dreamed of freedom; of a chance to look about them and learn something; to be decent and clean, to see their child group up to be strong. And now it was all gone-it would never be! (Sinclair 163) Jurgis and his family have failed in the attempt to pursue the American dream because the wage slavery and unfair labor practices shatters every aspect of their lives. Not only does the unhealthy labor causes the family physical pain but also mental pain. For example Stanislovas, one of Elzbieta's children witnesses a little boy with severe frostbite to his ears that fall off when a man rubs them strongly to try to save them. After that, Stanislovas develops a phobia of the cold winter and throws a fi t before work each day.He doesn’t want to go out in the cold with the fear that his ears are going to fall off. Also seeing how the food is processed becomes a sort of trauma for the characters. Sinclair uses symbolism to show how the torture of the pigs and the meat is symbolic of the middle class. Workers get chewed up just like the meat. It is an argument that if one is working in a slaughterhouse one must have to be strong minded and expect to work with blood, and other bodily fluids that can cause effect.The problem with this argument is that at the cost of a whole factory staff only a few get to be happy, while those workers down on the killing floors are being hurt on a daily basis and get little to no pay. Ironically labor is suppose to be part of the American dream, immigrants travel to the country to find jobs to prosper and make money but in this case the hard long hours of work only corporate towards their family destruction. As the novel progresses the role of fa mily diminishes as the characters become increasingly abuse and battered.For example in chapter 13 Kristoforas, one of Elzbieta's children dies, Jurgis is more relief than sad because that only mean that there is one less mouth to feed. The only thing that concerns Jurgis is the expenses for the funeral since they have no money. â€Å"Kristoforas had howled his last howl. No one was really sorry about this except poor Elzbieta, who was inconsolable. Jurgis announced that so far as he was concerned the child would have to be buried by the city, since they had no money for a funeral† (Sinclair 134).At this point in the novel the main focus is survival and the desperate need for nourishment takes priority over compassion and love, as evidenced by Jurgis’s beating Stanislovas when he doesn’t want to go to work. The unity of the family is destroyed by the poverty, a result of capitalist economics and it doesn’t allow them to give affection to one another. In c hapter 10 it is evident that Ona and Jurgis don’t have time for their newborn baby, â€Å"Jurgis had to go to sleep himself. Then in the morning there was no time to look at him, so really the only chance the father had was Sundays.This was more cruel yet for Ona, who ought to have stayed home and nursed the him, the doctors said for her own heath as well as the baby’s, but Ona had to go to work and leave him† (Sinclair 114) Jurgis and Ona aren’t able to enjoy each other anymore, whenever they talk it is merely about their concerns and worries. â€Å"Talked they had only their worries to talk of- truly it was hard, in such a life, to keep any sentiment alive† (Sinclair 129). Ona doesn’t feel love anymore by Jurgis, she is concerned that the misery is wearing out their love. She wondered if he cared for her as much as ever, if all this misery was not wearing out his love†(Sinclair 130). Sinclair shows how this family has been destroyed by the corruption and greed of others, the tone is very depressing and tragic. In this point of the novel the characters have been consumed from head to toe by the oppression of their job, they don’t even have energy to show emotions such as love, hate, or sadness. Jurgis is clearly a robot to the society that engages in a routine from home to work and back to home just to sleep.Jurgis and his family have become dehumanized and become more zombie like as they are described with intense imagery â€Å"Jurgis cant not stay angry. The poor fellow looked like a homeless ghost, whit his cheeks sunken in and his long black hair straggling into his eyes; he was too discourage to cut it, or think about his appearance. His muscles were wasting away, and what where left where soft and flabby. He had no appetite and they couldn’t not afford to tempt in whit any delicacies.It was better, he said, that he shouldn’t not eat, it was saving. † (Sinclair 127) Some people a rgue that if Jurgis and Ona never had a baby, the money being used for that baby could have been used for other purposes like food or toward their home. having children while having no money is bad. But being happy with the little bit of money they had, Ona and Jurgis didn’t think it would be much of a problems In chapter 10 before Ona gets pregnant, the family has enough money to survive and even has money left to pay little by little his debts. During the early part of winter the family had had money enough to live and little over to pay their debts† (Sinclair 105). But Jurgis then gets injured and has no work. When he has no work there is no money flowing into the home, this causes despair and urgency. It was also part of their American dream, to have kids watch them grow and give them an education. â€Å"They were beaten; they had lost the game, they were swept aside. It was not less tragic because it was so sordid, because it had to do with wages and grocery bills and rents.They had dreamed of freedom; of a chance to look about them and learn something; to be decent and clean, to see their child grow up to be strong. And now it was all gone–it would never be! They had played the game and they had lost. † (Sinclair 144). This quote shows how Jurgis's life has been destroyed by the unjust social system that didn’t allow him to achieve his American dream. The American dream is cWork Cited Page Upton Sinclair. The Jungle New York: Bantam Classic edition, 1906

Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Operation management - Essay Example Reading through your memo, I find three major issues that need to be addressed in this report. These issues are: These issues are certainly important and critical as they focus on efficiency and effectiveness for the larger company. However, these issues cannot be adequately addressed if the current state of the company is not reconsidered for the fact that there is high level of inefficiency in the company due to excessive downtime rates and fewer numbers of freezers available. The issues of downtime rates and number of freezers ought to be addressed as an option of extending pea planting season will lead to increase in volume of raw pea, which would mean more capacity space. From the identified issues above, the company is currently considering a proposed change, which has to do with the extension of the pea growing. Generally, the proposed extension of growing period from 36 to 44 will bring about increased volume of raw pea and an extended harvesting season (Damerow, 2014), which is perceived to lessen pressure on the factory. When there is increase in the volume of raw pea, the production turnover of the company will also increase. The major question that should come up should however be whether or not the current state of the company is in a position to handing such expansion and increases. In the following section of the report, the proposed change of extending the growing period from 36 days to 44 days will be analysed as relates to Pendle Pea. With the above points made, it is important to consider the current state of the company in relation to how well any of these three issues fit into the current state of affairs. It is after the effect of the three issues on the current state of the company has been established that the best way forward for each of them can be adequately suggested. As depicted in appendix I, the nominal capacity of three freezers available, there is the indication that the nominal

Business and culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business and culture - Essay Example 3) My group got down to business straight away and just started discussing what the task was. Many of our personalities are geared towards getting things done in a timely manner, so it was good that we were all able to think along the same lines. Of course, this method has its downsides, but I think that we were all able to adapt to the situation at hand and work together towards completing our project. To do this, we set out a list of priorities and deadlines that we would all work towards so that everything was not left until the last minute. I think that this was good because it relived the stress on all of us. We decided that it would be better not to appoint one leader because if that person did not perform adequately, then it would affect the whole group. We came to the conclusion that it would be better if we shared leadership because then we would all be responsible for the success or failure of the group. I did not like this idea at the start because I felt that our group would be like a ship without a rudder, but I was pleasantly surprised that we all contributed equally to the project. As was mentioned above, we shared out responsibility among all the group’s members. To get work done faster, we assigned ourselves different roles that were based on our strengths. There were very few arguments over who should have done what because we all knew our role in the group and did not overstep our boundaries. Communication was surprisingly a strong point for us. At the beginning of the project, we all agreed to swap phone numbers so that we would all be reachable at any time. Also, we used methods such as Facebook and regular email to stay in contact. This was really good because we could remind each other about when we had to complete a task by. Of course, we also communicated face-to-face during class time and also during our breaks during the day. As was mentioned above, we were always reminding each other about what we had to do and when we had

Hewlett Packard Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Hewlett Packard - Case Study Example This report pertains to the current business position of Hewlett Packard (HP),its current business problems and the way ahead for this business organisation.My first impression at the outset of ESS (E-Services Solution)group is to point out that this venture may be a successful at the outset given the period 1999 until 2000 but it has all the ingredients of becoming a victim of its own success and potentially damaging the work culture of HP with the so called aim of "infecting" the entire spirit.I would reach such a bleak conclusion for many reasons which I will discuss below but the pith and substance of my analysis as a management consultant is that "small is beautiful" but once it gets large it becomes ugly. And this is true for HP's future if the ESS is allowed to grown into its organizational management culture.At the outset of the case study we are made aware that in 1999 alone through the efforts of the ESS ,HP has achieved the status as a leading manufacturer of computer prod ucts, including printers, servers, workstations, and personal computers and is generating a revenue of $42.4 billion and net income of $3.1 billion.It has over 80,000 employees worldwide and a strong local presence in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. The problems of HP and the role of ESS.The case study has given us a bird's eyes view of the historical problems with the management strategy of HP as follows. 1. In 1939 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, found HP and were an instant success with the and wanted to pursue theirs own unique way of doing business: "The HP Way." The evolution of the HP Way began early. Even though their decentralized management style was a success in the earlier dealing and by 1957 Hewlett and Packard had their own corporate objectives, underling the "The HP Way" through management strategies like Management By Wandering Around, Management By Objectives, and the Open Door Policy inspired later additions, including Open Communication and Total Quality Control .These practices cannot be seen anywhere today and later on the conservative attitude of HP with in a decentralized company and was more product oriented than customer oriented. 2. So far another reason HP has suffered is its insider hiring.Although Young and Platt were good leaders and displayed some good leadership qualities.However by 1998 HP was facing low stock prices and a lot of criticism pertaining to having missed the Internet market.There were other problems likecomplexity, and a loss of accountability and there was an over all lack of focus on the HRM issues. 3.

As a department head in the hospital, you and your colleagues need to Term Paper

As a department head in the hospital, you and your colleagues need to decide on whether to purchase new equipment - Term Paper Example A decision whether to own or lease a particular piece of hospital equipment would have to take into account many factors. The most obvious is the cost of the equipment. In the given scenario, the cost to buy is $75,000. Needless to say that this is a considerable sum of money to pay outright and therefore there is an alternative consideration at hand whether to lease the equipment for five years. The lease rental is $ 11,000 per year, for five years. Depreciation is one factor that needs to be considered as well as it would reduce the value of the equipment. Another factor would be revenues and number of people using that equipment. In an operating lease, the lessor would bear the cost of reduction in the value of the asset, but in the case of a capital lease, this would be transferred to the lessee. A lease is considered to be a capital lease if (a) the terms of lease contain a bargain price option, (b) the lease term is equal to 75% or more of the estimated useful life of the asset, (c) the present value of the minimum lease payments amount to 90% or more of the fair value of the leased asset, and (d) the lease transfers ownership of the asset to the user at the end of the lease term (Meigs & Meigs, 1993). We are told nothing about (a) or (d) but can calculate (b) and (c). We are told nothing about the discount rate to use here to calculate the present value of the lease rentals. However if we assume a discount rate of 10 percent, the present value of the lease rentals will be as under: This calculated present value is more than 90 percent of the depreciated value of the equipment as at year 5. Ninety percent of the depreciated value of the equipment amounts to $40,500 in year 5. So it is definitely a Capital Lease. In the current circumstances, it would be better to buy the equipment rather than to lease it. This is because the salvage value of the equipment at

The Triple Constraints Model of Project Management Essay - 1

The Triple Constraints Model of Project Management - Essay Example As outline above the fist dimension is that of the project itself which he defines as â€Å"an endeavour†¦designed to produce some novel, unitary objective from which we expect to derive new benefits† (p. 5).   The key is to understand what needs to be accomplished (the plan) and the amount of time to accomplish it while still ensuring quality.   Flexibility, innovation, cooperation and a sense of urgency are important characteristics.  Ã‚   Turner (1991) stresses that the project manager must focus on the results, what it is the project is to accomplish.   Focusing on anything less increases the opportunity for failure or deviation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ensure that all work done delivers essential project objectives† (Turner, 1991: 7).   To accomplish this five essential functions are involved: â€Å"scope of the work, the organization (the people who do the work), quality, cost and duration† (Turner, 1991: 7).   The last three he stresses, although impor tant, are merely constraints; without the project or people there would be no project.     The second dimension of this theory is the management process, which takes the vision or dream and makes it the reality, the outcome.   This encompasses a four part process for successful outcome, each important and overlapping requiring process definition that looks beyond department boundaries to a seamless flow requiring cooperation and multiple, simultaneous effort by teamwork.   These for stages begin with the proposed idea and beginning of the project move onto execution and process.

Employee benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Employee benefits - Essay Example (EMPLOYEES BENEFIT/EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION (ERISA). The flexible benefit programs reduce the taxable income of an employee, as health insurance premiums are deducted from the paycheck before calculations of taxes. This gives the employee the benefit of a higher income for spending, and reduces the burden of the employer in making provisions for a higher income for spending. (FLEXIBLE BENEFITS. OVERVIEW). The key factors affecting the choice of benefits from an employee’s perspective are the choice that is offered in benefits, and the possibility of exchanging one benefit for another. From the employers’ point of view, the choice of benefits enables goodwill and motivation in an employee, and reduction in total employee benefit costs. The key role that communications plays in increasing the perceived value of benefits is that emphasis of the benefits accruing to the employee provides a feeling of caring among the employees, and this acts as a motivating factor that works both in terms of retention as well as productivity. (Glasscock, S. & Gram, K. 1999. WORKPLACE RECOGNITION). Gender is one characteristic that distinguishes special groups, and women form the special group in this category. Minority groups make up the second category of special groups, and may be distinguished, by several factors, which include color, caste, creed and ethnicity. (Griffith, W.R. and Hom, W.P. 2001. RETAINING VALUED EMPLOYEES). The key factors that need to be taken into consideration when designing a compensation strategy for special groups is that they not be discriminated against on the basis of their grouping, and that they be treated as individual employees with no emphasis on their gender, color, caste, creed, and ethnicity. (Griffith, W.R. and Hom, W.P. 2001. RETAINING VALUED EMPLOYEES). The executive pays have always been on

Discuss the Effect of Islam upon West Africa Essay Example for Free

Discuss the Effect of Islam upon West Africa Essay Change Over Time Essay Assignment #1The camel, with its ability to travel long distances without water and carry heavy loads, facilitated trans-Saharan communication. During the seventh and eighth centuries CE, Islamic conquerors had added North Africa to the dar al-Islam. By the end of the eighth century CE, Muslim merchants had crossed the Sahara and initiated commercial relations with Sub-Saharan West Africa and by the beginning of the second millennium, Islam had become entrenched in West African life. Islam dramatically changed West Africa culturally, politically, and economically in the time period between 1000 CE and 1750 CE, but many staples of West African society remained the same. Economically, Islam ushered a new era of economic prosperity into West Africa. The adoption of Islam by West African states provided them with common ground upon which states such as Mali greatly expanded their gold trade to encompass Arab and Mediterranean nations. Established Muslim trade routes facilitated the huge increase in the volume of African trade. Commercial cities sprung up across West Africa, with commerce increasing Timbuktus population to 100,000. In the twelfth century, Muslim merchants introduced cotton, rice, and citrus fruits to West Africa; by the sixteenth century cotton was the main textile produced in West Africa. European demand for cotton textiles ensured that West Africa would remain economically prosperous. Islamic merchants expanded the African slave trade to a continental level, providing Europeans with a framework upon which to build the catastrophic Atlantic slave trade, replacing small scale tribal slavery with huge state economies built entirely around capturing slaves and selling them to foreign nations. However, despite these huge changes in economic methods and volume, West African states relied heavily upon trade as the principle form of economic support throughout periods of Islamic influence. The increase in trade with Islamic merchants between 1000 and 1750 led to the permeation of Islamic culture among West African peoples. Islamic rulers built large mosques and universities where people could learn about Islam, as well as other areas of knowledge. These universities spread literacy within West African society. Islam was generally tolerant of traditional values, such as polygamy. This allowed it greater popularity than  Christianity, and decreased resistance to conversion. Islam was not forced upon citizens by their kings, but rather was voluntarily encouraged. Despite this, many people adopted Islam, especially those who interacted with Muslim merchants. However, many of those who adopted Islam did not adopt Islam in its original form, but rather combined it with traditional religious beliefs to create a syncretic religion. There was much social turmoil among purists, such as the Fulani, and those who practiced syncretic Islam. Despite the large Islamic influence in the area, many chose not to adopt a syncretic faith and rather kept their traditional beliefs. The integration of Islamic culture into West Africa, as well as the economic prosperity that Islamic trade brought West Africa, led to the creation of large centralized states. As opposed to the small kingdoms, such as the kingdom of Ghana, that the first Islamic merchants encountered in West Africa, by the fifteenth century two large centralized empires had emerged. Islamic influence played a large part in the creation of these large empires. Firstly, the revenue created by integration of West Africa into Islamic trade allowed West African rulers to create and support large standing armies. These armies ensured that these empires could protect their peoples and sources of income, as well as exert their influence. Secondly, Islamic law, known as Sharia, introduced to West Africa allowed for unified rule. Previously, varying tribal laws had caused disorder and fragmentation, as well as discontent. Islamic law facilitated and demanded the creation of large centralized empires. However, Islam itself did not necessarily become the exclusive religion of these empires; many, indeed most, citizens of these empires clung to and practiced their traditional pagan religious beliefs. Following the collapse of these two empires, West African political structure returned to the small regional kingdoms that had been West African norm before Muslim merchants crossed the Sahara. Overall, the Islam greatly, sometimes even completely, changed cultural, political, and economic environments in West Africa between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. Examples of this change include the introduction of centralized kingdoms, trans-Saharan trade, and Muslim values. Despite this great change, many elements of West African society, such as popular religion, dependence  on trade, and basic values remained the same despite Islamic influence up through 1750 CE. Near the end of that period, Africa began to be colonized by European nations, and fell under European influence.

Exploratory Study of Kopitiam Business

Exploratory Study of Kopitiam Business A new breed of kopitiam (a coffee shop in local Chinese dialects) has gained popularity in Malaysia during the past few years. In fact, there are no less than a hundred different brands of kopitiam which can be found everywhere in Malaysia with little or no differentiation. In such saturated market, lowering the prices has become common strategy to attract customers, consequently, kopitiam business has been caught up in price wars and competing under the shrinking profit margin. Thus, it leads the business with nothing but bloody red oceans. However, there are limited studies in business strategies in kopitiam businesses. Therefore, this paper aims to bridge the gap by discusses a conceptual strategy approach, particularly, Blue-ocean strategy (BOS) in kopitiam businesses. Keywords: Kopitiam, Differentiation, Red Oceans, Blue-ocean strategy. 1.0 Introduction A new breed of kopitiam (a coffee shop in local Chinese dialects) has gained popularity in Malaysia during the past few years. However, the literature review suggests limited research attempts have been made in kopitiams business strategies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap and it presented in four parts. The first part begins by reviewing the history of kopitiam in Malaysia. Following this, the second section reviews the new breed of kopitiam business in Malaysia. Lastly, the last two parts discusses the conceptual approach, Blue-ocean strategy in kopitiam and its untapped market respectively. 2.0 The History of Kopitiam 2.1 The Migration In nineteenth and twentieth century, British Imperialism had brought in diverse of people, mainly from China, India and Malay Archipelago. According to Kaur (2004), the growing economic opportunities in the region such as mineral and agricultural expansion were the pull factors to Southeast Asia during that time. In the colonial era of Malaya (before independent), British had introduced the practice of segregating economic activity along with racial lines such as Chinese migrant workers to work in the tin mines, Indian migrant workers to work in the rubber plantations and Malay Archipelago to work in the agriculture fields (Arif Abubakar, 2005). 2.2 The Hainanese Factor In 1900s, the main Chinese dialects groups in Malaya are Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew and Hainanese. According to Lai (2010) among the Chinese dialect groups, Hainanese were the late comers and the minority of migrant group. Due to the scarcity of job during that time, the other dialect groups would take any job offered or opportunity available. They became rubber tappers, seamen, cooks and just name to it a few. Most of them worked for the Europeans. In late of 1930s, Hainanese, individually or partnership, offers their personal skills such as culinary, service, housekeeping, and management skills which they learned from European households. They started to set up new concept of kopitiam (meaning coffee shop in local Chinese dialects) and involved in food and beverage related industries like coffee processing and food catering during that time. The growth fastiqium period for Hainanese distinct kopitiam were in the late 1920s to 1950s. Hainanese coffee merchants and kopitiam operators had developed their special method to roast the coffee beans and brewed the coffee (Lai, 2010). Some of them have their secret/special recipes which served as the key attractions to retain customers. In 1960s, the success of the kopitiam business had led the newcomers from other dialect groups to venture into this business. Subsequently, competition became more intense. 2.3 The Evolutions of Kopitiam Conventional Kopitiam, the basic formula was an outlet and simple menus. They served local coffee, toasted bread with margarine and kaya (a type of jam made of coconuts and eggs), half-boiled eggs and some traditional pastries. Prices were relatively cheap with a cup of coffee and other food charged which everyone could afford. In the past, the kopitiam sole proprietor dressed his white sweatshirt and stripped pajama pants making coffee. The kopitiam was a place as social centre where men could indulge eating, meeting, drinking and chatting on anything that came to mind, light or seriously in what had become known as coffee shop talk (Lai, 2010). Normally, it would be located in strategic location of the main street, village or neighborhood. According to Lai (2010), as populations grew rapidly, some of the kopitiam expanded into modest-sized eating shops in the more strategic location nearer to the towns, village, neighborhood or others. Proprietors sell both drinks and foods or solely drinks and rented out stall space to other food operators. It was the place that customers enjoyed their breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their target customers were industrial personnel, laborers, and residents. This kind of kopitiam set up remains until today. In the late twentieth century, new breed of kopitiam chains which trade on both modernized and nostalgia approach, started to emerge. The outlets are designed with old posters feature, vintage antiques and furniture to evoke a 1960s atmosphere (Euromonitor International, 2010). In the past few years, the popularity of new breed of kopitiam has begun in Malaysia. This brand new kopitiam emphasize eating experiences by offering value-added services like free Wi-Fi access, air-conditional environment and offered innovative breakfast and lunch set-meals and more choices on the menu to fulfill every level of consumers (Euromonitor International, 2009). To remain competitive, aggressive marketing strategies and management systems are implemented. They innovate and improve their kitchens technology for preparing foods and beverages (Lai, 2010). As such, kopitiam has gained the favour of young consumers to hang out at these outlets. 3.0 An Overview of New Breed Kopitiam in Malaysia Local food beverages (FB) face some challenges which are beyond the issue of rising cost of raw materials and shortage of workers but the scene with intense competition among the food service operators. This was mainly due to the low entry barriers and switching costs of buyers/suppliers. According to Selamat et. al. (2003), the entire Malaysia food industries make up from the total of 172,252 units of food service entities which consist of food stalls/kiosk and restaurant. In the new concept of kopitiam alone, there are more than 100 brands of new concept kopitiam in the market today. Statistically, the percentage of units/outlets growth in both independent and chained kopitiam accounted for 9.1 percent and 16.1 percent in 2008 respectively (Euromonitor International, 2009). Generally, the new breed of kopitiam entering the market by integrating the old fashioned of traditional kopitiam in a more trendy, hygenic, and air-conditioned environment. No doubt that the movement of these kopitiam has successfully created a new wave of eating experiences in Malaysia. However, there is little or no differentiation against one another in terms of (1) product offerings (i.e., coffee, bread toast, and other local authentic foods) are nearly the same from one outlet to another regardless of the brand; (2) targeting the same group of consumers, for example, professionals, managers, executives, and business owners; (3) physical environment such as decoration was found to be the same among these outlets. Today, marketing tasks has become complicated and more challenging than ever. Businesses today are competing in fragmentation, saturation, and storm of novelty that exist every day in the market. In fact, when the industry become more intense, businesses will continuously increase their market share by identifying and creating niche market (Kotler Tiras De Bes, 2003); strive to retain and develop existing customers (Kim Mauborgne, 2005) which would result in finer segmentation. Thus, it ends-up creating too-small target market. Besides, the increase of commoditization of products and services leads consumer hardly to differentiate their product offerings. As a solution, reducing prices has become the common competitive strategy for kopitiam businesses as competition intensifies. According to Euromonitor International (2009) found that prices of offering items in cafes/bars (including kopitiam) will likely drop gradually. Thus, promotions such as value set breakfast and lunch with lower price can be easily found in these outlets. Commonly, we found that lowering the prices with the purpose to beat competitors, but, it is often not a wise strategy in business like kopitiam as every player can do the exactly same thing. Trout Rivkin (2000) illustrated that price is always the enemy of differentiation. Consequently, the above mentioned scenario will lead the business with nothing but a bloody red ocean. Red oceans stand for the industries that are around today. In the red ocean, the rules of the game are known as it had been around for ages. Thus, businesses tend to compete to get a bigger chunk of the pie. When this happens, the market space becomes smaller, resulting to a drain in profit and growth. As this prolongs, the stiff rivalry among the companies would turn to be a bloody red ocean (Kim Mauborgne, 2005). 4.0 Swimming towards Blue Oceans Kotler Tiras De Bes (2003) described the current market is not the same as compare to 1960s and 1970s. Typically, product is designed to fulfill consumer needs; however, consumer needs are hypersatisfied today. Kim and Mauborgne (2005) pointed that business strategies and management of the 20th century are becoming extinct as the business evolves in an industry that is changing to be a shade of red, the management has to be on its feet to think on how to make it ocean blue. Generally, blue oceans denote the new market space, new creation, and high probability for growth. Most of the blue oceans created within known markets but there are a few that are completely new industries rivalry among companies are not predominant in the blue ocean as there are no known rules to follow. Indeed, Kim Mauborgne (2005) describes the future of a company depends on how the management can create and use this new strategy. Besides, both authors indicate that 86 percent of launched business (improvement within an existing red-ocean market) which accounted 62 percent of total revenue and only 39 percent of total margins. On the other hand, the remaining of 14 percent launched businesses was in blue oceans (non-competing market space) which accounted to 38 percent of the total revenues and 61 percent of total profits. Apparently, the benefits of creating blue oceans are more promising. As more and more kopitiam will be trapped into red bloody oceans in this saturated market, hence, blue-ocean strategy is significant for the industry. Unfortunately, blue-ocean strategy is literally new to Malaysias businesses. Even though, many CEOs are aware of the existence of blue-ocean strategy but they have yet to fully understand and adopt the strategy to their businesses (as cited in Yap and Ang, 2007). Most recently, an interview session with Kotler on Getting savvy in newer media, narrated: They [Asian marketing professionals] need to improve their strategic capabilities with Blue Ocean thinking and Lateral Marketingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Companies that employ Blue-ocean strategy use innovation to find uncontested blue oceans of opportunities that their competitors have yet to discover, while lateral marketing requires companies to look beyond narrow, vertical segmentation and be creative to create fresh ideas and new markets. In response to such market, Kim Mauborgne (2005) provides set of analytical tools and framework in creating blue oceans. For example, both authors urge businesses to take a reverse course from focusing on existing customers to focus on noncustomers. By doing this, businesses are able to exploits new market space that never existed before. Air Asia, for example, a successful Malaysia low-cost airline that had identified a Blue Ocean to unlock the unaddressed market space by focusing on non-customers (i.e., the masses that cannot afford the expensive flight tickets and government employees) instead of customers (i.e., corporate and customers who can afford to buy expensive tickets) to avoid head on competition with Malaysia Airline (MAS) and other regional airlines (Lau, 2007). 5.0 The Untapped Market Knowing the nature of ones market is significant to business success. As such, the changes of cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors cannot simply be ignored in the fast-changing market. Friedman (2008) pinpoints that the world is heading to a new era called Energy-Climate Era whereas the world is currently facing three pitfalls namely, global warming, flattening, and crowding that affect all of us today. Hence, not surprisingly that sustainability has become a buzzword and being discussed by people from all walks of life. Even though, the sustainable practices are still hotly debated by both scholars and practitioners, but, this is a fundamental shift in how companies should function in this era. In fact, the contemporary environmental issue provides businesses the greatest prospect for return on investment and growth that never existed before (Friedman, 2008). However, going green is far more complicated than what we think. Numerous studies found that the main force for businesses being sustainable was mainly driven by legislation, marketing, and values (Gummerson, 1994). Typically, Malaysia is one of them from launching No-Plastic Day to stem duty exemption for green buildings and New Economic Model (NEM) that emphasize on economic growth and environment. No doubt, sustainable practices are still new to Malaysia, but, these new policies are important as a head start for Malaysia. As a result, several industries such as telecommunications, plantation, and real estate are taking different steps to balance between their business growth and sustainability. Unfortunately, sustainable practices with the initiatives to reduce food waste, water consumption, and energy consumption are literally new to the local FB industry. Revell Blackburn (2005) found that sustainability practices are considered as low priority because restaurateurs foresee their impact towards environment as insignificant. Besides, numerous studies found that low awareness of the environmental impact as one of the barriers to change (Hillary, 1995; Holland Gibbon 1997; Rutherfoorrd et. al. 2000). According to Consumer Association of Penang (2009), Malaysia restaurants discards more than 10 tons of left-over food daily with a total 490 tons carbon dioxide produced annually per restaurant. Even so, many restaurateurs have the attitude of wait and see on the environmental issues because they foresee the impact has yet to affect their business. Parsa et. al. (2005) denotes that inability to understand, anticipates, and adapt to the current market trend often lead to restaurant failures. As environmentally sustainable practices are important to todays consumers, hence, local FB industry such as kopitiam should take advantage of the opportunities by creating a win-win situation between the growth of business and sustainability of environment. Friedman (2008) indicates that, green is going from boutique to better, from a choice to a necessity, from a fad to strategy to win, from insoluble problem to great opportunity. Beside, Jogaratnam et. al. (1999) urges that restaurateurs should incorporate their business by adapting to the environmental changes and find ways to link with, respond to, integrate with, or exploit environmental opportunities. In summary, there is totally an untapped market from conventional kopitiam to sustainable or green kopitiam that emphasize on both growth and sustainability. 6.0 Conclusion There is a paradigm shift from traditional kopitiam to new concept kopitiam. The shifting has gained popularity among young generation, thus, more and more entrepreneurs venture into the business. Consequently, the business become intense and eventually turns the kopitiam business into red oceans. As such, businesses should take advantage of the blue open sea. Make itself impossible to be the target, isolate from possible followers at the same time lead them far away. The goal is to make the ocean theirs and prevent other competitors from invading it. Even so, in the long run there may be competitors that follow the same strategies making the pristine blue ocean red. The company would have to distance itself from the followers by changing their game plan to create another blue ocean.

The Duel :: English Literature Essays

The Duel Walking onto the stage, seeing my challenger; thought not much of him, then I glanced to my left; hundreds upon hundreds of people have come to see this. My nerves shot to hell, I picked it up, plugged it in, waiting for the challenger’s opening riff. â€Å"Just one more time, I’ll get it this time, for sure!† I was tutoring some twelve year old; his name, David Ellison Mai. I was trying to teach him how to play the guitar. I have been playing for so many years, I cannot even begin to think how it is like for a beginner, all those new chords, scales, getting your fingers used to the touch of cold steel; set adrift on memory bliss. The only reason I got into this type of music is because of my brother. He meant to pack up his guitar when he moved out to his student home, he did not have enough space for it, and so he left it a week, and said that his friend would drop it off. Of course, seeing it sitting there in my room, I couldn’t just leave it alone; the shiny black surface, shimmering the light, almost giving it a warm glow. Every day, I would just look at it, and I was just getting into the whole rock music scene, so I knew a lot of inspirational guitarists. I couldn’t just sit around anymore; I pic ked it up, and started to learn. I did not know what to do for the first week, it was only when my brother came back that I started making progress. My brother came back for a week, to tie up some loose ends before he moved out for three years, to get his degree. It wasn’t long before my parents were supporting me to learn, they were always buying me books, strings and anything I needed to progress. I can still remember my fingers getting to the point where they would bleed, due to me playing for so many hours on end. When I wasn’t playing, I would just sit down and imagine myself playing on a stage, with thousands of people cheering me on. That dream was very far off; I was still having trouble holding the thing. Many of the guitarists I knew of all taught themselves, and I could see how good they were. I wanted to be just like them, I vowed never to get a teacher.

Gateway Drugs and Common Drug Abuse :: Substance Abuse Essays

Gateway Drugs and Common Drug Abuse The oldest known written record of drug use is a clay tablet from the ancient Sumerian civilization of the Middle East. This tablet, made in the 2000’s B.C., lists about a dozen drug prescriptions. An Egyptian scroll from bout 1550 B.C. names more than 800 prescriptions containing about 700 drugs. The ancient Chinese, Greek and Romans also used many drugs. The Greeks and Romans used opium to relieve pain. The Egyptians used castor oil as a laxative. The Chinese ate liver to cure anemia. In the 1500,s and 1600’s, doctors and scientists made important advances in Pharmacology and in other fields of science. In the early 1500’s, Swiss physician Philippus Paracelsus pioneered in the use of minerals as drugs. He introduces many compounds of lead, mercury and other minerals in the treatment of other diseases. Gateway drugs are substances that people take which, in many cases, lead to those people taking more drugs. Alcohol and pot are the most obvious gateway drugs. Studies show that if you smoke pot, you're more likely to try things like crystal meth or cocaine or heroin. Many people see alcohol and pot as less dangerous and harmful than other drugs, but the truth is, they are just as dangerous as any other drug in more ways than one. Not only are alcohol and pot dangerous in there own right, they also screw up your judgment making you more likely to use other drugs. Gateway drugs work in two major ways. The first, gateway drugs break down a psychological barrier against doing other drugs. Once you have crossed the line with a gateway drug, you are more likely to go there with other drugs. Second, Gateway drugs impair your judgment. If you are drunk to high, it is easier to say yes to cocaine or whatever else is around. These drugs break down your inhibitions, so you are more susceptible to peer pressure and experimenting. They do not just impair your judgment when you are on them they can change the way you feel about drugs in general. LSD LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of the major drugs making up the hallucinogen class. LSD was discovered in 1938 and is one of the most potent mood- Schreiber 2 changing chemicals. It is manufactured commonly referred to as "acid," The effects of LSD are unpredictable.

Reversal of Male/Female Roles in Sister Carrie :: Sister Carrie Essays

Dreiser's Reversal of Male/Female Roles in Sister Carrie    The novel Sister Carrie seems to be the platform from which Dreiser explores his unconventional views of the genders. In the world of Sister Carrie, it would seem that the role of women as trusting, caring creatures, and men as scheming victimizers is reversed; it is Carrie that uses the men around her to get what she wants, and it is those men who are victimized by her. Thus Dreiser uses this novel as a means of questioning the popular notions of gender and the role that it plays in modern society.      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Sister Carrie, it would seem that Carrie, while outwardly benign, and possibly even deserving of her portrayal as sweet and innocent at the beginning, soon emerges as a ruthless predator in the guise of a helpless woman. From her relationship with Drouet, she manages to gain the experience and social skills to pursue higher aspirations. She seems to stay with Drouet only long enough to see that better things are available, comforts more extravagant than Drouet can provide, and cultural experiences and social nuances whose existence Drouet seems unaware of. Drouet, then, acts as a stepping stone for her. When he no longer has anything he can offer her, she drops him in favor of Hurstwood. In Hurstwood, Carrie sees all that lacks in Drouet--a more acute sense of culture and worldliness, and the wealth to explore the new wonders of civilized Chicago life.    Hurstwood serves as yet another step in her ladder to success, and when he sinks into poverty and self-disgrace after his divorce, she sees him as a no longer being an asset, and leaves him in favor of striking out on her own, leaving him to turn into a beggar, while she makes it big. Too, after she makes it big, and Drouet comes to see her, she can no longer see him as a friend worthy of her company, and in fact avoids ever seeing him again. The fact that she owes her success to Drouet and Hurstwood seems inconsequential to her. It would seem also at the end of her road to fame, when she is receiving social invitations from millionaires and famous figures, that she sees herself as being to good for any of them; she sees herself as being too good for the company of any man.

History of Tourism Essay

Introduction Tourism is seen as one of the main industries in the world. â€Å"The World Travel and Tourism Council (2001) indicated that tourism creates more than ten percent of the global economic output and 1 in 10 jobs worldwide†. â€Å"Tourism starts with the wealthy, with images of prestigious visits to seaside resorts and spas, Grand Tours and the activities of business enterprisers such as Thomas Cook† (Towner, 1995). This paper describes the history and structure of the travel and tourism industry, the influence of local and national governments and international agencies, local and national economic policy, the effects of supply and demand on the travel and tourism industry and the positive and negative impacts of tourism. History Based on my perception, I would categorize the history of travel & tourism industry in three different time bands as follows: * Before 1945 * 1945-1979 * 1980 to current day Before 1945 In ancient times and approximately till the end of the 16th century people were living in agricultural communities was stationary, seldom moving from the local area and rural community. â€Å"Even with the beginning of the industrial revolution, which was making a slow start in the 18th century in urban and factory development, a richer ‘elite’ class alone enjoyed leisure and travel, while the workers worked in situ. Indeed as industrialization got under way leisure time or holidays where they existed tended to decrease† (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) Prior to the 1950s, tourism was an industry which was inconsistent; hotels, transport operators, tour operators, travel agents, all tended to work separately. Hotels were mainly in the business to sell bed nights. Railways and airlines were in the business to sell seats, Travel agents, were selling travel and holidays however in each case they tended to work very much independently. Up until 1946, i.e. the period between the world wars, much of international travel  was for the privileged, wealthy and elite groups in society. â€Å"Thomas Cook introduced the first package tour in 1841, but in fact by that time the railways (The first passenger railway (Liverpool and Manchester) opened in 1830) themselves were offering excursion trips, for a traffic which they had not originally expected to carry. The first objective had been carriage of freight, and secondly the provision of faster transport for the current stagecoach travelers at far from cheap prices. The popularity of cheap excursion fares for special events was not expected† (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) 1945-1979 If we look at the year 1945 as the year in which the development of the main growth in the tourism industry started, we can construct some general explanation concerning to the changes which one can differentiate in the tourism industry. From the mid-1950s onwards, mainly in the UK, the development of tour operators started changing the character of the industry from individual business activities to more integrated activities. â€Å"Hotels, for example, were beginning to see customers as wanting a range of services rather than simply buying accommodation. So hotels began to develop shopping arcades and later to offer secretarial centers in order to increase the spend of guests within the hotel complex. Transport operators, particularly in the airline business, saw the sale of transport services as being integral to a much wider need. Airlines offered insurance and accommodation booking for travelers† (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) From 1950 onwards a combination of factors, such as increase in free time availability, increase in paid holidays, improvement of package tours, and growth in air transport – all combined to offer a wider possible holiday-taking market. This market was different regarding socioeconomic groups from the pre-1950 era. 1980 to current day By the 1980s several airlines were offering full travel services such as arrangements for holidays, medical services, hiring car, etc. By 1990 the formation of the tourism industry, especially in the United Kingdom and  Europe, was effected by the development of a number of very big companies. â€Å"In the USA, American anti-trust laws discouraged, if not prohibited, the development of large integrated companies†. The experience of American in operational tour has been very different from Europe, mainly compared with the United Kingdom (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). Air travel improved even more rapidly. Nevertheless, this is only piece of the story, as nonscheduled traffic (charter services) increased considerably as well. â€Å"Making up an estimated 18 per cent of total movement by the 1980s and 50 per cent or more on European routes, where the charter traffic took over the greater part of the holiday movement, as tour operators developed their own services† (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997) Future The tourism business is likely to make important help to global economic development in the twenty first century. The cultural trade and understanding that is brought about through tourism is causing a more peaceful and internationalized universal society. Besides contributing to the expansion and renovation of local economies and communities, tourism development is playing an important role in both enhancing education and improving the position of the tourism business aimed at nurturing the next generation of those ready to take on the tourism business. The Structure of Travel & Tourism Industry This is the Leiper’s model: There are 5 key elements of a tourism system 1. Departing Travelers 2. Traveler Generating Region 3. Transit Route Region 4. Tourist Destination Region 5. Returning Travelers The first is the tourist (the human component), the next 3 components are geographical and organizational and relate to transport, tourist activities and the tourism industry which offers services, goods and facilities for tourists. The last is self explanatory. And the environment: Economic, Technological, Physical, Political, Socio-cultural, legal, etc. There are  some contemporary influences: 1. Changing actions and motivations of markets 2. Changing patterns of tourist flows 3. Require for planned tourism expansion 4. Force for sustainable tourism expansion 5. Concern for social, cultural and economic impacts of tourism The influence of local and national governments and international agencies The position of government is an essential and multipart side of travel and tourism industry, involving policies. State involvement in the trade is a fairly recent practice for central government. In general the state recognizes that the duties of the public sector must cover such matters as health, safety, fair trading and consumer interests and infrastructure in transport such as roads, railways and ports. These are all matters of direct concern to the resident population. There is a mixed record in the provision of leisure facilities, environmental protection and conservation which includes responsibility for the unique cultural heritage, an important part of Europe’s visitor attractions (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). The state tourism agency, tourist board or government department will have an important role to play in advising on the strategy, offering opportunities to consult and cooperate with a dispersed private sector, and preparing a destination marketing strategy based on an identification of the appropriate markets and their needs and wishes (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). Based on periodic surveys of the government role by the WTO, the OECD and individual countries, the principal functions of a Ministry of Tourism or of agencies under government control can be summarized as: 1. Research, statistics and planning. 2. Marketing. 3. Development of tourism resources. 4. Regulation, including trade regulation. 5. Training and education. 6. Facilitation/liberalization. Local governments At the local level the regional or local authority has a role similar to that of the central government and in many ways a more comprehensive and important one. Indeed, in the early days of mass travel stimulated by the growth of the railway network, public sector intervention in tourism was solely at the local level. There were no national tourism organizations. The growth of large resorts, pioneered in Britain at the main seaside canters, encouraged the development of local tourism administrations to carry out the responsibilities of the host destination (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). International organizations There are a number of international bodies, both governmental and nongovernmental, with tourism interests. Government bodies reflect the national government’s interest in, and political will regarding, tourism intervention. In the industrialized countries, the tourism priority tends to be low. Because of the wide range of tourism activity the number of organizations with some concern or responsibility is great, but coordination and often cooperation as at the national level is weak. Furthermore, consultation with industry and operating sectors is often inadequate, as the sector’s voice is weak. The main sector industry bodies inevitably present the case of their own trade, sometimes as in modes of transport in a competitive situation. Thus the collective tourism approach is hard to organize and sustain, even when cooperation at the operating level is effective (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). United Nations World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO/OMT) is a specialized agency of the United ?Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. It serves as a ?global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how (UNWTO 2007:1).? The World Tourism Organization plays a role in promoting the development of responsible, ?sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the ?interests of developing countries?. The Organization encourages the implementation ?of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, with a view to ensuring that member ?countries, tourist destinations and businesses  maximize the positive economic, ?social and cultural effects of tourism and fully reap its benefits, while minimizing its ?negative social and environmental impacts (www.wikipedia.org). The WTO has made efforts recently to strengthen its links with commercial and non-government partners through its system of affiliate membership which should help in the provision of practical guidance and as a basis for cooperative action (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). Impact of political change on the travel and tourism industry Tourism growth in many countries has not been this high, in particular those countries were faced with a range of political unstableness that have made happen to hold back development in tourism. The political aspects of tourism are interwoven with its economic consequencestourism is not only a â€Å"continuation of politics† but an integral part of the world’s political economy. In short, tourism is, or can be, a tool used not only for economic but for political means† (Edgell, 1990). IRAN Tourism in Iran before the accession of the theocracy was characterized by a significant numbers of visitors traveling to Iran for its diverse attractions, boasting cultural splendors and a diverse and beautiful landscape suitable for a range of activities. Tourism declined dramatically during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s but has subsequently revived. Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the majority of visitors to Iran have been religious pilgrims and businesspeople. Official figures do not distinguish between those traveling to Iran for business and those coming for pleasure, and they also include a large number of Diaspora Iranians returning to visit their families in Iran or making pilgrimages to holy Shia sites near Mashhad and elsewhere. Despite the international tensions, the government continues to project strong rises in visitor numbers and tourism revenue over the forecast period, and to talk of projects to build an additional 100 hotels, for example, to expand its currently limited stock. In the early 2000s the industry still faced serious limitations in infrastructure, communications, regulatory norms, and personnel training. In  late 2003 there were about 640 hotels in Iran and around 63,000 beds. Officials state that Iran has in recent years earned about US$1bn a year from tourism. Iran currently ranks 68th in tourism revenues worldwide. Iran with attractive natural and historical sites is rated among the 10 most touristic countries in the world. Close to 1.8% of national employment is generated in the tourism sector which is slated to increase to 10% in the next five years. Weak advertising, unstable regional conditions, a poor public image in some parts of the world, and absence of efficient planning schemes in the tourism sector have all hindered the growth of (www.wikipedia.org). CHINA After Mao’s death, one of the most senior officials who had advocated private plots in the early 1960s, Deng Xiaoping, initiated gradual market reforms that abolished the communes and collectivized industries of Mao, replacing them with the free-market system. Deng’s reforms vastly improved the standard of living of the Chinese people, the competitiveness of the Chinese economy, and caused China to become one of the fastest growing and most important economies in the world. It also led to one of the most rapid industrializations in world history. For this achievement he is sometimes known as â€Å"The Venerated Deng†. As a result of Deng’s reforms, China is widely regarded as a returning superpower. Tourism in China has greatly expanded over the last few decades. The emergence of a newly rich middle class and an easing of restrictions on movement by the Chinese authorities are both fueling this travel boom. China has become one of the world’s most-w atched and hottest outbound tourist markets. The world is on the cusp of a sustained Chinese outbound tourism boom. China is the world’s fourth largest country for inbound tourism. The number of overseas tourists was 55 million in 2007. Foreign exchange income was 41.9 billion U.S. dollars, the world’s fifth largest in 2007. The number of domestic tourists totaled 1.61 billion, with a total income of 777.1 billion yuan. According to the WTO, in 2020, China will become the largest tourist country and the fourth largest for overseas travel. In terms of total outbound travel spending, China is currently ranked fifth and is expected to be the fastest growing in the world from 2006 to 2015, jumping into the number two slot for total travel  spending by 2015 (www.wikipedia.org). The effects of supply and demand on the travel and tourism industry Most studies modeling the demand for tourism have either used visitor arrivals or tourism earnings as a dependent variable (Narayan, 2002). Tourism demand is base on which all tourism related business decisions eventually rest. Companies and governments as a point incase, tour operators, hotels, airlines, and leisure facility providers are interested in the demand for their products by tourists. The accomplishment of many businesses depends completely on the status of tourism demand, and final management collapse is pretty often because of the collapse to meet market demand. Influencing Factors As we all experience the change around us the questions arises how these developments will have an impact on tourism demand. To name just a few categories: * Economy (e.g. from BIP over exchange rates to perceived risk of loosing the job) * Politics (e.g. the enlargement of the EU, taxation, environment) * Crisis and threats (e.g. terrorism, epidemic diseases, earth quakes) * Demographic Change (e.g. age structure, migration, educational level) * Technology (e.g. transport, communication, information) In addition we have to take into account the influences coming from general changes in consumer attitudes and, finally, the tourism industry itself, of course influencing the demand side of tourism (e.g. standardization of products, information channels, (over) capacities and price strategies). All these factors are linked to each other (Lohmann 2004). How can these factors have an impact? Holiday demand is driven by needs, motives, and expectations, its realization depends on the individual economic situation and the freedom to travel. Thus: * External factors may have an impact on tourism demand by affecting the ability to travel (freedom, time, money, fitness) and the motivation to do so. * Consumer Behavior is not a reaction on a single factor but on the whole set of influencing external factors. In addition it is driven by internal factors (e.g. motives, abilities etc.). Thus, the impact of a  change in a single external factor is limited Most of the external factors seem to be in favor for a sound development of tourism demand in Europe in the years to come. However, there are no signs for a general boom (Lohmann 2004). Supply While many tourism studies are focused on the demand side of tourism that is, the tourist, the supply side of the industry is often overlooked. Supply is seen as being modeled by five independent components: attractions, transportation, services, information and promotion. Most important component is the tourism attraction (Gunn, C. A. 1997). The supply of recreation and tourism is a complex combination of natural amenities, recreational sites, access, and private sector business activity which is influenced by an array of factors that act to provide opportunities that satisfy leisure-based travel demands. Measures of recreational site density that account for both physical/geographic size and population, or social capacity are used as key explanatory variables in models of tourism dependence (Marcouiller, Prey, 2004). The Positive and Negative Social and Environmental Impacts of Tourism The range impacts of Tourism include economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts. Impacts could be negative and positive, but should never be undervalued. The conception of sustainability is factored into these tourism impacts, when the size of the impacts turns out to be large enough to intensely change socio-cultural, environmental and economic areas of a tourist destination. Socially tourism has a great influence on the host societies. Tourism can be both a source of international amity, peace and understanding and a destroyer and corrupter of indigenous cultures, a source of ecological destruction, an assault of people’s privacy, dignity, and authenticity. Here are possible positive effects of tourism: * Developing positive attitudes towards each other * Learning about each other’s culture and customs * Reducing negative perceptions and stereotypes * Developing friendships * Developing pride, appreciation, understanding, respect, and tolerance for each other’s culture * Increasing self-esteem of hosts and tourists * Psychological satisfaction with interaction So, social contacts between tourists and local people may result in mutual appreciation, understanding, tolerance, awareness, learning, family bonding respect, and liking. Residents are educated about the outside world without leaving their homes, while their visitors significantly learn about a distinctive culture. Local communities are benefited through contribution by tourism to the improvement of the social infrastructure like schools, libraries, health care institutions, internet cafes, and so on. Besides, if local culture is the base for attracting tourists to the region, it helps to preserve the local traditions and handicrafts which maybe were on the link of the extinction. For example in Uzbekistan, particularly in such famous regions as Samarqand, Buhara, and Horezm tourists contribute significantly to the preservation of traditional handcrafting wood carving, hammered copper work, handmade silk and carpets, and of course to preservation and maintenance of architectural and historical monuments. Since Uzbekistan proclaimed its independence in 1991 many museums and monuments were renovated or opened to promote the national culture and traditions. Growing interest in this culture makes the local people proud of their way of life. On the other side tourism can increase tension, hostility, and suspicion. Claims of tourism as a vital force for peace are exaggerated. Indeed there is little evidence that tourism is drawing the world together (Robinson 1999). In this context economic and social impacts on the local community depend on how much of the incomes generated by tourists go to the host communities. In most all-inclusive package tours more than 80% of travelers’ fees go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies, not to local businessmen and workers. On the other hand large hotel chain restaurants often import food to satisfy foreign visitors and rarely employ local staff for senior management positions, preventing local farmers and workers from reaping the benefit of their presence. Tourism has the power to affect cultural change. Successful development of a resource can lead to numerous negative impacts. Among these are overdevelopment, assimilation, conflict, and artificial  reconstruction. While presenting a culture to tourists may help preserve the culture, it can also dilute or even destroy it. The point is to promote tourism in the region so that it would both give incomes and create respect for the local tradition and culture. There are also both negative and positive impacts of tourism on the local ecology. Tourism often grows into mass-tourism. It leads to the over consumption, pollution, and lack of resources. However, from the ecological point of view tourism is often more acceptable and preferable than any other industrial production, as it is environmentally friendlier (Batir Mirbabayev, Malika Shagazatova, 2007). Conclusion Tourism is widely believed to be the most rapidly growing industry in both developing and developed countries, consider tourism as one means for creating new jobs and reducing unemployment in different regions (Balali, 2009). The history of tourism is one of lumpy expansion, periods of massive growth interrupted by periods of recessions and stagnation (Lickorish, Jenkins, 1997). International travel and tourism is the backbone of globalization and enriches the world in many ways: It promotes economic growth, increases trade, advances development, and creates higher disposable incomes. It also strengthens communities, and, by bringing together people from diverse regions and backgrounds, advances the goals of peace and global understanding. These benefits hold true for developing, emerging, and industrialized countries, and they provide a major platform on which other industries can build (Gross, 2007).