Thursday, November 28, 2019

Motivation and Banking

Introduction Motivation can broadly be described as the driving inner or outer force through which we achieve various desired life goals. It is either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation refers to the driving inner force mostly associated with enjoyment, high educational achievements. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, relates to a driving external force in one’s life to achieve desired goals and objectives.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation and Banking specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Such motivations include can be looked at as rewards for efforts implemented to achieve something. The rewards may be in the form of money for a task accomplished, grades attained in a school setting, coercion and the threat of punishment because of indulgence in a situation (Lee, 78). For instance, his parents may tell a student that he will not be catered for in basic and essential needs failure to achieve a certain grade. Motivation additionally and in accordance to various motivation theories can be defined as a need to minimize physical pain or suffering and maximize pleasure. Discussion The respondents as illustrate were in the range of 17 years and 24 and above years. It’s evident that most the respondent’s stay in Australia is not too long. For instance, for most female its in the range of 7 months to one year. For most male, it’s between below three months and four to six months. On a survey on the major reason for finding a job being the salary as the motivating factor, most male were indifferent on the issue while most of the women were of the opinion that it’s the chief reason as to why people find a job. On the issue of whether most people love the job more than the salary, most male were observed to agree with the statement. The female were quite indifferent in agreeing with statement and some were undecided. Most men agreed that they st udy more courses for the higher salary. A good number of females were also in agreement with that notion. Freedom is very essential while performing one’s work as shown in the survey as most respondents agreed that they require their own freedom to perform their work duties. As to whether the job performed suits who you are, most female agreed with that notion while quite a good number of men also agreed with the same. Its thus evident that the job performed actually suits who we are. A mixed reaction was obtained on to whether people should work harder with increased incentives. Most were in the range of undecided and those who agreed with such sentiments. As to whether one should travel to many places with the job that interests you a mixed reaction was also obtained with some strongly agreeing and others were actually undecided.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More With regard t o the survey done on the banking operations and the impact of technology on the banking sector, this has influenced banks to adopt it to have a competitive edge in serving their loyal customers. Information technology has brought in greater convenience, effectiveness and efficiency and can to offer more banking products to customers in the banking sector. For instance, banks offer Automated Teller Machines (ATMS), EFTPOST, telephone banking and internet banking which are modern and convenient modes of faster banking. The banks highly recommend and encourage their customers to use the telephone and or internet banking, as opposed to the earlier branch based visit services. The extension of the internet banking services goes along with the customer perception, acceptance and the satisfaction derived from the use of such services. The internet banking transaction services was introduced in the 1980’s and has seen profuse growth and is highly expected to see more growth with the development of more technological innovations. This is as was denoted by Peterson in 2006. A survey conducted consisting of sixty shoppers in Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn in 2006 focused on the banking services used by customers, the population that uses and that which does not use the e-banking services. Also, the consumer behavior as to the possible reasons why customers decide on the appropriate mode of banking transaction was looked into. Out of 60 respondents, 34 were men and 26 were women. Income wise, it was shown that the majority of people earned below $1500 per week in the age bracket of 18 to 40 years. A portion of those who were 40 years and above earned between $3000 and $ 5000 per month. Most people interviewed held savings account. Non-internet banking services users consisted of 14%, and were less likely to hold a cheque account compared to e-bank users who consisted of 33%. The access of banking services through the branch consisted of 83% of the respondents. The commo n mode of accessing banking services was by use of the Automated Teller Machines and EFTPOST. The survey showed that ATMS were often used 60% of the population used in the survey, 37% of the respondents used EFTPOST, 7% never used ATMS and 25% never used EFTPOST. Telephone and internet banking were not intensively used. Recommendations It’s most evident that most people really value investing in themselves through work with the major goal and expectation of a motivating factor reward in the form of monetary terms. Conducive measures therefore to practice people’s hard earned skills on the job needs to be put in place to encourage them to work even much harder. Since its evident that study of more courses goes in line with higher salaries, such different courses should be well laid emphasis on and mentorship on the same should be highly encouraged.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Motivation and Banking specifically for you for only $16.0 5 $11/page Learn More People should be encouraged to work hard for what they really believe in and actually dream to achieve in their future as most jobs suit who they are. As most people would go greater lengths in terms of achieving their dreams of the work they desire most, they should be widely encouraged to follow their dreams even if it would mean travelling a lot. The basic reason for using the banking services as shown by most people is to gaining access to cash used for different transactional purposes. The second most reason is making of deposits through the cheque or cash. A few used the banking services to check for their bank balances (Lee, 103). The main advantage of the telephone and internet use of banking services is that they do not require the physical appearance of the person concerned (Gkoutzinis, 243). Additionally, the modes do not require the use of cards to identify with the person, but rely solely on electronic transmission of identification of access codes and numbers or appropriate passwords. The major reason for use of e-banking as portrayed by a number of respondents was due to time-saving mechanism, convenience, full time availability and cost effective. This is because the e-banking services can be accessed majorly from home, the work place, and even the study place. The reasons as to why some people do not use the internet banking services includes the ignorance that people may have on the use and access of the e-banking services. Also, some quote of security reasons due to the increasing number of hackers and robberies. Nevertheless, some thought it very useful to learn on the use of the e-banking banking services. Lack of adequate information on the use of the e-banking services was a major reason as to why some people did not use these services. E-banking permits the full access to account balances, funds transfers between accounts and account payments. The accessibility to the bank account are varied from dif ferent customers for instance some have daily access depending on their needs, while others on a monthly basis. Those who frequently use the bank services have a favor in using the e-banking services. Most of e-bank uses, in fact, have more than one account. The income levels of different bank service users determine the account that they operate. The high-income earners for instance use the e-banking facility frequently since they have numerous transactions and e-banking have an ideal convenient platform for this. There is a great desire for more information as postulated by the non e-banking users.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion Therefore it’s the duty of institutions, mentors, parents from the grass root level to nurture their kids in the manner so desired so that they can grow in an all rounded manner. People should also strive to achieve that which they believe in. Also, superb working conditions should be put in place to allow for people to work in conducive conditions which will support their lives. The banks hence have a role to educate the bank services users on the importance of the use of the internet banking. In conclusion, it is apparent that the banking services have changed greatly in the recent years and customers have resulted to the use of ATMS and EFTPOST, telephone banking and internet banking. The gender is highly insignificant in the determination of the account to be used by individuals. It is also evident that high-income earners are likely to adopt the use of telephone banking and internet banking with a lower usage by the lower-income earners. Banks, therefore, have a duty to promote their e-banking services and enlighten their customers on their major importance. Cited work Gkoutzinis, Apostolos Ath. Internet banking and the law in Europe: regulation, financial integration and electronic commerce. Cambridge [u. a.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006. Print. Lee, In. E-business innovation and process management . Hershey, PA: CyberTech Pub., 2007. Print. This essay on Motivation and Banking was written and submitted by user Brianna Snyder 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.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Hawaii essays

Hawaii essays MOTTO: Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono (The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness) Located in the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii consists of eight major islands. They are Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau, and Kahoolawe. Honolulu, which is in Oahu, is Hawaiis capital and largest community. Hawaii entered the Union on August 21, 1959, as the 50th state. Hawaiis economy was long dominated by plantation agriculture and military spending. As agriculture has declined in importance, the economy has diversified to encompass a large tourist business and a growing manufacturing industry. Hawaii is known as the Aloha State; aloha is a word used both for greeting and farewell in the Hawaiian language. The eight main Hawaiian islands comprise the tops of several shield volcanoes (those that are formed from quiet lava flows rather than explosion), which rise from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The largest island, Hawaii, is formed from five volcanoes. Only two of them are active. Maui is made up of two shield volcanoes and a central plain. Oahu has two heavily eroded volcanoes which form two mountain ranges. Between the two mountain ranges lies a central plateau on which sugar cane and pineapple are planted. Prominent features of Oahus landscape are Diamond Head and Punchbowl. Kauai has steep sea cliffs as well as a number of inland canyons. Molokai comprises a plateau in the west and rugged mountains in the east. Hawaii has a tropical climate moderated by oceanic influences and prevailing northeasterly tradewinds. Temperatures vary little from place to place except with elevation. The average annual temperature of about 75 degrees varies little between summer and winter According to the 1990 census, Hawaii had 1,108,229 inhabitants, an increase of over 14.9% over 1980. The 1995 estimated population is 1,221,000. The aver ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Managing Finance and Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Managing Finance and Information - Essay Example In this manner, the knowledge base is transformed through the systems logical process modeling, which allows for data applications to be interoperable and interchangeable through the enterprise in a secure manner. The transformation process involves strategic security levels. This focuses on the logic linkages of data packets, for example, linking the engineering intellectual capital of suppliers to transform into composite information for product development. The transformation process is incremental to ensure that data maintains integrity and is validated throughout the process, with the goal of removing inconsistencies and promoting the business model. Data outputs are organized based on system uses information already maintained by the company; however, the information requires a different method of storage and access. The data integrity validation system may require additional storage space to allow for the real-time job proofing that is an integral part of the system. The intellectual property received, transformed, and administered to the end user have increased dependence on electronic transmission of order information and therefore demand a greater degree of redundancy regarding the output infrastructure. Monetary value fluctuates with the type of intellectual property or research data received, the transformation i... locally obtain necessary information using accessible physical devices (hardware) that process particular data (retained in a database) via a certain set of instructions (software). All successful information systems must connect and direct people, processes, data, hardware, and software towards a desired goal. The IM project tools such as work process maps, internal project reviews, focused client expectation and satisfaction surveys, and Jacobs Value Enhancing Practices to both deliver successful, repeatable results, and to create new opportunities for innovation and enhanced value Delivery Throughout The Input-Output Cycle The success of both the IM department and the ontology of the systems systems depend on the integrity of the data that forms the foundation for each system. A database stores a collection of files containing various pieces of information or data that are interrelated in some fashion. It can also not be stated that any one source of data has a greater value than another, or than the transformation of the data, or the output to clientele. However, a lack of validity, integrity or security in any input-transformation-output cycle could cost Jacobs Engineering millions, if not billions, of dollars in lost, stolen, or corrupt data. Therefore, while there cannot be a specific monetary value attached to the data cycle, there is a strong amount of financial risk involved with loss of information in the data cycle. The Budgets table shows the estimated cost of relative data control needs. The IM value is not monetary based, but without the succinct capabilities there would be a significant gap in the functional ability of Jacobs Engineering to work in the global information technology environment. The value of IM is therefore not based on the traditional

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Safe Guarding Sensitive Database Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Safe Guarding Sensitive Database - Assignment Example For Vista, choose Start, Search, click the down arrow on the right side of Advanced Search, then select Date modified in the Date drop-down menu which is on the left. Here, you then look for any recently created, altered or renamed files. If you find what you are looking for, to be safe, save it in at least two different storage devices. b) -Â  Identity proofing, registration and credential delivery which bind an identity to a token. Depending on the level of assurance necessary for the system, this process is done either remotely or in person. It includes: Remote authentication mechanisms: This is the combination of authentication protocols credentials and tokens which are used in establishing the subscription of the claimant’s authenticity as a subscriber. Assertion mechanisms: This is used to communicate remote authentication results to other parties. They are issued by verifiers pertaining to claimants as a result of a successful authentication, and they are either signed in a digital way by their issuers or by direct way of obtaining, by presenting parties from a trustworthy party through a protocol with secure authentication. They would not be the same for a bank versus a school since in a bank, the authentication protocols present a way a claimant can establish the token control to a verifier without compromise but with a school, such high level of security is not required since they don’t run a high-risk business. They do not hold highly sensitive documents as it is with a bank (Williams & Simoff, 2006). a) Age, gender/sex and socio-economic status: In analyzing the audience, I will first determine the primary age group and gender of your audience, audience’s race and/or cultural background, my audience location in terms of their country/state/city, their education level, socio-economic status and religion. b) What I believe I can do as a speaker to respond to the audience’s listening goals is focusing on what they are interested in since it is a common thing to see.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Find appropriate title Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Find appropriate title - Essay Example related to the way work was distributed, planning and organising work, types of skills possessed by employees, measuring and rewarding performance, standardization of best suitable methods of working and defining the role of each employee, group, function and/or unit. Subsequently, the Managerial Grid was proposed by Blake and Mouton (1964/1971) in which the interplay of three organisational universals, i.e. people, production and hierarchy, is studied through a grid depicting different ways how managers are concerned about production and people and their impact on each other. A transition of management perception towards human relations begun with Hawthorne studies conducted by Elton Mayo, which proved that variations in external environment impacted performance of the workers; variations in pay in the form of performance incentives motivated workers to perform better; increased social interactions that occurred between work motivated workers in turn leading to higher productivity (Dixon, 2003). These theories and others explain how different perspectives, i.e. planning and organising work, organisational structure and systems, and human relations, have an impact on effective management, contrary to my approach which has more often been authorit ative and less inclined towards human relations. The most essential requirement for effective management is ‘leadership.’ For a manager to be successful he/she should exemplify qualities of a leader; however, a person may not be in a managerial position to emerge as a leader. Hence, leadership qualities such as the ability to influence, create a vision, and ability for doing the right things help a manager to become more effective. For instance, Tripathi (2008) sums up leadership as characterized by existence of followers; involving a community of interests between leader and the followers; unequal distribution of authority; and guiding followers towards the right direction. However, management focuses on

Friday, November 15, 2019

Analyse The Hotel Industry In Uk Tourism Essay

Analyse The Hotel Industry In Uk Tourism Essay It is very important that in todays competitive environment, (both in terms of business and employability) one has a clear understanding and sufficient knowledge of the sector or industry in which they would be operating. This report will be looking at, and analysing the Hotel industry in the United Kingdom, examining industrys micro and macro environment. Its purpose is to examine the industry with intention to gather market intelligence that would support prospective managerial development, career aspirations and prepare them for sufficiently informed participation at interviews. Findings from the report should therefore, enhance their business knowledge and employability prospects in the industry. The report will focus on the last five years which have in fact seen the industry at its best and at its worst in just a few years. A number of different data sources would be utilised such as industry reports, news paper articles and various websites related to the industry. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Industry overview The hotel industry and tourism in general is one of the worlds main growth industries worth trillions of ponds globally. According to a key note report (2009) the hotel industry in the United Kingdome grew by 29.1% in four years to 2008, reaching a staggering  £15.87 billion. This growth was attributed to a number of factors, such as the high disposable income available to people, introduction of low cost airlines and the rapid expansion of budget hotel sector. With hotels that opened up to a wide range of customers combined with cheap flights and high disposable income people could have more than one holiday a year. This in turn benefited the hotel industry as a whole from both foreign and domestic tourists. This vibrant growth, however, has seen a change in its fortunes in the last two years, due to a number of factors but mainly the economical downturn. In 2008 global economy took a turn for the worst and the problem deepened in 2009, leading to recession in most developed economies and UK was no exception. This had an immediate impact on holiday purchasing with research suggesting that a significant proportion of adults thinking of saving money by having a domestic holiday in 2009, while 25% of them were worried they could not afford a holiday at all (KeyNote 10). This has led to many hotels adapting to the situation by reducing prices or offering lucrative promotional deals to meet the market expectations and improve sales. The hotel industry could be divided into two sectors, corporate and consumer both providing services to meet their particular clients needs. The first one includes accommodations paid by businesses, for business travel purposes and the latter is paid by consumers for non-business reasons. A grading scale based on a star system is used to classify the quality and range of service provided by the company. The grading is comprised of 1-5 stars, where one star represents simple accommodation with no thrills attached and five stars represent exceptional quality of service with some degree of luxury. In some situations Silver or Gold may be added to Hotels that exceed the requirements under the star system. It is estimated that 1 one in every 10 people in the UK is employed in the Hospitality industry, in other words over 1.96 million (2007) people working in around 300,000 establishments across the country. Overall employment in this industry grew by 5% in 2007 but the Hotel sector had the lowest growth with only 2.7% adding another 6,500 jobs to the existing 238,500 jobs that existed in the previous year (Table 1.2). Major cities accounts for the highest concentration of hotels in the UK and are thought to attract the highest level of tourism activity with London leading the way. Market size trends During the economic boom of the late 90s and early part of this decade the Hotel Industry has expanded rapidly benefiting from a number of factors mainly related to economic growth an improved technology. The increasing globalisation of a lot of companies necessitated more corporate travel and accommodation. Being the financial centre of Europe and to some extent the world, London benefited a great deal from this rich consumer source. A lot of hotel groups responded to this by investing on their brands, positioning their portfolios to more upscale four/five star properties. In addition, the budget hotel sector was developed to suit a wider range of consumers as well as businesses. All was made even easier for consumers by the development of the internet. This allowed easy comparison in terms of price and guest facilities on offer, as well as a more convenient way to book them. Internet is now thriving with 34,104,175 or 57.2% of population having access to it in the UK spending an av erage of ten hours a month online (www.theanswerbank). In spite of the healthy growth experienced in the last two decades and the excitement of the coming Olympic Games London 2012, the industry has in 2009 suffered a setback. This was due to the recession that affected almost every developed or developing economy in the world. In the first quarter of 2009, the UK saw a fall in visits by one million, although statistics show that spending remained relatively the same as the corresponding time of the preceding year (table1.1). This could be accredited to the weaker pound which slummed at record lows both against the Euro and American Dollar at 75.86p to the Euro and $ 1.375 (bbc.co.uk). In 2008 there were 31.9 million visits in the UK producing on average  £512 of spending each, generating over  £16.3 billion of revenue for the economy. This however is considerably smaller than the spending generated by the internal visits of UK residents which marked  £21.1 billion for the same period, though slightly down from the previous year. The total spending generated by both UK and Overseas visits for 2008 was just above  £37.4 billion, 0.4% higher than 2007 (table 1.1). Hotel industry takes just above 42% of this wealth, in other words  £15.87 billion. During the peak of recession there was a significant increase on short-term holidays taken domestically. Though, as the economy comes out of recession domestic holidays are predicted to fall by 7.7% with a similar decline on value between 2009 and 2013. Holidays abroad on the other hand are forecasted to increase by over 16% between those years. (KeyNote) According to government data turnover in the hotel market gradually increased on average by 6.6% between 2004 and 2008. Key Note forecasted a 6.8% (appendix 4) decrease in total revenue for the following year but expects an upward trend from 2010, peaking in 2013 to 4.8% or 16.99 billion in total. Room occupancy which is a key indicator to measure the amount of business carried out by hotels was at 76% in 2007 according to VisitBritain but decreased in the following two years to 68% in 2009. Economic trends In the last five years the UK economy has seen some of its best and worst days. After the healthy growth that the economy had enjoyed in the early part of the decade came the downturn that succeeded in the second half of it. As a result of the global credit squeeze, 2007-09 proved to be a bumpy ride for the economy, enforcing banks to take a tougher line on lending. This caused a sharp fall in consumer spending, with unpleasant consequences for most industries. In 2005 research showed that productivity growth had slumped and business investment was at a record low, consequently the British economy was growing at a rate slower than the average growth for other developed economies, falling well short of chancellors budget prediction. Table 1.4 shows the GDP performance in the last five years to 2008. It is evident that GDP plunged in 2008 to only 0.7 and performing at its worse in the 3rd quarter of 2008 when the economy fell into a recession registering a -6% drop (nationalstatistics.co.uk). GDP started to recover late in the 4th quarter of 2009 when it was just under stagnation point and first signs of getting out of recession appearing in the first quarter of 2010. According to national statistics growth in the first quarter of this year register a 0.2% increase. The same source suggests that during the same quarter distribution, hotels and restaurants fell by 0.7% compared with an increase of 1.9 per cent in the previous quarter. Appendix 1 shows how this recession compares to the previous two in the 80s and 90s. It appears that last recession was the hardest of the three but seems to be the shortest of the three. High energy prices in the world markets (highest being $136.24 a barrel, 2008, appendix 2), forced inflation rates rise to record heights in September 2008 to 5.2% well above the Bank of Englands target of 2%. This increase forced the Bank to raise interest rates three times since summer 2006 with highest being in July 07 at 5.75% (BBC, 29/11/07). Although, this spike in inflation became less of e concern for the Governor as recession was deemed the major threat to the economy. This then led the Bank England to repeatedly lower interest rates reaching its lowest point at 0.5% in March 09 and hoping for the inflation to melt away. In fact that is exactly what happened with inflation rates falling to 1.1% in September 2009, the lowest since 2004. (thisismoney.co.uk) Increase in fuel prices is bound to raise travel costs for millions of people. High fuel prices, rise in interest rates and inflation followed with the credit squeeze effects are also leaving people with less disposable income. This is having a negative effect on consumer spending as it is getting difficult for consumers to keep up with credit payments (credit cards/mortgages/loans). Therefore, loss in consumer confidence may result in less spending on holidays consequently impacting on industry profitability. Competition According to National Statistics there are 10,195 hotels in the country and the majority of those establishments generate less than  £1 million annual turnover (appendix 5). This has not stopped competition in the industry intensifying in recent years, narrowing the gap between budget and midmarket hotels. However, its still the large chains/midmarket hotels that win the marketing battle by spending large sums on brand building. This has become a very important feature and most hotels are now seeking to develop stronger identity that would target both consumer and corporate sectors more effectively. Among others, Premier in was one of the largest spenders on media advertising in 2009, spending over  £5.5 millions on promotional activities followed by Travel Lodge who spent just under  £3 million. In addition to this the large chains have focused on seasonal offers and lowering their prices. For example, in autumn 2009 Travel Lodge lunched room sales for the next spring, offering rooms for as low as  £12 a night. Also these midmarket establishments have more flexibility to offer packages or meals to attract a larger, more price conscious market. Low budget hotels on the other hand have responded to this by providing more facilities and services than before as well as including more offers on their websites. Table 1.8 shows some of the major players in the United Kingdome and their relative annual turnover. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC seems to lead the way with close to  £2 billion annual turnover from which  £302 million were pre-tax profit. The company has a number of brands under its umbrella such as Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites operating in around 100 countries offering 630,000 rooms. Second in this list follows, Millennium Copthorne Hotels PLC with an annual turnover of  £703 million and pre-tax profits of  £103 millions. The company fosters four different brands including Millennium and Grand millennium Hotels, Capthorn Hotels and Kingsgate Hotels. Recently it has recently expanded with seven new hotels in China and Middle East. Accor UK Business Leisure Hotels Ltd is owned by Accor a French based group which has 15 different brands under its umbrella varying from luxury to economy accommodation. The UK based subsidiary generates an annual turnover of  £198 million of which  £37.5 million pre-tax profit. Travelodge which is owned by Dubai International Capital is the next in line generating an annual turnover of  £287 million and a pre-tax profit of  £16.5 million. The company is rapidly expanding both in UK and main land Europe, with 29 hotels planed to be built in UK in 2009 and 100 in Spain by 2020. De Vere Hotels Leisure Ltd operates two hotel chains generating a total annual turnover of  £248 million by combining a 100 bedroom hotels and fitness clubs. The company is owned by Alternative Hotel Group which is aiming to rebrand the De Vere portfolio under Deluxe, Heritage and Venue options, differentiating the accommodation offer. Tourism There was a slight drop in the number of overseas residents visiting Britain for business reasons in 2007/8 as a lot of companies tightened their budgets on travel expenditure. This has resulted in low room and bedspace occupancy levels which dropped to a 4 year low (426.2 million bed nights) with serious consequences for the hotel market. The following year was a very difficult year for tourism, experiencing a significant drop in visit numbers. 2010 is also expected to be somewhat difficult for the industry, with substantial improvement expected to start only in 2011. However, according to a keynote report on travel and tourism, research suggests that 1/3 adults in the Britain has taken at least one holiday in the last 12 months and 1/5 of them having taken three or more for the same period. Still, the economic downturn forced a lot of suppliers, including the package tour operators, to react by reducing their capacity and cutting the number of holidays on offer. UK continues to be an attractive place in the international holiday market and this is very important for the long term prospects of the hotel industry. The coming decade which has been described by many commentators as the golden decade of sport because of the many different international events due to take place in UK (table 1.7) is exiting times for the industry. Overseas spectator numbers to these events will provide a necessary boost for the hotel market. Records based on previous similar events staged by other countries in recent years show that hotel profitability increased as a direct result. BigHospitality referring to VisitEngland research suggests that tourism industry in the United Kingdome could be worth a staggering  £147 billion by 2020 with the potential of creating over 225,000 new jobs in the industry. This would be a 52% increase from the current estimated value of  £97 billion. Though smaller than the domestic spending in hotel sector, the international tourism is a significant contributor to total revenue. Only London, which earns over  £8bn from overseas visitors, depends more on the overseas visitor than on the home market. Employment and Demographics According to BBC unemployment in UK continued with its downward trend until August 2007, falling by 5000 in the second quarter of 07 to 1.65 million where it maintained one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe at 5.5% but slightly higher than that of USA. ONS figures also showed that average earnings rose by 3.7% during the same quarter, beating expectations of a 3.6% rise. However, theses prosperous years were soon over and low unemployment was history. According to the national statistics, employment has seen a dramatic fall in the last three years reaching its lowest point since 1996 when it hit 72.1% or 28.82 million in February 2010 (appendix 3). In the last quarter to February there was a decrease in both part-time and full time employment totalling 89.000. The number of people working only part-time because they could not find full time employment increased during the same quarter to reach 1.05 million, the highest figure since 1992. The overall unemployment rate recorded 8.0%, in other words 2.5 million, higher than any time since September 1996. The inactivity rate in the first quarter of 2010 was at 21.5%, the highest since 2004. This added another 110,000 to the total figure, reaching a record high of 8.16 million people considered inactive in UK. Though, this could be as a result of a relatively large number of young people choosing to go into education after finishing their secondary school rather than go straight to the labour market. Population in the United Kingdome has continuously increased in recent years reaching 61.4 million in 2008, an increase this of over 9% in just five years (KeyNote). This was due to the high influx of migrants from the newly joined EU member states from Eastern Europe. This trend of population growth is forecasted to continue to the end of the century. Britains population is predicted to reach 71 million within 25 years, 78 million within 50 years and 85 million by 2081 (The Guardian, 28/11/07). This 39.6% growth (from 59,834,300 in 2004) represents an opportunity for steady market growth in UK in the next 78 years. The hotel industry is likely to benefit substantially from this if the lifestyle people have grown to enjoy in the last 20 years continue to be the norm. SWOT Strength UK is seen as a major tourist destination and has in place a good promotional and support system for tourists such as VisitBritain. The UK market incorporates a number of internationally well-known hotel brands and chains. Short term leisure breaks have risen due to high disposable income over the last decade. The development of the budget hotel sector opened the hotel market to a wider range of clients. The Internet has facilitated easier choice and booking of facilities. Weaknesses The industrys performance is highly dependable on the performance of the wider economy. The market seems to be over supplied in term of room numbers and this seems to keep room occupancy levels rather low at 60% average. Budget and upscale hotels seems to be putting the midmarket establishments under pressure. Continuing investment is necessary to maintain properties at a high standard. Opportunities A number of international sports event planned to be staged in UK between now and 2019 Western Balkans expected to join the European Union soon which would allow for more tourists from that region visit Britain. Forecasted growth of inbound visits till 2014 Steady population growth well into the century which would boost demand for travel and tourism and consequently Hotel facilities. Threats Some EU economies suffering from high deficits may be forced to freeze or lower wages all together in their public sectors. This could impact the numbers of overseas visits to UK which would adversely affect the turn over and consequently profits in the hotel industry It may get harder to raise expansion capital due to falling property values. High unemployment rates in UK could mean that people may not be able to afford holidays. CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION The success of the industry is dependable on a lot of external factors and this was most clearly evident during the last economic downturn. However, in todays world globalisation plays an important role both in leisure and commerce. Therefore, hotel industry which is now well established will be a sector that would commend high demand for its services in the future. History shows that hotel industry has bounced back in the past after suffering similar setbacks. This will certainly be the case this time round with the first signs of recovery already in sight. At glance it appears that the industry has learned from previous downturns responding to it by adjusting prices and offers to look more attractive. Seeing that the largest share of revenue comes from internal visits and many EU economies risking Bankruptcy, it would be wise to try and encourage more British people spend their vacations in the UK. In the meantime the coming decade with its sports events to be held here presents a great opportunity for the industry. Therefore, companies should take advantage of this by planning ahead so they would have sufficient bed/room space to meet the demand. Although trading at the moment is rather low in comparison to pre-recession time and raising capital for further development has become harder. It is worth remembering that hotel projects take a relatively long time to materialise and now may be the time to start thinking for the future. As the economy recovers the hoteliers should also seek to build occupancy back, perhaps through further competitive pricing and promotional deals with the aim to reinstate RevPar growth. APPENDICIES AND TABLES Table 1.1. Overseas residents visits to the UK and the expenditure in the UK (Million,  £million and  £) 2004-09 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2008 Q1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   2009 Q1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   Number of overseas visitors (million) 27.8 30 32.7 32.8 31.9 7.2 6.2 Expenditure ( £m) 13.047 14.248 16.002 15.960 16.323 3.129 3.128 Average expenditure per visit ( £) 469 475 489 487 512 435 505 UK residents Expenditure ( £m) 21,238 21,107 Q1- first qarter à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   Seasonally adjusted Note: expenditure figures refer to total spending by visitors not solely accommodation/hotel costs Source. International Passenger survey (MQ6, Quarter 1 2009) National Statistics Table 1.2: EMPLOYMENT IN THE UK HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY 2004-2007 2004* 2005* 2006 2007 Contract food service  providers 179,600 178,300 182,600 181,600 Hotels 247,100 238,400 238,500 245,000 Pubs, bars and nightclubs 368,400 333,900 297,700 319,600 Restaurants   518,700   514,700   499,700   526,700 Hospitality services   402,100   379,900   390,300   417,400 TOTAL WORKFORCE   1,917,300   1,843,000   1,866,300   1,960,700 Source: Labour Force Survey www.caterersearch.com Table 1.3: UK resident population estimates 2004-08 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Population (000) 59,846 60,238 60,587 60,975 61,412 % change year on year 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 Source: Monthly Digest of Statistics, August 2009, statistics.gov.uk Table1.4: UK GDP at Current and Annual Chain-Link Prices ( £m), 2004-08 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Current Prices 1,202,956 1,254,058 1,325,795 1,398,882 1,446,113 % change 4.2 5.7 5.5 3.4 Annual Chain-Link 1,227,387 1,254,058 1,289,833 1,322,842 1,332,652 % change 2.2 2.9 2.6 0.7 Source: Economic and Labour review, August 09, statistics.gov.uk Table 1.5. UK rate of inflation (%) 2004-2008 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Inflation (%) 3.0 2.8 3.2 4.3 4.0 Change year on year -0.2 0.4 1.1 -0.3 Source: Monthly Digest of Statistics August 2009, National Statistics website Table 1.6: Proportion of nights spent and expenditure on hotels, motels or guest houses and other accommodation in the UK by UK and Overseas residents (%) 2007 2008 Nights (%) Expenditure (%) 2007 2008 2007 2008 UK Residents Hotel, motel or guest house 23 23 46 48 Other accommodation 77 77 54 52 Overseas residents Hotel, motel or guest house 23 22 50 50 Other accommodation 77 78 50 50 Source: UK Tourism survey 2007 and 2008, VisitBritain/International Passenger survey 2007 and 2008, National Statistics. Table 1.7: Golden decade of sports Event Sport Year Location Ryder Cup Golf 2010 Wales Olympic Games Various 2012 London Commonwealth Games Various 2014 Glasgow Rugby World Cup Rugby 2015 England World Cup Football 2018 UK Cricket World Cup Cricket 2019 England Table 1.8: Major Players in UK Hotel Industry Company Revenue per year ( £m) Accor UK Business Leisure Hotels Ltd 198.3 De Vere Hotels Leisure Ltd 248.2 Guoman Hotels Ltd 220.4 Hilton International Hotels (UK) Ltd 58.10 InterContinental Hotels Group PLC 1,850.00 Macdonald Hotels Ltd 135.4 Marriott Hotels Ltd 149.5 Millennium Copthorne Hotels PLC 702.9 Premier Inn Hotels Ltd 159.5 Travelodge Hotels Ltd 287 Source: KeyNote Appendix 1: The Economy in three recessions (bbc.co.uk) Appendix 2: Oil price rise 2000-07 (bbc.co.uk) Appendix 3: Employment (statistics.gov.uk) Appendix 4: UK Hotel Market Forecast. Appendix 5: Number of establishments

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Epidemic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Essay -- Post-Tr

The human brain is extremely complex, top scientists and surgeons still struggle to comprehend how it works. The way that the brain can process information and help a person to problem solve is amazing, but another part of the brain can hold memories. Some are good--like a memory of a family vacation or of family holidays--but there are also frightening memories that can haunt a person until his or her death, if they don’t get help. For a very long time researchers have focused on combatant PTSD, for very good reason, but now a problem has risen among civilians, and they have not been focused on the growth of PTSD right here in regular everyday people’s lives. Not just soldiers can be affected; civilian men, women, and children can be affected by the things they see every day. It can be the paramedic that is first on the scene or it could be the child who watches a robbery goes wrong and a loved one is caught in the cross-fire. Either way these people are all just as im portant to the american society as the soldiers. The importance of the military is massive, and yes I agree that we should help the soldiers who suffer from PTSD, I even have my own personal connections. My uncle went to Vietnam for the Vietnam war and when he came back he was paranoid and scared of anything that reminded him of Vietnam. He like so many other soldiers then and now has PTSD from what he had seen while overseas. The only problem with helping the soldiers is that we don’t focus on the others who also need help getting through their PTSD. There are so many research projects on how to help soldiers get through their PTSD, but their are a limited amount of PTSD research papers on the civilian side. Researchers will only focus on certain things, and pr... ... 07 Dec. 2013. Marais, Adele, et al. â€Å"Domestic Violence in patients visiting general practitioners: Prevalence, phenomenology and association with psychopathy.† SAMJ South African Medical Journal 89.6 (1999): 635-640. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. Schwarz, Eitan D., and Janice M. Kowalski. "Malignant memories: PTSD in children and adults after a school shooting." Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 30.6 (1991): 936-944. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. "Survivor Care." LOVE146. LOVE146. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. Tarrier, Nicholas, and Lynsey Gregg. â€Å"Suicide risk in civilian PTSD patients.† Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology 39.8 (2004): 655-661. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. The Amazing Spider-Man. Dir. Marc Webb. Perf. Andrew Garfield, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, and Sally Field. Sony Pictures, 2012. DVD. 07 Dec. 2013.