Fitness Goals Essay

Three fitness goals that I have for this school year are: 1) to stop consuming all the junk food I possibly can but not all at once, day by day; slowly decreasing the amounts of candy or chips that I eat because I know that it will be a hard task so I would prefer to adapt to it slowly, 2) Instead of watching TV, I want to get up off the couch more and improve on my workouts, which I rarely ever even do. 3) Lastly would be to pick water as a beverage more often with my meals instead of having unhealthy sugary drinks. My first fitness goal is to stop eating so much junk food. I would say that it is very necessary for me to stop eating junk food because that is what would be keeping me down. By â€Å"keeping me down† I mean that junk food is what is slowing me down from being the size I should be and also in by succeeding in working out. For example, when my gym class did the mile my goal to finish it was 15 minutes, I ended up taking longer than 15 minutes and I came in last. If my stomach was treated better I would have probably finished before those 15 minutes and not have came in last. My second fitness goal is to I do not deny it, I am a couch potato. All which I shouldn’t but I blame my parents for being extra overly protective and not letting me have freedom at all until I was 15. There little rule has brought me to where I am now, a couch potato. I don’t know how but I want to try to change that. If I do not change that then whenever I actually have the full opportunity to be active it will be harder since I have wasted so much time. As I am now, I want to improve my working out skills to where I should be. My last fitness goal is to eliminate sugary drinks; I would want to drink water with more of my meals. I pick water over soda, milk, or tea what calls me are the juices. I love lemonade, fruit punch and other sugary drinks of that kind. I know that these drinks are very high in sugar that is why I wish to change this habit.

Medicine and business: a practitioner’s guide Essay

The retail sector is one of the major contributors in the economy of the United Kingdom. The sector constitutes a major percentage of the country’s GDP. Sainsbury’s and Tesco companies are among the major contributors of the country’s GDP in the retail industry (Lewis 1990, p.386). This paper seeks to examine in a detailed analysis the performance, efficiency and ability of the two companies to meet the immediate obligations when due over the last three financial periods. The report shows a comparison of the two companies in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The analysis is based on the use of financial ratios where profitability, liquidity, working capital and investment ratios. Profitability ratios will be used to compare the performance of the two companies, in the light of return on equity (ROE), return on capital employed (ROCE), net profit margin and gross profit margin. The liquidity ratios that will be utilized include; acid test and the current ratio. The ratio will be geared at examining the ease at which the companies effectively convert assets into cash while the working capital ratios will assess the rate at which the current assets such as stock circulate in the companies (Richards 1980, p. 35). Objectives             This paper targets to present a detailed analysis over the performance of the two companies and routine operations; therefore the main objectives of this paper are: To compare the performance of the two companies over the last three years To detail recommendations for both companies on the basis of the ratios computed and their implications to the companies and the economy as a whole. Research methodology             The paper will explore the performances of both companies by utilizing ratio analysis. In order to be in a position to undertake this examination, financial statements of both companies over the last three years will be extracted and ratios computed using the information. The results of this report will be expressed in terms of pounds. Financial extracts Tesco Company Income statement For the years 2014, 2013 & 2012 (pounds) 22/02/2014 23/02/2013 25/02/2012 (Millions) (Millions) (Millions) Revenue: 63,557.00 63,406.00 63,916.00 Operating Profit / (Loss): 2,631.00 2,382.00 4,182.00 Net Interest: (432.00) (397.00) (235.00) PBT: 2,259.00 2,057.00 4,038.00 PAT from continuing operations: 1,912.00 1,528.00 3,164.00 Discontinued Operations: PAT from discontinuing operations: (942.00) (1,504.00) (350.00) Profit for the period: 970.00 24.00 2,814.00 Attributable to: Equity holders of parent company: 974.00 28.00 2,806.00 Minority Interests / Other Equity: (4.00) (4.00) 8.00 Total Dividend Paid: c 14.76 c 14.76 c 14.76 Tesco Company Statement of financial position As at 2014, 2013 & 2012 (pounds) 22/02/2014 23/02/2013 25/02/2012 (Millions) (Millions) (Millions) Assets Non-Current Assets Property, Plant & Equipment: 24,490.00 24,870.00 25,710.00 Intangible Assets: 3,795.00 4,362.00 4,618.00 Investment Properties: 227.00 2,001.00 1,991.00 Investments: 1,301.00 1,312.00 1,949.00 Other Financial Assets: 4,706.00 4,430.00 3,627.00 Other Non-Current Assets: 73.00 58.00 23.00 Current Assets Inventories: 3,576.00 3,744.00 3,598.00 Trade and Other Receivables: 2,190.00 2,525.00 2,657.00 Cash at Bank & In Hand: 2,506.00 2,512.00 2,305.00 Current Asset Investments: 1,016.00 522.00 1,243.00 Other Current Assets: 3,797.00 3,162.00 2,550.00 Other Assets: 2,487.00 631.00 510.00 Total Assets: 50,164.00 50,129.00 50,781.00 Liabilities Current Liabilities Borrowings: 1,910.00 766.00 1,838.00 Other Current Liabilities: 18,296.00 17,937.00 17,342.00 Non-Current Liabilities Borrowings: 9,303.00 10,068.00 9,911.00 Provisions: 777.00 1,278.00 1,260.00 Other Non-Current Liabilities: 3,963.00 3,137.00 2,560.00 Other Liabilities: 1,193.00 282.00 69.00 Total Liabilities: 35,442.00 33,468.00 32,980.00 Net Assets: 14,722.00 16,661.00 17,801.00 Capital & reserves Share Capital: 405.00 403.00 402.00 Share Premium Account: 5,080.00 5,020.00 4,964.00 Other Reserves: (498.00) 685.00 245.00 Retained Earnings: 9,728.00 10,535.00 12,164.00 Shareholders’ Funds: 14,715.00 16,643.00 17,775.00 Minority Interests / Other Equity: 7.00 18.00 26.00 Total Equity: 14,722.00 16,661.00 17,801.00 Retrieved from; Hargreaves Lansdown. ‘Tesco Plc | Financial Statements & Reports’. N.P., 2014. Web. 31 Dec. 2014. Sainsbury’s plc.Income statement For the years ended 2014, 2013 & 2012 15/03/2014 16/03/2013 17/03/2012 (Millions) (Millions) (Millions) Revenue: 23,949.00 23,303.00 22,294.00 Operating Profit / (Loss): 1,009.00 882.00 874.00 Net Interest: (139.00) (134.00) (103.00) PBT: 898.00 772.00 799.00 PAT from continuing operations: 716.00 602.00 598.00 Profit for the period: 716.00 602.00 598.00 Attributable to: Equity holders of parent company: 716.00 602.00 59.00 Total Dividend Paid: c 17.30 c 16.70 c 16.00 Sainsbury’s plc.Statement of financial position As at 2014, 2013 & 2012 15/03/2014 16/03/2013 17/03/2012 (Millions) (Millions) (Millions) Assets Non-Current Assets Property, Plant & Equipment: 9,880.00 9,804.00 9,329.00 Intangible Assets: 286.00 171.00 160.00 Investments: 404.00 532.00 566.00 Other Financial Assets: 283.00 236.00 215.00 Other Non-Current Assets: 1,318.00 38.00 38.00 12,171.00 10,781.00 10,308.00 Current Assets Inventories: 1,005.00 987.00 938.00 Trade and Other Receivables: 433.00 306.00 286.00 Cash at Bank & In Hand: 1,592.00 517.00 739.00 Other Current Assets: 1,332.00 91.00 69.00 Other Assets: 7.00 13.00 N/A Total Assets: 16,540.00 12,695.00 12,340.00 Liabilities Current Liabilities Borrowings: 534.00 165.00 150.00 Other Current Liabilities: 6,231.00 2,950.00 2,986.00 Non-Current Liabilities Borrowings: 2,250.00 2,617.00 2,617.00 Provisions: 256.00 316.00 349.00 Other Non-Current Liabilities: 1,264.00 809.00 609.00 Total Liabilities: 10,535.00 6,857.00 6,711.00 Net Assets: 6,005.00 5,838.00 5,629.00 Capital & reserves Share Capital: 545.00 541.00 538.00 Share Premium Account: 1,091.00 1,075.00 1,061.00 Other Reserves: 807.00 820.00 315.00 Retained Earnings: 3,560.00 3,401.00 3,715.00 Shareholders’ Funds: 6,003.00 5,837.00 5,629.00 Minority Interests / Other Equity:2.00 1.00 N/A Total Equity: 6,005.00 5,838.00 5,629.0 Retrieved from; Hargreaves Lansdown. ‘Sainsbury (J) Plc | Financial Statements & Reports’. N.P., 2014. Web. 31 Dec. 2014. Ratio Analysis Profitability ratios             These ratios indicate company’s profitability status. They determine the capacity of a company to generate returns to compensate the providers of capital. Using the data extracted, return on capital employed, gross profit margin and net profit margin are computed below; Return on equity This ratio is an indicator of the returns that a company generates out of the owners’ equity. Return on equity (ROE) = (Net income/equity capital) * 100 (ALBRECHT 2007, p. 234) Return on capital employed             Return on capital employed is used to indicate how a company is able to generate income to service the providers of capital employed. The ratio can be used to compare profitability of a firm within successive periods to evaluate profitability and predict future failure.The ratio is computed as follows; Return on capital employed = (profit before interest and tax/ capital employed) * 100 (COLES 1997, p. 32) Net profit margin This ratio measures the return per pound of sales a company earns. It is computed through the following formula; Net profit margin = (Net income / sales revenue)* 100 (GITMAN 2008, p. 492) Where, net income is obtained by Lessing total operating expenses from the sales revenue. Gross profit margin This ratio indicates the returns of the company after taking into consideration the costs of production incurred. It is calculated as follows; Gross profit margin = (Gross profit/ sales revenue) * 100(KHAN 2007, p.10) Below is a summary of the ratios; Ratio TESCO SAINSBURY’S 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 ROE 23.5% 14.3% 17.9% 15.5% 15.1% 16.8% ROCE 12.8% 6.5% 7.5% 8.7% 8.1% 9.2% Net profit margin 6.5% 3.8% 4.1% 3.9% 3.8% 4.2% GP margin 8.4% 6.6% 6.3% 5.4% 5.5% 5.8% Liquidity ratios These are ratios that measure the speed at which a company is able to convert its assets into cash or its equivalents (BUCCI 2014, p.71). They explain how fast a company can turn its current assets into cash so as to meet the current obligations. There are two types of liquidity ratios namely; current ratio and acid test ratio. Current ratio It indicates the ability of the company to convert its assets into cash or cash equivalents. The ratio is computed as follows; Current ratio = current assets/ current liabilities (times) Acid test ratio Acid test ratio also known as quick ratio is a measure that examines the capacity of a company to settle its immediate obligations from own current assets without selling stock. It is computed through the following formula; Acid test ratio = (current assets- inventories)/ current liabilities (TRACY 2011, p.287) The table below is a summary of the ratios computed using the financial data extracted; Ratio TESCO SAINSBURY’ Liquidity ratio 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 Current ratio 0.64 0.67 0.65 0.65 0.58 0.64 Acid test ratio 0.46 0.47 0.47 0.35 0.26 0.50 Working capital ratios             These are ratios that indicate the efficiency of a company to utilize its assets. They are also referred to as asset management ratios or asset turn over ratios. The commonly used ratios are; receivables turnover, payables turn over and inventory turnover (TALEKAR 2005, p.85). Receivables turnover This is a measure of how fast a company collects its funds from the debtors. It is calculated on the basis of the following formula; Receivables turnover = annual credit sales/accounts receivables It is reported in terms of number of days that sales made on credit remain with debtors before collection. Therefore; Average collection period = (accounts receivables/annual credit sales) * 365 days The ratio can also be expressed as; average collection period = 365 days / Receivables turnover (BOOKER 2006, p. 4). Inventory turnover             This is a ratio of the cost of goods sold to the average inventory. Cost of goods sold comprises of opening stock add purchases less closing stock while average inventory is the mean of opening and closing inventory. It is expressed in terms of days. Inventory turnover= cost of goods sold (COS) / Average inventory Therefore; Inventory period = 365/ inventory turnover Payables turnover This ratio indicates the period that the company takes to pay its creditors. It is defined by; Payables turnover = annual credit purchases/ accounts payables It is also expressed in terms of day. Therefore; Average payment period = 365 days / payables turnover. The table below is a summary of the asset ratios of the two companies; Ratio TESCO SAINSBURY’S 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 Receivables turnover 15.2 14.5 12.6 4.7 4.8 6.7 Inventory turnover 11.2 11.5 11.0 8.1 8.2 8.1 Payables turnover 10.8 11.0 11.2 5.2 4.9 10.1 Investment ratios These are ratios that help investors to evaluate the returns of their investments. Common investment ratios include; Earnings per share (EPS) Dividend payout ratio Dividend yield ratio Dividend payout ratio This ratio measures the part of earning that a company gives out to shareholders as dividends. It is computed as follows: Dividend payout ratio = (total dividends declared for the year/ earnings available for dividends) * 100 (GEDDES 2002, p. 14). Where; earning available for dividends is the profit after tax and preference dividends. Dividend yield This relates the returns from a share to its market value. It assists investors to assess the returns from their investments. It is worked out as follows: Dividend yield = (dividend per share/ market value per share) * 100 Earnings per share             EPS indicates the proportion of the company’s earnings that are attributable to the ordinary shareholders that have been generated during the period. The earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders are denoted by the profit after tax. EPS = Earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders/ Number of ordinary shareholders. It is an important indicator of company’s performance in terms of the earning power of the shares. However, comparing performance of companies based on EPS is inefficient since some companies may choose to issue more shares. Companies can also choose to increase or decrease the number of issued shares leading to an automatic alteration of the EPS. Ratio TESCO SAINSBURY’S 2012 2013 2014 2012 2013 2014 EPS 38.25 18.04 22.56 32.10 33.00 35.37 39.20 19.05 22.70 30.40 31.22 36.67 40.41 33.67 31.67 26.18 29.45 31.56 Dividend payout ratio 0.5 61.5 1.5 27.1 2.8 2.4 Uses of ratios             Various groups of individuals are interested with the analysis of financials of companies. They use ratios to work out specific financial features of a company that they are interested in. they help individuals in the following ways; To determine profitability: profitability ratios indicate the capacity of companies to generate profits. Ratios help the management to estimate the earning power of the company’s assets. To assess solvency: gearing ratios are used to assess company’s ability to service its debts. They show the relationship between assets and liabilities. A high gearing ratio is an indicator that the company is likely to land into financial problems in the future. They assist in the analysis of financials: Ratios assist stakeholders such as banks, shareholders and creditors to assess the profitability, liquidity and the capacity of companies to pay dividends. Forecasting purposes: financial ratios reflect the trend of the company. Such trends are important for forecasting the future of the company. Past years ratios are used to estimate the future therefore ratios are an important tool of preparing budgets and forecast statements. Limitations of ratio analysis             Despite the overwhelming usefulness of financial ratios, they are characterized by many drawbacks. To begin with, ratios are based on historical data. They are computed using historical financials but not pro forma statement. This poses a great challenge since the financials reflect the past financial position not the current situation. Ratios can thus lead to wrong decision making since what is true now may not be reflected by the past data. Decision making that is based on financial ratios may thus be misleading especially for material items and transactions. Ratios are also computed using financial statements that are normally prepared under accounting principles and policies. Different companies embrace varying policies and principles. The policies also vary with time within the same company. Owing to these variations, it becomes challenging to compare performance of different companies or even the performance of the same company over successive periods. Inflation and seasonal factors also threaten the validity and reliability of ratio analysis. Inflation impacts greatly on the financial statements just like seasonal factors such as economic cycles. Ratios are computed on the basis of historical financial statements which do not take into account the effects of price level changes and seasonal variations. Making decisions on the basis of financial ratios can thus be misleading. Conclusion and recommendation             Over the three years covered by this analysis, it can be seen that Tesco performed better than Sainsbury’s in terms of profitability, working capital ratios and investment ratios. The two companies are however characterized by falling liquidity ratios. To improve this trend, they should liquidate their cash efficiently through the capacity to convert current assets into cash quickly without necessarily selling their inventory. The profitability ratios of Tesco also observed to be declining over the period examined. The company thus should consider ways of improving its profitability such as cutting major costs of production or through increasing sales volume. References Albrecht, w. S., stice, e. K., & stice, j. D. (2007). Financial accounting. Mason, oh, thomson/south-western. Booker, j. (2006). Financial planning fundamentals. Toronto, cch canadian limited. Bucci, r. V. (2014). Medicine and business: a practitioner’s guide. Http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1697730. Coles, m. (1997). Financial management for higher awards. Oxford, heinemann.Geddes, r. (2002). Valuation and investment appraisal. Canterbury, financial world publ.Gitman, l. J., & mcdaniel, c. D. (2008). The future of business: the essentials. Mason, oh, thomson south-western. Hargreaves lansdown,. ‘Sainsbury (j) plc | financial statements & reports’. N.p., 2014. Web. 31 dec. 2014.Hargreaves lansdown,. ‘Tesco plc | financial statements & reports’. N.p., 2014. Web. 31 dec. 2014.Khan, m. Y., & jain, p. K. (2007). Financial management. New delhi, tata mcgraw-hill. Talekar, s. D. (2005). Management of working capital. New delhi, discovery pub. House.Tracy, j. A. (2011). Accounting for dummies. New york, ny, john wiley & sons. Http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-201410263287. Source document

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19th Century American Imperialism 20th Century War Essay Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan couldn’t have said it any better, â€Å"No nation had ever become great without control of foreign markets and access to the natural resources of foreign countries† (Kinzer 33). Throughout the years, America has had an astonishing obsession with the idea of global imperialism. One can’t help but ask the following question: what sparked this sudden obsession with global imperialism? Even though there are many different factors that helped spark this sudden movement, the biggest single factor was the industrialization of the world’s major industrialist societies, such as England, United States, Japan, and Germany. The sudden explosion of industrialization sparked a huge consumption of the earth’s natural resources, and initiated the need for expansion. Throughout the late 19th century up until today, America has approached global imperialism in a number of different ways. Methods such as deception, intimidation, fear, and violence have all been used throughout the American conquest in order to expand this imperialistic society. America had to start expanding and had to take over weaker countries. See more: Homelessness as a social problem Essay Americans had to look to faraway countries, weak countries, countries that had large markets and rich resources but had not yet fallen under the sway of any great power† (Kinzer 34). This paper will primarily focus on the reasoning provided by Kinzer’s book Overthrow. America has become the imperialistic society it is today because of the rapid 19th century industrialization and the constant American hunger for natural resources, territory, and global domination. â€Å"Whether they will or no, Americans must now begin to look outward. The growing production of the country demands it† (Kinzer 33). During the late 19th century, America enjoyed a successful conquest of Hawaii, Cuba, Philippines, and Nicaragua. Hawaii, which has always embraced a history of tradition and culture, was faced with the issue of modernization. Throughout the years, Hawaii had slowly started to fall under white control. Hawaii has always been a huge producer of sugar, with one problem. The major market for sugar was in the United States, but the Hawaiians could not export as much as they would like because of the high tariffs imposed on imported sugar in the States. When the reciprocity treaty as signed in the summer of 1876, Americans started installing military and commercial bases in Hawaii. The renewed treaty however was what really displayed that Hawaii was falling under white influence. The renewed treaty gave United States control of Pearl Harbor, an extremely fine natural port. On January 14th 1893, Queen Liliuokalani made a disturbing announcement to her cabinet. She proclaimed a new constitution which stated only Hawaiian citizens had the right to vote. This meant that the Hawaiian population of Americans would no longer be able to vote. This move gave Lorrin Thurston and John Colburn the reason they needed to initiate the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, which would mark America’s first overthrow of a foreign government. The alarmed Thurston quickly wrote a letter to John L. Stevens, requesting military assistance for the overthrow of the queen’s regime. Soon after, on July 4th 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was proclaimed. During the Spanish colonization of Cuba in 1897, William McKinley was sworn in as president of the United States. McKinley did not like the idea of the Spanish in Cuba. However when talking about McKinley, Kinzer states â€Å"William McKinley believed that a self-governed Cuba would pose an extreme threat to the United States, for they might not do Washington’s bidding† (Kinzer 35). After all, the revolutionary leaders in Cuba were already talking about the social reforms and land redistribution they wanted to initiate. This greatly alarmed many American businessmen, for over $50 million was invested primarily in Cuba’s agriculture. McKinley had finally had enough and had decided it was time to use military force to end the Spanish regime in Cuba. On April 25th 1898, the Spanish-American War had officially begun. After the Spanish surrender, America started to kill Cuba’s dream of independence. In the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain gave up all rights to Cuba, surrendered Puerto Rico and Guam, and sold Philippines for $20 million to the United States. The Platt Amendment gave the US some economic and military control of Cuba. McKinley initially only wanted to build a naval base at Manila, Philippines. Later however, he decided he would embark on a journey of Christianizing the country. This was unnecessary however, for most Filipinos were already Catholic. On June 2nd 1899, the official Philippine-American War started. The United States would win the war, and dissolute the First Philippine Republic. At this point, the United States had obtained, by force, full sovereignty over the Philippines. With Cuba, Hawaii, Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico under its belt, America now had access to a wide array of natural resources and an assortment of markets. However, the conquest would not end there. In order for one to understand the takeover of Nicaragua, one must understand Central America in the late 19th century. The late 19th century proved to be a strong idealistic era for Central America. Ideas of both social and political reforms were sweeping many Central nations, ideas inspired by European philosophers. These ideas were absolutely despised by the American government, for these ideas called for change. These ideas were admired by Central Americans because they all desired change. Jose Santos Zelaya became president of Nicaragua in 1893. He adopted many revolutionary changes, such as importing the automobile and legalizing civil marriage. He also had a very strong emphasis on building and expanding the country’s infrastructure. At first Zelaya and America were on good terms, for there have been talks of building a canal through Nicaragua. Later however, Panama was chosen as the building site, temporarily ending American interest in Nicaragua. As historian John Ellis wrote â€Å"To the State Department, Nicaragua was no longer a country that needed to be coddled or cared for in preparation for future usefulness, rather, it was not a country that needed to be watched carefully and kept in line† (Kinzer 60). A very strong nationalist, Zelaya was giving some of the American business based in his country trouble, which didn’t appeal to the United States secretary of state Philander Knox. What angered Knox even more was that Zelaya went to European banks to borrow money for his railroad project, not American banks. This showed the Taft administration that Nicaragua was trying not to depend on the States as much as they used to, which of course cause congressional panic. After much trouble from Knox, Zelaya finally resigned in 1909. After the brief command of Jose Madriz, Juan Jose Estrada took over the country, and the new conservative government was much admired and supported by the United States. Estrada’s coming to power marks the conquest of Nicaragua, because of America’s strong influence on Estrada’s regime. As demonstrated, the United States has always obtained a hostile approach regarding takeovers and conquest. The first overthrow took place in Hawaii where the queen was relieved of her position. Cuba was later obtained from Spain with the help of brute force and intimidation. Philippines and Puerto Rico were also obtained in the same fashion. Nicaragua’s government fell victim to an American sponsored coup, and their government was taken over by the Americans. It seems like there has always been a recurring pattern throughout American history. If you try to stand up to the US government, you will go down. If you operate your country in a way that doesn’t appeal to the US government, you’re going down. If you just happen to be doing good for your country, there’s still a good chance you’re still going down. America has always been that big bully that beats on the little kids at school, because they are just too weak to defend themselves. America throughout the 19th century was a product of a heavily industrialized society, a society that must rely on domination of other markets and other countries’ resources in order to keep expanding and thriving.

Albert Beveridge | The March of the Flag Speech

Albert Beveridge | The March of the Flag Speech Albert Beveridge, an enthusiastic imperialist, was campaigning for the Indiana senator seat in 1898 when he delivered The March of the Flag speech. The speech, which was published later in the Indianapolis Journal, was pronounced one month after the signing of armistice. The speech aimed at promoting US imperialism both as a divine and national mission that originated with Thomas Jefferson. In the speech, he used religious rhetoric and invoked God eleven times to appeal to an audience. The audience expected politicians to know the Holy Scriptures and took divine Providence as Manifest Destiny. He envisaged the US taking a colonial which he defined in terms of a divine mission. Running as the party of prosperity, economic stability and the gold standard, Republicans won the 1896 presidential election. William McKinley easily defeated the populist Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan, having gotten enormous campaign contributions mainly from big businesses. He was to usher in a long period of republican dominance in the countys politics. During the period, Cuba was experiencing a humanitarian crisis and the US intervened by attacking Spain in April 1898, quickly acquiring Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. However, in the Philippines, it took a long and brutal war to quell mounting internal rebellion. When the speech was being delivered, the status of the new territories had not been settled. Through the speech, Beveridge put forward the idea that the US was obligated to extend civilization to the conquered territories as a key platform for bolstering American economic strength. The speech aimed at celebrating American victory. However, behind the enthusiasm lay a burning desire to counter the critics of the imperialist move who Beverage referred to as they in the speech (paragraph 10). The critics, who constituted the great proportion of the electorate, were adamantly opposed and very reluctant to embrace an idea of an imperial America. The speech starts with adulation of his country in epic terms (paragraphs 1-3). Later, he puts across the main issue behind the campaign in paragraphs 4 to7: the decision to or not to pursue an imperialist policy. In paragraphs 8-11, he justifies his countrys pursuance of the imperialist policy and answers objections of anti-imperialists. The objections, he says defies the notion of patriotism and celebration of Americas power. Beveridges first argument was founded on the fact that his countys geographical position gave it political and economic power in terms of resources, size and location dividing the two imperial oceans. This assertion implied that Americas superiority was beyond that of all European powers. In paragraph 3, he refers to myth of the west in relation to the unexplored land or wilderness (paragraph 3). He mentions the heroes of expansionary wars and puts forward a mythic observation of the western conquest of the 1840s (paragraph 7). Beveridges third argument centres on racial superiority. He alludes to the blood (paragraph 2) and evokes the feeling of power associated as evidenced by the virility of the countrys multiplying people. In his view, the increase in American population is sue to their virility and is not related to immigration: this illustrates the mythic approach that America gives to its problems. President Roosevelt would pose as an energetic and virile man on several occasions. This cult of force, power and energy suggests a Darwinian twist in Beverigdes ideas. He also uses religious arguments to advance his idea of imperialism. Reading through the speech, one can be forgiven for thinking that it is a piece of O Sullivans Manifest Destiny. The only variation is that Beveridges religious propositions were mostly expressed in a scientifically inspired language. To his country, the grace of God is feels as inevitable. He later makes reference to natures law in regard to the divine determinism thereby directing his argument in a pseudo scientific explanation of imperialism. In paragraph 5, Beveridge adds yet another dimension to his argument-that of a historical mission of duty. This suggests a traditional puritan idea of stewardship as renewed by the Gospel of wealth during the Gilded Age. Stewardship aimed at civilising people and converting them to Christianity at the same time. Along with the call to stewardship came the need to extend democracy to those perceived to be oppressed. Ironically, the freedom that the American liberators could bring didnt go as far as extending freedom to all. Beveridge calls it rules of liberty self-government. Beveridges insistence on the sense of mission blankets what is a major preoccupation for his country economical predominance. In paragraph 6, he uses the word reward in reference to the parable of Talent. This is a clever marriage of religious economic rhetoric. In his view, rewards were to come in form of new riches and markets- an idea prevalent in the Gospel of wealth that takes wealth for Gods blessing. This shows that the real aim behind imperialism is indeed commercial supremacy. The recurrence of the words domination and power in last paragraph are indicators of this fact. Contextually, the approaching elections were his countrys short term preoccupation. In the long term, the preoccupation was whether the new territories would be annexed to America. Beveridge wanted even more territories to be annexed after the Philippines. His stand was that the values of the American Revolution were not contradictory to the policy of annexation and the views of those living in the annexed territories. To him, the colonised were inferior people who couldnt enjoy the values of American Revolution in equal measure to the Americans. This was a flat rejection of the notion of equality (paragraph 8-10). The constitution should not follow the flag- i.e. the annexed territories shouldnt enjoy the constitutional entitlements of his countrys constitution. His racist mindset clearly comes to the fore in chapter 10 when he describes as inferior the people of foreign lands as savages and alien populations. He envisaged a colonial America governing the new territories since England did it to America. Besides, he explains that the Indians experience offered ideas as to how to handle the conquered. In clearly distinctive wording of we versus them, he is opposed to assimilation of those savages with the mainstream Americans (paragraph 8). His mentality correlates well with that of southerners towards the blacks prior to the Civil War. Finally, he defends the Philippines conquest as a rampart to the then greedy competition for territories by world powers saying that if US didnt do it, other powers would do so. The article is no doubt a celebration of American mythical and heroic founding. It features an explicit show of force and brutality: economic domination of conquered territories, virility of the American population, racial competition and accumulation of wealth at the expense of conquered territories. It evokes the feeling of American supremacy since its founding and the brutal materialism that continues to define American way of life down to the present. The vocabulary indicates both cynicism and naivety. The militant celebration served to convince the deeply cynical electorate to pull in the direction of imperial America. It is naive to the fact that such imperialism deeply violated the values of America as a nation, a fact that could not resonate well with not only the electorate but also the leftist leaning statesmen of the time. To best drive his point home, he insisted on syntactical patterns and repetition of words to bring the audience to his point of focus. His frequent use of questions and answers gave the speech a polemical quality and seemed like a dialogue with his audience. This particularly made the cynical audience evaluate its stand with every posing of a question and giving of a suggested answer. The speech is highly representative of a critical and decisive moment of history in the making of American nation, capturing in great colour the prevalent ideology then. The speech brought out the natural fusion of state policy and Biblical injunction (religion). Implicit in the speech is the ideology that the non-white world was inferior and unable to govern itself. It therefore needed the benevolent Americans civilizing affects. Alexander K. McClure, ed (1902). Famous American Statesmen Orators. VI. New York: F. F. Lovell Publishing Company. p. 3. Book Review: A Field of One’s Own: Gender and Land Rights Book Review: A Field of One’s Own: Gender and Land Rights Book review of A FIELD OF ONE’S OWN: GENDER AND LAND RIGHTS IN SOUTH ASIA by BINA AGARWAL (Cambridge South Asian Studies, 1994) This book is first of its kind. It is the first major study of gender and land rights of woman in the region. This book aims to tackle various gender bias arguments that are put forward by patriarchal society for not giving women the land rights. This book has been of utmost significance in affecting policies providing land rights to women. As in India, it prepared the ground for the incorporation of fairly radical recommendations in Ninth Five year plan. It also led ministry of rural areas and employment in November, 1997 to set up 3 member committee for Gender equality in land devolution in tenurial laws to reform the rules governing inheritance of agricultural land.[1] Book starts with emphasising the role of women in major movements be it Chipko movement in UP or Bodhgaya movement in Bihar, yet women did not receive any share of land that was distributed after these movements. She also describes these struggles vividly at the end of the book that how women participated in Tebhaga struggle, Telangana struggle, Bodhgaya struggle yet the benefits were received all by males and they were said to get back to their household work. It is only in Bodhgaya struggle that they managed to get land jointly in their names after a strenuous struggle. Agarwal pointed out the role of the state in establishing women’s land rights through land distribution. There has been always focus on basic needs such as education, health of women, but she explains it is equally important to focus on giving land rights to women in policy formulation. State has assumed that giving land to male would take care of complete family including women. Assumption of family as singl e entity and benefits get distributed equally holds in state’s allocation of land. But she said that bargaining power plays as much role inside household as much in market. She stressed on women having â€Å"independent rights in land† demanding rights not just in law but in practice as well. This is what would essentially give women more bargaining power according to her. Though she says that an even joint title over land is also beneficial for women than having no land but having independent control over land would give them greater flexibility. Role of the state in establishing land rights for women have been emphasised often in this book. It has well evidenced in this book that because state does not show much interest in giving rights to women that the issue remains suppressed under the carpet. Like it was shown in the case of Garos, a tribal community in North-east India that state policies was largely responsible for erosion of women land rights. She very well also focuses on the fact that how scholars and policy makers have wrongly interpreted Marxist ideology. Engels said â€Å"In capitalist societies, gender relation would be hierarchical among property owning families of bourgeoisie where women did not go out to work and egalitarian in property less proletarian families where women were in labour force.† It was essentially focusing on the fact that abolition of private property could restore women land rights. This was largely ignored by even the left wing parties whose main focus was on land redistribution. While discussing the absence of a gendered focus in redistributive programmes, Operation Barga in West Bengal is taken as a case in point, where primarily men were registered. While the criticism on grounds of non-registration of women is perfectly valid, the critique mounted of the Left certainly needs to take note of the issues involved, especially since the left-inclined women were some of the most outspoken in demanding land rights for women. While pointing out the patriarchal bias in land reforms implemented by Left-led governments, it may have also been useful to explore what implications the abandonment of the land reforms programme altogether by other political configurations has on the economy in general and the lives of women specifically.[2] Agarwal claims that despite the legislations favouring land rights to women, very few have effective land control. Even in the few cases where women had land rights, the right to decision concerning sale of land or produce of land rests with male family head or male kin. In some cases, land rights were not given in a fair manner. Women would get a lower share than their male counterparts. Agarwal then comes on to the issue which is the main argument of Agarwal on why land rights are at all important for women and society in general. It is premised on: a) women’s bargaining power increases in home as well as in society (b) it is easy to find non farm employment opportunities (c) children are better taken care of if women has the money in her hand (d)Security of women will be assured if she has an asset (e)land will not be fragmented if it in the hands of women and its productivity will rise and so on. Likewise various reasons for giving rights to women have been brought forth from welfare, empowerment and equality perspectives. Enough reasons and counter reasons of providing land to women have been provided. Though scholars like Cecile Jackson has argued that increased women participation in land rights will induce conflict in household rather than mitigating it[3]. But Agarwal argues here that women already are in conflict in household going through various forms of harassment and violence. She says â€Å"In any case, if everything difficult were to be set aside on the argument that it might cause intra-family conflict, then where would we go with women’s struggles over reproductive rights, or over gend er-equal education, or over their freedom to choose their marriage partners or professions, and so on?†[4] She claims that giving rights to women who works on land will lead to more productivity from some empirical works. But Jackson refuses to take this argument and says this is just the logic of incentives that work here. So even if men are given rights they will have more incentive to increase productivity. But to propose that transfer of land from male to female ownership within a landed household is justified on this evidence is another matter entirely. Agarwal very well inculcated the argument of increasing bargaining power of women at household, community and the state level for empowerment of women. A member’s bargaining position is determined by the strength of person’s fall back position. If women possess an asset it will not only improve their fall back position but also give them greater bargaining power both within the household as well as outside. They can bargain for subsistence within the family and for fair distribution of resources in the community. Implicit or explicit bargaining can occur between an individual and the community over the rules governing economic resource use, political positions and social behaviour. Women’s bargaining strength with the state depends on factors such as whether they are able to organize themselves into groups and garner the support of media. Agarwal also brings forth the fact that it is majorly inheritance and succession practices which is customary rather than defined by law. In this customary inheritance of ancestral property, land goes to males of the family. She has pointed that this succession practice was not biased earlier where tribes like Garos, Nayars in India and many in Sri Lanka gave land rights and inheritance rights to women. However this has slowly eroded due to changes in customary practices and scarcity of land over which women had little control. She tries to find out what really defines land rights or inheritance rights for women by studying various communities in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. She extensively studies and tabulates the nature of communities, marriage practices, marries close kin or not, residence after marriage, sexual freedom. Causation was established thus that if women marry with a close kin or remain within the village after marriage they can exercise control ov er any inherited property. However even in matrilineal or bilateral communities, jural authority or authority to participate in caste council rested with males. This is an essential feature which restricted women to have control over their lands. Their participation in caste councils have been fundamentally restricted which intensified the sufferings of women as there was no one to listen to their apathy. So as Agarwal says they ‘largely remain takers and not makers of many decisions that deeply affect their lives’. This is emphasised often that if women enter the struggle through ‘state apparatus’, it could be a crucial step towards women empowerment. Agarwal has also captured the essential aspect of this debate that why women don’t exercise their rights even if they can and is defined under law. Women tend to face various difficulties while inheriting land in traditionally patrilineal communities. They tend to voluntarily give up land rights in lieu of getting access to her brother’s house. Brother’s support is considered crucial in every aspect of women’s life customarily. Also women are at the receiving end of hostility from male kin in case she tries to exercise her rights. They are dependent on male kin for mediation with outside world. Other reason is that she finds it difficult to have land rights is lack of support from village bodies and government official as they are not allowed to participate in village panchayats and state bodies. Also the patwaris (village land records official) commonly present in Northern India favour custom law over existing law by registering land in names of males of the family only. Again the concern of unwillingness of the state and government officials to protect the rights of women is put forth. Even if the state enforces laws for women but it does not ensure practice of it rather promotes unwritten customary laws. Thus she points out that it will be less difficult to enforce land rights in Nepal, Sri Lanka and south India where the customs favouring women rights are into existence. It would be much difficult to apply in Pakistan, Northern India. Further Agarwal gives counter arguments for the reasons put forward by patriarchal society for not giving share of economic resources to women. Firstly, it is believed that if women own land they will not be able to access resources and since they are generally illiterate they will not be able to cultivate effectively. Agarwal counter argued it by providing a very admiring solution to this. She said that it will be effective if women could cultivate jointly as a group. This way they can pool resources and also can access credit easily. Also women have extensive knowledge of indigenous seeds and farming technique. If women operate as a group they can exercise greater bargaining power over community resources than if they work individually. Secondly, according to the slogan ‘land goes to the tiller’, women cannot have the right over land. Though it is the women who cultivate land yet they hold no rights over it. It was said that land will go to the tiller. Women were not a llowed to plough the land not just because of heaviness of the work but it is considered against the customs. So though the women sow the seed and harvested the crops without which there would have been no production yet they were denied land rights just if they did not plough the land. Another argument that is put forward by patriarchal society which though has been captured by other scholars like Goody(1973, 1976) that if women were given rights on ancestral property then their marriages have been tried to control. This argument is refreshed by Agarwal through empirical evidence taking in account both immovable and movables given as dowry. Patriarchal society claims that they give women their due share when they depart from house after marriage. But it is not recorded on the paper neither it is distributed in a fair manner. Also generally immovable like land is not passed on to daughter due to various considerations of distance and marrying a non kin. So generally the dowry that t he daughter gets is not used by her rather her in-laws use it. It is very interesting how she has captured the fact that songs, words and silence has been used as mediums of protest. Songs of folklore have been given as example to get an understanding of the fact that women interweave their sufferings in songs which pokes at patriarchal society. Sometimes silence and other times words were used as mediums to protest against the society which largely denies them rights. Small protests at home like daring to leave the house of husband is highlighted by Agarwal to point that woman actually suffered but did not come up openly to ask their rights. Various solutions have been put forward at the end of the book in the chapter ‘The long march ahead’. a)It is essential that state policies should be framed to incorporate gender equality b) Inheritance rather than dowry is the critical aspect for gaining bargaining power in household c) greater participation of women in jural bodies and representation in decision making bodies at village level d) women can acquire land rights as a group as it promotes infrastructural support. These solutions are expressed by Agarwal as, (p.494) â€Å"The shift in approach from welfare oriented to empowerment oriented, from top-down to participative, and from individual focused to group focused, in the 1980s, is an important step forward.† Agarwal concludes that struggle for gender equity is no different from struggles on many other fronts such as for democratic rights, against communalism etc. Also there has been increasing interaction among women groups internationally across Asia which has the potential for catalysing the formation of regional pressure groups around common concerns. It is not very clear how giving land rights will improve condition of women and productivity of land as there are many other empirical evidence other than those quoted by her that reveal in opposite direction. Whether land rights could be a single solution to various problems faced by women is doubtful. But land rights could be considered to be an essential first step towards women empowerment. As Agarwal makes it clear that what has crucial bearing on gender relation is not just rights over economic resources but also how, that is the process through which it is acquired. Acquiring those rights will require simultaneous struggles agains t many different facets of gender inequalities embedded in social norms and practices, access to public decision-making bodies at every level, gendered ideas and representations, and so on. It will require shifts in power balances in women’s favour in several different arenas: within the household, in the community and the market, and at different tiers of the state apparatus. REFERENCES: Bina Agarwal â€Å"Women’s Land Rights and the Trap of Neo-Conservatism: A Response to Jackson† (2003), Journal of Agrarian change 571-585 Bina Agarwal, Gender and land rights revisited: Exploring the new prospects through the state, family and market, Journal of Agrarian Change, 2003, 184-224 Cecile Jackson â€Å"Gender Analysis of Land: Beyond Land Rights for Women?† (2003) 3 Journal of Agrarian Change 453-480 Indu Agnihotri â€Å"Bringing Land Rights Centre-Stage† (1996), Economic and Political Weekly [1] Agarwal, Journal of Agrarian Change, 2003 [2] Indu Agnihotri â€Å"Bringing Land Rights Centre-Stage† (1996), Economic and Political Weekly [3] Cecile Jackson â€Å"Gender Analysis of Land: Beyond Land Rights for Women?† (2003) 3 Journal of Agrarian Change 453-480 [4] Agarwal Bina â€Å"Women’s Land Rights and the Trap of Neo-Conservatism: A Response to Jackson† (2003), Journal of Agrarian change 571-585

Introduction Of Tourism Industry In Mauritius

Introduction Of Tourism Industry In Mauritius My Management Research Report is aimed at analysing the tourism sector of Mauritius and how it has been evolved over the years to attract foreign expatriates. As tourism is one of the fastest growing industry in the world, people are willing to travel to different parts of the world to experience the different culture and events which they find interesting. Thus tourism nowadays have been evolved to cater all the different masses of the public. The research report also shows the various development procedures implemented by the government to attract more tourists to the island as tourism is one the main pillar of the Mauritius economy. The report discusses the discovery of the island, its evolution process whereby Mauritius was occupied by Portuguese, Dutch, French, British and finally gained independence. The Report also discusses the transport facilities, promotional activities, cultural cuisine and festivities, Primary landmarks and attractions. It also discuses different type of tour packages available for beach holiday makers to adventurous holidays makers. It shows how the Mauritian social, economy, political, technological field has benefited by the tourism sector. Improvements that are made to convert the low-income tourist destination to one the worlds best tourist brands. Mauritius is emerging as world class business and banking sector. It is now considered as the hub for the financial transaction and known as Singapore of the West. The research shows how the tourism Industry has affected the social, technological, economics, ecology and political aspect of Mauritius. The 7Ps marketing strategies like Product, Price, Place, People, Process, Promotion, and Physical Evidence applied to improve the tourism sector. The research also analyses the factors like international competition, Recession, climatic change, perception of luxury, middle class population, demographic change, technological change, security, health aspects, that affects the tourism industry. Keywords: Maslows theory of Motivation, Marketing strategy, Infrastructure, Communication Introduction of tourism industry in Mauritius My Management Research Report is based on how Tourism Industry has supported Mauritius by elevating the progression into infrastructure and the development (economy) of the whole island. Also which should be improved more so that to give the island more potential values and worthy for the population as well as the tourists. Mauritius is known as Paradise Island by tourists and is found in the South West of Indian Ocean. Mauritius is dependent on sugar production since its independence in 1968. Mauritius economy is dependent on crucial pillars of financial services, business process outsourcing (e.g- textiles), tourism Information Technology. Mauritius is one of the best Africas massive sugar exporters to Europe, and most of its refined sugar is exported to the EU. Mauritius is a parliamentary Republic and a member of the United Nations, Southern African development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African union, La Francophonie and the commonwealth. The island ranked as an upper-middle income economy, it has been ranked as the best governed country in all of Africa. It is the only African country with full democracy. The archipelago is ranked the 7th best destination in Africa. Discovery of the Island Mauritius is surrounded by beautiful blue or turquoise crystal seas and white sandy beaches. The word Paradise Island described its beauty in nature (Eco tourism parks, volcanoes, etc). The islands populace is composed of several ethnicities, including Indian, African, Chinese and French. The main spoken languages are Mauritian Creol, French and English. Asian languages also form part of the linguistic mosaic of the island. Many hotel staffs are fluent in German, Italian and Spanish. Due to others countries, Mauritius too has its own history which marked the island and also the population, with history of sailors who visited the island in the early past by Portuguese in 1507. Then continue furthermore with European.. In 1598 by Dutch who landed in Grand Port and named the island Mauritius. In 1735 arrived the French governor Mahà © de La Bourdonnais constructed some of the famous buildings which are still standing till today and are site touristic for tourists. After French came th e British. The famous bird the dodo which was extinct but still live in our memories till now. The evolution that had taken place throughout the years In the early 1970, it was an exclusive destination with only a few air carriers servicing it. To attract tourists, the government created a national airline, for increasing capacity to and from traditional markets (UK, Franceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) extending progressively its network so as to reach new tourist markets. In 1971, The hotel School was created to sustain growth of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry by providing skilled labour for the different functional parts of hotels, tour operators. Then, in the 1980s, the government attracted foreign hotel groups such as South African Sun International and well renowned labels such as Meridien etc to position Mauritius as an upmarket destination focusing on sea and sand. The marketing focused on opinion leaders and cinema stars who were invited to stay in Mauritius, road shows were organised by the then Mauritius Government Tourist Organisation. The liberalisation of air access in the years 2000, attracted a number of carriers so as to match increasing number of hotels and rooms. The rise in bungalows and small hotels coupled with the venue of new air carriers such as Virgin or French Corsair attracted new waves of tourists, more downmarket and with lower disposable income. In the years 2000, several green concepts such as Casela, La Vanille Crocodile Park etc. were launched for environment conscious market segment. As from 2009, with the economic recession in Europe, the traditional market, Mauritius tried to explore new emerging markets such as China. As China is a massive rich country, it can maintain Mauritius beneficial by rising its economic. On the other hand, Chinese compensate with finance erection and infrastructure proposition has been a grateful relief, even when it has been attached to the use of Chinese Labour and inputs. In 2010, even with a critical budgeting Mauritius has faced to overcome and with its big surprised the tourists have been increasing. It is a nice performance for the island even if recession has popped up. Whereas in 2011, Mauritius wishes to lift Tourism markets outside Europe. In 2012, Mauritius Tourism Sector is targeting on emerging markets and found India as a first class source market. The strategy is to penetrating the Indian market and to focus on the exploit of MICE and Wedding Segments. The Indian Travel trade to advertise and to sell Mauritius as a MICE destination. According to the Minister of Tourism Leisure Mr Michael Yeung Sik Yuen, their requirements are to set Mauritius as a high level standard of luxury and accommodation, travel, meetings and conference arrangements, host team building activities, etc. As well as promoting Mauritius as a Golf and Wellness Tourism destination. India is ranked the 6th biggest market for Mauritius and the country registered 53,955 Indian arrivals last year. Travel trade is crucial to grow up tourism to Mauritius. As the island was struggling to Economic progress and it saw improvement of the means of communication and a gradual upgrading of infrastructure. Telecommunication in Mauritius are easy to access with internet facilities to one country or to another. Nowadays, the world has been changing and the island too has been thrived for a better future for the population with the incoming of tourism. Tourist Industry has brought lot of reinforcement to the environment of the island. This help in maintenance and renovation of new infrastructure and construction of new buildings. With Tourist Industry, the island has a lot of potential activities such as construction lot of hotels around. Government has given them lot of opportunities, so with new erection of new hotels tourists can enjoy themselves with luxury spas, excursions. Mauritius has been developed due to the arrivals of tourists to the island. Towards a quality tourism in Mauritius, AHRIM (Association des Hà ´teliers et Restaurateurs de là ®le Maurice) launched in 1973 and it is a non-profitable organisation and their members have 85% hotels sector which are ready to welcome tourists every day. Perfect quality deals with good customer service, it is prior in any organisation. On the other hand, Segmentation is vital and support the selling of the destination. Segmentation is divided into 4 groups of market which are:- Demographic By selling the destination, Mauritius need to target different types of customers to their age, types of family leisure by positioning its own products on the market. Geographic Tourists will discover the beautiful green paradise by staying in harmony with nature. Psychographic Mauritius is a paradise island and with its multicultural people, tourists will have the opportunities to discover the lifestyle, cultures, different types of delicious food and as well as their values. Behavioural Tourists will have the chance to learn the typical Sà ©ga dance and also the knowledge and attitudes of the local people. Even that they can organise some special occasion such as wedding with different cultural types of wedding. Due to the splendid climate in Mauritius, tourists can enjoy their break times and honeymoon. Transports in Mauritius Tourism sector in Mauritius, Air Mauritius is a good company that aims to acquire expected demand of its customers. With Air Mauritius Fleet, travelling is more easier for the tourists. The company is the fourth largest carrier in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tourism is one of the main elements for the foreign currency, with expected revenue to rise up. Mauritius planned to expand its airport and its target is to accommodate 4 million passengers a year. Transport in Mauritius has increased and some buses have air con where can feel very comfortable. The problems that they acquired are traffics, to solve out with it can be by examples cable car or train like in the past. With too much transport around its not good for the population and the tourists because of the air pollution. The difficulties that Mauritius will face if Air Mauritius do not find a way to provide more routes it will be critical for the tourism industry. By comparing Mauritius to its other competitors, it has risen up since 2 007. Otherwise it must be on its guard as according to the rate of percentage Sri Lanka is on the path to overtake Mauritius. How to promote Mauritius? The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) plays a crucial role in the island by finding solutions to advertise the island overseas as tourist destination. The objectives of (MTPA) is to acquired the goal by advising to the minister how to promote the island to the tourists by build up campaigns and participating in tourism fairs. This action will initiate the necessary to the other tourism agencies to collaborate by providing more information on the facilities, infrastructures and services available to them in Mauritius. Their duties are to do market tourism research on the trends and opportunities, so that to relevant statistical data on Mauritius. In 2010, Mauritius was awarded as Best Stand FITUR, Indian Oceans Leading Destination World Travel Award, Indian Oceans Leading Beach Destination World Travel Award and finally in 2011 was granted Worlds Leading Island Destination World Travel Award. MICE touches the heart of Mauritius Brand and marketing are two aspects of armour for Mauritius. They entertain the key of success of the tourism industry. According for (MICE) Mauritius is the Indian Oceans Leading Light. Mauritius accommodation has a great aspirational destination by offering a diverse mix of hotels with strong luxury target. In 2008, the Four Seasons Resort and Spa at Anahita and The Grand Mauritian were launched and which formed part of Starwoods Luxury Collection. In 2009, the International Mauritius Resort Balaclava fort has been established. This introduces of high portrait of luxury hotel brands. Mauritius is appealing as a high-end destination and offering genuine value for money. When comparing with the other Indian Ocean destinations, Mauritius has a tremendously superior conference offering. The islands capital which is Port Louis, boasts the extensive purpose built convention centre in the Indian Ocean the Swami Vivekanada International Convention Centre, which has hosted a number of blu e-chip companies and can accommodate 20 to 5,000 delegates. Other venues include the International Conference Centre in Grand Baie (up to 600) and the Freeport Exhibition Centre in Mer Rouge (up to 1,000). Many of Mauritius hotels also have the competence to procure for up to 800 delegates. The archipelago do not consist only of mountains, forests, beautiful sandy beaches, culture, history and hospitality but also has a vast potential due to MICE segmentation. Mauritius acquires all the secret key ingredients that are referred for the successful meetings, incentives, conferences and events. Mauritius offers a large excellent of accommodation with best-known quality and luxury hotel brands. Through the Cultural Cuisine Mauritius food is of exceptional quality with varieties of flavours and aromas inherited from different settlers through the islands history. The cuisine of Mauritius is mostly influenced by Creole, Chinese, European and Indian population. Mauritius is greatly influenced and has strong ties with the French culture, the cuisine like tuna salad, la daube, coq au vin, bouillion and the dessert are mostly popular. During the 19th century the Indian workers who had settled in Mauritius brought their own unique flavours. Mostly the cuisine from north and south India like curry, chutneys, rougaille, pickles are more popular. With the arrival of the Chinese migrants by the end of the 19th century, brought the Chinese cuisine like noodles, spring roll etc. Mostly all the hotels and restaurants throughout the island offers different cuisine like Creole, Chinese, Indian, European etc to give one of the finest exceptional platter to the tourist. Motivation of the Island The Motivation to develop the island into major strategic tourism sector was probably achieved due to the fact that there are no major industrial revolution taking place. Mauritius is primarily an agriculture based country where the migrant from different parts of the world came to settled down there. The development and successful implementation of the Tourism sector in Mauritius can be accredited with the motivational theory of Abraham H. Maslow. According to Maslow, Only the unsatisfied needs are prime source of motivations. (Maslow, 1954) Maslow suggested that there are 5 needs systems that account for most of our behaviour. They are: Survival Safety or Security Sense of Belonging Ego-status Self-actualization (Courtesy : http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm) Improvements made in Tourism Sector As Tourism is an important contributor to economic growth of the Mauritian Island, Internal and External factors greatly influence the success of the Tourism industry. Infrastructure Significant improvements has been made in developing the infrastructure for the Mauritian Tourism Industry. Improvements in the following sectors has been made to attract tourist from different parts of the world. Airports : The infrastructure at the airports have been upgraded to provide the tourist with hassle free and quick services. The frequency of the flights has been increased by allowing national and international airline carriers to provide the flight service from Mauritius to different parts of the world. The main Airline carrier providing the flight services to the tourist are EpyptAir, Air Mauritius, Lufthansa, South African Airways, Emirates etc The following graph shows that the arrival of the tourist has increased in the last decade. (Courtesy: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/mauritius/international-tourism-number-of-arrivals-wb-data.html) Hotels: Excellent world class Hotel experience has been provided to the tourist to experience the island paradise. Mainly all the hotels in Mauritius provide different level of luxury to cater the budget of tourist. Wide range of hotel from world class villas, six/five star hotels to cheap accommodation is being offered to the tourist depending on their budget experience. The hotels also offers different packages like honeymoon offers, targeted destination offers, early booking offers, long stay offers to attract the tourist to stay for longer period of time. According to Brown Increased length of stay in Mauritius between 1983 and 1997 coincided with an increased in visitor satisfaction levels (Brown, 1987) The occupational rates of the hotel is between 70-80% throughout the year. From the graph we can see the peak periods are from Mid December to Mid January. (Courtesy : http://www.tropicscope.com/mauritius_information/mauritius_hotels.php) According to Lockhard and Chandra, Long-haul and short-haul tourist generating markets have different length of stay. (Lockhard/Chandra, 1997) Attractions :Mauritius is primarily a holiday destination for beach-resort tourist. It possesses a wide range of natural and man-made attractions. Mauritius enjoys a sub-tropical climate with crystal clear blue beaches, tropical fauna and flora complemented by multi-ethnic population. The people of Mauritius are friendly and welcoming. The Main Landmarks are: Le Morne Cultural Landscape: UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE Aapravasi Ghat: UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE The Second Oldest Racing Club in the World The Third Country in the World to Introduce Golf to its Shores Since Mauritius is an island it provides excellent water sports for the adventurous tourists. As the island is famous for its idyllic blue sea water sports such as dolphin-watching, sea kayaking, deep-sea fishing, kite surfing, blue safari submarine are very popular among the tourists. Marketing Strategy Based on the demographic information provided by the Ministry of Mauritius, different marketing strategies are planned to attract the tourist to the island nation. Marketing strategies are created for the national and international tourist. For the national tourist day-trippers in the local newspapers or on radio are provided by providing special and festivities discounts to keep the national tourists interested. For tourists from outside tourism brochures, online information are provided by different web sites. Technology has been a tremendous boon to create awareness among the international tourist by providing information online. There are many sites like http://www.tourism-mauritius.mu that allow the international tourist to plan their vacation and their whole itinerary from the luxury of their homes. There are many sites that allow the tourists to customize their destination Marketing is done through conventions, promotions, experience. Effective marketing strategies play an imp ortant part to provide the repeat value for the tourist. Marketing strategy is devised based on : Product : Here the product is the island itself. Different places of interest, sports and festivities can be highlighted to attract the tourist. It is found in the survey conducted by the Mauritian Government that tourist flock to the island nation during the month of December and January as the island enjoys excellent climate during these period as well as festivities also help the tourists to flock to the place. Price : Finance plays an important role. Different package tours are devised to promote the tourism industry. According to the survey, it is known fact there is growing number of middle class tourist that come to visit the island nation. Tours that caters to tourist of all the pocket size from world class international travellers to adventurous back-packers travel to the island nation to enjoy the climatic ambience of Mauritius. Place : Mauritius is full of landmark places. Different parts has its own significance. Northern coast of island is the most developed part in the recent years. It provides good restaurants and discotheques. It contains some of charming sights like the red-roofed church that overlooks the lagoons at Cap Malheurex. The south coast of the island provides different landscape than the rest part of the island. It contains high cliffs that are battered by waves of the sea. These are created where the protective coral reefs falls away on the seabed. The east coast of the island is known as the jewel in the Mauritius crown. It is comprised of exquisite coves and emerald lagoons. It contains some of the best beaches like Belle Mare. It is an idyllic place for the holidaymaker. The west coast of the island is known for the dolphins that come to these waters to rest and breed. It is ideal place for dolphin-watching. The inlands also known as highlands consists of four major town like Quatre Bor nes, Curepipe, Rose Hill, Vacoas. Promotion : Mauritius has an excellent promotional activities devised by the private and public sector. According to the survey, the promotional budget has increased in the recent years. According to the demographic survey the main promotional activities are carried out by brochures, mails, emails, online promotions, print media advertisement, local radio announcements. For the international tourists the email and web marketing is more effective and generate a lot of interest. Recently more revenue is generated through online promotional activities as people find it easier to use technology to get connected around the world. Also, Promotional activities like special discounts, religious festivities discounts, honeymoon discounts are planned to counter the off-peak seasons to attract more inland tourist. According to the survey, internet is the main source to obtain the travel information as well as to promote the tourism sector. People : People are main pillars in the tourism sector. Tourist are like Gods, who keep the finance flow in the tourist industry. People are main source from providing the service to acknowledging the services. People form the team that provides the services involved in hotels, recreations, transportation etc, without whom the tourist industry will be crippled. People make it possible to achieve the goals set by the tourist sector. Process : Though Place, People, Price and Promotion are four main part of the marketing strategy, they are tied together to form a process. It is used to provide consistency to the strategy. The effectiveness of the process is measured by how well the marketing strategy is received by the customers. It provides an organized way on how to deal with the customers when they come in, how they are welcomed and how well they are taken care of by providing proper communication channel. Steps are taken to provide quick and effective service to the customers. It defines how the steps to be taken so the customers come again and again thus generating the goodwill for the tourism sector. Physical Evidence : It provides a way to interact with the customers directly through the means of feedback form, surveys to discuss about the requirement and the satisfactory level. It is a means to collect the information from the customers, so necessary changes or amendments can be made to suit the customers. It adds value to the tourism industry as it is entirely people centric industry, so the satisfaction of the tourist is of outmost importance. Factors affecting the Tourism As in any industry there are certain factors that keeps on changing and the organization has to make effective changes to the industry. According to marketing research Tourism industry in Mauritius will be affected by the following factors in future. Climatic change : Due to Climatic changes, the tourism sector of Mauritius can be adversly affected. Tourism is one of the major industry that brings foreign currency income to the country. Due to rising in the sea levels the coastal areas of Mauritius, where majority of hotels are located where the tourists can enjoy the aquatic entertainment can be adversely affected. To counter these problems, inland tourism entertainment should be made. International competition : Intense international competition has become a major problem for the policy makers and investors in the tourism industries. Tourism industry has developed to become a pillar of the Mauritian economy. But other countries like Seychelles, Maldives, Srilanka are catching up with the competition. As Mauritius is known as the Culture Nation, new marketing strategy and policy should be developed to promote culture as the major role in Mauritius Tourism Industry. According to Porter, The existence of competition is a necessary precondition for business strategy (Porter, 1979) Perception of Luxury : Currently Mauritius is internationally known as the world best luxury holiday destinations. With many of worlds finest hotels and luxury brands, it enjoys highest rates of returning visitors in the world. It has become established business and banking centre for the last 20 years. It is currently known as the Singapore of the West. But the perception of luxury keeps on changing with the passage of time. World is switching to ethnic and organic brand of luxury. Hence respective changes should be made in implementing and promoting it. Middle Class population : Tourism in future will be dominated by the large influx of travellers belonging to the middle class strata of the society. Hence, the infrastructure and marketing strategy should be developed to cater to the needs of these class travellers. Demographic change : Mauritius has a population of 1,250,882 (estimated July 2007). The main ethnics groups are Hindu 68%, Christian 27%, Chinese 3%, and French 2%. The languages spoken in the island nation is English and French as the official language and other languages include Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Hakka and Creole. Currently the tourists travelling to Mauritius are European, Indian and Asians. To attract more tourists, the demography of the tourist travelling to Mauritius may change due to its popularity and international competitiveness. Technological Change : Technological change can affect the tourism industry very effectively. The infrastructure changes, adding of the new communication modes, Introducing new transportation techniques; all these can effectively boost the tourism industry. Security : concerns a major impact on the tourism industry. Since Mauritius is a peaceful country, I dont think that security will be a problem. But Maybe, terror attacks, war in African regions may affect the travelling to that part of the continent. If it happens that Tourism industry will be greatly affected by it. It may lead to increase in business failures, demise of certain destinations and loss of expected growth in other destinations. Health aspects : New Epidemics have power to severely affect the travel and tourism industry. For example, SARS in South Asia and Australia, Foot and Mouth disease in UK. Since people are travelling a lot nowadays, the epidemic is not restricted to one part of the world/country, it can spread quickly and easily to different part thus affecting the tourism industry of the specific country. Recession : It plays an important role in the tourism industry. Recession or economic slow-down affects adversely to the any tourism industry and Mauritius is no exception. But in 2010, India emerged as the most dynamic source country with arrival of 50,700 tourists. The increase in arrivals was driven by strong economic growth even during global recession. Thus, Mauritius felt little impact on the tourist growth during recession period. But it is predicted that recession may affect adversely in future if proper precautions and marketing strategies are not implemented. Conclusion Tourism Industry has evolved a lot in the last two decades. It has made tremendous impact on the different levels which are:- Social : Tourism has boosted social-cultural life of people of Mauritius. It has provided employment to people. Infrastructure has been improved by building roads and providing medical facilities on the coastal regions where tourists come in large numbers. Tourism has made tremendous impact on the social life of Mauritius like Increase cost of living, Loss authenticity, Acculturation where different culture are adopted according to the changing needs. Technological : Technology has provided a provided a major boost to the tourism industry. Tourist are nowadays always connected to their home base due to technological advancement like internet, Wi-Fi, mobile communication. It has helped the industry to gain recognition world-wide, thereby improving the communication across the world. Technology has made Mauritius one of top Brands in the Tourism Industry. Economic : The Mauritian economy rests on four main pillars : tourism, sugar, textiles and the services sector. It has boosted the GDP growth which is essential for the community development and poverty reduction, employments for the locals, investment opportunities, business opportunities. According to BBC World New Mauritius is declared as the top 21st country Brands. Ecological : Tourism and environment are interrelate as tourism is dependent on the natural resources to survive. Tourism has provided both the positive and negative impact on the ecology of the island nation. The areas affected by the tourism are Biodiversity, Erosion and Physical damage, Pollution (Water Pollution, Air Pollution, Visual Pollution, Climatic Change), Resource base that consists of local building-material sources, Visual and structural change. Political : The tourism sector is supervised by the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure. The Government has formed the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) which is responsible for promoting Mauritius by conducting advertising campaign and tourism fairs in Mauritius and abroad. With the help of MTL and MTPA, Mauritius has gained world recognition as the most attractive holiday destinations. The Government of Mauritius form innovative ideas to promote the island to the world stage. According to R. L. Stevenson , For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travels sake. The great affair is to move. (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1879)

Essay on the Outdated Themes of Taming of the Shrew :: Taming Shrew Essays

The Outdated Themes of Taming of the Shrew The play, Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s comedies. It portrays the humorous events regarding the suiting of Kate, a shrew dwelling in the city of Padua. It portrays many ideas about love and marriage that do not quite fit with our current views and what we know about relationships. It can be argued that the comedy of the play makes it universal, but it contains some themes that will not be received in the same light as they were during Shakespeare’s time. The comedy is still mostly universal. The visual comedy in the play, like Kate falling off of her horse into the mud, is still universally appealing. The comedy of actions is also equally universal. For example, Petruchio’s actions would be just as humorous now as they were in Shakespeare’s day. But, the situations that erupt from his actions are sometimes questionable in whether they are humorous or if they border into off-color disrespect for Kate, or females in general. The majority of the play is universal, but I feel the major themes the play puts forth are a little outdated and lacking of respect. The major theme is portrayed by the attitude towards marriage shown in Petruchio and Kate’s relationship. First the relationship was started entirely against the wife’s will, and for the fiscal benefit of the husband, with no intent of love involved. This is especially shown when Kate walks onto the roof of her father's house. The first thing that Petruchio does is states his worries about loosing not Kate, but his "20 thousand crowns," that he was promised if he wed Kate. Petruchio used his wife only as a stepping block, and later after "taming" her, used her as a status symbol. His method of "taming" her was suppressive, and locked her into a position she did not willingly want to be in. After she was tamed, she stopped speaking of her feelings and misgivings honestly, and suppressed them. In a relationship, the second most important thing is to be able to openly share and reveal your feelings, which is not what the play of this play shows. In the play, Kate is forced to suppress her feelings just to get food, or to be able to visit her friends and family. Petruchio "tames" Kate by rewarding her for being obedient, and punishing her when she disagrees with him. Essay on the Outdated Themes of Taming of the Shrew :: Taming Shrew Essays The Outdated Themes of Taming of the Shrew The play, Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s comedies. It portrays the humorous events regarding the suiting of Kate, a shrew dwelling in the city of Padua. It portrays many ideas about love and marriage that do not quite fit with our current views and what we know about relationships. It can be argued that the comedy of the play makes it universal, but it contains some themes that will not be received in the same light as they were during Shakespeare’s time. The comedy is still mostly universal. The visual comedy in the play, like Kate falling off of her horse into the mud, is still universally appealing. The comedy of actions is also equally universal. For example, Petruchio’s actions would be just as humorous now as they were in Shakespeare’s day. But, the situations that erupt from his actions are sometimes questionable in whether they are humorous or if they border into off-color disrespect for Kate, or females in general. The majority of the play is universal, but I feel the major themes the play puts forth are a little outdated and lacking of respect. The major theme is portrayed by the attitude towards marriage shown in Petruchio and Kate’s relationship. First the relationship was started entirely against the wife’s will, and for the fiscal benefit of the husband, with no intent of love involved. This is especially shown when Kate walks onto the roof of her father's house. The first thing that Petruchio does is states his worries about loosing not Kate, but his "20 thousand crowns," that he was promised if he wed Kate. Petruchio used his wife only as a stepping block, and later after "taming" her, used her as a status symbol. His method of "taming" her was suppressive, and locked her into a position she did not willingly want to be in. After she was tamed, she stopped speaking of her feelings and misgivings honestly, and suppressed them. In a relationship, the second most important thing is to be able to openly share and reveal your feelings, which is not what the play of this play shows. In the play, Kate is forced to suppress her feelings just to get food, or to be able to visit her friends and family. Petruchio "tames" Kate by rewarding her for being obedient, and punishing her when she disagrees with him.