According to Markides (1999) There is surprisingly little agreement on Essay

According to Markides (1999) There is surprisingly little agreement on what strategy really is. Critically analyse this statement with reference to the many different definitions of strategy - Essay Example is report aims at understanding the various definitions that have been set down by the various authors in the past and to analyse whether the statement by Markides (1999) has significance in the true sense. The following section will deal with the various definitions that have been developed over the years. Strategy includes a number of different aspects that it is associated with. Firstly, a strategy is normally long planned. This is in a hierarchical system of goals and objectives. A strategy is a combined effort to create a blend between the external environment, internal resources and the capabilities of the resources within the business (Bernus, et.al, 2003). â€Å"Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations.† (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2006, p. 9) According to Johnson et.al, (2006), there are six major elements that strategic decisions are made out off. It is essential to understand that strategic decisions are normally long term directions of organisations, which include the scope of the organisation. Also this includes to a great extent gaining advantage over the competitors and addresses the changes that happen within the business environment. Strategies that are developed, try to develop the resources and try to improve the capabilities of the people within the organisation. These strategies are also expected to be based on the values and expectations of the stakeholder. There are a few different schools of the thoughts for the views of strategy. Each of the views of thought has been over the years from 1960s until now. The 1960s and the early 1970s, saw the school of thought where the strategies were expected to be systematic and with analytical approach. Following which the change in the need for strategy, this period aimed at having strategies which are more

Self-Evaluation of Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self-Evaluation of Life - Essay Example The society that I come from places a lot of importance on religion, honour and obedience to the teachings of religion. I live in a society that is characterized by diversity in all aspects of life from religion to cultural and traditional practices. This created a conflict of interest on my part because I wanted to maintain the integrity of my beliefs, and at the same time adapt and thrive in this dynamic new world (Casino, 58). There were significant forces that had an influence on my life, and in retrospect, there were some that were positive while others were negative. It is during this initial transitional period that I was faced with the possibility of losing direction in life when I met a fellow fellow citizen. He had experienced the same predicament I was presently facing, and when he identified with my situation, he endeavoured to help me cope with the situation. He introduced me to other people who had gone through the same experience of identity conflict. Through sharing a bout our experiences in the past and present with each other, I was able to feel better about myself and better equipped to deal with cultural shock. I am eternally thankful to this person for helping me preserve my sense of identity and beliefs of my heritage. There are things in one’s life that hold meaning, in the sense that they represent, to them core elements that are part of self and their identity. I come from a society that has excellent pride in the breed of horses that are bred and reared, by the people.

The Current Environmental Laws In The Philippines Environmental Sciences Essay

The Current Environmental Laws In The Philippines Environmental Sciences Essay Based on my research about the current Philippine Environmental Laws, I found out that it has two parts; first is the Presidential Decree no. 1586 or the Environmental Impact System which states that no projects shall be implemented without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).In order for the government to find out if they are to issue an Environmental Compliance Certificate, an assessment should be done regarding the proposed projects impact on the environment. An Environmental Impact Assessment is defined as a procedure in order to find out and predict the impact of proposed projects to the countrys environment and to mens well being and health. This assessment is important in order for us to find out the resource allocation for the said project and determine the costs associated with environmental conservation. Once the Environmental Impact System has been approved an Environmental Compliance Certificate may now be given to the person in charge of the project and he may now proceed with the implementation of his project. The certificate is very important to have because it contains the terms and conditions that the person imposing the project should comply with. Failure to follow the conditions in the certificate may result to its suspension or cancellation, the person behind the project may be subjected to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand pesos (50,000Php). If the project is cleared and is now being implemented or started with, monitoring is usually done to make sure that they are complying with the conditions in the certificate and to observe the projects environmental impact. The second part of the Philippine Environmental Law is the Presidential Decree no. 984 or The Pollution Control Law, this is also known as the Pollution Control Decree of 1978 is a national policy that is aimed to prevent, avoid, and control pollution of water, air, and land for the more effective utilization of the resources in the country. This law also contains the re quirements or necessary standards needed to be followed in order to acquire a permit to build or impose a certain project that does not in any way affect the environment negatively. It also contains the provisions if ever there are penalties. Presidential Decree 984 focuses on; first, the Clean Air Act of 1999 which is a policy and program to maintain the air quality in the country. This is to bring all the citizens to cooperate and exert an effort to clean the air we breathe, and whoever will violate this act will be subjected to pay. The act primarily focuses on prevention rather than control, mainly because if we can prevent something bad from happening then it will be less burdensome in the near future. Preventing further damage to the stratospheric ozone layer is an example of this. This act sets standards for sources of mobile air pollution, those coming from vehicles like cars, trucks, vans, buses, jeepneys, tricycle, and motorcycles. Smoke stacks from industrial firms like h otels, power plants, and other establishments are also closely monitored. Aside from those mentioned, smoking, burning of garbage, and dust from construction are included. Second is the Clean Water Act of 2004, records say that as early as 1996 several tests were conducted and results showed that only 51% of rivers in our country are still usable, and the remaining 49% were already polluted due to domestic and industrial activities. That might not sound that much big of a deal until you realize that 31% of all sicknesses come from drinking or contact with dirty/polluted waters, diseases like cholera, amoebiasis, leptospirosis etc. Republic Act No. 9275 or the Clean Water Act of 2004 aims to protect the clean and remaining bodies of water we have left from pollution caused by discharges from human activities, factories in the industry, and other land based sources. It also states that all owners of companies or anyone who discharges wastewater are required to get a permit from the De partment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) or the Laguna Lake Development Authority, all companies or industries that discharge wastewater and are in operation even with the said permit will have to pay a wastewater charge in order to discourage the companies from discharging wastewater and opt to invest in cleaner production and pollution control technologies, this will help decrease the number of pollutants generated and discharged. Third is the Solid Waste Management or Republic Act No. 9003, this act talks about a legal structure on how our country can have a systematic and ecological solid waste management system that will help in maintaining and protecting the environment and the peoples health. This act also provides programs for minimizing waste, and knowing how to properly dispose of our garbage, it advices the people to adopt the three Rs of Solid Waste Management; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Segregation is also mandatory in the following areas; households, instituti ons, industrial facilities, commercial/business establishment, and agricultural areas. They also prohibit open burning of solid wastes to avoid further damage to the atmosphere and pollution to the air. Last is the Act to Control Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes or Republic Act No. 6969, they have several policies listed, one is to regulate, limit, and prohibit importation, manufacturing, processing, sale, distribution, use, and dispose of chemical substances this is done so that we can avoid unreasonable risk to the peoples health and of course to the environment, next is to prohibit entry and most especially disposal of hazardous wastes to the Philippines territorial limits and lastly, to conduct research on toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes. How are Hotel and Tourism Management students affected by the Environmental Laws? After reading a lot of things about the environmental laws in the Philippines I am now more aware of my surroundings and the things that need to be done in order to have a safe and clean place to live in. Having knowledge about the law is always a good thing because we become more careful in our actions. Some people are just not that knowledgeable about certain environmental issues thats why they tend to care less. Hotel and Tourism students are affected by these laws because we will be working in an industry that is very wide and vast, everywhere we go there is always accommodation and food, which means that we can start by applying what weve learned regarding the environment to our workplace, not to mention that hotels and tourists are a huge part of our countrys economy, we can make a huge impact because our industry is well known and is all over the world, it will be our job as aware students or future employees to help in applying or implementing ways on how we can help keep the environment clean and at the same time provide quality service to all our guests. Our course also deals with serving and having contact to people that avail our products and services, we can help these people contribute to the health of our surroundings by setting an example for them and providing service that not only is exceptional but also environment friendly. If we are lucky enough to become managers or even owners of our own hotels or travel agencies someday, then we can set goals and policies in our own establishments that comply with the environmental laws, without compromising our main goal which is to serve our guests well. How can hotel and tourism businesses help improve the current environmental situation? We are currently facing a lot of environmental issues in our country, from soil erosions, flashfloods, disappearing water sources, and air pollution to improper garbage disposal, illegal logging, and food poisoning caused by chemical wastes. These are just some of the many problems our country is facing today, as students and future employees to the industry of Hospitality and Tourism we can help in facing the current environmental issues by implementing certain protocols and policies in our work place. Installing water meters in every department (if possible) for example, is a good way to monitor the establishments water consumption, by doing so we can determine the monthly water consumption and cost of our workplace, if we are aware of this well know what department consumes too much water and necessary action will be taken immediately. Water saving devices like flow regulators, water flow sensors, and low flush toilets are just some of the things we can put in our comfort rooms an d kitchens to make sure that wasting water is at a minimal, and if observed thoroughly, no wastage at all. Leaks because of poor plumbing is also a cause of water wastage in a lot of homes and buildings, we must regularly maintain plumbing fixtures to make sure that no leaks will come up. Monthly inspection for drips and leaks in the establishment should be done be it at hotels, resorts, or restaurants. With regards to the kitchen/ Food and Beverage Department, using of dishwashers should only be done during the check out of the guests and washing of small kitchenware should be done by hand with the use of antibacterial soap, to help conserve water. Electricity is one thing that our industry consumes a lot, we use this to power up big hotels and casinos, help elegant restaurants operate, and keep the sense of having recreational places like theme parks, however, despite the benefits we get from using electricity, only a few of us realize its importance. Electricity is acquired by co nverting energy released from burning fossil fuels, as consumers continue to use huge amounts of electricity every day; its very likely that all the fossil fuels around the world will soon run out. Conserving energy in our homes and business establishments can help preserve fossil fuels, for example, installing electricity meters in every department to monitor monthly energy consumption to avoid increasing electric bills will have a huge impact given the fact that a lot of hotels, resorts, and restaurants use a lot of electricity. Using energy efficient appliances and light bulbs in high consumption areas, and turning them off when not in use can also be done to avoid high energy consumption. For resorts and hotel room, they can use solar panels to heat water for the guests, by doing so this can save up to 40% of energy cost. Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants produce large amounts of solid and liquid wastes these wastes end up scattering in the environment due to poor or inadequate wa ste management and handling, therefore it is a must to implement strategies and programs to minimize wastes and to apply the three Rs; reduce, reuse, and recycle. Segregating wastes is a very basic step in waste management; this is helpful to the environment because if we are able to determine the biodegradable ones from the non biodegradable then we can determine the best way to safely dispose of the waste. If we are purchasing products that we need to operate our establishment, the first thing we should keep in mind is to choose products that are least polluting and most sustainable, by doing so we can avoid the risk of contributing to the pollution in our country, and because its sustainable we can benefit from it for a longer period of time without having to dispose the product after several uses, thus helping minimize wastage in our establishment. In restaurants or other food establishments, instead of using disposable containers like Styrofoam which not only takes a long time to decompose but can also have negative effects to our health, they can use reusable lid containers that are very environment friendly and can be reused. Hotels purchase huge amounts of detergents, bleach, and other chemicals used in the laundry and lavatory area, if possible they should collect the empty chemical containers and send them back to the manufacturer so that it can be used again instead of piling up bottles of detergents etc. and just throwing them anywhere, or worse some people even burn them, aside from this they can just refill the bottles instead of buying new ones. They can also help save the trees by controlling the usage of paper in their offices and homes, for example, if possible they can simply use email to send documents from one establishment to another, instead of printing them out. For used or scrap paper, reusing the back side can also help in reducing the use of clean, unused paper. We should also avoid the use of aerosol sprays like some air fresheners that damage our ozone layer, choosing sprays that do not use propellant gas is our best bet. Another very important thing that hotel, resort, and restaurant builders can do is to stop putting up their establishments in places with natural wildlife and in places where cutting down hundreds of trees is necessary just so they can earn profit. Sources: http://www.livestrong.com/article/160037-what-are-the-benefits-of-saving-electricity/ http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=1830 http://www.numbeo.com/pollution/country_result.jsp?country=Philippines http://www.chanrobles.com/pd1152.htm#.UF3MOrLiZKE http://www.chanrobles.com/pd1151.htm#.UF3MOrLiZKE http://www.chanrobles.com/legal9.htm#.UF27tbLiZKG http://www.energyeducation.tx.gov/energy/section_3/topics/where_does_electricity_come_from/index.html http://www.fm-kp.si/zalozba/ISSN/1854-4231/2_005-023.pdf http://www.ehow.com/info_8543321_classification-biodegradable-nonbiodegradable.html http://agreenliving.net/green-tourism-and-how-it-helps-the-environment/ http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_can_we_help_stop_hotels_and_holiday_resorts_damaging_the_environment http://www.capitalhotelswdc.com/environment_friendly_green_program_policy_capital_hotels_washington_dc.htm http://www.ehow.com/info_8543321_classification-biodegradable-nonbiodegradable.html http://emb.gov.ph/rNCR/pollutioncontroldecree.html http://www.aseanlawassociation.org/papers/phil_chp11.pdf https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache:vpe3U1HiT9oJ:www.jccipi.com.ph/05cwa.ppt+hl=enpid=blsrcid=ADGEESjUr5suLfdvFLoJqsvSHg9dlKf9QfuhkpAbK0Mc3ZjVufCwlS61nbyUeIgSmORqYG354wwhqeOWi2roO4ZVENhVPx2sKF__jrvNdB5c715mels7P-bXQbtrSqCzWu-9RVlDUOuSsig=AHIEtbQxlVVVDrEy2EXEKEpa7HuBiudw-g http://www.emb.gov.ph/embgovph/Portals/8/DENR%20Administrative%20Order%20No.81%20Series%202000.pdf http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/47810.pdf http://www.aseanlawassociation.org/papers/phil_chp11.pdf http://emb.gov.ph/eeid/cwa-english.htm http://www.pwp.org.ph/documents/wastewater/PPT_DENR_EMB_2.pdf http://www.oocities.org/injunred/cleanair.html http://emb.gov.ph/eeid/ESWM.htm

The Invasion Of Panama :: essays research papers fc

The Invasion of Panama The U.S. invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989 was a mark of excellence on the behalf of the U.S. armed forces ability to effectively use the principles of war. The years leading up to the invasion set the climate for conflict; drug trafficking became a major problem between Panama and the U.S. in the 1980's, as well as Manuel Noriega's interference with the Panama canal employees rights under the Panama Canal Treaty; the final action that sparked the invasion was Noriega's attempt to fix the national election and the military enforcement of the fix after the election. Once this took place the U.S. began to make a plan for the invasion. The overwhelming success of this mission stemmed from the U.S. military's competent use of the principals of war. The primary success of a mission is the ability to define an overall attainable objective for the mission. In the formulation of the mission to invade Panama, the U.S. military set out four main objectives of the mission. First, they wanted to "protect American lives" (Watson 69). This meant they wanted to protect the lives of the 35,000 U.S. citizens in Panama from attacks by Noriega's Panama Defense Force or PDF; they also wanted to protect the lives of Americans at home by attempting to eliminate drug trafficking. Second, they wanted to "protect American interests and rights under the Panama Canal Treaty" (Watson 69). This could be done by abolishing Noriega's control of the workers who operate the canal, and his control of the canal itself. Third, they wanted to "restore a democratic and freely elected government to Panama" (Watson 107). Here, the U.S. would gain control over the country and ensure a fair election. And, finally, they wanted to "apprehend Noriega" (Watson 69) for prosecution in the U.S.. This would ease the difficulty of restoring democracy and eliminating drug trafficking, as well as giving Americans a feeling that justice was being served. These objectives gave the mission clear goals to achieve, allowing for the planing of each task that needed to be completed in order to accomplish the mission. Once objective has been established, the next step was to derive a simple plan, following the principle of simplicity, which is the formation of "Direct, simple plans and clear, concise orders to minimize misunderstanding and confusion" (Stofft 7). That is just what the U.S. did. They used direct and simple plans to carry out their mission; that is not to say the invasion was a simple operation, on the contrary, the command and control measures were very difficult. Thus, the plan was as simple as it could be with concern to the

Globus Report Essay

The objective of this Globus game is to run a company in the real environment which is we will compete with other companies. On this simulation I am becoming co-manager of a camera industry. All of the company have two products in the market which is Entry level camera and multi featured camera. And the market area is divided into 4 region which is : 1.North America  2. Europe-Africa 3. Asia Pacific 4. Latin America. One group have 3 members , and in my business simulation we got 8 different companies. Each company has to run the camera business every week , one week in real life is represent 1 year in the simulation for a consecutive 10 weeks. The ultimate goal for all the companies is to dominate the market of the cameras industry, the best camera company in the industry is to get the target that give by the investor expectations, gaining the most market share and image rating and maintaining a good credit rating. My Achievements By doing the virtual business game with my group member , I had to be able to analyse the business every year , what the strategies I have to do , and how to get high dividend and investor expectation. By doing this process I can fully understand what happening with this industries and how to improve this business.. These kind of things allow me to understand concept in the industry and develop a strategy to win the competition within the industry. By experiencing this virtual business game I have learn about business management , starting from production cost , marketing , advertising , marketing , target market ,shipping labour forces ,financial decision , and business plan .all of this elements will impact the business performance. On this game I also learn from the compotetion btween the company in this industries.Every single company have a different strategies to dominate the industry. All the strategies is depend on the current situation and target market.and the competition i s on all the time because the compotitors I always find the new strategies to defeat our company.so we need to come up with new strategies. My New Transferable Skills: Reflection 1 Context : On the first week of the Globus game we were trying to change the decision entry as what we did in the Globus practice using on our knoledege about business menegement Activating Experience : With lack of knowledge that we got on the first year result is under the investor expectation ,eventhough we tried so hard to do this decision entries. Belief : We failed to believe that with our lack of knowledge our first year results is unsatisfy ,.it is make our companies is behind other companies. Consequence : Other companies performing well on the first year so our company is one step behind .Our results for EPS ,ROE and image rating is so much behind others companies.So it is hard for us to chase the other companies that performing beyond our companies as well as none of our group member really understand about business. Dispute : I have learn that when you make your company you need to understand everything about it from the market , business pla and etc. Because first year is the most crucial for your business to see the prospect of your business . so you need to learn before you do it. Reflection 2 Context: Our group have develop different strategies every year Activating Experience: We are trying to do the strategies to get more profit on that year and didn’t planning for the coming tyears Belief: We failed to belief that our strategies is failed because we didn’t see the situation of the market and we didn’t planning well for the coming years like warranty I s the most issues of our comapny Consequence : Our result is dropped every because we have no analyse market and our bad planning for the future , so until the very end of the year we still have outstanding loans Dispute : I learned that it is really important to research about he target market and the planning of future business. Reflection 3 : Context: We always change our p/q rating every year Activating Experience : we always change our p/q rating to be the same as the leading companies ,hoping that we can compete with them Belief: We failed to believe we didn’t choose our p/q rating since the first year , by changing the p/q rating every year it boost our market share and kick us out of the competition.because we don’t choose the target market of our companies , which is always changed every year Consequence : Our companies rank is dropping until it aalmost the last position , and we have no target market Dispute :I have learn that I cant use other company strategies , but I have to find the new strategies that can beat them in theyre market.And I would make sure to develop my own strategies to take against other companies. My personal growth and lifelong learning Reflection 1 Context : For some of the week our globus group couldnot focus on globus game Activating Experience : The Globus team unsatisfy with the result that not stable , and we didn’t do well on some of the year Belief : I failed to believe that because 1 didn’t stay focus to do the globus simulation game. Consequences : Our company have a bad start and the result in the middle year is falling down.we keep losing point every year until it reah the peak and our company made a loss.The biggest mistake was that we did not understand the game completely and this made us suffer for the beginning of the years. Dispute : I would like to completely understand on how to run the company and be able to do full analysis and research in the industry. And the most important thing to run the business is to keep focus to run the business to make a succesfull business Reflection 2 Context : In all of the group meeting, we as the co-managers, had agreed on the decision to take and do the Glo-bus together. Activating Experience : During the very last minutes of before year 11 or 12 decision was due, one of the co-managers changed the decision and we were not informed about that. Belief : I failed to believe that we all had agreed on all the decisions we had come in group meeting and nobody would change any decision without any consent from other co-managers. Consequences : Our company was in the second last position due to the loss that we got. The co-manager decided to significantly lower the price to gain more market share, but in the end the decision was against us. Dispute : I would never let my team member to do that anymore. Since then, I learned that I had to check all the decision entries just before it was due to make sure everything was okay and according to what we agreed in the group meeting. I learned that this kind of action could be fatal and as a result, it would be hard to manage the profits year after. Reflection 3 Context : After couple of weeks of hard time, we had to sit down together, share ideas and run the Globus game together to make sure we really understand Globus. Activating Experience : We had to analyse the competition in our industry and think many possible strategies to counter our competitors. Belief : I believed that as co-managers, we had to completely understand Globus and make sure that everyone in the team really understood what was happening since this was the best way to run the company. Consequences : We managed to bounce back at the end. Our position kept increasing every year up to 5th position which was not that good for the progress of the company. In the end, with everyone sharing their opinions and ideas, we managed to go as one team to help the company that was already in a bad position due to bad performances from previous years. Dispute : I learned that by getting together as a group and shared knowledge and analysed the industry together, we could manage to be t he best actually. Reflection 4 Context : After our company had bounced back, we had to keep doing our strategy so that our company could get better. Activating Experience : We had to do analysis every week carefully to see what the best opportunity and strategy to take. Belief : We believed that by doing analysis every week, we could maintain our position. Consequences : Our company was getting better every year onwards since year 12 and 13. This was because we had understood on how to play the game. We did analysis and research every week to find out what strategy we could implement. Dispute : I learned that by completely understand the game, the game was actually interesting. Now I know how business works in real life. Everything was related with another and each decision was really important.

Benefits of Not Home Schooling Essay

Parents may have various options for choosing what kind of education that’s best for their children. The know what good be an advantage and disadvantage of sending their children to school or opted to have a home education, whatever their decision is, it would be both beneficial to parents and to their children as well. There are lots of factors that parents would choose not to send their children to school, rather to enroll them in home schooling. Some parents feel that because of the rising tuition fees and the status of public schools made parents to be alarmed and have doubts about formal schooling. Let’s take a look what are the advantages of home schooling. First, parents feel that they have the control of the kind of education their children will get. They will be able to guide their children on the activities and lessons, because they have the ability to look after their children. They also feel that it’s less stressful for children if they are not enrolled in school. Because of financial needs, parents opted to home schooling because it is less expensive, compared to private schools that continues to increase each year. Emotionally wise, People who are involved in home schooling believe that children who get their education at home enable them to develop a stronger bond between parents and children. The very fact that children will be spending more time with their parents because of being schooled in the home enriches the relationship between the generations. This is beneficial to both parents and children. Where in formal schooling, children spend more time in school and when he gets home he is pre occupied with a lot of school works that tends children to become stressed out. There are also tendencies coming from parents to pressure their children to do well in school. But let’s take a different perspective; I believe that children who are into home schooling are deprived of social interaction, especially interaction with their peers. Those who are into home schooling are confined within their houses, children needed to take some time off and interaction is very essential to the development of children in terms of social and emotional aspect. A child will develop her communication skills, social skills, and even cognitive skills because interaction leads to experience, and experience leads to knowledge. School is not solely based books but rather a learning experience. There are lot of things we can learn outside from our home, from our teachers, classmates and friends. We need to socialize and experience certain things within the context of the book in order for us to understand and learn better, theories are not there for us to just memorize rather apply it into our daily lives. Books could not be merely understood just by reading them we have to apply it even on simple things, and experience such events will enable us to learn something valuable. I truly believe that practical experience of learning will help me understand and gain knowledge better compared into being confined within our home. We can balance school and its pressure and our relationship with our parents. Yes, there may have a big gap in financial aspect but we just can’t sacrifice the kind of education we need, for education is beyond learning, it is our future.