E-business management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

E-business management - Essay Example It is a process of obtaining as well as assessing evidence of economic activities and actions to determine the variations in the results which are later communicated to the concerned parties (Raffa 2003, P. 2). A company audits may include financial, use of information and communication technology, compliance and operational audits (Raffa 2003, P. 2). The auditors use the available data and records, collect data prom the concerned parties and analysis it into a report that is disseminated to the internal and external customers. This paper will evaluate Marchi indo-pak cuisine and propose to conduct an audit of their operations in relation to e-business management. Introduction Mirchi indo-pak cuisine This is a family business located in Cardiff and provides traditional south Asian cuisine using locally available food products as well as conventional Indian methods to prepare delicious traditional foods (Mirchi 2008). They provide different menus which are custom made to suit individu al customer preferences, family parties and outside catering services. Their vision is to provide simple, traditional and high quality foods as well as homely services to their customers (Mirchi 2008) E-business management E-business is a business practice that allows use of internet and other modern communication equipments as the major platform of business communication and conducting business. Due to expansion in globalization, access and use of internet across the globe, most companies are shifting from the traditional mode of doing business into internet based business models. Mirchi indo-pak Cuisine is a Company that have established its presence online and conducting business online. The company aims at targeting customers who spend most of their time online and understand the convenience of dong business online. However there is need to evaluate the e-business processes to determine their effectiveness and recommend changes in order to efficiently tap this market segment. E- business operational audit is the proposed service to Mirchi indo-pak cuisine to evaluate and validate the organizational online process and the effectives of the process n relation to the information and communication structures (Brewster n.d., P 30). This process will assist in ensuring effective systems are in use, assist the company to understand consumers and potential customers needs and expectations, acts as an channel of communication with the customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders, the process will also help to boost customer trust in regard to products offered as well help to increase the shareholders trust on the company management and employees (Brewster n.d., P 19). The process will involve evaluating the current processes used in their e-business through a telephone interview with the IT manager by asking him or her interview questions that relate to the company. The research findings will be interpreted by relating the answers given and the tone in the manag er’s voice (Onwuegbuzie Leech and Collins 2010, P 699). Telephone interview and analysis of the data will be used to evaluate their current status in order to give recommendations for changes that will help boost their effectiveness. Part 1B – The Audit report For a company’s management to understand if their company is operating as expected and to improve their operational practices an organization can opt to edit their processes for the whole

Football hero Essay Example for Free

Football hero Essay The book I read was Football Champ by Time Green. The setting of the book is Atlanta, Georgia during the fall. The main places in the story are the Atlanta Falcons Stadium, Troy’s middle school and football field, and Troy’s house. The story is written in first person because Troy (the main character) is telling the story. There is figurative language in this story. On page 229 a simile is used that says â€Å"he’s big and slow like a turtle†. There is also an idiom on page 57 that says â€Å"the Duluth fans poured over the fence, swarming the end zone†. The main character of Football Champ is Troy. He is a middle school football player and a football genius. Troy is strong, brave, and good hearted. Another main character is Seth who is a NFL linebacker and dating Troy’s mom. Seth is kind, strong, and fights for what he believes in. Troy’s mom is another important character. She is caring and kind. She takes care of Seth and Troy. Troy’s best friends, Nathan and Tate, are middle school football players. They care about Troy and help him solve the problems caused by Peele, the main bad guy. Peele is a reporter trying to destroy Troy and Seth. The main problem in the story is Peel and Seth’s doctor working together to destroy Seth’s football career by lying about Seth using steroids. Peel also lies about Troy and convinces the NFL that Troy is stealing the other team’s playbooks. Peel is trying to do this because he blames Seth for ruining his football career. Troy and his friends solve the problem by going to Seth’s doctor and getting him to tell the truth about Seth on DVD. Troy and Seth prove that Troy did not steal the playbooks by going to one of the other NFL owners and showing him that Troy is a real football genius. Seth gets to continue in the NFL and Troy gets to work with the Atlanta Falcons. The moral of Football Champ is to never give up. I figured this out when Troy played his middle school football games. The other teams were always bigger and better, but Troy and his team never gave up. They ended up winning all of their games. They proved to everyone who doubted them that they were wrong. The book Football Champs was amazing in my opinion. It was hard for me to put this book down because it was fun to read. I would recommend this book to 5th and 6th graders because it was made for them. I chose this book because I love football and the author is Tim Green. He has a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons.

Discuss Lennies Motives In Killing Lennie. :: essays research papers

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a story that shows how weak people can be in the sense of loyalty. This loyalty, defined as putting strong will and strength into a relationship in all cases is being put into a light of making choices. This means you have to make the decision between Loyalty and "Friends", which also can be described as people that are together but basically are lonely for themselves and that decision-making is important. If you watch the whole novel as a representative book of American Culture, you strongly can see that basically every person is afraid of going in depth. How did Curly react on Lennie's act of killing his wife? In my opinion he acted very raging and upset. He made the decision right away to look for Lennie and kill him ("Curly wanta get him lynched", p. 94). I would take this as an example of not reacting in-depth and looking at all aspects of an issue. But what does this have to do with George's Motives to kill Lennie? Be honest: How many choices did George really have? For stating the situation: A person called Lennie is committing an unwanted crime on a loved person that has the affect of making the husband raging. Lennie hides, and the husband comes after him with a rifle with the will to kill him for this act. George finds it out and is automatically involved with this situation although he hasn't done a thing. And now he has to make a decision for someone who is not able to understand that he can't make any. The first possibility for George would have been, as it also happened in the book, to kill Lennie before he is being killed by Curly, the husband of Curley's wife. But there the question of moral comes up where you ask yourself it that really makes sense to kill somebody you love. In this case it definitely does. George thinks all the other situations through and sees that this is the only valid one. He has to think of himself too: He doesn't want to live a life of persecution, and his friends are also important to him. This seems to be a very weak argument, but watch the other possibilities. One of the other possibilities would have been not to care of it at all and just let Lennie be shot by Curly, who is all about threatening him in that minute.

Homosexuality in the Military during World War II

Military has a long history with the allegations of homosexuality. They both have always made strange bedfellows. The leadership of armed forces all over the world, usually traditionalists, has in general seen homosexuals as morally wrong, and a threat to solidity. At the start of a war the enormous task of mobilizing thousands of soldiers surpassed concerns about the sexual behavior of troops.But in the case of prolonged war those military men who are found in disgraceful conducts such as homosexuality become a problems for the senior military leadership and they become increasingly determined to rid the services of these types of military men. Paul Jackson’s book – One of the Boys: Homosexuality in the Military during World War II – has discussed this problem in very excellent literary style. In 1990, Allan Berube in his study — Coming out under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two –discussed experiences of gays and lesbians in the military of the United States during the World War II.(Berube 1990, 1-22) The reading of Berube’s book had a great excitement and compelled me to read Paul Jackson's book on the World War II experiences of surprising Canadian servicemen (and women). Jackson’s book — One of the Boys — is a deeply researched study of homosexuality in the Canadian military during the years of the World War II. The book contains the result of hours of pouring over court-martial transcripts, police reports, psychiatric assessments, and dozens of interviews.One of the Boys is one of the deeply research researched peaces of writings on the issue as the literature about any feature of gay and lesbian history from the pre-Stonewall period (or to use the Canadian equivalent, before Trudeau's Omnibus bill) requires widespread investigative literary work. No doubt it was not an easy task to discuss the coded disguising of homosexuality and Jackson has done a wonderful job while d eciphering the coded phrases that were used to disguise homosexuality.In the hypermasculine, heteronormative world of the Armed Forces, Jackson has exposed a rich tapestry of homosexual experiences, and thus has made a considerable contribution both to queer history and to the social history of the World War II. In One of the Boys, Jackson seems very careful in choosing words. He avoided using the term gay, which was rarely used in its modern sense during the World War II. He used those terms that were familiar at the time of World War II such as homosexual, queer, fairy or fruit.It seems that Jackson intentionally addressed the subject of homosexuality that he broadly defined to be â€Å"the ability to derive sexual pleasure from members of one's own sex† (Jackson 148). By this way in fact Jackson refused to narrowly limit homosexuality to those who self-identified as such, or to exclude those who engaged in homosexual sex for bodily pleasure, rather than emotional love. Jac kson has not included in the book the controversial debates over whether homosexuality is innate or learned behavior.For the reasons of this work, he casts a wide net to cover the very diverse personifications of homosexuality in the Canadian military during Second World War. To be sure, as Jackson points out, military psychiatrists often decided that a person was not a â€Å"homosexual,† despite overwhelming proof that the person had engaged in same-sex sexual activities, and often regardless of the claims of the man himself that he was homosexual (Jackson 145).While the analysis in One of the Boys of the queer experience of World War II is inspiring, there are a few areas in which Jackson’s work might have been stronger. Unlike Allan Berube's work, Jackson has a very small portion in his book about female homosexuality. However, he seems justified in this omission partly on methodological grounds, since the Canadian military did not target women for courts martial or psychiatric evaluation on this basis. Given that these are Jackson’s main primary sources, one can see how this could pose a major challenge.In terms of oral history, he asserts that lesbians could not be found to be interviewed because the Canadian Legion Magazine would not allow the word â€Å"sexuality† in his advertisements, and that as a gay man he found it difficult to find lesbians to interview (Jackson 22). However, it can be said that this is a rather unsatisfying basis for not including lesbians in the book. Certainly, it might have been better to simply argue that the experience of homosexual women in the World War II is likely to have been qualitatively different from that of men, and consequently out of the range of the book.Jackson included the occasional reference to the experiences of lesbians in the Wrens. It can be little disappointment for those hoping Jackson’s book will provide the comprehensive examination of lesbianism in World War II cal led for in Ruth Roach Pierson's â€Å"They're Still Women After All†. (Pierson 1986, 219) Although the works of Berube and Jackson are good analyses of the subject, but they differ on many occasion.As the Canadian experience of the World War II was clearly different from that of the United States, and Jackson clearly indicates why and how his methodology is different from that of Berube, it is likely that many readers of Jackson's book will be well known with that of Berube. In some respects, the differences and similarities between the two countries are well addressed. For instance, the Canadian regimental system, organized by region, is different against the US buddy system that in views of Berube provided cover for homosexual relationships, and certainly fostered them.On the other hand, Jackson also is of the view that contrary to the American experience found by Berube and John d’Emilio, discharges for homosexuality did not lead to postwar gay activism among Canadi an old boys. (d'Emilio 1983, 1-7) However, it would have been useful to test some of the other conclusions of the American experience. For example, to what amount did Canadian veterans who had homosexual experiences during the World War II stay in urban centers where queer networks survived after demobilization?How did the fight between psychiatrists and military police for authority over the issue of homosexuality play out and what were the larger impacts of this for the psychiatric profession? Berube seems arguing in his book that US psychiatrists went far towards setting up their professional credentials during the World War II; it would be attractive to know if the same held true for their Canadian counterparts and the degree to which identifying homosexuality was important for this.Jackson’s book reads almost as if it is two books merged together: one a policy analysis, the other a social history. The first three chapters of â€Å"One of the Boys† deal with how th e different sections of the Canadian military tried to regulate homosexuality. Chapter I looks at the quite confused efforts of the military to describe its policy on homosexuality. Chapter II looks at the court martial proceedings of those accused with homosexuality-related legal offences, while Chapter III discusses how military psychiatrists attempted to declare their authority over homosexuality as a medical issue.The latter two chapters are oriented around a systematic reading of their respective primary sources: court martial transcripts and psychiatric evaluations. Jackson methodically attracts the attentions of his readers and takes them through the various phases of the court martial and psychiatric assessment processes, providing detailed and personalized accounts of how these two sections of the military dealt with the issue of homosexuality, the first as a moral and legal issue, and the second is trying to make it a medical issue.Jackson’s arguments in his book ma ke it clear that there was a serious unwillingness on the part of authorities to discharge homosexuals from military service. Courts martial were used primarily to discourage homosexual activity, but rarely led to the discharge of noncommissioned servicemen. More commonly, the soldiers would be sentenced to serve time in a custody, after which they would be allowed to return to service. Officers were more likely to be discharged if guilty was established, but were conversely much less likely to be convicted.Jackson’s book suggests that the reason here matches the reason as to why psychiatrists were so unwilling, more so than the courts martial, to state that a man was homosexual. The medical model of homosexuality constructed a homosexual as an antisocial individual, a standpoint reflected in the moral standards of the court martial officers. Yet it was hard to settle this conception with the productive, healthy men who stood under examination; so, many were released, especia lly when they had fellow officers and servicemen keen to vow for their good character innocence.The first chapter of One of the Boys discusses in details this contrast between official military policy denouncing homosexuality on the one hand and the routine leniency towards homosexual behavior on the other. This attitude of military examines the various facets of the military's policy on homosexuality as crafted by the medical services, the National Film Board, the military police, and the RCAF. Generally the first chapter presents a rather random and inconsistent approach to homosexual behavior in the Canadian military: ruthless investigations on the one hand, routine denials on the other.The chapter highlights amusingly in Jackson's satirical â€Å"Routine Order† on homosexuality, in which he describes the de facto military policy on homosexuality, in the absence of an official one. Boiled down to essentials, the de facto policy was to ignore or reject homosexual behavior u nless the performer was otherwise a misfit or a behavioral problem. Any punishment should be light for men in combat units, and heavy for noncombatants, unless they were well liked.Again and again, Jackson discovers that the Canadian military attempted to ignore homosexuality unless individuals were otherwise problematic or were flaunting their sexuality. This silent policy followed from 1940s beginnings of sexuality: all military men were supposed to be male, masculine, and heterosexual, and in the absence of overwhelming proof to the contrary, would be treated as such. In the second half of One of the Boys, Jackson focuses on the social history of homosexuality in the military during the World War II.Chapters IV and V look at the experiences of queer servicemen in Canada and overseas, and chapter VI looks at the impact of homosexuality on esprit de corps, unity, and confidence. The chapters of the second half of the book rely a lot on oral histories and war diaries in addition to the sources used for the earlier chapters, and paint bright pictures of the wartime experience for queer servicemen. Certainly, these sections bring to mind Desmond Morton's excellent work on the experience of Canadian soldiers in the World War I.(Morton 1993, 7-15) In conclusion it can be said that an inspiring amount of research has gone into Jackson’s book, and it would be a remiss if one neglected to mention the visual component of One of the Boys. The book presents an impressive array of war art, including many works by gay war artists that demonstrate aspects of homosexuality and the homosocial bonds that formed during the war. Many of these pieces illustrate homoeroticism and same-sex emotional bonds in the armed forces more clearly than a chapter of text can.Combined with images from drag shows, stills from NFB films, and photos of young military men together, these pictures add a rich visual element to the text. Jackson should be praised also for his use of frank, op en language in unfolding cases of homosexuality during the World War II. Not only does this reflect the actual language used in the records he found, but it is appropriate to the sexually charged material he is dealing with. The book tells the story with frankness and humor. Works Cited Berube, Allan. , Coming out under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York: MacMillan, 1990).d'Emilio, John. , Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983). Jackson, Paul. , â€Å"One of the Boys: Homosexuality in the Military during World War II† McGill-Queen’s Univ. Press 2004. Morton, Desmond. , When Your Number's Up: The Canadian Soldier in the First World War (Toronto: Random House, 1993). Pierson, Ruth Roach. , â€Å"They're Still Women After All†: The Second World War and Canadian Womanhood (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1986), p. 219.

Importance of Education Essay

Generally, at a young age, children learn to develop and use their mental, moral and physical powers, which they acquire through various types of education. Education is commonly referred to as the process of learning and obtaining knowledge at school, in a form of formal education. However, the process of education does not only start when a child first attends school, education begins at home. A person does not only acquire knowledge from a teacher, they can learn and receive knowledge from a parent, family member and even a friend. In almost all societies, attending school and receiving an education is extremely vital and necessary if anyone wants to achieve their goal. On the other side of the coin, we have places in the world where not everyone has an opportunity to receive this formal type of education. The opportunities that are offered are greatly limited as they do not meet the academic requirements. Everyone who has a job needs to use their brain which is why the importance of education is so great. In some instances, children cannot attend school because parents need their children to help them with their work. Since it is not traditional in some places to receive a formal education, the one who receives an education is usually envied, praised and even admired by members of the community. They are the ones that go on to be businessmen and work in the city. Children sometimes look at other children with awe; just the same way as one child might envy another because he got a new pair of sneakers, and wishes that he could have one too. There is a sense of admiration but at the same time there is a sense of jealousy as well. Seeing your classmate doing better than yourself causes tension and jealousy as a result of the scarce opportunities available. Listening to your teacher is one of the most important things to do in school. In Australia, education is free. Children are very lucky to live in Australia and do not recognise the importance of education. How hard you study in your early life makes a huge difference. Depending on how much you  value education, you may be the next Steve Jobs or the next cleaner of Luna Park. In conclusion, there are many reasons why education is valuable to young children. One of the main reasons is to secure your income. Having a career in sport is rare and is dangerous. You can break your leg and be scarred for life. However, if you aim to be good in the business world academically, you can’t exactly have a â€Å"work-related accident.† If you’re a child, I suggest you work hard so that your brain is overflowing of knowledge.

Chapter 1 Systems Analysis and Design Thesis (Resort) Research Paper Example

Chapter 1 Systems Analysis and Design Thesis (Resort) Research Paper Example Chapter 1 Systems Analysis and Design Thesis (Resort) Paper Chapter 1 Systems Analysis and Design Thesis (Resort) Paper CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND THE REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE INTRODUCTION A resort is like a small community composed of buildings and facilities located in a scenic area that provides lodging, entertainment, and a relaxing environment for people on vacation. Basic accommodations offered by resorts nowadays are swimming pools, cottage and room rentals, and restaurants. The resort business is becoming popular nowadays due to the growing demand of people for a convenient one-stop-place of leisure and comfort. The resort is a business in which they offer enjoyable moments to visitors to make them feel that something worth noticing happens. Vacationers enjoy significant moments and the charm they feel also rewards the organization with genuine monetary gain in lieu of the staffs’ persistent efforts to make such places heavenly. Villa Concepcion Wet Wild Waves, Inc. is a growing resort business located in Masuso, Pandi, Bulacan. If people want to avoid the crowded areas especially during the hot summer season, this resort is definitely their choice. It has seven pools to choose from and a variety of affordable cottages and rooms available for the guests. They allow telephone reservations and accept walk-in guests. In today’s world, information technology is becoming a necessity. It helps in doing things easier, faster, and more convenient. It is beneficial to individuals and organizations such as business enterprises, companies, institutions, and the government. One big contribution of the information technology is the computer. A  computer  is a machine which can take instructions, and perform computations based on those instructions. Computers are fast becoming our way of life and one cannot imagine life without computers in today’s world. You go to a hotel for reservation, you buy a ticket for a cinema, you go to a library, or you go to a bank, you will find computers at all places. Almost all business entities use computer systems in dealing with their transactions and storage of their files. Computer has made the work easy with its speed, memory, reliability in computing, and ease to retrieve data. The study is made for the VCWWWI that deals with day-to-day operations transaction systems, room and cottages reservation, property management system, conference and banqueting system, and stock-control system. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE History of Resorts Roman Empire: Baths The origin of resorts can be traced back to the second century B. C. to the public baths of Rome. The first baths were small, modest and separated the genders. Eventually, the baths became larger, more elaborate and were opened to both men and women. These baths were large buildings built at the public’s expense. Some were even built by wealthy emperors who wanted to make a statement. Most baths were free but few had small entrance fees. Baths were much like resorts of today because of all the amenities offered at their location. After bathing there was always plenty to do. Most baths included gyms, libraries, snack bars, restaurants, shops, lounges, taverns, museums and theatres. The facilities were used for health and social purposes. Europe: Mass Follows Class The first noteworthy resort area was developed in Belgium in 1326 in a town now called Spa. An ironmaster, named Colin le Loup, was cured of a long-term illness when he bathed in the iron-rich waters near Liege. He opened a shelter there and the town surged in popularity. Spa means fountain. The popularity of spas and resorts in England is a result of King Charles II visiting trendy hot spots in the 1600s. Today, royalty and superstars still seem to set trends of where the best places to go are. Many English spas are unique because they have gambling and dancing. Spas also became popular because of the medical benefits that were attributed to them such as waters that were rich in certain minerals and could cure ailments. The Swiss resort industry was developed in the 1800s to aid the need of private resort facilities for more prosperous people. At the time, travel was not simple. People who traveled to resorts stayed for long periods of time – up to two months to get the best value for their travel expenses. This led to resort facilities being built to accommodate a guest better than your average inn. Hotel Baur au Lac, built in Zurich, was the first resort to utilize the value of a scenic view. At first, Switzerland resorts were seen as summer places, but soon skiing became popular as well as gambling. North America: Spas Like Europe, North American hotels were developed around spas in the late 1800s. The first resorts were built first in the east in Virginia, New York and West Virginia. Shortly after, seaside resorts became popular. It was not until later that beach resorts were built in the south and mountain-based resorts were developed out west. The first luxury resort was built in 1829 in Boston. It was called the Tremont House and featured bellboys, gaslights instead of candles and marble and private rooms with locks for each family. The first ‘big’ hotel was built by Gideon Putman in Saratoga Springs, New York centered   on the hot sulfur spa there. http://iml. jou. ufl. du/projects/Spring05/Osterer/history. html Water-based Resorts While mountain-based and golf and tennis-based resorts are geared toward people that are relatively athletic, water-based resorts target people with all abilities. One can relax on a beach for hours without lifting a finger. Another could swim or jet ski until they are exhausted. Water-based resorts serve different ability levels of people and all ages. Many resorts design their facility around the natural environment that surrounds them. This allows them to frame their recreational activities to the natural land. This enables them to create amenities unique to their property. Often resorts use water for a variety of recreational activities that cater to a wide range of people. These include: * Natural beaches that may be used for sunbathing, swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling, sandcastle building, jet skiing, kayaking, etc. * Trails and open spaces can be designed around lakes and wetlands. These areas can be used as fishing or camping sites. * Golf courses built on coast lines are growing in value and popularity. In the United States, many resorts highlight the views to promote their golf course. Marinas bring tourism to resorts as sailboats, motorized crafts and wind surfing stop to refuel or rest. When it comes to beach resorts, many variables come into play. A good beach should have a gentle uniform slope of about 7 percent. This creates a comfortable incline for sunbathers, walkers, joggers and sand-castle builders. The water purity and sand color are vital to an aesthetically  pleasin g area. In developing a beach-based resort, the designer should also consider the back beach which offers a view to both the sea and inland. Rooms with a scenic view are more profitable than rooms without it. Additionally, the surrounding area should be assessed to ensure access to major roads and other basic needs of guests that the resort cannot support. Other resorts use pools as a major source of entertainment. Using heated pools in winter assures that the facility is year-round friendly. Activities such as water bingo, log rolling and relay races may all be performed in the pool. Resorts can also host fitness classes in pools. A creative way to use water in northern resorts is to build indoor water parks. Safety should be a major concern for water-based resorts. Staff should be Red Cross trained if guarding pools and beaches. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury related to children ages 14 and under. http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/Spring05/Osterer/water. html Hotel Definition Origins of the term The word hotel derives from the French hotel, which referred to a French version of a townhouse, not a place offering accommodation (in contemporary usage, hotel has the meaning of hotel, and hotel particulier is used for the old meaning). The French spelling (with the circumflex) was once also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the s once preceding the t in the earlier hostel spelling, which over time received a new, but closely related meaning. Services and facilities Basic accommodation of a room with only a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with en-suite bathrooms and, more commonly in the United States than elsewhere, climate control. Other features found may be a telephone, an alarm clock, a TV, and broadband Internet connectivity. Food and drink may be supplied by a mini-bar (which often includes a small refrigerator) containing snacks and drinks (to be paid for on departure), and tea and coffee making facilities (cups, spoons, an electric kettle and sachets containing instant coffee, tea bags, sugar, and creamer or milk). In the United Kingdom a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all comers within certain stated hours; to avoid this requirement it is not uncommon to come across private hotels which are not subject to this requirement. However, in Japan the capsule hotel supplies minimal facilities and room space. Classification The cost and quality of hotels are usually indicative of the range and type of services available. Due to the enormous increase in tourism worldwide during the last decades of the 20th century, standards, especially those of smaller establishments, have improved considerably. For the sake of greater comparability, rating systems have been introduced, with the one to five stars classification being most common. http://reservation. travelaffiliatepro. com/content/hoteldefinition. tml The History of Hotels: From Economic To Extravagant Evidence of hotels and the hospitality industry have been recorded as far back as biblical times when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem during the census. As the Bible depicts, Mary and Joseph were refused accommodations because there was no room at the inn. Since the beginning of time, people have traveled for commerce, religion, family, health, immigration , education and recreation. As cited by Texas Tech University, the word hospitality comes from the Latin root meaning host or hospice. The university further noted that the first hotels were nothing more than private homes opened to the public. Most, unfortunately, had poor reputations. Under the influence of the Roman Empire, inns and hotels began catering to the pleasure traveler in an effort to encourage visitors. The first inn located in America was recorded in the year 1607 and lead the way with many other firsts in the hospitality industry. The first publicly held hotel (the City Hotel) opened in New York in 1792. The first modern hotel (the Tremont) opened in Boston in 1809 and the first business hotel (the Buffalo Statler) opened in 1908. From there a surge of hotels flooded American and the rest of the world with prominent names such as Radisson, Marriot and Hilton. Price, Service, Amenities Hotels (as well as other forms of accommodations) are generally segmented by the services and amenities offered. These two factors, along with location, also have a bearing on the price range. * Budget hotels  offer clean albeit simple rooms that provide the basics of places to sleep and shower. Usually budget hotels are designed for travelers looking to maximize their funds and minimize expenses. Prices can range from $20US per night to $70US per night. Business hotels  offer a high standard by providing rooms equipped with what business travelers would consider necessities. Usually found in business-class hotel rooms are high speed Internet connections, alarm clocks, comfortable beds, irons and ironing boards, coffee makers, complimentary newspaper delivery and hairdryers. Rates can range from $80US per night to $250US per night. * The facility of a business hotel would also offer an in-house restaurant, bar, exercise room and shuttle service to nearby airports. Limit concierge assistance is often included as well as room service, laundry and dry cleaning and wake-up calls. Luxury hotels  are known for their lavish decor and extraordinary service. With superior amenities, accommodations at luxury hotels are designed to thoroughly pamper and impress guests. According to a Business Week Online article, those in the luxury market are getting harder to please stating that luxury goods and service providers cant afford to blunder with the level of service and customer experience they provide. For this reason, many luxury hotels go far beyond the norm by providing a lifestyle experience equal to or better than what guests have become accustomed to at home. Luxury hotels frequently offer full-service day spas, five-star restaurants staffed by world-class chefs, ballrooms, lavish pools, golf packages and gu est services that are unsurpassed by any other class of hotel. In addition, luxury rooms generally include those amenities found in business class hotels plus in-room safes, goose down comforters and pillows, marble showers and tubs, larger rooms, separate sitting or living area and fog-free bathroom mirrors. Rates can range from $129US per night to $2,000US per night. Rates vary greatly depending on location and proximity to popular events and attractions. There are other classifications of hotels, however, most will fall into one of these three or a combination of these three. With the lines between business and personal becoming more blurred, many entrepreneurs and business executives will attend conferences or embark on business trips with family in tow. Hotels are aware of this common occurrence and have become adept at providing facilities and service both business and recreational travelers enjoy. searchandgo. com/travel/hotels-history. php Definition of Information Technology Information technology has been defined by the Information Technology Association of America, or the ITAA as being the study, design, development, implementation support and/or management of any computer based information systems. This relates particularly to software applications and computer hardware. Information technology deals with using electronic computers and software to convert, store, protect, process, retrieve with security or transmit any information. What began many years ago as a term that many had no awareness of to a term that has skyrocketed to include several aspects of computing and technology. IT is a wide based term and encompasses many areas. Professionals in information technology may perform a wide variety of tasks that range from installing computer applications to designing widely complex computer networks and information databases. Everything from data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, software design, database design and management and administration of systems is included in the term of information technology. When covering the aspects of IT as a whole, the use of computers and information are typically associated. The history of IT goes back several years. In order to perform the functions associated with the field of technology the modern field will use computers, servers, database management systems and cryptography. It was not very long ago that the field of IT only consisted of a single computer operator who stored data on a magnetic tape and then placed it in storage. Times have changed drastically in the field of technology from its inception several years ago. The field today typically includes a Chief Information Officer and several individuals who work together to achieve their goals. Years ago there was simply a single operator who performed all the tasks related to this form of technology. Today the job outlook for people interested in this field is very good. With data security and server specialists among the highest paid in the field, those with the needed skills and a keen interest in IT stand to earn a substantial annual income. With the increasing concern for data storage and management, along with the security issues that most companies and corporations are facing, a career in IT is an excellent choice or those who possess mathematical and strategic planning skills. Since 1961 the Information Technology Association of America has been working to enhance the interests of US technology and electronics industries. This association provides leadership training in areas relating to business development, public policy, market forecasting and standards of development to a large number of corporations. The ITAA provides a grassroots approach to global networking for companies, market and government from the smallest local level to a global audience. It currently represents more than 16,000 information technological related companies throughout the world. Based in Washington, DC, the Information Technology Association of American is the only organization of its kind that helps to unite local, state, national and global businesses in the area of technology. While technology today encompasses a wide range of individual focuses, it is becoming increasing clear that the IT field of the future will include many more topics and more demand than ever before. For those interested in becoming part of this rapidly growing field the time is now. Getting in on new developments could prove to be a very exciting and lucrative choice. http://ezinearticles. com/? Definition-of-Information-Technology;id=1109986 Advantages of Information Technology in the Business World Not only is information technology a fascinating and rewarding field for those with an interest in programming or computer systems, workers in nearly every other industry benefit from the advantages of information technology. From high-speed communications systems to complex, specialized databases to customized internal computer networks,  information technology  is inseparable from the modern business world. In industries as diverse as health care, government, education and manufacturing, IT professionals work to meet a wide array of technology demands. IT professionals choose hardware and software appropriate to the requirements of a particular organization, and then they take charge of its installation, maintenance, security and efficiency. In many cases, their management skills and business acumen are just as important as their ability to work with computing technology. allbusinessschools. com/business-careers/article/advantages-of-information-technology Hotel and Catering Software Applications Vertical-market software for the hospitality industry can be divided into three broad categories: hotel, catering and back-office An important concept when discussing hospitality-related software is integrated hotel system, which is a set of computer applications that, together, assist in managing and controlling all aspects of hotel operations. Such a system helps management to better satisfy the needs of the guests, and should be capable of handling every transaction from the guest’s initial telephone inquiry to their final billing. An integrated hotel system is composed of many different systems linked together, which include the following: * Reservation systems. Many authors include the reservation function within the property-management system. However, with the growing importance of central reservations system (CRS) and other forms of electronic distribution, and the development of techniques such as yield management, reservations system must now be discussed separately. A reservation system has two primary functions: to display room availability and to manage bookings. Other functions can include the ability to track guest deposits and travel agent commission, and the ability to provide important management and operational information. * Property-management systems (PMS). Sometimes referred to as front-office systems, these track which rooms are currently occupied or vacant in the hotel, and maintain the guests’ folios by recording details of sales and payment transactions. A PMS is now a necessity for most hotels and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to manage a hotel of 100 bedrooms or more without one. * A multitude of ancillary systems used to support the hotel’s PMS. For example, electronic door-locking systems generate a unique electronic key each time a new guest is registered, thus helping to increase security. Energy-management systems help to reduce heat and power costs by automatically turning off heating or air conditioning in rooms or sections of the hotel which are unoccupied. In-room entertainment systems provide extra services such as information screens, films, or computer games to guests while at the same time generating additional revenue for the hotel. Telephone systems record data on each call made from the direct-dial telephone in the guest’s room. Several computer systems from the catering area also interface with the PMS. For example, electronic point-of-sales (EPOS) systems record the transactions that occur in the hotel’s bars and food outlets, while mini-bars are used to provide drinks and small food items in the guestroom. In the last three cases, integration between the systems allows charges to be posted automatically to the guest’s account folio, thus helping to increase security and ensure that the guest does not depart without paying for all services received. * Catering information systems (CIS). These manage and control all aspects of food and beverage productions and sales. A CIS is also composed of several separate systems linked together to exchange data. Recipe-costing systems accurately cost food and beverage items and automatically update costs when ingredient prices change. Stock-control systems track inventory movements, record deliveries and issues, and identify variances between actual and theoretical stock. EPOS systems transfer orders electronically from the service area to the kitchen, and ensure that guest bills are legible, accurately priced and up to date. Conference and banqueting systems manage and control the complex tasks of function reservations, organization and billing. Other examples of catering-related software packages focus on specialist areas such as beverage control, nutritional analysis and menu engineering. Integration is very important for the efficient operation of these systems. For example, the recipe-costing system uses up-to-date prices from the stock-control system to calculate the cost of various recipes, which are then combined to form menus. These menus are sold to the customer through both the conference and banqueting system and the EPOS. They are also used, together with the sales data from the EPOS to detect variances in stock levels by the stock-control system. * Back-office systems. Software is also widely used in what could be described as the normal business areas of the hospitality industry. For example, accounting systems track debtors and creditors and generate final accounts and management reports periodically. Payroll systems automate the process of calculating wages and salaries, as well as maintaining period-to-date balances. Software is also used in the marketing area for data warehousing and database marketing. Each of the above hospitality systems can be (and often is) used separately. However, the systems are much more effective if integrated and allowed to communicate with each other. For example, recipe-costing is much more accurate if the recipe-costing system can access the latest purchase prices from the stock control system. Similarly, security and control are greatly increased if ancillary systems such as electronic door locks and EPOS are linked directly into the property-management system. It is integration at this level that has given rise to the concept of the integrated hotel system- a suite of software packages which are linked and assist in managing and controlling all aspects of a hospitality establishment’s operations. Hotel Central Reservations Offices The growth of travel in the 1960s, which prompted the airlines to develop computerized reservations systems, put similar pressures on the hotels. Individual properties were receiving growing numbers of telephone calls, letters and telexes from potential customers wanting to book accommodation. Large clerical squads were needed to sort mail, type letters, send telegrams and handle other requests. Bottlenecks were frequent, administration costs skyrocketed and experienced staffs were in short supply. An opportunity for rationalization was recognized by many of the US hotel chains. They noted the inefficiencies of the existing system and determined the best way to serve the customer, and at the same time provide a valuable service to their member hotels, were to centralize the reservations function into central reservations offices (CROs). These functioned in a similar manner to the reservations offices operated by the airlines, except, of course, the product being sold was hotel rooms, not airline seats. The CRO kept track of the rates, availability, special packages, negotiated rates and descriptions of each property, and allowed customers to book any room in the chain by contacting a single central location. The booking process was further simplified by the introduction of toll-free telephone services in the United States in the mid-1960s, which allowed potential customers to make a single free telephone call to inquire about or book any of the chain’s hotels anywhere in the world. The UK-based budget hotel group Travelodge provides a very good example of how a CRO can operate efficiently. In all its marketing, the group publishes only a single free number that connects the customer (be it a travel agent or independent traveler) to the central reservations office. Individual reservation numbers for each property are not published and individual lodges do not handle advanced reservations, referring all inquiries to the CRO. In this way, reservations staff and operating costs on a group basis are kept to the minimum. Particularly interesting is its philosophy of never being full. Should the particular lodge requested not have rooms available, accommodation is automatically offered at a nearby alternative. Centralizing the reservation function also bring other advantages. Bottlenecks are reduced while, at the same time, reservations agent are used more intensively than they would be at unit level as centralization helps to average out the busy and slack periods. A more professional level of customer service is possible because of the use of dedicated, well-trained staff, and service quality is also more consistent as centralization makes it easier to monitor and control. Overall, the lesson is clear: a centralized booking environment is faster, more efficient and, if well-designed, far more economical to operate than unit level reservation offices. Only two major costs remained: telecommunications, as the CRO had to pay for the provision of the toll-free service; and the labor cost of the reservations agents needed to answer phones and process other inquiries. It didn’t take companies long to figure out that these, too, could be reduced by allowing customers direct access to their systems electronically. The incremental cost of processing a booking electronically is dramatically less expensive than processing a free call to a CRO. For example, a recent estimate claims that a voice booking, through a CRO, costs hotels between ? 12 and ? 15, while the cost of processing it electronically can be as low as ? 3. 50 (HSMAI, 1995). Computerized Reservation Systems Initially, central reservations agents processed booking by checking on ‘Availability Blackboards’ displayed on the walls of the center, or in massive books which were updated by hand. However, as booking volumes grew, these manual operating methods were quickly overwhelmed and hotel companies introduced computers to help manage the increasing workload. By developing their own systems, hotel companies gave themselves both the opportunity and the flexibility to make the systems more closely match the requirements of the hotel product. Free from the constraints of the GDS, the new systems were capable of incorporating extensive product details written in full, bbreviation-free English, along with an unlimited number of rates and room types. These developments made the system far more effective as both an informative and marketing tool, as it gave the hotelier the opportunity to differentiate based on product quality and features, as well as on price. Travel agents also benefited from the development of CROs and CRSs. Traditionally, they had used published travel guides such as the ABC Guide to find information when looking for a hotel to meet a guest’s needs a nd budget. While these provide considerable information on the facilities, etc, they rarely show room rates, as they are published infrequently and would become outdated too quickly. As a result, travel agents had to contact the hotel directly to determine rates and availability, which usually involved expensive long-distance telephone calls. Thus the advent of the CRO, which provided a free number to find information about and to make bookings in any hotel in a chain, greatly helped to reduce costs and encourage the booking of hotel rooms by the travel agents. However, as travel agents were already familiar with the use of computer systems for information search and booking purposes because of their use of the airline systems, the increasingly began to demand that hotel rooms be made available in the same way. From the travel agent’s perspective, the cost of finding information and processing a booking is much lower electronically. Using an electronic system, a travel agent with a client flying to Glasgow can check availability in hotels in the area on the required date, see what room rates each is offering, and make a booking in seconds and at a minimal cost. Making the same booking manually would involve several long-distance phone calls and possibly a fax to confirm the details, which together with the time expended would probably make the transaction unprofitable. In monetary terms, Thomas Cook estimate that the cost of making a hotel booking over the telephone is approximately ? 3, as opposed to 76 pence to reserve the same room electronically. As a result, many agencies actively discourage their staff from using manual search and booking methods, and operations not available on their computerized systems will lose out. Reservations Systems Operation Irrespective of whether the reservation is being made at the unit or the central level, the method of actually processing the reservation is relatively standard. The process starts with an Availability Inquiry. The date of arrival needed is entered, along with the type(s) of room and the number of nights required. The system will respond by displaying room availability for the requested period and, on some systems, the rate to be offered to the client. If the requested accommodation is unavailable, the system may allow overbooking up to predetermined limits. If rooms are available, the client’s name, address, and telephone number are entered, along with details such as method of payment, the source of business and any special requirements. Utilities to help speed up the reservation process may be provided. For example, some systems allow the postal code to be entered first; from this most of the address can be filled automatically by the computer, and only minor details such as the street number need to be edited. Similarly, if the guest has stayed in the hotel before, or is a member of the chain’s loyalty club, such details may be automatically drawn from the guest history system. When all the details have been entered, a confirmation number is generated by the reservation system, which the guest can quote if the reservation needs to be changed at a later date. An individually addressed letter, fax, or e-mail, confirming the details of the reservation, is later generated as part of the night audit. Most systems also accept group reservations, which operate in a slightly different manner. First of all, a master reservation is set up with the group details and a block of rooms is allocated to the group. A special rate for the group may be offered and programmed into the system. Special accounting instructions (such as billing a master folio for all accommodation and breakfast charges and the individual room folios for all other charges) can also be setup at this stage, thus helping to eliminate unnecessary work for the front-office staff. Individual group members can then make their own reservations, and are allocated rooms from the reserved block. Property Management Systems The front-office is often described as the center of all hotel activities. It not only acts as the main contact point between the hotel and the guest, but also provides information to and receives information from practically very other department in the hotel. A property management system (PMS) helps manage these interactions, and at the same time acts as an information hub for the other computer systems. These functions of the PMS may be broken down into the following different categories: * Registration – allocating vacant rooms to incoming guests and marking those rooms as b eing occupied. * Housekeeping – tracking which rooms are occupied, waiting to be cleaned, waiting to be inspected, or ready to be passed back to the front desk for allocation to incoming guests. Guest accounting – tracking all guest charges and payments and producing the final guest bill. * Night audit – automatically performing end-of-day routines such as posting room charges to each guest folio. Stock-Control Systems A stock-control system helps manage and control the flow of stock through an organization by recording the value of each stock item in different locations (such as the central stores, the dry stores, and the kitchen) and tracking stock movements into, out of and between each of these locations. The concept of stock control is based on the accounting principle that the item’s opening stock, plus its purchases must be equal to its closing stock plus the amount consumed. If these are not equal, then what is known as a variance exists, which means that some of the stock is missing. However, carrying out stock control manually is very labor-intensive and time-consuming. For example, to check a single product, the amount of that product delivered and issued over the period has to be calculated by totaling the delivery dockets and requisitions, respectively. The previous period’s closing stock period would then have to be found, and the theoretical closing stock figure calculated. Then the quantity of the item actually in stock would have to be established by performing a stock take and physically counting the number of the product in each storage location. Lastly, theoretical and actual figures would have to be compared to see if any variance existed. All the effort for just a single stock item! In any reasonably sized catering operation, the same process would have to be performed for hundreds, if not thousands of products on a regular basis. Using a computerized system, all the boring, repetitive and error-prone calculations are carried out automatically. Most of the data needed (apart from the actual stock figures) is already available on the system (for example, opening stock is available from the previous period, purchases from the records of deliveries and returns, and issues from the record of requisitions from the sales units) and the calculations can be carried out in seconds by the computer. As a result, the likelihood of errors is reduced and the stock-control process can be carried out more frequently with little extra effort. O’Connor, 2000) REVIEW OF RELATED MODELS System Development Life Cycle The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. Various SDLC methodologies have been developed to guide th e processes involved including the waterfall model (the original SDLC method), rapid application development (RAD), joint application development (JAD), the fountain model and the spiral model. Mostly, several models are combined into some sort of hybrid methodology. Documentation is crucial regardless of the type of model chosen or devised for any application, and is usually done in parallel with the development process. Some methods work better for specific types of projects, but in the final analysis, the most important factor for the success of a project may be how closely particular plan was followed. startvbdotnet. com/sdlc/sdlc. aspx Waterfall System Development Life Cycle Model The simplest software development life cycle model is the waterfall model, which states that the phases are organized in a linear order. A project begins with feasibility analysis. On the successful demonstration of the feasibility analysis, the requirements analysis and project planning begins. The design starts after the requirements analysis is done. And coding begins after the design is done. Once the programming is completed, the code is integrated and testing is done. On successful completion of testing, the system is installed. After this the regular operation and maintenance of the system takes place. freetutes. com/systemanalysis/sa2-waterfall-software-life-cycle. tml; Prototyping System Development Life Cycle Model The goal of prototyping based development is to counter the first two limitations of the waterfall model discussed earlier. The basic idea here is that instead of freezing the requirements before a design or coding can proceed, a throwaway prototype is built to understand the requirements. This prototype is developed based on the currently known requirements. Development of the prototype obviousl y undergoes design, coding and testing. But each of these phases is not done very formally or thoroughly. By using this prototype, the client can get an actual feel of the system, since the interactions with prototype can enable the client to better understand the requirements of the desired system. Prototyping is an attractive idea for complicated and large systems for which there is no manual process or existing system to help determining the requirements. In such situations letting the client plan with the prototype provides invaluable and intangible inputs which helps in determining the requirements for the system. It is also an effective method to demonstrate the feasibility of a certain approach. This might be needed for novel systems where it is not clear that constraint can be met or that algorithms can be developed to implement the requirements. freetutes. com/systemanalysis/sa2-prototyping-model. html Spiral Life Cycle Model This is a recent model that has been proposed by Boehm. As the name suggests, the activities in this model can be organized like a spiral. The spiral has many cycles. The radial dimension represents the cumulative cost incurred in accomplishing the steps dome so far and the angular dimension represents the progress made in completing each cycle of the spiral. The structure of the spiral model is shown in the figure given below. Each cycle in the spiral begins with the identification of objectives for that cycle and the different alternatives are possible for achieving the objectives and the imposed constraints. The next step in the spiral life cycle model is to evaluate these different alternatives based on the objectives and constraints. This will also involve identifying uncertainties and risks involved. The next step is to develop strategies that resolve the uncertainties and risks. This step may involve activities such as benchmarking, simulation and prototyping. Next, the software is developed by keeping in mind the risks. Finally the next stage is planned. The next step is determined by remaining risks. For example, its performance or user-interface risks are considered more important than the program development risks. The next step may be evolutionary development that involves developing a more detailed prototype for resolving the risks. On the other hand, if the program development risks dominate and previous prototypes have resolved all the user-interface and performance risks; the next step will follow the basic waterfall approach. The risk driven nature of the spiral model allows it to accommodate any mixture of specification-oriented, prototype-oriented, simulation-oriented or some other approach. An important feature of the model is that each cycle of the spiral is completed by a review, which covers all the products developed during that cycle, including plans for the next cycle. The spiral model works for developed as well as enhancement projects. freetutes. com/systemanalysis/sa2-spiral-model. html SYNTHESIS Even long ago, resorts existed but not as extravagant as those made today. Resorts started from simple public baths in ancient Rome and developed into spas in Europe around the 1300s. In North America, people started on building hotels and inns nearby the spas. Not long after that, Americans had started to develop beach resorts and mountain-based resorts. There started the wide variety of services and amenities offered by the resort management. Services and amenities offered by the resorts mainly depend on what kind of resort they are. There are different kinds of resorts and one of the most popular types is the water-based resort. Swimming pools and beaches are popular in this type. There are many activities that can be done in water-based resorts. In beaches, you can do parasailing, jet skiing and other popular extreme and fun endeavors. These activities attract the prospect customers, but the location and design is also important in marketing the resort business. Good facilities are also appealing to the guests like Jacuzzi, scenic views, and safety devices. Resorts and hotels became popular alongside each other. Hotels developed not long after public baths in Rome and spas in Europe and North America became popular. It was actually cited in the Bible that during the ancient times, there were rooms for rent or traveler’s inn existing way back then. Usually, rooms contain basic necessities for the guests, but as time went by, the conveniences offered became diverse. As the facilities became more varied, cost also raises up to a certain price, depending on what rate of hotel it is. In order to provide more quality and more effective services to the consumers, information technology has been widely used. Computer literacy and awareness is all over the world and technology has been dominating since then. Business establishments have discovered the convenience that information technology brought and therefore becoming almost a necessity for every enterprise. There are many advantages conveyed by technology to different industries. These range from high-speed communications systems to complex, specialized databases to customized internal computer networks. These days, information technology and business became inseparable. There are many similarities between the computer systems used by resorts and hotels. It is because they have similar services offered to their consumers mostly in the reservations of the rooms and checking its availability. To be able to serve their guests better, clear information regarding the rooms available for booking must be seen by them. More systems were particularly made for hotels that are also applicable for the resort operations. Examples of these are property management system, stock-control system and reservation system. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Planning Phase Analysis Phase Design Phase Coding Phase Testing Phase Implementation Phase Maintenance Phase Figure 1. 5 Eclectic Model Maintenance Phase Implementation Phase Testing Phase Coding Phase Design Phase Analysis Phase Planning Phase STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Planning Phase 1. What are the resources available to the researchers? 2. What are the requirements needed for the study? Study Phase 1. What articles are needed and relevant to the study? 2. What models can be used in the study? Analysis Phase 1. Is there an existing computer system being used in the organization? 2. Will a new system make the service of the company more effective and more efficient? Design Phase 1. What are the different factors to consider in developing a new system? 2. What is the most efficient design for the proposed system? Testing Phase 1. How does the new system work? 2. Does the new system work properly? 3. What are the errors encountered by the new system? 4. Can the system handle the volume data and incoming transactions easily? Implementation Phase 1. How can the actual implementation of the new system be simulated in order to detect possible errors? 2. How can the person-in-charge ne trained to use the new system? Maintenance Phase 1. How can the new system assure the accuracy of the information about the process? 2. What are the possible improvements in order to enhance the new system? HYPOTHESIS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of the study and the proposed system is to have a more efficient and effective handling of daily transactions and operations of the company. This study is assigned to create a system that will be more convenient and will make more accurate reports. Villa Concepcion Wet and Wild Waves, Inc. ’s manual recording of transactions shall be replaced by the use of a new computer system. The system proposed shall make the guests at ease and transact more conveniently. It shall also lessen the work of the personnel by minimizing the labors they have to do. The projected computer system is deemed more reliable, accurate, and efficient. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS The study focused on the following proposed systems: reservation system, and payroll system. It is mainly for the front-desk operations which consist of billing, payments, and reservations. Interview of the management and the personnel of VCWWI shall be held inside their premises. Figure 1. 1 System Development Life Cycle Figure 1. 2 Waterfall System Development Life Cycle Model Figure 1. 3 Prototyping System Development Life Cycle Model Figure 1. 4 Spiral Life Cycle Model

how things happen and reoccur in history essays

how things happen and reoccur in history essays The colonies of the late 1600s and the early 1700s were formed because in England many people were being persecuted because of their religious beliefs. So to get away from the persecution, the people of England wanted to go to a place where everything seemed perfect( because thats what the advertising for America was saying). Where they wouldnt be forced to do or not do(religious celebrations) they didnt want to. So they came to America and settled in the colonies. The Native Americans who had already been there were curious and scared of these new people coming in there land. So at first they didnt know what to do. The Indians being the great people they were helped the colonist out in the new land. They showed them easier and more efficient ways of getting things done. Plus the colonist had indentured slaves so they hardly had to work, it was mostly the Indians. this helped the inexperienced colonists out, making their adjustment to the new world simpler. Basically the co lonist had it made. They asked questions and the Indians answered them. So the better things got the more people came over. So the Indians being the huge help, were inviting them over. So they were thanked by being exiled out. So the colonies began to grow and more colonies started to form. Meaning more an more space was beginning to disappear in the mass ship loads of people coming over. More and more people, less and less land and the original landowners( the Native Americans), were losing their property fast. So eventually they were pushed out into the west until now, there are only a few tribes left. Being the Situation, the social reason is they are losing out of, or lost, the Native Americans cultures and customs, and that would be a major loss. America today was known as a melting pot because we carry so many cultures and customs and mix them together , Would it be right to push one ou ...

Antimetabole - Definition and Examples in Rhetoric

Antimetabole s in Rhetoric In rhetoric, a verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the words in reverse grammatical order (A-B-C, C-B-A) is called antimetabole. Pronounced as an-tee-meh-TA-bo-lee, it is essentially the same as chiasmus. The Roman rhetorician Quintilian identified antimetabole as a type of antithesis. Antimetabole comes from the Greek phrase, turning about in the opposite direction. Examples and Observations The following are excellent examples of antimetaboles used in notable literature: I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.(A. J. Liebling)Women forget all those things they dont want to remember, and remember everything they dont want to forget.(Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937)Stops static before static stops you.(Advertising slogan of Bounce fabric softener sheet, 1990s)We didnt land on Plymouth Rock; Plymouth Rock landed on us.(Malcolm X)Hate destroys a mans sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.(Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)It is not how old you are, but how you are old.(Jules Renard)If a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged, a liberal is a conservative who has been indicted.(Jeffrey Rosen, The New Yorker)A government that seizes control of the economy for the good of the people, ends up seizing control of the people for t he good of the economy.(Senator Robert Dole in his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination for president, San Diego, August 1996) The Difference Between Antimetabole and Chiasmus [T]hose of us who have been granted a disproportionate ability to express ourselves may not always have the best selves to express.(Clive James, North Face of Soho, 2006)The only distinguishing feature of the antimetabole is that at least two terms from the first colon change their relative places in the second, appearing now in one order, now in reversed order. In the process of changing their syntactic position in relation to each other, these terms change their grammatical and conceptual relation as well. Thus in St. Augustines declaration of a semiotic principle[E]very sign is also a thing . . . but not every thing is also a signsign and thing switch places in propositions claiming, first, that the set of all signs is a subset of the set of all things, but, second, that the reverse conceptual relation dictated by the reverse syntax does not hold . . .. Seventeen hundred years later, a journalist used the same form to complain about the unfortunate relationship between members of his own profession and the politicians they report: Our cynicism begets their fakery and their fakery begets our cynicism . . .. In each of these examples, separated by almost two thousand years, the arguer builds on the conceptual reversal created by the syntactic and grammatical reversal.A variant of the antimetabole, to which the name chiasmus is sometimes applied, abandons the constraint of repeating the same words in the second colon yet retains a pattern of inversion . . .. Instead of repetition, this variant uses words related in some recognizable wayperhaps as synonyms or opposites or members of the same categoryand these related words change positions.(Jeanne Fahnestock, Rhetorical Figures in Science. Oxford Univ. Press, 1999) I, too, was born in the slum. But just because youre born in the slum does not mean the slum is born in you, and you can rise above it if your mind is made up.(Jesse Jackson, speech at 1984 Democratic National Convention)You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.(Ray Bradbury) The Lighter Side of Antimetabole The Sphinx: He who questions training, only trains himself in asking questions. . . . Ah yes, work well on your new costumes my friends, for when you care for what is outside, what is inside cares for you. . . . Patience, my son. To summon your power for the conflict to come, you must first have power over that which conflicts you.Mr. Furious: Okay, am I the only one who finds these sayings just a little bit formulaic? If you want to push something down, you have to pull it up. If you want to go left, you have to go right. Its . . .The Sphinx: Your temper is very quick, my friend. But until you learn to master your rage . . .Mr. Furious: . . . your rage will become your master? Thats what you were going to say. Right? Right?The Sphinx: Not necessarily.(Wes Studi and Ben Stiller in Mystery Men, 1999)

Agency,innkeepers doctrine,and liquor licensing law Case Study

Agency,innkeepers doctrine,and liquor licensing law - Case Study Example (a) Worf (the "third party") cannot enforce the contract against Picard (the "principal") because Riker (the "agent") acted outside its actual authority and against the instructions of the principal. In the given problem, the named principal instructed the agent to negotiate for the wine collection with a limit of $200,000 but the agent contracted, in violation of the named principal's instructions, with the third party in an amount of not less than $220,000 for the wine. If a principal is disclosed and named, and the agent acts out outside its actual or apparent authority, then only the agent is liable to the third party. Hence, Worf cannot enforce the contract against Picard.(b) No, the answer would still be the same even if the agent had not informed the third party of the name of the principal because the agent acted outside its actual authority and against the instructions of the unnamed principal. In the given problem, the unnamed principal instructed the agent to negotiate for the wine collection with a limit of $200,000 but the agent contracted, in violation of the unnamed principal's instructions, with the third party in an amount of not less than $220,000 for the wine. If a principal exists but the name of the principal is not disclosed, and the agent acts out outside its actual or apparent authority, then only the agent is liable to the third party. Hence, Worf cannot enforce the contract against Picard.(c)... In the given problem, the principal instructed the agent to negotiate for the wine collection with a limit of $200,000 but the agent contracted, in violation of the named principal's instructions, with the third party in an amount of not less than $220,000 for the wine. Specifically, the principal in the given problem has the following causes of action: (1) for rescission of the agency agreement, (2) refusal to pay the agent commission or the flat fee for the agent's services, (3) a claim for damages, (4) a cause of action for the recovery of secret commission (the 'gift' of four cases of rare vintage wine accepted by the agent), and (5) criminal charges for accepting a secret commission in the form of a 'gift' of four cases of rare vintage wine. Picard, therefore, has several causes of action against Riker. (e) Should the principal in the given problem voluntarily chose to accept the agreement concluded by his agent and the third party, Picard will be deemed to have ratified the acts of his agent. Under the legal principle of ratification, where an agent enters into a contract without any authority, the principal can ratify the action; or where an agent enters into a contract for an existing principal and in so doing exceeds its authority, the principal can ratify the action. The principal's ratification of the agents acts, however, are subject to the following conditions for a valid ratification: (1) when contracting, the agent must be clearly acting as an agent, not personally, and the third party must be aware that they are acting as an agent; (2) the principal must exist when the agent contracts; (3) the principal must have the capacity to contract for the object of the

Unionization and strikes in the healthcare industry Term Paper

Unionization and strikes in the healthcare industry - Term Paper Example imes strikes are used by employees to force their governments or employers to change certain policies for which they do not like (Lewin, Keefe, & Kochan, 2012). However, various acts and policies exist that have served to affect this unionization process as well as strike. Among them is PT self determination Act, Federal Healthcare quality act and laws such as ERISA, HIPPA. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the background of unionization and strike in the health care industry outlining the effects of unionization and strikes in the health care sector. Further it will explain how the different acts among them PT self determination Act, Federal Healthcare quality act and laws such as ERISA, HIPPA affects striking and unionization in the Health care industry. Finally, the paper will give a brief conclusion summarizing this topic of discussion. Freeman, & Han, (2012) discuses that; unionization and strikes are subject to law and are thus regulated by the laws as provided by the constitution and other sector acts. In the recent past the number of health practitioners covered or bound by a collective bargain agreement or those who have registered as members of workers union has been edging upwards. This trend can possibly be attributed to the backlash against the belt tightening experienced in certain hospitals as away to respond to the recent downturn in economy. Additionally, reforms in the health sector also play a major role in the rise of unionization of the health sector. Unions want to have a future; as such they understand that organizing the health workers will give them an inroad. The cost cutting pressure in the health care sector is making nurses and other health workers in this industry feel a lot of loss in control within their jobs. They experience a lot of uncertainty of the unanticipated outcomes or impacts of the health care reforms. As a result, there has been a merger across the health care practitioners associations. This includes Committee of

Marketing and New Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing and New Technology - Essay Example Social media allows people to connect with each other and at the same time share information. The relationship between marketer and consumer is a lot more interactive. Consumers are free to express their views and opinions about products and services, and hence marketers get customer feedback which would not have been possible in traditional media. There are various advantages or benefits that social media technologies offer that make it more attractive to marketers. Marketers are able to track and trace consumer behaviours, track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, target specific consumers, create communication channels for consumers to interact with each other, and many more. There are numerous forms of social media forms or technologies that companies can use to market their products and services. Most popular ones are social networks, blogs, microblogs, social bookmarking and voting, media-sharing sites, review sites, forums and viral marketing. Qualitative research has be en employed and secondary data has been used in constructing this paper. There are some issues that need to be considered such as unethical practices and misuse social media technologies safeguard of customer information, etc. ... Marketing communication is not anymore targeted to individual customers but communities and groups of individuals who share a common interest or ideology. Communication channels are such that conversation can now be out in front of millions of people with a lot less time and money. Many believed or saw the above mentioned development as death of advertising but it is far from the truth. All the changes mentioned above are a result of advent of internet and World Wide Web, and in turn the emergence of social media as a platform for marketing. Social media revolution is a result of new technologies and innovations that have been developed in the last decade or so, that has completely redefined marketing and has resulted in the rebirth of advertising. Social media revolution has brought a whole new dimension to marketing. There is no need to outspend your competitors if you can outsmart them. Technologies like twitter has made it possible to get the market pulse at your finger tips inst ead of having to spend thousands on focus groups. Technologies and services like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc are at the forefront of social revolution. Facebook has around 250 million users while Twitter has 14 million users. YouTube attracts 100 million viewers per month while blogs have 346 million people (Zarrella, 2009). There is no bigger platform than social media platform for companies to market their products and services. This paper is a literature review and critical discussion on how new technologies of social media has revolutionised marketing. Going forward social media will account for majority of marketing of business worldwide. Consumers are starting to play an increased role in influencing each

Marketing planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing planning - Essay Example The time when company started its business, only 20 smoothies were sold and this figure has increased up to 420,479 smoothies’ everyday which is a considerable achievement. Increasing sales, revenues and consumption of smoothies indicate that the quality of products offered by the company has been remarkable because of which Innocent Drinks is able to achieve a lot. Products offered by the company are made up of natural fruits and the quality management team makes sure that the fruits are fresh so that the quality of the products is maintained. Product life cycle is defined as the stage of the product as the life of the product increases, it moves from growth stage to maturity stage and then it starts declining (Kotler, 2009). Smoothies are at present during the growth stage of product lifecycle (Innocent). Products offered by Innocent Drinks are also at present in the growth stage and the increasing demand of smoothies represents further growth of the product. As the products offered by the company are still growing and generating substantial amount of revenues for Innocent Drinks. The market as well as the company is growing at the moment however major portion of the industry has been captured by Innocent Drinks with approximately 71% of the total market share. At a time when the market growth rate would decline, then Innocent Drinks can be considered as cash cow. Perceptual mapping shows that the products offered by Innocent Drinks are considered as of high quality and at the same time the prices of these products are believed to be relatively higher than the prices of competitors. Although some competitors are offering it at a lower price, but then the quality of products offered by these competitors is a question mark thus Innocent Drink is able to provide quality products at a relatively higher price. According to Ansoff Matrix the

Organization Policy and Stategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organization Policy and Stategy - Case Study Example Retail sales, which were important in developing countries such as those in Asia, were less cyclical (Ghemawat 3). Asia was the growing market and its buyer power was weak because it had few cement manufacturers, high population densities and less cyclical demand. The industry was characterized by high barriers to entry in the form of high capital and energy-intensity requirements, cyclic demand and the maturity of the industry i.e. no major innovations had been recorded in the last 20 years (Ghemawat 2). About the competition within the industry we are informed that though there were six major international players, given their geographic diversification, they tended to be outperformed in any given year by competitors focused solely on local markets that happened to be "booming" (Ghemawat 3). Industry rivalry was not that intense. As for threat of substitutes, this only applies for the developed markets (Western Europe and North America) where due to the weather they prefer using wood or steel. But this would not be a big factor considering that the projected growth in these regions is at the lowest, close to 1% which is why the international players were eyeing the emerging markets. By the year 2000, CEMEX had become the third largest cement company in the world being led by the scion of the founder, Lorenzo Zambrano (Ghemawat 5). Initially, to reduce risk related to the cyclic core business, the firm began diversifying horizontally but after much thought they returned to their core competency area to seek growth through strategic acquisitions. This strategy saw the company grow to have the largest market share in Mexico before it began to spread globally. With this growth strategy, CEMEX moved from the United States to Spain to Latin America then to Asia and other regions. By December 1999 the firm had a presence in 15 countries. Still seeking greater international presence CEMEX dedicated US$1.175 billion

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 19

Homework - Essay Example a states that under some circumstances like writing formal letters, school work or letters to an individual’s boss or teacher need to be written without taking a shortcut. This is because people like bosses or teachers should be impressed. She states, â€Å"Your webbish ways can sometimes make you look dumb† (Brockenbrough, 150). Furthermore, Martha gives an example of a competitor in the Olympic who wears a swimsuit and it is okay while the same man can not wear a swimsuit at a public mall and fail to be arrested by the police, since it is awkward. On the other hand, Martha argues that shorthand is acceptable in some places because lack of shorthand makes an individual look out of place. Places that shorthand is acceptable include chat rooms, internet and instant messaging. Martha says â€Å" †¦you run the risk of sounding hopelessly out of touch if you are in a chat room or using instant messaging software and you do not shorten things here and there† (Brockenbrough, 149). This further evidenced by the example of an individual hailing a taxi in full since the word ‘taxi’ is a short form taximeter cabriolet. â€Å"My guess is that anyone who does that will not catch anything more than puzzled looks† (Brockenbrough, 149) states Martha. Conclusively, shorthand is acceptable as it is unacceptable, it depends with the context. When writing on the internet and chat rooms, it is acceptable. Conversely, when writing to a teacher or a boss it is

Organization Policy and Stategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organization Policy and Stategy - Case Study Example Retail sales, which were important in developing countries such as those in Asia, were less cyclical (Ghemawat 3). Asia was the growing market and its buyer power was weak because it had few cement manufacturers, high population densities and less cyclical demand. The industry was characterized by high barriers to entry in the form of high capital and energy-intensity requirements, cyclic demand and the maturity of the industry i.e. no major innovations had been recorded in the last 20 years (Ghemawat 2). About the competition within the industry we are informed that though there were six major international players, given their geographic diversification, they tended to be outperformed in any given year by competitors focused solely on local markets that happened to be "booming" (Ghemawat 3). Industry rivalry was not that intense. As for threat of substitutes, this only applies for the developed markets (Western Europe and North America) where due to the weather they prefer using wood or steel. But this would not be a big factor considering that the projected growth in these regions is at the lowest, close to 1% which is why the international players were eyeing the emerging markets. By the year 2000, CEMEX had become the third largest cement company in the world being led by the scion of the founder, Lorenzo Zambrano (Ghemawat 5). Initially, to reduce risk related to the cyclic core business, the firm began diversifying horizontally but after much thought they returned to their core competency area to seek growth through strategic acquisitions. This strategy saw the company grow to have the largest market share in Mexico before it began to spread globally. With this growth strategy, CEMEX moved from the United States to Spain to Latin America then to Asia and other regions. By December 1999 the firm had a presence in 15 countries. Still seeking greater international presence CEMEX dedicated US$1.175 billion

Most human behaviour and most of our decisions are rational. Discuss Essay

Most human behaviour and most of our decisions are rational. Discuss - Essay Example The latter is viewed as being a model that is extremely descriptive (Newell & Lagnado & Shanks, 2007. 33). Rational intently, is the word that describes people who engage in decision making. It must be known that at the same time, human beings are adaptive and goal oriented in all their actions. The factors, which often make them not make decisions that are rational, are emotional architecture and human cognitive. The latter is often experienced when human beings are in a situation whereby, they have to make decisions, which are extremely important. Many people make irrational decisions when under duress. It is important to avoid making irrational decisions during such times but to maintain calm until such a point that rational decisions is practical. Anger management is an important tool in decision making for it ensures rational rather than irrational decisions are made. Politics is an area where people have to constantly make decisions, which are rational. This is in accordance to a model that is utility classic expected. Evidence that supports this model is of a scientific nature. It has been proven through research, that decisions which are rational are not always possible. A person’s environment plays an essential role in determining whether people make decisions that are rational (Hastie & Dawes, 2001. 42). There is a misconception, which exists between the decision maker responsible for making choices and the environment where decision making occurs. A factor, which may take the form of incentives, can either be negative or positive and it affects decision making. The existence of techniques that are statistical as well as standardized, enable people to distinguish between factors, which are random, and those that are systematic. In turn, it is possible for rationality to be present in making decisions. According to Jonathan Baron (2008. 65), when people are

The Status of Women in Egyptian Society Essay Example for Free

The Status of Women in Egyptian Society Essay The article entitled â€Å"The Status of Women in Egyptian Society† illustrates how Egyptian women enjoyed more rights than their counterparts in ancient times. Unlike other societies where women had lesser rights and opportunities than men, Egyptian society posits men and women as equals.   This equality provides Egyptian women the legal and economic rights usually deprived of women. Egyptian women also derive more benefits from marriage than women from other society, according to the article.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In terms of legal and economic rights, Egypt was ahead of other ancient societies in granting the said rights to women (Tyldesley, n. d.).   Even when Egypt was under Greek control, Egyptian women still had more rights than the women of Greece.   For instance, Greek women cannot represent themselves in legal proceedings; they need male representatives such as fathers, husbands of brothers (Tyldesley, n.d.).   In contrast, Egyptian women can represent themselves in legal proceedings; self-representation is only one of the many privileges afforded to women in Egyptian society. Other rights include the right to free slaves, right to adopt, and right to sue (Tyldesley, n.d.). Egyptian women also had the authority to carry out testaments, as well as resolve and end legal settlements (Tyldesley, n.d.). The privileges of women do not end in the legal realm; they also have influence in economy. Egyptian women are allowed to obtain possessions; they could receive gifts from either their spouse or parents. Moreover, they also have the capacity to â€Å"manage, own, and sell† property (Tyldesley, n.d.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the article, Egyptian women retain their rights even after marriage. An Egyptian woman remains independent from her husband after their marriage; he is never her legal guardian (Tyldesley, n.d.).   The properties they acquire as a couple may be under the husband’s control, but the wife’s share in that property is recognized as hers. The moment the husband dies, one-third of the property is received by the wife (Tyldesley, n.d.). In conclusion, due to the equality among men and women in Egyptian society, women are fortunate to have the rights and privileges that are not afforded to women in other ancient societies. Reaction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is such a pleasant thing to discover that in the ancient times, there was room for equality between men and women.   In general, women had always been considered as the weaker, more insignificant sex among the two.   It is surprising to find that one of the oldest civilizations had a society that placed both men and women in the same level.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It took many years before women can enjoy the similar privileges granted to men.   From the right to education to the right to suffrage, women in history had struggled to be afforded the same rights as men. The efforts of these women paid off, as present society has enabled women to assume positions that were only limited to men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, modern society has leveled the playing field for both men and women. At present, there are women doctors, professors, lawyers, mechanics, drivers and business executives.   Before, women were mostly confined in the home since it was considered as their realm, while the workplace used to be a male territory.   This statement no longer holds. Upon closer inspection, however, one would find that the ancient Egyptian society seemed more advanced than modern society.   This is because thousands of years before the women’s rights movement came to being, the Egyptian women already had their rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If there is one aspect of the article that is met with my disapproval, it is the fact that Egyptian society equates pregnancy with success. It is true that child-rearing and birth are essential features of being a woman.   However, she should not be measured by it.   There are women who could not have children; this does not imply that she is lesser than her fertile counterparts.   To limit the purpose of women in reproduction is in a sense, a way to objectify women in general.   The ability to rear a child should not be equated with success, as it would make those who could not bear a child seem worthless. Reference Tyldesley, J. (n.d.). The status of women in Egyptian society. Retrieved March 17, 2008, from http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/womneg.htm