Challenges and security issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Challenges and security issues - Research Paper Example Therefore, the organization failed to follow the standards laid down in testing the product before releasing it to the market. That led to the soft ware problem. Laudon (2011) says that in regard to technology, MacAfee’s system failed to detect possible dangers the product was posing to consumers using the windows XP and Service Pack 3, which was widely used in desktop PC configuration. In this case, technological factors played a significant role in MacAfee’s soft ware problem. Question 2 MacAfee lost a significant number of its customers as a result of the software problem. Actually, the company lost loyalty of its key clients after their computers crushed as a result of antivirus updates. According to Laudon (2011), the company lost most of its customers as a result of management’s sluggish response to the crisis, and the company’s initial effort to ignore the issue’s impact to the consumers. MacAfee’s reputation in the corporate business environment was dented as a result of its misleading reaction to the technical hitches on its systems. On the other hand, consumers’ businesses were affected as a result of their computers being crippled. According to Laudon (2011), this slowed down the normal operation of consumers’ businesses; hence leading to loses and idle time in labor. ... This was contrary to the fact that a significant number of clients were affected. Question 4 MacAfee’s management should come up with a set of standards meant to ensure adherence to testing procedures. This will facilitate efforts meant to determining a product’s quality before being released into the market. According to Laudon (2011), this will help to curb any deterrent effect a product may have on consumers. Chapter 8: How Secure is the Cloud Question 1 With respect to the security problem of tracking unauthorized activity, this can be controlled using a cloud vendor. According to Laudon (2011), this is a public company whose mandatory requirement by law is to disclose how it manages information. On the other hand, the problem can be controlled by use of cloud vendor that allow subscribers to choose where their cloud computing work takes place. Question 2 People who contribute to security problems in the cloud include those who hack into data bases and try to access companies’ information. They do this despite the fact that information stored within the subject databases is unauthorized to them. According to Laudon (2011), these people pose a security threat to companies’ information as they subject them to unauthorized alterations. In addition, organizations contribute to unauthorized access as they fail to pay attention to their security practices. Laudon (2011) agrees that they fail to secure their infrastructure. Lastly, the high cost of technology contributes to security problems. That is because of the dynamics and high costs associated with advanced technology. Most firms cannot afford secure systems for them to store and back

Human resource management function Essay Example for Free

Human resource management function Essay Human resource management function -Able to outsource production or manufacturing in other countries such as Italy, Morocco, Poland and Turkey which are able to make the shirts cheap enough and good enough. -Under a smart boss who is Passionate and skilled in his business. -Limited human capital especially operation directors so that Robert can concentrate on design. The opportunity to bring more operations director on board so that Robert can concentrate on design. -An adverse Change in the international market environment given that they are unable to manufacture cheap and good quality shirts off the road. Accounting and finance function -Very healthy financially especially due to use retained profits to expand. -Has been self-financed after the paternal startup deal. -Good enough people apart from Robert who are able to do tasks such as analytics, accounting and warehousing much better than Robert. -A paternal startup deal which had higher interest rates than local bank rates. -An extremely conservative approach to financing -Angel investors and equity financiers will be willing to invest in the business given its good financial health. -Cutthroat angel investors who has the potential to affect the growth of the business. Issuing out part of equity will dilute control of ownership which may bring wrangles in future. Marketing function -E-commerce which is already accounting for 15% of sales. -A Loyal customer’s base that is able to market the business by word of mouth and thus no much marketing needed. -Broad patterns of up to 500 patterns -A number of details about the expansion plan still remain sketchy. -Marketing and promotion only rely with word of mouth. -A chance to build itself as a brand by diversifying into other products such as jackets, shoes, belts. -An opportunity to diversify customers seeming to be demanding diversification. -Opportunity for increased number of outlets -The opening up of an online shop which has potential for multiplying sales from the current 15%. -A longer term vision of taking advantage of the growing appetite for the British luxury brands in emerging markets. -Limitation by design and material. A number of parts or areas of the business need more strengthening so as to accelerate the growth and expansion of the business. The area that should be given priority in terms of strengthening it is accounting and finance since it will affect the other functions. The very conservative approach of financing ought to be loosened and the cutthroat angel and equity investors avoided so as avoiding problems that may arise in the future. The human resource management function should be strengthened by encouraging more specialization within the organization such as by hiring operations directors to manage operations that other may concentrate on other tasks like design. Also trying to engage in manufacturing off the road may help to overcome eventualities such as incase of change in the international market environment. The marketing function can be strengthened by having a clear and concise expansion plan and also by getting more materials and designs to help in curbing shortage in future even after outlets have been increased. Culture is a set of shared expectations, beliefs and norms by the members of the same organization. In depth Organizational culture can be described as the ideological system that is shared by the members of the organization, this culture is transmitted through interaction and socialization in the organization and help to shape the behavior of individuals (Schwartz and Davis, 1981: p. 33). The culture in Emmett shirts is shaped by the following factors. First the sector in which the Emmett shirts business operates in greatly influences it and in this case given that the business deals with clothes and specifically shirts where they sell them on retail to the customers. The fact that they are in direct contact with their final consumer makes them to be more friendly to consumers, listening to their suggestions and demands and showing them that they care. Secondly the influence of the founder or the business leader shapes the organizational culture. Robert Emmett being the owner and boss of the organization is key into formulating ideas and ideologies that are embraced by the others in the organization. Robert refers to himself as a smart boss but also quick to note that he is not there yet, this depicts him as someone setting the precedent to work smart and still seeking to do it better and better. He is also very passionate about his business having has started it from scratch and also not to fail to mention his skills especially in design. The other people in the organization tend to benchmark themselves with the leader and thus in Emmett shirts Robert is very crucial in terms of changing the organization culture. The history and tradition of the business also shapes the culture of the organization. Emmett shirts started as a really small entity with a loan from Robert`s father and now through retained earnings it has grown to three outlets all of which are doing great. The history of the business to its current position shapes the ideas and beliefs of what the business can achieve in future. These ideas and beliefs about the business in turn affect the actions and behavior of the workers and all members at large. The organization expectations in terms the growth plan, returns expected, expectations on the workers, the objectives, long term and short term goals, mission and vision to a great extent dictates the culture of the organization. The culture of the organization should support the realization of the organization expectations. The reward system and measurement of performance of the organization also goes a long way in determining the member’s culture. Emmett`s shirts business is also dictated mostly by this factor since its culture has to support its expansion plan of establishing more outlets. The customer base combined with the broad business environment such as legislation and other aspects like competition defines the culture of the organization. A change in the business environment may necessitate a change of culture as the organization adjusts to the changed environment. Emmett shirts may have to change a few aspects so as to address customer’s demands, respond to their feedback and move along with them. The culture of the organization can also be shaped by its environment such that an environment which is competitive may call for the organization to believe in its being the best, deliver quality products and offer excellent services. A Stakeholder of any organization refers to any person or party with an interest in the organization, the interests of different groups may at times conflict. Financial stakeholders in an organization are those who have financial interests in the organization or they will be affected by the state of the organization financially. Table 1.2 showing different stakeholders and their interests. Stakeholder category. Stakeholder. Interests. Internal stakeholders Owner(s), Robert Emmett Financial return or profits and capital gain or increase in value of his investment. Management team or Employees of Emmett shirts. A sense of belonging, payment, job satisfaction, and training. External stakeholders Lender, Robert`s father. Security and interest rate Community Contribution to community. Government/Authorities Taxes and compliance. Customers Supply of properly priced quality goods and services. Plans concerning future growth of Robert`s business through consideration of a number of available business opportunities. The growth plan will affect the different groups with a financial interest in the business. Robert want to expand his business by establishing more outlets, having an online shop, increasing production and in the long term the vision of taking advantage of the growing appetite for the British luxury brands in emerging markets. Implementing these expansion plans means more risks, increased costs and multiplied management problems. The costs will be elastic to changes in the market in which the organization is operating in and thus the cost is likely to vary with future plans. The owner(s) interest to get higher financial returns could be thwarted in the short run if the expansion plans are implemented. The cash which could have been considered as returns to the owner are used in conjunction with other resources to implement the expansion plan. The owner, Robert will have to contend with nil returns for a time as he awaits the newly established projects to break-even. Expansion also means more finances are needed in the process and Robert may be forced to surrender a good proportion of the ownership of the organization to investors who are ready to invest their money in the organization in exchange to a share of ownership. The management and employees of Emmett shirts will also encounter more management problems in the expansion process and also later as they manage the new establishment in its new environment. Some of the workers may be transferred to different locations and others assigned different and more challenging roles. The above will in turn kill the sense of belonging amongst the employees as they are shifted to different locations and probably also diminish job satisfaction. The management and workers may also have to spend cash and time training so as to be able to handle the new challenges in the organization. Lenders of the business such as Robert`s father who provided the capital for starting the business, their financial interest in the firm i.e. repayment of principal amount and interest may be adversely affected. Loans are supposed to be repaid periodically of which it may not be possible if the expansion plan is quite over-ambitious or done over-aggressively without considering the ramifications of doing that. To avoid a scenario where loan repayment plan fails it is instrumental to plan and budget wisely. Costs can be differentiated into different types and categories which require different treatment in the budget. Variable (VC) or proportional and fixed costs (FC) are the main costs incurred in any business. Although there are intermediaries between the two main costs such are: semi-variable costs, semi-fixed costs. The above classification depends purely on the cost responsiveness to changing levels of business activity. Fixed costs remain constant throughout and do not change even if the level of business activity changes, semi –fixed costs tend to change a little bit to changes in business activity. Variable or proportional costs change with a change in the level of business activity; semi-variable costs have an element of not being very much responsive to change in the level of business activity. In the expansion phase FC rarely change much but VC will change with a slight change in activity level. Table 1.3 Showing the different types of costs in Emmett shirts business and their classification. No Item(Cost) Category Description Rent Fixed costs Cost of hiring space for retailing or warehousing. Labor and wages Variable costs Payment to workers and casual laborers. Designing Variable costs This is the cost used to make designs for manufacturing. Materials Variable costs These are materials or garment used to make the shirts License Fixed costs The newly established outlets will need licenses for them to start operating. Research Variable cost This helps to determine aspects such as location and demand. Depreciation Fixed cost It is the cost of loss of value of machines Motor vehicle Variable cost It will help in transportation of materials and personnel Marketing Variable cost Promotion and advertising especially for new outlets. Consultancy costs Variable costs To help comply with regulations and requirements in the new environment Packaging materials Variable costs Management Allowances Variable costs Establishing new outlets may necessitate additional allowances. Furniture Fixed costs Such as additional tables and chairs The human resource management in the case of Emmett Shirts is wanting in terms of specialization of tasks in the organization. Those doing design should be different from those engaged in managing the operations of the business. Hiring more talented personnel such as operation directors may go a long way in enhancing efficiency and dealing with future challenges that may arise as the business grows. Under the marketing function the expansion plan should be clear and the option to take that is whether to diversify as per customer demands. E-commerce has more potential and can help much in online marketing of the shirts. (Hurley 2011 p. 16) Globalization is the integration of economies, markets, industries, cultures and policy formulation. Globalization has both positive and negative effects on the economy of each country that has embrace it. Emmett shirts to a really sensible extent can be termed as a globalised business, due to the following reasons and aspects that can be seen in it. First under globalization there are four drivers that drive globalization namely: cost driver, market driver, technology driver and competition driver. Emmett Shirts have greatly embraced technology and has plans to continue to do so. Already 15% of the organization total sales are from E-commerce and plans are underway to have a well established online shop which is the same as establishing six physical stores. Having embraced E-commerce the business can be able to sell its product to any person in any place in the world and also do its promotion, marketing and advertising online. This intense online presence will help create more awareness about the product, announce introduction of new products and outlets. It is also easier to solicit support from the existing loyal customer base and even benefit from customer referrals online. Technology level is the number one determinant of whether a business is a globalised business. In my opinion I would say that Emmett Shirts is a globalised business given that it has embraced technology in its operations and has embraced E-commerce and continues to do so. Market driver is another key driver of globalization under which companies take into consideration the various markets to invest that is giving attention to open market economics. Emmett Shirts considers as part of its long term ambition or goal to take advantage of the emerging markets in the east such as in China and others awakening giants. These markets have got high appetite and demand for British luxury products or brands. We also see the business benchmarking itself against a brand from Dunhill road which has more shops in China than in London. This action tells us more about what the business is likely to focus on in its long term plan that is establishing shops in the emerging markets in the Far East. This reason leads me to conclude that Emmett Shirts is a globalised business. In regard to whether Emmett Shirts is globalized we realize that the business outsource its production or manufacturing of shirts from other countries such as Poland, Morocco, Ital and Turkey depending on style and material. The reason doing for this is that in the country it is hard to produce cheap enough and good enough shirts. In summary this action shows us that the business has embraced cost driver as a key factor driving globalization and thus can be termed as a globalized business. There are four drivers of globalization which include: technology driver, competition driver, cost driver and market driver. Under market driver globalization is driven by a desire to expand the market base to the emerging markets which are growing in terms of population and increased consumer purchasing power in these markets. Companies consider investing or shifting their investment to open market economics. This also comes in handy with the aspect of competition amongst different countries and companies which are moving beyond their national or regional spheres to international spheres of the whole global market. Technology has been a driver of globalization in quite a number of aspects such as through E-commerce and Electronic transfer, telecommunication gadgets, platforms and software’s. Platforms such as the social media examples being face book, Twitter linked in and others, the media at large, emails, video links such as Skype have continued to accelerate communication and sharing of key information. In business spheres outsourcing some business tasks have been made possible. Government driver or change of policy framework in different countries and formation of trading blocks. Trade and non trade tariffs and shift in open market system. Formulation of G.A.T.T. (General Agreement of Tariff and Trade). Countries which are willing enter into agreements to carry free trade around the world. The tariffs were initially to protect the local infant industries I a country but the realization that countries have to work together for them to achieve economic development continues to propel countries to loosen their trade tariffs. According to my own analysis technology is the strongest driver of globalization of all the others. This is so because at a click of a button one can buy or sell any product or service while in any part of the world. Technology has turned the world into a global village and communication is made with ease amongst people who are very far from each other as if they were just next to each other. Telecommunication devices such as tablets, smart phones and computers at large have interlinked every corner of the world through the World Wide Web. Reference Hurley, J. (2011) ‘Emmetts Luxury Shirts: Deciding whether to specialise or diversify a luxury brand’, The Daily Telegraph (London), 19 July. Source document

MBA Admissions Essays - Beyond the Curve -- MBA College Admissions Ess

MBA Admissions Essays - Beyond the Curve    Having worked in a constantly evolving sector of the economy, I realize the value of an MBA weighs heavily on a program's commitment to staying ahead of the curve.   Although the classic lecture format has undeniable value, I believe for an MBA program to truly further my career, it must have something more. My career path has exposed me to many different aspects of the business world and I believe an MBA program should likewise consist of a myriad of course work and experiences. Since an MBA program will provide the building blocks for my career, I view an innovative and modern approach to learning as a necessity. Looking at traditional MBA programs that consist of marketing/finance/accounting fundamentals, I find the approach at your program to be much more expansive. Supplementing these essential classes with core courses in communications, organizational processes, and strategic management, makes your program broader than any other MBA program.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Innovation at Sloan doesn't stop with the core courses, since managerial...

The Reason of Ball Mill’s Uneven Discharging

For ore dressing process, grinding is a continuation of the ore crushing process, and is a final finishing before ore sorting. Grinding the material evenly or not seriously affects the production efficiency of ball mill. Uneven ball mill’s discharging may be caused by the following two aspects: Firstly, the feeding grinding materials cause the uneven discharging. When water into the grinding material is high, it may cause the ball mill grinding â€Å"full† phenomenon. If the water into the grinding material is too much, you can reduce the feed rate of ball mill, dry grinding materials, strengthening ventilation in ball mill, and join the way such as grinding material processing. Secondly, the high temperature of the inside of ball mill causes a â€Å"bag†. If grinding temperature is too high, we should control the grinding material temperature, the water spray in mill, and increase the grinding body drench water, strengthen the inside ventilation, join the grinding material, and reduce the ratio of feeding. The two phenomena can make the grinding ability declined dramatically. In the usual operation,we will strictly control the water into the grinding material and the temperature of the ball mill. Henan Zhengzhou Mining Machinery Co. , Ltd. specializes in the production of ore ball mill. The midheaven axis uses the steel casting, the inside lining is detachable, rotates the big wheel to use the casting to roll the tooth processing, tube in vivo besets with by the wear-resisting backing, has the good resistance to wear.

Max

The film, Max, was directed by Menno Meyjes and those who stared included John Cusack (Max Rothman) and Noah Taylor (Adolf Hitler) among others. The major theme in the movie is the aftermath of the First World War where by, after the collapse of the Kaiser Imperial Reich, the Germans entered in to the newly created Weimer Republic and were faced with the problems of unemployment, poverty and great difference between the haves and have-nots. The essence of the essay is to discuss the major theme, how it’s presented in the film and the reasons for the historical/ cultures values presented in them film. After the First World War, though the Germans are defeated they remained defiant after the war and are being humiliated by the unjust treaties. . The writer/ director expose the anger and a rabid young man whose prejudice and passion led to death of millions of Jews. Max, a Jewish that was initially a painter and lost his arm in the war then became an art dealer in Munich streets where eventually he meets Hitler, a war veteran, who is penniless and further confused between joining the politics and or the artistic desires, they become close friends since their future had been shattered by the war. Max tries to guide Hitler in to successful artistic business, on the other hand, Hitler has another Mentor, Captain Myer, who acknowledges that Hitler has another potential in the politics. There is a struggle between the two mentors and eventually Myer wins and directs Hitler in to politics. The discussions between Max and Hitler clearly show how connected were the politics and art in Germany at that particular time, they further display how the art could the future Germany for better. One of the historical event presented in the movies though the major theme is the trearty of Versailles. After the war, the treaty of Versailles is a major concern to many Germans; Myer therefore formed a class which he used to teach propaganda against the Jews. Max tries to divert Hitler’s anger in to art but he does have the idea of how deep is Hitler’s anger, Max further tells Hitler that if could â€Å"pent up the stuff† within him on the canvas, them many possibilities would unfold Innocent Max at one point of moment tells his children about the Jewish world turning upside down in a couple of decades and after an Anti Semitic presentation which angers Hitler and eventually scribbles on his hand that â€Å"politics + arts = power†, where by the people will be the canvas and the politics will be his art.   All these are used to support the major them of the film. This film teaches the evolution of a culture that resulted to horrors of the Nazi leading to the cold war. There are some flaws in the film where by it concentrates too much on Max’s life’ despite good performances by actors like Cusack. Though good, the cinematography and direction does not also display Germany as it would have been   after the First world war but Germany is displayed like it is in the 20th century therefore the discussions between Max and Hitler aren’t in a historical context. Irrespective of the strong connection between politic and art, the idea of Hitler beginning from the road as an art dealer to the man we acknowledge as Hitler is a bit naà ¯ve and too simple and further tries to humanize Hitler despite never excusing his actions occasionally. Hitler though maintained a moustache after the war is presented being clean shaved in the film. Max is a fiction story of one early man who was very evil and the circumstances that led to his evil behavior; it further explains why the German nationalism after the WW1 resulted to genocide and violence. REFRENCE Max (2002/I), retrieved on 20th, October, 2007, available at www.imdb.com/title/tt0290210/

Employability and Entrepreneurship The WritePass Journal

Employability and Entrepreneurship 1. INTRODUCTION Employability and Entrepreneurship 1. INTRODUCTION  2. OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH  Ã‚   2.1 Terms of reference  Ã‚   2.2 Methodology   2.3 Main findings3. PERSONAL REFELCTION   3.1 Personal analysis3.2 CV Covering letter3.3 Gap analysis3.4 Career action plan4. CONCLUSION5. REFERENCES AND BIBILIOGRAPHY Related 1. INTRODUCTION Employability is the combination of factors and processes that enable people to progress towards or get into employment, to stay in employment and to move in the workplace. The purpose of this report is to discuss the opportunities I as a graduate go through after the completion of my degree, what the employers are looking for in an employee, as well as the role marketers or marketing related careers play in enterprises, then finally the knowledge, skills and attitude I have and hope to obtain. I have always wanted to work in the marketing sector so I have compiled analysis of six different companies, which consist of large-scale companies, small, and medium sized companies. I have used a mixture of analysis to compare various methods that can be used to start a career in the marketing sector and also be successful in the field. I have decided to work in the marketing sector because it provides many job opportunities such as personal selling, advertising, packaging, transport, product development and retailing.   2. OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH This section of the report would examine the factual reflections of the findings from the occupation.   Ã‚   2.1 Terms of reference The purpose of this report is to look at the graduate opportunities in the UK marketing sector. Research will be made on six different organisations in this sector. The main aim is to show what has to be achieved and how to achieve it.   Ã‚   2.2 Methodology The methods used to approach this research were carried out through primary and secondary resources. The primary research was used to exchange e-mails with one of the staffs of Business Monitor International and PKF to clarify some issues. However most of the research done on this report was from information gathered online which is the secondary research such as graduate job websites like prospect, inside careers and also watching some videos on employability. The companies’ websites were used to get more information. The organizations used in this reportare Standard Life, Glaxo Smith Kline, Akzo nobel corporate, Business monitor international, PKF and Sanofi Aventis.    2.3 Main findings In marketing, there are variety of challenging and interesting job opportunities such as retailing, market research, personal selling and wholesaling. In addition from my findings, there are so many individuals who are employed in non-business organizations that are also engaged in marketing activities. The skills from marketing are used to promote civic, political, cultural and charitable activities, even if an individual earns a living through marketing activities or performs them without compensation in non-business settings, the knowledge and skills gained from marketing are valuable assets. Our highly complex economy relies heavily on marketing activities. The economy produces the profits that are necessary for the growth of individual businesses and also provide health and ultimate survival for the economy as a whole. In essence the general employment trend must be known. According to the survey by BBC, it claims that graduate unemployment rose by 25%. The higher education poli cy institute said in December 2008 the unemployment level rose from 11.9% to 25% among graduates aged under 24. It also said that 17.2% of male graduates were out of work compared with 11.2% of females as at the end of 2009. The report from the institute came a day after a research body had warned that unemployed graduate level could hit record levels as a result of planned public spending cuts. The Higher Education Career Service Unit (HECSU) said that because so many college leavers join the public sector, they were especially vulnerable to cuts. According to the guardian survey, it claims that the unemployment figures are set to rise by 22,000. However those leaving university during the summer face the most difficult job market in more than a decade. There are up to 22,000 more graduate whom are likely to be unemployed this year compared to last figures. The Higher Education Career Service Unit (HECSU) calculated at least one in 10 of this summer’s graduates would not be successful to find a job after six months they leave university, which is equivalent to about 35,000 and 40,000 graduates out of the 350,000 leaving UK universities after first degrees. There are many opportunities for marketing degree holders. There are lots of organisations that are recruiting graduates in marketing or marketing related occupations. According to the Witan Jardine growth statistics marketing opportunities have grown by 47% from last year and experienced growth of 5% over the last quarter. The opportunities in the marketing financial sector grew by 30%, which made an increase of 29% over the last quarter. The media sector roles in marketing for graduates increased by 25% year on year. The professional services marketing roles have soared by 77% compared to January 2006. (Ambition, 2009) Marketing is a very popular career for graduates. Last year, there were 17,000 students who graduated with degrees in marketing, and the research by the Marketing and Sales Standard Setting Body (MSSSB) claims that 580,000 people in the UK are employed in marketing roles. (Inside careers, 2011) There are important roles for graduates in the marketing sector in the future especially those who want to go into retailing. The retail sector is said to accounts for more than 10% of jobs in England. There were 2,777,000 people employed in the retail sector in 2002, the amount of people employed in the retail sector was predicted to rise to 2,869,000 in 2005 and continued growth forecast through to 2012. In 2012 it is predicted that over 250,000 new jobs are expected in this sector. However, there is going to be replacement demand whereby there will be need for new people to replace those leaving the sector is predicted to be five times this figure, with sales and customer service occupations alone needing almost half a million people to replace those leaving the sector (National Guidance Research Forum, 2010). As a marketing graduate your responsibilities can vary depending on the size of the organization and sector and also whether the focus is on selling a product, service or ra ising awareness of an issue that affects the public. A recent marketing degree holder can play roles in organization such as liaising and networking with wide range of stakeholders like colleagues, customers, partner organizations and suppliers. One could also communicate with his target audience and also managing their customers’ relationships. One can also generate advertising opportunities and placing adverts in the press locally, regional, national and specialist publications or on the radio, depending on the organization and the campaign. As a marketing degree holder, one could ensure there is effective distribution of marketing materials, and also maintain and update customer database. One could also attend and organize events such as seminars, conference, exhibition and receptions. Marketing graduate could organize marketing research such as creating customer questionnaire, focus groups and also contributing to the development of marketing plans and strategies (Prospec ts, 2009). These jobs are advertised in newspapers and magazines such as marketing week, they can also be found online in job search sites like prospects, graduate-jobs, inside careers etc. Based on the research done on the organisations, there are some key skills, knowledge and experience expected from a marketing graduate. These organisations are looking for people that are highly organized and proactive, with the ability to do different tasks simultaneously to meet deadlines. They are interested in people with the ability to work both independently and in a team environment. A core skill expected is ability to interact and maintain beneficial relationships with other teams across the business. High level of competency in Microsoft office, particularly excel is expected. They also search for people with good skills in leadership with ability to influence without authority in a matrix environment. They are also interested in people who have excellent written and verbal communicatio n skills and also those that can speak good English. As a marketing graduate a lot is expected, only in very exceptional circumstances that organisations accept application from people who don’t meet their academic requirements. This means that the applicant has to provide strong justification for why the organisation should accept him/her. The minimum academic criteria expected by their organisations are minimum of at least 280 UCAS points with a first class or 2:1 degree. The selection process is done step by step. It is a chance for the graduate to show the organisation what they are made of and that they have the skills required. The first step is to fill in an online application form. This gives you the chance to tell the organisation a bit about yourself and also include your CV and cover letter. The second step is to take an online verbal and numerical reasoning test. The third step is a telephone interview to discuss your understanding of the role you have applied for. The forth step is to attend an assessment centre to meet members of the organisation. The fifth step is to receive an offer. 3. PERSONAL REFELCTION In this section of the report, I am going to reflect upon and evaluate my current skills, knowledge and experience in relation to the ones required by the organisation I have researched on.    3.1 Personal analysis During the course of my study, I developed some key skills such as working both independently and also as a group. I worked as a group in my coursework that enabled me to play roles like encouraging the group when motivation is low. During my research, I identified that I need good leadership skills. These leadership skills have been achieved as a group leader in university coursework that also enabled mi to take responsibility for the direction and action of the group. I have developed my interpersonal skills, I have also developed skills to be able to use my own initiative as well as problem solving skills. I strongly believe with my academic achievement, skills and experience, I definitely have a career in marketing. 3.2 CV Covering letter My CV and covering letter are addressed to Business monitor international. See appendix 3.3 Gap analysis Gap analysis is the space between where we are and where we want to be. I have developed some skills that I am confident in. I am confident in my team working skills. I have good interpersonal skills especially in the way I carry myself. In general I have most of the skills these organisations are looking for. However, there are some areas that I really need to focus my personal development like my presentation skills; I lack the confidence to speak in public. I also lack a little bit of computing skills such as using Microsoft office excel. I intend on improving the skills that I am weak at by going for public speaking programmes and career fares to improve on my confidence level. I also plan on using self guide on how to use Microsoft excel to improve on my computing skills. 3.4 Career action plan See appendix 6.3 page 11 4. CONCLUSION In conclusion, this research has given me wide range of knowledge about the recent employment trends for graduates in the marketing sector and also more knowledge about different roles and skills required. While I was doing this report, it helped me realise what knowledge and skills I have now. In general, my career action plan would also help me as a guideline to enable me meet my goals. 5. REFERENCES AND BIBILIOGRAPHY Akzo Nobel (2010) What do we look for? Available at akzonobel.com/careers/graduates/what_we_look_for/index.aspx [Accessed 15th march 2011] Ambition (2008) Marketing Sales Recruitment Trends, Available at ambition.co.uk/sales-marketing-jobs/recruitment-trends.asp [Accessed 19th march 2011] BBC (2010) Graduate unemployment rate rises 25%, Available at bbc.co.uk/news/10500124 [Accessed 20th march 2011] Business Monitor International (2011) Employment listing, Available at https://www5jh.openhire.com/epostings/submit.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfojobid=173530company_id=1005source=ONLINEJobOwner=992284bycountry=1bystate=0bylocation=GB%2Ekeywords=byCat=38747tosearch [Accessed 14th march 2011] Glaxo Smith Kline (2010) Experienced hires: search and apply, Available at gsk.com/careers/uk-saa-jobsearch.htm [Accessed 15th march 2011] Inside career (2011) skills required for marketing, Available at insidecareers.co.uk/__802574D800556E37.nsf/id/7nwndntden!opendocument [Accessed 20th march 2011] National Guidance Research Forum (2010) LMI future trends, Available at guidance-research.org/future-trends/retail/info/futureemp [Accessed 20th march 2011] PKF accountants and business advisers (2010) The PKF experience, Available at pkf.co.uk/pkf/careers/work_experience/home [Accessed 15th march 2011] Prospects (2009). Marketing executive: Job description and activities, Available at http://ww2.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/marketing_executive_job_description.jsp [Accessed 22nd march Sanofi Aventis (2010). Job Details, Available at http://www24.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_sanofiaventis01.asp?s=bkMjPUrEcTFkHhTczjobid=54551,2221122152key=12073363c=865256627269pagestamp=sewfxdjbvkssyzdycm [Accessed 22nd march 2011] Standard life (2011) sales and marketing, Available at standardlife.com/careers/graduates/grad_sales_marketing.html [Accessed 15th march 2011] The guardian (2009) Graduate unemployment figures set to rise by 22,000, Available at guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jul/02/graduate-unemployment-rise-recession-jobs [Accessed 20th march 2011]

Ghosts of Mississippi essays

Ghosts of Mississippi essays On the night of June 13th 1963, President John F. Kennedy was giving his speech on Civil Rights. Among the many thousands of people in America viewing this event on National Television were Myrlie Evers and her three children. Suddenly, this occurrence was rudely disrupted by the deathly sound of a loud gunshot. Frantically running to their driveway, Myrlie and the kids found Medgar Evers shot in the back and lying in a pool of blood gasping for his last breath. Myrlie clung on to her husbands body as she and the children wept for this mans life. Almost thirty years later, the man charged with this murder would be tried again in a court of law, in front of a different jury of eight blacks and four whites. Justice was going to be served in the state of Mississippi no matter how long it was going to take. This murder case was tried in the racist state of Mississippi in the racist period of 1963. The judge was also a racist white man by the name of Moore and the jury consisted of twelve men. All white. Much evidence was presented to the court, such as the gun used to kill Medgar Evers consisting of fingerprints belonging to the convicted, Byron de la Beckwith. Byron and his vehicle were also spotted at the parking lot of Joes Drive-thru, a block away from the Evers household, on the night of the murder. On the other hand, two white men, Holly and Cresswell, claimed to have witnessed Byron de la Beckwith at a gas station in Greenwood, 90-95 miles away from the scene, on the same night. This case was tried twice ending both times in a hung jury, leaving Byron innocent and free of charge. Twenty-six years later, on October 1989, Myrlie Evers seeks to reopen the Medgar Evers case. A Mississippi lawyer named Bobby Delaughter, the son-in-law of Judge Moore, slowly took this task into his hands and dug up information and such on this forgotten trial. Upon making this decision, his wife leaves him, but he l...

Close the Gap on Prefixes and Suffixes

Close the Gap on Prefixes and Suffixes Close the Gap on Prefixes and Suffixes Close the Gap on Prefixes and Suffixes By Mark Nichol Thanks to widespread confusion about the correct treatment of prefixes and suffixes, syllables and words attached before or after root words, many people persist in inserting hyphens more frequently than necessary. Essentially, however, hyphens seldom belong in prefixed and suffixed words: Prefixes and root words are almost always combined without hyphens (prepaid, nonprofit, posttraumatic). Exceptions include when the root word is a proper noun (un-Christian, anti-Semitic) or a number (â€Å"pre-2010 models†), or when the first letter of the root word and the prefix’s last letter are the same (anti-intellectual, co-opt). Repetitions of consonants, however (nonnative), are not excepted. Some prefixes, like vice, unfortunately, are used indiscriminately; they may be disconnected (â€Å"vice president†), hyphenated (vice-regent), or closed up (viceregal). And then there are antonyms styled at odds with each other, such as on-screen and offscreen. (Easy solution: Reconcile them one way or the other.) Other idiosyncratic instances of hyphenation include ambiguous treatments like re-cover in the sense of â€Å"to cover again,† rather than â€Å"to retrieve,† mid before a numbered century (â€Å"mid-twenty-first century† or â€Å"mid-21st century†), and non attached to an phrasal adjective (â€Å"non-meat-eating†). A common error is to refer to very large amounts of money with a phrase like â€Å"multi-billion-dollar budget† or, worse, â€Å"multi-billion dollar budget.† However, words prefixed by multi need no hyphen: â€Å"multibillion-dollar budget.† The en dash, a hyphen on steroids, is used when the link must carry more weight: when prefixes and suffixes are linked to permanent open compounds to form phrasal adjectives. Examples include â€Å"postCivil War era† and â€Å"high schoolage drivers.† Suffixes are rarely hyphenated, either (airborne, lifelike, nationwide). Some sources suggest hyphenating borne, like, and wide to a word three or more syllables long, but it’s not necessary; communitywide, for example, may look cumbersome, but it’s best to be consistent. However, words ending in l, and most proper nouns, retain a hyphen when linked to like, and proper nouns linked to wide are always hyphenated. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†In Search of a 4-Dot Ellipsis25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert

Archaeology Home work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Archaeology Home work - Essay Example Anthropology entails studying the life of man. Studying the life of man entails looking into man’s behavior and traits, also known as culture, and man’s physical characteristics. Anthropologists get answers ascribed to humans by living within communities and examining them. Archaeology, on the other hand, is about studying the history of man, which is the origin of humanity and the evolution of man through examining the physical remains of their existence. These remains include tools and buildings. One of the greatest challenges that archeologists face is acquiring knowledge on the interpretation of material culture in relation to humans (Renfrew & Bahn, 2012, 12). For instance, archaeologists may discover historical tools but fail to interpret with accuracy how man used them. To understand man’s use of specific material artefacts, ethnography has become a part of archaeology. Ethno archeology enables archeologists to live within communities so that they develop a better understanding of the use of material culture. Archaeology qualifies both as a science and as a humanity. Archaeology qualifies as a science through its involvement in the collection of evidence, performing experiments, the formulation of a working hypothesis and undertaking additional tests on this hypothesis against additional data, and finally coming up with a deduction. In addition to that, archeology employs scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating, which helps to estimate the date when an artifact existed, scientific analyses and experiments undertaken on residues found in pots. Archaeology has developed greatly in the recent past, expanding the field it covers from the earliest periods to the later times. Archeology serves to not only provide an insight into the life of man as it was more than 10, 000 years in the past, but also helps in explaining human civilization (Renfrew & Bahn, 2012, pg15). One of the most

Details of structural members in concrete and steel buildings Essay

Details of structural members in concrete and steel buildings - Essay Example Steel is not adversely affected by weather, easy to erect, strong and durable with low weight. Its main function is in the formation of a skeleton that holds the whole structure. The components for concrete, that is, cement, sand and aggregates are easily available and affordable worldwide making allowing preference for concrete structures. From research and studies, concrete has been realized to be brittle, strong in compression and weak in tension. From these properties, modalities of improving it have been designed. The most currently used modality is its reinforcement. Reinforced concrete therefore has been realized to withstand tension and compression leading to its durability and use in many structures. Literature review The study and test of steel for industrial construction has been done for many years. Its properties led to its popular use since the early 1990’s. Due to this demand, designs for steel structures have been implemented. The main factor that has driven the designs is earthquake disasters. Its design has evolved from stiffer approach to flexibility and ductility. During the 1970’s, proven formulas were used to design steel structures. Advanced technology through Computer Aided Design has improved designing work with building codes controlling the steel industry. Working stress design was the main factor for consideration in concrete members since 1960s. Strength design method was adopted by the International Building Code (IBC) in its 1956 edition. The concepts considered are strength needed inclusive of the load and strength of the design with an aim of achieving durable structures. The designs lead to increased costs in construction with reduced maintenance costs. Due t o low maintenance costs, projects like highway infrastructure and industrial buildings make use of reinforced concrete. Maintenance costs are likely to be incurred due to misuse of the structures and poor workmanship that are unpredictable (Berman, Gary 8). Details of structural members in concrete and steel buildings The success of concrete and steel structures is pegged on durability, economical factors and strength of structures. These attributes are achieved through proper design of structural members to support the weight of the structure and bear both the dead and live loads and lateral loads exposed to it. Live loads refer to inhabitants in the structure and dead loads are items attached to the structure while lateral loads arise from wind and or earthquakes. The purpose of members in steel and concrete structures is to unite and support all loads transferred in the structure via the allocated load paths to foundation members. Soil and or rock where the structure’s fou ndation is laid finally support the load. Structural members work as one unit using the joints to transfer bending moments, shear and axial forces. Structural members discussed in this article are; beams and one-way slab, two-way slabs, columns, walls and foundations. One-Way Systems In this type of floor or roof system, all members run in one direction with a common flexural

Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Finance - Essay Example This report analyses the behaviour of the stock in the past five years, links it to the financial performance of the company and predicts the future trend that may emerge. This report also analyses the value of the TESCO share as an instrument for investment in absolute terms. Different tools are available for making financial analysis of stocks and range from the very simple and elegant to the very complex and difficult to understand ones. Here we use some of the most recognised analysis methods such as Earnings per Share (EPS); Price to Earnings Ratio (PE); Cash Flow Discounting; Market Value; and Book Value. The financial performance of the company is better understood through the calculation of some important ratios that assist us in further detailed appraisal. (These ratios are calculated from the summary financial performance sheets placed at Enclosures 1 and 2.) This ratio helps us understand the relative importance of long-term debt in the capital structure and can therefore provide useful additional information for assessing the acceptability of the overall leverage position of the business. The long-term leverage of the company is good and shows a positive and reducing trend over the period considered. Indicating that the long term debt is coming down and this will impact future interest burden as well as allow the company to raise further funds in the debt market, should they be required. c. Interest cover = operating profit / interest charges This shows the number of times available profit covers interest charges and measures the extent to which operating profit can fall without being insufficient to cover the interest charges and thereby create a pre-tax loss. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2007-08 Operating Profit 1361 1600 1943 2235 2653 1289 Interest Expenses 227 258 235 241 216 20 Interest Cover (Times) 6.00 6.20 8.27 9.27 12.28 N.R.2 The effect of the lowering debt resulting in lowering of the interest burden is clearly evident in these numbers. The company appears to have no problem in servicing its debt, the numbers compare very favourably with the industry average of 3.29. 1.2 Operating performance: The ratios that are relevant are: a. Return on Capital Employed (also known as the primary ratio) = Operating Profit / Capital Employed

Social problems Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social problems - Coursework Example On the other hand, the subjective element of social problems refers to the belief that a certain social condition is harmful to the society, or to a section of the society and it can be changed. Problems such as drug addiction, poverty, crime and pollution do exist. These conditions are not considered as social problems but they can cause a lot of destruction is a society (Eitzen and Zinn 2). What is the difference between norm violations and social conditions as types of social problems? Which is a person blame and which a systems blame approach? Why doe the authors of this book believe the focus should be on social conditions (system blame) rather than norm violations (person blame)? Do you agree with them? Why or why not? As social problems, norm violations tend to assume that there is a standard behavior. People studying norm violations are normally interested in failures in the society criminals, the school dropouts, and the mental ill. On the other hand, norm violations are symptoms of social problems and not the problem itself. For example, deviants are victims who need to entirely carry the blame. The second type of social problems involves conditions that tend to cause material and psychic suffering for some people. In addition, there is the person-blame approach which is the approach of understanding people’s social problems. In this approach, those who deviate are considered as the source of trouble. The authors of this book believe that the focus should be on system blame and not person blame since blaming an individual gives the government a chance to take control of dissidents more easily. In most cases, deviants are normally sent to hospitals or prisons for rehabilitation. It is th erefore right for the authors to base on system blame (Eitzen and Zinn 4). Welfare state capitalism is a type of capitalism is a type of capitalism that has

British American Tobacco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

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Social problems Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social problems - Coursework Example On the other hand, the subjective element of social problems refers to the belief that a certain social condition is harmful to the society, or to a section of the society and it can be changed. Problems such as drug addiction, poverty, crime and pollution do exist. These conditions are not considered as social problems but they can cause a lot of destruction is a society (Eitzen and Zinn 2). What is the difference between norm violations and social conditions as types of social problems? Which is a person blame and which a systems blame approach? Why doe the authors of this book believe the focus should be on social conditions (system blame) rather than norm violations (person blame)? Do you agree with them? Why or why not? As social problems, norm violations tend to assume that there is a standard behavior. People studying norm violations are normally interested in failures in the society criminals, the school dropouts, and the mental ill. On the other hand, norm violations are symptoms of social problems and not the problem itself. For example, deviants are victims who need to entirely carry the blame. The second type of social problems involves conditions that tend to cause material and psychic suffering for some people. In addition, there is the person-blame approach which is the approach of understanding people’s social problems. In this approach, those who deviate are considered as the source of trouble. The authors of this book believe that the focus should be on system blame and not person blame since blaming an individual gives the government a chance to take control of dissidents more easily. In most cases, deviants are normally sent to hospitals or prisons for rehabilitation. It is th erefore right for the authors to base on system blame (Eitzen and Zinn 4). Welfare state capitalism is a type of capitalism is a type of capitalism that has

An Invaluable Study with Slight Setbacks A Review of Weeks Coming Out Essay

An Invaluable Study with Slight Setbacks A Review of Weeks Coming Out - Essay Example A closer examination, however, of how specific social events influenced homosexual identity would have greatly aided in creating an understanding of the relationship and origins homosexual identity has in British society. Thus, Weeks emphasizes the structural existence of homosexuality, while failing to consider the forces that might have established this structure. "We tend to think now that the word 'homosexual' has an unvarying meaning, beyond time and history." Weeks writes. "In fact it is itself a product of history, a cultural artifact designed to express a particular concept." (3) Often who we define as a homosexual runs no further than the sexual acts in which a person engages. The basis of this definition, however, fails to consider what type of person is or is not a homosexual. Weeks suggests that the reasons for crafting this shallow connotation towards homosexuality appears to have been to provide a standard on which to label permissible and impressible behavior and also to limit the number of those who are viewed as untraditional. In addition to carefully describing the differences between historical and social aspects of homosexuality, Weeks makes sure to describe the differences in treatment towards various types of "homosexuals." Weeks pays particular consideration towards Lesbians, who Weeks describes as "invisible women" (80) and who debatably may have suffered even more hardships than homosexual men. Like most gender studies, Weeks also tackles the objective of showing that although the idea of "homosexuality" is a product of specific circumstances, homosexuality is wide ranging and alludes any historical or cultural constructs. After the introductory section of this book, these two objectives are placed in the background as tools for understanding the history of homosexuality in Britain.As Weeks linearly traces the development of homosexual struggles in England, he crafts the notion that the acceptance of homosexuality in England is growing significantly. Thus, homosexuality appears to be escaping the negative conceptions with which it has previously been associated. Weeks primarily bases his argument that the acceptance of homosexuality in England is growing by citing the increasing number of gay rights supporters. After levels of prejudice against homosexual rose to peak levels after World War II, radical movements in the 1970's by the Gay Liberation Front resulted in stagger numbers of supporters and gay badge wearers. Furthermore, Weeks makes a slight mention that homosexuality was once even more confined than is has been over the course of the previous centuries. Although homosexuality was prevalent, occurring in "knightly orders," "medieval scandals," and certain "monarch courts" (35), it was always confined. In Weeks's portrait of the widening acceptance of homosexuality throughout the previous century, he fails to create an in-depth portrait of how England's various cultural and economic transitions helped to impact perspectives of homosexuality. The book is not without its failures. I

The Eiffel Tower Essay Example for Free

The Eiffel Tower Essay You couldnt possibly visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. Even if you do not want to visit this world famous structure, you will see its top from all over Paris. The tower rises 300 meters tall (984 ft); when it was completed at the end of the 19th century it was twice as high as the Washington Monument, at the time the tallest structure in the world. 1889 World Exhibition The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution 1789, The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffels was unanimously chosen. The construction was only meant to last for the duration of the Exposition, but it still stands today, despite all protests from contemporary artists who feared the construction would be the advent of structures without individuality and despite the many people who feared that this huge object would not fit into the architecture of Paris. Today, there is no such aversion anymore among the Parisians, and one could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it has become the symbol of the City of Light. Gustave Eiffel The man behind the Eiffel Tower was Gustave Eiffel, known from his revolutionary bridge building techniques, as employed in the great viaduct at Garabit in 1884. These techniques would form the basis for the construction of the Eiffel Tower. He was also known for the construction of the Statue of Libertys iron framework. The structure took more than two years to complete. Each one of the about 12,000 iron pieces were designed Separately to give them exactly the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approx. 7 million nails. Eiffel Tower was designed and built in just two years by 132 workers and 50 engineers. The Eiffel Tower is nowadays 324 meters high with television antennas. It weights 7300 tons. The first floor of the Eiffel Tower is 57 meters and 360 steps from the ground. The second floor is 115 meters and 1060 steps from the ground. The third floor is 274 meters from the ground. It is only accessible by lift to the general public. They are altogether 1710 steps up to the third floor. The Eiffel Tower was planned to be demolished in 1909. It was saved at the last moment and turned into a telecommunication tower. The Eiffel Tower is now undoubtedly one of the most famous monuments in the whole world. It welcome 7 million visitors each year, which makes it the most visited paid monument in the world.

Tourism Industry in the Mauritius

Tourism Industry in the Mauritius Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Introduction Tourism was the third pillar of the Mauritian economy after the E.P.Z.(export processing zone) manufacturing sector and Agriculture. It has contributed significantly to economic growth and has been a key factor in the overall development of Mauritius since the years 1995 onwards. In the past two decades tourist arrivals increased at an average annual rate of 9 % with a corresponding increase of about 21% in tourism receipts. Tourist arrivals have been expanding consequently, thus rising from 103,000 in 1977 to 656,450 in 2000, a more than 600% increase. About 67% of the tourist arrivals are of European origin, with France supplying nearly half. The nearby Reunion French Territory is the most important short haul source market accounting for about 13% of total tourist arrivals. Asian residents provided 6% of tourist arrivals, almost half of which originated from the Indian Sub-Continent. The World Travel and Tourism council (WTTC) stated that travel and tourism was estimated at 9.3 % in 2010 and is expected to rise up to 9.7% by 2020. This increase will help to create an additional 66 million jobs by 2020, in which 50 million jobs should be created in Asia and hence help to decrease world poverty. The longer-term prospects for Travel Tourism remain positive, boosted by rising prosperity in Asia. The WTTC remains confident that the Travel and Tourism industry will remain a dynamic force for wealth and job creation all over the world. The tourism industry does not cease to grow despite the problems that it has encountered in the past years, such as the credit crunch, terrorism, continuous increasing petrol prices and the famous avian flu (bird flu). The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) states that tourism recovered strongly in 2010 according to the Advance Release of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Tourist arrivals were up by almost 7% to 935 million, following the 4% decline in 2009 the year hardest hit by the global economic crisis (http://www.unwto.org) Tourism has become one of the most important pillar and the most revenue generating activity in many small island developing states. It has become the source of job creation and revenue for small islands inhabitants. A change in the tourism demand for an island may have a major impact on the Gross Domestic Product (total value of goods and services produced in a country during a certain period of time, usually one year), the budget and the Balance of Payments. Most small islands have adopted tourism due to a lack of development opportunities. The end of the twentieth century marked the beginning of the tourism as the main pillar of small islands economies (Bonte 2006), as it is the case for Mauritius. In large part, islands and cruises have become the most wanted vacation for tourists (Harrison, 2004). Tourism is a mean to reach economic development and economic growth, but is also a way to destroy its resources (Bonte, 2006). The Barcelona field study (2006) states that it is not just necessary to satisfy tourism demands, but also to cater for its durable development. Indeed, tourism does not have only positive impacts, but does have adverse effects on the environment and on the host community. The development of high volume tourism facilities without adequate consideration to impacts, has created many â€Å"tourism disasters† (Smith and Edington 1992). Aooay (2003) states that tourism is not only dreaming landscapes on postcards, the social reality is different: movement of population and disappearance of local savoir faire, begging, prostitution, ‘folkorisation of cultures and rituals. Tourism has suffered from serious health crises including the foot and mouth disease in 2001in United Kingdom, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and the bird flu that started to expand in June 2002 (www.who.int.csr/sars/en). Tourism has also been impacted by several natural disasters including earthquakes, flooding, wild fires, hurricanes and the most devastating Tsunami in December 2004 which caused around 218000 deaths and to this day, other natural calamities, was one still having a significant impact upon the tourist movement and the tourism industry worldwide. It is a fact, not only in words but also visually that the sugar cane industry is rapidly being replaced by tourism activities. However since Mauritius is entirely banking on the tourism industry for economic revenue, the question is; what could happen to Mauritius if the tourism sector saw a rapid decline or even an imminent death. One need to bear in mind that Mauritius is not the only country around the world offering this type of product and the fact that Mauritius is situated very far from the targeted market combined with an increase in air fare or/and tourism threats or even natural calamities, what can be done so that the future generation in relation to tourism development does not become black. This present dissertation tries to address the various issues that could cause the death of tourism if not remedied 1.1 Problem Statement Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean. The islands most important revenue in the 1980s was sugar cane being exported to European Countries. Nowadays it relies mostly on the tourism sector and tourism is being considered as its main pillar. The tourism industry is in fact a very young one, having emerged only in the last decade in many countries of the world. History has shown that tourism and its development have impacted in some ways, on everything and everyone that is has touched. Ideally, these impacts should be positive in terms of benefits to destinations and their residents but on the other side of the coin, this is not always the case. According to Leonard A. Jackson (2006), local peoples rebellion, environmental damages, cultural intimacy are good examples of negative impacts of tourism. Sugar cane fields are now being replaced by new projects such as the Integrated Resort scheme of Tamarina and Bagatelle at Pailles, catering for the tourism sector. This present work is being done in order to analyse the threats to tourism, its weaknesses and eventually try to evaluate whether the tourism industry will face an end like the Sri Lanka whose Balance of Payment was in deficit after the tourism injections in the economy fell after the war started between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) 1.2 Aim The aim of this present study is to assess whether the tourism industry in Mauritius could face a possible end. 1.3 Objectives In line with the problem statement and the aim of this work, the following objectives were formulated: Identify the importance of the tourism sector in Mauritius and the latters dependency on it. To Identify the threats to the tourism industry and its impacts there on. To identify the threats that are relevant to Mauritius and its tourism industry. To assess whether Mauritius is at risk of those threats. To identify possible ways of mitigating those impacts. 1.4 Research structure The study was classified into different chapters with the following purposes: Chapter 1- Introduction To introduce the subject, to define the problem, aims and objectives of the research and outline the different chapters. Chapter 2- Literature Review To give a brief account of previous research made in the field of threats to the tourism sector concentrating on small island developing states. Chapter 3- Saving the tourism industry To analyse the strengths of small islands and the factors that may save the tourism industry. Chapter 4- Methodology To outline the main steps taken to carry out this present research, providing details on the type of study used, its advantages and disadvantages, the questions set for interviewing targeted respondents and the limitations to the study. Chapter 5- Data analysis and findings To analyse and discuss the results obtained from respondents Chapter 6- Conclusion and recommendations To summarise the most important findings and to bring an end to the study and from the previous chapters to suggest any possible actions that could be considered in the near future. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.0 A global perspective of the tourism industry. â€Å"Shorter working hours, greater individual prosperity, faster and less expensive travel, and the impact of advanced technology has all helped to make the leisure and tourism industry the fastest growing industry in the world† (Edgell, Sr., 1990). Tourism has become a flourishing industry in the twentieth century, where destinations mostly rely on their natural and some manmade resources to make up their tourism industry. It is nowadays a principal element for economic development and growth. According to Lim (1997) and Crouch (1996), the economic impact of tourism has rendered the tourism industry to be considered as one of the most highly significant and integral parts of every national economy. Whilst the economic impact and the contribution of the tourism industry to a country is widely acknowledged, it is also an industry which creates thousands of jobs and a source of foreign exchange earnings. Let alone the positive benefits, it is also an industry that brings along many negative impacts on host communities. 2.1 Threats to the tourism industry 2.1.1 Competition Recently, many countries have constantly been competing for tourism. â€Å"One possible first approach to the definition of competition is to consider competition a process of resources distribution† (Loch et al. 2001). In a market, the people, firms, organisations, industries will tend to use only the very little resources to stay alive in a co operation market, but will make utilisation of full resources when they are in an extreme competitive market. Competition is also highly dependent on the availability of resources and the number of individuals, firms and organisations who wish to exploit those resources, but as the basic economic problem states, wants are unlimited but resources are scarce, thus individual tend to exploit the resources more that they should. This will result in the population being suffering as stated by Bahn and Flenley(1992) â€Å"the rise of competition can lead to such a catastrophic imbalance that the final consequence might be the extinction of the population† and the tourism industry as a whole. Competition should not only be seen as a way of boosting a market but if the competition is not well managed or even if policies with regards to competition are not clear, there may be a proliferation of tourism activities which could be to the detriment of the host community. For example the growth of hotels on the coast lines may prove to be beneficial to a countrys economy in the short term and long term if managed properly. However, if there are no proper guidelines on competition, it can become a nightmare for countries as host communities could feel alienated. 2.1.2 Increasing petrol prices The first months of 2008 witnessed the considerable increase in oil prices where it reached a record price of $100 per barrel. Prices were predicted to increase to 140$ in June 2008 (BBC, 2008). This continuous increase in the year 2008 was due to the increase demand for travelling (according to the law of demand, as demand increases, price increases) because of globalisation and increase in travelling resulting from an increase in the number of people, firms and organisations wishing to exploit resources. Moreover, the increase in price of petrol has caused an increase in tickets for travelling. An increase in air fares have caused a fall in the tourist arrival. Thus one can say that the increasing petrol prices may be one of the threats to the tourism industry because it is linked with the increase in petrol prices and an increase in air fares. 2.1.3 Criminality rate, gambling and social factors Ntuli(1998) described crime as â€Å" a universal social phenomenon in that it threatens the safety and security of the people, property, their sense of well being, as well as social order†. The case of Mrs. Harte being killed in her hotel room at the Legends Hotel, for a couple of dollars, when being on honey moon, is one which may be said to be unforgiveable. Mauritius is a famous worldwide known destination for weddings and honey moons. This crime is detrimental for its tourism industry. This news was broadcasted a few hours only after the crime had been committed, on several channels under the â€Å"Breaking News† titles and had it â€Å"Murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavy (Harte) was strangled over a purse containing a small amount of cash.†(www.news.sky.com). This was broadcasted around the world and Mauritians were soon pointed out in lots of countries. The words of the husband inspire more sadness saying â€Å"She was my life†. The media was very quick at propagating the bad news and bad press and such publicity is not what a tourism destination wants. This act is in fact one of the greatest threat to the Mauritians tourism industry. Touri sts who were forecasting to getting married in Mauritius have surely cancelled their reservations as soon information about this tragedy spread around the whole world and this is witnessed in Ntuli (2000) who found that nowadays, crimes committed against tourist is becoming more and more detrimental to the tourism industry of a destination. As mentioned earlier, and supported by Giddens (1990) who stated that crimes committed to travellers has an impact on many categories of people, because a negative perception of tourists at a destination is often reported in the media or even tourist themselves to friends and families and this causes a negative word of mouth being spread as it is actually the case for the death of Mrs Harte. The host country will thus be badly marketed and tourist arrivals will decline as supported by Ntuli (2000). On the other hand, in a few countries like Bahamas, the heads of states think that even if the criminality rate is a worry to many Bahamians, it is not a threat to tourism, according to an official at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau (www.jonesbahamas.com). Dr Hardt, from the US embassy stated that there is now more than 200 police officers are now available to prevent crimes on tourists and that the new priorities have been stretched out concerning those crimes. From the above, one can say that crimes may not be an imminent threat to the tourism industry, provided that there is enough security officers and aims and objectives set. Gambling is often viewed as a booster for the economy of a country because usually the positive impacts of gabling outweighs the negative ones(Stokowski, 1996). Several studies such as Perdue, et al.(1995), Roehl(1994) suggest that gambling is profitable to a country because it generates a high profitability and contributes in job creation and a revenue for the government in terms of taxes. On the other hand, Tosun(2002) found that gambling results in crimes and social disruption and usually creates very bad effects for the country as a whole. Studies showing the negative aspect of gambling are various, such as Caneday et al.(1991) and Stokowski(1996). Thus the negative results from gambling should not be forgotten. Prostitution and tourists attacks result from gambling. People find that tourists are a cash cow and attack them and stealing their belongings so as to have money to gamble because gambling is like a drug. Prostitution is also generated from gambling. It is such that where the tourism industry is developing, those countries do have a good proportion of its population with very low income and tourists are seen as stated above , cash cows. Hence prostitution is the result of poor economic development and an easy way of making money and tourists have the spending power to such activity but it is important to note that most tourists do not like gambling and sein g people prostituting themselves give them a sense of unsafe surroundings and disgust. This has an adverse impact on word of mouth spreading. An example of the negative impacts of gambling is the state of Nevada in the United States where it depends much on gambling. The statistics for this state are astonishing. This state is the one which has the highest number of road accident, suicide and criminality rate (Vaknin, 2007). Gambling is related to criminality rate according to Vaknin(2007). When one talks about gambling, one may understand crimes, addiction, drug and accidents. Those impacts should be carefully monitored even if gambling brings much economic development for a country (Perdue et al 1995). Drug intake and thefts are also becoming â€Å"common† nowadays in Mauritius. Thousands of complaints are lodged at police stations concerning thefts and in this context, many tourists are attacked for their money or valuable belongings. Drug intake make more and more individual go on stealing to obtain their doses and such social factors should be tackled in order to prevent the end of tourism in Mauritius. 2.1.4 Political instability, civil wars, riots and demonstrations â€Å"Political instability is a situation where a government has been toppled, or is controlled by factions following a coup, or where basic functional pre-requisites for social-order control and maintenance are unstable and periodically disrupted. (Cook, 1990). Wilson(1996), on the other hand, defines a stable country as ‘if the regime is durable, violence and turmoil are limited, and the leaders stay in office for several years. The link between political violence and instability in Hall et al.(1996) definition of political instability as ‘‘a situation in which conditions and mechanisms of governance and rule are challenged as to their political legitimacy by elements operating from outside of the normal operations of the political system. When challenge occurs from within a political system and the system is able to adapt and change to meet demands on it, it can be said to be stable† Challenging in order to govern a country or even those who do not follow the actual political system is often solved by violence; political violence. Thus political instability and political violence are two words that can be used as synonyms. Lancaster(1971) states that tourists enjoy many different advantages that a destination offers, rather than sticking to only one advantage. Tourists can and will shift easily to another destination unless the attractions to that country are unique in the world. In other words, a tourist will go to a destination for its sea, sun and sand like it is the case for Mauritius and may shift destination if he wants unless there is only those 3s in Mauritius but it is not the case because Maldives, Seychelles offer nearly the same tourism product. Richter and Waugh(1986) state that ‘tourism is frequently an early casualty of internecine warfare, revolution, or even prolonged labour disputes. Even if the tourist areas are secure () tourism may decline precipitously when political conditions appear unsettled. Tourists simply choose alternative destinations. Taking the above example, even if Mauritius offered the unique sea, sun and sand in the world, tourism in Mauritius will be hurt if there is political violence. This shows to what extent political instability may cause the end of the tourism industry in Mauritius such as the case of Egypt which recently through severe political violence resulting in its tourism industry falling drastically. Richter and Waugh(1989) argued that tourism is for sure a political phenomenon: it will decrease sharply when political circumstance turns unstable. In 1994 Hall published his book Tourism and Political Science where he asserts that stable politics is a must for attracting international tourists, even the decisive factor for the successful development of tourism (Hall, 1994). In case of political violence, tourism being a sensitive product and therefore tourists arrivals will continue to go down for a long period of time. Tourists will only come back to this particular country only when he has eradicated this idea of violence from his mind, but it might take many years. â€Å"Countries with a negative image due to past events of violence often attempt to improve their image with aggressive advertising campaigns trying to portray themselves as entirely safe destinations† (SÃÆ' ¶nmez et al.1999). Scott(1988) showed the massive work done by tourism authorities together with travel agents and tour operators to redress the country of Fiji where there was two military â€Å"coups† on tourism. Teye(1986) and Richter and Waugh (1986) state that the effects of political violence or instability on tourism is likely to have a spill over effects on surrounding countries but Hall and OSullivan(1996) found that both the Solomon Islands and North Queens land, found near Fuji, said that they were â€Å"safe† regional alternatives compared to the military â€Å"coup† in Fiji. (See appendix A) Many articles have examined the impact of war on tourism. Most of them have shown that war has a negative impact in the short run (Radnic, 1999, Mihalic, 1996). In the long run, wars may have a positive impact in the sense that tourists are attracted to a destination to see the scenes of war (Weaver, 2000). To measure the impact of war, one may use the number of overnight stays, beds or tourists, but experts have not attempted to measure the economic impact resulting from a fall in tourism. Wars can increase the perception of a tourist in the risk that he undergoes while choosing a destination. Hostilities, demonstrations and acts of violence, for example between the Palestinians and Israelis, have often discouraged tourists from visiting Israel for the past 40 years. Besides, Israel is located in the centre of the Middle East, tourists tend to avoid visiting this country during every period of crisis in the surroundings. Riots are also one of those factors which can put an end to the tourism Industry. The case of Tunisia may be taken for example. While most Tunisians were celebrating the victory president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the countrys tourism industry witnessed a massive negative impact from the riots and tourists had to be evacuated of the country. â€Å"While President Ben Ali was a totalitarian leader, tourists from Europe and the Arab world kept streaming to the country at an ever-increasing rate. Only few of the arrivals even know that Tunisia was a dictatorship even if they came year after year† (www.getafespain.com). With the state of emergency declared in Tunisia, and with the unclear political situation after the fall of President Ben Ali, government of Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Norway have issued messages not to travel to Tunisia and this of course included tourist trips (Bernama-Afrolnews, 2011). This shows to what extent riots can have such an influence on the tourism industry. In Mauritius, such riots were witnessed in 1999 with the death of the famous singer Kaya. The capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, was forced to close down for a few days and demonstrators had blocked major roads burned about 200 vehicles and attacked police stations. It degenerated to nearly become a racial dispute where young Creole men were fighting against Hindu people. Such an tragedy caused the economy of Mauritius to operate on a go slow basis. Such news were broadcasted internationally for much more than the duration of the riots. Businessmen became worried that their business might go bankrupt because that instability could hit foreign investors (guardian.co.uk) 2.1.5 Natural Disasters A natural disaster is â€Å"a natural event with catastrophic consequences for living things in the vicinity.† (www.encyclopedian.com). Natural forces will always be with us and tourism is a major sector of the world economy. The first mentioned is and will always be a challenge for the tourism industry. Therefore, these two elements will continue to play significant roles into the future. In the past these two elements have intersected and it is likely that they will again in the future. (Beattie, 1992). A natural disaster can affect tourism in the sense that it destroys the natural environment and the things which the industry relies on. There exists a close link between tourism and natural disasters as if there is a natural disaster, the industry may be destroyed. Tourism is an important part of many countries economy and in less economically developed countries such as those affected by the tsunami, on boxing day of year 2004, whereby the affected countries relied on the tourism industrys services for living. Usually a natural calamity makes the rate of tourists arrival fall, which results in a lack of tourist spending. Businesses suffer due to lack of money generated by tourism, local small businesses close, larger businesses are in agony, leading to closure of parts of the business and jobs are lost. There are cases where natural disasters can increase tourism arrivals. In a strange manner, places that have been affected by natural disaster can become tourist attractions. Those places often become places of educational and historical interest and many people visit those areas or countries. An example of this is the village of Boscastle in United Kingdom. The village faced the worst ever flood in its history on 16th August 2004. A recorded 200.4mm of rain fell in just twenty four hours causing a 3m torrent to flow through the village (www.docstoc.com/docs; article factors affecting tourism; natural calamities). Over 100 residents were rescued by air. 116 cars were swept through the village in the harbour that particular day. It caused millions of pounds of damage to property and businesses. Following this, the small village was much on the media. After 2004, there were loads visitors which came from many places to visit the village, in such a way that accommodation became a problem because of massive number of people wanting to be accommodated.( Robyn et al.2010) The case of typhoons in the Philippines had more negative impacts on the concerned country. The typhoons named â€Å"Ondoy† and â€Å"Pepeng† have ravaged dramatically parts of the Philippines last year and have had a negative impact on tourism, as compared to the small village in the United Kingdom. Mauritius is a tropical island is frequently visited by cyclones but most of the times those create little destruction to Mauritius. some tourists perceive those cyclones as an experience, but others perceive them as a natural factor preventing them from enjoying their stay. This may lead in guests cancelling their trips to Mauritius during the cyclonic seasons (November to May) 2.1.6 Climate Change, Global Warming â€Å"Climate change represents a new challenge for tourism. It is not, however, the case that tourisms initial position will undergo a sudden, radical change. Instead, climate change has to be viewed as a catalyst that will reinforce and accelerate the pace of structural change in the tourist industry and more clearly highlight the risks and opportunities inherent in tourist developments†. (Elsasser,2002) â€Å"Glaciers are melting, islands are drowning, wildlife is vanishing. Because of global warming, our most cherished vacation spots may soon cease to exist. And travellers are part of the problem† (Tidwell, 2001) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared that the ‘warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The global average temperature has increased approximately by 0.76 °C between 1850-1899 and 2001-2005. The IPCC further said that there was a more that 90% probability that the warming would increase in the coming years. â€Å"Given the growing scientific data, my fear is were all going to wake up soon and find the places we love totally gone even in our lifetime, Mallet(2001). He further added that tourism and travel would mostly suffer with the rise of the sea level by 2100 because it has been predicted that the water level would rise by 3 feet by this time; eradicating resort hotels, beaches, ports and coastal property. The IPCC states that the American coastline welcomes around 180 million recreational visitors annually. The rise in sea level would be dramatic to those regions. Wall(2001) explains that â€Å"Clearly, global warming is an issue the tourism industry must and I think will pay more and more attention to in the near future†. Wall added that tourism is at risk and now all that the industry of tourism and travel can do is to prepare for and adapt to climate-related impacts which are already occurring. Taking the case of Mauritius, such rise in sea level will be drastic for re sorts, because those hotels are situated on the coast lines of Mauritius at maximum 3 metres above sea level. A rise in sea level by 3 feet will cause many of those resorts to mostly disappear and this could cause the end of tourism in Mauritius. Air travel and transport alone, for example, add more than 500 million tons of CO2 to the Earths atmosphere each year, according to the IPCC. And as people travel more, courtesy of ever-rising Western affluence, the problem only gets worse. By 2050, a full 15 percent of the worlds CO2 could come from travel and tourism, according to Green Globe 21. Tha quthor John Berger even said that â€Å"We are loving the planet to death†. Over the years passing , many island nations have fought hard to be heard in the international conferences about the effects of global warming on them. Some islands have already been lost in the Pacific, and the forecast is that many more will go in the coming decades, especially if nothing is done to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions globally. Now the case of the Caribbean islands should be closely studied. The Caribbean islands, except Cuba and Haiti, are highly dependent on tourism, like Mauritius. Coastal development in the Caribbean for tourism is constantly increasing at a high rate despite a recent decline in tourism. In the Caribbean, tourism accounts for 15% of the gross domestic product, with higher rates in many of its islands, and over 2.4 million jobs (about 16% of the local population). It has also pushed populations towards the coasts because of the various developments. For example, in the Dominican Republic, over 50% of the population lives near coasts where a 3 feet rise in sea level would make them being submerged. Recently, the Dominican government has received a report detailing that, under their estimates, sea-level will rise by 6 meters by 2050, eliminating the tourism industry and sending the country into complete chaos. The same would happen around the Caribbean. The fast development that the region is seeing may be completely devastated by global warming, and the same case goes for much of the rest of the developing world. The outcome would be to put billions of people in situations of poverty, hunger, and violence. In terms of economic weaknesses, it was noted that small islands tend to have small economies, small land area and unfortunately do have a limitation of resources, meaning their economy relies on few primary exports like sugar and of course tourism. Furthermore, the small islands have low resistance to â€Å"external shocks† such as natural disasters, political instability, terrorism, etc..(Harrison 2003, Hotiet al.2005). Briguglioer et al.(1996) identified environmental weaknesses which included the threat of sea level rise following global warming, and the location of small islands in relation to phenomena, such as cyclones, hurricanes and seismic activity which can lead to tsunamis and eradicate the tourism industry from a small island in a few minutes. Chapter 3 Saving the Tourism Industry 3.0 Over reliance over the tourism industry â€Å"Diversifi Tourism Industry in the Mauritius Tourism Industry in the Mauritius Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Introduction Tourism was the third pillar of the Mauritian economy after the E.P.Z.(export processing zone) manufacturing sector and Agriculture. It has contributed significantly to economic growth and has been a key factor in the overall development of Mauritius since the years 1995 onwards. In the past two decades tourist arrivals increased at an average annual rate of 9 % with a corresponding increase of about 21% in tourism receipts. Tourist arrivals have been expanding consequently, thus rising from 103,000 in 1977 to 656,450 in 2000, a more than 600% increase. About 67% of the tourist arrivals are of European origin, with France supplying nearly half. The nearby Reunion French Territory is the most important short haul source market accounting for about 13% of total tourist arrivals. Asian residents provided 6% of tourist arrivals, almost half of which originated from the Indian Sub-Continent. The World Travel and Tourism council (WTTC) stated that travel and tourism was estimated at 9.3 % in 2010 and is expected to rise up to 9.7% by 2020. This increase will help to create an additional 66 million jobs by 2020, in which 50 million jobs should be created in Asia and hence help to decrease world poverty. The longer-term prospects for Travel Tourism remain positive, boosted by rising prosperity in Asia. The WTTC remains confident that the Travel and Tourism industry will remain a dynamic force for wealth and job creation all over the world. The tourism industry does not cease to grow despite the problems that it has encountered in the past years, such as the credit crunch, terrorism, continuous increasing petrol prices and the famous avian flu (bird flu). The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) states that tourism recovered strongly in 2010 according to the Advance Release of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Tourist arrivals were up by almost 7% to 935 million, following the 4% decline in 2009 the year hardest hit by the global economic crisis (http://www.unwto.org) Tourism has become one of the most important pillar and the most revenue generating activity in many small island developing states. It has become the source of job creation and revenue for small islands inhabitants. A change in the tourism demand for an island may have a major impact on the Gross Domestic Product (total value of goods and services produced in a country during a certain period of time, usually one year), the budget and the Balance of Payments. Most small islands have adopted tourism due to a lack of development opportunities. The end of the twentieth century marked the beginning of the tourism as the main pillar of small islands economies (Bonte 2006), as it is the case for Mauritius. In large part, islands and cruises have become the most wanted vacation for tourists (Harrison, 2004). Tourism is a mean to reach economic development and economic growth, but is also a way to destroy its resources (Bonte, 2006). The Barcelona field study (2006) states that it is not just necessary to satisfy tourism demands, but also to cater for its durable development. Indeed, tourism does not have only positive impacts, but does have adverse effects on the environment and on the host community. The development of high volume tourism facilities without adequate consideration to impacts, has created many â€Å"tourism disasters† (Smith and Edington 1992). Aooay (2003) states that tourism is not only dreaming landscapes on postcards, the social reality is different: movement of population and disappearance of local savoir faire, begging, prostitution, ‘folkorisation of cultures and rituals. Tourism has suffered from serious health crises including the foot and mouth disease in 2001in United Kingdom, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and the bird flu that started to expand in June 2002 (www.who.int.csr/sars/en). Tourism has also been impacted by several natural disasters including earthquakes, flooding, wild fires, hurricanes and the most devastating Tsunami in December 2004 which caused around 218000 deaths and to this day, other natural calamities, was one still having a significant impact upon the tourist movement and the tourism industry worldwide. It is a fact, not only in words but also visually that the sugar cane industry is rapidly being replaced by tourism activities. However since Mauritius is entirely banking on the tourism industry for economic revenue, the question is; what could happen to Mauritius if the tourism sector saw a rapid decline or even an imminent death. One need to bear in mind that Mauritius is not the only country around the world offering this type of product and the fact that Mauritius is situated very far from the targeted market combined with an increase in air fare or/and tourism threats or even natural calamities, what can be done so that the future generation in relation to tourism development does not become black. This present dissertation tries to address the various issues that could cause the death of tourism if not remedied 1.1 Problem Statement Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean. The islands most important revenue in the 1980s was sugar cane being exported to European Countries. Nowadays it relies mostly on the tourism sector and tourism is being considered as its main pillar. The tourism industry is in fact a very young one, having emerged only in the last decade in many countries of the world. History has shown that tourism and its development have impacted in some ways, on everything and everyone that is has touched. Ideally, these impacts should be positive in terms of benefits to destinations and their residents but on the other side of the coin, this is not always the case. According to Leonard A. Jackson (2006), local peoples rebellion, environmental damages, cultural intimacy are good examples of negative impacts of tourism. Sugar cane fields are now being replaced by new projects such as the Integrated Resort scheme of Tamarina and Bagatelle at Pailles, catering for the tourism sector. This present work is being done in order to analyse the threats to tourism, its weaknesses and eventually try to evaluate whether the tourism industry will face an end like the Sri Lanka whose Balance of Payment was in deficit after the tourism injections in the economy fell after the war started between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) 1.2 Aim The aim of this present study is to assess whether the tourism industry in Mauritius could face a possible end. 1.3 Objectives In line with the problem statement and the aim of this work, the following objectives were formulated: Identify the importance of the tourism sector in Mauritius and the latters dependency on it. To Identify the threats to the tourism industry and its impacts there on. To identify the threats that are relevant to Mauritius and its tourism industry. To assess whether Mauritius is at risk of those threats. To identify possible ways of mitigating those impacts. 1.4 Research structure The study was classified into different chapters with the following purposes: Chapter 1- Introduction To introduce the subject, to define the problem, aims and objectives of the research and outline the different chapters. Chapter 2- Literature Review To give a brief account of previous research made in the field of threats to the tourism sector concentrating on small island developing states. Chapter 3- Saving the tourism industry To analyse the strengths of small islands and the factors that may save the tourism industry. Chapter 4- Methodology To outline the main steps taken to carry out this present research, providing details on the type of study used, its advantages and disadvantages, the questions set for interviewing targeted respondents and the limitations to the study. Chapter 5- Data analysis and findings To analyse and discuss the results obtained from respondents Chapter 6- Conclusion and recommendations To summarise the most important findings and to bring an end to the study and from the previous chapters to suggest any possible actions that could be considered in the near future. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.0 A global perspective of the tourism industry. â€Å"Shorter working hours, greater individual prosperity, faster and less expensive travel, and the impact of advanced technology has all helped to make the leisure and tourism industry the fastest growing industry in the world† (Edgell, Sr., 1990). Tourism has become a flourishing industry in the twentieth century, where destinations mostly rely on their natural and some manmade resources to make up their tourism industry. It is nowadays a principal element for economic development and growth. According to Lim (1997) and Crouch (1996), the economic impact of tourism has rendered the tourism industry to be considered as one of the most highly significant and integral parts of every national economy. Whilst the economic impact and the contribution of the tourism industry to a country is widely acknowledged, it is also an industry which creates thousands of jobs and a source of foreign exchange earnings. Let alone the positive benefits, it is also an industry that brings along many negative impacts on host communities. 2.1 Threats to the tourism industry 2.1.1 Competition Recently, many countries have constantly been competing for tourism. â€Å"One possible first approach to the definition of competition is to consider competition a process of resources distribution† (Loch et al. 2001). In a market, the people, firms, organisations, industries will tend to use only the very little resources to stay alive in a co operation market, but will make utilisation of full resources when they are in an extreme competitive market. Competition is also highly dependent on the availability of resources and the number of individuals, firms and organisations who wish to exploit those resources, but as the basic economic problem states, wants are unlimited but resources are scarce, thus individual tend to exploit the resources more that they should. This will result in the population being suffering as stated by Bahn and Flenley(1992) â€Å"the rise of competition can lead to such a catastrophic imbalance that the final consequence might be the extinction of the population† and the tourism industry as a whole. Competition should not only be seen as a way of boosting a market but if the competition is not well managed or even if policies with regards to competition are not clear, there may be a proliferation of tourism activities which could be to the detriment of the host community. For example the growth of hotels on the coast lines may prove to be beneficial to a countrys economy in the short term and long term if managed properly. However, if there are no proper guidelines on competition, it can become a nightmare for countries as host communities could feel alienated. 2.1.2 Increasing petrol prices The first months of 2008 witnessed the considerable increase in oil prices where it reached a record price of $100 per barrel. Prices were predicted to increase to 140$ in June 2008 (BBC, 2008). This continuous increase in the year 2008 was due to the increase demand for travelling (according to the law of demand, as demand increases, price increases) because of globalisation and increase in travelling resulting from an increase in the number of people, firms and organisations wishing to exploit resources. Moreover, the increase in price of petrol has caused an increase in tickets for travelling. An increase in air fares have caused a fall in the tourist arrival. Thus one can say that the increasing petrol prices may be one of the threats to the tourism industry because it is linked with the increase in petrol prices and an increase in air fares. 2.1.3 Criminality rate, gambling and social factors Ntuli(1998) described crime as â€Å" a universal social phenomenon in that it threatens the safety and security of the people, property, their sense of well being, as well as social order†. The case of Mrs. Harte being killed in her hotel room at the Legends Hotel, for a couple of dollars, when being on honey moon, is one which may be said to be unforgiveable. Mauritius is a famous worldwide known destination for weddings and honey moons. This crime is detrimental for its tourism industry. This news was broadcasted a few hours only after the crime had been committed, on several channels under the â€Å"Breaking News† titles and had it â€Å"Murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavy (Harte) was strangled over a purse containing a small amount of cash.†(www.news.sky.com). This was broadcasted around the world and Mauritians were soon pointed out in lots of countries. The words of the husband inspire more sadness saying â€Å"She was my life†. The media was very quick at propagating the bad news and bad press and such publicity is not what a tourism destination wants. This act is in fact one of the greatest threat to the Mauritians tourism industry. Touri sts who were forecasting to getting married in Mauritius have surely cancelled their reservations as soon information about this tragedy spread around the whole world and this is witnessed in Ntuli (2000) who found that nowadays, crimes committed against tourist is becoming more and more detrimental to the tourism industry of a destination. As mentioned earlier, and supported by Giddens (1990) who stated that crimes committed to travellers has an impact on many categories of people, because a negative perception of tourists at a destination is often reported in the media or even tourist themselves to friends and families and this causes a negative word of mouth being spread as it is actually the case for the death of Mrs Harte. The host country will thus be badly marketed and tourist arrivals will decline as supported by Ntuli (2000). On the other hand, in a few countries like Bahamas, the heads of states think that even if the criminality rate is a worry to many Bahamians, it is not a threat to tourism, according to an official at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau (www.jonesbahamas.com). Dr Hardt, from the US embassy stated that there is now more than 200 police officers are now available to prevent crimes on tourists and that the new priorities have been stretched out concerning those crimes. From the above, one can say that crimes may not be an imminent threat to the tourism industry, provided that there is enough security officers and aims and objectives set. Gambling is often viewed as a booster for the economy of a country because usually the positive impacts of gabling outweighs the negative ones(Stokowski, 1996). Several studies such as Perdue, et al.(1995), Roehl(1994) suggest that gambling is profitable to a country because it generates a high profitability and contributes in job creation and a revenue for the government in terms of taxes. On the other hand, Tosun(2002) found that gambling results in crimes and social disruption and usually creates very bad effects for the country as a whole. Studies showing the negative aspect of gambling are various, such as Caneday et al.(1991) and Stokowski(1996). Thus the negative results from gambling should not be forgotten. Prostitution and tourists attacks result from gambling. People find that tourists are a cash cow and attack them and stealing their belongings so as to have money to gamble because gambling is like a drug. Prostitution is also generated from gambling. It is such that where the tourism industry is developing, those countries do have a good proportion of its population with very low income and tourists are seen as stated above , cash cows. Hence prostitution is the result of poor economic development and an easy way of making money and tourists have the spending power to such activity but it is important to note that most tourists do not like gambling and sein g people prostituting themselves give them a sense of unsafe surroundings and disgust. This has an adverse impact on word of mouth spreading. An example of the negative impacts of gambling is the state of Nevada in the United States where it depends much on gambling. The statistics for this state are astonishing. This state is the one which has the highest number of road accident, suicide and criminality rate (Vaknin, 2007). Gambling is related to criminality rate according to Vaknin(2007). When one talks about gambling, one may understand crimes, addiction, drug and accidents. Those impacts should be carefully monitored even if gambling brings much economic development for a country (Perdue et al 1995). Drug intake and thefts are also becoming â€Å"common† nowadays in Mauritius. Thousands of complaints are lodged at police stations concerning thefts and in this context, many tourists are attacked for their money or valuable belongings. Drug intake make more and more individual go on stealing to obtain their doses and such social factors should be tackled in order to prevent the end of tourism in Mauritius. 2.1.4 Political instability, civil wars, riots and demonstrations â€Å"Political instability is a situation where a government has been toppled, or is controlled by factions following a coup, or where basic functional pre-requisites for social-order control and maintenance are unstable and periodically disrupted. (Cook, 1990). Wilson(1996), on the other hand, defines a stable country as ‘if the regime is durable, violence and turmoil are limited, and the leaders stay in office for several years. The link between political violence and instability in Hall et al.(1996) definition of political instability as ‘‘a situation in which conditions and mechanisms of governance and rule are challenged as to their political legitimacy by elements operating from outside of the normal operations of the political system. When challenge occurs from within a political system and the system is able to adapt and change to meet demands on it, it can be said to be stable† Challenging in order to govern a country or even those who do not follow the actual political system is often solved by violence; political violence. Thus political instability and political violence are two words that can be used as synonyms. Lancaster(1971) states that tourists enjoy many different advantages that a destination offers, rather than sticking to only one advantage. Tourists can and will shift easily to another destination unless the attractions to that country are unique in the world. In other words, a tourist will go to a destination for its sea, sun and sand like it is the case for Mauritius and may shift destination if he wants unless there is only those 3s in Mauritius but it is not the case because Maldives, Seychelles offer nearly the same tourism product. Richter and Waugh(1986) state that ‘tourism is frequently an early casualty of internecine warfare, revolution, or even prolonged labour disputes. Even if the tourist areas are secure () tourism may decline precipitously when political conditions appear unsettled. Tourists simply choose alternative destinations. Taking the above example, even if Mauritius offered the unique sea, sun and sand in the world, tourism in Mauritius will be hurt if there is political violence. This shows to what extent political instability may cause the end of the tourism industry in Mauritius such as the case of Egypt which recently through severe political violence resulting in its tourism industry falling drastically. Richter and Waugh(1989) argued that tourism is for sure a political phenomenon: it will decrease sharply when political circumstance turns unstable. In 1994 Hall published his book Tourism and Political Science where he asserts that stable politics is a must for attracting international tourists, even the decisive factor for the successful development of tourism (Hall, 1994). In case of political violence, tourism being a sensitive product and therefore tourists arrivals will continue to go down for a long period of time. Tourists will only come back to this particular country only when he has eradicated this idea of violence from his mind, but it might take many years. â€Å"Countries with a negative image due to past events of violence often attempt to improve their image with aggressive advertising campaigns trying to portray themselves as entirely safe destinations† (SÃÆ' ¶nmez et al.1999). Scott(1988) showed the massive work done by tourism authorities together with travel agents and tour operators to redress the country of Fiji where there was two military â€Å"coups† on tourism. Teye(1986) and Richter and Waugh (1986) state that the effects of political violence or instability on tourism is likely to have a spill over effects on surrounding countries but Hall and OSullivan(1996) found that both the Solomon Islands and North Queens land, found near Fuji, said that they were â€Å"safe† regional alternatives compared to the military â€Å"coup† in Fiji. (See appendix A) Many articles have examined the impact of war on tourism. Most of them have shown that war has a negative impact in the short run (Radnic, 1999, Mihalic, 1996). In the long run, wars may have a positive impact in the sense that tourists are attracted to a destination to see the scenes of war (Weaver, 2000). To measure the impact of war, one may use the number of overnight stays, beds or tourists, but experts have not attempted to measure the economic impact resulting from a fall in tourism. Wars can increase the perception of a tourist in the risk that he undergoes while choosing a destination. Hostilities, demonstrations and acts of violence, for example between the Palestinians and Israelis, have often discouraged tourists from visiting Israel for the past 40 years. Besides, Israel is located in the centre of the Middle East, tourists tend to avoid visiting this country during every period of crisis in the surroundings. Riots are also one of those factors which can put an end to the tourism Industry. The case of Tunisia may be taken for example. While most Tunisians were celebrating the victory president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the countrys tourism industry witnessed a massive negative impact from the riots and tourists had to be evacuated of the country. â€Å"While President Ben Ali was a totalitarian leader, tourists from Europe and the Arab world kept streaming to the country at an ever-increasing rate. Only few of the arrivals even know that Tunisia was a dictatorship even if they came year after year† (www.getafespain.com). With the state of emergency declared in Tunisia, and with the unclear political situation after the fall of President Ben Ali, government of Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Norway have issued messages not to travel to Tunisia and this of course included tourist trips (Bernama-Afrolnews, 2011). This shows to what extent riots can have such an influence on the tourism industry. In Mauritius, such riots were witnessed in 1999 with the death of the famous singer Kaya. The capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, was forced to close down for a few days and demonstrators had blocked major roads burned about 200 vehicles and attacked police stations. It degenerated to nearly become a racial dispute where young Creole men were fighting against Hindu people. Such an tragedy caused the economy of Mauritius to operate on a go slow basis. Such news were broadcasted internationally for much more than the duration of the riots. Businessmen became worried that their business might go bankrupt because that instability could hit foreign investors (guardian.co.uk) 2.1.5 Natural Disasters A natural disaster is â€Å"a natural event with catastrophic consequences for living things in the vicinity.† (www.encyclopedian.com). Natural forces will always be with us and tourism is a major sector of the world economy. The first mentioned is and will always be a challenge for the tourism industry. Therefore, these two elements will continue to play significant roles into the future. In the past these two elements have intersected and it is likely that they will again in the future. (Beattie, 1992). A natural disaster can affect tourism in the sense that it destroys the natural environment and the things which the industry relies on. There exists a close link between tourism and natural disasters as if there is a natural disaster, the industry may be destroyed. Tourism is an important part of many countries economy and in less economically developed countries such as those affected by the tsunami, on boxing day of year 2004, whereby the affected countries relied on the tourism industrys services for living. Usually a natural calamity makes the rate of tourists arrival fall, which results in a lack of tourist spending. Businesses suffer due to lack of money generated by tourism, local small businesses close, larger businesses are in agony, leading to closure of parts of the business and jobs are lost. There are cases where natural disasters can increase tourism arrivals. In a strange manner, places that have been affected by natural disaster can become tourist attractions. Those places often become places of educational and historical interest and many people visit those areas or countries. An example of this is the village of Boscastle in United Kingdom. The village faced the worst ever flood in its history on 16th August 2004. A recorded 200.4mm of rain fell in just twenty four hours causing a 3m torrent to flow through the village (www.docstoc.com/docs; article factors affecting tourism; natural calamities). Over 100 residents were rescued by air. 116 cars were swept through the village in the harbour that particular day. It caused millions of pounds of damage to property and businesses. Following this, the small village was much on the media. After 2004, there were loads visitors which came from many places to visit the village, in such a way that accommodation became a problem because of massive number of people wanting to be accommodated.( Robyn et al.2010) The case of typhoons in the Philippines had more negative impacts on the concerned country. The typhoons named â€Å"Ondoy† and â€Å"Pepeng† have ravaged dramatically parts of the Philippines last year and have had a negative impact on tourism, as compared to the small village in the United Kingdom. Mauritius is a tropical island is frequently visited by cyclones but most of the times those create little destruction to Mauritius. some tourists perceive those cyclones as an experience, but others perceive them as a natural factor preventing them from enjoying their stay. This may lead in guests cancelling their trips to Mauritius during the cyclonic seasons (November to May) 2.1.6 Climate Change, Global Warming â€Å"Climate change represents a new challenge for tourism. It is not, however, the case that tourisms initial position will undergo a sudden, radical change. Instead, climate change has to be viewed as a catalyst that will reinforce and accelerate the pace of structural change in the tourist industry and more clearly highlight the risks and opportunities inherent in tourist developments†. (Elsasser,2002) â€Å"Glaciers are melting, islands are drowning, wildlife is vanishing. Because of global warming, our most cherished vacation spots may soon cease to exist. And travellers are part of the problem† (Tidwell, 2001) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared that the ‘warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The global average temperature has increased approximately by 0.76 °C between 1850-1899 and 2001-2005. The IPCC further said that there was a more that 90% probability that the warming would increase in the coming years. â€Å"Given the growing scientific data, my fear is were all going to wake up soon and find the places we love totally gone even in our lifetime, Mallet(2001). He further added that tourism and travel would mostly suffer with the rise of the sea level by 2100 because it has been predicted that the water level would rise by 3 feet by this time; eradicating resort hotels, beaches, ports and coastal property. The IPCC states that the American coastline welcomes around 180 million recreational visitors annually. The rise in sea level would be dramatic to those regions. Wall(2001) explains that â€Å"Clearly, global warming is an issue the tourism industry must and I think will pay more and more attention to in the near future†. Wall added that tourism is at risk and now all that the industry of tourism and travel can do is to prepare for and adapt to climate-related impacts which are already occurring. Taking the case of Mauritius, such rise in sea level will be drastic for re sorts, because those hotels are situated on the coast lines of Mauritius at maximum 3 metres above sea level. A rise in sea level by 3 feet will cause many of those resorts to mostly disappear and this could cause the end of tourism in Mauritius. Air travel and transport alone, for example, add more than 500 million tons of CO2 to the Earths atmosphere each year, according to the IPCC. And as people travel more, courtesy of ever-rising Western affluence, the problem only gets worse. By 2050, a full 15 percent of the worlds CO2 could come from travel and tourism, according to Green Globe 21. Tha quthor John Berger even said that â€Å"We are loving the planet to death†. Over the years passing , many island nations have fought hard to be heard in the international conferences about the effects of global warming on them. Some islands have already been lost in the Pacific, and the forecast is that many more will go in the coming decades, especially if nothing is done to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions globally. Now the case of the Caribbean islands should be closely studied. The Caribbean islands, except Cuba and Haiti, are highly dependent on tourism, like Mauritius. Coastal development in the Caribbean for tourism is constantly increasing at a high rate despite a recent decline in tourism. In the Caribbean, tourism accounts for 15% of the gross domestic product, with higher rates in many of its islands, and over 2.4 million jobs (about 16% of the local population). It has also pushed populations towards the coasts because of the various developments. For example, in the Dominican Republic, over 50% of the population lives near coasts where a 3 feet rise in sea level would make them being submerged. Recently, the Dominican government has received a report detailing that, under their estimates, sea-level will rise by 6 meters by 2050, eliminating the tourism industry and sending the country into complete chaos. The same would happen around the Caribbean. The fast development that the region is seeing may be completely devastated by global warming, and the same case goes for much of the rest of the developing world. The outcome would be to put billions of people in situations of poverty, hunger, and violence. In terms of economic weaknesses, it was noted that small islands tend to have small economies, small land area and unfortunately do have a limitation of resources, meaning their economy relies on few primary exports like sugar and of course tourism. Furthermore, the small islands have low resistance to â€Å"external shocks† such as natural disasters, political instability, terrorism, etc..(Harrison 2003, Hotiet al.2005). Briguglioer et al.(1996) identified environmental weaknesses which included the threat of sea level rise following global warming, and the location of small islands in relation to phenomena, such as cyclones, hurricanes and seismic activity which can lead to tsunamis and eradicate the tourism industry from a small island in a few minutes. Chapter 3 Saving the Tourism Industry 3.0 Over reliance over the tourism industry â€Å"Diversifi