Busniess Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Busniess Environment - Essay Example From the Olympic organizing committee Gurgaon-Based Luca Wines is set to toast the London Olympics. This is a good platform for advertisement of the firm considering their products will be supplied in restaurants and hotels. Besides, a public limited firm that will benefit from the London Olympics is the British Airways, which is the aviation transport industry. Many of the athletes are likely to use the reputable airline’s services to and fro the country. Going by the state of economy and the companies that fall in every category, GlaxoSmithKline plc is one of the firms that are set to be affected directly from the London, 2012 Olympics. The firm falls in the manufacturing sector under the pharmaceutical industry. The company produces a variety of products for common ailments such as virus control, infections, mental health, digestive condition and asthma. Notably, in the primary sector firms in the agricultural and fishing industry sector will have a lot to benefit due to th eir sensitivity in terms of food production and supply. The tertiary sector has various firms that will be affected by the London 2012 Olympics. In fact, the banking and other service sectors such as hotel management and hospitality sector. For example, Barclays bank has a lot to benefit from the London Olympics. ... They also include non-profit organizations, which may use it to offer services to the consumers. The cooperative businesses will be directly affected by the games. For example, the Banna Housing Cooperative is one of business that will be affected by the games during the Olympics. In addition, other cooperatives in the financial sector and housing sector are set to be affected directly or indirectly the games. Other Organizations Furthermore, it can be noted that the Olympics will affect other governmental organization and non-governmental organization either directly or indirectly. For instance, environmental agency that is concerned with protection of the environment will be indirectly affected through their duty to ensure a healthy and fresh environment of the participants. Therefore, there are potentials of possible pollution and the accompanying litigations that might occur consequentially. What’s more, some non-governmental organizations are also set to be affected. For instance, UNICEF, which is a non-governmental organization that cares for the rights of children. Various sponsors in relation to cooperate business firms will be involved in the support of the games. Purposes of organizations From the above discussion, it is clear that organizations such as Banna Housing Cooperative have a mission to grow and expand into a bigger firm based on the high demand for housing. The influx of visitors into the famous city calls for provision of shelter. Therefore, the housing sector has a main goal to provide room for everyone with comfort. In provision of good quality homes Banna Housing has intentions to build its reputation to the highest level to better the lives of members. On the other hand, the banking sector has

Crisis Communications and Segmented Audiences Assignment

Crisis Communications and Segmented Audiences - Assignment Example Fear and anxiety leads to miscommunication. Often it is the fear of the unknown and inability to access a source which can come in the way of effective communication. Missing information or the inability to get information needed puts one in a difficult position. The situation in a mishap is tense and requires gentle albeit firm handling. Once the ambulance and police are notified, one can wait to meet relatives or friends. In the absence of either, one can leave his/her name and contact number with the police if need arises in the near future. A cable car detached from wire over the French Alps today that resulted in the death of twenty people. The number of injured is being ascertained. Nobody knows the exact cause of the mishap. However, the police say excessive occupants in the car as the possible cause. The police rely on the number of deaths for their surmise. The event has shaken the administration and the police are making enquiries. It is too early to pinpoint the cause. The loss of lives will keep the administration on their toes for a long time to come. It is a spectacular site leading many to come to the area for a look. No one seriously imagined it could cause a mishap of this magnitude. The attachment of the car with the cable is robust and the only way for detachment may be faulty workmanship or poor maintenance. People were cautioned against overcrowding in the car. ... The Rescue Workers: A cable car detached from wire over the French Alps today. The region is treacherous. Wear the right gear and carry all your equipments. Work in close coordination. Relatives and friends: A cable car detached from wire over the French Alps today. The ambulance and the police have been informed. We do not know the casualties. The rescue workers are at site. The City Fathers: A cable car detached from wire over the French Alps today. We do not know the casualties. The rescue workers are at site. The Press: A cable car detached from wire over the French Alps today. We do not know the casualties. The police and the ambulance have been informed. The rescue workers are at site. Press Release A cable car detached from wire over the French Alps today that resulted in the death of twenty people. The number of injured is being ascertained. Nobody knows the exact cause of the mishap. However, the police say excessive occupants in the car as the possible cause. The police rely on the number of deaths for their surmise. The event has shaken the administration and the police are making enquiries. It is too early to pinpoint the cause. The loss of lives will keep the administration on their toes for a long time to come. It is a spectacular site leading many to come to the area for a look. No one seriously imagined it could cause a mishap of this magnitude. The attachment of the car with the cable is robust and the only way for detachment may be faulty workmanship or poor maintenance. People were cautioned against overcrowding in the car. However, since the number of those left behind was not large they were allowed to board in. There was also a woman with a dog and they were allowed to get inside. Their fate is unknown. There is heavy

India As A Tourist Destination Tourism Essay

India As A Tourist Destination Tourism Essay The term marketing has a very important meaning in the area such as retailing, branding and other similar areas such as event marketing. On the other hand, marketing in tourism and hospitality sectors are still legging comparing with the other areas. In this paper, different elements of tourism marketing will be explained with the help of understanding the concepts of marketing theory and research within tourism and hospitality sectors (Williams, 2006). Tourism is broadly defined as a business activity which is connected with providing accommodation, service and entertainment for people who are visiting a place for pleasure, recreation, leisure, business and so on (Chaudhary, 2010). It becomes an integral part of todays lifestyle. Hence, tourism marketing is also one of the important sectors where more effort and concern has been given to increase the standard of tourism all over. The reason behind this new trend is due to the increase of cross-cultural activities and due to the pass ion of people for visiting new destination. Also, the volume of tourism activity and the value is increasing compare to holiday destinations. This creates an inconsistency between tourism demand and supply, thereby creating under-utilized tourism capacity (Kaynak Kucukemiroglu, 1993). Position: Scope and the Objective of the study This paper discuss about the different marketing concepts which are used in tourism marketing and their application to generate different marketing strategy. In this paper, India has been chosen as the holiday destination. Hence all the research and analyze has been done to identified different marketing strategies to increase and promote Indian tourism all over. Scope and Objectives: The objectives of this research are as follows: To study the  theoretical  framework for marketing in tourism and the concept of marketing  strategy  in the tourism  industry this includes: PEST analysis, marketing mix,  segmentation, targeting and positioning. Conduct surveys and analyze India as a holiday destination and compare it with other  holiday destination To explore the perception of India as tourist destination Global Tourism Industry Todays era, the tourism Industry is booming all over the world. Tourism has become one the significant ingredient of mankind. A new tourism industry is rising which is driven by new consumers, new technologies, new ideas and new management techniques (Poon, 1993). The opportunities in the tourism industry are increasing with time and it is considered that at the end of 21st century, the tourism industry will generate more than 500 million employments whole over the world which will results in the increase of GDP by the tourism industry upto 15% (LCS Parking, 2012). Emerge of special marketing concepts including special tourist segments where the special segment refers to the the provision of customized leisure and recreational experiences driven by specific interests of individuals and groups (Sung, 2004) increases the number of tourists all over. According to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, despite of economic crisis in some of the major outbound markets around world, the total n umber of international tourists travel between the January to April 2012 is more than 285 million which indicates a growth of 5.4% compare to the last year (UNWTO, 2012). The main consideration of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) is to provide with the best possible facilities and service for a distinct and specific need of the tourists (Sung H. H., 2004) and ensure benefits for consumers, business, local people and the environment. To provide the best facilities there is an immense change in the Tourism Industry (World Travel Tourism Council, 2012). The infrastructure and accommodation is one of the key sectors of the tourist industry. Even the advanced and sophisticated communication technology helps the actual and potential tourists all over with their expectations, personalities, and ever-changing needs (Pyo, Uysal, Chang, 2002). Expected Result of the study Literature Review A General Overview of Tourism What is Tourism Marketing? A product can be idea, goods, or service. Since the tourism industry is primarily a serviced-based industry, the main products provided by tourism business are recreational experiences and hospitality. This are intangible products and much more difficult to market than the tangible product. The intangible nature of services makes quality control difficult but crucial. It also makes it more difficult for potential customers to evaluate and compare service offerings (Chaudhary, Indroduction to Tourism Marketing, 2012). In addition, instead of moving the product to the consumer, the customer must travel to the product (area/community). Travels forms a significant portion of time and money spent in association with tourism experiences and is a major factor in peoples decisions on whether or not to visit a place (Vukonic, 1983). Tourism marketing or the marketing in relation to tourism means the process of achieving voluntary exchange between: Tourist who want to appreciate/ experience product and service. Organisations which put together and offer the product and service. The WTO defines tourism marketing as a management philosophy that in the light of tourism demands makes it possible through research, forecasting, and selection to place tourism product on the market most in line with the organizations purpose for greater benefits. Nature of Tourism Marketing Marketing is different perspectives that provide an understanding of the nature of marketing and tourism marketing (Panda, 2009). Marketing is an activity: Marketing is explained as an activity that is carried by a marketer to give its offer to customers. For example, marketing of a tour packages involves assembling the package, promoting it, and arrange it for sales. The focus in this perspective is to make the activity cost-effective and efficient. Marketing is an economic process: Marketing generates revenues directly through transactions and indirectly through its multiplier effect and employment generation. Here efforts are made to maximize economic benefits. Tourism marketing in its initial phase focused on economic benefits. Marketing is a social process: Marketing as a social process involves interaction and relationship between participants coming from different walks of life and society. The social process make host-guest relationship an important part of tourism marketing. Right to travel and pro-poor tourism have developed in response to the different social process. Marketing in managerial process Marketing is considered to be a business function that undertakes all managerial functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling to carry out different activities. Overall, marketing can be combined together. It can be the economic, social, managerial process and activity at the same time. However, its different natures may dominate at different times. Process of Tourism Marketing Tourism marketing is a cycle process that begins with the understanding of drives, needs, wants and demands of tourists who are satisfied through suitable offers by entering into an exchange process with the marketers. The feedback of exchange is used by both the parties for the future relations. The different elements of a cyclic process give an insight of tourism marketing. Capture.PNG Fig: Tourism Marketing Process Understanding Needs, Drives, Wants and Demands of Tourists It is very important to know the tourist behavior as it will helps in delivering desired satisfaction. This begins with the identification of their needs, drives, want and demands. Need: Need is the felt gap between the existing and the desired state. Need motivates a person to act when it reaches the threshold level and it can be both physical and psychological. Marketers identify the need of people that direct their tourism behavior and offers alternatives to satisfy their needs. Maslows framework can be used to understand these needs. It divides the human needs into five categories of physical, safety, love and esteem and self-actualization. Tourists need a minimum acceptable level of food and accommodation at a place before travel. Safety need is reflected in the form of tourists need for law and order. That makes tourists avoid places of war, terrorism and conflicts. Need for love is the acceptance of tourists in the host society. In most of the cases, tourists prefer open societies than closed one. Esteem needs are tourists expectation that the host society would understand their importance and recognize the same. Lastly, self-actualization is undertaking trips that always been dreamt. Drive: Drive is the force created by needs. Unsatisfied needs create tension that drives the consumers to look for solutions. These solutions take the form of specific products. Buyers search for the best solution for their needs. The stimuli present in the environment give direction to drive. Want: Want is an expression of need in the specific form. Want are the thing which someone like but not really necessary. The need of recreation, leisure people generally tend to go for holiday. Marketers fit into the want framework other by redesigning offers or by assisting buyers in learning about new forms of product, services or idea. Demand: Demand is want accompanied by the purchasing power. It decides if the buyer has enough money to purchase. Demand changes with prices, substitutes, marketing efforts, inflation levels, income, etc. Demand can be created by building the purchasing power. For instance, when the demand for air travel has gone up than companies has introduced budget airlines. Growth of Tourism Marketing Tourism marketing evolved with the growth of tourism. The concept of tourism is very old, but its modern organized form started in the eighteenth century. Earlier, travel was undertaken for business and religious purpose. Tourism as a full- fledged a full- fledged business did not exist. Its marketing started with the first organized tours offered by Thomas Cook in 1841. Evolution of Tourism Marketing: Tourism marketing and its orientation has changed with the growth of tourism. Internationally, tourism came of age in 1950 and since then has seen a continuous change in the approach towards its development (Wang Pizam, 1998). The stages of tourism development and the corresponding marketing approaches are discussed below. Boosterism approach in the 1950s: It was the beginning of modern tourism and the emphasis was on boosting the tourism activity. This approach was based on the following assumptions towards tourism. Tourism is inherently good and should be developed. Cultural and natural resources should be exploited for tourism develop Economic Planning approaches in 1960s: As a result of the efforts of the earlier phases, the economic potential of tourism was well understood and new assumptions towards tourism were as follows. Tourism is like any other industry. Tourism can be used to create jobs, earn foreign exchange, and improve terms of trade, encourage regional development, and overcome economic disparities. Physical and spatial approach in the 1970s and the 1980s: The earlier approaches resulted in the massive growth in the massive growth of tourism. Mass tourism was not without consequences and its negative impacts on environment became visible and well known. This changed the earlier assumption of it being inherently good and harmless and new assumptions were formed. These were as follows. Tourism is a resource user. It exploits and destroys the natural resources used as tourism attractions. There has to be an ecological basis for its development to preserve the natural resources and tourism attractions. Tourism development can be geographically distributed to reduce the impacts. Community approach in 1990s: As tourism continued to developed, their social impacts were noticed. Particularly the local communication felt alienated. There were inconvenienced by the growth of mass tourism and were not in a position to decide on tourism development. As a result, tourism was opposed. It led to the focus on the following assumptions. Local community control on tourism development in the area is needed. Need for balanced development of tourism and search for alternatives to mass tourism. Social impact of tourism on a community and their attitudes toward tourism should be understood. Sustainable approach in the 1990s: Large-scale tourism development forced tourism planners to think of tourism development in a more holistic manner where the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural issues could be balanced. The concept of sustainable tourism was adopted for this purpose. The assumption for this approach is that a suitable balance must be established between environmental, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions of tourism development to ensure its long-term sustainability. Marketing orientation too becomes socio- environmental to balance the interests of tourism, marketers and the environment (Verbeek, Bargeman, Mommaas, 2011). Marketing Concepts for Tourism The marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than the competitors do. Under the marketing concept, customer focus and value are the two important paths to sales and profit. Hence, the marketing concepts depend on the determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively than competitors do (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, Saunders, 2008). Different marketing concepts are used in tourism industry are as discussed below. PEST Analysis in Tourism Market It is important to know about the market environment first for any marketers. In tourism this competition is fiercer, since the competition is almost in the destination of various states as well as countries. Market environment refers to the constitute forces which exist in the environment and influence the customer decision making. For scanning the tourism-marketing environment in India, the PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) Political Environment: Political environment influence tourism marketing through pressure groups, policies, rules and regulations, and legislation (Bennett Strydom, 2001). Pressure Group: These groups in society use political influence for the furtherance of certain issues. Green groups work for ecotourism, consumer group for tourist protection, cultural groups for protection of heritage and culture, industry groups for reduction of taxes and so on. These try to influence law-making bodies to create a suitable mechanism to address their concern. Law and Policies: The government regulates tourism with the help of laws that govern its different sector. The government creates policies as guidelines to provide direction for the development of tourism. For instance, the Tourist Policy 2002 guides tourism growth in India. Rules and Regulations: Rules regarding land allocation for hotels and tourism development, tax concessions, permits, registrations of tour operators and travel agents, open sky, budget airlines, and tourism police gives a direction for tourism growth. Economic Environment: The general economic environment of a country influences any economic activity. Growth of new sector: Growth of new sectors, such as information technology (IT), travel and tourism, retails and banking has given jobs to young people. This income is finding its outlet in recreation, including travel and hospitality. Growth of economy: Growth of new sectors lead to growth of economy. Easy availability of foreign exchange: Increase of foreign tourism leads in increase of foreign exchange. Social Environment: The social environment decides buying patterns of the tourists and the response of the society to tourism. The socio-cultural environment of a place decides the holiday choices regarding the type of destination, activities, duration of holiday, expenditure pattern and so on. Group behavior: Indians are group oriented. This makes group travel acceptable and likable. The reference group in framing opinions is also very important. Lifestyle changes: Globalizations has changed the lifestyle of people. People take tours frequently for a change and rejuvenations. Technological Environment: Technology has completely altered the way the tourism business is conducted. Transportation: Transportation technology has given faster and better vehicles to facilitate the movement of tourists to far off places. Information and communication Technology (ICT): Major changes have been introduced by information and communications technologies in tourism. Internet and online distribution systems have been improved. Marketing Mix in Tourism Market Tourism Product Tourism product is a mix of tangible and intangible elements. Kotler (1984) conceptualizes product as anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that, might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, service, persons, places, organization and ideas. This takes the concept of product beyond physical objects and can very well include tourism. Medlik and Middleton (1973) conceptualize tourism product as a bundle of activities, services and benefits that constitute the entire tourism experience. The bundle consists of five components: destination attractions, destination facilities, accessibility, images and price. According to Smith (1994) a tourism product consists of five elements in a series of concentric circles. The core is tangible and more controllable by management but the outward progression marks more intangible elements and greater consumer participations. The tourism product is a synergistic combination of these elements. These elements are as follows. The physical plan: This is the core of a tourism product where the main attraction is produced. It can be natural such as landscape or waterfall, or facilities such as conference hall, theme park, hotel, etc. Service: Service refers to the performance of specific tasks required to meet the need of tourism. A hotel needs management, front desk operation, housekeeping, maintenance, and food and beverage provisions to function as a hotel. Hospitality: Consumers expect enhanced service or something extra. Hospitality is that extra provided over professional service. Freedom of choice: It refers to the necessity that the traveler has some acceptable range of options for a satisfactory experience. Involvement: This is participation by consumers in some degree in the delivery of service. Tourism is known to be a participative activity. Hegarty (1992) explain tourism product through the following components. Environment: It is the raw material of tourism that gives a tourist destination its particular appeal. It has natural, cultural, and social elements. Activities: These are based on and derived from the environment. Foe example, trekking, rafting, sightseeing and so on. Accommodation: A tourist must have a place to sleep and eat Transport: There must be ways of getting around the destination. Services: There are various services that support tourism such as information, health, booking and customs. Infrastructure: Tourism cannot work without basic infrastructure like roads, airports, telecommunication and medical support. Destination Life Cycle and Tourism Area Life Cycle: The concept of life cycle is applied to destination as TALC (Tourism Area Life Cycle) or DLC (Destination Life Cycle). It is defined as stages a destination goes through, from exploration to involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation, rejuvenation, or decline (Howie, 2003). Tourism Area life cycle.PNG Fig: Tourism Area Life Cycle Butler (1980) proposed the tourism area life cycle model of a tourist destination that identifies the stage of exploration, development, consolidation, stagnation, and decline. Exploration: This is the beginning of the destination for tourist activities. At this stage the destination is relatively unknown and visitors initially come in small numbers restricted by lack of access, facilities and local knowledge. Development: The destination see development of amenities as more people discover them and word spreads about the attraction. Stagnation: Tourists arrivals grow rapidly some theoretical carrying capacity which involves social and environmental limits. The rise of exploration to stagnation often happens very rapidly, as implied by the exponential nature of growth curve. Decline or Rejuvenation: A destination would decline if it follows trajectories C, D, and E as shown in the above Figure. This will happen if the very attractions that created the destination are lost. However, it may continues to draw some tourists with increased consumption and unsustainable development but not for very long. Tourism pricing: Price is the momentary value decided for exchange of goods and services between the buyers and sellers. Both parties want maximum benefits from this exchange. Factors Influence Tourism Pricing Tourism pricing is influenced by a large number of factors relating to supply, demand and the environment. The cumulative effect decides the final price. Supply-side Factors: Supply of tourism services is characterised by perish-ability, geographical restrictions, and domination by intangibles, and with consumption that takes place instantly with production. All this affects pricing. The specific supply-related factors affecting prices are discussed below. Perishable: Tourism services tend to perish if not consumed. For example, if a place has a carrying capacity for 5,000 tourists per day, it will host 35,000 in a week. It cannot host all tourists in one day. Hence, tourism services are to be consumed as and when produced. To bear the cost of maintaining supplies throughout the year, the prices may fluctuate. Intangible: Tourism Services are dominated by intangibles and putting a momentary value for these is very difficult. Intangibility is used by the hotels to price rooms differently depending upon various factors. For example, room facing sea will be perceived differently from the one facing a road. Geographically restricted operations: All tourism services come defined with geographical constraints. For example, a diners clientele can get services at a particular place only where the diner is placed. Tourists can enjoy a national park only after getting there. This limits the potential of the restaurant and the park only to the people who get there. Fixed Capacity: Tourism supplies have a fixed capacity. In tourism, supplies are limited; hence prices tend to rise in relation to demand. For example, in a hotel double room cannot accommodate more than two people. Substitutes: Availability of substitutes increase total supplies and tourists shift to different options for reasons such as higher prices, non-availability, and so on. For example, paying guest accommodation is being a substitute for storage of hotel rooms. However, all components of tourism cannot have relevant substitutes. Costs: Costs decide the minimum level of revenue to be charged from the buyers. But if the costs are high because of inefficiencies of production, prices too are unreasonably high. Cost of tour packages are often not in the hands of marketers, when most of the components are bought from other suppliers. Both fixed cost and variable costs are accounted for pricing. Actively-based costing (ABC) is used to calculate costs in tourism. Competition: Competition in the market increases supplies, reduce inefficiencies and bring down prices. Demand-side Factor: Tourists option about services affects demand as well perception of price. The specific demand-related factors affecting prices are discussed below: Value Perception: Value perception of price is subjective and varies among and within market segment. It also varies with time and location. Level of Demand: The level of demand impacts prices. High demand leads to high prices as tourists compete among themselves for the experience. Demand Pattern: Tourism demand often marked by seasonal fluctuations with majority of tourists travelling during the tour season for the best experience. As a result, demand exceeds capacity in peak period and facilities remain underused in the off season. Prices are adjusted to the match the demand pattern and also to influence demand to balance it with supply. Environmental Factors: External environment constitutes many forces that directly or indirectly shape demand and supply factors and price. Tax Structure: The tax structure in the form of surcharges, airport tax, luxury tax and service tax adds to the cost and the final prices. Consequently, when the service tax rate is changed, final prices changes immediately. Market Structure: Type and level of competition in the market has a direct bearing on price. Competition can be easy or intense, negative or positive, with similar or dissimilar, government regulated of free. Less competition results in higher prices whereas the healthy competition leads to reduction of prices. Government Policies: Marketers have to abide by government policies on price. For example, India has a dual price policy wherein foreigners pay in dollar and Indians in rupees. Price is the momentary value of goods and services and fixing this value right is critical for the success of a firm in the market. The cost-based, buyer-based and competition-based methods are commonly used in tourism industry. Once a price-level is determined, pricing strategies are used to respond to the continuously changing environment. The strategies often used are market skimming, market penetration, price-quality combination, discount pricing, geographical pricing and differential pricing. Tourism Promotion: Promotion mix is the combination of different methods of promotion. Each method is suitable under different conditions and a right combination can be very powerful. Tourism promotion is persuasive communication for the target market. It follows the general rules of human communication and applies it to marketing (Jayapalan, 2001). The goal of promotion is to contribute to marketing goals but it has its specific objectives in terms of attitudes and sales behavior of the market. Promotion is carried out with the help of different methods and together these are called promotion mix. Important Promotional Tools in Tourism A few promotional tools, such as brochures, events and movies are more apt for tourism because of their distinct nature. Brochures: Brochures are popular form of promotion used for direct sales. These are defined as booklets or pamphlets used for sales and promotion. This has the following advantages. It targeted more specifically. If retained, it will have greater reminder value. It can also have secondary or pass-along audience. Events: Events are organized occasions of significance. They are used to promote and highlight the tourism potential of a destination. The following and many more types of events are used for promotion tourism. International trade fair: This fair bring large number of buyers and sellers to a place, and who are likely to spread the word about the products showcased there. Cultural fair: Destination-specific festivals like carnival etc., brings a large number of tourists to these place. Cultural events: Cultural events, such as film festivals, dance shows, musical events, etc., brings destination in news. Sports events: Sports events, such as Common Wealth Games, show that tourism can be promoted in the different city in the country. Tourism Distribution Tourism distribution is transfer of tour and associated facilities from the suppliers to the tourists through the tourism distribution system. It delivers many benefits to the tourists. These are as follows. Accessibility and availability: Attractions are made available conveniently by arranging transfer of tourists. Information: Tourists get information about places, flights, trains, routes and so on. Counseling and advice: Tourist may not be able to decide about travel destinations and plans and may ask for advice. Arrangements: Tourists want arrangements to be mad for them so that they have minimum hassles on tour. People in Tourism People are an important content of tourism marketing mix. The tourism experience depends upon sellers, tourists, other service providers, residents, and tour group member. Some people understand the importance of tourism but others may not and their behaviors or encounters with the tourists might spoil the whole tour experience. Customer can look for one time encounters or relational long-term encounters. In long-term encounters, customers get attached to the service provider or brand. Long-term relations give marketers a brand-loyal market and consumers get good service. The difficulty is created in encounter with the other service providers, tour group members, and other tourists at the destination who are not directly concerned with marketing. These too have to be marketed the idea of creating a good service environment. The main focuses of the firms are discussed below. Internal environment: The main focus of the firms remains its internal environment and it manages its employees and customers for the same. Transactional Intervention: It is use to improve and control employee behavior. It includes building awareness, training in relationship building, behavioral flexibility and professionalism, empathy, interpersonal skills non-verbal communications and improved physical surroundings. Customer relationship management: It implies entering into, building, maintain, and sustaining relation with customers. Process in Tourism Marketing Process is an important element of tourism marketing mix because of the service-intensive nature of tourism. Tourism service process or delivery of tourism service involves procedures, task schedules, mechanisms, activities, and routines by which a product or service is delivered to a customer. It is an operating system of workflow activities and their integration. The main objectives of service delivery are to build improved, simplified, real-time, on demand, guaranteed, cost-effective service. The process of service delivery includes activities and flows, procedures, mechanisms of transfer, time and cost of transfer, and involvement of tourists in transfer. Physical Evidence in Tourism Physical evidence performs specific functions in tourism and form an integral part of the marketing strategy. The important functions performed by evid

The Great Gatsby and the American Dream :: Literary Analysis, F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby depicts the 1920’s Jazz Age, and how society operates under the influence of the American Dream. Society during this time period consists of huge hopes and dreams for improvement of the self. In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream hides behind a mirage of beauty and splendor, buy in reality the corruption and illusions within this dream entice Americans to become drawn into its web of lies, deceit, and greed. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald strongly criticizes the American Dream (Seschachari 1). Fitzgerald shows readers the American Dream in this time period is centered on romanticism, material items, youth, and an emergence of selfishness (Seschachari 2). People value tangible items over strong moral values. A life of extravagance, however, does not always come without repercussions. People in this society live in a pretend world of beauty, but in reality the American Dream is a defective illusion. In the American Dream, equality is an impossible feat and even though Americans have an abundance of opportunities, people will always be suppressed from true achievement (Hearne 191). Meyer Wolfshiem, a corrupt business man, represents how disillusioned the American Dream is. His mannerisms reek of brutality, yet he sits pleasantly in a restaurant while exchanging pleasantries with Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway (Hearne 192). Fitzgerald writes, â€Å"A small, flat-nosed Jew raised his large head and regarded me with two fine growths of hair which luxuriated in either nostril. After a moment I discovered his tiny eyes in the half-darkness† (Fitzgerald 69). (Check how to quote) Also, Wolfsheim boasts his cuff buttons are actual human molars; nevertheless, Wolfshiem is regarded by Jay Gatsby as a pleasant gentlemen. This demonstrates the faà §ade of brutality that Wolfshiem portrays. Wolfshiem ultimately represents corruption in the American Dream (Hearne 192). Fitzgerald’s ultimate goal in writing The Great Gatsby is to shed light on the illusions in the American Dream to the people of America (Hearne 189). If Americans are better informed about the American Dream, they are less likely to fall subject to its evils. (Add too or move) Jay Gatsby, in particular, becomes a strangely unique character in The Great Gatsby. Even though Jay Gatsby strives for the best material items, he does not strive for these items in hopes of attaining any type of dream except a romantic one (Seshachari 2).

Joseph’s Story Essay

Joseph’s story is a common one of an unsuspected massive heart attack. Even though Joseph had numerous existing factors that put him at risk of heart conditions he continued to live with no fear, or ambition to make changes. While playing ball with his son in the park, Joseph experienced his worst case scenario, a massive heart attack. There were several elements that went into this clinical turn for the worst. Joseph’s heart could now have irreversible damage due to the advanced stage of the condition. When Joseph’s heart stopped working in the park the cells that make up the heart started to use up the remaining ATP that was left in the cells. Because there was no heart function to push oxygenated blood through the vessels the carbon dioxide levels started to increase and PH levels dropped within the cell. The heart was no longer providing blood flow with the rich oxygen and glucose to the mitochondria, which is needed for the production of ATP. Without ATP it was only a matter of a few moments before the active transport pumps in the plasma membrane had stopped. This seize of activity had now allowed for sodium to begin leaking out of the cells and potassium to leak in. Joseph’s lungs could no longer expel harmful carbon dioxide from his body, or bring important oxygen in. Cells were dying. As Joseph lay in the park his son was crying and calling for help. Lucky for them both, some people were nearby who ran to ran to their aid. As one person called for help, another person started CPR on Joseph’s heart. CPR allowed for fresh oxygen to reach his cells and with every chest compression more carbon dioxide was expelled from his body. However, Joseph’s cells were still unable to produce ATP and the structure of the cells were being compromised to say the least. The lack of ATP also meant that special calcium ATPases had stopped moving calcium from the cytosol into endoplasmic reticulum of his cardiac muscle cells. As the intracellular calcium levels rose within the cells, they caused proteases to spill into their interiors of the cell, attacking the cytoskeleton. Lysosomal enzymes as well as mitochondrial organelles are usually contained by membranes or vesicles. A lot of a cell does it contained within that membrane. When a cell starts to die the first to start seize is the membrane, exchanging nothing intentional, but leaking nutrients in and out. The instructions Joseph’s body needs to repair itself and his disposition for vascular disease are both contained within the cell, inside DNA, located in the nucleolus. As the intracellular calcium levels rose, they caused proteases to spill into the interior of the cell, attacking the cytoskeleton. Lysosmal enzymes normally bound safely inside vesicles began to digest the plasma membrane and the membranes of the organelles. Oxygen is required by cells to produce ATP, oxygen, and nutrients, multiple cellular processes affecting hemostasis. Joseph was not treating his body with the care it needed. As a result the cells in his body reacted in a damaging way. Health and disease are ultimately determined at the cellular level.

Us Postal Service – Insolvency

The United States Postal Service: At the Brink of Insolvency Business 510 – Managerial Economics Final Project Submission February 25, 2012 Executive Summary this report takes a look at the United States Postal Service financial problems, which brought it to the brink of insolvency, after losing more than $25B in the last 5 years. It analyzes factors and performance and postulates corrective actions to bring USPS back to financial solvency. Both microeconomic and macroeconomic factors affecting the firm were analyzed while identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.USPS products and services demonstrate its strengths with its monopoly of the mailing industry and as a government franchise with an open line of credit with the Federal Financing Bank of up to $15B. Weaknesses include lack or very little diversity in its products and services, very restrictive delivery schedules and mandated large delivery points. Opportunities for USPS include increasing its product diversity taking advantage of the internet and other developing technologies it can use to improve its operating expenses. USPS is also experiencing external and internal threats.One of these threats is the wider acceptance of digital technology especially with the internet and email, smartphones and mobile internet, skyrocketing operating costs and inability to make timely changes and responses to mitigate continued losses without having to go through the Postal Regulatory Commission and Congress. In view of this, USPS is recommended to take a multi-prong approach to improve its revenues by increasing product pricing with its shipping services while staying competitive, using the theory of price elasticity of demand to appropriately price its mailing services and diversifying its products.Reduce operating costs by reducing numbers of employees, improving its fleet of vehicles to more fuel efficient vehicles or using alternate energy and also by reducing managed facilities a nd delivery schedules. And finally USPS needs to request Congress to give it authority to effect price changes resulting from out-of-the-ordinary changes in cost of fuel and other materials and resources used in fulfilling its mandate of providing a fundamental postal service to the nation. Overview Establishment and General Business Description Article 1, Section 8, clause 7 of the United States Constitution establishes the U.S. Postal Service. The current post office organization is operating under the provisions of the Postal Reorganization Act of July 1, 1971 designating the US Postal Service (USPS) as an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, Public Law 109-435 made further revisions and the governing statute is codified in Title 39 of the United States Code. The same public law created the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) bestowing the PRC with regulatory and oversight obligatio ns in the management and operation of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS Annual 10-K Report, 2011). The mandate of the USPS is to offer a â€Å"fundamental postal service† to the entire nation at fair and reasonable rates approved by Congress. This mandate is fulfilled by offering different level of mailing and shipping services throughout the country. As of September 30, 2011, total employees number to 557,251 career employees, down 4. 6% from the year before of 583,908 and 88,700 non-career employees (Annual Report to Congress, 2011).More than 85% of career employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements through one of the following four management organizations: American Postal Workers Union (APWU), National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), National Postal Mail Handlers (NPMHU) and National Rural Letter Carriers (NRLCA). Products and Services The United States Postal Service divides their services into two broad categories: Market dominant mailing services and c ompetitive shipping services. Mailing services include First Class Mail, Standard Mail, Periodicals and Package Services.Shipping Services include but not limited to Priority Mail, Express Mail, Bulk, Parcel Post and Bulk International Mail. Mailing services have set floor prices but generally doesn’t have any set ceiling price up to the allowed maximum size and weight limits (usually 70 pounds for each package). The same holds true for shipping services. All these services are offered through a network of more than 32,000 Post Offices, stations and branches, plus thousands of contract post units, Community Post Offices, Village Post Offices, retail establishments selling postage stamps and other services including the internet, www. sps. com. Additional services offered are sale of Postal Money Orders, leasing of Post Office boxes and sale of post cards or greeting cards. International mail and package services are also available to more than 190 countries (Annual Report to Congress, 2011). The current First-Class Mail stamp costs $0. 45 increased 2. 1% starting in January 2012 that was announced in October 18, 2011. Postal Service Mail pricing is set by the Board of Governors and approved by the PRC. Shipping services pricing is set by law covering both the institutional costs allocation and attributable costs.The institutional cost allocation is determined by the PRC and is currently set at 5. 5%. Thus the shipping cost is the sum of 5. 5% institutional costs (comparable to transaction costs) and attributable cost, representing the direct cost of the mailing or shipping services based from the weight and size of the package (USPS Annual 10-K Report, 2011). Current Financial Statement For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, the United States Postal Service reported a net loss of $5. 067B from their operation, an improvement compare to the previous year’s loss of $8. 505B. This is despite a reduction of 4. % in the number of its career em ployees from 583,908 to 557,251 (USPS Annual 10K Report, 2011). Just like any other private businesses, the USPS was also greatly impacted by the global economy especially the deep and prolonged economic recession of 2008. Additionally, with improvement in technology, wider availability of internet broadband services, lower cost of personal computers, prevalent use of online banking and also surge in offering of online funds transfers, which not only offers convenience and speed but virtually free, has directly compete and won over some of the mailing services of the USPS.Mail volume deliveries have decreased by 5% in the last two years, 2011 and 2010 and the year before, in 2009, the decrease was a staggering 12. 8% (USPS Annual 10K Report, 2011). The expansion of mobile internet coupled with smart phones will only worsen USPS declining mail volume in the future. Finally, one of the biggest operating expenses of USPS besides transportation costs and plant equipment and facilities i s employee wages and retiree benefits. USPS employment costs makes up approximately 80% of its total operating costs (Kosar, 2012).Employee wages and retiree benefits costs are significantly impacted by wage inflation, health benefit premium increases, retirement and workers’ compensation programs, and cost-of-living allowances. In the last 5 years, the USPS suffered a total net loss of more than $25 billion including $21 billion of expenses for the pre-funding of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund (PSRHBF) mandated by Public Law 109-435 (USPS Annual 10K Report, 2011). USPS current total debt as of September 2011 is at $13B which is only $2B from its statutory limit of $15B set by 39 U.S. C 2005(a) (Kosar, 2012). Financial statements reported to Congress for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011: Years ended Sept. 30, 2011Percent change from preceding year (dollars in millions) 2011 2010 2009 2011 2010 2009 Operating revenue $ 65,711 67,052 $ 68,090 (2. 0%) ( 1. 5%) (9. 1%) Operating expenses * $ 70,634 $ 75,426 $ 71,830 (6. 4%) 5. 0% (7. 6%) Loss from operations $ (4,923) $ (8,374) $ (3,740) Operating margin (7. 5%) (12. 5%) (5. 5%) Net loss $ (5,067) $ (8,505) $ (3,794) Purchases of capital $ 1,190 $ 1,393 $ 1,839 (14. 6%) (24. 3%) (7. %) Property and equipment Debt $ 13,000 $ 12,000 $ 10,200 Interest expense $ 172 $ 156 $ 80 Capital contributions of $ 3,132 $ 3,132 $ 3,087 U. S. Government Deficit since reorganization $ (22,072) $ (17,005) $ (8,500) Total net deficiency $ (18,940) $ (13,873) $ (5,413) Number of career employees 557,251 583,908 623,128 (4. 6%) (6. 3%) (6. 0%) Mail volume (pieces in millions) 167,934 170,860 176,744 (1. 7%) (3. 3%) (12. 8%) New delivery points served 636,530 739,580 923,595 *P. L. 112-33 had a net impact of a $5. 5 billion reduction of expenses in 2011.P. L. 111-68 had a net impact of a $4. 0 billion reduction of expense in 2009. Graphical representation of USPS operating revenues and expenses from FY 2 004 – FY 2011 Market Structure Monopoly Salvatore D. (2012) defined a monopoly market as â€Å"an organization in which a single firm sells a product for which there are no close substitutes† (p. 388). And of the four sources of monopoly cited (Salvatore, p. 390) is one established by a government franchise like the United States Postal Service. Not all of USPS products and services are monopolized.USPS monopoly is only in their mailing service referring to as its â€Å"dominant mailing service†. No other delivery service company in the industry is allowed to deliver mail. And this includes delivery service companies like UPS and FedEx. Mailing services includes First Class Mail, Standard Mail, Periodicals and Package Services. The USPS’s has monopoly over letter delivery, mailbox monopoly and the ability to suspend the delivery in certain areas. It enforces this monopoly with its armed postal inspectors who can conduct searches and seizures if it suspect s breach of its monopoly.The only exceptions to this monopoly are â€Å"letters accompanying cargo† and â€Å"letters of the carrier† (interoffice correspondence) including bicycle messengers and overnight deliveries (Giddens, 2003). Monopolistic Competition Is defined, â€Å"as the form of market organization wherein there are many sellers of a heterogeneous or differentiated product and entry into and exit from the industry are rather easy in the long run† (Salvatore, D. , p. 396). Although the United State Postal Service does have a monopoly on â€Å"mailing services† it however does not have monopoly over â€Å"shipping services† which it shares with FedEx and UPS.However, this non-monopolized â€Å"shipping service† cannot be classified as â€Å"Monopolistic Competitive† market as there are only few sellers offering the products or services. Additionally, the same products and services are basically homogeneous. Instead it is cla ssified as an oligopolistic market. Oligopoly Is defined, â€Å"as the form of market organization in which there are few sellers of a homogeneous or differentiated product† (Salvatore, D. , p. 412). Products and services offered by the U. S.Postal Service in its â€Å"Shipping Services† division is classified as an oligopoly market. It shares this â€Å"shipping services† market with United Parcel Service and FedEx. With very few firms in the shipping industry, all three (USPS, UPS, and FEDEX) seems to operate more like interdependence firms rather than rivalries. This is evidence by the collaborating services of USPS and UPS called â€Å"UPS Basic† while the one between USPS and FEDEX is called â€Å"SmartPost†. This interdependency operation between these three firms mutually benefits all parties.Although it may look like USPS is getting the shorter end of the deal, but by conducting an incremental analysis it will show USPS is just actually syn ergizing its required mandate of providing fundamental postal services. On the other hand, UPS and FEDEX benefit also from the consolidation by sharing their â€Å"not so profitable† area of their shipping services to USPS to ensure continued services to their customers and at the same time customer loyalty. Competition and Alliances There are a number of communications media competing for the same types of transactions and communications in the mailing and delivery services industry.These include newspapers, telecommunications, televisions, e-mail, social networking and online electronic funds transfers. For the shipping services intense competition is offered by United Parcel Service and FedEx Corporations (USPS Annual 10K Report, 2011), although at the same time these two competitors are also its alliances as described above. United Parcel Service (UPS) Financial comparison Below is UPS’s financial statement for the last three years 2008 to 2010. Comparing U. S. Pos t Office 2010 and 2009 annual total revenues, UPS’s 2010 is only 73. 2% to that of the U. S. Post Office while its 2009 revenue is only 66. 53% to that of the U. S. Post Office. This is proof positive even though the U. S. Postal Office is generally a local national firm, it has larger revenue than a multinational firm like UPS. However, when comparing operating expenses the U. S. Post Office edges UPS by a very large margin. U. S. Post Office total operating expenses of $75. 426B for 2010 more than doubles UPS’ $31. 989B. And for 2009, U. S. Post Office’s total operating expenses of $71. 83B dwarfs UPS’ $31. 692B!While UPS posted a Net income of $3. 488B and $2. 152B in 2010 and 2009 respectively, the U. S. Post Office posted a Net Loss of $8. 374B and $3. 74B in the same years. Income Statement All numbers in thousands Period EndingDec 31, 2010Dec 31, 2009Dec 31, 2008 Total Revenue 49,545,000 45,297,000 51,486,000 Cost of Revenue11,682,000 9,804,000 11, 878,000 Gross Profit 37,863,000 35,493,000 39,608,000 Operating Expenses Research Development- – – Selling General and 30,197,000 29,945,000 32,412,000 Administrative Non Recurring- – – Others1,792,000 1,747,000 1,814,000Total Operating Expenses- – – Operating Income or Loss 5,874,000 3,801,000 5,382,000 Income from Continuing Operations Total Other Income/3,000 10,000 75,000 Expenses Net Earnings Before 5,877,000 3,811,000 5,457,000 Interest and Taxes Interest Expense354,000 445,000 442,000 Income Before Tax5,523,000 3,366,000 5,015,000 Income Tax Expense2,035,000 1,214,000 2,012,000 Minority Interest- – – Net Income From3,488,000 2,152,000 3,003,000 Continuing Ops Non-recurring Events Discontinued Operations- – – Extraordinary Items- – –Effect Of Accounting Changes- – – Other Items- – – Net Income 3,488,000 2,152,000 3,003,000 Preferred Stock And Other Adjustments- †“ – Net Income Applicable3,488,000 2,152,000 3,003,000 To Common Shares Product and Services comparison UPS products and services are homogenous to U. S. Post Office products and services with the exception of mailing services in the United States. UPS is basically a package delivery company (shipping services) providing transportation, logistics and financial services in the United States and in other 220 countries.It also provides letter and document delivery but only those considered time constraint delivery exempted by the U. S. Post Office from its mailing service monopoly. Unlike the U. S. Post Office â€Å"shipping services†, UPS operates internationally thus providing import and export logistic services throughout the world. It also provides various technology solutions for automated shipping, visibility, billing, distribution centers (to various industries like healthcare), technology, retail/consumer and a portfolio of financial services. FedEx Financial co mparisonBelow is FEDEX’s financial statement for the last three years 2009 to 2011. Comparing U. S. Post Office 2011 and 2010 annual total revenues, FEDEX’s 2011 is only approximately 59. 81% to that of the U. S. Post Office while its 2010 revenue is only approximately 51. 80% to that of the U. S. Post Office. Just like with UPS, FEDEX annual revenue is just barely a little over half of the U. S. Post Office annual revenue. However, U. S. Post Office Operating Expenses more than triples FEDEX annual operating expenses hence resulting in huge annual Net Loss to the U. S. Post Office while FEDEX posted a Net Income of $1. 52B and $1. 184B in 2011 and 2010 respectively. Income Statement All numbers in thousands Period EndingMay 31, 2011May 31, 2010May 31, 2009 Total Revenue 39,304,000 34,734,000 35,497,000 Cost of Revenue14,266,000 11,908,000 12,672,000 Gross Profit 25,038,000 22,826,000 22,825,000 Operating Expenses Research Development- – – Selling General and20,598,000 18,852,000 18,899,000 Administrative Non Recurring89,000 18,000 1,204,000 Others1,973,000 1,958,000 1,975,000 Total Operating Expenses- – – Operating Income or Loss 2,378,000 1,998,000 747,000Income from Continuing Operations Total Other Income/(27,000)(25,000)15,000 Expenses Net Earnings Before2,351,000 1,973,000 762,000 Interest And Taxes Interest Expense86,000 79,000 85,000 Income Before Tax2,265,000 1,894,000 677,000 Income Tax Expense813,000 710,000 579,000 Minority Interest- – – Net Income From1,452,000 1,184,000 98,000 Continuing Ops Non-recurring Events Discontinued Operations- – – Extraordinary Items- – – Effect Of Accounting Changes- – – Other Items- – – Net Income 1,452,000 1,184,000 98,000 Preferred Stock And Other Adjustments- – –Net Income Applicable To1,452,000 1,184,000 98,000 Common Shares Product and Services comparison FEDEX product and services are als o similar to UPS and with USPS’s shipping services. Its services are divided into four segments: FEDEX Express, FEDEX Ground, FEDEX Freight and FEDEX Services. FEDEX Express, Ground and Freight generally deals with domestic and international shipping services while FEDEX Service provides sales, marketing , administrative, information technology and customer service support services including copying and digital printing services.Economic Factors Macroeconomic Factors Unemployment and recession The greatest recession in U. S. history since World War II was declared to have started as early as December 2007 and officially over by June 2009 per National Bureau of Economic Research (Beatty, A, Sept 2010). During the start of the recession, unemployment was at a 5. 0% (Dec 2007) and reached its peak of 10% in October 2009.However, these unemployment figures are misleading because as per Bureau of Labor and Statistics, â€Å"Unemployment† is defined as people who do not curr ently have a job, have actively looked for work in the past four weeks (from the time when the report is prepared) and are currently available for work (Amadeo, n. d. ). It also includes people who are temporarily laid off and waiting to be called back to work. People who are unemployed and have not looked for job in the last four weeks (from the time the report is prepared) are removed from the labor force and are not counted as unemployed.The Bureau of Labor and Statistics also releases â€Å"Alternative measures of labor underutilization† report divided into 6 sections as follows: * U-1 Persons Unemployed 15 weeks or longer as a percent of the civilian labor force * U-2 Job losers and person who completed temporary jobs as a percent of the civilian labor force * U-3 Total unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate) * U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers * U-5 To tal unemployed plus discouraged workers, plus all other person marginally attached to the labor force, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all person marginally attached to the labor force *U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force Of these six sections, the focus is on the U-3 and U-6 figures. As of December 2008 the official unemployment rate as per BLS Report (U-3 figure) is at 7. 3% while the U-6 figure is at 13. 5%. The difference is 6. 2% meaning while 7. 3% of the work force is being reported as officially unemployed, another 6. 2% are not. And this unreported 6. 2% are mainly those who have stopped looking for jobs or those who hold part time jobs. By June 2009, when the last economic recession was officially declared over, the U-3 and U-6 figures are 9. 5% and 16. 5% respectively. And for the year ending, December 2011, U-3 was reported at 8. % and U-6 at 15. 2% for a difference of 6. 7%. This difference indicates 44. 0% (6. 7% / 15. 2%) of the unemployed is not reported in the official unemployment rate. This is an indication although unemployment rate has been reported to decline from its peak of 10% in October 2009 to 8. 5% in December 2011, there are still far more unemployed people being unreported or have continuously decided not to join the workforce. High unemployment adversely affects the national economy in general including delivery and shipping services firms like USPS. With consumers having less confidence and less money to spend, there is less business for delivery of goods.When unemployment rate is high, there are fewer consumers while still those employed has less spendable money. Hence, retailers’ sales decline so is the order of replacement merchandise directly translating to reducing shipping services both for the retailers and consu mers. In short, there will definitely be a negative impact on USPS revenue. Cyclical changes in the economy, i. e. recession and inflation is nothing new to USPS, however the effect of modern technology like the personal computers and internet is.At the height of the recession, 2009, USPS revenue declined by 9. 1% over the previous year with a total net loss of $3. 74B followed by another $8. 473B net loss in 2010. Unemployment rates peaked from 7. % in January of 2009 to 10% in October 2009 and declined to 9. 4% in December 2010 were in parallel with these revenue losses. The bulk of USPS operating expenses is mostly from its employee wages and retiree benefits and transportation. Of these, employee wages and retiree benefits are the least elastic. With more than 85% of its employees covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA’s), USPS is strictly constrained to react promptly to sudden changes to the economy to reduce its operating expenses, i. e. laying off employees or reducing retiree benefits. Inflation Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services.It is measured as an annual percentage increase. As inflation rises, every dollar you own buys a smaller percentage of a good or service. The value of a dollar is never constant and it is referred to as its purchasing power. With inflation there is a decline in the purchasing power of the dollar (Investopedia. com) For USPS, inflation also results in adverse effects on its revenues but mostly it affects the cost of health benefits it has to cover for its employees and retirees. For its operations, the cost of fuel also greatly affects its operating expenses. Cost of living allowances and workers’ compensation programs also add to increased operating expenses.But the most negative impact is the inability of USPS to readily adjust its product and services pricing based from inflation as it requires legislative actions to do so. Government Le gislations Since USPS is a government owned firm, it operates within the guidelines of public laws. Product and services pricing are approved by Congress. In addition, delivery schedules and delivery routes are also regulated by the Postal Regulatory Commission. With the implementation of Public Law 91-375 commonly known as the Postal Reorganization Act of 1971, the USPS became a self-supporting, wholly governmental entity designed to cover its operating costs with revenues generated through providing fundamental postal services to the entire nation (Kosar, 2012).It does not receive annual appropriation from Congress for its operating budget except for the annual $100M congress pays to compensate USPS for the revenue losses incurred for free mailing privileges to blind persons and overseas voters, as directed by Congress. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) established the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund (PSRHBF) and required USPS to prefund its future retirees’ health benefits at a cost of approximately $5. 5B per year for 10 years with remaining balance amortized in the subsequent next 40- year period. For FY ending 2011, the unfunded obligation to this fund is at $46. 2B (the accuracy of this amount is still being debated depending on what valuation method is used) (Kosar, 2012). Below is the table for the RHBF payments under the PAEA: Table 1.Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund Payments Under PAEA Fiscal Year Payment Due Per PAEA (billions) Status of Payment 2007 $5. 4 Paid in full. 2008 $5. 6 Paid in full. 2009 $5. 4 $1. 4 billion paid 2010 $5. 5 Paid in full. 2011 $5. 5 No payment 2012 $5. 6 Due September 30, 2012. 2013 $5. 6 Due September 30, 2013. 2014 $5. 7 Due September 30, 2014. 2015 $5. 7 Due September 30, 2015. 2016 $5. 8 Due September 30, 2016. Source: Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (P. L. 109-435,  §803; 120 Stat. 3251-3252; 5 U. S. C  §8909(d)(3)(A). ) Due to solvency problems, Congress reduced the FY 2009 payment amount to $1. 4B (P. L. 111-68) while in FY2011, Congress delayed the payment to August 1, 2012 as per H. R. 112-331.By front loading the RHBF, USPS has switched from funding its RHBF from â€Å"out of pocket† cost to pre-funding. It’s this prefunding causing a tremendous financial strain on the firm. It’s also an indicator on how much leverage and control government legislations have over the firm. And this is just one of the two biggest entities having control over the firm’s operations. The other one is employees’ unions. Collective Bargaining Agreements More than 80% of USPS operating cost is due to its employees’ wage; and more than 85% of its employees belong to one of the four unions or referred to as management organizations, i. e. , APWU, NALC, NPMHU and NRLCA.Unfortunately for USPS even though it enjoys benefits from federal regulations like monopoly of mailing services and having the ability to borrow money from the Federal Financing Banks up to $15B or as set by Congress; the same federal laws also put constrains in its ability to increase revenue by increasing prices without prior approval; or decreasing its operating costs by reducing mail delivery schedule; or closing non-performing post offices; or by having power to control labor costs. Statutory processes for resolving disputes between labor and management frequently results in arbitrators being empowered to make binding decisions heavily favoring employees (USPS Annual 10K Report, 2011). With declining revenues since 2007, USPS has been unable to reduce employee numbers to desired sustainable strength, its main operating cost, without having to rely solely on attrition or buy outs due to collective bargaining agreements that heavily favor employees. Future strategy calls for attrition or reduction in employees’ numbers to an additional 120,000 positions by FY2015.However, USPS is unable to achieve this with out overriding current CBA’s and it doesn’t have the power to do so. Microeconomic Factors Personal Computers and Internet In their 2009 annual report, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, approximately 68. 7% percent (81. 939 million households) of all U. S. households have internet access. Out of this 68. 7%, 63. 5% uses broadband service while 4. 7 % uses dial up service with the remaining 0. 4% using either satellite or dish access (BLS, 2010). And the numbers will only continue to grow as personal computers become more affordable and internet services continue to be made available in the rural areas.With internet comes email and social networking services. Although email is a differentiated product from regular paper mail or commonly referred to as â€Å"snail mail†, its purpose and function is completely the same. In short, email is almost a perfect substitute product for regular paper mail. The decline in first-class mail volume started to tak e center stage when the volume of First-Class mail, where USPS gets the majority of its money from, fell below junk mail volume for the first time in 2005 (Leonard, 2011). Total mail volume declined 20% between 2006 and 2010 resulting in a total net income loss of $25B. 1-From 2011 Report on Form 10-K USPS So is email killing USPS?Although decline in First-Class mail alone cannot postulate this to be accurate, there is however undisputed evidence email has delivered a severe financial blow to USPS. Like this is not serious enough yet, digital communications continue to evolve and quickly becoming mainstream. Mobile phones or smartphones are not only capable of making a phone call but also able to send emails just about anywhere they can find service signals from their providers. The phone can also be used to send text (â€Å"texting†), providing not only faster communication than regular paper mail but even better than regular email as it requires no computer to access it and is in real time.To make matters worse for USPS, most businesses are already moving to â€Å"paperless† bill and payment delivery meaning the 20% decline in first-class mail volume in the previous years, not only will it be probably irreversible but will most likely worsen before it gets better. And then there is yet still another evolving technology that could also adversely affect USPS’s other business model, â€Å"shipping services†, and this is with the digital or electronic books. According to Amazon, the largest retailer on the web, Kindle books are just now starting to outsell printed books (Leonard, 2011). Everyday Low Pricing strategies If you are looking for the cheapest postal rate around the world, look no further than the U. S. Postal Service.For a universal rate of 44 cents (before January 12, 2011, where it rose to 45 cents), for the first ounce, a First Class letter mail can be delivered anywhere in the United States and its territories. In compa rison, for the same letter mailed locally, in Norway it would cost the sender $1. 63; in Japan it would be $1. 06, in France it would be $0. 81, in Germany it would be $0. 77, in UK it would be $0. 74 and in Canada it would be $0. 61 (Annual Report to Congress, USPS, 2011). Like this is not cheap enough yet, the Standard Mail is even cheaper consisting mostly of advertising and periodical mails. So is everyday low pricing causing financially losses USPS?In comparison to other postal services it would seem so. An analysis of this dilemma is presented in the business strategies section of this report. Outsourcing and global competition Although most U. S. companies have adopted globalization and have included outsourcing in their strategy to compete in the global market, the U. S. Postal Service remains a sole government franchise operating only nationally. As such it does not include outsourcing as a part of its business model and do not compete globally. Business Analysis Current Fi nancial Performance USPS current financial performance in the last 5 years and especially in the 2011 is in â€Å"dire straits†.With over $25B in net losses over the past five years including $21B of expenses for the prefunding of retiree health benefits, it ended 2011 with only $1. 2B in total cash and only $2. 0B of remaining borrowing capacity. The projected payments for the PSRHBF for 2012 is a staggering $11. 1B ($5. 5B for the deferred 2011 and $5. 6 for the upcoming 2012 contributions) and then there is the payment for workers’ compensation for approximately $1. 3B by September 30, 2012. Even with all the re-structuring tools available for the USPS put into place including price increases just recently approved, USPS will not be able to meet all its current year financial obligations.Unless, congress makes changes to the current requirements of prefunding USPS’ PSRHBF, the firm is technically insolvent even prior to the end of its 2012 accounting period a nd will remain so at least until 2016. Previous Financial Performance The last time USPS posted net income from its operations was in FY2004 ($3. 1B), FY2005 ($1. 626B) and FY2006 ($969M), (USPS Annual Report 2007). It was in 2006 P. L. 109-435 became a law relieving USPS of the $27B in pension liabilities for workers with military service (USPS workers with military pension used to be paid by USPS vice the U. S. Treasury) but at the same time USPS agreed to make annual payments of $5. billion for the next 10 years to build up a fund for future retirees. When this bill was signed into law, USPS was ecstatic. So for FY 2006, USPS finished the year with a net income of almost $1B. Little did it know it will be the last time USPS will ever finish the year in â€Å"black†! Future Financial outlook Future financial outlook for USPS is dimmer than ever. With decline in First Class mail volume continuously declining, there is no indication this is not permanent or worse yet decline more in coming years, even if the economy improve. So far USPS seems to be more focus on increasing its revenue by increasing prices in both of each services, i. e. , mailing and shipping services.At the same time, it also wants to reduce its operating expenses by reducing its number of employees and closing or converting some of its branches into â€Å"village post offices†. However, even with all these business strategies, USPS doesn’t seem to focus on how it can re-structure its business model to adapt to digital technologies and the use of Internet. Although, it has adapted its shipping services and selling of stamps into the digital world USPS is yet to make headways into a profitable business model. Business Strategies Product pricing One of the business strategies of USPS and usually most of businesses do is to increase product pricing everytime the end of the accounting period reports â€Å"Net Loss†! This seems to be a knee-jerk reaction since itâ€℠¢s the easiest logic to recoup â€Å"net losses†.And this is because supposedly increase in product pricing directly correlates to increase revenue thus increased profit or having to post â€Å"Net Income† instead of â€Å"Net Loss† at the end of each accounting period. However product pricing is not as plain and easy as it looks. In the case of USPS product pricing, the elasticity of each product pricing should be taken into account. USPS has validated the fact that technology, increased availability of broadband services, growing internet access in homes, declining prices in personal computers, and expanding mobile services has caused a decline in its mailing services. This is directly attributed to e-mails and online banking billing and payments.In short, email and other electronic online banking transactions, although differentiated from regular paper mail are direct substitute products. As such, it can be postulated increasing the price of USPS â€Å"maili ng services† will not necessarily translate to increased revenues. With price elasticity of demand (EP), the more there is a close substitute to a product the higher is the elasticity of demand. This is shown in the below graph: Figure 2: Managerial Economics in Global Economy (Salvatore, D, 2010) With EP greater than one (highly elastic as shown on the upper portion of the blue demand line) the demand line indicates an increase in price (PX) will result in decrease in quantity demanded (QX). With decrease in quantity demanded means reduction in total revenue.Based from the mail volume decline since 2006 (when mailing was cheaper than last year and this year) up to the present it’s almost conclusive further increase in the cost of mailing will only exacerbate the decline in mail volume; making it easier for business managers to make the decision to switch to â€Å"paperless† bill statements and delivery. Although current statutory requirements limit pricing incre ase on â€Å"shipping services† (including mailing services) to rate of inflation, USPS should request Congress to include a direct authority for USPS to increase prices (with approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission, PRC) based from increased cost of transportation, i. e. , fuel, the same strategy used by the airline industry. The airline industry started using surcharges for baggage checked in when the cost of fuel surge to unsustainable levels.USPS should have the same authority to make time sensitive changes to its pricing as it deems necessary for its continued operations with the approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). Even if given this authority, USPS should still consider the competition before it can raise shipping prices and by how much. By having the authority though, USPS can be a flexible firm able to respond in time to stop massive losses while waiting for Congress to give it an approval. Product diversity With technology, USPS has started to adapt the internet for some its product offerings. Customers can go at USPS. com and fill their forms online and even print their mailing or shipping stamps.Additionally, customers can also request home or station pick up by USPS meaning customers need not even to get out of their houses to receive mailing or shipping services. However, these shipping services are also available with USPS competitors like UPS and FEDEX and seem to be doing a better job than USPS. There is however, one product USPS offers that its competitors do not offer and this is Postal Money Order. U. S. Postal Money Orders are very popular and reliable people up to this day prefer them as a form of payment over credit or debit cards or even online fund transfer companies like Western Unions or Paypal. USPS should conduct a study on how to establish a business model allowing it to offer a digital version of its Postal Money Orders.With USPS monopoly on money orders this is almost a sure winner if it can design a digital or online business model for its money orders. In 2010, Paypal posted total revenue of $3. 4B and expects to double this revenue by 2013 (Galante, 2011). On the otherhand, Western Union posted a Net Income of $909. 9M (Yahoo Finance). With potential revenue at this level just from its money order business, USPS is posed to increase its annual business revenue tremendously compare to just increasing its product pricing. Resource utilization USPS resource utilization is obviously not at its optimal level considering the amount of losses it incurred in the last 5 years.Probably the worst resource underutilization is in the excessive number of employees and its huge fleet of gas guzzling trucks and delivery vehicles. USPS was very slow to adapt to new technology and didn’t quite see the effect of the internet with its mailing services and continued rising cost of fuel. This is in spite of the significant decline in First-Class mailing volumes as early as 2005 and the mor e than $100 a barrel of crude oil in 2008. USPS did not initiate to stop Saturday’s mail delivery until 2010 when it was already losing tens of billions in income. USPS tries to optimize its resource utilization by working interdependently with its â€Å"Shipping Services† competitors like UPS’ â€Å"UPS Basic† and FedEx’s â€Å"Smart Post†.However, USPS should strive instead to get as much of this business for itself instead of having to share it with its competitors. This doesn’t mean it has to get rid of this interdependency relationship as it helps in its resource utilization but should try to get as much as it can so as to enjoy the revenue for itself instead of sharing with others. And it can easily accomplish this through pricing, which it has an advantage over the competition. With oil price increases in 2008, USPS should have started switching or equipping its delivery vehicles either to more fuel efficient vehicles or those equipped to use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). According to Consumer Energy Report. om (Rapier, 2009), based from EPA reports, a gallon of gasoline contains approximately 115,000 BTU’s of energy while a Standard Cubic Feet (SCF) of natural gas contains 1,000 BTU’s (hence 115 SCF of CNG equates to 1 gallon of gasoline). In November 2011, the national average price of gasoline was $3. 37 a gallon while for diesel it was $4. 01 a gallon (Consumer Report, 2011). On the same period, the price for natural gas is $8. 60 per thousand SCF for commercial rate and $4. 53 for industrial rate (EIA. gov, 2012). A thousand SCF of natural gas equates to 8. 7 gallons of gasoline or diesel (1,000 divided by 115), meaning had USPS converted some of its vehicles into CNG, it would only be paying approximately 98. 85 cents to equivalent gallon of gasoline or diesel at the commercial rate price, and even less if given the industrial rate price.At present, price of natural gas has declined al though not significantly but it might as well be because on the other end of the spectrum the price of gasoline rose to almost $4 a gallon from $3. 37 in November 2010, an increase of 18. 7% and it is just starting to get worse. USPS has the largest civilian fleet of vehicles in the world numbering to 215,625 burning through more than 399 million of gallons of gasoline/diesel for a total of 1. 25 billion miles driven (Postal Facts, 2011); it could have easily saved tens of millions of dollars with the use of CNG. USPS should continue with its strategy of reducing its number of employees and post office branches or converting some branches into â€Å"Village Post Offices†. Additionally, it should also strive to reduce its delivery service from a 6-day to a 5-day delivery.Although this may sound like an easy feat to accomplish, i. e. , to reduce operating cost due to reduced mail volume, it is not. This is because although there has been a decrease in mail volume there is howev er an increase in delivery points. So the bottom line is although reducing operating cost is a positive step, USPS can only reduce it for so much and for so long before it starts failing in providing fundamental postal services to the nation; its primary mandate and reason for existence. The other strategy for USPS besides operating cost reduction is synergized on what it is currently accomplishing now and for the future. Cost Volume Profit Analysis Cost-Volume-Profit analysis or breakeven analysis is a process of determining the output where a firm breaks even or earns a target profit from the total revenue and total cost functions of the firm† (Salvatore, D. 2012). Unlike manufacturing or production firms, or any private firms, the USPS has a constant mandate to provide â€Å"fundamental postal service† to the nation. As such, it requires a minimum number of employees, material and other resources to accomplish this task, hence an absolute minimum operating cost. In p rivate sector, when a firm CVP analysis indicates a decline in total revenue (TR) compare to total cost (TC), its tendency is to reduce TC until it is low enough to gain profit.Even better for the firm it has the option of totally abandoning some specific operations or productions if it cannot gain profit despite drastic reductions in TC. However, this is not the case for the USPS. With minimum requirements to provide fundamental postal service to the nation, the USPS cannot reduce its TC to the point it will cease some or even a single part of its operation, despite heavy net losses in income. When USPS is operating at a loss and has done just about everything to minimize its TC, its only other option is to increase the volume of its business to at least break even. With decline in mail volume still yet to hit bottom, USPS needs to venture to different products especially those taking advantage of the internet and other evolving technologies.It is only through additional products o r improvement in current existing products USPS can increase volume of its business to at least cover its minimum operating cost. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Being a government own firm, USPS has some inherent strengths in its business model as follows: 1. Monopoly of the mailing service industry 2. Open Credit lines or borrowing up to $15B from the Federal Financing Bank, which can also be increased in due time with the approval of Congress 3. Large operating capacity with more than 33,000 facilities throughout the nation 4. A non-profit organization whose only financial objective is to break even giving it the strength to undermine the competition through low pricing 5.Highly resilient to cyclical changes in the economy brought by recessions and inflations 6. Modern technological network infrastructures and highly computerized distribution systems USPS should utilize its strengths to increase revenue especially with its business goal of only requiring breaking even. It can also flex its strength in pricing to beat the competition when it comes to its shipping services. With its large operating capacities it should plan to expand its business model to achieve â€Å"economies of scale†. USPS weaknesses also come mostly from the same institution that gave some of its strengths: 1. Large operating cost due to large required coverage in mail and shipping deliveries as mandated by Congress 2.Very little diversity in products and services despite large operating capacities and highly technological networked infrastructure 3. Very little to none bargaining power with employees management organizations or unions 4. Very restrictive operating schedules and product pricing flexibilities 5. Slow adaptability in a highly changing business environment brought by newer technology due to restrictions placed upon the firm by Congress through the Post Office Regulatory Commission 6. Large number inefficient fleet of vehicles 7. Very expensive emplo yee pension and retiree health benefit plans Weaknesses in large number of inefficient fleet of vehicles unnecessarily contributing to high operating cost can be easily avoided with the use of alternate energy like CNG.Congress should give temporary authority to USPS to effect price changes as a result of out of the ordinary changes in fuel costs and other materials and resources it uses to fulfill its mandate. The two most readily available opportunities for USPS mostly come only in two forms, i. e. product diversity and more use of the internet as another source of business revenue. This can be as simple as developing a business model to the current postal money orders so it can be transformed to something like e-Money Order that can be used for online fund transfers the same as Paypal’s or Western Unions business model do. As for product diversity, USPS should start looking into expanding its shipping services to aggressively compete directly with UPS and FedEx.The biggest threat facing USPS is the continuing decline of its mailing services. Despite the big proposal of increasing prices supposedly supplementing losses, it’s more likely the more USPS continue to raise prices in its mailing services the sooner it will decline more. The threat of defaulting with its PSRHBF funding for this year and probably for the following years is imminent. The possibility of a government bailout seems to be very more likely starting this year and the years thereafter. USPS needs to face the reality of the internet technology and should start restructuring its business model so as to treat the internet as an ally instead of an adversary. ConclusionAn expeditious and short term solution to the Unites States Postal Service current financial problem is way out of reach of the sole capability of the firm and requires a congressional legislation to make it happen. This specifically with the firms mandated annual $5. 5B prefund contribution to its PSRHBF where $11. 1B is due by September 30, 2012. In addition there is also the $1. 3B Workers’ Compensation Fund required to be paid to the DOL at the end of the fiscal year. To keep USPS financially solvent and operational at least for the time being, Congress should legislate to postpone payments to the PSRHBF and to the Workers’ Compensation for the next three years.This should give enough â€Å"breathing room† for USPS to stay â€Å"afloat† while at the same time implementing its multi-prong strategies of reducing its operating costs, increasing revenues, diversifying its products and improving its processes and methodologies to attract more customers. References: 1. Amadeo, K, (n. d. ) U. S. Economy, How is Unemployment Defined. Retrieved February 18 2012, from http://useconomy. about. com/od/supply/f/unemploy_define. htm. 2. Average gas prices – – November 21, 2011, Retrieved February 23, 2012 from http://news. consumerreports. org/cars/2011/11/averag e-gas-prices-november-21-2011. html. 3. Beatty, A, (September 20, 2010) U. S. Exits Longest Recession SinceWorld War II, retrieved 19 February 2012 from http://www. commondreams. org/headline/2010/09/20-5. 4. Bentley, M. (April 2010), Carrier Consolidation Services: An inside guide to OPS basic and FEDEX SmartPost, retrieved February 19, 2012 from http://www. parcelindustry. com. 5. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, (February 2010), Current Population Survey, October 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2012 from http://www. census. gov/hhes/computer/publications/2009. html. 6. Galante, J. (Feb 10, 2011). Paypal’s Revenue Will double by 2013, Thompson Says, Bloomberg. Retrieved February 20, 2012 from http://www. bloomberg. com/news. 7. Geddes, R. R. , (June 01, 2003).Opportunities for Anti-Competitive Behavior in the Postal Services, AEI Online retrieved February 12, 2012 from http://www. aei. org/article/opportunities-for-anticompetitive-behavior-in-postal-services/. 8. Inflation: Wha t is Inflation? retrieved February 19, 2012 from http://www. investopedia. com/university/inflation/inflation1. asp#axzz1mtwFSACX. 9. Income Statement, Western Union Company, Yahoo Finance. Retrieved February 20, 2012 from http://www. yahoo. com/finance. 10. Kosar, K. R. (January 27, 2012) The U. S. Postal Service’s Financial Condition: Overview and Issued for Congress, retrieved February 20, 2012 from http://www. fas. org/sgp/crs/misc/R41024. pdf. 11.Leonard, D (May 25, 2011) the U. S. Postal Service nears Collapse†, Bloomberg Businessweek, retrieved February 19, 2012 from http://www. businessweek. com/print/magazine/content/11_23/b4231060885070. htm. 12. Natural Gas Prices Retrieved February 23, 2012 from http://www. eia. gov/dnav/ng/ng_pri_sum_dcu_nus_m. htm. 13. Postal Facts 2011 Retrieved February 23, 2012 from http://about. usps. com/who-we-are/postal-facts/welcome. htm. 14. Rapier, R. (Jun 19, 2009) How Much Natural Gas to Replace Gasoline? Retrieved February 23, 2012 from http://www. consumerenergyreport. com/2009/06/19/how-much-natural-gas-to-replace- gasoline/. 15. Salvatore, D. (2012).Managerial economics in a global economy (5th ed), New York, NY: Oxford University. 16. United States Postal Regulatory Commission, Annual Form 10-K Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 for FY ended September 30, 2011. 17. United States Postal Service 2011 Annual Report to Congress, retrieved February 16, 2012 from, http://about. usps. com/publications/annual-report-comprehensive-statement-2011/annual-report-comprehensive-statement-2011. pdf. 18. United States Postal Service Annual Report 2007 retrieved February 20, 2012 from http://about. usps. com/strategic-planning/cs07/chpt5-002. htm.

Free Essays on Early Culture

Early culture There are many accomplishments that I find remarkable from earlier cultures. The boats of ancient groups for travel. The bows and arrows, chiseled spearheads, & fish’ nets for hunting. The woven baskets for gathering, all were technological advances and advantages for earlier peoples. Techniques for agriculture were also improving. People were harvesting gourds, pumpkins, peppers, beans, et cetera. A new way of living had begun. People, now, were able to live in one place w/o searching or wondering where their next meal was hiding. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. Together with the overseers and deacons. Grace and peace to you from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you. I always pray with joy. In 1200 BC, The Olmec’s built the first American civilization. Other emerging civilizations included the Maya’s, Aztecs, and Inca’s. These great communities boasted many achievements, including mining and the ability to manipulate precious metals. They built enormous cities with huge palaces, pyramids and plazas. Along with the creation of architecture was the first American language. Ancient cultures advanced in many socially important customs as well, including trade, building of earthen structures & burial mounds. Overall, technologies of ancient societies were very impressive & showed a great potential for future growth in the immerging Americas.... Free Essays on Early Culture Free Essays on Early Culture Early culture There are many accomplishments that I find remarkable from earlier cultures. The boats of ancient groups for travel. The bows and arrows, chiseled spearheads, & fish’ nets for hunting. The woven baskets for gathering, all were technological advances and advantages for earlier peoples. Techniques for agriculture were also improving. People were harvesting gourds, pumpkins, peppers, beans, et cetera. A new way of living had begun. People, now, were able to live in one place w/o searching or wondering where their next meal was hiding. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. Together with the overseers and deacons. Grace and peace to you from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you. I always pray with joy. In 1200 BC, The Olmec’s built the first American civilization. Other emerging civilizations included the Maya’s, Aztecs, and Inca’s. These great communities boasted many achievements, including mining and the ability to manipulate precious metals. They built enormous cities with huge palaces, pyramids and plazas. Along with the creation of architecture was the first American language. Ancient cultures advanced in many socially important customs as well, including trade, building of earthen structures & burial mounds. Overall, technologies of ancient societies were very impressive & showed a great potential for future growth in the immerging Americas....

From Fordism to Flexibility essays

From Fordism to Flexibility essays Throughout the history of the industrialized world, numerous managerial strategies have been implemented to make maximum profits and productivity a certainty, along with ensuring the utmost cost-efficiency. One of these methods put forth in the mid-twentieth century was known as Fordism. This refers to the system of mass production and consumption characteristic of increasingly developed economies during the 1940s-1960s (Sheppard sometimes referred to the "Japanese management system" (Fucini The pioneer of Fordism was none other than Henry Ford, who was and is a popular symbol of the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial, mass production, mass consumption economy. He first implemented his Fordist methods by virtue of his Ford Motor Company in the automobile industry, which is still the world's largest manufacturing activity today (Fucini s system was general standardization, which standardized components and manufacturing processes, and to create a simple, easy to manufacture, repairable standard product (Pierce, 2003). Standardization among the Fordist system required nearly perfect interchangeability of parts, which meant to quickly and concisely adapt to a continuous process (Sheppard & Barnes, 2003). This method of standardizing allowed Ford to insti...