Communicating with multimedia Essay

Audience (who is it aimed at? Age? Gender? Profession? Etc) This website is aimed at teenagers between the ages of 13-19 and young women between the ages of 20-30 years of age. This website is aimed at ladies between the ages of 14-30 years of age. Purpose (what message are they trying to put across to the audience?) The purpose of their website is to attract both teenagers and young women to buy their latest trends at very keen prices. The purpose of their website is to make the target audience aware of their location, where you are able to get more information about the store and about what they have to offer. What media components are used (e.g. text, pictures, sound, and video?) This website uses text to explain what new look is about and pictures to show users what latest trends are available in their stores. This website uses the media components of text where they make the audience aware of where to find them and what they are all about. Intended impact on audience e.g. to inform, to shock to amuse? Their intended impact on their target audience through the website is to inform their users what they specialise in, the fact that new look is a nationwide company and that their latest trends is available at unbelievable prices. Their intended impact on the target audience is to inform their users of their store locations in different places, their card and certain career options which are available in their store. Tactics used e.g. use of stereotype images to appeal to certain age groups The tactics which New Look uses is that they have more pictures on what they have to offer which attracts the users to what they have in terms of latest trends. Krisp doesn’t really use that many tactics, but only uses text to explain to the target user where the store is and what it has to offer. Is there enough information given? Is it too much or too little or just right? The information which is available on their website is just enough informing their users of basic facts about their stores in the UK. There is very little information about what the store has to offer to the user in terms of fashionable trends and the prices which they are at. Is there enough time to take in the message or is there too much or too little time? E.g. is the speed of the video, slideshow etc too, fast or too slow There is plenty of time for the user to take in the information because once you click on a hyperlink which you wish to go to the in formation stays there so it doesn’t appear or disappear so the users have enough time to take the information in. There is a lot of time for the target user to take in the message in which the website is trying to put across although there is a lot of information to take in. Therefore I would say that the time for the users to take in this message is just about enough. User Interaction. How easy is it for the user to choose where they want to go i.e. from one section to another? It is very easy for the users to be able to interact with their website because they have hyperlinks which inform the users of where they wish to go in the website. It is very easy for the user to link from one page to another, so there are able to find out about the different sections by clicking the big hyperlinks provided by the side of the website. Appearance of the screen. What sorts of backgrounds are used? What colours are used? Is there too much text or too many graphics? How could the layout be improved? The colours which are used for the background of their website are black, pink and white; there is not a lot of text but many more graphics. I think that they should have bolder colours for their website in order to attract more of their target audience and use up a little more space for text instead of leaving wide spaces. The colours in which the website uses for the background is a combination of turquoise, white and blue, I would suggest bolder colours to the background of the website to keep the users interested, also I would suggest a lot more graphics and pictures to inform the target audience of the latest fashion they have in stock and what they look like. Are there any user instructions in the presentation? Do they work well? Could they be made clearer? There are no specific user instructions for the user therefore the user is free to use the website in the way they would wish to use it. There are no user instructions as to how they are able to interact with the website, because they are able to do this freely, as they would wish to interact with the website. Do you think the presentation is effective i.e. does it put its message across clearly and in a way that the viewer will remember? Explain why. I think that the presentation is effective in putting their message across because their target audience seem to keep going back because of their latest trends and in terms of what they have to offer their target audience. I don’t think the presentation is that effective, because the message that they put across to the target audience is not clear, it only gives information as to where the stores are locations and how you are able to contact them about finding out more. I think there should be a lot more information about the stores fashion trends and how they are able to get hold of them. Do you think that one of the presentations is more effective than the other? Explain why. (Remember to take into account who the presentation is aimed at.) The presentation which is most effective to their target audience is New Look because they have a lot more pictures and graphics which show the users what they have to offer and all of their latest fashion trends. Whereas the other presentation doesn’t have any graphics or pictures at all, and this isn’t guaranteed to keep the target audience interested in the presentation. Problem Statement. An age group of 14 – 16 years olds are interested in Information Communication Technology and finding out what it all entails. They are particularly interested to know how a computer operates and the different areas which help them to find out more about this. Design Brief. For this project I have been asked to present a multimedia presentation which is targeted at an age group of 14 – 16 year olds. Concerning this certain age group I will present this presentation in an interesting and sensible way in which the appropriate language technique is used. Specification. This multimedia presentation will be aimed at both male and female students aged between 14 – 16 years. The media in which I intend on using includes pictures and text, in order to explain each section of the presentation through written text and diagrams. I also intend to use sound to attract the target audience to this multimedia presentation. Background For the background of the slides, I plan to have the same coloured background for all of the slides produced in order to make it clear the each slide follows on from the previous slide. I also plan on using a coloured background which stands out, so that people are intrigued by the slides and want to know more about each slide. Colour I will use a combination of a few colours in order for the target audience to be attracted to the slides and to keep the users interested in the slides. Pictures I plan to use clipart pictures so that the presentation keeps the intended user interested in the presentation, also so that I am able to show simply how they are useful in the presentation. Sound I intend to include sound on the presentation but not too much so that the intended user doesn’t get distracted by the background sound. I intend to keep it simple on the subject matter of the presentation using the sound for the interaction of the buttons. Interactivity I will use action buttons on the presentation to allow the user to move backwards and forwards throughout the presentation. Evaluation. I have produced a multimedia presentation based on the subject matter of Information Communication Technology. It is aimed at 14-16 year olds, and uses the most suitable media components including text, pictures, diagrams and sound. The multimedia presentation consists of eleven pages which all have one purpose in the presentation. The first slide is the one in which introduces what the subject matter is about, with a clipart picture and a hyperlink to link the target user to where they are able to find out more about I.C.T. The next slide is an introduction slide stating clearly what I.C.T. about, why it is important and how it can be of usefulness to people in everyday life. The third slide explains how the structure of a computer operates, and you can understand how this works. The fourth, fifth and sixth slides and about input devices, what they do and how we can get access to them with clipart pictures showing you what they look like. Also the seventh, eighth and ninth slides are about Output devices how they operate what they do and clipart pictures to follow these explanations. The tenth and eleventh slides are about where we can store information and the types of different disks which help us store information on and pictures to follow this also. In this multimedia presentation the target users are also able to navigate the slides by using the action buttons provided at the bottom of the slides to link from on slide to another. There is also background sound on each of the slides to amuse the target audience, and to keep them interested in the multimedia presentation. I think that I could improve this multimedia presentation by changing the colour of the background of each slide to make them stand out. However before deciding on what I may be able to improve I plan on getting feedback from the target audience and testing the presentation on them to see what they think and if necessary make any improvements that need to be made. Questionnaire. 1. Did you enjoy the subject matter of the presentation? Yes No 2. How did the layout of the presentation appealed to users? Good Satisfactory Not good 3. What did you think about the colour of the background of the presentation? Good O.K. No good 4. Did you think the language was appropriate for 14 -16 year olds? Yes No 5. Was there too little information? Yes No 6. Were there enough images in the presentation? Yes No 7. How where the sound effects on the presentation? Loud O.K. Faint 8. Was the presentation easy to navigate? Yes No 9. Do you think that the presentation furthered your knowledge and understanding of the presentation on the whole? Yes No Thank you for your time and patience. Changes made to presentation from feedback. Backup folder of Unit 5: Communicating with Multimedia.

An Assessment of the Impact of Mortgage and Non-Mortgage Loans

Toby Clark a senior financial analyst in MINTEL comments â€Å"There is a major need for financial education and for a drive to prompt borrowers to take a fresh look at their debts. Without a detailed understanding of exactly how much they owe and what rates they are paying, it is easy to see how the situation could spiral out of control†. This statement clearly highlights the position of the average British consumers as far as their mortgage and non-mortgage debts are concerned.It is observed by the report from MINTEL that the British consumers who have outstanding mortgage debts have a better control on the amount of their outstanding than the non-mortgage debt consumers. When the mortgage holders were asked to estimate the amount of the outstanding loan they could estimate the figure at ? 92,200 which matched with the estimation of ? 95,000 made by Bank of England and mortgage lenders. There are different purposes for which the consumers obtain mortgage and non-mortgage loa ns.The purposes also differ between different income earners. The high income earners borrow for paying a house, buying a second home or for paying the university or school fees of their children. Whereas the low income earners have totally different purposes of taking the loans like bringing up their children; paying their tax bills or meeting their regular commitments. Irrespective of the purpose for which the loans are taken the loans do have an impact on the financial soundness of the borrowers.On few occasions and for few consumers the loans become handy to take care of their financial struggle but in most of the cases the loans have had adverse impact only on the lives and finances of the consumers. Especially when the average consumer does not even know the extent of their debts the impact would be still worse. â€Å"Many debt problems are caused by poor decision making, with taking on more debt to pay back what debt you already have not always a wise move, according to the free and impartial debt advice organisation Debt Free Direct.† (Linkroll) In most of the cases the consumers get in to debt traps either due to poor decision making or not being accurately able to assess the impact the debts have on their financial capabilities and standing. This includes the decisions of debt consolidation. Quite often consumers think that debt consolidation is the best solution for solving their debt problems which will only aggravate the burden to the already debt trapped consumers. The loan burden on the borrowers is made to increase by the actions of the lenders also.Luring the customers in tot taking additional loans with the intention of just increasing their lending activities and without assessing the capabilities of the borrowers to pay back the loans often take the borrowers to a point of no return. â€Å"A number of Britons report that their debt problems are causing them difficulties in other areas of their life, according to a new study. In rese arch carried out by R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals – one out of six consumers are said to be unable to manage with repayments on secured loans and credit cards†. (Loan Arrangers)With this background I intend to make an analytical study of the British Loan Market and its impact on the average British consumers. In the process I also intend to study the kinds of mortgage and non-mortgage loans available to the consumers in the UK. 1. 1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES This study has among other things the following central objectives: 1. Studying the psychological and economical reasons for the British consumers getting in to the debt trap. 2. Analytical study of the impact of the various loans on the lives and financial wellbeing of the average consumers – including mortgage and non-mortgage loans.3. Studying the role of the banks and other lending institutions on extending the debt burden of the average British consumer 1. 2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study by undertaking a detailed research in the subject tries to find plausible answers for the following research questions: 1. What are the prime reasons that make the British consumers to get into the debt trap? 2. What are the major impacts that the mortgage and non-mortgage loans have on the lives of the average British consumers? 3. What are the different ways that an average British consumer can manage the debts effectively? 1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION In order to present a comprehensive paper I intend to divide the paper into the different chapters. While chapter 1 introduces the subject matter of the study to the readers along with stating the research objectives and questions, chapter 2 makes a detailed review of the available literature on the subject of the impact of debts on the British consumer. Chapter 3 makes a detailed presentation of the research methodology adopted by this study for conducting the research. In chapter 4 I have included the findings of t he research and a detailed discussion on the analysis of the findings.Concluding remarks recapitulating the issues discussed in the paper and few suggestions which will enable the British consumer to manage his debts are included in the chapter 5. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW CAPM, Bonds, Securities, Economics, Finance This chapter presents a detailed review of the available literature on the debt creation by the British consumers and the impact of such debt creation on the bond and securities market, on the finance and monetary policy and economic situation of the country apart from the life styles and financial status of the individual consumers. 2.1 IMPACT OF DEBT CREATION ON BOND AND SECURITIES MARKET: A latest report from Bloomberg. com says â€Å"European 10-year bond yields held near a three-month low as an Australian hedge fund filed for bankruptcy protection on losses related to a slump in U. S. home loans, prompting speculation global economic expansion will slow. † (Lukanyo Mnyanda, 2007) There has been a widespread skepticism about the future of the bond market because of the higher levels of failure in the sub prime mortgage repayments. This phenomenon has also been felt in the UK which is evident from the statement of the credit rating firm Standard & Poor.â€Å"Standard & Poor's said business conditions for securities firms are worse than in the second half of 1998 when trading revenue slumped 31 percent after Russia's debt default. Revenue from investment banking and trading could fall 47 percent in the final six months of this year, the ratings company said. † (Lukanyo Mnyanda, 2007) 2. 1. 1USE OF OPTIMIZING MODELS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONSUMER DEBT: On the basis of micro economic foundations there are certain models that analyse the likely economic consequences of structural changes in the economy.Though in general these models help the analysts to comment upon microeconomic foundations, sometimes these models are found inappropriat e for analyzing such consequences. â€Å"This is because their parameters are generally complicated functions of an economy’s technology, institutions and government policy, and the preferences of economic agents. Subsequent changes in any of these structural characteristics would mean that those parameters, and hence the relationships between key economic variables, would be expected to change. † (Bank of England)However the optimizing models enable the analysis of the deep structural relationship which is dependent upon the individual variables in relation to the economic shocks and their identification. The optimizing models â€Å"describe the intertemporal optimisation problems facing economic agents. They often try to capture the interactions between the different types of agent in the economy (consumers, firms, government, foreign sector), each of which is assumed to solve well-defined dynamic optimisation problems, subject to certain informational and technolog ical constraints.These models can be used to analyse how economic agents might optimally respond to various demand and supply shocks that have or might hit the economy, or to changes in the structure of the economy. Equally, they can be used to examine likely explanations for observed patterns of behaviour in the data. † (Bank of England) These models are useful in †¢ Modeling consumer behaviour including consumer spending †¢ Applications to financial markets †¢ Analysis of the labour market †¢ Analysis of the role of money One of such models being widely used is the CAPM which can provide useful insights into the reasons behind the financial market changes.However there is a serious limitation of this model is that it does not perform well in the empirical tests. 2. 2 IMPLICATION OF THE RISE ON THE HOUSEHOLD DEBT ON THE MONETARY POLICY: It is observed that the increase in the household debt in the UK over the last three decades was the result of the contin ued increase in the owner-occupied buildings and the number of mortgages created as a proportion of the total households. The rise in the prices till the time of the sub prime mortgage issue was also because of this increased private ownership of the houses.However it is interesting to note that the increase in the household debt didn’t have much impact on the consumption growth. This was due to the fact that the households were focused on the accumulation of financial assets during the recent past. â€Å"Finally, while it is possible that higher levels of debt may make household consumption more sensitive to interest rate changes, this may easily be offset simply by moderating these same changes. † (Stephen Nickell) While there was some contraction in the economies of US and Germany, the UK economy remained strong during the year 2001.There was a significant relaxation in the monetary policies of the country during this period and hence the UK economy witnessed an inc rease in the domestic demand though the situation was different with the world economy which was weak and was suffering a fall in investments. The increase in the domestic demand made the overall growth rate of the economy positive. However some of the economists were of the view that such a growth in the UK GDP as against the widespread recession in other developed countries was possible only at certain implied costs.For Example in an article in ‘The Observer’ dated 27th March 2005 Fred Harrison noted that â€Å"Encouraged by low interest rates, people went on a spending spree. They reduced savings and extracted equity from their homes to fuel a consumption boom† A similar view was expressed by Hamish McRae in his article in the ‘The Independent’ stated â€Å"What is, however, clear is that the credit-fuelled spending boom is, one way or another, coming to an end†. (The Independent dated 16th March 2005). Hence it was observed that booming co nsumption resulted in a rapid expansion of debt.Thus there has been a significant increase in the debt to income ratio which was a matter of serious concern to the analysts and the financial economists. In this context Philip Thornton made the following remark in the ‘The Independent’ issue dated 30th July 2003 â€Å"Britons piled on an all-time record amount of debt last month, triggering fears that consumers have embarked on an unsustainable borrowing binge that will end in a crash reminiscent of the early 1990s† 2. 2. 1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCOME, CONSUMPTION AND HOUSEHOLD DEBTS:Generally it is assumed that the macroeconomic policies of the UK government had resulted in a house price bubble coupled with a boom of the consumer spending. Thus the economy got missed out from the impact of the global recessionary trends. However Stephen Nickell argues that over the period 2000 to 2003 which was supposed to be the consumption boom the average quarterly consumption growth was only 0. 77 percent very similar to the average consumption rate of 0. 72 percent that was existed over the last twenty five years.The consumption rate was also below the average consumption rate in the previous period 0f 1996 to 1999. â€Å"From 1998 to the end of 2003, the proportion of post-tax income that was consumed was relatively flat, hardly evidence of a debt fuelled consumption boom. Nevertheless, mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) plus unsecured credit growth rose from around 2% of post-tax household income in 1998 to over 10% in 2003. So there was indeed a significant rise in the rate of household debt accumulation from 1998 to 2003 despite the fact that the ratio of consumption to post-tax income remained stable throughout.† (Stephen Nickell) With this argument the author proceeds to state the majority of mortgage equity withdrawal leads to increased financial assets accumulation and not to increased consumption. Further it is also argued that there is a strong relationship between the aggregate secured debt accumulation and aggregate financial asset accumulation especially in a period of rapidly spiraling house prices. Similarly there is no strong relationship between the factors of aggregate consumption growth and debt accumulation. In that case the following will be the effect of the household debt on the monetary policy.2. 2. 2 HIGHER LEVELS OF DEBT AND MONETARY POLICY: May et al (2004) observed â€Å"In 1975, household debt was around 38% of household post-tax income. By 2004, this had risen to around 125%. Currently, over four-fifths of household debt is secured on property, ie. consists of mortgages, and around 95% of all household debt is held by mortgagors. † As already stated the important factor causing the rise in the household debt was the increase in the number of owner-occupied buildings and the proportion of the houses carrying a mortgage.Another factor that contributed the increase in secured debts is the ch ange in the mode of financing by leaving the front end loading of the repayment of mortgages. Such a method of financing has lead to higher loan to income ratios. It also resulted in higher mortgages relative to income. Based on these basic premise there are three arguments that can be support the view that the household debt is a predominant factor in the determination of the monetary policies. 1. The first argument is based on the concept that the there will be significant impact on the bahaviour of the economy due to shocks if there is a high level of household debts.As observed by Griffiths commission â€Å"Debt is a time-bomb which could be triggered by any number of shocks to the economy at any time† (The Griffiths’ Commission, 2005, Executive Summary). Though any adverse economic shock will have the impact on the employment and the consumption levels, higher levels of debts will make the conditions worse. â€Å"The excessive debt may still induce greater precau tionary saving and a larger drop in consumption. Overall, it is hard to tell whether higher debt levels will generate a significant additional cut back in consumption which cannot be modified by easier monetary policy†2. The second argument is based on the possibility that the there may be a cut in the consumption due to the sudden realization of the debtors about the real interest on the debts and their extent of exposure to the debts in spite of their efforts to reduce the level of debts. This will create severe macro economic problems leading to large scale adjustments in the monetary policies. However this argument is countered by indicating that the inexperience of the secured debt holders being young and there may be occasions that these people may behave in an irrational way to reduce the consumption.But such phenomenon can not be identified with a majority of debts. 3. The third argument was based on the fear that with more number of people the more will be the trouble when there is a collapse in the housing market. This fear has become true presently with housing boom bubble exploding. â€Å"If house prices fall by 30 or 40 per cent, more people with mortgages means more people in negative equity. Of course, the consequences of this depend to some extent on the behaviour of lenders.If the mortgage debt continues to be treated as secured, even though some is not, then debt service costs remain unchanged. So a lot will then depend on the collateral damage associated with the collapse in the housing market and what caused it in the first place. The issue is, if some disaster happens in the housing market, does the fact that more people have mortgages make the consequences very much worse? So much worse, indeed, that monetary policy should be used to discourage individuals from taking out mortgages. † 2. 3 DIFFICULTIES OF CONSUMERS BECAUSE OF DEBT CREATION – AN OVERVIEWAccording to a research conducted by R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals one out of six consumers find it difficult to manage the repayment of their secured loans and credit card payments. â€Å"Of those struggling the most with their day-to-day finances, 21 per cent of respondents were reported to have encountered debt problems as a result of becoming ill, with a third (33 per cent) highlighting redundancy as the source of their monetary difficulties. † (Secured Loan News) Educational loans taken for higher studies form a major proportion of debts to be repaid by the 50 percent people in the age group of 18 – 24 years.The same is the case with one third of the people in the age group of 25 – 34 years still struggling to settle the loans taken for their educational purposes. A study carried out by Abbey in early 2007 showed that the British consumers had to pay ? 48. 7 billion by way of unexpected bills and charges over the previous year. On an average 79 percent of the British people have spent money on unbudgeted things and the average cost of such spending is estimated at ? 1375. Some of the issues identified with the debt creation in the UK are:? The personal lending figures stood at ? 1,318 billion as of July 2007 signifying that the British consumers are indebted on an average twice as the citizens of other European Countries. The people with serious debt management problem are estimated at 7 to 9 million Britons. ? A majority of the people have no savings or definite plans for savings to meet any unexpected future expenditure. A proportion of less than 50 percent of the people only have made adequate provisions for meeting the exigencies of a drop in their income level or other serious financial difficulties.? Some important statistics indicate that a substantial proportion of the population suffer from serious financial worries and resultant stress due to the increase of their debt burden. These statistics show that â€Å"74% of British couples find money the most diffi cult subject to talk about; 32% lie to their partners about how much they spend on credit cards; 35% are kept awake at night worrying about their finances†. ? According to the estimate from Bank of England around 50 percent of the people who have identified their debts as a serious burden on them belong to the lower income groups.It is the case with those people who live in the housing provided by the loca authorities are likely to live in debt burden at two times the average person has. ? Debts being burdensome on their own are also responsible for several other social problems and debt and these problems are interdependent on each other in terms of their cause and effect. Groups of people like those out of work, school dropouts, people from single parent families or unemployed parents are more likely to have serious debt management problems. 2. 4 REASONS FOR DEBT CREATION Consumers obtain loans for different purposes.Similarly people in different income groups and different strata of life opt for secured and unsecured loans for various purposes depending on their life styles and needs for different purposes. The main reasons cited for increase in the debts of the consumers is the increased availability of the loans, overspending and the desire to ‘buy instantly’ doing major purchases like purchase of cars or spending on a foreign vacation. The debt management problems of majority of the British consumers have arisen due to these and other reasons most of which are emotional spending.However why people get into serious debt problem is a very complicated question to find the answers there for. Though there are several factors responsible for leading the consumers to severe debt problems the following are some of the major causes that create a ‘debt trap’ for the British consumers: 2. 4. 1EASY AVAILABILITY OF DEBT: In recent years the economy of the country was doing extremely well resulting in lower rates of inflation, low inter est rates and low levels of unemployment.This economic buoyancy there had been an increased demand for the credit and the cost of such credit was low. The highly competitive financial services industry had been innovative to find many a number of products to suit the needs of various strata of people. â€Å"Today over 400 mainstream financial institutions compete fiercely to satisfy consumer demand. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach) In this background it can be said that the easy availability of credit was the main reason for the creation of more debts by the average consumer.2. 4. 2 DIFFERENT TACTICS OF THE LENDERS TO ATTRACT THE PEOPLE Although the banks do not explicitly solicit or lure the vulnerable people to sell their financial services products, the products themselves have been so designed in addition to the lending practices of the banks to target the vulnerable people. Such practices include â€Å"aggressive marketing; a lack of transparency in calculating the cos t of borrowing; undue care in lending and a lack of data-sharing. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach)Though it cannot be said that the banks and other lending institutions purposely target the vulnerable people â€Å"customers are often enticed into over-borrowing with disastrous consequences; research evidence suggests there is a strong correlation between serious indebtedness, drug and alcohol addictions and family breakdown. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach) This often leads to a situation where the vulnerable people stand the chances of more likely to get into serious debt problems. 2. 2. 3 LOW FINANCIAL CAPABILITIESIt is observed out of a poll conducted in the year 2004 that 33 percent of the people in the UK are not confident enough to handle money issues and only 30 percent of them even knew the basic interest calculations which forms the basis financial intelligence. If this is kind of financial knowledge that an average British consumer has then there is no doubt that such people may not be in a position to make sound financial decisions concerning their personal finances including availing of secured and unsecured loans.Such lack of financial knowledge will make them drown in serious financial struggle as a result of unmanageable debts they have contracted. 2. 4. 4 LACK OF SAVING CULTURE: The trend of today’s Britain is ‘buy now and pay later’ as against the traditional way of living of saving money to buy assets. This has seriously disturbed the saving habit of the people over the period of time. In the current scenario more than 50 percent of the British pensioners make a cut on their other needs to settle their annual fuel bills.The decline in the habit of saving is one of the main reasons for the increased debt problems. Unless the saving habit of the people change drastically the situation of debt problems is likely to grow into greater magnitude. 2. 4. 5 MATERIALISTIC ATTITUDE OF THE MODERN SOCIETY The attitude of the society towards borrowing and its effects on life has considerably changed over the last few decades. Credit is no more considered as dangerous as it was perceived once upon a time. Now it is considered as more neutral and beneficial to the society.With this change in the attitude people have become more materialistic to obtain loans to buy the things irrespective of the need for such things in their lives. This is evident from the buying habits of British consumers exhibited in the following section. In one of the surveys conducted by Abbey, the financial service provider, it is learnt that â€Å"Britons have spent more than ? 169 billion on items that they rarely, if at all, use. Overall the average consumer has paid out some ? 3,685 through unnecessary objects, which could consequently impact upon their ability to handle their day-to-day finances.† (Secured Loan News) The survey also revealed that half of all consumers own an expensive clothing item which they wear on ly occasionally and over 35 percent of them have unworn shoes. â€Å"However, women were reported to be driving pointless fashion spending. Some 58 per cent of females were said to have unused garments, with this figure falling to 45 per cent for footwear. Meanwhile, spending on such products accounted for 45 and 23 per cent respectively among men. † (Secured Loan News)Electronic items, computer game console or video cameras and cooking equipments, repeated purchase of fine china items, exercise equipments, beauty gadgets that are not frequently used are some of the other items on which the British consumers spend their money and create debts for themselves. â€Å"However, financial problems could be particularly increased for those 288,000 people who have bought a second home in Britain which they claim to make little use of, which as a result may see them to struggle to make secured loan repayments. † (Secured Loan News) 2. 5 LEVEL OF CONSUMER CREDITThere has been a steady growth in the consumer lending in the period during the 1990s to early 2000s. But the growth has been sluggish after the climb in the last decade. According to the statistics released by Datamonitor â€Å"unsecured Loans and borrowing via other forms of consumer credit fell by 4. 5 per cent over the course of last year (2006) to ? 207. 8 billion†. (Secured Loan News) Maya Imberg the financial service analyst from Datamonitor says â€Å"A weaker labour market, combined with high consumer debts and weakened consumer confidence, meant that consumers cut down considerably on spending and aimed to repay more of their debts over 2006.† The study also indicated that the debt outstanding for an average customer stood at ? 4,522 in Consumer credit debt for the year 2006, which is against the ? 4,510 recorded for the year 2005. This outstanding debt figure was corroborated by the statistics released by the financial charity Credit Action which estimated the debt due by an average Briton at ? 4,550 by way of debts obtained on unsecured personal loans, credit cards, overdrafts and other forms of borrowing. This amount was estimated as at the end of March 2007.Credit Action has compiled the following statistics on the UK personal debt as on 1st of September 2007 which is alarming: ? â€Å"Total UK personal debt at the end of July 2007 stood at ? 1,355bn. The growth rate increased to 10. 1% for the previous 12 months which equates to an increase of ? 117bn. ? Total secured lending on homes at the end of July 2007 stood at ? 1,140bn. This has increased 11. 0% in the last 12 months. ? Total consumer credit lending to individuals in July 2007 was ? 214bn. This has increased 5. 3% in the last 12 months.? Total lending in July 2007 grew by ? 10. 3bn. Secured lending grew by ? 9. 2bn in the month. Consumer credit lending grew by ? 1. 1bn. ? Average household debt in the UK is ? 8,856 (excluding mortgages). This figure increases to ? 20,600 if the average is based on the number of households who actually have some form of unsecured loan. ? Average household debt in the UK is ? 56,000 (including mortgages). ? Average owed by every UK adult is ? 28,550 (including mortgages). This grew by ? 210 last month. ? Average outstanding mortgage for the 11.8m households who currently have mortgages is ? 96,560 ? Average interest paid by each household on their total debt is approximately ? 3,700 each year (this equates to 9% of take home pay). ? Average consumer borrowing via credit cards, motor and retail finance deals, overdrafts and unsecured personal loans has risen to ? 4,515 per average UK adult at the end of July 2007. ? Britain's personal debt is increasing by ? 1 million every 4 minutes. † (Credit Action) A pictorial representation of the growth in the UK personal debt is depicted below

Genogram: Family and Paper Social Work Essay

1. I grew up with a strong and helpful family that was always there for me. I did get into a lot of fights with my siblings, but now that I am an adult and living my own life, I realize how much I really care and love them. Thinking back on my childhood, I was raised a good life and my parents told me to be the best person I could possibly be. They showed me how to pursue a good work ethic, and how to treat others the way I want to be treated. As a child I was taught to respect my parents, teachers, and adults. To respect someone is not to agree with someone but show regard to. I was always told treat people like you would want to be treated. And showing respect is one of them. I believe respect is something that is not given its earned through the course of time. My family was what made me who I am today. 2. While reflecting on the different cultural elements that have influenced my life, it is hard to determine which would be classified as the most significant or the most influential because at different stages of my life, that priority has changed. For simplicities sake, the first influence I will discuss will be that of my parents. I was born to a Caucasian, middle class husband and wife in July of 1974. Due to being â€Å"middle class† I was taught the values of hard work, responsibility, honesty, and accountability. With two parents who felt one does not deserve what one hasn’t worked for, it was instilled in me that laziness was truly one of the worst characteristics one could possible hold. This programming has led me to be hyper-vigilant in my quest to prove my lack of â€Å"laziness.† This can be established by the fact that I am currently raising 3 children, work one full-time job, and attend college full-time. In addition to my parents influence, the fa ct that I had 1 sibling also played a significant role in my cultural programming. Having a sibling has taught me to negotiate, participate and compromise. 3. I was raised in a very safe and secure environment for most of my life. I am Caucasian, straight and a female. I was raised in the Methodist church which puts me in another dominant classification, Christian. My dad worked very long hours when I was growing up to provide for the family. While my upbringing is relatively idyllic, there are experiences and influences that have shaped my life and made me a more tolerant, understanding and yet critical person than the stereotype of people from my socio-cultural upbringing. I was taught to see others as individuals as opposed to stereotypes. I was also taught to value an individual’s right to pursue happiness. 4. A family event that we participate in is sled riding and skiing. These events have impacted our family in a positive way. It is something that everybody enjoys participating in. 5. Our holiday traditions were really helpful during my life. On New Years Eve we all would gather together to say good bye to the old year and welcome in the new upcoming year. My children and I still observe this tradition. We eat dinner together every night. Each Sunday morning we have a big family breakfast. Our family has a family night every Monday night. Where we get together, play games, and eat treats. We also eat pizza and watch a movie together every Friday night. Every year we have a family reunion. Each Halloween we go to the pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins. 6. Every Christmas Eve we watch a Christmas movie then each child gets to open one present. On Easter we would search for hidden Easter baskets and collect the eggs that are hiding around the room. In our family our kids plan a birthday party with friends every year. We always decorate with streamers and balloons. The birthday child gets to choose his or her own birthday cake. They also get to choose whatever they want for their birthday dinner. 7. In my family we were taught that the role of the child in the family is to: go to school, learn, and grow up to be successful, listen to their parents, and go to church. 8. My mother had the most significant influence on me. She is the strongest woman that I have ever met. Her life inspired me with confidence and great motivation. Most of my mother’s life is full of misfortunes and unexpected troubles. Although she went through many hardships, she never gave up. The thing that I admire my mother most is she always kept in her mind the positive thoughts. In spite of the hard work that she does day by day, she always has a smile on her face. 9. By attending a college with a diverse student body I believe this can prepare me for my future work with families. I will be able to meet people and gain new insights on language and experience from another culture. 10. I believe growing up as a Caucasian, straight female will place a barrier in working with diverse families. I feel there will be limits to my experience but I would like to overcome them by taking classes on diversity and culture.

Operations Management - Location Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations Management - Location - Essay Example It has, on the other hand, proven that a number of entrepreneurs have continued to rise as Wal-Mart continues to open new stores. Fishman (2006) claims that, States that have a vast number of Wal mart stores has nearly the same concentration of small businesses just like in states with a few of the stores. In fact, it is the states that have a number of Wal mart stores that have a high number of small businesses per capita. Nevertheless, Wal mart existences in areas have negative effects top the small business owners. After observing the effects of a number of Wal-Mart openings keenly, researchers realized a 40 percent drop in sales at nearby mass merchandise chains and also, 17 percent sales drop at the region’s supermarkets. The small businesses located in the same regions with Wal-Mart often faces huge loses or become phased out of business due to the immense Wal-Mart’s everyday low prices and also, convenient shopping. There are a number of people who think that thi nk Wal-Mart is extremely unhealthy for a region’s small business owners. Andrea Dean of the University of West Virginia claims that, Wal-Mart has not had a serious negative effect on the local small businesses as critics think. Instead, Wall-Mart has unleashed forces that have overtime changed the nature of small businesses in America in unexpected ways (Fishman, 2006). With the introduction of Wal-Mart in a number of states, the small businesses fell over. These large stores are large chain stores that create large branches everywhere. With the loss of the small local stores, the towns losses the community feeling and interaction with neighbors. In big stores like the Wal-Mart, individuals behave differently than they do in the more friendlier and family like small local businesses (Fishman, 2006). These small businesses have that warm environment that slows down the pace of living, and encourages shoppers to wander around and converse. Studies have led to the conclusion tha t a surrounding with the small businesses tend to lead to a livelier and active community than the one with significant businesses. Pros and Cons – Town Residents The existence of Wal Mart has led to high job creations to the area residents. The company being a large one, there will be numerous job opportunities for the area residents. Wal-Mart has also led to an increase in the region tax revenues. According to Fishman (2006), the chains will also provide a wide selection of products and services under a single roof than what is available on the small businesses. Wal-Mart also provides residents with lower prices for all of its products and services than the existing area small businesses. Wal-Mart also provides convenience to its customers through immediate, no cost, nearby, and convenience parking space. There are, however, cons to residents where the chains become set. There are numerous allegations that Wal-Mart is in violation of the federal and also, the state wage and labor laws that require it to pay overtime wags to its workers, which enables the company to lower its costs and also sell at lower prices (Fishman, 2006). Response of a Wal-Mart Representative A Wal-Mart representative can be influential in responding to the negative criticisms along a number of sectors. Foremost, Wal-Mart will bring increased employment to the area. The chains will provide shopping access to

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Assignment - Essay Example Some of the continuous changes in the environment these organizations operate in include international competition, increasing acquisitions and mergers, reformations of individual organizations, and technological advances as identified by Dowling & Welch (2004). The implications of these changes on various aspects of the organization vary depending on the individual organization, however, for international corporations that experience the impact of these changing dynamic environments it is necessary to adopt a greater level of flexibility and search for novel sources of competitive advantage. As mentioned above, skills and core competencies are regarded as the key elements essential for driving effective innovation and desired change, and therefore are the major source of competitive advantage (Gratton, 2000). As highlighted by Boxall and Purcell (2003), these changes do indeed qualify knowledge work and employee skills. In tandem, this offers the suggestion that Human Resource Devel opment (HRD) is the core function around which Multinational Corporations (MRCs) succeed and maintain competitive advantage. Although all organizations are bound in such external environments, particular organizational features put emphasis on some important disparities in the role profiles of the people who have been tasked with carrying out the operations in each specific organization. It is widely held that the prevailing competitive environmental condition and appreciation of the significance of knowledge and learning to gain a competitive edge are increase the status and power of the HRD function and lead to the emergence of varied opportunities for HRD professionals (Boud and Garrick, 2001: Carter, Hirsh and Aston, 2002: Harrison, 2006). The increasing challenges manifest in the organizational structure of MNCs lead to the creation of distinctive roles for HR and HRD professionals that are not available in domestic organizations or the national context (Peterson and Thomas, 20 07). This paper therefore discusses the role played by the HRD function in MNCs in an international context concerning the changing environmental circumstances that have been highlighted above. In addition, draws on the conclusion that the role of HRD in maintaining a competitive advantage in a global stage has become greater than ever before, and is mainly influenced by the international factors that come into play. The International Context and the Role of HRD in MNCs The extant surge in globalization has been identified as a central environmental factor that continues to shape the operations of HRD professionals in MNCs across the world. Globalization entails a large quantity of issues such as the growth in international, multinational and transnational organizations’ advances in technology, mergers, acquisitions, ad strategic alliances. Short and Callahan (2005) state that in the quest for organizations to go global or maintain their position at the international stage, t hey are likely to turn to HRD professional to offer advice and support on the most viable strategies and practices to adopt. However, globalization forces the HRD function of such organizations to transform their way of thinking about the nature radically, role and tools of people development in order to remain competitive. The methods, therefore, adopted by the HRD function in MNCs is mainly influenced by the decision of the organization to lean toward international convergence, divergence or to operate as a transnational

Yemaya Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Yemaya - Essay Example I like Verbena Perfume. I am a wise and virtuous mother and the real time as I enjoy dancing. When I am dancing I start slowly and gratefully but I swirls and moves my skirts to demonstrate the rhythm of the waves (Hudes, Quiara Yemayas Belly 29). I build up speed and intensity that shows my immense power. I like seashells, fish, nets, sea horses, anchors and anything associated with the sea. I associate with the stars and the full moon, ducks, and peacocks. My realm is part of the ocean inhabited by plants, fish, and other marine life used by human for food. I am efficient at divination and leaned consultas through hiding behind the door and spying on my husband, Orula. I listen and offer maternal love to any person that needs a mother. I am the great mother who lives and rules of the seas. I control water (part of the sea known to humans) that is vital to life and without me, and life on earth is impossible. No one can defeat me in wars on behalf of my children as I wield a machete with expertise. I control the creative and nurturing forces of the sea (LachatanÃŒÆ'ereÃŒ , Crombet, Christine, Castellanos, Curbelo, and Siegfried 54). I do consultas for clients with epuele (divination chain used by babalawos) despite being a reserved for men. I am the Patron of pregnant women and a spiritual mother of those who feel lonely and lost. I rule over the surface of the Ocean where life is concentrated. I am worshiped in Haitian Vodou as a Moon Goddess, and I protect mothers and their children. Orula is my husband that made a pact with me and told me that I could use the dilogun (cowrie shells) to divine. Through this arrangement, I was able to usher in the custom of using the dilogun shells. Santeros and Santeras employ conduct consults with the cowries while babalawos (priest of Orula) like me use the epuele chain. I am the daughter of Olokun and times Obatala, Orula, Agayu, babalu Aye, Orisha, Oko and Ogun were my husbands at different times. I am the elder

Psychological Theories Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Psychological Theories - Research Paper Example This theory is based on the precept that mutual dependence is a vital fact in the development of a person’s character. It points to the fact that no single citizen of any community can function as a contributing member of society through his or her own effort but requires the support of established systems in the society as well as the encouragement of family and friends. This theory, which is rooted in the association between a person and his or her environment, seeks to affirm that all communities are formed through the interdependence that exists between citizens and the local government and other establishments that work to better the community. When these diverse associations are working well, then the levels of crime within any given community will be negligible. When different institutions in society such as the law enforcement authorities, the churches, schools, businesses and other associations are working together, they are able to collectively prevent the rise of cr ime in their society. The social disorganisation theory was first developed in Chicago, where the communities were divided into five zones that were then studied separately. The crime-riddled regions were identified through the â€Å"concentric zone model† (Miller, Shreck and Tewksbury, 2006). ... In the transitional zone, most of the homes were dilapidated and only poor citizens made homes there because they had few options to choose from. The more well-heeled members of society had the means to live in areas that had better roads, no environmental degradation and low crime rates and so opted for other residential areas rather than the transitional zone. The transitional zone is populated by people who are accustomed to living in poverty and have no social institutions to help them improve their lives. Essentially, most researchers use the transitional zone in many cities to study the relevance of the social disorganisation theory (Miller, Shreck and Tewksbury, 2006). The remaining three zones become progressively more habitable, with zone III, which is mostly populated by the working class, being the land in which the poor of the transitional zone aspire to reach. Though the occupants of zone III are not much more wealthy than the poor in zone II, they maintain their residen ces far much more and also esteem relationships within the organisation that hold up the law. Zone IV, which is the residential zone, has a more established population, most of whom are considered to be in the middle class. Their living conditions are much different from those of the zones II and III and they have establishments within society that allow them to preserve law and order. Zone V, the outermost zone, is populated by wealthy members of society who have the means to protect and sustain their lifestyles in their neighbourhoods while also keeping out undesired elements of society (Miller, Shreckand Tewksbury, 2006). According to the social disorganisation theory, the transitional zone, also known as zone II, has the greatest crime rate among

Module 1 and Journal Article Review 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Module 1 and Journal Article Review 1 - Essay Example This change is just an effect of more complicated issues in the society. The changing family structures, the law, the economy, and the innate characteristics of different cultures all contribute to population imbalance between the young and the old. Traditional lifestyle is adapted by most Mexican families, but this did not spare them from the effects of a growing aging population. According to Weaver, â€Å"societal aging may affect economic growth, sustainability of families, and communities to provide resources for older citizens† (â€Å"Why Population† 2). The effect can be largely felt in the economic sector since the future of the workforce is at risk; wherein if there should be a continuous decline of birth rates and rapid increase of the aging population, the future economy would suffer as the nation would seek and import foreign workers. As the economy suffers from the lack of human resource, economy itself is also a major factor in this social shift. Due to th e increased price of basic commodities and other needs related to child rearing such as education, spouses prefer to use modern birth control methods in contrast to the â€Å"God only knows† family size (Weaver â€Å"Aging in Mexico† 3). ... Furthermore, changing perspectives of intimate relationships also contribute much to this issue, which is more complicated than the economic side of the problem since this deals with the opinion and freewill of the people to chose whatever kind of relationship they want. Saying that the kind of relationship they have would develop negative side effects in the economy is against their freedom. The dilemma of having the people gain personal choice and at the same time protecting the national interest would require more studies on social preferences and a solution to fill in employment supply. Article 1 Kevin Kinsella and David Phillips in their article â€Å"Global Aging: The Challenge of Success,† identified what it means to have an economy with an aging population, with the corresponding reasons behind this and their effects on social shifts. Kinsella and Phillips contend that the aging population as a â€Å"success story† also has consequences especially on the economy . There are many factors in the declining birth rates of the population, but major contributors are fertility, sex ratios and the changes in societal perspectives especially to the family. According to Kinsella and Phillips, women nowadays are more adept to the rights concerning their reproductive health and thus, they already take part in deciding family planning. As working mothers continue to rise, the less likely for modern families to have more children. Sex ratio also complicates this problem. In Ukraine, there are only about 50 men per 100 women; more or less, other countries may have the same case. If the ratio would remain disproportionate, many challenges would compromise the

3010 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

3010 - Essay Example nt significance to highlight that majority of the problems faced by the organizations always revolve around the management flaws, that trickle down to the employees (Shermon, 36). This contributes towards hampering the organizational performances. As such, the organization may be considerably impacted with failures in certain measures. In relation to the above, it is important to understand some of the eminent problems that most organizations always face that may always contribute towards organizational failures. One of the problems that contribute towards hindering success in organizational setups is the ineffective performance management processes employed within those organizational setups. In some situations, the organizational may fail to have any organizational performance management process in place. This is very critical for such organizations since lack of such performance management processes is always amongst the top ranking agents of failure (Shermon, 41). The other problem may take the form of lack of, as well as, ill-defined performance expectations. This may present major challenges towards the realization of success in the organizations. In some situations, the performance expectations may be poorly communicated to the staff, thereby acting as amongst the top ranked predisposing factors of organiza tional failure. Other than the listed above, the inconsistent management practices employed within organizations as well as companies may also hinder the realization of the success. Furthermore, the partial participation of the managers and some leaders may also be one of the agents of organizational failure in companies (Shermon, 56). This is a big problem since some leaders may be fully engaged in discharging the best of their efforts towards realization of good results, whereas others may essentially ignore managing the performance. This is akin to organizational failure. Therefore, in order to address these organizational challenges and problems, it

The movie Gladiator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The movie Gladiator - Essay Example This also includes the role of Rome in terms of power and world domination which would create a clearer picture as to what it was like then. These aspects created a clear image of the setting; what Rome was like during those times, and how power struggles affected society, their behavior, and their decisions. Basic information or details about the movie were also included, as well as the camera’s angles and shooting styles were described in detail so as to define how the emotions evoked by the movie came to be. In other words, how well-made the movie is depends upon the watchers’ reactions – and it has a lot to do with how the camera shifts from scene to scene, as well as the angles used in each scene. Learning about Rome paved a clearer understanding of the way of life that it was easy to define how power, violence, and blood played a role that could easily be the epitome of Roman culture during that era. Yet, as disturbing as it may be, it was their reality. Al though in history the Roman culture was described as refined and had high regards to the arts and sciences, it seems that they had nearly no regard for human life – except for their own. What is portrayed in the movie is not a culture of refinement and scholarly behavior; rather it was of violence and barbaric behaviors. During that time, it seems that men and beast were the same when it came to power, and the struggle for power made them more like beasts fighting over a slab of meat – it was worth killing for.

To what extent does Dead Set reinforce or challenge codes and conventions Essay Example for Free

To what extent does Dead Set reinforce or challenge codes and conventions Essay Horror films generally incorporate a set of codes and conventions which make it clear to the audience which type of genre the film belongs to. Dead Set follows conventional horror film narratives in that many of the codes and conventions shown within the narrative are depicted to an effect that suggests crucial aspects of the film, for instance main characters and their alignment (good/bad). An example of this is when Patrick shields himself from the horde of zombies using a disabled person, this denotes Patrick as a villainous character to the viewer. Props character function theory suggests there are generally eight broad character types in media productions, one of which being the villain, which Patrick fulfils in this scene. These character types are included as they build expectations within the audience such as the direction of the plot, these expectations can either be met by the producers or challenged. By shielding himself with the wheelchair user the audience also learn of Patricks disdain towards his employees, a concept that becomes more apparent throughout the series. This scene ends after Patrick enters the cubical and locks the door, following Barthes enigma code theory which explains how plot elements are included in media text to plant questions in the mind of the audience, they do not know whether Patrick has survived unless they watch the next episode. Another notable example is when Marky, Space and Kelly depart in a van from the Big Brother set, this cliff hanger poses questions in the audiences minds, a common technique used in horror texts further more it is recurring throughout Dead Set purposefully used as it engages the audience and helps ensure they continue to watch the following episodes. Character development is a cornerstone of reality television however Dead set challenges this convention to an extent because the characters arent explored in a huge amount of depth. Kellys strained relationship is the one a few exceptions, this is more to the tune of horror texts. The lack of character development may have been included to move the action forward also to keep the narrative primarily focused on action as this may be more gripping for the audience. Dead Set features many technical and symbolic codes used in conventional horror films for instance the extreme gore and violence; even in the first episode as the protagonist Kelly hits the skull of a zombie with a fire extinguisher exposing its brains, this intense violence ensures fans of the horror genre will be satisfied. Less extreme violent behaviour is also demonstrated by the characters in other scenarios such as the frequent hostile exchanges between Grayson and Marky, the foul language used by the characters is common place in the reality television sub-genre. Shortly after the zombie has been killed we are shown Kelly clearing up the remains with a dustpan and brush, Dead Set challenges typical horrors as the high level of realism isnt a traditional feature of horror texts, this particular code helps align Dead Set with the reality television sub-genre. The mise en scene in Dead Set further perpetuates the conventions seen in the reality television sub-genre through the incorporation of alcohol, cigarettes and a provocatively dressed Veronica also the use real past contestants and the actual big brother set add a sense of realism to the production which help to immerse the audience in the action. The mise en scene also denotes violence in particular the characters costumes are soaked in blood, weapons such as knives, guns and fire extinguishers are featured heavily, props such as these are similarly used in other horror texts, these techniques used by the producers of Dead Set follow the codes and conventions used in other horror films such as Dawn Of The Dead these assist in categorizing Dead Set into the same zombie apocalypse sub-genre. Tracking shots of Veronicas body objectify her sexually which in turn help appeal to reality television fans as this technique is used conventionally in the genre. The establishing shot sees the house mates talking to one another in the big brother house, these fantastically colourful shots are then juxtaposed to desaturated, grey behind the scenes footage which open the story. This may have been included as it adds realism also it is Brookers way of perpetuating the idea to the viewer that reality television is far from true reality. The polysemic signs within the narrative arent conventional in horror or reality television however they are featured numerous times throughout Dead Set, an example of this is during eviction night, Joplin describes the audience as â€Å"animals† however they are actually zombies, this is Brooker comparing BB audience to the brain dead zombies, this satirising of society contrasts typical horror texts. Non-diegetic music is also incorporated, during the first epsiode it epitomises the dim situation of the characters, this may have been included as it points the audience to the bleakness of the narrative. The contrapuntal music used in the final episode sounds calming and somewhat optimistic however it contrasts greatly to the images on screen, the zombies devouring one another. This philosophical music may have been included to emphasise the sub-textual meanings to help the viewer see past the literal signs, for example the zombie looking at Kelly on the television, the inclusion of the music makes the satire more evident to the audience in this instance it isnt just the zombie watching Kelly, it is Brooker satirising the reality television audience more specifically those who watch Big Brother.

Save Trees Essay Example for Free

Save Trees Essay A coalition of environmental organizations working directly with Canadian companies to develop practical and economic ways to shift their wood and paper use away from ancient and endangered forest products to ecologically sound alternatives. Conservatree – www. conservatree. com: American non profit organization dedicated to converting paper markets to EP papers. Reach for Unbleached – www. rfu. org: Canadian registered charity working for a sustainable pulp and paper industry. ABPBC (Association of Book Publishers of BC) – www. books. bc. ca/ecokit. php: eco-kit for book publishers online. Magazine Paper Project – www. ecopaperaction. org: American non profit encouraging magazine publishers to switch to recycled paper. ReThink Paper – www. rethinkpaper. org: American non profit – more info, more resources. Almost half of the trees harvested in North America go to the production of paper Produced with the assistance of and the BC Gaming Commission For one source of EP office paper, see the Office Paper Buying Club at www. rfu. org Buying EP paper is the focus of the companion brochure – â€Å"Buying EP Paper. † Money saved using paper saving tips in this brochure can easily offset any initial cost differences of purchasing EP paper. Potential organizational benefits of an EP paper policy include favourable public image, employee pride and contentment, competitive differentiation, socially responsible investing advantages. Pulp paper is one of the most environmentally demanding and damaging industries in the world ? $50 ? $500 ? $100 ? $1,000 ? $250 ? Other $____ 1984 1994 2004 Global paper consumption has more than tripled over the past 30 years. How’s recycling working? Reach for Unbleached Box 39 Whaletown, BC Canada V0P 1Z0 Phone: (250) 935-6992 In Canada we recover only 44 % of all paper products used, including only 15 % of printing and writing papers and magazines. Over 90% of all office and printing paper is made with virgin fibre. | | Paper reduction techniques Machines n Purchase photocopiers that have double-sided copying capacity. Program double-sided copying as the default. n Purchase fax machines that use plain paper to eliminate the need to copy thermal sheets. Electronics n Create letterhead stationary using software templates and make it available to all. n Use e-mail instead of paper memos. n Don’t print all your e-mails. n Send out and keep reference documents electronically – don’t make hard paper copies. Software adjustments n Changing the print and other settings in software programs can save paper up to 50% by reducing the margins, font size and line spacing. Set the default to these settings, altering the parameters when necessary. (See www. rfu. org for more details on software adjustments. ) n A software program like www. ineprint. com will print more than one page to the sheet. Use the right paper for the job n Choose the most eco-friendly paper for a job – highest recycled content, unbleached, etc. Premium, extra white glossy paper is only occasionally necessary – for fine art reproduction, photographic prints, etc. n Use lighter paper (less weight) when feasible. This reduces the amount of fibre needed and also saves money in postage. n Use non-coated paper. Coated paper is in most cases less desirable for recycling mills because the clay coating is not recyclable. Work with your vendors Many of the following ideas could reduce vendor costs – enabling you to negotiate for advantages in other areas. n Ask suppliers to first send information electronically; then decide whether or not you need a hard copy. n The following shipment strategies from suppliers can save money for both you and your vendors. n Boxes, filler, etc. cost money. Ask vendors to colour code materials to help identify materials for recycling procedures. n Re-usable containers can be shipped back to suppliers. n Product packaging contributes significantly to purchasing costs. Ask vendors to reduce packaging. n Set up incentives for paper suppliers to sell you less product by helping keep track of your inventories and eliminating excess stockpiles, e. g. custom stationary that could become obsolete. n Provide inter-office envelopes to vendors for incoming invoices that need to go through more than one hand before payment. Many companies now consider their vendors as partners, not just product suppliers. In this spirit of partnership, they are working together to save money and improve environmental performance. Reward employees who come up with other paper-saving ideas. email yesterday More Paper reduction tips n Reduce a legal size sheet to letter size. n Make smaller notices, forms and letters – print two on each sheet of paper and cut it in half. n Use two-way envelopes to send out invoices customers can refold envelope for return payment. n Circulate office reports in a forwarding mailing envelope – saves making copies. n Use on-demand publishing or printing for books, manuals, catalogues, etc. – only print for immediate needs.

Five Point Environmental Strategy Of Marriott International Tourism Essay

Five Point Environmental Strategy Of Marriott International Tourism Essay Introduction Since 1987, when the concept of sustainability was mentioned on a coordinated international platform, the movement towards sustainability had expanded across the globe. The governmental and non-governmental organizations, corporations and consumers those focusing on the need to exist in harmony with their surroundings and environmental footprints are increasingly. The hospitality industry also not exception, therefore the concept of sustainability has begun to gain momentum in this industry. (Ernst and Young, 2008) http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/pdf8/e_y120408.pdf Alison Sperry (2010) defined that Going Green means: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Going Green is making the daily decisions with responsible that benefits to the environment and also can reduce waste and pollution. This concept also encourages a lifestyle of recycling, using chemical-free products, using alternative energy sources such as wind and solar and reducing the dependency on fossil fuels for energy. Hotel businesses developed and operated by the consumption of significant amounts of natural resources which are affected the sustainability of the natural environment. The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) therefore, has grown considerably over the last decade due to an increasing number of companies formally recognising the impacts they have on the environment, on society and on the economy (Jones et.al, 2006). Going greens concept is a concept of people learns how to make the environmentally friendly choices. Going green also is a concept that supporters make some changes to encourage healthier and environmentally friendly living. http://www.ehow.com/about_6681447_concept-going-green.html Ernst and Young (2008) defined that green: not a black and white issue. The travelers that concerned about the environment were increasingly and they always make their own determination as to what constitutes greenness in the lodging industry. http://www.ehow.com/about_6681447_concept-going-green.html According to Deloitte Survey (2008) showed that, consumers, employees and individual travellers start to concerned more about the hospitality industrys sustainability. Most of the individuals also start to changes their lifestyles and accepting higher green standards for themselves and also to the companies that they cooperate with. http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/us_cb_sustainability_190608(1).pdf Marriott International has more than twenty-year commitment to start the environmental preservation. The Marriott International is working toward a greener, healthier planet and their operating units are employ methods to protect the surroundings of natural and resources (Marriott, 1996 2010). Every year, the Marriott International and its owners had spent around 10 billion just for buy the products and services for its 3,300 hotels around the world. Marriott International also expanding its green hotels and buildings portfolios. Besides that, approximately 275 of Marriotts hotels have received the ENERGY STAR ® label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Marriott, 1996 2010). http://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?page=green_buildings Last but not least, Marriott International also was ranked 42nd out of 100 in The Greenest Big Companies on Newsweeks first-ever list. Moreover, Marriott International also gets the 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Sustainability in the categories of the Global Tourism Business by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) (Marriott, 1996 2010). The Problem Statement The problem of this topic is about how Marriott International. Inc. practices their going green programs in their properties. Marriott International Corporation is a leading worldwide hospitality company (Marriott, 2010). Currently, Marriott has more than 3100 of lodging properties is in the United States and 65 is in other countries and territories across 17 lodging and vacation resort ownership brands (Marriott, 2009). Marriott has more than twenty-year commitment to environmental preservation (Marriott, 2010). In 2007, Marriott formed a Global Green Council, a cross-functional team of senior executives that collaborated with Conservation International, a global environmental organization, to evaluate its practices, set long-term goals, develop an environmental strategic plan and catalyze its progress (Marriott, 2010). Five-point Environmental Strategy of Marriott International was developed in collaboration with Conservation International which are includes (Marriott, 2009): Reduce Consumption of Water, Waste and Energy Greener Buildings, expansion of LEED-certified hotels Greening Supply Chain Protecting the Rainforest with Carbon Offsets Employee Guest Engagement Over the last decade, for, the Marriott International corporate organized the Going Green programs which involved in energy conservation by changed 450,000 of the light bulbs with fluorescent lighting, installed around 400,000 low-flow of showerheads and toilets and also introduced the linens reuse programs in their hotels worldwide (Marriott, 2009). Besides that, the Marriotts Retro-Commissioning (MRCx) program, planning process and a comprehensive evaluation that helps their properties become as energy efficient as possible, was conducted at more than 30 of its largest properties (Marriott, 2009). Through projects completed over the last few years and those currently under way, Marriott anticipate saving 12 million kilowatts of power (Marriott, 2009). In general, properties find that after it implement all the recommendations that evolved from an MRCx assessment, it energy costs decrease 5 to 25 per cent and they are achieving, on average, a payback on their investment in just 1.4 years (Marriott, 2009). In the Americas, Marriott achieved a 2.2 per cent reduction per available room (Marriott, 2009). In late 2009, through a partnership with a U.S.-based landscaping company, Marriott adopted a climate-specific approach to landscaping, using native plants and restricted colour palettes to reduce irrigation demands and cut the amount of fertilizer required to keep plants healthy (Marriott, 2009). In 2009, Marriotts landfill waste in the USA totalled 726,993 tons which reflects a 17 per cent reduction from 2007(Marriott, 2009). Additionally, its recycling rate also was increased to 69 per cent and all the header quarters waste also was diverted from the landfill to the waste-to-energy plant (Marriott, 2009). Also, Marriott expanding its existing of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle programs that already in place of 90 per cent of hotels which included guest room and meeting rooms (Marriott, 2009). Forty Marriott International hotels are expected to receive the LEED certification from the USGBC (USGBC, 2010). In addition, Marriott internationals global Headquarters in Bethesda was received the LEED-Existing Building Gold status (USGBC, 2010). Moreover, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also had awarded Marriott International for three following years with its Sustained Excellence Award and more than 275 of its hotels also placed the ENERGY STAR ® label (Marriott, 2010). Marriott International has greening its supply chain by introduce the greener solutions at no extra cost (Marriott, 2009). For instance, Marriott has purchased 24 million of Greener key cards which consists 50 per cent of recycled material, which had save around 66 tons of plastics from dumped into the landfill (Marriott, 2009). Moreover, Marriotts will begin replacing the 100,000 synthetic pillows with those Eco-pillows that filled with material made from recycled bottles. In addition, one million of Earth-friendly towels that Marriott purchases in North America are no need to be pre-washed, which had save six million gallons of water (Marriott, 2009). Marriott hotels in Central Europe were used a laundry detergent that already cuts approximately 100,000 kg amount of phosphates released into waste water (Marriott, 2009). Marriott has teamed up with many Corporation or organizations to help them support their efforts to preserve and protect the environment (Marriott, 2009). For instance, Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), Conservation International, ENERGY STAR ®, International Tourism Partnership (ITP), and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The Marriotts protecting the rainforest strategy is help to protect 1.4 million of acres in endangered rainforest for the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve which partnership with the state of Amazonas in Brazil (Marriott, 2009). Research Questions The followings are some key questions addressed by his research: Is the Marriott International had practiced the going green? How the Marriott International practiced the going green in this industry? Why the Marriott international will practiced the going green? What level of going green programs of Marriott International? What differences between Marriott Internationals going green program with other companies? Does the going green program increase the income of Marriott International? Research Objectives To answer the above research questions, this study seek to accomplish the following objectives: To investigate going green practiced among all Marriott Internationals properties. To determine how the Marriott International practiced the going green. To determine the reasons of Marriott International practiced the going green. To examine the level of going green practiced among all Marriott Internationals properties. To compare the level of going green with other companies. To determine the advantages and disadvantages of going green in Marriott International. To determine the effect of going green programs to Marriott International. Hypothesis Statement Theoretical/ Conceptual Framework Conceptual Framework Marriott International. Inc. Going Greens Programs The strategies and programs of going green in Marriott International. Inc. The programs or strategies of going green in hospitality industry. The Actions that practices by Marriott International corporate. Theoretical Framework This research mostly searches on the Marriott International Corporate practising the level of going green in most of their properties. The reason why Marriott International become famous in going green program because their organized a lot of events or activities to greening their companies. In the internet or newspaper, we can see that Marriott International corporate organized a lot of activities in greening and get a lot of award internationally in greening program. Besides that, their also is one of the famous go green corporate in the world. Moreover, the going green is not easy to practices in the companies because it need a lot of resources to make it really work. Scope and Limitation This study was carried out among all Marriott International in going green program. The Marriott International, Inc.s operations are grouped into the five business segments which are North American Full-Service Lodging, North American Limited-Service Lodging, International Lodging, Luxury Lodging and Timeshare. Significance of the study The significance of this research is to evaluate the level of going green activities that practices or organized by Marriott International Corporate. According to The New York Times (2009), the Marriott International announced that they would no longer deliver newspapers to every guestroom in the morning. They only will deliver to which guest rooms had requested a newspaper or can pick one up in the lobby. Although that change is arguably as much about saving money more than saving trees. Marriott had assessed that it would reduce the newspaper distribution at its hotels to about 18 million only annually. http://zoominlocal.com/santa-rosa-press-democrat/2009/10/25/#?article=621947 Furthermore, this research is for acknowledge people around the world to know how important and advantages of going green in hospitality industries now a days. Now, most of the knowledge people are targeting the greening companies to cooperate with than normal companies. This is why more and more companies going to practising greening in their company because followed by the trend of all around the world. Chapter Two Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The literature review will begin with an essential understanding of the key points needed in order to accomplish the aim of the project. The research will be analysed in the literature to help construct an academic structure on the definition and concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The literature will also evaluate the purpose of sustainable development in the hospitality industry and its advantages and limitations. One area which has been particularly analysed is the going green programmes that practice by the hospitality industry as it contains most of the key areas. Furthermore, the literature reviews also analysing the views, theories arguments and perspectives of previous authors for assessment. The literature reviews also will finally perform as a source with which to analyse the differing perspectives on these key points identify gaps for argument and highlight key issues associated with going green programme in hospitality. 2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility Definitions and Concepts The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown considerably over the last decade due to an increasing number of companies formally recognising the impacts they have on the environment, on society and on the economy (Jones et.al, 2006). CSR issues are now being integrated into all aspects of business operations and explicit commitment to CSR is made in the visions, missions and value statements of an increasing number of companies all over the world (Ofori and Hinson, 2007). Definitions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have, however, remained an area of deliberation from the concepts very beginnings. A variety of definitions have been framed. The Commission of the European Communities (2001, p.6 ) defines CSR as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in the business operations and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. CSR therefore, is not just fulfilling legal responsibilities but may also go beyond compliance to embrace wider social, environmental and economic goals (Commission of the European Communities, 2001). The concept of CSR is one which has emerged over the last 50 years to occupy a significant role in certain aspects of organisational theory and has only been in wide use since the 1960s (Meehan et al., 2006). CSR was eventually recognised as businesses that are part of society and have the potential to make a positive contribution to social goals (Jones et al., 2006). CSR therefore seems to be synonymous with charitable and voluntary acts by business organisations designed to improve social skills. Conversely, Donaldson and Preston (1995) believe that businesses are not responsible to society but responsible to their stakeholders and view CSR from this perspective. One of the more cited definitions of CSR is proposed by the World Bank (2003), which defines CSR as the responsibility of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development-working with internal stakeholders, the local community, and society to improve the quality of life which is positive for business and development. The similarity among these different definitions of CSR is that companies should engage in CSR behaviour as part of their organisational strategy. Bevan et al. (2004) list nine potential benefits of CSR which include reduced operating costs; improved profitability and financial performance; enhanced capability to innovate; better risk and crisis management; long-term sustainability for companies and the workforce; improved staff commitment and involvement; good relations with government and society; enhanced reputation and brand value; and enhanced customer relationships and increased awareness of customer needs. 2.3 The Sustainability Development of the Hotel Industry International Tourism Partnership (2010) defines the term green in business as originally related to environmental issues; it has evolved to embrace all aspects of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Sloan et al. (2009) define a sustainable hospitality operation as one which manages its resources in such a way that economic, social and environmental benefits are maximised in order to meet the need of the present generation while protecting and enhancing opportunities for future generations. Green Hotels Association (2010, p.2) provides a more resource-oriented definition of the Green Hotel: Green Hotels are environmentally-friendly properties whose managers are eager to institute programmes that save water, save energy and reduce solid waste, while saving money to help protect the earth. According to Green Hotels Association (2010), Green Hotels have gained a foothold in lodging operators contribution to societys concern for the environment which focuses on programmes which are designed to save water, save energy and reduce solid waste. Programme components such as towel rack hangers and sheet-changing cards have achieved positive responses by hotel management staff as well as guests for over ten years (Green Hotels Association, 2010). The UK hotel sector would appear to accept that it does have an impact on the environment (Brown, 1996). This is not only confirmed by exploratory research but also through the formation of the International Tourism Partnership (ITP). The ITP has published an environmental magazine, the Green Hotelier, whose readership cares about environmentally and socially responsible hotel behaviour as focused on positive sustainable travel and tourism development (International Tourism Partnership, 2010). According to research by the Carbon Trust (Green hotelier, 2010), rising energy prices and taxes are the biggest worries facing the British hospitality industry in 2010. This view is supported by Alexander and Kennedy (2002) who find that the most costly and wasteful use of resources in hotels are usually in the consumption of non-renewable energy, excessive water use, and the generation of waste Brown (1996) argues that however the general manger of a hotel would appear to be restricted in introducing environmental improvements in the hotel unless a cost saving or other tangible benefit is identified. This view is supported by Butler (2008) who finds that the hospitality industry has been waiting for increased consumer demand and lower costs before it fully embraced green operation. In part, the slow adoption of green building standards has followed the approach that most hotel guests did not think that being green was that important, particularly if recycling or other green activities increased room rates or was inconvenient (Butler, 2008). Without consumers demanding green hotels, the perception of greater cost for green hotel development was an obstacle to the industrys adoption. 2.3 Case study of Accor and Hilton Based on their total room number and location of their hotels, the tho hotel groups selected for case study were Accor Hotel Group (Europe) and Hyatt Corporation (USA), being in 2009 the top 10 hotel groups in UK (Caterersearch, 2010). Marriott International Corporate also is one of the top 10 hotel groups in UK. Company Number of hotels Number of rooms Number of hotels worldwide 1 Whitbread Hotel Company 577+ 40,000+ 580 2 InterContinental Hotels Group 248 34,955 4,200   3 Travelodge (Dubai  International Capital) 372 23,150 380+   4 Accor Hotels   138   19,996   4,000 5 Hilton Hotels Corporation 78   16,566 3,200   6 Best  Western   285   15,305   4,035   7 Wyndham Worldwide 122 12,274   7,000 8   Marriott Hotels   58   12,015   3,200   9 Carlson  Hotels Worldwide     50   9,718 1,030   10   The  Rezidor Hotel Group  Ã‚     42   7.759   380 Table 1: Top 10 Hotel Groups in the UK, 2009 by number of bedrooms. (Caterersearch, 2010) 2.3.1 Accor Group Hotels Accor currently manages 4,100 hotels under 13 different brands worldwide (Accor, 2010). Accors philosophy is based on hospitality and respect for diverse cultures, incorporating environmental best practices in all its operations (Accor, 2010). The goals of their Earth Guest programme, launched in 2006, are to reduce water and energy consumption, promote balanced nutrition and to double, in three years, the number of hotels that offer fair-trade products (Accor, 2010). The programme is divided into two parts which are a social responsibility development area (EGO) and an environmental responsibility development area (ECO) (Accor, 2010). EGO is includes programmes for local development, the protection of children, combating of epidemics and the promotion of healthy eating; and ECO is includes the reduction of water and energy consumption, and the improvement of waste sorting and recycling, as well as the preservation of biodiversity (Accor, 2008 and 2009). The Hoteliers Environmental Charter is Accors internal benchmarking tool and provides the local hotel managers with guidelines for environmentally sustainable business practices. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (2010), the Hoteliers Environmental Charter has been adopted by 88% of Accors 4,000 properties. The Charter gives hotel managers and employees clear instructions on how resources can be saved in the areas of energy, water and waste (Accor, 2008). The first and second point of Hoteliers Environmental Charter considers is energy and water (Accor, 2010). Compact fluorescent light bulbs are used in 82% hotels for areas that remain light 24 hours a day (Accor, 2010). Accor also continued to promote the use of renewable energy sources, installing solar-powered hot water systems in 32 hotels in 2009, with a total of 99 hotels now equipped worldwide (Accor, 2009). Accor is actively involved in water conservation measures and water consumption per occupied room was reduced by 4% between 2006 and 2009 (Accor, 2009). Moreover, flow-regulators have now been installed in showers and faucets in 89% of hotels (Accor, 2009). Accor actively promotes waste sorting and recycling as well as eco-designed products for instance, 51% of hotels recover paper, cardboard and glass (Accor, 2008). Accor has improved its performance in waste management by manage with a dedicated waste management module that monitor the amount of waste produced per room, the recovery rate and the cost of waste disposal (Accor, 2009). Waste Traceability mainly concerns the separation of waste, where the company already achieves a high score in France owing to its proactive information policy (Accor, 2008). According to Accor (2010), their hotel prefers eco-labelled suppliers. In 2002, Accor dispatched an environmental purchasing charter to its purchasing organisations as well as to over 2,000 preferred suppliers (Sloan et al., 2009). 2.3.2 Hilton Hotels Currently, Hilton Hotels Corporation has more than 3,200 hotels and 525,000 rooms in 77 countries. In 2009, Hilton is new global headquarters in McLean, Virginia which meets the highest environmental standard for his design, operation and construction. (Environmental Leader, 2009) http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/08/11/hilton-kimpton-hotel-chains-go-for-the-green/ Besides that, the sustainability target that aims in coming 2014 by Hilton Hotels was announced. Those include: 20 per cent: Reducing energy consumption from direct operations; 20 per cent: Reducing CO2 emissions; 20 per cent: Reducing output of waste; 10 per cent: Reducing water consumption. Hilton has already begun to green its hotel operations. Through the introduction of carbon-free electricity at its facilities in the U.K. and Ireland, Hilton says it reduced CO2 emissions in participating Hilton hotels by more than 64,000 tons, or 56 percent of its carbon footprint. The company says it has also reduced its energy and water consumption 10 percent over the last two years. Hilton Hotels reported in May that it has delivered energy savings of more than 10 percent last year across more than 80 hotels in Europe. A 2007 survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and KDS revealed that only one-third of corporate travel policies promote sustainable tourism. While many travelers said they would prefer a green hotel, other factors such as price win out when theyre booking. 2.3.3 Summary Most major chains are looking for ways to integrate green into their hotels, and water and energy conservation are popular routes. Marriott International has set the goal of lowering GHG emissions 2.2 million pounds by 2010, says Ed Fuller, president and managing director of the company. Wolfgang Neuman of Hilton Hotels sees near-term moves toward eco-friendly air-conditioning, solar heating, and heat recovery systems to extract waste water from one system and use it in another. And by 2010, 200 of Accors hotels in France will have solar panels. Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Introduction In this dissertation, in order to obtain broad knowledge about environmental operating practise in the hotel industry, a wide range of secondary sources will be reviewed. In addition, research strategy adopted was to conduct multiple case studies in three top hotel companies in Europe and the USA. The main data collection techniques used in this research study was documentation analysis and content analysis. This chapter is divided into three sections. In the first, the interpretive stance in the field of information system is examined. The next section is about the construction of the secondary research design which deals with the research design and covers the reasons for selecting resources. Finally, section three describes the research approach followed in case study research. 3.2 Research Design Currently, secondary literatures have increase rapidly, particularly as new resources which are developed or ready through the internet (Saunders et al., 2009). In this research project, secondary research will allow the research to incorporate suitable and reliable data of green operation initiative in hospitality, so that all the gathered data can respond to the research questions relating to the green behaviour of hotel in Europe and the USA. Secondary research differs from primary research in the collection of the information is not the responsibility of the analyst. Stewart and Kamins (1993) point out that the analyst enters the picture after the data collection effort is over in secondary research. On the other hand, in primary research, the analyst is responsible for the design of the research, the collection of the data, and the analysis and summary of the information (Stewart and Kamins, 1993). Secondary data although, has lack of direct control of the date, type, and proced ure for collecting and recording of the data (Sauder et al, 2009), however, secondary data is more financial and time saving. For instance, secondary data particularly not necessary to wait for or pay to marketing researchers for a research project to collect primary data. By using secondary data, author can has more time and effort in analysing and interpreting the data, as it has already been collected. Secondary research moreover may increase the quality of the research by targeting the real dilemma and mistakes. Consultation on secondary resources increases the efficiency of the research by targeting real gaps and oversights in knowledge. Primary research therefore has not been used in this project due to the wide variety of secondary data has been found. Primary research methods such as, questionnaires or interviews will not provide relevant information for this topic. On this basis, it can be concluded that secondary research is the main source of information provided in this study including information from academic journals, books, corporate reports and internet. Nevertheless, author should analyse cautiously the information gathered to determine its validity and reliability. This is because the research only uses one kind of research models and the argument generated about research topic. 3.3 Sources of Data 3.3.1 Primary 3.3.2 Secondary Secondary research is the key resource of information incorporate in this dissertation; however, different secondary resources might have different type of information. A guideline for obtain valid and reliable information from different resources therefore, has been designed which can found in Table 4. Table 4 Type of information Resources that might have that information Established facts and figures Reference books; official publications; government web sites General information on a topic Books of collected articles; text books; web sites of relevant organisations Reviews of the literature on a topic Journal articles; books of collected articles Publications of recent research results Journal articles; proceedings of conferences Professional and academic debates Journal articles; web sites of relevant organisations; newspapers Table 4: The types of resources that provide different information. In order to justify the authors arguments and offer a range of information about the research topic, secondary resources such as academic journals, books, corporate report and the internet have been used. Academic journals have offered different views and theories of Corporate Social Responsible (CSR) concept and environmental operating practise in hospitality. Journals such as Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research illustrate some research studies that have been conducted concerning the green operation initiative in hotel industry. All the relevant information gathered from these journals will be analysed and used to evaluate the level of green behaviour of top hotel company. Journals however often assembled to research aims that differ from the current research; therefore, data and complex arguments has to be carefully evaluated, as well as understood and interpreted. The information in books is normally written in more well-organized and accessible way which will help to clarify the research questions and objectives. In this research, text book is rarely used due to insufficient related books in library about sustainability in hospitality. Sustainability