Consequences of Unethical Behavior Essay

I had not heard of this until now, actually. Google paid their way out of CEO prosecution last year. Not only was their behavior unethical, and illegal, it was very socially irresponsible to the American people. Google was taking part in advertising narcotics and other prescription drugs for an illegal Canadian pharmacy on the American internet; making all of these drugs readily available to the American people. David Whitaker, a federal inmate and convicted con-artist became posed as an American government agent who went undercover to prove Google knew exactly what was going on. Google advertisement executives accepted the $200,000 worth of the government’s â€Å"set-up† money to begin advertising. Whitaker collected emails and recorded calls to prove that Google knew what they were doing were illegal. Even though it was obvious through the evidence to see that Google representatives knew that the advertisements were illegal, they extended Whitaker a â€Å"very generous credit line and allowed me to set my target advertising directly to American consumers. On August 24th, 2011, Google paid $500M dollars to pay their fines and avoid prosecution of their C. E. O. Larry Page. Through the emails and recordings, it is made obvious that Page knew exactly what was going on. Google was allowing illegal Canadian pharmacies to platform their ads on Google and target the American population. Google allowing American consumers to be targeted is absolutely outrageous. Google’s $500M fine covers the advertising costs and profits of the companies. The Department of Justice also has a â€Å"non-prosecution† agreement with Google. Now, what exactly is a â€Å"non-prosecution† agreement? To me, this all sounds like something illegal all the way around. How can a company, any company, buy their way out of prosecution? How can a C. E. O. not be classified as a drug peddler who well knows of what is going on within his company? How does this make him any different that Bernie Madoff or the Goldman Sachs C. E. O.? Google was allowing drugs to be sold through their network, period point blank; with the citizens of America being the target. How can a company buy their way out of prosecution? I just do not understand. If I was caught selling drugs, or giving people a platform to sell, I would be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Would I be able to buy my way out of prosecution? I absolutely would not! The American government would lock me away and take their sweet time about taking me to trial and finishing my case. Why was this not made more public? Now, it seems, Google is being looked into from every aspect, in which they should.

Clinical psychology

Throughout this course I learned about many models and theories related to behavioral therapy. My endeavor during the last five weeks through the world of behavioral theories has Ignited and opened my eyes to a career that I never thought that I was ready for or even in to.In this paper about personal models of helping, the following topics about cognitive behavioral therapy will be explored: How and why my viewpoint was formed from the following personal models, my view of helping, the relationship between the clinician and the participant regarding this model, quenches or approaches to change, and a coherent model that Is consistent to the course material. Additionally, the kinds of problems that can be addressed, the multi cultural issues behind this topic, the limitations and strengths, the population this model can help, and the original thinking behind these models.Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy So, what is Cognitive-behavioral therapy and why is it important? According to The A lbert Ellis Institute â€Å"Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CAB was developed my Dry. Albert Ellis In 1955 and It was developed Individuals manage their emotional, behavioral and cognitive 1) The Cognitive Model as described by The Beck Institute of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is â€Å"how peoples perceptions of, or spontaneous thoughts about, situations influence their emotional, behavioral reactions. (Para. 1). So what does this mean in plainly? It means that every persons emotional reactions are a result of their environment and their environment is the result of their emotional reactions. CAB seeks to take someone distorted or dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors and correct them so that they resemble something closer to a reality. These maladaptive behaviors are unhealthy and unproductive to an individuals life and can create an environment that promotes anxiety, depression, and isolation.Viewpoint Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CAB) is an interesting and exciting model becau se the whole point of this therapy Is not accepting that a behavior is permanent and that anything can be changed with the right finesse and will. The reason I formed this viewpoint Is because of my brother Jason. Jason has always been the type of anything. This is one of the reasons why I have pursued the field of psychology since I started college. As I said earlier, The Cognitive Model Seeks to change behaviors that re unhealthy for a person and the environment around the person.Now I accept the fact that maladaptive behaviors are all decided on the society or environment that a person lives in, and in saying that, this society does not accept this type of behavior, or at least I don't believe it does. For many years, I possessed a certain viewpoint towards my brother that created resentment and hate towards him, because I did not understand the basic principles of a theory like the cognitive model. In the last 2 years I have grown to appreciate my brothers behaviors for what the y are, distorted ND dysfunctional.This has allowed me to take a large amount of bias and negativity towards him and â€Å"squash it†. Now, I am not a therapist, and I do not claim to be. Because of this, there is only so much of this therapy that I have comfortable with trying. When I started trying to help my brother empower himself and helping him feel more confident in his life, I could tell instantly that he thought as if I were Joking with him or making fun of him. He did not trust me. Because of this lack of trust, it made it trickier to help him.This lack of trust came from so many years of not being round him as much as I should have been and because I myself never treated him like an adult. My viewpoint was formed not only because of my brothers behaviors, but also because of me and my other family members that had always granted Jason the position of being the failure in the family since the day he made his first mistake. This has created an enormous sense of respon sibility for me to help others and it gives me the drive and interest in these behavioral models like the cognitive theory of psychopathology, The Cognitive Model.My View of Helping My view of helping is very simple. If I can create a sense of empowerment and responsibility in someone life that make that person feel better about themselves and promotes healthy relationships than I have used my time on earth the right way. My view of helping extends much farther than this still. As I have heard in many of of my classes is that many therapists and counselors use theories of different therapists models to help their clients achieve the results they want to attain. In my career I hope to reach farther and find a theory that is my own.I believe that a theory only makes sense if the person that you are using it with is being helped by it. What I mean by this is that I believe that no one theory is best for each and every person. I know that each individual could benefit from a collection of two theories or possibly a theory that might be tailored specifically for that behavior. Clinician and Participant The relationship of a clinician and a participant regarding behavioral therapy is important to the success of the therapy. Each clinician dealing with a participant that has behaviors that they are looking to change needs that support and guidance of the clinician.During therapy it is necessary to constantly remind each participant hat while they may not be able to control the environment around them, they are capable of controlling and understanding those emotions to better sustain themselves in that environment (Cherry, 2013). Approaches to Change and Problems Addressed Individuals often follow a certain set of beliefs that are reinforced by the beliefs of their family or the people around them. This is where the components of behavioral Emotive Therapy or RET is an approach the aims to assist anyone with problems overcoming or coping with difficulties achieving th eir goals.RET addresses emotions hat are unhealthy such as, anger, anxiety, depression or guilt. After working towards the goal of eliminating certain behaviors that are considered unhealthy, RET, then focuses to introduce new behaviors or beliefs that are healthier and realistic (Ellis Institute, 2014). Course Material During this course, Models of Effective Helping, the main focus of the learning was on behavior and the theory surrounding behavioral therapy. The theories I personally focused on most of the five week course had to do with behavioral changes.My thought on behavioral therapy is that I consider behavioral therapy to be the most effective type of therapy when trying to correct attitudes or habits that are harmful to them or someone around them. I learned about Dry. Albert Ellis and The Cognitive Model, Ivan Pavlov and his work on Classical Conditioning, and Dry. William Glasses with his creation of Reality Therapy, and development of Choice Theory. These individuals ha ve all shaped my view of how I would use these theories or treat a patient. My view point is leading me to the inevitable role of psychotherapist.Because of this course and all of the interesting theories in it, a passion has come sack to me and many theories have been learned that are all vital in the quest of my career as a behavioral therapist. Multicultural Issues Multicultural issues play a dominant role in how a client finds help or even if that same client receives help at all (Good Therapy, 2014). These multicultural issues range from sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity and culture. Additionally a therapy session can depend on what the multicultural issues are with the therapist.Each therapist has a simple set of beliefs that they follow in their daily lives that may also be applied in their therapy practices. Many families in America see mental health conditions as reason for seeing a health professional for help. The difference for someone that has cultural norms may see their family members as someone that talks to god because of their religion, or a certain ethnic traditions accepts this behavior as ritualistic. It is a necessity for each therapist to know a persons conditions as well as their culture considerations so that their therapists will know how to appropriately handle each person differently.Limitations and Strengths The limitations of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CAB) are inevitable to arise with some individuals. When dealing with problems in life, some people will inevitably associate negative feelings with these problems and create a habit of feeling negatively whenever dealing with similar results. The human mind is complex and because of this, there is always going to be a situation that will test someone therapy which can easily back track someone success in therapy.These limitations are present in all models and therapies. Each person is different and because of these differences, and therapy model that may work complet ely for one person may not work entirely for another. The best way to avoid falling back into old habits is to ATA in therapy, keep practicing these good behaviors, and recognize when you are using self-defeating behavior. The strengths with CAB are more beneficial than the limitations and because of this fact, CAB is considered to be one of the most recognizable forms of therapy.These strengths include: Helping mentally ill short term, The way that this therapy is structured creates an type of environment that is conducive in different settings (group settings, one on one, and even self help books) that ultimately allow individuals to find comfort through an environment that allows them feel more comfortable. CAB not only allows for the safe environment that individuals look for, but during this therapy it teaches them to cope with future situations that may have been hard to deal with previously.Population Served CAB is a therapy that can help any population that is having problem s with depression, anxiety, drug abuse, even sleep problems. CAB helps each individuals with these problems become a stronger, more effective individual that can cope easily with hard decisions or situations. A few specific populations that would benefit would be the mentally ill population, The military population and there families, Alice officials, families, and individuals with traumatic pasts. Each of these populations success is dependent on how well each of these groups or individuals follow the therapy and there willingness.This willingness is decided on many factors that are personal to each of these people. Original Thinking The original thinking behind this model was to help individuals change behavior that was dangerous to the person with the habit. Originally Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CAB) was created by Dry. Albert Ellis in 1955 and later developed by many other therapist. The basic and original thought behind CAB was that problems were to caused by situations alon e, but how we, as individuals, interpret these situations, which cause out emotional responses and actions (BBC, 2014).This thinking when it started was considered so different and untrue. The thought in the sass when this theory was created was that each persons emotions came from themselves, not because of the situations in that environment. Personally, was my grandfather was still around, he always told me that no matter how hard something becomes, a persons character defines their emotions, he was a firm believer that a persons behavior was a product of themselves, because this is how god made everyone. This had never made sense to me, and so I shrugged whenever I heard this story.Conclusion Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is a theory that assists individuals in changing maladaptive behaviors that are unhealthy and distorted. We explored the beginning of CAB, my viewpoint of the theory of behavioral therapy, the relationship between the clinician and participants, the approaches to change and problems addressed, my course material for this course, the multicultural issues surrounding this therapy, he limitations and strengths, the populations served and the original thinking behind this therapy model.

Building and dwelling in the Twenty-first Century Essay

Building and dwelling in the Twenty-first Century - Essay Example The critical question that arises here is that how the activity of building should be carried out and how should the dwellings be realized. Heidegger in his essay 'Building Dwelling Thinking' says that "we perceive building and dwelling as two different activities but in reality building and dwelling is one and the same". The sole purpose of building is to dwell and this does not only include the act of lodging in a building but rather it includes all the other facilitators that come together to provide a platform for dwelling of man on the earth because in the large meaning, being human being on earth means to dwell. It is important to understand that any building does not exist in isolation, with little or no relation with its surrounding, but rather it is a part of a complex fabric that intertwined around various aspects like natural surroundings of the place, the perception of the building by the larger society of the users as to what it is and as the functional utilization of that building. It is also necessary to understand that the building exists in the midst of natural elements like the sky and the surround landscape and that it is necessary to understand the building in the same manner. ... This should necessarily harmonize with the immediate and the distant physical surroundings in order to form a part of the larger locale. This can include the natural as well as built surrounding that has been created by man during the course of time one earth. The act of building therefore needs to encompass other elements of intangible nature, like the relationship of the building with the established cultural landscape of the place and the perception that has been attached with the same. With all this, when a building comes into existence, as a facilitator for dwelling, it changes the characteristics of the locale in which it is created and then, it assumes the position of locale by itself. In terms of the cultural relationship of the building, it is necessary to link the act of building with the larger aspect of dwelling by understanding dwelling not as an instantaneous activity but as an activity that has occurred over a large period of time and that it shall continue to be the same in the time to come. Being in the twenty-first century it is therefore necessary to understand the act of building as the act of creating and growing something that exist in time and space and something that is dynamic or ever-changing in terms of its manifestation but principally it remains the same throughout. As a side effect of scientific advancements, the perception of living and on a larger extent, dwelling, for us keeps changing all the time. With these advancements, there is a corresponding change in the culture of society and this in turn has a very important role to play in our perception of dwelling and building. The act of building in turn creates a locale and

Week Six Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week Six Question - Essay Example (Watkins, 2004) One of the key reasons as to why founding fathers of America refused to consider paper money as a legal tender was the unrestrained use and possession of this money thus causing damage to the society. Since paper money was not backed by the real physical assets therefore its issuance and circulation was considered as morally damaging for the society as a whole. Apart from this, the issuance of paper money by some States has created widespread inflationary pressures on the economy. The case of Rhodes Island is considered as an ideal case wherein Rhodes Island not only issued the currency but also passed legislation that if anyone refuses to accept this as a legal tender, he or she may be fined for $100. The uncontrolled use of paper money also became detrimental for the trade in Rhodes Island. This experiment created a widespread dissent among those responsible for development of a unanimously agreed constitution of the country. (Newcomer, 1986) It is important to note that the US Constitution only prohibits States from issuing paper money but it is relatively silent on the powers of the federal government to issue fiat money. It is however, critical to note that US has started to issue paper money much before even the constitution was adapted in the country. The necessary and proper clause in the constitution also gave powers to the federal government to actually pass any law which may be considered as necessary. (Feeley & Rubin, 2008). The constitutional convention also gave silent powers to the federal government to actually issue paper money but it suggested restraining from inserting an explicit clause in the constitution to allow the issuance of paper money in the country. The current system of issuing currency notes in the country therefore also points out to this constitutional issue as US Mint is responsible for issuance of coins in limited numbers where Fed has been

Changes In Company's Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Changes In Company's Culture - Research Paper Example This paper stresses that there is a strong relationship between culture and performance. A supportive culture enhances the organization’s competitive advantage in terms of higher outputs, improved profits, increased employee retention and enhanced working environment. Culture determines employee attitudes, their motivation and consequent organizational performance. This paper has highlighted change in organizational culture, the two levels of organizational culture, the use of culture measures in change situations, failure to achieve organizational culture change, and implementing the process successfully. Sustainable organizational change cannot be effectively implemented by structural or systemic changes to the organization. On the other hand, it is brought about by powerful techniques that work successfully through strong communications with employees. These communications convey both the means by which the organization will change the way it functions and about the new cultural goals of the organization. Effective organizational change occurs when completely new climates and cultures are created and maintained by the company. Different types of climates and cultures may be equally effective for different organizations according to their industry, markets and nature of their workforce. To ensure successful cultural change management in an or ganization, and to break the spiral of dysfunctional failures, the climate and culture levels offer numerous opportunities for the company’s management to bring about sustainable change.

Identifying a Researchable Problem Research Paper

Identifying a Researchable Problem - Research Paper Example During physical activity, the body uses more oxygen than when one is passive. Regular physical activity will therefore lead the body to adapt to providing more and more oxygen into the blood stream. Reports by various scholars point out to the fact that children with reduced mobility have been diagnosed with asthma more than their highly mobile counterparts (Daniels, 2006). This revelation, combined with the fact that sometimes asthma is also common among obese children point out to the possibility that asthma may indeed be controlled through physical activity. This is because physical activity eventually makes the body to adapt to the increased intake of oxygen by developing mechanism which allows increased oxidation of blood. Such mechanism is postulated to be capable of limiting chances of alveoli constriction ad therefore greatly reduce the chances of asthma. Amongst the adolescents, increased physical activity may be seen as one possible way through which asthma may be contained . Statement of General Aims and Objectives The aim of the proposed study is to find out the connection between the role of physical activity and human health. From the fact that the human body usually adapts to conditions around it, this study shall aim at finding out the extent to which teenagers adaption to physical activity may reduce the chances of asthmatic attack for those who are already asthmatic. The paper shall focus on the role of physical activity in treating asthmatic ad related conditions in adolescents. The study shall also focus on what short term benefits physical activity may offer to asthmatic adolescents. The study shall assume that learned physical activity will go a long way to assist adolescents develop healthy lifestyles in their adult lives. Research Questions: Using PICO Model The study shall be conducted based on the guidance from the following research questions: 1. To what extent can asthmatic conditions be attributed to lifestyle? 2. Are adolescents who are less active physically likely to have health complications than their active counterparts? 3. What is the connection between patient diagnosed with asthma and physical mobility? 4. Can increased physical activity reduce the chances of asthmatic attack? 5. Do asthmatic adolescent who are engaged in physical activity show more progress towards recovery from asthmatic attacks? From the research questions, the study shall be conducted under the following hypotheses 1. Asthmatic condition in adolescents are majorly attributed to lifestyles 2. Adolescents who are less active physically are likely to have health complications than their active counterparts 3. Many patients diagnosed with asthma are usually physically inactive 4. Improved physical activity reduces the chances of frequent asthmatic attacks 5. Asthmatic adolescent who are engaged in physical activity are more likely to show more progress towards recovery from asthmatic attacks than those who are passive? Methods The stud y shall aim at working with adolescents. There shall be a need to seek approval from the school and parents from the sample that shall volunteer for the study. Much focus will be based on those adolescents who are already asthmatic. This will especially be so in order that a comparison shall be made possible. For reliability, rather than numbers, the study shall focus on different schools. It is anticipated that the target sample

New procedure that physicians would like to adapt in the hospital Essay

New procedure that physicians would like to adapt in the hospital - Essay Example First, a new process must follow the ANA Standards of Practice and the Nurse Practice Act. Further, the process should uphold the rights of patients and also be safe. Second, the new procedure must be backed by relevant nursing theories and literature. The process must have a backing of conclusive information and data from reputable health sources like the nursing organizations. Having this would ensure that the procedure is based on evidence. The third step in determining the scope of the new process would be to evaluate the professional opinions of other nurses with similar professional training. The point implies that other nurses should propose such a process or approve it in case they are in a situation that it can be applied. According to the Texas Board of Nursing (n.d), nurses are supposed to follow ‘standard care practice’ in dealing with emerging situations. A new process must have a nursing remedy in case of further complications as a result of the new practice. Nurses should be in a position to accept any repercussion that emanate from the new process. Before following the new practice, the nurses must first determine the consequences and the applicable laws, should they violate the safe care doctrine. Introducing a new process to fellow practitioners and physicians is a tricky process. The initial step is to educate the physicians and the nurses about the rationale and the reasons for adopting the new practice and get their initial response towards the new process. When the concerned parties are in agreement about a new process, then implementation becomes easier. The physicians and nurses should be assured that the practice does not violate the professional terms that they all subscribe to. An awareness program should be created to educate the health practitioners on the specifics of the practice and the desired outcomes. It is important to educate them on the new practice since it does not exist in the current nursing

The West Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The West - Essay Example Most of the people who led this progress were religious Christians. This was the 15th century when huge developmental progress was driven by the Christian Europeans and this progress made the west dominate the world politically, economically, culturally and religiously. Conquering the Muslim regions in East and bringing Muslims’ technology to Europe was the biggest reason for development in west. These crusades brought especially the medical knowledge and technology into Europe which was initially the expertise of the Muslims. Aristotle and Plato were leading scientists of that era. The devastation of Baghdad in 1258 AD; the Naval Crusade and the atrocious slavery of West Africans; the attacks on Cape Bojador; the invasion of Christian armies in Spain; and, the collapse of Granada led to the downfall of the Islamic civilization which handed over its best discoveries and scientific knowledge to the west. Royal marriages linking Spain and Hapsburg in 1500; Spain becoming a globa l Christian empire; the demolition of Al-Andulus; a following Crusade against Ceduta, a Muslim trading center, in 1415; the motivation given to the Portuguese by the Church to fight against the Muslims; the Crusades of Vasco da gama in 1500s to conquer Africa and India; the creation of a New Order, Protestantism, by the Church, which made the Protestant countries displace Catholic Spain and Portugal; all of these were a chain of events leading to the dominance of the west. Europeans brought the gunpowder technology in from the Mongols and utilized it in the creation of weapons. What advantaged this were the modern trade routes of the west financed by capital owners- the Church and Jews. The development of weaponry in the west enabled it to conquer small countries and enlarge the kingdom. Western technologies and their incorporation in all countries quietly enabled the western culture and values to sneak into these

Health Issues Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Health Issues - Annotated Bibliography Example By evaluating the journal, there is a general consensus that wakefulness pressure injuries are consequences of economic losses in many countries health care system making it critical topic of discussion. Thus through evaluation, Healthcare professionals should construct the case for various resources to offer appropriate prevention strategies while providing clinical education where possible. Through critical analysis, despite the fact that pressure injuries are preventable, rarely do we appropriate measures of tying these preventions to cost of implementation. The result of implementing such program as the one conducted in Ballarat Health Services (BHS) is considered appropriate in improving patients’ wellness and economic outcomes. Furthermore, the authors contribute to the clear understanding of cost implications on prevention of pressure injuries since cost in such treatment is inevitable.Likewise, many health care institutions in many parts of the world are increasingly faced with immense pressure to cope with rising patient load and health care economic. The cost of prevention of pressure injuries can impact on hospital length of stay and other accrued costs thus their reduction becomes key. However, full statistical analysis has not been performed, that reveal if these improvements at BHS were statistically significant.In this way, these findings are limited due to the fact that this is an instance of an intervention as opposed to a trial that is controlled structurally and randomized.

Beyond Products Case Study - Entrepreneurship Course Essay - 1

Beyond Products Case Study - Entrepreneurship Course - Essay Example In his design, Peter Van Riet considered the disadvantages and advantages of the two early and most popular designs which developed the product to be a better choice for snowboarders. Being himself a semi-professional snowboarder, Peter Van Riet was able to identify the need of professional and recreational snowboarders for a more comfortable and safe design. Another vital strength of the company was that it was free from financial constraints and had enough capital available from the four business angels. Beyond Products is recorded to possess few technical limitations which should be eradicated before the trade fair of 2006 which raises the challenge of successful launch for the company founders. From the commercial point of view, the company also possesses the weakness of dependence on loan with high interest rates. Further development of the product requires huge amounts of working capital which is estimated to be acquired from bank loans and further investments from the business angels. Thus, this will increase the liability of the company and hamper its financial strength to an extent. The snowboard market is recognized to be a rapidly growing market in the United States, European Alpine regions, Japan and other niche areas. The number of customers is recorded to grow in these key regions which can enhance the growth prospects of the product as a preferable design for the professional and recreational customers. There are only a few players in the market acquiring a proportion of the entire market share providing huge opportunity for new entrants. The overall market prospect is also recognized to be favorable for the launch of a fresh snowboard binding. Most of the well-recognized companies in the target market also emphasize upon the other categories of the industry product line. Furthermore, the companies also focus on sponsoring famous professional snowboarders for brand promotion which is stated to be quite significant for

Business Environment Essay Example for Free

Business Environment Essay Recruitment and retention The need of recruit- There is been a new position arisen for Customer Service Executive in Buffs Supplies LTD. As now they have a website developed, there is a need of person who can run the website effectively, and make a very good use of the website to help the business to offer a good and improved service for their customers. Job description- is there to provide a clear understanding of the job details for the people who are going to apply. It outlines the things that he/she will do during his/her employment and it outlines the things that employer wants from the employee. So that Job description should include the following: * The job title/type * Position of the employee, who they will report to * The location * A summary of the jobs objectives, * Main purpose/duties/responsibilities * Pay levels, and any potential increase, benefits, uniform/dress code * Hours/ holidays * How to apply and deadline for application Ive designed a job description document (please see attached document) for Buffs Supplies LTD to assist my manager. Person specification- gives a better understanding of what kind of person that certain company wants for the job, and to identify the knowledge, skills and ability to require to do the job as well as to fit within the company. It should include the following: * Educational/ qualification- it is essential for professional jobs like lawyers, accountants as it is directly connected to their performance as well as they should know what they should/ should be doing. If you dont know the law you cannot work as a lawyer, simple! * Experience and training- you may need to be experienced to be able to do a good job for your role and its likely for employers to specify length of time of experience on their job description. A good thing of being experienced is you may not need a qualification to do certain jobs if you are experienced. * Personal interest/ attributes- its helpful for both parties to understand each other as it shows the requirement of peoples character for the job role. Persons interest may relate to the job role, for example if you are not comfortable with approaching to stranger, you may not be suitable for jobs like sales person who deals with customers face to face as part of their job role, if you enjoy talking to people you might enjoy the work and motivated to be at work, meaning that success will be a closer for you. Ive designed a personal specification with my job description for customer service executive. (Please see attached sheet) Different methods of advertising a job There are number of method that you can use to advertise your job vacancy arises. It helps the company to reach targeted group of candidate and it might also depend on the people who will be your candidate to choose where you would like advertise the job vacancy. First of all you will need to have a good job description to help the candidate what youre looking for. Im going to write about different methods. 1. Internal Advertising- you can employ people within the organisation instead of getting some one from outside. It might be cost efficient as you might not have to pay for recruitment agency to advertise your job, when you can put it on your companys website, employees board, send internal e-mails to everyone and even put it on companys facebook page. It is useful because if someone wants to climb to the ladder, they can do so by applying for the job vacancy. 2. Online- you can advertise it by online through job websites such as Monster, Job Centre website etc. Advantage of online advertising is you might be able to reach a lot of people and they can search by location, industry or job titles they wish to apply. 3. Recruitment Agency- you can also advertise it through these agencies with a small charge. They will advertise the job, maybe create the job description according to the company needs and asses the applicants to ensure they meet the minimum requirements. It might be useful for them if the company needs a staff urgently they can quickly find someone to cover as they have a lots of member who are seeking for jobs. they also 4. Newspapers- this is a offline choice you can advertise it on a local newspapers to let the local know about the job vacancy. Importance of staff retention I think recruiting a new staff is an expensive, because you will have to advertise the job, do the search on the applications, interview them individually and also once you got the right candidate you will have to train them from the start pointing every single fire points etc. Instead of going through all these you can try to retain the staffs you already has so that person is already know the companys style and people so it will be easier for him to work/deal with things. It is good for the company image and reputation to promote people within the organisation. If someone got hired and leaves after a month It will cause a problem, because they will have to do the recruitment process all over again and spend money to recruit the person will be a waste. Existing staff might be overworked so it will lead to unhappy employees and they will not perform their best as theyre tired of long hours and covering for someone else. However, businesses can avoid this situation by retaining staff as if the person stayed within the organisation and got promoted it is likely for the person to stay longer and work more harder as he will feel he is achieved something after working for the company. Ways of improving staff retention rate Businesses calculate to see how long their staffs are tending to stay with the company using the following formula. Number of staff leaving a year 100 Average number of staff employed that year This formula helps them to identify any problem so that Human Recourse can act on it to research what is going on by preparing surveys for staffs to complete or organise an open meeting with their staffs to know exactly what is going on, what is that they are happy and not happy with, so that they can act on it straight away. Reason to have high rate: this is when employees are not happy with the work they do, or the environment they work with, or even the management they are working for. It could be anything to be not happy as human expectation is increasing with the technology. However, employers should provide the right facility with the right motivation to keep the employers happy and juice them effectively. Ways to avoid these situations: to improve the rate you can do all sorts of things like showing them that they (employer) really care about them by listening to what they have to say, support them with their life, or organise some outside work events like weekend bowling competition to help them work closely with each other. Make the work place more challenging by doing competition with a price, a little investment wont bring down the company, in that way work place might be more interesting and staff will perform better. Motivation is a key thing to get a better out of the staff and keep them within the business as well. b) Describe main employability, interpersonal and personal skills required by the new customer service executive. Organisations often look for people who are skilled or experienced so that it will be easier for both parties, from the employers view it helps them to replace the worker quickly and it may save some money as there might not need of training for example if he is trained as first aider, and the job requires to have a qualification the company does not have to train the staff who already has the qualification for it, from the employees part of view it might be easier for him to do the job and as he is experienced he will have an idea of what he is expected to do, and will be paid as a full employee, I mean some organisations pay lower wage for those who are not experienced enough. Employability skills: this is the basic skills that are needed to get, keep, and do the job. It is necessary for the candidate to have or knowledge these skills as it can be transferable during the employment as they go up the ladder in a modernised environment. It includes the following: 1. Qualification/ Previous experience in similar role and industry You may not need any qualification for some profession, but you will need your GCSE or NVQ qualification for some job roles for example if you are seeking to work as waitress as such, you may even not need any qualification as long as you are experienced enough or maybe your employer will provide a full training to do the job. However, for professions like accountant and lawyer or higher positioned job role which requires specialised skills/ qualification, you will definitely need not only GCSE but at least a Bachelors Degree to be considered in your application. According to my study book Im on the right track to develop and educate myself further. Having an experience in similar role is always a bonus for employers and it is more likely for employers to consider those who are experienced and it is important that you mention it on your CV or letter indicating that you have worked in this role before. However, previous experience in similar industry is very beneficial for the employer, because they can get information about their competitors as well as an idea of how they worked to be more effective so that they can walk in a same level of their crowd. For example when I applied for a job in Harry Ramsden, Ive put on m CV that I used to work in McDonalds, so I knew that I would definitely be invited for an interview so I did, on my interview they asked me that how McDonalds motivate their workers to stay with the business longer as I worked there for quite long time, I said to the lady that if you hire me Ill tell you how they did it, and she smiled at me and welcome aboard! It shows that it is useful for the candidates as well as the business. 2. Knowledge of product/services This is one of the must have knowledge. For example you will obviously need to know about your product if you are a sales person, you should have a good knowledge of what you are going to sell. If you dont know of your product, you cant possibly persuade to sell it to different person. 3. Effectiveness in meeting personal and team targets As every business work towards achieving their aims and objectives, you must be able to meet targets to do so in the first place. You should clearly indicate if you have met any previous targets during your previous employment and any achievement, improvement you have set as a target for yourself past years, showing that to an employer will help you to get the job and it shows/proves that you are able to meet targets because of your previous achievement. 4. Ability to observe and raise professional standards There is a quote I know from my country it says if you work your hands hard, your mouth will also work hard, which means if you work hard, you will be able to feed yourself, same as that if you work hard and have a great attitude towards you work then you might get a reward/promotion. In business you are a professional, so you have to be professional to people taken be considered seriously and every organisation have a set of standard which you should meet. Personal skills: Everyone have their own character and attitude from their childhood. It might be difficult for some to change that in a day because of the job you are doing, but for some it doesnt matter as you can learn them from others or on your own. Basically if you have the right attitude that the employer wants, it will attract the employer towards you as you are the right candidate for the job. For example if you are a kind, understanding, a good listener and most importantly patient and calm, then you are suitable for jobs like carer or consultant as the job itself requires you to be calm and a good listener as you will be hearing all kind of things and dealing with the public. A personal skill requires you to have the following: 1. Patient and hard working Patient is a very difficult thing that human being can face in difficult situations. I would consider a person who is very patient is a very calm and collective person. For some jobs you will have to be patient and calm at all times, if you can do that employers are very like to keep them as it is difficult to find these kind of people in our society and I believe making your business successful is hard work and them patient. I mean you work very hard to build your business, and it might not be success as you want it to be, so you will have to be patient to drink the juice of your fruit you plant. 2. Team work Ability to working as a team or a part of a team is essential for you and for your employer. If you are a peoples person/ easy to get along with people you might/can be a good team player as it is all about communicating and understanding each and everyone one of the team players. Employers will always look for a people who can work with the team as if you have a say of different people you can get the work done quickly and more effectively, because the things you dont know, the other people might know so it is better for more brain than only one. Interpersonal skills: this is the skill that how you approach or deal with people and also how well you communicate with others. Customer Service Executive Employee Skills: Personal Skills: Interpersonal Skills: * Good written and spoken skills * Good IT knowledge * Previous experience in customer focused environment * * A good team player * Problem solving * Hard working * Friendly * Professional * * An excellent communicator * Good with people * c) Assess the importance of employability, interpersonal and personal skills in the recruitment and retention of staff in a selected organisation. Ive chosen The Manchester College to assess in this task; I think The Manchester College is the largest college in Manchester and in the UK. It is important for the college to consider employability and personal skills when recruiting staff as it is an educational institution, I believe the teachers should be educated as a teacher and also the subject of their own to give their students the best knowledge possible. If the college needs to hire a new staff they should consider to hire experienced staff to save that money to put towards the existing staff training, bonus for those who worked overtime during the recruitment process, so that people get rewarded after the hard work theyve done for their organisation, in doing that college manages to keep their staff happy, that means it is likely for them to stay within the organisation longer. To work more efficient college can carry out a skill auditing to identify the skill gap within the organisation and decide whether to hire new staff or train their existing staff. Communication is the key skill that college needs to have to be able to understand their student and their needs, so it is essential for their staff to have strong communication skills in written and verbally as it is a large organisation people will need to communicate in writing. Employees of the college should be presented and act in a professional manner, so that student and teachers will be look separately. Employability skills will be required for teachers as they have to be qualified in certain areas, whereas administrator of the college will not need to have a qualification if she/he is experienced enough. Task 2 a) Select an organisation and describe the main physical and technological resources that are involved in the running of your selected business. Physical resources this is the things that business can use to run their day to day activities includes machinery, buildings and facilities. For my chosen organisation The Manchester College, it is very important for them to use all the resources to run effectively. They are number of main physical resources which needs them to run the business. 1. Building and Facility Building of your business may play an important role as you might not think, it is very important for businesses to have to well presentable building as it is effective in many different way. For example in my country there is a bank called Coin and the building is round and gold coloured. Anyone who saw that building will know it is a bank and will go straight to it as it is located near the airport, foreigners will have to get their money changed before they take a taxi etc. I think the prettiest campus of The Manchester College is Openshaw and it has a lots of facilities that is available for students and staffs to use such as IT suites for multimedia students, an award winning training restaurant, workshop for construction, engineering and electrical students, hair and beauty salons etc. I think the facilities that are available for student and staffs are amazing and it will be very useful for students to use these to improve their knowledge on things that they are studying. 2. Materials and waste The need of materials will depend on the business type as they all use different things. For my chosen organisation they are likely to use papers, computers, printers, pen, pencil, projectors and all sorts of office equipment as they are small teachers offices. Businesses should keep a close eye on what they waste, if you do that it will help them to cut costs and work more environmentally friendly. 3. Plant, machinery and equipment Businesses spend thousands of pounds on equipment and machineries to work more quickly and efficient. It is essential for them to have them and an up to date one as it helps the business run smoothly. For example teachers at The Manchester College use projectors to make it more easier for students to read or see what the teacher is teaching, and we have a library with computers which students and staffs can use to do their work. 4. Security, insurance and emergency provision I believe The Manchester College follows the Health and Safety act as Ive seen the fire exits and there were . Also they must have the policies and provisions if there is an event of fire, there must be a staff who are trained to lead the way or make way for people in that event to keep them calm and put them in the right direction, and the people who have come to study/work to the college should have had a training or at least shown the fire exits or false alarm to see if the fire alarm works and to people know what to do in that event. All the building must have insurance against things like this to ensure the building and the employee/customers are protected, so that in any case of accident the insurance company will pay for the person who is injured or pay money to the persons family in the event of death. Technological resources- are not only computers and printers which can be treated as physical resources. There are four main areas: 1. Intellectual property This is the right to own ideas and have a right to concerning what happens to them, if the one of the staff has new idea that no one has the business can protect it from others to use it so that business will only benefit from this idea to make more profit or attract more people. For my college if one of the teacher/ advisor got a new idea of having a nursery on site which can be paid by day and any student/employee can give their child it would be a good and new idea as it enables students with children to study/work and easy to bring her child to the place they study/work, and the business protected it, only The Manchester College can use this idea to bring in more students. 2. Accumulated experience and skills This is an experience gained over a number of years when a person has come across lots of different issues to do with the job. There is a good side and not so good side by keeping employers for a very long time. Of course, it will be worth if the employee is the brilliant one, if so the level of experience will grow. Not so good side is if it the experienced staff is not handled carefully, it may result that you will have to pay more for them or give them a special condition whereas you can hire a new staff with the same or higher skills and pay low wages. For my college I think the employees are likely to stay longer and I think teachers are feel privileged when the student comes back to her/him to show what they have got out of their education that is gained from the teacher and college. 3. Software licences, patents and copyright I believe The Manchester College bought a license from Microsoft to use their Microsoft Office Pack as it will cost them cheaper than buying it individually and install them on computers which they have a hundreds and thousands of them. So it is enabling them to use it unlimited with a one off payment. Often it is allowed for businesses to do so, not for single person/public. Patents and copyright has always been tricky to protect or should I say difficult to prove the person who stole it, because people may copy the whole idea and change the name of it to pt it on the market, so apparently it is different as it has a different name and maybe slightly different, but if people see it they wont even recognise or know the difference. I remember one girl was selling a hoody with the logo of the college without permission from the college back home, so the college found out and they fined her parents as she was not an adult herself. b) Explain how the management of human, physical and technological resources can improve the performance of your selected organisation. Human Resources Every activity is carried put by human at The Manchester College and other businesses, so it is essential for businesses to have the right source of people to work towards their main aims and objectives. They must improve/ update their Human Resources to work effectively. I believe that my college try to manage its human resource at the level of standard as the best to provide the better future and education for us the students, considering the highly professional staff they have in my college, they hire the best possible staffs with ability and interest to care for students, so that staff will have better understanding of what students needs, also they train their staff accordingly with the new technologys or hire new staffs who have new skill which can be introduced to the other staff. To do those things there is department especially designed to do that job. Their main job role is to manage and control the employees in the college, meaning hiring a new staff, train the existing ones to improve their employers ability to have the best source of employees. To manage its staff successfully the college tries to keep the existing staff as it is beneficial for the college as longer the staff stays, college wont have to advertise jobs and train them which costs money for them to do that, instead of spending money on new person who is starting as an entry level, the company invest in their people who have stayed with them on the long run so that the employee will feel that they belong there and work more harder. Team work is always important for organisations like Manchester College as it is very large organisation and everyone have to work as a whole to get the work done, to improve team performance organisation do things like group activity, staff meeting and staff day out to make them closer so that they work with each other more comfortably, if they work closely the organisation will benefit from the use of full staff performance and things will go quicker and smoother, so that they can move forward to their next objective. Physical Resource If the college have a good facility for students, it can attract more students and people would be looking to work for them as basic standard of facility needs to meet and higher would be an advantage. It also important for them to use these facilities with its full use and keeping them up to date as the things are developing very fast and things are getting out of fashion quickly. For example if the student had learned Microsoft Office 2003 in their IT class by the time they finish their studies and find work would be 2007 and he might struggle if the new employer has the newer version and he doesnt know how to use it properly even though it is similar to the older version, he will not get the all the benefit that the software is offering. Technological Resource As the college uses a lot of paperwork and papers, it is crucial to save them as they need to be used for hard evidence, however I would like to suggest that teachers can send their assignment brief to student e-mails which college have provided for them it saves the trees and we are going to be use the e-mail which is one of the facility college improved last year and I think we are not making a full use of it and it feels it might be waste of money to have e-mail address and not using it, to motivate students to use their e-mail college can put their names instead of student number which will look more real and nice, and not allow to have an access to any other mail service in the library so that student have no choice but to use it properly. If we can do that we will reduce the use of papers and use the facility which we dont use. Task 3 a) Describe the sources of internal and external finance, available to Barneys business. There are two main ways that business can access financial resources: 1. Internal sources ( within the business) This is the money you can get within the business: Owners savings- I believe Barney has some money for himself if he is thinking to start a new business, because its the owners who are often invest in their company to cover the setting up costs. It might be the only source they available immediately for them as for sole traders like Barney, banks or other financial institution unlikely to offer a loan as there is too much risk involved, and if you have that kind of money it is really good for the business as you will not have to pay it back by monthly or pay an interest. Capital from profit- this will become available after the business set up and operating. Once they have run for certain time, they may make some profit to invest into the business to run or buy more stock or buy new machinery to grow the business 2. External sources (outside the business) There are number of different external sources that business can get money from to help them to set up or invest in. Banks- they can offer loans, overdrafts and business account to businesses but you will have to have a good business plan to get it. Loans are not easy to get and might not be a good option for small business as you must pay it back with interest in certain amount of time and if the company goes down the owner will end up with huge debt. The choice I would suggest is the overdraft for him as it is flexible and you wont have to pay a penny unless it is used, there are some banks who offer interest free overdraft, if you can get it will be a win! Friends/Family- you can always seek for help from your friends and families and you can even offer them a share for return of their investment or just borrow some money from them to put towards the business if they are nice enough. I would say it is the best option of borrowing money as you dont pay interest and it is your family they will not give you to court unless you run with their money. Government grants- these are available from the EU, national/local government. A grant is money you can receive as a business man; a good thing about it is that you dont have to pay it back. If Barney falls under the age group of 18-30 he can get a low interest loan from Princes Trust. Task 4 (a) The purpose of budgets, and how they can be used to monitor and control the performance of Barneys business, including, the monitoring of actual performance against budget and the use of variance analysis. Budget is a written plan with spending which will occur and a revenue that is need in the future to cover these costs. The purpose of it is it gives you clear understanding of what to expect to spend/receive in the future (coming year) to prevent or act any crisis before it happens. It also can be used as a communication between the employees to understand the objectives of the business and work towards it. For owners they can see how well their managers managing the budget plan and performance of them. Budgetary control 1. Set objective for Barney Objective for Barney could look like this * Do a business related course * Get information on government grants * Find any other fund that is available to him 2. Set a plan to how to achieve these objectives He can start of with: * Do a year course in business related or hair styling course to have a better understanding of how business operate * Design business plan to show it to the banks and to apply for government grants * Get advise from people who are in the same business as his to find out what needs to be done orderly * Do an online research on advise and support from government websites to collect necessary documents to apply for government grant * Hire someone to do research on the market things like where to open the salon, and what kind of people lives in the area, and what is the average income for people in that area to help to set a price etc. 3. Prepare the plan You should produce a budget plan to attach it with your business plan to show how much is going to cost what and how you can manage to pay for it etc and you should compare it with the actual figure to analyse the situation of what has gone wrong or right and then you can take some action to prevent it in the future and more experienced on the next budgeting. Task 5 a) Study the contents of the profit and loss account and balance sheet for Wansbeck Motors Ltd and give an account of the worthiness of the business by explaining the purpose of each element. Purpose of balance sheet- is important as it shows the value of the business. * Assets things that business own * Liabilities ( debts a business owns) * Equity (the amount invested in the business) Purpose of profit and loss account- it shows how much money business making and how much money they are losing and you can identify it by looking at the profit and loss account to do something about it.

Agricultural Activities In Dungun Terengganu Sociology Essay

Agricultural Activities In Dungun Terengganu Sociology Essay CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides the background of the study in particular will focus on social capital in relation to agricultural activities in Dungun Terengganu. 1.0 Introduction Agriculture play important role in economics of a country especially in developing country. This is because this field become large financial resource of national income (Ayob, 1994). Various policies were enacted to ensure intact permanent agriculture field as one of the national income main source. Among them were National Agriculture Policy, Policy Of Agricultural Development (Ayob, 1994) and Program 1 Azam (. Government Transformation Programme: The Roadmap. 2010). All this policy drafted to ensure country earned food source that is sufficient (food security) in long time and can eradicate national poverty. This is because most poverty area was in agricultural area. Hence, the areas of agriculture are very important to the country in ensuring food continuity and economic development of the country. Nevertheless, agriculture in Malaysia still was in weak level as this field not so adored by youth. Hence, government needs come out with alternative that is good and need promote the productivity so that it can enhance agricultural activity productivity. According to Liverpool-Tasie, Nail, Ajibola,(2011), the improvement of agricultural productivity is very important to the government policy goal and development agency. In line with nations modernization, areas of agriculture also experienced the revolution. Nomination method no longer limited to those having land, even people who has no land also can garden. It refers to innovation where change occurs within practices (Westendorp, Biggs). Hydroponic and Fertigation System is innovation for agriculture system in Malaysia. It used to provide opportunity to farmers to increase their income revenue as this field often associated with poverty (Ayob, 1994). There are various elements to ensure areas of agriculture success. There are trust, interaction, networking, knowledge sharing and cooperation. However, element that is most important of success in agricultural field is social capital. Social capital is public resources. It needs to be managed and being shared nicely through cooperation by group or people in long period to ensure sustainable social development (Yamaoka, 2007). However, if people fail for recognise the benefit of social capital, it will cause failure on something. Hence, social capital is very important to ensure innovation agricultural project can walk successfully. This study looks into how the social capital fit in the context of agricultural activities. 1.1 Background of study Modernity of a country not only base on the technology but it involves with innovation in agricultural field. In recent years, there are various types of new agriculture in the worldwide. These show that area of agriculture also experienced comparable revolution with others field. According to Heemskerk, Wennink, (2004); D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde and Westendorp, Biggs, they focus to agriculture innovation as it needed for stabilizing production and areas of agriculture productivity by can enhance community development. There is various innovation that have been done in every country to stabilize sector agriculture such as implementation of small water reservoirs in Ghana by Kinderen, (2006), crop without using any poison in Indonesia by Westendorp, Biggs, agricultural technologies for dryland, arid and semiarid Areas by D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde in India and Soil Management Option in Southern Africa by Njuki, Mapila, Zingore, Delve, (2008). All this agriculture innovation affects that positive impact on social capital. However, Malaysia also has the agriculture innovation and it had known as fertigation project. Fertigation is soilless culture production system. Fertigation crop system can avoid crop from root disease infection soil-borne. Among type of crop that suitable to be used for crop fertigation is like red chilli, cucumber, melon, zucchini, brinjal, okra, capsicum and strawberry. Usually, the farmers will build greenhouse known as Struktur Perlindung Tanaman (STP) to protect crop from infection in leaves and fruit and ensure fertilizer concentration at level that correct. Apart from that, crop medium that commonly used in this system is coconut coir dust known as coconut powder or coco peat. It applies as able to absorb and stores fertilizers solution beside used by root as place to believe. Moreover, it cheap and easy to find in the market. This system also uses arranging device time to ensure every crop get fertilizers solution in time was prescribed. Frequency and period every drop depend on type of crop and crop age. (Sources: Teknologi Penanaman Secara Fertigation (MARDI)). Organization from areas of agriculture now had opened the eye of farmers by introducing new crop system namely fertigation crop. It has become latest trend in agricultural field of Malaysia where all organization support using the fertigation crop. This crop promising returns back investment capital within short time if those use this method properly. There are various successes of the farmers by using this system fertigation (sources: By Cultivation Technology Fertigation (MARDI)). In this research, the researcher focuses on how social capital can contribute to the success of fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. The researcher want see the connection between social capital and the agriculture. According to Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku, Ajibola, (2011), social network will affect nomination method (farming practices) by adaptation technological information or network. This indirectly will affect agricultural productivity as the farmers have acquired information that is useful to develop their crop system. Apart from that, social capital can improve the agricultural technology. This is because social capital has ability for developed and it also can use various types of social network to create understanding between farming household and farming community (D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde). Social capital in agriculture has given benefit on farmers and also nonfarmers. Social capital will increase awareness and appreciation to the stakeholder interests where it will increase trust and confident on action of community member. When social capital has existed, nonfarmers will support and respect on local agriculture while farmers will respect nonfarmerss concerns and need. Hence, the establishment of social capital will contribute mutual respect among each other and they will share sense of community which will support individual interest and locality (Wilkinson (1991) cited in Sharp, Smith). According to Aleksiev, Penov, (2006), social capital will make people change to be better because everyone have the opportunity to change position and can modify the network where they work. Putman (1993) cited in BRUEGEL, (2006) tell difference between societies with social capital and societies with no social capital. He found that the high level of distrust shows the low level of social capital. People with low level of social capital have a tendency not to follow the rule. Hence, any punishment sentenced will take long time as offences committed heavy. Apart from that, the researcher also focuses on two types of social capital such as bonding and bridging. According to Putnam cited in Yamaoka (2007), bonding social capital are also known as exclusive type where this group have members that is more-or-less and had equation between one same other in term of nature and internally oriented while bridging on the other hand known as inclusive type which include few groups in cross- sectoral and it externally oriented manner. This aim of this study is to explore on how social capital can contribute to the success of fertigation project of Malaysia especially case of Dungun Terengganu. Malaysia has not yet has research on improvement of fertigation on social capital. 1.2 Problem Statement Social capital is the main issue of this research. Social capital is one of the most crucial agricultural activities that are proven to offer advantages to not only for organization but also for individual in meeting certain objectives. The role of social capital for instance is indeed critical especially dealing with networking between the people. With regard to social capital, learning, communication and trust are among the significant attributes that can help to measure the successful fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. Fertigation project in Malaysia are growing the usage. However, there are some of the issues that are link in this project. The issue which occurred are trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing. Nevertheless, all this problem can be overcame with social capital. Trust is another thing which is highly associated with social capital. Trust will be influenced by a lot of factors which need to be explored by the researcher. Besides trust, according to officer in Dungun Agriculture Office, they cannot measure the level cooperation between farmers and organization. It is because not all farmers involve in all activities carried out by organization. Other than that, interaction also play very important role to expedite the social capital. Hence, the effective communication needs to use to make sure they understand the information and terms used in fertigation project. Note that effective interaction can influence social capital should they choose the right tools. Networking play role that is important in ensuring continuity social capital in this study. The researcher will study factor which influenced networking in this project of fertigation. Apart from that, the researcher also focuses to knowledge sharing to know as far as it influences social capital. There are a lot of studies pertaining on the social capital. However, the researcher only focus on social capital and agriculture where there will be many research carried out showing that social capital can help agricultural project. For Heemskerk, Wennink, (2004); D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde and Westendorp, their Biggs focus on social capital and agriculture innovation while Yamaoka, (2007); Sharp, Smith; Kinderen, (2006); Liu, Besser,(2003) on the other hand focus on social capital and agricultural and rural development. Apart from that, Hong, Sporleder on the other hand focus on social capital and agricultural cooperative and Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku, Ajibola, (2011) on the other hand focus on social capital and agriculture productivity. However, projects carried out above not venture in the nature on fertigation project. 1.3 Research Question With regard to the problems highlighted in problems statement, the following research questions were posed for this study: How bonding contribute to successful of fertigation project How bridging contribute to successful of fertigation project 1.4 Research Objective In general, the main research objective is to examine the social capital for fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. Besides that, this research also explore on the factors that influence social capital which include trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing Thus, the study is carrying out to achieve the following objective: To examine the relationship of social capital towards successful fertigation project 1.5 Scope of the Study The scope of this study is the organization that related to agriculture sector in Dungun Terengganu. There are the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Organization Authority of Malaysia and the farmers involved in Fertigation Project in Dungun. The selection is based on trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing that are assumed to contribute towards social capital. There are several limitations of this study. There are: 1.5.1 Place This research is made in Dungun district where it focuses on farmers in Dungun district. It only focus to one place only and it may be cannot represent actual situation. 1.5.2 Scope The scope of this study is the fertigation project. This project was conducted in two organizations that have been selected by the researcher. The researcher only concern about this project on the area of Dungun, Terengganu only. If the same study implemented in another scope, the result may be different. 1.5.3 Variables In this study, the researcher only focus on trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing as the variables. 1.6 Significance of the Study The importance of this study will see whether the trust, cooperation, interaction, networking and knowledge sharing to the stakeholder will gain the social capital in agricultural product development in Dungun Terengganu. Social capital is critical to realize the development community in the social agriculture. This is because by having a good networking, it will create the positive impact to the society and also will increase capacity building in the area. In addition, it also will foster innovative community where they can understand the new knowledge and be involved with a new mission and decision. The other significant of the study is to gather new knowledge on this area. It will give academicians and organizations new knowledge on social capital, how it can be done between the farmers and organization in an agriculture context. Besides that, it can serve as a platform for future research. The data obtained can be used for other researchers to study the social capital globally. Besides that, the researcher also will come out with the theoretical contribution which can use by the others scholar particularly on social capital in agricultural activities. Last significance of this study is to provide recommendations to improve the present situation. With that, the organizations can prevent, reduce and overcome some cases by taking appropriate prevention and action to solve the problems. It is to ensure that any problems that occur have the solution and make sure that the organization did not make the same mistake in the future. 1.7 Definition of Terms 1.7.1 Fertigation Fertigation is soilless culture production system (Teknologi Penanaman Secara Fertigation (MARDI)). 1.7.2Social Capital For Cohen (2007), social capital is network of informal trust relationships that provide an essential social infrastructure for knowledge sharing and knowledge creation sparked by new combination of existing knowledge. Besides that, according to Woolcook Narayan, 2000 (cited in Kilpatrick Falk, 2003) social capital is norms and networks that enable people to act correctly (pp. 501). According to World Bank Cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku, Ajibola, (2011), social capital refers to the institutions, relations and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a societys interactionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Social Capital is not just the sum of the institutions which underpin a society-it is the glue that holds them together. 1.7.3 Bonding social Capital Bonding social capital describes the links between individuals or groups with similar goals within the network (Hong, G., Sporleder) 1.7.4 Bridging Social Capital Bridging social capital describes the capacity of individuals or groups to make links with others outside their organization, particularly across social networks (Hong, G., Sporleder) Measurement of social capital Social capital has a variety of dimensions. While in many developing countries, it is often captured via some measure of membership in community based organizations, as well as engagement in the community (Okunmadewa et al. 2007; Balogun and Yusuf 2011a; Yusuf 2008), there are a number of other aspects of social capital that have been identified as important for a comprehensive understanding of the concept. Some aspects of social capital that have been identified in the literature as very important (Roslan et al. 2010a, 2010b; Balogun and Yusuf 2011) include: 1) Groups and networks, measured by a) Membership in formal or informal organization or association. b) Ability to get support from those, other than family members and relatives, in case of hardship. c) Remittances. d) Ability to learn from ones network or group, particularly the impact on technology adoption. e) Access to various markets (labor, input, or output) via the group. 2) Trust and solidarity, measured by a) Perceptions about whether most people in the community can be trusted. b) Perceptions about social support/help provided by group members for each other in times of hardship. 3) Collective action and cooperation, measured by a) More than half of the community contributing time or money towards common development goals. b) A high likelihood that people, in the community, cooperate to solve common problems. 4) Information and communication, measured by a) Frequency of reading or listening to news sources such as radio, newspapers, and television. 5) Social cohesion and inclusion, measured by a) Strong feeling of togetherness within the community. b) Feeling safe from crime and violence when alone at home. 6) Empowerment and political action, measured by a) Having control in making decisions that affect everyday activities b) Political participation such as voting and being voted for in local elections (Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola (2011)) To measure socialcapital, two indicators are utilized. The first item is a social network measure reflecting the extent to which residents interact with farmerss. The second socialcapital item represents trust, and is an attitudinal measure of resident trust or confidence in local farmerss. The network question asked respondents to indicate how often he or she saw or met a farmers during the course of a year, with response categories including never, a few times a year, once or a few times a month, and once a week or more (Sharp Smith) This paper uses an innovations systems framework to analyse the ways social capital in the overall agricultural and natural resources innovation system in Nepal has increased far beyond what was originally expected in the project proposal (Westendorp Biggs) CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction In the previous chapter, the researcher provides the basic information of social capital. Under this chapter, it will explore more on the elements of social capital which relevance to the research. This chapter describes the theoretical foundation for social capital in agricultural sector in Dungun Terengganu. In the section, the researcher gives an overview of the how social capital can contribute to the success of fertigation project in Dungun Terengganu. This section will culminate issue related to theoretical considerations to empirical study. The researcher will also present a conceptual framework. An outline of this chapter is given in the figure as below: Figure 2.0: Outline of Chapter 2 2.1 Problems in Agriculture Every project carried out doubtless has problem and the challenge. In this study, the researcher focus on problems which occurred in sector agriculture so that the researcher knows what problem that is real occurs within field of agriculture. Heemskerk, Wennink, (2004) discuss on group size. There is conflict on group size that should use in this areas of agriculture whether small size or big size. According To Pretty (2003), every agriculture project need membership within 20 and 50 persons but if membership less than 20, farmer can still functioning well. In this study, they discuss on advantages of small size group and big size group. Small size group will influence social capital with much better as fewer members beside it have been administered easily and particularly dynamic. However, large size will gain the huge experience as it involving many memberships. Hence, the group size become issue to many project agriculture in ensuring social capital happen. Apart from that, difference parties doubled up problem in areas of agriculture (Enserink (2004) cited in Kinderen (2006)). According to this study, farmer with parties that have different tendency to resolve their own problem without discuss with responsible party. This is because they have their own perspective and they rather solve problems according to their own way. It also supported by Wilber (1981) cited in Kinderen (2006) where when this situation happened, farmer no longer want to solve problems but they prefer to live in imbalance and inequalities. In addition, low skilled and low educational background doubled up problems for areas of agriculture (Ogunanya 2009; Ekunwe, Orewa and Emokaro 2008 cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola 2011; Ayob (1994). These problems happen due to poverty which hit most farmers. This is because most impoverished area located in agricultural area. When farmer has no educational, it will give impact on agricultural productivity as they cannot accept new skill and has no knowledge to develop areas of agriculture. Apart of that, low income in the agriculture as the farmers have low educational and low skilled. Hence, they had to make other jobs to accommodate their income (Fasoranti 2006; Okafor 2004; Adewuyi and Okunmadewa 2001; Yusuf et al. 2009; Peke 2008; Adewuyi 2006; Adejoh 2009 cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola 2011). Problems in this agriculture have encouraged innovation in agriculture to help farmers and in Malaysia, fertigation project is agricultural innovation and it also establishes to help farmers in country. 2.2 Social Capital Social capital is defining an asset. It will give the benefit such as productive on process more efficient, effective, innovative, and developed. Social capital did not exist in one person, however it inhering relationship between one and other individual and with socioeconomic institutions where the individual operate (Coleman 1988 cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola, 2011). The study of social capital have been intrigued various scholar. Social capital is a set process by which individuals will be built and developed the relationship with other people to provide goods or services (Keyes, 2006). At this time, people will identify their strengths in their working relationship and had been feeling the benefits resulting from effective team. Social capital cannot be seen by the naked eye, but it certainly exists in the real world and its existence can be felt by the interaction. According to Woolcock (1999) cited in Bostrà ¶m (2002), social capital can be found at club, association and societies and communities where people can meet and work together. According to Huotari livonen, social capital associated with the actor in a relationship. If the actor in a relationship trusts each other, it does not only increase the social capital but also can create the knowledge for innovation. This also supported Ji et al (2010) that social capital has relationship with trust and had the connection in empirical study. Before going with more much further, we need to know how social capital can happen. According to Morrice (2207), everyone has owned different amount of social capital. Only they uncertain whether it many or a little. However, when something has occurred and it involves people interest, they will be united and will develop bond among them. When they already united, this bond will become double- edge. All problems faced would be resolved jointly. It will be giving advantages to group because network has become stronger. Interaction and learning is between one of the element in social capital (Maskell (2000) cited in Chou (2006)). It can exist in society with the existence of process of interaction and learning. This is because people interact with colleague compared to own family and also friends. Hence, social capital will emerge at workplaces and it will help cooperation in job. Social capital will note happen if individuals only used a little ability or note use it direct for society interest (Dà ­az Andrade Urquhart, 2009). According to them, social capital provides structure to understand configuration and intensity of interaction between individuals in network. Apart from that, social capital can make innovation. According to Westendorp Biggs, it not only changing productivity agriculture and reduce cost but it also enhance institutional linkage and social capital development. Besides that, storytelling will reinforces further social capital between people because it would be firmed further norm and trust people on organization (Hope Cheong, 2006). Networks have four characteristic such as pluriformity, interdependency, closedness and dynamic (de Bruijn and heuvelhof, 2000 cited in Kinderen, 2006). According to them, pluriformity is variety in the network. This is because everyone have characteristic, knowledge, power, financial resources and own objective. When people do something policy that new, pluriformity need to establish because there will have conflict in the network. This is because people have various characteristic and they will act based on their characteristic. In this study, there is part of society in Africa agreeing with implementation of small reservations and some of them do not want to take part. Closedness of the network is a characteristics that is easily been recognised in the societies. In African villages, often rivalry between different ethnic groups exists and kinship is a crucial factor of being part of the group or not. The closedness of an organisation (read: village/community) is the result of its frame of reference which is formed by core values deeply rooted in the organisation and which determine its action to a large degree. Organisations are usually sensitive to interventions that fit their own frame of reference (de Bruijn and Heuvelhof, 2000: 27). So being able to determine that frame of reference will, partly, determine the successfulness of the intervention. Apart from that, interdependency exists within group or society between actors. It depends on the amount of connection in group. When it have strong bonding, network will become interdependency. However, it difficult for predict. Hence, actors need to be careful so that no one takes advantage towards them. Last network is dynamic. Dynamic of network have the large power. It can affect the people in the network. This is because network that is dynamic will inconvenience inteference from outside. Apart from that, Maertens (2010) cited in Liverpool-Tasie, Kuku Ajibola (2011) said that dynamic network will affect p eople to engage in new activity as their network strong. Figure 2.2: Modelling a Theory of Social Capital (Lin, 1999) (pp.41) Based on from this model, it has three blocks variable namely a blocks represent pre- conditional and precursors of social capital factor in social structure and every position individual in social structure which can constrains or facilitate social capital. Second block representing social capital element and last block representing return probability for social capital. In first block to second, it explained on formation of inequality of social capital namely what structural element which will affect the opportunities for construct and maintain social capital. In second block on the other hand, it explained on two element of social capital namely access to social capital and use of social capital. Both elements explain process of social capital mobilization. Third Block also explained on three ingredients has inter- connected namely better accessible embedded resources, better embedded resources that could be utilised by individual. In process second block (social capital) until t hird block (outcome), it represents the process which social capital produce returns. It explains on what we get outcome from social capital. 2.3 Important of Social Capital According to Grooteart, 2004 cited in Kinderen, 2006, social capital can expect certain aspect in society such as crime, health, poverty and unemployment. It can leverage on the efficiency of production, happiness, life satisfaction and wellbeing of the community (Helliwell and Putnam, 2004 cited in Kinderen, 2006). Apart from that, social capital now also is looked as important asset that is equivalent with natural, physical capital, finance, human, and political capital (Dll Meinzen-Dick, 2004 cited in Kinderen, 2006). Social capital afford consolidate democracy in society and it can enhance efficiency towards work (Safr and Sediackova, 2006 cited in POSPÄÅ ¡CH SPÄÅ ¡Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚  Nà  (2011). When networking in strong society, all activity carried out will happen nicely because the existence of bonding in community. Apart from that, social capital also influenced the sustainable livelihood (Pretty, 2003). This is because it got involved with social bond where actor which have high social bond will success in activity carried out and it will also influence living stability. At the same time, social capital also gave impact on knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is one element in social capital. According To Putnam (1993) cited in D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde, uniqueness social capital rests with willingness of people to share. All activity carried out will succeed because people know what they need to do by can increase knowledge. Social capital has a few key features. First feature was social capital can accumulate stock where it will give various benefits. According to Westendorp Biggs, social capital comprises more than a social organisation or social capital values. Social can improve output with improve productivity activity. Apart from that, social capital could reduce cost if work together. People will be having confidence to invest in collective activities (Pretty, 2003). Pretty and Ward 2001; Pretty, 2002 cited in Pretty, 2003 stress four aspects that can be ensured in social capital. Among them was the relationship of trust, reciprocity and exchanges, common rules, norms and sanction and connectedness, network and group. 2.4 Impact of Social Capital to Agriculture According to Bourdieu (1983) cited in Wolz, Fritzsch, Reinsberg (2004), people can change social capital to other types of capital like physical capital when obtain social capital through purposeful action. However, it takes a long time to see the result of investment on social capital. Social capital also able generates profit in economic (POSPÄÅ ¡CH SPÄÅ ¡Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚  Nà , 2011). This is because actors have various networks of personal ties. When actor has many networks, it can help them market their productivity agriculture. Apart from that, social capital also produced innovation on agriculture. According to Westendorp Biggs, the natural resources innovation system in Nepal increased and it exceeded over their expectation. In the development of agriculture sector and urban and rural area, social capital perceived as readiness and capacity to work together. In this study, it covers case such as watersheds, irrigation management, and integrated pest management strategies. This concept has become solution of problems faced by modern society, socioeconomic and political development. (D.Parthasarathy, V.K.Chopde). Apar

Economic Downturn Effects On The Uk Hotel Industry Economics Essay

Economic Downturn Effects On The Uk Hotel Industry Economics Essay The UK hotel industry, as well as the hotel industry world wide, has been hit hard by the recession which started at the end of 2007 and is predicted by many to last until at least 2010. In the course of a few months the UKs economy has gone from boom to crisis and by early 2009 the attitudes and beliefs of consumers and businesses in the marketplace had altered radically from previous optimism (Mintel Reforecasts 2009 [online]). Prior to the credit crunch which commenced in August 2007 when the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve put  £45bn into the financial markets (Elliott 2008 [online]), Europe, the USA and the UK were enjoying an economic boom with rising house prices and high consumer confidence (Budworth 2008 [online]). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose to  £381,565 Million in 2007, and household disposable income per capita to  £14,321 in the same year (Key Note 2008, p. 18). During these boom years, lending was high and borrowers able to raise large sums of money due to relaxed lending restrictions by banks. Individuals whose circumstances would have at one time barred them from borrowing were allowed to access many times their salary (Budworth 2008 [online]). Debts secured upon property were sold on to investors. Property prices thus became vastly inflated creating a bubble which burst when borrowers started to default on their loans and the value of the investments therefore fel l heavily. The huge losses by the banks leading to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the US and the near collapse of Northern Rock in the UK meant that lending became much more difficult and banks stricter about who they lend money to. (Budworth 2008 [online]). The resulting shortage of funds due to fears about lending and lack of loans has led to a downturn in the economy, falling house prices and increasing unemployment with many firms going out of business altogether and many more making drastic savings (Budworth 2008 [online]). Further consequences include a vast increase in public spending which is predicted to take years to pay off, a predicted rise in unemployment (by the British Chamber of Commerce) to 3.2 million, wage freezes or cuts and massive job losses (The Economy News 2009 [online]). The collapse in available credit started in the USA but in these days of global trading the implications were soon felt around the world with the UK quickly facing problems. Germany, Fr ance and Italy the three largest economies in the Eurozone were officially in recession by late 2008, and others rapidly followed suit. Both Spain and Ireland have witnessed a housing bubble burst and contraction in wider economic activity (Foresight 2008, p. 7). 2.2 The Pound Against the Euro and Dollar One factor that complicates the situation somewhat is the pounds weak status against the Euro and Dollar. Sterling has lost value rapidly over the last year or so. In July 2008, one pound would still buy $2, but by November 2008 it was worth only $1.48, the lowest point for 6 years. Similarly at one point  £1 was almost equal in value to 1 Euro. While this is bad news for people buying goods or traveling outside the UK, it also means that UK goods and services become more attractively priced from the point of view of Eurozone or USA travellers (OGrady 2008 [Online]). Specifically, hotels in the UK will appear relatively cheaper since this fall in the value of sterling, and hence more attractive to inbound travellers and tourists. At the same time, it means it is less attractive for the UK holidaymaker to travel to the Eurzone or USA, and more attractive to stay at home. 3. Hotel Industry Background 3.1 Introduction The Growth Years to 2007 Hotel operators in the UK cater both to the corporate sector and consumer sector. Both are significant parts of their operations and both includes not just accommodation but also facilities such as meeting and conference rooms in the case of the corporate sector and add-on services like food and beverages for both sectors. The UK has been historically an important business destination with the growing importance of the London stock market and financial sector (Key Note 2008, p. 11). In the consumer sector most activity is accounted for by holidays and short breaks with a significant minority for wedding or party venues. The UK hotel market grew in 2008 to a value of  £11.5 billion, which is an increase of nearly 20% since 2002. This growth took place against the backdrop of a healthy worldwide economy with the global travel market recovering after the 2001 terrorist attacks (BMRC 2009, p.1). Factors influencing this growth were varied and included an increase in the number of tourists coming in to the UK in the years since 2002 and a diversification in the hotel market with increases in the budget sector as well as luxury brands. There was an increased call for upmarket brands as London in particular saw an increase in the ultra wealthy market sector for which money was no object (BMRC 2009, p.1). Other factors driving growth include the growth in internationalisation and global business, rises in disposable income, and the development of tourism from emerging economies such as former East Europe and India. The growth of the internet and online booking also paid a part as well as increased marketi ng by hoteliers (Key Note 2008 pp. 19-21). During 2008 this boom came to an end. The hotel industry was hit relatively late by the depression, and even during 2008 industry experts were proclaiming that the previous 12 months had been a time of overall growth (Cater Hotelkeeper 2009, p. 6). Occupancy rates were static in the first part of 2008, but then hotel transactions started to decline and during September 2008 occupancy fell steeply as did revenue per room (Cater Hotelkeeper 2009, p. 6). Further, developments for new hotels and improvements were cancelled and budgets reduced. 3.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of the UK Hotel Market A Key Note report identifies aspects of the UK hotel market influencing the vulnerablity or resilience to recession. On a positive note, the UK hotel market is a strong and sophisticated one with a wide range of different options to appeal to a range of different types of customer and including internationally recognised brands as well as smaller individual operators. Developments in technology and the increase of internet use over the last 10 years mean selecting and booking a trip is easier than ever before. The fact that most UK residents do not use hotels further offers an opportunity for growth, as does the potential for further increase in internet use. Restaurants attached to hotels and other such add on services provide further expansion potential. Finally, the UK is experiencing a growth in its older population, who have more time to travel. On the negative side, the hotel market is particularly vulnerable to an economic downturn as travel and trips are often seen as an area in which spending can be cut back. (Key Note 2008, pp. 48-50). Research also suggests that despite the apparently rosy outlook of the years immediately prior to 2008, the market had other issues to contend with even without recession. The long-stay leisure market (defined as those travellers staying away for five nights or more) has been in decline since 2004: the number of long-stay hotel rooms booked in 2008 was half that in 2006, at 11 million (BMRC 2009, p. 1). 4 The Impact of the Recession on the Hotel Industry in the UK: Specific Factors 4.1 Introduction This section looks at some of the factors which impact upon the Hotel industry, and why they are important. The messages are mixed. Some of the factors are detrimental to the industry while others have more positive impact. 4.1 Air Travel in Decline Although long-term growth in demand for air transport is projected, growth rates in the short to medium-term are likely to be affected by the general slowdown in the economy and by the rising cost of air travel. A market-wide study indicates that although long-term growth in demand for travel by air is expected, short to medium term projections are for negative growth in 2009 with the beginnings of recovery in 2010 (Key Note 2009, p. 10). This will have an impact upon the UK hotel market as there will be fewer travellers into the country. However, it should be bourne in mind that fewer UK holiday makers will want to holiday abroad due to financial considerations, thus boosting demand for hotels. 4.2 Collapse of the Property Market One of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy in the recession has been building as house prices have crashed and loans to finance building projects have dried up together with the market for the finished product. The UK enjoyed some of the highest periods of growth of house and other building prices, and the construction industry has been particularly badly hit by the latest recession. Developers are unable to access credit to fund large scale building schemes, so many hotel projects have been stalled (Blitz 2009 [online]). Aside from new developments, hotel owners who are unable to access further credit are also finding things more difficult. While larger operators and branded chains are able to look to the medium and long-term, over which a boom for hotel and travel are predicted due to emerging markets, smaller operators have less access to the resources which will see them through the next couple of years (Blitz 2009 [online]). The domestic travel area offers some possible positives for the industry as a whole. It is arguably the case that tourism and the hotel industry in the UK are better placed to withstand the results of a recession than either other industries or other holiday destinations. The reputation of the UK as a whole is very strong as a destination, as is that of England in particular.A 2008 survey by Visit Britain of 614 respondents based in the UK who regularly take short breaks reported that 9 out of 10 people consider England when choosing a short break. The branding of England has improved over the course of this tracker study, 58% of respondents say it is their favourite holiday destination considered. It is considered easy to get around and seen as having beautiful scenery (Visit Britain 2008, p.2). Short breaks account for almost 2/3 of breaks taken in the UK, so these findings are significant for the industry as a whole. (Bainbridge 2009, p. 1). Another consideration is the rising concern with being green and the impact of frequent air travel on the environment (Bainbridge 2009, p. 1). Consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint and impact upon the environment are increasingly opting to stay within the UK (Bainbridge 2009, p. 1). What Bainbridge does not highlight, however, is that the new concern for green issues is not completely beneficial. Tourists from overseas will be equally concerned to cut their travel abroad, so this could also reduce inbound tourism into the UK. Research is conflicting with some showing that interest in saving the environment is fairly low priority for the majority of consumers and other studies confirming the idea that green issues will become increasingly important (Key Note 2009, p. 49). Hoseasons, the self-catering leader, also take this view, claiming that more people are choosing to holiday in the UK because of a demand for a green and alternative to flying abroad. Similarly, the fer ry lines entered 2008 assuming that demand would increase for their services as a greener alternative (Key Note 2009, p. 49). The UK has the most expensive rates for hotels in Europe, and average prices rose by 12% in 2007 to an average of just over  £100 per night. Londons exceptionally expensive rates influence this figure (Key Note 2009, p. 50). Against this background, and bearing in mind the recession, a move towards increasing the number of budget hotels seems inevitable. Previous expansion in the hotel industry has concentrated on the luxury end of the market with the growth of boutique hotels and the interest in catering to the super-rich. While this seems unfortunate given the recession, it is not obviously a bad strategy as historically the luxury market has been shown to reflect the economy more slowly than the rest of the market. (Key Note 2009, p. 92) In October 2007, Marriott estimated the growth in revenue per available room at between 5% and 7% in 2008; however, by May 2008, this had been revised to between 3% and 5%. As clients reduce their spending, it is likely that over-supply will be seen in the market and this will lead to some brand rationalisation (Key Note 2009, p. 92). One predicable result of the recession is to increase interest in budget holidays and cheaper hotels. The Visit Britain survey of UK residents who take short breaks reported in March 2008 that price had now overtaken other factors in choosing where to stay (Visit Britain 2008, p.2). This is likely to increase as the UK moves deeper into recession. The budget hotel market was under development even before the recession set in. Established brands such as Travelodge and Premier Inn expanded their operations, and they were joined by the Purple Hotels from the Real Hotel Group. Hilton also developed plans for a budget hotel chain, and CitizenM, a design-led brand, was developed. Other brands include Nitenite and Yotel, built at low cost using prefabrication techniques. The growth in the market has led to further segmentation in the sector with introduction of upmarket tiers to the budget range (for example Holiday Inns Express brand (Key Note 2008, p. 16) A Key Note report written at the beginning of the recession predicted that the mid-range hotels would be the main casualty of shrinking demand. The problems with the economy were exacerbated in the hotel industry by the recent increase in energy and food costs ( Key Note 2008, p. 11) 5.4.2 Business Budget Hotels As Bainbridge points out, budget hotels have benefited by both business and holiday customers downgrading in the recession. Some budget hotels have increased the range of facilities they offer to includes free wi-fi, breakfast and similar to accommodate a new business clientele. Whitbreads budget chain, Premier Inn, for example (the UKs biggest hotel brand) is upgrading its rooms with flat screen TV, air-conditioning and Freeview, and has seen sales for its business account scheme increase 36% over the previous year to February 2008. (Bainbridge, 2009, p. 1). This increase in the number of business travellers using budget hotels since the start of the recession in 2008 is corroborated by research by BDRC in 2009. They report that budget brands are consciously aiming to compete with mid-market brands by strategies such as the ones mentioned above. This drive has been rewarded by better standing in business advertising awareness for the budget hotel brands. (BDRC 2009 [online]) Key Note also report that mid-market business hotels are likely to suffer as they are positioned between the value and luxury hotel options, and what they call tiering, or introducing of levels in to the budget range, will also affect the mid-market brands (Key Note 2009, p. 92). 5.4.3 Consumer Budget Hotels For the non-business traveller, accommodation quality is very important in UK breaks. While travellers abroad endure less than perfect accommodation because costs are low and the weather good, within the UK they demand better quality. One issue is that bed-and-breakfasts and guest houses are notoriously prone to poorly-run individual establishments, leading to calls for the market to be tightened. However the budget hotel sector has grown and has mopped up some of the non-business market as well. The fact that there are many chains available in this sector means travellers can be reassured regarding expectations and quality as they are buying into a brand name. This is particularly true in London a popular choice for consumer short breaks where hotels are notoriously expensive (Key Note 2009, p. 50). 5.5 Staff and Recruitment Impact The recession has had a severe impact on the hotel recruitment market, and it is unlikely to recover before 2010. Job cuts look set to reach 600,000 as businesses and consumers cut spending. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development warned of the toughest year in more than 2 decades, and their predictions were backed up by a survey of 150+ senior management in the hotel industry carried out by the recruitment specialists Admiral Group which revealed that over 2/3rds of those surveyed were going to delay recruitment decisions, and put fast-track graduate programmes had on hold (Sharkey 2009, p. 7). These findings are reiterated by the results of a study by Deloitte in 2008 which predicted that the downturn could cut new jobs in the sector by 100,000 with a corresponding dramatic shrink in the UK tourism industry. A recession could see a  £11b reduction in the economic input by visitors to the UK, currently worth  £114b or 8.2% of the UKs GDP. The British Hospitality Ass ociation also criticised the lack of help from the Government (Thomas 2008, p. 9) One less gloomy prediction is that the recession will have less impact as the hospitality market in general and the hotel market in particular is more diverse than in the past, with some opportunities actually being created particularly in the casual and budget dining and contract catering sectors. This is reinforced by a survey carried out by the British Hospitality Association which shows that the contract catering sector has grown and will continue to do so in the recession (Druce 2009, p. 7) 5.6 Room Occupancy and Prices Room occupancy rates the percentage of nights that hotel rooms are in active use have been increasing since 2005. This is good for hotel operators as it allows them to repay investments and reap more return for their money. In 2007 there was a 1% point rise in domestic occupancy (61% in 2006, with the 2003 rate being 59%). This pre-dated the recession and was a result of the strength of sterling at this time (Key Note 2008, p. 14) Returns in terms of paid accommodation in the UK show a surprising result. Gains were still made in 2008, and a report by Deloitte showed that in the early part of the year revenue per room grew strongly (Caterer Hotelkeeper 2009, p. 6), which is unusual as the recession started to set in during this year for most parts of the UK economy. However, this seems to be a function of gains made at either end of the booking season. Early bookings would have been made before worries about the economy set in, and late bookings made might have been as a result of last-minute demand and hence prices paid were higher (Key Note 2008, p. 15) 5.7. Smaller and Specialist Sectors The result of the recession can also be traced in the smaller and specialist areas of the UK hotel market. For hotel operators, boom areas in these sectors are not necessarily a good thing, as will be shown. 5.7.1 Activity Holidays Activity holidays overseas were enjoying a boom in recent years, however for the next few years the market is predicted to grow less rapidly, whereas activity holidays in the UK are predicted to rise. In 2010 for example the total no of activity holidays in Millions taken by UK residents was predicted before the recession at 11.5; this was revised to 10.8, with 2011, originally predicted to total 12 million was revised to 11.4. By contrast, predictions about UK activity holidays have been revised upwards: the 2011 level was predicted at 5.0 million, and this was revised to 5.3 million. (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]). The impact for hoteliers is mixed. If the holiday involves hotel stay, then the news is good; however if the accommodation is self-catering the hotel operator will lose out. 5.7.2 All-Inclusive Holidays All inclusive holidays, a sector which has been in decline in recent years due apparently to the increasing ease of online booking and ease of finding information, are now predicted to rise over the short-term as they allow all holiday costs to be known in advance and paid for up front. Both Thomas Cook and TUI are aiming to increase their all-inclusive capacity (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]) 5.7.3 Camping and Caravaning Holidays This sector enjoyed a boom in the 1960s and early 1970s but with the advent of cheap overseas package holidays has been in decline. However, Mintel predict that these holidays are an attractive option for the budget conscious consumer, and will benefit from the increase of families who elect to stay in the UK in 2009 and 2010 for financial reasons. They point out that the Camping and Caravanning club had their best ever year for recruitment of new members in 2008 (Mintel Market Reforecast, 2009 [online]). Domestic camping holidays are predicted to do rather better over the next couple of years before the long-term trend towards decline reinstates itself. The growth in this area is not good news for the hotelier, as by definition a stay in a hotel is ruled out for this holiday type. 5.7.4 Others Other sectors, for example boating holidays, have also been affected. Even where the market remains buoyant boating and luxury holidays growth prediction has been downgraded and is expected to occur at a slower rate than predicted (Mintel Market Reforecasts 2009 [online]). Sectors of the UK market which are predicted to do well include coach holidays within the UK which are seen as a budget option and so are fairly resilient to an economic downturn, and heritage tourism as well as holiday centres like Centre Parcs. Mintel see the latter as particularly resilient as they are both percieved as a budget option and are attractive to the UK consumer as they offer pay in advance all-in-one packages. An increase in coach holidays is also good to some extent for the hotelier, although the bulk of coach holiday operators chose low-cost hotels where price margins are cut very low, as the coach holiday is seen as a price-conscious alternative to the consumer. 6. Lessons Learned from Previous Economic Downturns The last time a recession occurred in the hotel industry was in the wake of the 2001 September 11th terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. The Sept 11th attacks and anthrax scare which followed caused uncertainty about the short and medium-term economic futures and had an impact upon travel and tourism plans leading to a reduction in hotel use and travel. In the US these areas, along with airlines were significantly affected in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. (Mintel Market Reforecasts, 2009 [online]). In the recession of the early years of the 21st century, the response to the challenge was to discount room rates heavily, however this strategy was of questionable use. The heavy discounting was intended to boost occupancy level, however this necessarily led to less profitability and income; it took years to recover from this as consumers became used to the lower prices. As Bloss (2009) points out, the tactic is also very easy to copy by competitors and hence a risky one. 7. Conclusion. The UK hotel market has certainly been affected by the economic downturn. The above looked at the background to the recession and how it has affected the corporate and consumer sector. While the sector has certainly been impacted with job cuts, slower, stagnating or declining predictions and less building projects, there are some positives for the UK market as holiday makers elect to stay at home rather than travel abroad.