Friday, December 27, 2019

The Importance of Being Earnest Review

​​The Importance of Being Earnest is Oscar Wildes most well-known and best-loved play, as well as being an enormous success in his lifetime. For many people, it is the apogee of Wildes work. Like Wilde, the play is the very embodiment of fin de sieclà © British dandyism. However, this seemingly frivolous play has a much darker side. Its critique of Victorian society--though delivered in a velvet glove--is every inch an iron fist. The play is a satire both of the hypocrisies of the society in which Wilde lived, and the damaging effect that these hypocrisies can have on the souls of those live under their rule. Wilde was to become one of those souls shortly after the first performance of the play when he initiated a libel trial that was to lead to his imprisonment for being a homosexual.​ Overview ofThe Importance of Being Earnest The play is based around two young men, one of whom is an upright young man called Jack who lives in the country. However, in order to escape the drudgery of his highly conservative lifestyle, he has created an alter-ego, Ernest, who has all kinds of reprobate fun in London. Jack says he often has to visit his poor brother Ernest, which gives him his opportunity to escape his boring life and have fun with his good friend, Algernon. However, Algernon comes to suspect that Jack is leading a double life when he finds a personal message in one of Jack’s cigarette cases. Jack makes a clean breast of his life, including the fact that he has a young and attractive ward by the name of Cecily Cardew back on his estate in Gloucestershire. This piques Algernons interest and, uninvited, he turns up on the estate pretending to be Jack’s brother--the reprobate Ernest--in order to woo Cecily. In the meantime, Jacks fiancà ©e, (and Algernons cousin) Gwendolen has also arrived, and Jack admits to her that he is, in fact, not called Ernest, but is called Jack. Algernon, despite his better judgment, also confesses to Cecily that his name is not Ernest either. This causes a good deal of trouble in our heroes love lives, as both women have a rather strange attachment to the name Ernest, and cannot consider marrying anyone who does not go by that name. There is another impediment to the marriages. Gwendolens mother, Lady Bracknell, will not countenance her daughter marrying someone of Jacks social status (he was an orphan who was found by his adoptive parents in a handbag at Kings Cross Station). As Jack is Cecilys guardian, he will not allow her to marry Algernon unless his aunt, Lady Bracknell changes her mind. This seemingly irresolvable conundrum becomes brilliantly solved when, on inspection of the handbag, Lady Bracknell reveals that Algernons brother had become lost in just such a handbag and that Jack must, in actuality, be that lost child. What’s more, the child had been christened Ernest. The play ends with a prospect of two very happy marriages. The Importance of Being Earnest combines a labyrinthine plot, the seemingly irresolvable narrative of a farce, and some of the most comic and wittiest lines ever written. It is, as can probably be surmised from its extraordinary to-ings and fro-ings and its incredibly unlikely resolution, is not to be taken as a serious drama. Indeed, the characters and the setting lack any real depth; they are, first and foremost, vessels for Wilde’s witticisms lampooning the shallow and roots-obsessed society in which he lived.   However, this is not to the plays detriment – the audience is treated to some of the most sparkling verbal wit ever seen. Whether luxuriating in paradox or simply in the ridiculousness created by the plot that Wilde has set in motion, the play is at its best when it is portraying supposedly serious things in an extremely trivial matter.   However, this seeming piece of fluff is enormously influential and is actually a destructive critique of the social mores of the times. The emphasis that is put in the play on surfaces--names, where and how people were brought up, the way that they dress--belies a yearning for something which is more substantial. Wilde can be credited, by producing a piece of polished decadence, with contributing to the destruction of a class-based, surface-obsessed society. Wildes play seems to say, look beneath the surface, try and find the real people stifled beneath social norms. Brilliant, inventive, witty and--when performed--absolutely hilarious, Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest, is a landmark in the history of Western theater, and probably that writer’s greatest achievement.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Interpersonal Communication Theory - 1064 Words

Thesis: The interpersonal communication theory; expectancy violations theory can be applied to the 2003 romantic comedy film, â€Å"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days†. This essay will discuss the three core concepts of Expectancy Violations Theory in detail; expectancy, violation valence, and communicator reward valence, using scenes throughout the film. The first core concept of EVT is expectancy, in the film expectancy can be applied by looking at the scene where Andie and Ben first come in contact at a bar. Expectancy is defined as â€Å"what people predict will happen, rather than what they desire† (Griffin, 2015). The concept of expectancy in EVT comes from three key pieces; context, relationship, and communicator characteristics. Context helps†¦show more content†¦The conversation is quick and very direct, this leads to Andie leaving with Ben and both of their bets start. Andie’s expectations after meeting ben are she can easily lure him in, and then ma ke him want to run from her. She plans on acting like a crazy, clingy, and somewhat psycho girlfriend who often oversteps. The relationship relative to expectancy is that Ben and Andie want a romantic relationship which is seen through the similarity in that they are both young and single working adults. They both have well-paying jobs, and an attraction for each other which creates s sense of what the outcome might be. The characteristics that define Ben and Andie are that they are both attracted to each other primarily on appearance, they enjoy each other’s personality and communicate with ease while being extremely direct. To look at these three parts of expectancy is to help gauge what a specific individual might do in a certain situation. Expectancy takes into consideration context, relationship, and communicator relationships, yet how do people react when their expectations are violated. This is explained through the next core concept of EVT; violation valence. (Griffin , 2015) The next key component of Expectancy Violations theory is violation valence, this can be further examined using the film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The particular scene that best illustrates violation valence in action is when Andie invades Ben’s apartment by decoratingShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Interpersonal Communications1491 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction One of the most dominant theories in the field of interpersonal communications is Uncertainty Reduction Theory. The Uncertainty Reduction Theory was created by Berger and Calabrese in 1975. It is a communication theory from the post-positivist tradition, it is the only communication theory that specifically considers the initial interaction between people prior to the actual communication. Have you ever been invited to participate in an activity and you did not know anyone there expectRead MorePersonal Theories Of Interpersonal Communication921 Words   |  4 Pages Interpersonal communication plays a major role in our everyday life, as it helps to form the relationships we have with other people. The relationships we develop contribute greatly to how we learn and grow as individuals. Communication is significant in relationships because it is the foundation for social life and it allows one to start, nurture, and terminate relationships with others. A relationship can be formed when a reciprocal message process occurs between two or more people. For exampleRead MoreInterpersonal Communication Theories And Concepts1686 Words   |  7 PagesQuestion have you ever thought about the different Interpersonal Communication theories/concepts we use on a daily basis, I have thought about it long and hard to figure out how many different communication theories in our life we use or even in a favorite movie we love to watch. In this essay I will be writing an analysis paper on the movie â€Å"The Notebook its about a young man named Noah Calhoun from So uth Carolina he met a rich girl named Allie they fell desperately in love, but her parents donRead MoreCommunication Theory Of Interpersonal Communication Essay1219 Words   |  5 PagesProposal: Applying Communication Theory to the Study of Interpersonal Communication Marriages in the United States is at an all-time low, while divorces are at an all-time high. One may wonder why is that. Some couples are divorcing because of irreconcilable differences. One could ponder if divorce is a solution due to a breakdown in communication. This proposal will determine if communication theory can be applied to interpersonal communication to create a lasting relationship. This study willRead MoreInterpersonal Communication Theories527 Words   |  2 Pagesconsidering interpersonal communication theories that impact on the delivery of care. Legal frameworks, including the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Human Rights Act (HRA) 1997, will be scrutinised alongside professional frameworks offered by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), such as the Standards of conduct, performance and ethics (2012). The impact of these frameworks upon duty of care, consent, capacity and best interests will be examined whilst various interpersonal communicationRea d MoreThe Key Theories Of Interpersonal Communication1824 Words   |  8 Pagesto information society caused dramatic changes in the public consciousness, providing the rapid development of the theory of interpersonal communications and its active putting into practice. Supported by the powerful research base, effective interpersonal communication makes an individual’s life bright and complete. This paper explores several theories of interpersonal communication, illustrating some issues with own examples. Combined with collected during the semester data, theoretical issues suggestRead MoreCommunication Theories That Are Apart Of Interpersonal Communication1931 Words   |  8 PagesThere are a number of communication theories that are apart of interpersonal communication. Today I will be using the cognitive dissonance theory, social judgement theory, and the organizational theory when convincing three people to attend the sport management alumni tailgate. The three people I am looking to persuade are my uncle Dave, my younger cousin Ryan, and one of my closest friends named Wes. When deciding on who I wanted to persuade I looked for three people who vary in age as my uncleRead MoreInterpersonal Communication : Social Exchange Theory1581 Words   |  7 PagesInterpersonal Communication: Social Exchange Theory Interpersonal communication can be described as communication that occurs between two or more individuals. While communication can be either verbal, nonverbal, or written, interpersonal communication is more commonly practiced through face to face, verbal communication (Burton, 2011). The interpersonal communication process begins with a â€Å"sender†, which is the person that is communicating a message to another person. The â€Å"receiver† is the personRead MoreThe Social Penetration Theory Of Interpersonal Communication814 Words   |  4 PagesThe Social Penetration Theory interpersonal communication was proposed by the psychologists and theorists, Altman and Taylor in 1973, with the idea of offering an explanation for the closeness or intimacy that can develop between two people. â€Å"The social penetration theory states that as relationships develop, communication moves from relatively shallow, no intimate levels to deeper, more personal ones.†(Altman and Taylor in 1973.) They also proposed that this process towards closeness, is regulatedRead MoreConflict Management, Interpersonal Communication, And Motivational Theories1106 Words   |  5 Pagesof conflict management, interpersonal communication, and motivational theories and their significance to the overall success of an organization. As we dig deeper into the material for leadership and management, the shining theme throughout our readings has been self-less leadership (Satterlee, 2013). This week, we focused on the importance of interpersonal communication, and conflict management. Owner, leaders, and managers must understand the importance of communication especially if any conflict

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

CVM and Managerial Leadership Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the CVM and Managerial Leadership. Answer: Introduction The competing value framework is an effective tool utilised by the organisations for determining the efficiency of the overall organisation and efficiency of the individual involved. This according to Quinn et al., (2007) was initially developed for understanding the performance of the organisation. The tool has utility for understanding various organisational and individual phenomenons like theory of effectiveness, organisational culture, competencies of leadership, organisational design, organisational quality, stages of life cycle development, organisational design, financial strategy, leadership role, brain function, and information processing. Managerial leadership on the other hand is an integral part of organisational management. Organisationalmanagement is the combined process of planning, organising, leading and controlling the resources held by the organisation with the aim of gaining productivity to attain the objectives. Hence, the managers are empowered with a vast range of responsibilities to fulfil the business needs. The responsibilities of the manager exceed beyond planning or risk assessing and include giving direction to the workforce towards the aim of the organisation. This requires the managers to develop various kinds of leadership style for addressing various workplace situations. This report will focus on identifying the importance of competing value framework in the organisation with particular focus on the managerial leadership. Competing Value Framework The determination of the organisational efficiency that is identified using competing value framework is calculated under two major dimensions that are organisational focus and organisational preference for structure. Efficiency of the organisation under each dimension is determined between two extents under each dimension. The organisational focus incorporates internal emphasis and external emphasis. Internal emphasis speaks for the well-being and development of the individual stakeholders within the organisation; whereas, the external emphasis focuses on the well-being and development of the organisation itself. The preferred structure on contrary focuses on the two contrasting end, which are flexibility and control or stability (Quinn et al., 2007). This forms fur quadrants of the model that helps determining the state of the organisation. It is important for an organisation to be flexible for adapting rapid change in the society in the competitive market. However, it is also impo rtant formanagement to have significant control over the business process, which creates a paradox condition in the organisations. Four majormanagement models such as human relation model, open system model, rational goal model and internal process model again represent each of the quadrants. The first model lies between the flexibility and internal emphasis and strains on the morale, cohesion, and human resource development within the organisation. The open system model on the other hand stands between flexibility and external forces. This focuses on the external factors that are growth, readiness, resource acquisition and external import with more flexible approach. The rational goal model as identified by Lavine (2014), focuses on the external factors of the organisation with a more controlled approach. This requires the managers in formulating plan, setting goal, and increasing productivity and efficiency in order to increase the affectivity. Lastly, the internal process model as mentioned by Ferreira (2014) represents the internal factors with greater control. This is helps in communication, information man agement, stability and control. Managerial leadership Leaders and managers are broadly segregated from each other and they are defined separately due to their role and approach taken. The responsibilities of a managers lies with controlling, directing and managing the activities in the organisation that helps to achieve specific goals of the organisation. The roles played by the leaders are more inspirational that helps in motivating the subordinates and guide them throughout the work. The contemporary trend and situations in the market make it more necessary for the managers to incorporate leadership approach in order to attain the goal of the organisation. Managerial leadership, as defined by Galvin et al., (2014) is the combination of both that enables the manager to reshuffle their roles depending on the demand of the situation. It is important for the managerial leaders to develop flexibility, humble and down-to-earth approach as leadership may involve incorporation of culture, belief and ethics. The leaders should value subordinat es opinions and belief to develop a healthy managerial relationship in the workplace. Disrespecting others values and culture can lead to conflict in workplace. Managerial leaders can adopt any of the available styles of leadership as per the requirement of the situation. Importance of Competing Value Model in Managerial Leadership The competing value model has its usefulness and can be implemented in various grounds in an organisational context. One of the major areas of implementation of CVM framework for both identification of the efficiency and development of the process is the managerial leadership roles. This further helps in developing better understanding similarities and differences of the leadership applicability in various grounds. Galvin et al., (2014) in his study described eight different categories of roles. The criterion of an effective leader is to develop the ability in playing these multiple and competing leadership roles. Interpretation of CVM for Managerial Leadership As described earlier, the CVM framework has two major dimensions that are organisational focus and organisational preference for structure. This can be implemented in case of managerial leadership, which can further be studied in accordance of the four quadrants mentioned. As communicated by Melo, Silva and Parreira (2014) the four quadrants or model of CVM represents eight leadership roles. This helps the managers under any organisations to efficiently handling the uncertainty, disruption and competing demands. The human relationship model as communicated by Melo, Silva and Parreira (2014) seeks the managers to take a more flexible approach and work as an empathic mentor and process focused facilitator. This helps the managers in keeping the employees motivated all time for gaining greater performance. The leadership approach here requires encouraging the employees for collective efforts, promoting cohesion and teaming work, and managing conflicts. This requires managers to develop communication among the team members for avoiding undesired circumstances. Communication of the vision and mission with the employees helps aligning their focus towards productivity (Purce, 2014). This also helps in encouraging them. The motivation on the other hand helps the managers in developing team and managing possible conflict that might occur in the workplace. This requires the manager in adopting the transformational leadership that allows him or her attain success through greater communication and inspi ring ability. Open system model on the other hand focuses on innovation and negotiate the approach of the managerial leaders. The leaders in this case have to address the innovation in respect to market demand for avoiding the downfall of the organisation. Innovation of the products is of optimum priority of comparative market settings that requires the managers to appreciate change in the market as well as modifying the business process accordingly to the change for gaining competitive advantage (Sapra, Subramanian Subramanian, 2014). Various case exists in that can be referred as the strategic leadership failure due to the lack of adaptability of the managers to the upcoming change in the market trend. The leaders that ultimately led the company can consider Nokia and Blackberry case as one of the cases of adaptability failure by the management. The key processes of the bringing change in the organisation are problem-solving, adaptation, innovation and change management. The external resource m anagement and sustaining legitimacy on the other hand is another responsibility that helps the organisation to hold competitive advantage. This further requires the communication skill for effective negotiation and value proposition in the market. The leader under the rational goal model plays the role of producer and director for determining the productivity and profit of the organisation. This is known as the organisation for both identifying risk and implementing strategy. This strategic management involves the leaders in risk assessment, market analysis and strategic planning for avoiding the undesired circumstances that may lead to the strategic failure. (Melo, Silva Parreira, 2014) Failure of the appropriate strategic planning for both external and internal process in directing towards the organisational goal attainment leads to the business failure. The producers, on the other hand, are responsible for task planning. This is similar to the overall strategic planning, which requires focusing on the risk assessment for identifying the potential threat of a particular task, and planning accordingly to hold high productivity of the team. Leaders in the internal process model lastly require the managers to monitor and coordinate the employees for tracking and increasing the productivity. Monitoring includes the review of performance matrix for understanding organisational efficiency (Krishnaiah et al., 2014). This further includes the concept of communication for transferring the results that in turn fulfils the need of motivation in the organisation for gaining greater productivity. Conclusion It is possible to conclude from the above discussion that managerial leadership is of critical importance in determining the organisational efficiency. The contemporary competitive market scenario makes it necessary for the managers to reflect efficient leadership approach in various aspect of the business process. Competing Value Model is an effective tool in identifying the effectiveness of an organisation, which can be used identifying the compatibility of managerial leadership in an organisation. The above study reflects that various quadrants of the CVM framework successfully communicate numerous roles of the managerial leaders in handling different aspects of the business operations, which ensures the success of the organisation. However, failure in adopting proper managerial leadership approach can result into strategic failure that ultimately reduces the productivity of the organisation. The leaders need to address necessary management theories gaining success in the operatio ns. References Ferreira, A. I. (2014). Competing Values Framework and its impact on the intellectual capital dimensions: evidence from different Portuguese organizational sectors.Knowledge Management Research Practice,12(1), 86-96. Galvin, T., Gibbs, M., Sullivan, J., Williams, C. (2014). Leadership competencies of project managers: An empirical study of emotional, intellectual, and managerial dimensions.Journal of Economic Development, Management, IT, Finance, and Marketing,6(1), 35. Krishnaiah, Y. S., Xu, X., Rahman, Z., Yang, Y., Katragadda, U., Lionberger, R., ... Khan, M. A. (2014). Development of performance matrix for generic product equivalence of acyclovir topical creams.International journal of pharmaceutics,475(1-2), 110-122. Lavine, M. (2014). Paradoxical leadership and the competing values framework.The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science,50(2), 189-205. Melo, R. C., Silva, M. J., Parreira, P. (2014). Effective leadership: competing values framework.Procedia Technology,16, 921-928. Purce, J. (2014). The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management.New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals),67. Quinn, R. E., Faerman, S. R., Thompson, M. P., Clair, L. S. S. (2007).Becoming a master manager: A competing values approach. John Wiley Sons Inc. Sapra, H., Subramanian, A., Subramanian, K. V. (2014). Corporate governance and innovation: Theory and evidence.Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,49(4), 957-1003.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Ulysses Essay Example For Students

Ulysses Essay An Idle King In Ulysses, Tennyson presents Ulysses, the great Greekwar hero and warrior of the Trojan War, serving, again, as king of Ithaca. Ulysses, having been home for three years, feels himself stagnating and wastinghis life in the unwanted role of king. Longs to be again the man he has been. Ulysses desires a life of independence, physical adventure, and intellectualpursuit. Ulysses desires a life of independence. The island is dependent on himand the civilization hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.Ulysses yearns to escape to be on his own yet; the people rely on his kingshipalthough they carry out life without giving much thought for Ulysses. He seesthe savage race not aware of what his heart desires nor of adventureand/or intellectual life. After three years of being king, Ulysses feel old andhis idleness leaves him with his name and reputation. Discerns that his subjectsdo not comprehend his personality, and believes that his talents aredisappearing while staying at Ithaca. Ulysses says, How dull it is topause, to make an end to a journey that has adventure, courageous events,and glory. He does not want to stop and live life as king, but to sail himselfinto independence. Telemachus, son of Ulysses, is more fitted to govern than hisfather does because Telemach us strives to take over the scepter and theisle. Secondly, Telemachus has the deposition that will allow him by slow prudence to make/A rugged people, and bring them to astate that is useful and good. Ulysses sees his son able toamend the citizens up to a new level. In seeking independence, Ulysses choosesto give his throne to his son so he can rejuvenate his soul, and which allowshimself to find greatness again. Ulysses desires a life of physical adventure. We will write a custom essay on Ulysses specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He comes to realize that For some three suns he has store,and hoard himself as though to rest from travel. Remembersliving abroad for twenty years as he with a hungry heartseeking and feeling adventure. Destiny allows Ulysses to see much differentcities of men where they have certain manners, climates,councils, governments, which greet him with respect and honor. Ulysses also remembers of the times he has enjoyed/Greatly, sufferedgreatly, both with those that loved me and alone. The delight ofbattle/Far on the ringing planes of windy Troy pleases Ulysses andcalms his soul which seeks for more adventure. The king knows that breathing isnot living and wishes to fulfill life with many adventures and experiences. Whatlittle life remains for Ulysses, he knows that life plied on life,one life after another, is not enough for all of the delightful wars. Inaddition, he apprehends that his sailors are old, like himself, but thatOld age hath yet his honor and his toil. Ulysses desires a greatamount of adventure by sailing with his hair in the wind again. This, he thinks,will save him from being a gray spirit yearning in desire, and willrestore him to, like before, an active life. Ulysses desires a life ofintellectual pursuit. He finds satisfaction in physical adventure and in acontinuos intellectual venture to fill his avid thirst for life. Ulyssescon tinually seeks for knowledge, Beyond the utmost bound of humanthought. Considers himself a part of all that met, from the previous travels, yet he wishes to seek a newerworld. How he will find the new destination is by sail beyondthe sunset, and the baths of all the western stars, until .Ulysses will continue his quest for intellectual pursuit traveling westwardtoward the unexplored land that might lie in the Atlantic Ocean and keep seekingknowledge until death overtakes him. In his monologue, Ulysses states, .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e , .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .postImageUrl , .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e , .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e:hover , .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e:visited , .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e:active { border:0!important; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e:active , .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4625998463f5dfbfbe3621c19f61cf8e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Wider Professional Practice Essayevery hour saved from that eternal silence , is A bringerof new things. Ulysses will undertake to reach the horizon, which isalways from its pursuer, seeking new knowledge. Not only his thirst for insightwill never be satisfied, but he plans, even if he has not, that strengthwhich in old days/Moved earth and heaven, will be capable to strive, toseek, to find. The quest for wisdom makes Ulysses wants to leave hiskingdom and feel the same again as years before. Ulysses, who desires to beindependent, finds that the life he returns to be not what after twenty years hehas been searching. He feels that he needs to be adventurous, and wiser, so l ongas life permits his desires of sailing to the unknown.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Ford Motor Company Redefining Strategies

Business-level Strategy of Ford Motor Company Sameer Kirtane et al argued that market share of Ford Motor decreased dramatically in the US market and its sales profit dropped more than $1 billion in 2006 due to lack of implementation of effective strategies though it changed leadership approach in 20051.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Ford Motor Company: Redefining Strategies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, Ford followed a real business-level strategy to be more cost effective company, for instance, it reduced operating costs, and offered generous buyout packages. According to the annual report -2010 of Ford, the management team of this company decided to increase investment on the potential new models, suggests the employees to work as a team with shift model mix and adopting functional strategies, for instance, it would close three Ford-plants including one ACH-plant by 2011 that would resul t decreasing automobile debt by $10.1 billion. Enhancing Ford Motor’s Value-Chain Links To Create Value for the Firm Value chain structure works as a determinant for potential profit of the major players in a particular industry paying attention on industry’s present appearance. However, in order to compete better in this era of globalisation, it is essential for the Ford Motor Company to focus on developing its value chain links. The value chain links could be enhanced by improving its infrastructure, human resources management, procurement, and technology in the way suggested below: – Infrastructure: – The management team should review the changing strategic decisions with IT infrastructural strategy, and acquire or joint venture with other competitors and it would be greatly benefit its value chain links; Human resources management: – Ford should also arrange numerous training program for the pilot, crew, and other employees in order to minimiz e risks, increase efficiency, and satisfy the customer; Procurement: – These activities should be coupled with the concerns on supply chain management by ensuring more efficiency on supply chain with IT enabled customer services of online services can reconcile any gap in the value chain links; Technology: – It is one of the most important factors for Ford, as use of cloud computing in internal organisation can create better communications system. On the other hand, concentrating on primary functions, pricing strategies, production management systems, customer relationship management, assessment of market situation, route planning, and analysis of the position of major competitors can enhance the value chain of Ford. Porter’s Five Forces Model and Position of the Ford Motor Company Rivalry among existing firms The international motor vehicle industry is exceedingly competitive owing to the existence of a large a number of car producers along with their exceptio nal offerings. As a result, Ford has to confront numerous smaller and larger rivals at both national and international levels; nonetheless, potential competitors of the company are General Motors, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota, Skoda, Fiat, etc.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Threats from new entrants Threats from new entrants are comparatively low in the industry because of various barriers to enter the market. New entrants more often lack adequate finances, proficiency, satisfactory knowledge about specialized car manufacturing methods, and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it gets hard for the new players to sustain in the highly competitive business environment after establishment and to join in price competitions with the industry giants. Bargaining power of buyers Due to the presence of many automobile producers, the switching off costs of the buyers are relatively high than any other industry sectors; moreover, the customer loyalty is also not significantly noticeable. Companies like Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Fiat, etc. offers cars comparatively at the same prices for which it gets easier for the customers to select their desired piece of product from any one of them. However, the bargaining power of the customers seem to diminish when it comes to price considerations of cars companies like BMW or Mercedes as their prices are quite higher than others. Threats of substitute products The vehicles of Ford need to contending with several similar product lines of the rival firms; for instance, the substitutes of Ford Taurus and Volvo are Toyota Avalon, Acura RL, Lincoln MKS, etc; Ford Fusion faces competition from Honda Accord, Mercedes C Class, and BMW 3-Series (4-door). On the other hand, the substitutes of the midsize convertibles of Ford like Volvo C70 are Saab 9-3 and Volkswagen Eos; the substitutes of midsize SUVs li ke Ford Edge, Ford Flex, Ford Taurus X, and Volvo XC90 are Acura RDX, BMW X3, BMW X5, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Veracruz, Mercedes M Class, Nissan Murano, and Toyota FJ Cruiser. According to the evaluation of sales in 2006, the existence of so many substitutes create practical difficulties for Ford; in comparison between the sale of Ford’s hybrid-cars, the hybrid-cars of other companies like Toyota-Prius, Toyota-Camry, Lexus RX-400h, Honda-Civic, and Honda-Accord seemed to be selling more than Ford Escape or Mercury-mariner. However, Ford occupied merely 9% share in the US market whereas Honda occupied about 14% share; however, the following figure shows more details – Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Ford Motor Company: Redefining Strategies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Figure 1: – US Sales Percentage of hybrid cars in October 2006 Source: – Self generated from Ford Motor2 Bargaining power of suppliers Annual report of Ford Motor (2010) suggested that the suppliers of the company are generally raw materials suppliers those responsible to deliver steel, aluminium, fuel, copper, lead, rubber, etc. therefore, the bargaining power of these suppliers varies as it has to collect product from different countries, for instance, bargaining power of Mexican suppliers differ in accordance with quality and price. In context, the global automobile industry possesses numerous raw material providers for which their bargaining powers are not too high. The lithium ion battery producing companies are the key supplier group of Ford Motor Company to delivering technical components to producing hybrid cars; as a result, these manufacturers’ bargaining power are a little more than the suppliers of raw materials’ (steel, aluminium, fuel, resins, copper, lead, rubber). Managing Customer Relationships to Increase Strategic Competitiveness Second larg est car manufacture Ford Motor manufactured more than 7.20 million vehicles worldwide with lots of successful brands and it earned highest revenue through selling the maximum number of car in UK market. However, Toyota Corporation was able to earn highest revenue in 2010 by selling the maximum number of car in global market while Ford was in third position and BMW was not in top ten automobiles; however, numbers of car sales depend on many factors including customer relationship management, price, quality and services. The customer relationship management of Volkswagen and Toyota is stronger than Ford; therefore, it should need to meet up this gap immediately by introducing effective CRM tools in order to become global market leader in automobiles industry.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to the view of Stoner et al, there are mainly four obligatory elements, which are vital for successful implementation of CRM and these features have driven from the theoretical framework of CRM implementation and these tools have showed in the following figure – Figure 2: – Theoretical framework of customer relationship management Source: – Self generated from Stoner et al Robert Grant notes, ‘four crucial elements help practice of CRM at any organisation’ and these are relationship marketing, appropriate organisational structure, manage of data warehouse and data consumption for effective customer management, and the four elements generate the framework of CRM necessary for any organisation that intend to develop their CRM strategies4. As a result, the CEO of Ford would suggest the board of the company to follow the above model along with other business strategies in order to get better outcomes. The marketers of Ford identified that CRM system of automobile industry has turned just into a slogan rather than appropriate integration due to lack of knowledge about core values of CRM; therefore, the CEO of Ford reported that the company should more concentrate on this issue though it has already integrated SAP to know the comprehensive view of the customers. However, Ford should develop successful CRM program to influence customers regarding its new products and it should use multimedia marketing strategies to increase sales revenue and decrease its investment risks. In order to avoid late response from the company side, the marketers need to take prompt initiatives to upgrade data base system to collect and retrieve data about the customers and need to increase number of call centre to provide reply on time. In addition, development of communication skills is one of the most important factors for Ford to expand its operation all over the world and to give right message to the customers regarding new products, after s ales service, new offers and so on. Moreover, Ford needs to take technological advantages and integrates Microsoft Dynamics of CRM in order to solve the problem of the customers; consequently, it should increase budget to arrange regular training program and integrate other relevant software. Effective Way to Differentiate Products at Low Costs To differentiate its products efficiently at low costs, the business should focus on its manufacturing progressions – costs can be reduced by adopting Japanese manufacturing process, just in time management, specialisation approach, and entire superiority management or QC techniques. Conversely, introduction of innovative technologies and focus on advertisement through celebrity endorsements together with total quality management will be able to create adequate differentiations Competitor Analysis Reuters notes that the main competitors of Ford are Toyota Motor Corporation from Japan, General Motors Corporation from United States, Hond a Motor from Japan, Chrysler Group LLC from United States, Hyundai Motor from South Korea, Volkswagen from Germany, BMW from Germany, Nissan from Japan, Mazda from Japan, Mitsubishi from Japan, Fiat from Italy, Mercedes from Germany, and Skoda etc5. However, the following table shows the direct comparison among major rivals of automobile industry – Figure 3: – Direct Competitor Comparison Source: Self generated from Yahoo Finance Learning Outcomes from Competitive Situation From the competitive position of the company analysed in the paper before, it can be concluded that Ford is in a comparatively superior position than major competitors. However, to survive in this tough competition in long-term, it is important for the business to offer vehicles at lower prices like Toyota, to emphasize more on eco-friendly and hybrid cars, and to follow the strategic leadership approach and to introduce effective corporate governance system. Role of Strategic Leadership to Meet St rategic Objectives Ford was the first company of the world, which adopted the dictatorial approach of Taylor in its business; later on, the company has adopted autonomous approaches to some extent with time, but it is important to argue that a single form of leadership style may not be sufficient to manage the business effectively. This is because firms may need to uphold different leadership styles in different times, for instance, during tough times, paternalistic form of leadership will play important role, whilst autonomous management will work best if the employees in a particular sector are highly efficient. Therefore, it is significant to the business to adopt a situational approach of leadership, which would help Ford to take the right decisions at right time to meet the strategic objectives. However, the short time objectives of the firms include in the following figure – Figure 4: – The short time objectives Source: – Self-generated from Ford Motor7 C urrently, the market situation of the company is not in very good position as Ford suffered significantly from the recession throughout the FY 2010; therefore, it should need effective plan to attain its ultimate objective to be market leader and to recover quickly from this situation by introducing strong leadership style instead of flexible approach. In fact, paternalistic approach may not suffice to face global financial crisis. In this context, the CEO of Ford Motor should adopt a situational approach of leadership to be market leader in the UK market and to achieve the short time objectives. Bibliography Ford Motor. One Ford Annual Report 2010: Ford Motor Company. Web. Grant, R, Contemporary Strategy Analysis and Cases: Text and Cases, 7th edn, Blackwell Publishing, London, 2010. Kirtane, S, R Shukla, L Wang. Is The Way Forward Really Ford’s Way Forward? 2006. Web. Reuters. Ford Motor Company (F.N). 2011, retrieved https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile/F .N. Stoner, F, F Edward G Daniel. Management, 3rd edn, Prentice-Hall, Delhi, 2003. Yahoo Finance. Direct Competitor Comparison Ford Motors. 2011, retrieved https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/F/profile?ltr=1. Footnotes 1 Kirtane, S, R Shukla, L Wang. Is The Way Forward Really Ford’s Way Forward? 2 Ford Motor. One Ford Annual Report 2010: Ford Motor Company. 3 Stoner, F, F Edward G Daniel. Management, 3rd edn, Prentice-Hall, Delhi, 2003. 4 R, Grant, Contemporary Strategy Analysis and Cases: Text and Cases, 7th edn, Blackwell Publishing, London, 2010 5 Reuters. Ford Motor Company (F.N). 2011. 6 Yahoo Finance. Direct Competitor Comparison Ford Motors. 2011. 7 Ford Motor. One Ford Annual Report 2010: Ford Motor Company. 2011. This case study on Ford Motor Company: Redefining Strategies was written and submitted by user Clare Banks to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Social And Cultural Impacts On The Environment Tourism Essays

Social And Cultural Impacts On The Environment Tourism Essays Social And Cultural Impacts On The Environment Tourism Essay Social And Cultural Impacts On The Environment Tourism Essay The Tourism Industry is regarded as one of the most of import and fastest turning industry around the universe. Travel has been of great involvement to people since the beginning of the civilisation. Recently, it has been noted that there has been an addition in tourer s reachings, particularly in little island provinces. Harmonizing to UNWTO, touristry will go on to turn in 2011. Tourism sector has suffered from the planetary fiscal crisis in 2008 and 2009, but thanks to the improved economic conditions worldwide, international touristry has been able to retrieve from the diminution brought in the fiscal crisis. ( United Nations, 2010 ) . The travel and touristry industry is one of the largest and most dynamic industries in the universe and this industry is expected to bring forth about 9 % of planetary GDP and supply for more than 235 million occupations stand foring 8 % of planetary employment ( Merco Press, 2010 ) .The WTO has set up the long-run prognosis of the appraisal of the development of touristry up to the first 20 old ages of the new millenary known as the Tourism 2020 vision.UNWTO s Tourism 2020 vision predicts that international reachings are expected to make over 1.56 billion by the twelvemonth 2020. Of these world-wide reachings in 2020, 1.2 will be intraregional and 0.4 will be long-haul travellers . The top three having parts will be Europe with 717 million tourers, East Asia and the Pacific around 397 million and the Americas with 282 million, followed by the Africa, Middle East and South Asia ( UNWTO, 2011 ) . As such, the tourer will go on to be a booming industry in the coming old ages. Tourism has been described as the smokeless industry that can convey that can convey maximal benefit to a community as compared to other economic activities. Tourism has been viewed as a agency of bettering a community as a better topographic point to populate and bring forthing economic benefits. 2.1 Tourism impacts There are many academic research workers that have been done on the impacts of touristry. Many local communities believe that touristry can excite alteration in societal, cultural, environmental and economic dimensions where touristry activities have had a close connexion with the local communities ( Beeton, 2006 ; Richards A ; Hall, 2000 ) .It is of import to understand and measure touristry impacts so as to keep sustainability and the long-run success of the touristry industry ( Diedrich A ; Garcia-Buades, 2008 ) . Tourism is besides regarded to as the universe s largest industry and regarded as a agency of accomplishing community development ( Sharpley, 2002 ) . As such, it becomes imperative to understand touristry impacts towards the community. Below is a diagram illustrating touristry impacts on the community. Perceived Negative Impacts of Tourism Personal Benefit from Tourism Resident Features Support for Additional Tourism Community Tourism Dependence Perceived Positive Impacts of Tourism Support for Tourism Planning Beginning: Adapted from Perdue, Long and Allen 1990, p.589 In the 21st century, research workers on touristry points out a scope of both positive and negative impacts on the host community as a consequence of touristry development. ( Fredline and Faulkner, 2000 ; Upchurch and Teivane, 2000 ) . Several surveies have been conducted that explain the impacts of touristry on the environment, economic system, society and civilization. Researches done on the impacts of touristry on the society are broad and varied. For illustration, as Ryan ( 1991 ) states that the greatest impacts of touristry will happen when there is a greater spread between the civilization and income degree of both host and tourer. Local s perceptual experiences towards the touristry impacts can change significantly. Harmonizing to Sharma ( 2004 ) , if occupants have more positive attititudes towards touristry impacts, touristry development will be more successful in a community. If occupant s benefit from touristry development they support extra touristry planning and development in a community. By understanding the occupant s perceptual experiences, can assist to entree support for continued touristry development through community capacity edifice. Gursoy A ; Rutherford ( 2004 ) outlines that touristry developers need to see the perceptual experiences and attitudes of occupants before puting in scarce resources. In add-on, apprehension of occupants perceptual experiences towards touristry impacts can besides assist in placing the types of touristry which have the potency for constructing community capacity ( Moscardo, 2008, p.86 ) . On the other manus, assorted surveies show that people who have an economic benefit from touristry perceive more positive impact from it ( Chon, 2000 ) . Economic impacts In the beginning, touristry was encouraged because of its economic impacts. It is extremely accepted that touristry provides economic benefits to the community. The economic impacts of touristry are the most widely researched impacts of touristry on community ( Mason, 2003 ) .Economic impacts are easier to research in a local community because it is little and by and large it is more accessible. Furthermore, touristry can hold positive benefits on local economic systems and a seeable impact on national GDP growing which can be an indispensable constituent for community development and poorness decrease. ( Ashe, 2005 ) . For case, touristry creates employment for locals, investing chances, concern chances, revenue enhancement grosss for authorities and it besides help little and average endeavors for states, parts and communities to spread out ( Ryan,1998 ; Choi A ; Sirakaya, 2005 ; Dyer,2007 ) but on the other manus touristry can hold negative economic impacts on the society such as : excessively much dependence on foreign capital, rising prices, escapes and a low instruction trap for locals ( Giannoni A ; Maupertus, 2007 ) . Yet, more of import is the benefits spread to the occupants of local communities ( Scheyvens, 2001 ) .The economic impacts of touristry are hence, by and large perceived positively by the occupants ( Tatoglu et al ; 2000 ) .For the development of touristry to happen, environment, societies and civilizations at the finish has paid a heavy monetary value. The chief concern is non merely the development but to undertake the challenges posed by the development ( Chaudhary, 2007 ) . Social and cultural impacts Harmonizing to jurisprudence ( 1993, pp.135-164 ) , civilization and society are in a province of changeless alteration because of many factors, notably the rapid advancement in communications and societal interactions that can widen quickly over huge distances. Social impacts refer to alterations in the lives of people who live in finish communities and these impacts are largely associated with occupants and tourers. On the manus, cultural impacts refer to alterations in the humanistic disciplines, artefacts, imposts, rites and architecture of a people and are longer term alterations ensuing from touristry development than other types of development. Social and cultural impacts refer to alterations to resident s mundane experiences every bit good as to their values, manner of life and rational and artistic merchandises. Social and cultural impacts are strongly interrelated and non limited merely to the host country population ( Glasson, 1995, p.34 ) .In many finishs, the nature and traditional significances of civilization may be well changed when civilization is redefined as market portion ( Earrington and Gewertz, 1996 ) . Because of this, a host community may confront cultural jobs of the commercialisation of civilization, faith and the humanistic disciplines together with the abuse of indigeneous civilization as attractive forces and be forced to follow cultural wonts of the tourers, such as their linguistic communication, frock and mode to fulfill visitants ( Cohen, 1979 ) .Another downside of touristry development is seen in many parts of the universe where touristry developments threaten the supplanting of local people. On the other manus, Glasson ( 1995, p.35-36 ) argues that along with the downside of development, there are cultural benefits and intercultural communicating between hosts and visitants that addition good apprehension between them. Without tourers, local civilization and tradition may hold been lost wholly, as there is no market for trad itional merchandises. Environmental impacts Environmental impacts occur as a consequence of touristry development in many parts of the universe as communities struggle to happen an optimum balance between optimum and preservation. Recently, it has been found that touristry activities are extremely dependent on the environment. Research has shown the impacts that touristry has on natural resources ( Green, Hunter and Moore, 2000 ) .Most of the research workers have been conducted on natural or semi-natural countries, with really small research done on urban scenes ( Green, 1990 ) .Specific sites have been examined such as Alpine countries ( Goodman, 1987 ; Rodriguez, 1987 ) , islands ( Wilkinson, 1989 ) , coastal countries ( Martinez-Taberner, Moya and Forteza, 1990 ) . In add-on, most research has been focused around the negative impacts that touristry has on natural resources after the harm has taken place.As such, touristry is ever blamed to be responsible for resource debasement ( Farell and McLellan, 1987 ) .On the other m anus, there are besides positive impacts of touristry associated with the environment. 2.2 The Environmental Impacts of Tourism The environment is likely one of the most of import subscribers to the desirableness and attraction of a finish. Scenic sites, conformable climes and alone landscape characteristics have an of import influence in touristry development and the spacial distribution of touristry motion. ( Coccossis and Nijkamp, 1995, p.4 ) Tourism and the environment are interrelated as touristry is dependent on natural resources to last. There are surveies that have identified both the positive and negative environmental impacts of touristry ( Burns A ; Holden, 1995 ; Puckzo A ; Ratz, 2000 ) . Table 1 can break exemplify both the positive and negative impacts of touristry in a finish country. Table 1 Balance sheet of environmental impacts of touristry Area of consequence Negative impacts Positive impacts Biodiversity Break of breeding/feeding forms Killing of animate beings for leisure ( runing ) or to provide souvenir trade. Loss of home grounds and alteration in species composition Destruction of flora Encouragement to conserve animate beings as attractive forces. Constitution of protected or conserved countries to run into tourist demands Erosion and physical harm Soil eroding Damage to sites through treading Overloading of cardinal substructure ( e.g. H2O supply webs ) Tourism gross to finance land fix and site Restoration Improvement to substructure prompted by tourer demand Pollution Water pollution through sewerage or fuel spillage and trash from pleasance boats Air pollution ( e.g. vehicle emanations ) Noise pollution ( e.g. from vehicles or tourist attractive forces: bars, discos, etc. ) Littering Cleaning programmes to protect the attraction of location to tourers Resource base Depletion of land and surface H2O Diversion of H2O supply to run into tourist demands ( e.g. golf classs or pools ) Depletion of local fuel beginnings Depletion of local building-material beginnings Development of new/improved beginnings of supply Visual/structural alteration Land transportations to touristry ( e.g. from farming ) Damaging ocular impact on natural and non-natural landscapes through touristry development Introduction of new architectural manners Changes in ( urban ) maps Physical enlargement of built-up countries Regeneration and/or modernization of built environment Reuse of obsolete edifices Beginning: Adapted from Hunter and Green ( 1990 ) For the negative impacts of touristry, Puckzo and Ratz ( 2000 ) observed that touristry development that are non well-planned frequently leads to increased emphasis on finishs and in negative alterations in the finish s physical and socio cultural properties. Harmonizing to Wood ( 1991 ) , it is possible to place wide classs of impacts that may impact all finishs. Water pollution is believed to be one of the environmental impacts caused by touristry. It can impact surfaces such as rivers, lakes and oceans. Chemical and oils spills from boats can do annihilating H2O pollution that kills H2O birds, shellfish and other wildlife. Tourists can besides lend to the debasement of the marine life besides through: snorkelling, scuba diving and athletics fishing can endanger piscaries and other marine resources. For illustration, touristry is known to hold contributed to inappropriate development around Lake Tahoe in the United States ( Iverson, Sheppard A ; Strain, 1993 ) and at Pattaya in Th ailand ( Mieczkowski, 1995 ) ; oil pollution in H2O at King George island ( Harris, 1991 ) ; habitat loss, atomization and eroding in Nepal ( Croall, 1995 ) ; devastation of wildlife at Zakynthos in Greece ( Prunier, Sweeney A ; Gree, 1993 ) ; perturbation of animate beings and loss of country for production in Kenya ( Sindiga A ; Kannunah, 1999 ) . Apart from the ingestion of big sums of natural resources, the touristry industry besides produces considerable waste and pollution. In fact, disposal of liquid and solid waste generated by the touristry industry has posed a job for many developing states and some states are incapable of handling these waste stuffs. This has led to cut downing the handiness of natural resources such as fresh H2O. For illustration, in Kerala province the tourer industry collapses after two decennaries of fast growing because there was unequal disposal of solid waste. Tourists besides contribute to set down pollution from solid waste and the taint of Marine Waterss and coastal countries from pollution generated by marinas, hotels and sail ships. Furthermore, the tourer industry uses high degree of energy ingestion in hotels including: air-conditioning, warming and cookery every bit good as transit which can do air pollution in many host states. Air and noise pollution as well congestions are likely to ensue from tourer development. Tourism activities which are non decently controlled can besides do terrible break of wildlife home grounds and increased force per unit area on endangered species. For illustration, in Africa s national Parkss tourers vehicles approach wild animate beings and really frequently deflect them from runing and genteelness, in the carribean sea there are even boat crews that pursue giants and mahimahis and as such discourage petting which tends to upset the animate being s eating and behavior ( Masny,2001 ) . In add-on, touristry besides leads to the clearance of native flora for the development of new installations, new substructure and tourer development. There is an addition in demand for fuelwood and even forest fires. This consequences non merely in the devastation of local home grounds and ecosystems but besides in the procedures of eroding and landslide. Fragile countries such as: woods, wet lands and Rhizophora mangles are besides threatened by touristry activities. On the other side, touristry contributes to the positive benefits of the environment. Doswell ( 1997 ) argues that touristry lays accent to conserve and protect the environment. Tourism besides draws attending to topics sing biodiversity, endangered species and human impacts on the environment. Tourism is besides used as a agency to continue natural countries instead than to develop them for alternate utilizations such as: agribusiness, forestry and excavation ( Master, 1998 ) . Tourism can lend to the preservation of sensitive countries and home ground. For illustration, in Ghana touristry has helped in keeping the natural militias. Tourists can assist towards environmental protection, preservation and biological diverseness and sustainable usage of natural resources. In this manner, natural countries become valuable and this can take to creative activity of national Parkss and wildlife parks.Revenue received from park-entrance fees can be allocated to pay for the protection and dir ection of sensitive countries. On the manus, in some topographic points authorities collect money from tourers in indirect ways. For illustration: user revenue enhancement, gross revenues or diversion of rental equipment and licence fees for runing and fishing can supply authorities with the proper fund needed to pull off natural resources and to finance substructure. Tourism encourages cleaning programmes, and this reduces the damaging Another alteration that can impact touristry is climate alteration. Climate impact is considered as the effects of clime alteration on natural and human systems ( IPCC, 2001 ) . Climate impacts can be for illustration: the primary productiveness of an ecosystem, snow cover deepness. For illustration, a Bigano ( 2006 ) stimulates the effects of development and clime alteration on touristry. Climate alteration could negatively impact states and parts that depend to a great extent on touristry. 2.3 Resident s perceptual experiences towards touristry For the long-run success of the touristry industry, it is imperative to understand and measure occupant s attitudes towards the impact of touristry development ( Ap,1992 ; Ritchie and Inkari, 2006 ) . Sustainable touristry development can be achieved usually when all stakeholders are involved in the procedure ( Bryd, 2007 ) . Sustainable touristry believes that the community is the focal point of touristry and planning procedure ( Choi and Sirakaya, 2005 ) .In add-on, look intoing the occupant s perceptual experiences towards touristry is of import because it act upon their behavior towards touristry ( Andriotis and Vaughan, 2003 ) . Studies show that the perceptual experiences of occupants towards touristry differ toward touristry development. Sustainable touristry development mostly depends on the host s acceptableness of tourers and tourism-related plans, offerings and activities by locals ( Musa, Hall, and Higham 2004 ) . The active support of the local population is required for touristry development to happen in a community. One index that affect s touristry development in a finish is the host attitude ( Lepp, 2007 ) . In a finish country, the attitudes of the tourers and occupants are taken into history. Another factor that is likely to act upon the negative and positive impacts of tourer s finish is resident s fond regard to community. Some research workers, Canan and Hennessy ( 1989 ) states that the longer the occupants live in a community, the more negative they are towards touristry development. The lengths of residence of locals have a direct impact on touristry development. There are several surveies that have been conducted to explicate the occupant s perceptual experience s towards touristry impacts and how far occupants support touristry development in a community. Theories such as the ascription theory ( Pearce, 1989 ) ; dependence theory ( Preister, 2008 ) , the societal representation theory ( Andriotis A ; Vaughan, 2003 ) , Butler s ( 1980 ) tourer country life rhythm, Doxey s Irridex theoretical account, the intrinsic and extrinsic model ( Faulkner A ; Tideswell, 1997 ) and the societal exchange theory ( SET ) ( Ap, 1982 ) have been developed in an effort to better understand the host perceptual experiences towards touristry. However, it is the Set that have received the greatest attending by bookmans trying to analyze occupant s attitudes towards touristry and their support towards touristry development. ( Gursoy A ; Rutherford, 2004 ; Sirakaya, Teye, A ; Sonmez, 2002 ) . However there are besides other popular theories such as: Butler s Area Life Cycle ( 1980, Doxey s Irritation Index, the extrinsic/intrinsic theoretical account ( Faulkner and Tideswell 1997 ) which describe the host-tourist relation. 2.3.1Social Exchange Theory In a touristry context, societal exchange theory would intend an exchange of resources between the tourers and the host population where each of the supply each other with valued resources ( Ap, 1992, p.668 ) . SET implies that occupants who gain benefits from the touristry industry are likely to comprehend the industry as positive and therefore back up tourer industry, while those who perceive themselves incurring costs because of touristry would expose negative attitudes towards touristry thereby opposing such development. The SET theory is the most common type of theory used to measure touristry impacts in a peculiar finish. Social exchange theory steadfastly believes that a demand exists to mensurate the degree of active engagement of occupants in the planning and development procedure associated with touristry development ( Wang A ; Pister, 2008 ) . In the touristry literature, several surveies have been conducted and which explained the theory of occupant s perceptual experien ces and appraisals of the costs and benefits of touristry and their support for touristry development. In simpler words, societal exchange theory supports that occupants calculate the costs and benefits of touristry development, and their attempt for touristry development ( Ap, 1992 ; Yoon 2001 ) . As such occupants become cognizant of the positive and negative impacts of touristry and can make up ones mind whether to back up or non to back up touristry development. Figure1: Factors impacting occupant s attitudes towards tourers EXTRINSIC DIMENSION INTRINSIC DIMENSION Time period of Residence Mature State of Development Early Phase of Development Long Term Holocene Arrival High Tourist Ratio Adapted Non- adapteddd Employment Lifestyle Choice Low Tourist Ratio Percept of Tourism + International Tourism Orientation Domestic Tourism Orientation No Yes Non-Tourism Zone Tourism Zone High Seasonality Low Seasonality Residential Proximity Engagement Beginning: Faulkner and Tideswell ( 1997 ) 2.3.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Model Numerous surveies have identified the factors that affect occupant s perceptual experiences.Such factors have been used in the touristry literature to depict touristry impacts ( Jurowski A ; Gursoy, 2004 ) . These are intrinsic and extrinsic variables ( Faulkner A ; Tideswell, 1997, Fredline A ; Faulkner, 2000, p.765 ) . The intrinsic variables refer to the features of the host community that affect the impacts of touristry with the host community ( Faulkner A ; Tideswell, 1997, p.6 ) and includes factors such as: employment, length of abode, propinquity to tourist zones and engagement within the touristry industry. Length of residence affect touristry development in a community, native Born of the community have been found to hold more negative perceptual experience of touristry development because they are attached to that topographic point ( Madrigal, 1995 ) . On the other manus, Bisle and Hoy ( 1980 ) found a positive relationship between distance of abode from the tourer zon e and perceptual experiences. As respects to community fond regard, surveies showed that the longer a host has been a occupant in the country ; as such they become less affiliated to touristry ( Weaver, 2001 ) . Residents who are dependent and involved in the touristry sector are more likely to hold positive attitudes towards touristry ( Linderb, 1997 ) . The intrinsic variable shows that the host community is non homogenous but instead heterogenous significance that the perceptual experiences of touristry differ among the occupants ( Andriotis A ; Vaughan, 2003 ; Faulkner A ; Tideswell, 1997 ; Fredline A ; Faulkner, 2000 ) . The extrinsic factors are the features of a location with regard to its function as a tourer finish including the nature and phase of tourer activity and the types of tourers involved ( Faulkner A ; Tideswell, 1997, p.6 ) .The extrinsic factors that are likely to act upon host attitudes towards touristry is the phase of touristry development happening in a finish ( Andriotis A ; Vaughan, 2003 ) as argued by Butler ( 1980 ) and Doxey ( 1975 ) . The extrinsic factors are: seasonality, type of tourers, peculiar phase of development, the tourer guest-ratio ( Doxey, 1973 ; pantryman, 1980 ; Ap, 1983 ) .Seasonality affect a finish, during peak seasons there is high flow of tourers ensuing in economic rising prices, traffic congestion and this affect the occupants manner of lives on the other manus, occupants who are dependent on touristry are likely to digest these riotous conditions. ( Rothman, 1978 ; Beliste, 1980 ; Sheldon, 1984 ) .The type of tourers is another factor that affects occupant s perceptual experiences of touristry. Some tourers are independent travelers while others depend on locals, they try adjust with locals they accept the hosts local conditions ( Amir, 1985 ; Page 2003 ) . In understanding occupant s perceptual experiences towards touristry, the phase of development is considered among the most of import factors. To better exemplify this issue, it was of import to look into Butler s Tourism Destination Lifecycle Model. 2.3.3 Butler s Area Life Cycle Another theoretical account in respect to the host-tourist finish is Butler s Area Lifecycle Model. Although that this theoretical account dates three decennaries, it is still academically recognized. Butler ( 1980 ) believes that tourer countries evolve and change over clip. Harmonizing to this development, the phases that tourist countries experience are: geographic expedition, engagement, development, consolidation, stagnancy, diminution or greening. Using a life-cycle theoretical account, Butler describes the occupant and tourer engagement in finish country. Unlike merchandises, finishs have a lifecycle excessively. Figure 2 illustrates the lifecycle of a finish. ] Figure 2 Hypothetical Evolution of a Tourist Area ( Adapted from Miller and Gallucci, 2004 ) Using a life-cycle theoretical account, Butler describes the occupant and tourer engagement in finish country. Unlike merchandises, finishs have a lifecycle excessively. Furthermore, Butler has besides explained why touristry leads to unsustainability. By utilizing the illustration of the life-cycle theoretical account, he describes how a little group of tourers explore a natural attractive force by affecting local occupants and doing subsequent development of the country. With clip, the figure of tourers grows, finally taking to mass touristry. And if the touristry merchandises are non rejuvenated, stagnancy occurs at the finish and there is a autumn through over-consumption of touristry merchandises which is beyond the transporting capacity of the finish. ( including inauspicious effects on the environment ) Butler besides focuses that if there is no proper direction and control, environment debasement is inevitable one time transporting capacity has been reached and so exceeded do ing mass touristry unsustainable. As noted by Jamison ( 1999 ) , at the stagnancy phase, locals have begun to show some discontent with touristry and its effects. When a finish develops, unmet occupant s outlooks and other negative impacts of development are besides likely to ensue in alterations and attitudes towards the industry. ( Teye, Sonmez and Sirakaya, 2002 ) . The TALC S-shaped curve has besides been used to depict the host-guest dichotomy- from the exhilaration of the potency of touristry through to resentment of tourers, ensuing from transcending local societal carrying capacity. However, certain restrictions have been found in Butler s theoretical account. It has been pointed out that the theoretical account assumes a grade of homogeneousness of community reactions ( Mason and Cheyne, 2000 ) , but Butler denies by stating a consistent development of tourist country can be conceptualized .Tosun ( 2002 ) suggests that this theoretical account applies to specific countr ies and non all areasbecause the rhythm varies from one tourer country to another. 2.3.4 Doxey s Irritation Index Associated with Butler s life rhythm theory is Doxey s Irritation Index or Irridex which describes the resident-tourist interaction and attitude. This theoretical account explains host community reaction to touristry development in a specific country. The theoretical account outlines that negative impacts of touristry development might do occupants experience irritated as with clip host and tourists become incompatible with each other. The theoretical account has four phases which vary from euphory, apathy, irritation and to hostility. Although Doxey s ( 1975 ) irridex is regarded as one of the most influential theory has been get downing from Euphoria to Antagonism, where the resident annoyance additions through the phases 1 to 4. ( 1=low irritation,4=high degree of annoyance ) . One restriction of this theory and that of Butler besides, is the premise a community is heterogenous. The survey implies that is the whole community that becomes hostile to touristry, but really frequently different subdivisions of the community have different reactions. It can be concluded that the Doxey Irritation Index is simple but it does bespeak a factor in touristry development and by these societal alterations some occupants will develop counter attitudes towards touristry. 2.4 Resident s perceptual experiences towards touristry environmental impacts The environment is one of the chief country in which occupants assess the possible impacts of touristry before they decide to encompass or reject it. Harmonizing to Kuvan and Akan ( 2005, p.703 ) occupants are more sensitive and concerned for jobs related to the environment than the other negative impacts of touristry. Following this, Liu, Sheldon, and Var ( 1987 ) reported that occupants have high evaluations for environmental impacts. Harmonizing to Mieczkowski ( 1995, p.8 ) defines the natural environment as a combination of inanimate things, that is, abiotic, physical constituents together with biological resources or the biosphere including vegetations and zoologies. Kuvan and Akan ( 2005 ) describes scholars involvements in look intoing into community attitudes towards touristry impact on the natural environment at a clip when ecological jobs such as: pollution, depletion of natural resources and deforestation are increasing. This means that mountaineous countries, Savannah, wetlands, comeuppances, islands and the artic have biophysical features that cause harm to the natural environment. These delicate countries when disturbed, usually have comparatively slow rates of recovery ( Harrison A ; Price, 1996 ) . The focal point on environmental impacts emerged from occupants perceived impacts of the environmental impacts and other touristry impacts such as economic and societal impacts of touristry has lagged behind. ( Kuvan A ; Akan, 2005 ) .Moreover, there is a deficiency of information on occupant s sensed environmental impacts of touristry in developing states ( Kuvan A ; Akan, 2005 ; Madrgal, 1993 ) . It is an in agreement fact that touristry is believed to hold a far more seeable consequence in rural countries and developing contries than urban countries and possibly touristry has a greater consequence on rural occupants ( Madrigal, 1993, p.337 ) , surveies related to resident s perceptual experiences of the environment has focused more on finishs, communities and parts in developed states instead than on developing states. Apart from this, Schluter and Var ( 1988 ) observed that there are some issues that are particular to developing states. Furthermore, a proper analysis of the occ upant s sensed environmental impacts of touristry could assist contrivers and touristry practicians to place e

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Methodology Proposal about Government intervention in Global Economy Essay

Methodology Proposal about Government intervention in Global Economy - Essay Example This paper intends to study in detail the reasons why and effects of governments’ intervention in the world economy. Introduction We first study the methods that the governments have in the past intervened. Research studies indicate that governments adopt various methods to intervene in economic performance dictated by the nature of intervention. History shows that the interventions have been directed by the world economic forces such as the recessions, booms, debt crises among others. However, we shall note that the disparity also arises from the generational change. Most of the interventions methods that governments adopted in the early regimes after independence have changed as the economies mature. Moreover, a defense is noted in the economic intervention mechanisms by the governments in the developed economies as opposed to the mechanisms adopted by the third world economies. Research studies reveal that much of government intervention in the growing economies revolve aro und boosting the economies, while in the developed economies are mostly interested in stability as well as growth. Mechanisms adopted by governments are in essence directed to offering cover to their economies against economic forces from outside or well too to regulate the internal economic performances of their countries. ... Economic partnerships Normally, the government and the private sector run as distinct identities as regards the business environment. Moreover, different governments run distinctively in economic matters though at times circumstances require collective working in order to realize set goals. The government of a state may join hands in economic dealings through what is called partnership moreover; one government may enter into formal arrangement with other governments to serve together economically. These partnerships dictate the economic environment of a state or an economic block. Small economies such as are the African countries are the best examples of economic partnership. They form economic blocks such as the south-south through which they stand to negotiate their deals in the global economic front. However, such partnerships always face the challenge of specialization. However, it is a challenge because majority of young African economies over-specialize in their mode of product ion. Agriculture is the basic example in this (OECD, United Nations OSAA, 2011, 6 of 14). Diversification Governments have the sole mandate of dictating the means of production within a country. Specialization policies as against diversification policies dictate that an economy relies on specialized sector of production within an economy. On the other hand; diversification entails policies that encourage various modes of production as against only one. Through this therefore, a government is able tgo influence her economic performance as well as the performance of her trade partners even within the global market. The government intervenes into the economic performance of a country through such policies that encourage diversification as against specialization. Government spending The

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Where Are We with the US Recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Where Are We with the US Recession - Essay Example The whole of the viewpoints as presented in the article are based on the indications of two different definitions of recession. The first definition is based on the indication of contraction of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in two consecutive quarters. The second definition of a recession is in accordance with the system developed by National Bureau Economic Research (NBER) which is based on the contraction of employment, industrial production, real sales and real income in the economic cycles whose dates are as declared by the Bureau. Â  As analyzed by the authors, as per the first system, the recession in the United States had not begun till that date. The Gross Domestic product graph showed an upward trend in the first quarter of 2008, which accounted for 0.6 percent. This trend was in continuation with similar growth trends indicated in the last quarter of 2007. Though the article envisaged a downward trend by the end of the second quarter, this may be reversed in the third quarter as the consumption of the tax rebate cheques issued by the Bush government would take effect by this period. Â  In the second methodology the National Bureau Economic Research uses monthly indicators from the national accounts against the variables of employment, industrial production, real sales and real income to determine the actual dates of economic cycles and this system thus becomes more inclusive of minute details than in the case of the first methodology which only considers GDP trends whose frequency is quarterly. This allows the freedom to declare recession without the concurrent occurrence of GDP contraction, as happened in 1960 and 2001.The authors of the article also describe the non- predictive nature of this methodology as NBER declares a recession only after six months of the actual start of the recession.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Babylonians vs Hebrews Essay Example for Free

Babylonians vs Hebrews Essay The Hebrew creation story, found in Genesis from the Hebrew Bible, was based upon the story of one creator, God, the order of how things were created and the lives of the first man and woman. The Babylonian creation story, Enuma Elish, instead of having one god, had two god in the beginning, Tiamat and Apsu, and was the story of how several gods were born, thus creating different elements of earth, as well as the creation of the different features of the world after the battle between Tiamat and Marduk. Though, at first glance, these two different creation stories are dynamically different, closer inspection leads us to know that there are several similarities between these two accounts of the formation of the earth: the way the story was told, how many celestial beings were in each myth, how the earth was created, how humans were created, and the reason for humans to exist. In the Bible, Eve had eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil thus banishing both Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. As punishment, God told Eve, â€Å"†¦thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (Leeming 28) This shows that the Hebrew was a patriarchal society, and this story had an innuendo of justification of why men must control women. In the Enuma Elish, humans are not as prominent as the Hebrew Bible, but the creation of humans was more of an afterthought, but it does teach us about what is really important to the Babylonians and that is to serve the gods. Enuma Elish explained how man was created to serve the gods. In both myths there is a presence of the ability to make things appear with speaking. In the Hebrew Bible, God was able to create the heavens, earth, and everything within them by just simply speaking (minus humans). In the Enuma Elish, Marduk to prove to the other gods that he is different than they are made a cloth disappear and reappear by simply speaking. The close proximity between the two cultures, there was sure to have had a mixing between the two. The Hebrews Bible was not created until centuries after the Babylonian, so it is to be inferred that the Hebrews basically wanted to prove that their one god is better than the strongest god of the Babylonians. In the Hebrew Bible there was only God and Chaos (the waters), and in the Enuma Elish Tiamat and Apsu were the first beings, and they are the gods of salt and fresh water, So both started with water. Both stories started with water and in the end the creation of humans. Man was created in the image of God from â€Å"the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostril the breath of life. â€Å" (Leeming 27), and woman we created from the ribs of man in the Bible. In a similar fashion, the Babylonian myth depicted that Marduk created man from the blood and bone. This shows that both the Hebrews and Babylonians showed that humans were created from celestial beings and are different from everything else that was created, because they were fashioned differently and are to serve a purpose: to take care of everything God created (Hebrews), and to serve the gods (Babylonians). Enuma Elish and the Hebrew creation story are similar in the way of how these myths are presented. In both myths, water was there before anything else in some variation . The idea of a firmament to hold the skies up is also prominent in both stories, because of the wonderment of how the ‘water’ stays up in the sky. Also the notion of sets of twos are pronounced: light and darkness, sky and ocean, beasts of the water and beasts of the sky (Hebrew), Apsu and Tiamat, Lahmu and Lahamu, dividing Tiamat in half, blood and bone (Mesopotamian). Humans created last in Enuma Elish and in the Bible chapter one are also similarity. A subtle relationship between the two myths is the power of creating things through speech. God from the Bible created everything through speaking, and Marduk was able to math a garment disappears and reappear with speech as well. The Babylonians did not just have one god like the Hebrews but several gods depicting different things: Salt water, fresh water, sky, etc. The Hebrews just had one ultimate god that created and encompassed everything living. Also the two myths focused on two things. The Babylonians focused on the stories of the gods and how each was created, the war between Tiamat and Marduk, and how man was created as to serve the gods. The Hebrews had two stories of creation: an explanatory showing how the heavens and earth was created, and a narrative that explained how humans fit in the world that God created and why we have mortal sin. The Hebrews wanted to push the point across that humans were created to take care of the earth and everything God has created, and the Bablyonians wanted to show that they were created to serve the gods. The Bible Genesis Chapter One shows Campbell’s first function of myth: mystical. The first chapter explains on how the world was created and why we have certain aesthetics of the world. Campbell’s third function of myth, cosmlogical, is depicted in the Enuma Elish at the end explain how we were created to serve the gods and that is how we fit into the Universe. The Hebrews explain that Eve (woman) was the reason that mortal sin exist in this world, and enhances the reason why Hebrews were a patriarchal society and that men have to rule over woman as punishment of Eve’s sin. To sum it up, Enuma Elish and the Bible are from two different cultures, in two different locations, but despite this they are very similar . There are several motifs that are prominent that prove this, however, these two myths are still radically different in certain aspects of organization and the belief system.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Theory And Evidence Of Microfinance And Poverty Economics Essay

Theory And Evidence Of Microfinance And Poverty Economics Essay 2.0 Introduction It is widely believed that, together with improvement in their geographical surroundings, micro finance is a powerful tool to alleviate poverty and empower women in their development. However these facilities are not restricted to women only. It is also extended to all those who are struggling to combat poverty or to indulge in their own entrepreneurship. Therefore, this chapter will review definitions in the field of microfinance and poverty. To enlighten further the study, empirical evidence are being analysed and discussed more appropriately below. 2.1 What Is Microfinance? image1.png The idea of microfinance started in Bangladesh around 1976 with Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank who has recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievement. Microfinance refers to the supply of loans, savings and other basic financial services to poor. With innovative means and development microfinance has been adopted and practiced in most developing countries where it has gained unbelievable success. Moreover, from December 1997 till December 2005 the number of microfinance institutions increased from 618 to 3,133. Supplementary evidences regarding its developments have been attached at Appendix I. However, different people have different views and opinions in respect of Microfinance. For instance, Otero (1999) classifies Microfinance as the provision of financial services to low income, poor and very poor self-employed people. Whilst Ledgerwood (1999) believes that it is a sustainable poverty solution and it includes savings, credit and other financial services such as insurance and payment services, on the other hand Schreiner and Colombet (2001) described it as an attempt to phase out poverty by improving the access to small deposits and loans for poor households who were being neglected by formal banks and financial institutions, mostly because of their poor credit worthiness. Generally speaking microfinance is becoming an imminent economic tool to politicians to up bring those people who are vulnerable or beyond the minimal level of income holders. It is a way to extract the arts, qualities and skills that these people possess in front of the society by upgrading their enterprise, image and standard levels. In some countries, during the financial crisis that hit the global economy, governments have emphasised heavily on these instruments to combat a way out of this turmoil. Such facilities, inclusive of small loans with low interest rates, counselling and bumper advertising campaign to promulgate the concept of microfinance were brought to the poorest, especially in rural areas. Microfinance involves short term savings and lending which are different to that of formal banks. Such facilities bear low interest rates and repayments facilities with the aim to cover the delivery costs only. The costs of capital are recouped upon maturity and whole administrative and transactions cost are ignored. Counselling is done through direct marketing where the cost involved in creation of awareness is low as these institutions target mostly low or no profit at all. Their main objective is to improve the living conditions of those being afflicted by the curse of poverty. 2.2 Historical Background on Poverty Poverty is a complex issue which has always existed at different levels of society and in various forms across the world. Poverty has always existed but the fundamental question what causes it. However, according to the western conception, poor people are themselves accountable for their precarious situation. As the source of poverty lies in the socioeconomic system, the solution also must be at the societal level. A brief sketch of povertys history is given in Appendix II. It is difficult to define poverty as there are various dimensions of poverty. Hulme and Mosley (1996) stated that microfinance is not a panacea for poverty alleviation and in some cases the poorest people were made worse off by microfinance institutions. On the other hand Rogaly (1996) argued that Microfinance Institutions had encouraged single sector approach to distribute resources to fight poverty. It did not prove to be beneficial to poor people as there was inadequate learning and change taking place. At times they even failed to reach the poor, the more so as they had a limited impact on income. They encouraged women to greater dependence on their husbands but were unable to provide additional services which were desperately required. Therefore, poverty is a growing concern for all governments. They have taken a multi-dimensional approach to reducing poverty, with efforts including: promotion of economic growth; delivery of public services to all; transfer of assets to poor people and introduction of a social protection system. Thus, the persistence of poverty and inequality is clearly a key concern for government policy. 2.2.1 Poverty Approaches The literature on poverty is divided into two categories namely the monetary approach supported by utilitarian, and the non-monetary approach supported by the non- utilitarian. This utilitarian approach places the conceptualization of welfare in the utility space where satisfaction determines the level of welfare. But since utility is not directly observable, resources .i.e. income has been used to measure welfare whereas the non-utilitarian view consists of the faith based, livelihood and capability approach. This is illustrated below. Figure 2.1: Poverty Approach Source: Adapted by International Development Research Centre From the above diagram, the monetary approach identifies poverty as a shortfall in consumption or income. An income below what is considered necessary to consume a minimum basket of basic goods would then be defined as the poverty line. The main assumption made by this approach is that consumers objective is to maximize their utility and that the ensuing welfare can be measured by their total consumption whereas the livelihood approaches emerged in the 1990s as a holistic framework for analyzing the factors that influence men and women in fulfilling their livelihoods, reflecting their perceptions of poverty and well-being. It also refers to the participatory approach of getting poor themselves to be able to understudy the root, causes and the victims of poverty. Poverty is not a modern day phenomenon. It has been around almost since the beginning of civilization from the time man was expelled from the Garden of Eden whereby he had had to start providing for himself. Poverty has always existed in human societies for thousands of years. This is all about the faith based approach of poverty. Moreover, the capability approach, pioneered by Sen in the 1980s and 1990s, argues that monetary poverty approach measures individuals well-being but fails to address the utility that individuals gain from others, their welfare. For Sen, capabilities are the abilities to satisfy certain crucial functioning up to certain minimally adequate levels. Thus according to him, poverty is the malfunction of some basic capability. The concept of poverty is universally regarded as a multidimensional one. There is no unique formulation but it may consist in any form of inequity, which is a source of social exclusion from the basic essentialities of human dignity. Thus, the Oxford Poverty Human Development Initiative (OPHI) uses an index namely the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)  [1]  index which complements a traditional focus on income to reflect the deprivations that a poor person faces with regard to education, health and living standard. It is the first international measure of its kind, and offers a valuable complement to income poverty measures because it measures deprivations directly. According to me, a multifaceted definition of poverty would be:- the lack of, and inability to afford, basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter; and the scarcity of opportunities that are important in improving human capital and facilitating social mobility. Thus, to address the dramatic effects resulting from poverty, various multilateral organizations such as the United Nations have left no stone unturned to combat this destitution. Moreover, different poverty reduction strategies and instruments have been developed in order to improve the poors standard of living and help them sever the vicious cycle of poverty. Moreover these approaches can be broken further. This can be shown in the following diagram. Figure 2.2: Factors Affecting the Poverty Approach Source: Adapted by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) The monetary approach includes all income in money metric and in practice omits social goods. Under this approach mainly income and consumption are affected. Whereas, the livelihood approach comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. It enhances livelihood opportunities and shows how they relate to one another. The faith-based approach consists of religious faith. Religious faith and humans have coexisted since the beginning of civilization and have played a very important role in human life. The religious attitude is always based on the belief that there exists an all embracing, transcendental, moral law and that we human beings are bound to submit to its commands. Moreover, capabilities included not only basic individual ones such as nourishment and health but also more complex social ones, such as taking part in the community and achieving self-respect. Health and education, for example, are both functioning achievements in themselves as well as capabilities that allow people to achieve other valued and crucial performance. For instance, a woman can have a monetary income but, because of gender discrimination, can be unable to buy food for her family: She lacks the capability to achieve a basic functioning for life. A capability seems to combine the concepts of ability and capacity. The main focus of the dissertation is based on this approach. 2.3 Conceptual Theory Since microfinance can make a contribution to eradicate poverty, to better understand its significance, each of the poverty approaches is considered below. 2.3.1 Link between Microfinance and Monetary Approach In terms of economic policy, it recommends the reduction of poverty by increasing labor productivity, through interventions of a general nature. Therefore, microfinance has evolved as an economic development approach intended to benefit low-income groups. These programs are an effective way to provide lowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ cost financial services to poor individuals and families as claimed by Miller and Martinez, (2006); Stephens and Tazi (2006). Once they benefit from microfinance services, they will be able to earn more, save more ultimately smooth consumption. In turn they will enjoy a good health conditions among family members. 2.3.2 Link between Microfinance and Non- Monetary Approach From the economic policy standpoint, the non-monetary approach usually proposes targeted interventions which have the advantage of reducing the selection bias in favor of the poor relative to general kinds of interventions. Each non monetary approach has been considered below. 2.3.2.1 Microfinance and faith based Poverty and prosperity were considered to be the will of God. Thus religion is defined as an all round movement in the light of faith in one God and a sense of responsibility for the formation of thought and belief, for the promotion of high principles of human morality for the establishment of good relations among members of the society and the elimination of every sort of undue discrimination and injustices including poverty. Thus with the help of microfinance, people are able to have a decent earning. 2.3.2.2 Microfinance and Livelihood Microfinance can help to establish or expand family enterprises, potentially making the difference between grinding poverty and economically secure life. Furthermore, these programs increase access to healthcare, making preventative healthcare measures more affordable to the poor. Alternatively, more children are sent to school and stay enrolled for longer periods. 2.3.2.3 Microfinance and Capability Approach Given that microfinance services are primarily focused on women, it is argued that women were empowered, through opportunities to take on leadership roles and responsibilities, breaking down of gender inequalities. Small loans can transform lives, especially those of women and children. The poor can become empowered instead of disenfranchised. Homes can be built, jobs can be created, businesses can be launched, and individuals can feel a sense of worth again. Woman are able to participate in the society, they are recognised for their help in their families. This in turn increases the monthly income for the family which ultimately increases standard of living. Generally, the most important crisis and the main reason for failure to repay loans by poor families is illness. However, households of microfinance clients appear to have better nutrition, health practices, and health outcomes than comparable non-client households. Larger and more stable incomes generally lead to better nutrition, living conditions, and preventive health care. Increased earnings and financial management options also allow clients to treat health problems promptly rather than waiting for conditions to deteriorate. Along with financial services, some microfinance institutions also provide health education, usually in the form of short, simple preventive care messages on immunization, safe drinking water, and pre-natal and post-natal care while other programs provide credit products for water, sanitation, and housing. A growing number of microfinance institutions have forged partnerships with insurance providers to offer health insurance to clients. Moreover, another use of the microfinance services among the poor people is to invest in childrens education. Children of microfinance clients are more likely to go to school and study longer ultimately student drop-out rates are much lower. Hence there is no disparity in education. Thus, it is clear that what microfinance can do for the poor depends on the poors ability to utilize what micro-finance offers them. In many countries, micro-finance provides a window of opportunity for the poor to access a borrowing. These facilities also provide organizational help, training, safety nets, empowerment, and financial and other help during crises. Once they benefit from these services, they will be able to make decisions that are better informed, smooth the consumption pattern, increase the expenditure on medical, education and other social occasions. 2.4 Empirical Evidence Most of these studies were carried out in least developed countries and developing countries where poverty is really a root problem for the country. These findings are the clearest evidence that micro finance is working in the way intended to bring sustained aid to those suffering from hardship cases. Thus the following sub sections are empirical studies performed in least developed country, developing countries and small island economies. They are classified by their corresponding approach of poverty namely the monetary and capability. 2.4.1 Developing Countries 2.4.1.1 Monetary Approach Joy M Kiiru, John Mburu, Klaus Flohberg (2007) attempted to measure the impact of microfinance on household incomes. They used a pooled data set collected from the south western part of Makueni district in Kenya to study the households access to microfinance credit and how the credit affects their incomes as Cross sectional analysis fails to show any significant positive impact of microfinance on poverty reduction. They found a weak positive significance of microfinance on household incomes, education and household head. Furthermore, in the research of Gertler et al. (2003), he found more positive conclusions in terms of the ability of micro finance to reduce vulnerability who find access to micro finance that helps households to smooth consumption despite declines in health of adult family members. These authors have tried to find a relation between access to a financial institution and consumption shortfalls associated with ill health. They used geographic distance as a measure of access and find that for households in an area with a BRI branch; health shocks have no effect on consumption. 2.4.1.2 Capability Approach K. Rajendran and R.P. Raya (2010) study the impact of microfinance on the empowerment in psychological, economic and social aspects and managerial skills of leaders of SHGs and their attitude in Vellore district. They surveyed 90 leaders and 90 animators of SHGs. Using the OLS they found that microfinance and SHGs are effective in reducing poverty, empowering women, creating awareness and ensure sustainability of environment which finally result in sustainable development of the nation. But age and education does not have any influence on empowerment among the rural women. Moreover, the case study carried out in 2007 by Eduardo C. Jimenez and Pia Bernadette Roman in Philippines found on average 96.2% of the people who borrow in groups pay back their loans on time. More than 160 microfinance institutions have adopted the principle of no collateral but weekly repayment of loans with lending at commercial rates so that they can cover their costs; and they were allowed to make a profit. During that period, they have been able to target 436, 000 clients, 98% being women. The loan repayment rates of 96.2% were far higher than that recovered by most commercial banks. Luckily the project had increased the clients income by more than 28%. Their spending was mostly on school and food. So, for Philippines, this had an impact on its economy, thereby enhancing the life span, the literacy rate and also improving the standard of living of those people. 2.4.2 Least Developed Countries 2.4.2.1 Monetary Approach Khandker (2005) reported the direct effects of microfinance programs on poverty. He examined 1,638 households that participated in two waves of the BIDS World Bank 1991/92 and 1998/99 surveys in Bangladesh and found that moderate poverty in the sample villages declined by 17% between the two waves of the survey, and extreme poverty declined by 13%. Among those households that participated in the microfinance programs, the poverty rate declined by 20% in the same period, with more than half of the nearly 3% annual moderate poverty decline among participants attributed to the microfinance programs alone. He further found that access to microfinance programs contributed to the reduction of both moderate and extreme poverty of individuals particularly women as well as for the village as a whole where inflow of microfinance funds to rural areas impacted the local economy and raised per capita household consumption for both participants and nonparticipants. Morduch (1998) attempted to look specifically at the role microfinance plays in helping the poor, and reported mixed results, including some positive and some negative impacts of microfinance in alleviating poverty and helping the poor. He used survey data collected in 1991/92 by the Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies, in collaboration with the World Bank, covering 87 villages and nearly 1800 households. Survey data was collected at three points during the collection period to capture seasonal variations in household circumstances and found that the microfinance programs benefited the moderately poor more than the destitute. Further, he found that households that are eligible to borrow and have access to the programs do not have notably higher consumption levels that control households. Additionally, he found that households eligible for programs have substantially lower variation in consumption and labour supply across seasons. Thus the most important potential impacts of microfinance programs are with reducing ones financial vulnerability, and not necessarily poverty. 2.4.2.2 Capability Approach Morris and Barnes (2005) attempted to provide an overall assessment of the impact of microfinance, and examined the impacts of three microfinance programs in Uganda. Baseline data was first collected in the winter of 1997 following a survey via random sample in respect of three program areas from programs clients and nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ clients. To assess the impact thereof, the survey was repeated in the winter of 1999. The researchers found that microfinance programs did not help to alleviate poverty in program areas, though results from these impact studies indicated positive impacts on participants entrepreneurial business endeavours and within their own households. The authors further found that microfinance programs help to reduce financial vulnerability of poor individuals through the diversification of available income sources and the accumulation of assets. 2.4.3 Small Island Developing State (SIDS) 2.4.3.1 Livelihood Approach Paul B McGuire (1996) has provided an assessment of microfinance in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) namely Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa. Thus, he concluded that these people faced a number of constraints to sustainable microfinance, including low and highly dispersed populations, the lack of transport and communications infrastructure in many areas, and the continuing importance of the non-monetised subsistence economy in many countries. Apparently, the stylised fact is less than clear. Despite the huge number of studies on microfinance and poverty alleviation in the developing countries, there exists little studies for small island economies. Thus this study attempts to fill the gaps by analyzing the impact microfinance on poverty and the welfare of households in Mauritius. As argued above, the facts and findings that were used have clearly indicated that microfinance is becoming a phenomenal contribution in building those economies that were previously struck by wars, natural calamities and turmoil. Websites Bank Of Mauritius Website: http://www.bom.mu Central Statistic Office Website: http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/cso (Accessed 23 October 2010) Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Website: http://www.dti.gov.uk Government of Mauritius Website: http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/citizenhomepage (Accessed 23 July 2010) http://businessafrica.net/africabiz/countries/mauritius.php http://faithbasedmicrofinance.info/default.aspx http://internationaldevelopment.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1320549_code910083.pdf?abstractid=1291508 http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/MAURITIUSEXTN/0,,menuPK:381980~pagePK:141159~piPK:141110~theSitePK:381974,00.html http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/countries/southern-africa/mauritius/ http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=3715 http://www.blueorchard.com/jahia/Jahia/pid/341 http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj17n2-5.html ( accessed 1st december) Homepage http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/Mainhomepage/menuitem.cc515006ac7521ae3a9dbea5e2b521ca (Accessed 23 July 2010) http://www.idrc.ca http://www.intracen.org/wedf/ef2006/global-debate/Resource-Person-papers/Appanah_Paper.pdf http://www.kiva.org/about/microfinance, http://www.localhistories.org/povhist.html http://www.lww.com/static/docs/product/samplechapters/978-0-7817-7525-0_Front%20Matter.pdf http://www.mcci.org/business_finance_dbm.aspx http://www.microfinancefocus.com http://www.microfinancegateway.org http://www.mixmarket.org/mfi/trends http://www.nef.mu/documents/Liste_des_poches_de_pauvrete.pdf http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/ http://www.ophi.org.uk/publications/ophi-working-papers/ http://www.poverty-wellbeing.net/en/Home/Livelihood_Approaches http://www.rbapmabs.org/home/index.php/mabs-approach-training-and-technical-services/courses-and-training-offered-as-part-of-the-full-mabs-technical-assistance-package/mabs-approach-to-microfinance http://www.unohrlls.org/en/ldc/related/62/ International Monetary Fund Website: www.imf.org/ National Women Entrepreneur Council: http://nwec.intnet.mu Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Website: http://www.oecd.org/home SEDHA Website: http://sehda.org/links.php Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation Website: http://www.smidec.gov.my books1Books, Publication Thesis Damodar N. Gujarati (1996), Basic Econometrics, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill International, Economics Series Googoolye Heema Devi , 2004. An appraisal of the contribution of the DBM Ltd in the development of SMEs. Dissertation Ministry Of Womens Rights, Child Development Family Welfare, 17 October 2002. Finding Hope Amidst Poverty Ministry Of Womens Rights, Child Development Family Welfare, 2001/02. Bilan, Republic of Mauritius Suresh M. Sundaresan, Microfinance: emerging trends and challenges Journals Adrian Gonzalez, M.A., 2008. Microfinance, incentives to repay, and overindebtedness: evidence from a household survey in bolivia, Dissertation (PhD) Ohio State University. Chandni Ohri, Microfinance and health: a case for integrated service delivery, Social Enterprises Associates. Claudio Gonzalez- Vega, Richard L.Meyer, Sergio Navajas, Jorge Rodriguez- Meza and Guillemo F. Monje, 1996. Microfinance market niches and client profiles in Bolivia, Economics and Sociology Occasional paper no 2346. Copestake, J. Bhalotra, S. and S. Johnson, 2001. Assessing the impact of micro-credit: A Zambian case study, Journal of Development Studies, 37(4), pp. 81-100. Dean Karlan, Martin Valdivia, 2010. Teaching Entrepreneurship: Impact of Business Training on Microfinance Clients and Institutions, pp. 1-45 Essentials, 1999. Microfinance, a synthesis of lessons learned. Gertler, Paul, Levine, David I., Moretti, Enrico, 2002. Do Microfinance Programs Help Families Insure Consumption against Illness?, California Center for population research online working paper series. Guush Berhane and Cornelis Gardebroek, 2009. Does microfinance reduce rural poverty? Evidence based on a household panel data from Northern Ethiopia, International association of Agricultural economists Conference, Beijing, China, 16-22 August 2009. J.T.O Oke, R. Adeyemo and M.U Agbonlahor, 2007. An empirical analysis of microcredit repayment in South-western Nigeria, Humanities and Social Sciences Journal, 2(1), pp. 63- 73. Jon Westover, 2008. The record of microfinance: the effectiveness/ ineffectiveness of microfinance program as a means of alleviating poverty, Electronic Journal of Sociology, pp.1-8. Joy M Kiiru, John Mburu, Klaus Flohberg, 2007. Does participant in microfinance program improve household incomes: Empirical evidence from Makueni District, Kenya, Centre for development Research, Bonn University, pp. 405-410. K. Rajendra and R. P. Raya, 2010. Impact of microfinance- An empirical study on the attitude of SHG leaders in Vellore District:Tamil Nadu, India, Global Journal of Finance and Management, 2(1), pp. 59-68. Maldonado, Jorge H. and Claudio Gonzalez-Vega, 2008. Impact of Microfinance on Schooling: Evidence from Poor Rural Households in Bolivia, World Development Matthew Ruben, 2007. The discovery of microfinance for poverty relief in the developing world, Discovery Guides. Available from: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/discovery guides-main.php (accessed 14 October 2010) McIntosh, Craig and Bruce Wydick, 2005. Competition and Microfinance, Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 78, pp. 271-298. Morduch, J., 1999, The microfinance promise, Journal of Economic Literature 37(4), pp. 1569-1614. Morduch, Jonathan and Barbara Haley, 2002. Analysis of effects of microfinance on poverty reduction, NYU Working paper 1014, 28 June 2002. Morris, Gayle and Barnes, Carolyn, 2007. An assessment of the impact of microfinance, Journal of microfinance, 7(1), pp. 40-45. Nicolas Gachet, Virginie Staehli, 2006. Formalisation through micro-finance:an empirical study in Egypt, Working paper 52. Perumal Koshy and V.N Parsad, 2007. Small and micro enterprises: a tool in the fight against poverty, Munich Personal REPEC Archieve, paper number 22827. Rajesh Kumar Shastri, 2009. Microfinance and poverty reduction in India: a comparative study on Asian countries, African Journal of Business Management, 3(4), pp. 136-140. S. Khandker, 2001. Does microfinance really benefit the poor- Evidence from Bangladesh, Asia and Pacific Forum on Poverty. Schreiner, Mark, 2000. Credit Scoring for Microfinance. Can It Work? Journal of Microfinance, 2(2), pp. 105-117. Susan Johnson, 2004, The dynamics of competition in Karatinas financial markets: assessing the impact of microfinance in Kenya, Institute for Development studies, Imp-Act Working Paper 9, pp. 1-31. Tara. S. Nair, 2001. Institutionalising microfinance in India: an overview of strategic issues, Economic and Political Weekly, 36(4), pp. 399-404. Tassel E Van, 2004. Household bargaining and microfinance, Journal of Development Economics , pp. 449-468 Tiyas Biswas, Women empowernment through microfinance: a boon for development