Interview with a Record Store Owner Essay Example for Free

Interview with a Record Store Owner Essay On a less then pleasant day the weather was cold and rainy so before I left the safety of my car I turned my collar up to face the cold and made a bee line to the store so fast it would put Usain Bolt to shame. When I walked in the store I was greeted by the smell of coffee and sound of The Rolling Stones song Monkey Man playing over the store speakers with the owner of the store john singing along to the song and throwing his arms up like a monkey. As soon as you walk into the store your face to face with a giant rack of used DVDs ranging from Driving Miss Daisy to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre the store itself is not very big on the left side of the store is a shelf contain records from Abba to Rob Zombie on the right side is a shelf holding the cds. I was immediately welcomed by john who sitting down in behind his cash register with a sign on it that read â€Å"No Personal Check† behind him was a giant poster of Frank Zappa which seemed like one of his most prized positions john had. John had on a tie dyed rolling stones shirt john had looked tried and he seemed to be discomfort later I found out he looked that way due to having MS. Before john and I stared talking I asked if we could take a walk around the store john told me that he is not able to â€Å"move very well because I have Multiple sclerosis† so he called for his employee Jack to walk with me and directed Jack to answer questions I have. Jack was tall and in his early 20s ,jack and I walked around the store looking at vinyl they had they had seemed to have every record you could ask for and if they didn’t have it they could order it for you . I asked jack to explain the process of how they value the used records that come in the shop jack pulled a random of the shelf and proceeded to go over the check list â€Å"first we look at the condition of the album sleeve any bends or damage to it second we look for the labeling mono, monophonic, monaural, stereo or stereophonic on the sleeve and record label, which identifies the recording process and helps us determine the value and finally we Evaluate the condition of the record by looking for any obvious damage to the vinyl. Jack holds the record up to the light on a slight tilt Look for scratches, record edge nicks or damage to the paper label† we have music here for everyone’s price range after that I thanked jack and retuned to talk to john. When I came back to talk to john he had offered me a cup of coffee I accepted and went on to ask john how long has the store been open john told me that â€Å"I am the fifth owner of Rainbow Records; it first started out in Park Ridge in the mid-1970s. Then the store was moved to Palatine in 1993 by the fourth owner, who offered me the opportunity to buy the store from him in 1997 I then eventually moved the store to here†. I asked john what was the first record he had ever purchased john though for a minute and said â€Å"Surfin Safari by The Beach Boys when I was 9-years-old† I ask john why do you think vinyl sales are going up while CD sales are falling â€Å"There is nothing like vinyl It has a totally different sound than CDs or that MP3 stuff. I’m sorry, but you don’t listen to music on a phone and really get to appreciate it.† I said to john it looks like your store buys all types of records and CDs is there any type of music you won’t buy? â€Å"Classical no one asks for it so I don’t want it besides this is a rock and roll store† John what do you think about kids that have never heard a record on vinyl? They are really missing out Vinyl has a great in-depth sound to it,† he says. â€Å"There is an art to what I call albums and what everybody called albums back in the day. From the cover, which is a piece of art in itself, to listening to, and appreciating the way songs are arranged from side to side, you don’t get that with any other music format.† Looking around the store and seeing I was the only person in there besides jack maybe because of the weather but maybe because the store isn’t doing so well I asked john what got him into the record business â€Å"If you think about how much money you’re going to make, that’s a mistake. You’re not going to get rich doing this. What you’re doing is sharing your love of music with other people,† after john told me that a smile came across both of are faces. Before I had left the shop I walked around the store and picked up three records I think john would approve of the first one I got was The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed, Second album I grabbed was Surfin Safari by The Beach Boys and the third one was Frank Zappa Over-Nite Sensation. When I went up to john for the last time he could not help but to laugh as he rang them up as he handed me the bright yellow bag he said â€Å"enjoy† when I had made it home the first thing I did was put on my new rolling stones record put the needle on Monkey Man and turned my record player up to eleven.

Models of Social Work Assessment

Models of Social Work Assessment Assessment is a vital function of social work acting as the starting point of the process and if not carried correctly can impact on the social workers relationship with the service user. There are no universal definitions for assessment however Whittington (2007) suggests the process is a meeting between a social worker and someone seeking help or services, which maybe held with an individual, family or a group of people. Sutton sees assessment as an ongoing cycle and describes it using the acronym ASPIRE, Assessment, Planning, Intervention, Review and Evaluate. Models for assessment include ecological, strength based, person centred which are often used when assessing a child. The Ecological model focusses on the service user’s environment including close family circle and their wider community, placing the service user firmly in the centre. Bronfenbrenner (1979) states there are 4 layer of environment which effects a service user, microsystem which considers immediate famil y, the mesosystem looks at relationships with extended family, neighbours, friends, work and school, the exosystem includes both the micro and mesosystem but also contains social infrastructure of the labour market, education systems, health and Social services, the final layer macrosystem includes systems including government policy, legislation and culture. Ecogram’s are illustrations often used to demonstrate these layers which can benefit to everyone involved to enable them to see everyone who is involve in his life. Parker and Bradley state the strength based model focusses on the positives in a service user’s life, focussing on increasing motivation, capacity and potential for making real and informed life choices. This model also requires an extensive knowledge of the service users’ environment, living system and wider system to be able to work with them using their strengths. Within this model the power imbalance between the social worker and service user is reduced as the service users is seen as the person with the knowledge of the issues. The person centred model has a similar function as the Ecological and strength based model which places the service user at the centre of any assessment and decisions made during this process. As well as assessment models the social workers also use a variety of approaches including questioning, procedural and exchange. The Questioning approach uses a set of questions to obtain information, the social worker can have preconceived ideas about the service user which could lead the questioning in a direction which may not identify the issues which the service user may see as their main concern, this approach can be seen as a power imbalance in favour of the social worker. The Procedural approach is a systematic process set out by an organisation or framework, with set criteria which identifies eligibility, follows the rules and policies which dictates what the service user is entitled to, this approach also leaves a power imbalance as the social worker dictates what services the service user is entitled to. The Exchange process ensures partnership working where the service users is seen as the expert with an understanding of any issues, information gathered within this proces s is used to enable the service user to see their potential and resources available to meet this potential. There are specific pieces of legislation and policies which have an impact on the child assessment process, The Children Act 1989 states the welfare of the child is paramount, with an overarching system for safeguarding children, it indicates roles different agencies play and introduced the concept of parental responsibility rather than parental rights. A key principle is that Local Authorities have a duty to provide services for children and their families and all children should have access to the same range of services. The Children Act 2004 updates not supersede Children Act 1989. The aim is to encourage integrated planning, commissioning and delivery of services as well as improve multi-disciplinary working, remove duplication, increase accountability and improve the coordination of individual and joint inspections in local authorities. The Children’s act does not specifically state children referred automatically have an assessment, however if a child is deemed in need t hen the child must have an assessment, a decision which must be made within 24 hrs., once this decision has been made an assessment needs to take place within 7 days. The decision is based on Children’s act 1989 (section 17 subsection 10) outlines the criteria for a child in need, which states: (10) a child shall be taken to be in need if— (a) He is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by a local authority under this Part; (b) His health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him of such services; Stefan can be seen as a child in need due to his current behavioural issues at school and the ongoing issues with in his family home, both could have an impact on his health and development. If Stefan is displaying behaviours within school this is having a significant effect on his education and therefore development. The social worker will carry out an assessment based on the Framework for the Assessment and Children in Need and their Families 2001 which is based on three areas, often viewed as a triangle, Child developmental needs including education, Emotional Behavioural Development, Family Social Relationships, Stefan is displaying behaviours while at school which is having an impact on his ability to learn. There have also been domestic violence situations within the home, it is not documented if he witnessed this, however the UN convention of the child states that hearing a domestic violence attack is just as detrimental to the child as witnessing the act and therefore has the same affects, this may be a factor for Stefan. Stefan and his mother are receiving support from her sister, but Stefan may have a role in the care for his mother or younger sister. Parenting capacity including Ensuring Safety, it has been highlighted Rhian, Stefan’s mother has physical and mental health issue s which resulted in Stefan and his sister being left in a local park questioning Stefan’s safety. Family and Environmental Factors including Resources, Income, Employment, Housing, Wider Family Functioning. Stefan’s mother is unable to work due to her physical and mental health which may have financial implications on the family. As well as the children’s act 1989 and 2004 and the Framework for the Assessment and Children in Need and their Families 2001, wales has a Children’s families measure 2010 which was published to tackle child poverty. Section 67 of the measure looks at children’s needs arising from community care needs of their parents and applies to any child whose parents may be in receipt of care from the local authority or arranged by the local authority, or they may be in need of such services the authority must decide what services they can provide to the child and / or their family. Section 68 of the measure addresses the child’s need arising from the health conditions, including mental health, of their parents and applies when health services are provided to or funded by the NHS, the NHS must consider the effects of the medical condition on the child and if the child requires support from the local authority. Both sections relate to Stefan’s current situatio n, Stefan’s mother has physical and mental health issues which also may have impacted on the family. The Human right convention of the child (1989) also has an impact on the assessment process, the convention was agree by international governments and stated all children had rights as individual’s not just objects which are cared for. The convention is made up of a 45 articles which outline the rights of a child, Stefan’s rights include a child must not be separated from their parents unless it is in their best interest, every child is able to have a say about what affects them and they must be taken seriously, each child has the right to live somewhere which is able to meet their physical, social and mental needs. If they do not then the government must support families who cannot afford to provide this, Governments must do all they can to ensure that children are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and mistreatment by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. Another pieces of legislation which needs to be complied with is the Welsh language act, Stefan currently attends a welsh school and his mother is a welsh speaker, Stefan may feel more comfortable if the assessment was carried out in welsh which Stefan is entitled to under the act. When working with a child the social worker needs to use a variety of skills, adapt their approaches and values which include ensuring the process is child centred, at the child’s level of understanding and abilities, advocate on behalf of the child, use observational skills to observe interactions with any significate people. Parker and Bradley state research shows children prefer to be listen to, professionals to be available and accessible, non-judgemental and non-directive, have a sense of humour, straight talking, to be able to trust and, where appropriate, to have confidentiality respected. The social worker must also ensure the process is collaborative working with people involved in the service user’s life including professionals. By using these skills the social worker also complies with the Care council of wales Code of practice which states the social worker must promote the independence of Service Users while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm. By using the fore mentioned skills the social worker using anti-oppressive practise to ensure the service user is empowered in their continued support. Before and during the assessment process the social worker needs to ensure the issues are not pre-judged, Stefan’s behavioural issues may not be due to the issues at home he may have a learning disability, being bullied at school or finding the work hard which is causing him difficulties, Stefan may be a carer for his mother or sibling which is the issue, often what is perceived as the main issues are not necessarily the same for the person being assessed, if any of the above issues have been highlighted then appropriate assessment would be requested. Other issues which need to be considered would be where to hold the assessment, Stefan may feel unable to speak openly if carried out in front of his parents or within the family home, by carrying out any assessment meetings within his school environment either setting could make him more vulnerable, careful thought needs to be given to where assessment is carried out. While working with a child there are many ethical issues which can arise, when there is evidence a child is being neglected and their safety at risk the social worker has a decision to make, Stefan has been left in a local park due to his mother forgetting him the ethical dilemma may be if Stefan is providing a caring role for his mother and sister removing him from the situation may cause his sister to become more vulnerable and take away a support system from his mother. Another ethical issue could be within the current economic climate carrying out an assessment but being unable to offer the services required by the child and their family, when dealing with a child such as Stefan the social worker needs to gain as much information as possible however the more people who know about the situation could cause Stefan to be more vulnerable, Stefan is also entitled to privacy and the more people who know about the situation could make Stefan vulnerable amongst his peers. The final issue could be Stefan’s parents are currently refusing support, the rights of the parents to refuse services verses the right of the child to have adequate service provision.

Recommendations And Justification For Strategic Options Marketing Essay

Recommendations And Justification For Strategic Options Marketing Essay Introduction From the last three decades hospitality business environment is becoming more aggressive and competitive for the businessmen due to the impact of globalization. Therefore, it is mandatory for every businessman to develop and implement a comprehensive and profitable strategic planning for the survival of their business. A strategy indicating the opportunities to propose, specific targets, and the types of competitive advantages those are to be developed. (Dibb et al., 2006) So strategy preparation is the overall preparation that facilitates the goodness of management procedures. Of import provision takes you after-school the day to day activities of your governance or task. It provides you with the big picture of what you are doing and where you are going. Strategical planning gives you lucidity about what you actually want to achieve and how to go astir achieving it rather than a program of activity for day to day operations. (Janet Shapiro et al., 1998). Strategical management is a continuous process that estimates and controls the activities of the organizations in which the organization is involved. It also helps to evaluate its potential competitors keeping in view the organizations set goals and strategies to achieve the organizational overall objectives. The implementations of these strategies are evaluated on regular basis and if these strategies are not working in the business environment to achieve the organizational goals then these are replaced by new strategies. Stephan P. Robbins and Mary Coulter (2009: 180) tell us: Every organization needs a mission-a statement of its purpose. This mission induces the managers to take favorable actions to accomplish this mission. For instance, the mission of Brook Hotels is Brook Hotels is committed to realizing our guests needs. This statement provides clues to what this organization sees as their purpose. They achieve this, by development and providing innovative dare and first-class hospitality products served by devoted attached highly disciplined vibrant people. In so doing, they always strive to create and sustain prominent returns and value and to honor their sociable and biology responsibilities to the fullest. The managers usually observe the two environments in the situation analysis. External analysis of hotel, so the managers know that what the competition is doing and what the labor supply is like in locations where it operates. Therefore, managers examine both the specific and general enviro nment to see the positive and negative trends (opportunities, threats) of the hotel and then create and develop the strategies accordingly. Internal analysis of hotel provides you the important information of the hotel resources (financial, physical, human and intangibles assets) and capabilities (skills and abilities to do the activities). These resources and capabilities give the hotel a competitive edge. Tools that can be in use to evaluate acceptableness include what if analytic thinking neutral functions. After evaluation all the strategies are going to be implemented in a developed organizational structure and design in a way that the company goes towards the profitability. As we know that the hospitality industry is reaching at the maturity due to a large number of competitors and the effect of globalization. Therefore, in order to survive in such a competitive environment, everyone have to work out on the effective strategic formation and implementation. Thus, it is very imp ortant to have a good strategy because organization can only gain the sustainable growth if they have good plans for the consumers as they are the only source of all the revenues help in building a good reputation in the industry. 4. Company Introduction The Hilton Hotels Corporation is recognized worldwide in hospitality industry. It owns over 514 hotels worldwide with over 176,257 rooms. According to Forbes, it is ranked as the 43rd largest private company in the United States. It was founded by Conrad Hilton in 1919 in Cisco, Texas. The corporation has highly regarded hotel brands. Their brand portfolio includes: Hilton Conrad Doubletree Embassy Suites Hotels Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn Suites Hilton Garden Inn Homewood Suites by Hilton, and The Waldorf Astoria Collection Hilton is guided by the principles of Conrad Hilton, in which the company strives to: Consistently delight customers invest in team members Be mindful of the environment Deliver innovative products and services Give back to the communities that are served Expand the family of brands Continuously improve performance Provide a healthy, safe environment for team members, guests and customers Create a culture of pride Strengthen the loyalty of constituents Hilton in recent years, have aimed to target those aged between 25 to 55, and therefore to become more appealing to the younger audience. Most of the Hilton brand hotels are franchised to independent companies. 4.1 Vision Hospitality is all about the individual and at Hilton; we pride ourselves on our unique service culture. Yes I Can! Is our company-wide philosophy which promises that each guest will be treated with a positive service attitude at every point of contact? The hotel manager, the waiter, the receptionist, the porter everyone plays a vital role in delivering a memorable guest experience. 4.2 Mission We provide concern and leisure time travellers with a pick of first-class hospitality products that offering good economic value while reassuring good return to owners and shareholders and inspiration to employees. 4.3 Values of Hilton Hotels H Hospitality: The organization is passionate about delivering exceptional guest experiences I Integrity: To do the right thing all time L- Leadership: To continue its leadership in the industry and also in its communities T- Team work: To perform the tasks in teams O- Ownership: To be the owners of the actions and decisions taken. N- Now: To operate with a sense of urgency and discipline (Hilton, 2010) 5. PESTEL Analysis PESTEL analysis defines the external factors to business, depending on the market Ecological and Legislative factors are included. PESTEL analysis measures the market capability by indicating the areas of growth. Political factors include legislation, international legislation, regulatory bodies, government policies, government terms and change, funding, grants and initiatives and lobby groups. The economic factors comprise domestic economy, international situations and trends, taxation issues, seasonal issues, market and trade cycles, distribution issues and others. The social factors include lifestyle trends, demographics, consumer attitudes, opinions, media views, brand, company, technology image, consumer purchasing patterns, fashion and role models, competing technology development, associated and dependent technologies, replacement technology solutions, maturity of technology information and communication and others. Political Factors: Considering the political factors Hilton Hotels have faced many political barriers on its way to success. One such incident is the Arab boycott of American companies. Arab countries have boycotted businesses with countries that do businesses with Israel even though the issue was not directly related to America. Most of the American companies like Ford, IBM and Hilton were blacklisted by the Arabs. Hilton Hotels continued to expand its business in Israel and Egypt along with promoting peace in the region. Hilton Hotel received no threat from Israel after opening its hotel in Egypt. Economic Factors: The internet is not severely alive to the efficient economic cycles. However, it is observed that the tourism or hotel sales are dejected due to unnatural economic changes in those countries from which customers are booking and reserving the products. These changes include in economic growth, interest rates, rising prices or currency fluctuations that can eliminate tourism organization s cost advantage and can have an adverse consequence on the margins. Hilton has formed alliances with various organizations and also strategic agreements to continue its prosperity. Social Factors: Sociology changes and changes in customers attitudes towards new technology and internet in particularly will have absolute wallop on internet and hospitality industries respectfully. Time customers are Thomas More experienced and innovative in the use of engineering science. The social system of rules dimension moldiness includes the larger mixer and persuasion processes through with which the interests of the dissimilar social groups interact with one another and with the technology. Hilton has figured its services suitable for all the sectors. It has provisions for theatres, conference rooms for business delegates, U-shaped bedrooms and board rooms, dinner halls social gatherings and other similar activities. Technological Factors: Hilton has implemented electronic marketing as part of its technology drive. The rooms booked over the web for the Hilton hotel accounts for half billion dollars. Hilton has developed its own system of technological department for managing the international operations worldwide. Hilton is among the few hotels that use internet for booking rooms. Hilton has merged with various firms like Starwood for expansion and also for its technologic advantage. Hilton International use computers in their core information physical processing centers of selling and statistical distribution, front office, back-office, and beverages control. Information technologies are dispersing in eight key areas of hotel trading operations like selling, distribution, reservations and gross sales, telecommunications, guest accounting, room management, back-office, food and drinks, control energy management and safety and security. Merchandise distribution is a critically important mathemati cal function of Hilton International. Information technologies, such as computerized reservations systems and video brochures, aid hotels in selling and distributing their bed nights. For Hilton the employment of information technologies to nexus neurotic their front office, back office and beverages departments may be essential for the businesslike and cost-effective bringing of their services. However, it aim not be decent to warranty the sales agreement of hotel bed nights without links to international selling and statistical distribution networks building bed nights cannot be sold. Ecological Factors: Hilton New York has unveiled eco-centric initiatives as part of its two-years of celebration of generating clean power with fuel cell technology. Hilton New York has performed various leading-edge initiatives throughout the hotel. (Organic Fertilizer Waste Vector Decomposition System) This system was set up to reduce the 8 tons of wet rubbish which is approximately equal to 5000 meals produced on an average at the building each day. This system facilitates the employees to dispose of table and kitchen scraps into unit which is a size of chest freezer. This system eliminates nearly 400 bags of garbage per day. (Water Purification System) Hilton New York has deployed an on-site water purification system created by the Natural Water. The Natural water system is connected to the existing water source. This water system of rules has eliminated nearly 12 000 expendable glass and plastic bottles from paper routine change of location in the hotel. Legislative Factors:- The hoteliers in US are about to expect lobbying and assembly action that will feeling travel companionship taxation and card bank check which are important issues to the lodging manufacture according to the American Hotel and Lodging connection. The association believes that this move will certainly bear an impact on the industry. Chris Nassetta the CEO of the Hilton Hotels has same that it is a greater menace than people are giving it credit for. Building companionship executives fearfulness the execution of the this statute law as they would no choice but to brand up what they consider as incomprehensible gross by levying high monetary value onto hotels. 6. SWOT Analysis of Hilton Hotels Hilton hotels corporation is also recovering from the event of September eleven the like all Major building corporations. This tragic homo event also delivered a financially annihilating blow to the traveling industry as a unit and to the building industry in particular. In order to fully recover and thrive in the coming old age Hilton mustiness assess its overall all strengths and weaknesses as it moves forward done the new millennium. The favorable grind analytic thinking sheds any easy on any of the pitfalls and opportunities that await the Hilton Hotels. Strengths Hilton Hotel Corporation is a well-established organization and industry leader in the hospitality industry. It is well diversified across the industry with hotels in the high end, business and mid-priced classes in their product mix. It also possesses solid integration features such as owning the companies that manufacture its furniture and has invested in online reservation travel enterprises Weaknesses It may be two narrowly focused making it exposed to a downturn in the global economy and other world-wide misfortunes that could limit global travel such as the bird-flu and a significant terrorist strike. It may be defenseless to workers strikes and crack down on undocumented workers in the U.S. Most of its holdings are in the U.S. Opportunities It should offer a range of characteristic and expert services to the high end guests and high whitecaps such as wedding planning hosting, spas that specialize in personal services and personal trainers. It should look to expand into or purchase a cruise line. A cruise ship is little more than a hotel that floats this would essentially match what it currently doing with its leased properties Gaming activities would spurt regulation, etc. Take advantage of emerging markets, especially with business class and mid-priced markets. Threats It must be careful not overstretch its labors to mix entertaining and betting The delay of credit and other side effects of betting can slowly but surely chew profits. September 11th was a major blow to the hotel industry. A similar event could result in another down turn. By studying national and regional industry trends Hilton Corporation will be capable to return advantage of opportunities that will enable growth piece identifying threats that may affect profitableness. Growing in the hotel and cordial reception manufacture will include a continuing focusing on gambling International enlargement and exploitation all media to promote its products to potential customers. One advisable strategy for Hilton is to emphasize the grandness of family in all its hotels including the gambling and gambling casino locations. Las Vegas has exhausted millions to attract families by adding childrens attractions as well spring as the conventional casinos for the adults. Most of the hotels rich person at affair a little country devoted to colonnade games. However some hotels have luxuriant arcades plot areas and child attention centers motivated for those traveling with children Hilton Hotels Corporation, 2007. Hilton needs to ensure they are right field in the middl e of this demographic of parents traveling with children. Spell the focusing can stillness be on the senior high school dollars that are tossed around in the casinos by the parents it will be critical that the edifice have the facilities usable that testament attract parents with children to check at the property. Since location is a greater requirement and holiday clip has become one of the few multiplications that families are capable to spend superior clip together, Hilton essential capitalize on this marketplace section. 7. Evaluation of the Strategic Options After analyzing the internal and external environments, it is important for Hilton Hotel Corporation to identify the strategic options that are available. This gives them the opportunity to select the most suitable strategic option for the corporation. The strategic options are evaluated on the following criteria: The required resources The degree to control over future strategies The speed with which a change in the position of SBUs can be achieved Strategic options Environment Competencies Expectation of the company Risk involved Market Penetration Gain market share for advantages Superior resources and skill force to adopt this option Increase return by using the current strategies Low risk Market Development Current market is saturated, opportunity to enter new segment, new geographical areas Current product portfolio can be used. Increase return by using the current strategies Medium risk Demographic Segmentation Focus on age and low income group to get competitive advantage Skilled force to adopt this option using current product portfolio Increase return by using the current strategies High risk Backward Integration Become a furniture manufacturer Skilled force to adopt this option with new product line Increase return developing new strategies Medium risk Joint venture Obtain local management to reduce risk Distinctive skilled force with new and existing product Increase return developing new strategies Low risk Recommendations and Justification for Strategic Options After an internal and external analysis of Hilton Hotel Corporation and evaluation of the strategic options the following growth strategies for the company are recommended. Market Penetration Acquisition of motels Market development Excursionists Demographic segmentation Backpackers:Â  18-28 years, no children. Attracted to adventurous activity, consider themselves travellers not tourists, generally well-educated and cost conscious. Empty Nesters:Â  Parents whose children have flown the family nest, between 43 and 58 of age, well-educated and medium disposable income. Backward Integration Distribution of furniture manufacturer Joint Venture Expansion of businesses other than the western world Strategies Attractiveness Company strengths Level of importance Market Penetration (Acquisition of motels) Very high Highly recognized brand name in the western world High [Company doesnt have motels in US and UK ] Market Development Obtain the market of (Excursionists ) Very high Highly recognized brand name in the western world Very high demographic segmentation (Backpackers and (Empty Nesters) High Highly recognized brand name in the western world high Backward Integration (Supplier of furniture) Moderate Highly recognized brand name in the western world Low Joint Venture (Acquire some assets in Pakistan) Moderate Highly recognized brand name in the western world Moderate Conclusion Marketing is the lifeblood for any business organization which can be defined as the collection and coordination of interrelated activities. The degree and the impact of marketing planning determines the success or failure of a business organization as they help in the analyzing the markets and also the needs of the customers. The founder of Hilton hotels is the Conrad Hilton which was renamed as Capital Hilton in the year 1977. Many celebrated guests have considered Hilton group of hotels as home away from home which was trademark for customer service and hospitality. Hilton group of hotels have been affected by the political controversies in the Middle East but it didnt confine its growth in the region. The organization went on to open its hotels in Egypt and Israel amidst controversies and also promoted peace in the process. Apart from political and legislative factors remaining of the PESTEL factor didnt affect the Hilton hotels business across the world. The marketing planning l ived up to the expectations of the expectations of the Hilton Hotels. The marketing approach used by Hilton is geocentric to a great extent. The hotel chains in the US failed to attract the guests at the beginning of 2002 vacation season later they managed to balance the figures. Therefore it can be concluded that the Hilton group of hotels is performing to standards of its reputation but there is plenty scope for the American based organization to develop further. References Cathy A. Enz, Hospitality Strategic Management Concepts and Cases: 2nd Edition Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, Principles of Management: 10th Edition Philip Kotler, John T. Bowen, James C. Makens, Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism: 5th Edition Gerry Johnson, Kevan Scholes, Exploring Corporate Strategy: 6th Edition Johnson G, Scholes K, Whittington R., 2008, Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th Edition, FT Prentice Hall, Essex.

Paper :: essays papers

Paper The value of music education in society has been a significant subject since the time of Plato. Plato wrote about music education in his famous work the Republic: †¦Education in music is most sovereign, because more than anything else rhythm and harmony find their way to the inmost soul and take strongest hold upon it, bringing with them and imparting grace, if one is rightly trained, and otherwise the contrary. And further, because omissions and the failure of beauty in things badly made or grown would be most quickly perceived by one who was properly educated in music, and so, feeling distaste rightly, he would praise beautiful things and take delight in them and receive them into his soul to foster its growth and become himself beautiful and good. (Mark, 2002, p.6) Music education is in danger of being lost to the new generations attending school. It is too important to be cast aside, and technology can be used to aid in the fight to save music education. Importance of Education The importance of music education can be seen by examining numerous scholarly articles. The National Association for Music Education (MENC) believes that music education will help children to grow and perform well in society, school, life, and increasing their intellect (MENC, 2002). According to the American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet from October of 1996, music helps in society because it will â€Å"create jobs, increase the local tax base, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses and improve the overall quality of life for our cities and towns† (MENC, 2002). Music education helps improve test scores in school; the College-Bound Seniors National Report stated that students who took classes in performing music scored 57 points more on the verbal section of the SATs and 41 points more on the math. Music education increases the intellect of students. Instruction in music is better than instruction in computer literacy because it increases the ability for children to learn reasoning skills (MENC, 2002). Another article called â€Å"Music Makes You Smarter† discusses â€Å"an important link between musical training and other cognitive abilities, particularly spatial abilities – the abstract reasoning that is used for understanding relationships between objects such as, for example, when calculating a proportion or playing chess† (Rausher, 1997). Music education is very important because it challenges students to think ahead such as when reading lines of music before playing them (Rausher, 1997).

The Aesthetics of Pop Music Essay -- Popular Music

â€Å"It All Sounds The Same These Days!†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In just about every home in America at just about any given time the words: â€Å"It all sounds the same these days!† is uttered to a teenage child, while the mother is screaming â€Å"Turn it down!† in the background. The teenager storms to his bedroom and turns the radio up to full volume and thinks, â€Å"They just don’t get it!† Then proceeds to dance around the room singing into the hairbrush. This is the pleasure principal of pop music. Whether accredited to innocence or ignorance, a unreconciled naivety has survived this culture since its inception. They’re everywhere. We cannot escape the wrath of teen pop bands, you can love ‘em or hate ‘em, but they are a representation of an ever changing culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is the pop music phenomenon? Most pop music uses a â€Å"commercial† approach to songwriting which limits the use of complicated musical devices, this is said to be what makes pop music. â€Å"Popular music is popular because the composition hears for the listener and is pre-digested.†(Adorno, Theodore, On Popular Music 1941) Pop music contains simple, chord driven, repetitious, square phrased (4 bar) melodies that are catchy and easily singable. The phrases in these sections are generally 4, 8, 12, or 16 measures long. Most pop songs have a catchy 8 measure phrase that is repeated 6-8 times throughout the song. This attributes to the ever so frequently heard â€Å"It was on the radio this morning and I just can’t get it out of my head† phenomeno...

Review of Home security Systems

Chapter 1IntroductionSecurity is one of the major issue in the present universe. Robbery, offense and larceny are the chief important causes that make security as an issue. Smart security system includes easiness of monitoring and observing the presence of the human utilizing different type of detectors like IR, PIR detector etc. Earlier security systems were personally monitored by security guards. Scope of this type of system was reduced due to unprofessional security guards. Therefore to get the better of this, many research workers have been done in the country of the place security to run into occupant’s convenience and safety. Conventional security systems were introduced which used cameras, burglar dismay. Main drawback of this system was the big power ingestion by cameras as they continuously enter the events traveling around it [ 1 ] . This system was costlier. To supply excess bed of security and to get the better of the disadvantage of conventional security system, machine-controlled security systems were introduced. Many researches have been done in the field of development and execution of automated security system. Automated security system uses different types of detector to observe the human presence and gesture. IR and PIR detectors are the most widely used detectors. Advantage of this system was low cost and easiness of observing the interloper presence. Home security system becomes as an of import thing, specially when we are populating in a topographic point where there is a possibility of high-crime rate. It is better to hold good security system alternatively of seting our lives into a hazard. Three chief constituents that are to be considered in put ining a place security system are detector, dismay and control unit. Sensor is the constituent that monitor the country continuously. Once it detects any motion, it will do the dismay to trip. Control unit helps the dismay to do sound so that if there is an invasion activity takes topographic point it could be identified. Home security system can be operated to run on electrical system or on batteries.Installing an battery operated place security system is easy but are less effectual compared to those system that run on electricity. Less functionality can be seen in battery operated system. There are many different types of dismay system. For smaller places self contained place security systems are easy to put in but for big houses or office infinite, place security system holding separate constituents leads to efficient security system compared to self contained place security system. 1.1 Problem Designation Main and of import consideration in the bing modern places is the security system. Earlier the place security systems were expensive and were really difficult to supervise. In order to get the better of the drawbacks of the earlier conventional security systems and to carry through the security concerns of the house proprietors, an efficient and cost effectual security systems were introduced. One of the chief job in the bing security system is the architecture and execution cost. Hence this undertaking aims at security system for places that introduces three different degrees of security and an notification signal via short directing message ( SMS ) will be achieved if any instance of security breach. 1.2Why do we Need Home Security System? Now-a-days with the emerging tendencies in the universe, condemnable activities like larceny, robbery has besides been increased. Homes without security systems will be the chief marks for the stealers. Homes equipped with the well developed security system will hold less opportunity of being robbed. Security system enables our place to be safe at any clip. As security system uses different constituents, these constituents will be monitored by the several security centre. Hence there will be decrease in the offense rates.Home security system is needed to forestall burglaries and place invasions. Installing a security system in places provides a piece of head that our household is under protection. Alarm systems will assist to hedge the place invasions. It is non possible to supervise the place continuously by manual hence this sytem will gives added protection when the place proprietors are off. security system will besides assist in protecting the place from fire. Early sensing of t he state of affairss by the monitoring station will assist in cut downing the harm to the home.Security is needed because of the undermentioned groundsTo protect the place and household from interlopers.To protect place from fires.To protect valuable things from being stolen.Provides medical aid if in instance of any exigency.Secured signifier of proctor can be achieved through radio signalling device.1.3 Types There are many different types of security system. Security systems are classified into two major classs viz. conventional and automated security system. Another categorization includes monitored and unmonitored security system. 1.3.1 Monitored security system: This is one of the most normally used security system. In this type of security system centre, place will be straight connected to security centre and this centre will supervise the position of the place continuously. Security centre will be active merely when any one of the constituents or supervising devices in the place are triggered. System includes dismay system that alerts call centre and near by constabulary station. In many of the systems, watchful causes the security centre to do an automatic phone call, text message, e-mail etc to the house proprietor or to the close by help-line centre for the immediate deliverance. BenefitsSystem includes 24/7 monitoring that ensures that the place is under changeless monitoring.Video surveillance system can besides be included to increase the security of the place.Video survelliance system is most effectual in monitoring and observing the interlopers, belongings tresspassers.As cameras are used in this type of system, it can besides be used as an grounds against an interloper.1.3.1.2 Types of monitoring Monitored place security system uses three different type of supervising methods they are ( a ) Monitoring utilizing land line: This is specially designed for families that have landline. Because of the ground that the security system control panel is connected to phone line, land line is used as monitoring device. ( B ) Internet/wireless monitoring: This system is used in places that don’t have landline. System makes usage of cyberspace or broadband connexion to direct watchful signal to security centre via short directing message or electronic mail. ( degree Celsius ) Two-way voice monitoring: This is one of the particular type of monitoring device that is used in supervising type of security system. One of the particular characteristic of this system is that it allows the individual inside the place to straight pass on with the individual in the security centre in instance of any exigency for immediate deliverance. 1.3.2 Unmonitored security system This is the another categorization of place security system which sets off a Siren inside and outside the place. Compared to monitored place security system, this system will be cheaper as it does non include more constituents for monitoring. Unmonitored security systems can besides utilize brassy visible radiations. If there is any invasion activity taking topographic point in the place, so automatically these brassy visible radiations will glow. Due to that high strength light breathing from the peculiar topographic point, the neighbors can come to cognize that there is any exigency. BenefitsNo monitoring fees.As loud Siren will be used this will deflect and scares the intruder/burglars.Cheaper as less monitoring constituents are used.DisadvantageIf the neighbor does non hear the Sirens so they can’t describe it to the close by constabulary station.1.4Overview of the proposed system Figure 1.4 Overview of the Proposed System Overview of the proposed smart security system for places is as shown in figure above. The undertaking is aimed at developing a smart security system for places. Undertaking has been planned to include three-tier security system. Three different degrees of security is used in this undertaking. Security system is designed and developed to supervise the place utilizing different type of detectors. Proposed system uses detectors like Finger-print detector, IR detector, PIR detector at different degrees and besides makes usage of Image treating tool in face acknowledgment procedure. At the first degree of security, finger-print detector is used for hallmark to let the individual into the place. When the person/intruder comes to the door, his/her finger print will be checked. If the finger print lucifers so the individual will be allowed to come in into the following degree of security procedure. At the 2nd degree of security, entry of the individual into the place will be detected utilizing IR detector. This detector will feel certain features of the milieus by either breathing or observing the infrared radiation that emits from the human organic structure. Hence the human presence will be detected at this phase. PIR detector is an gesture detection detector that detects the human gesture utilizing infrared radiation breathing from the human organic structure. As a individual passes in forepart of the detector, temperature at that point which is under detectors field of observation will alter. This alteration in temperature detects the human gesture. Finally at the 3rd degree, image of the individual will be captured. Here some images of the individuals belonging to the place will be pre-stored. Then the captured image is compared is compared with the pre-stored database, if the databases does non fit so an watchful signal will be generated. Alert signal includes doorbell and GSM engineering. If the image does non fit so at that clip doorbell will get down beeping and an short sending message will be sent to the authorised figure as an watchful signal utilizing GSM engineering. The full undertaking is designed and developed utilizing constituents like Finger-print detector, IR detector, PIR detector, accountant unit, consecutive port, webcam, doorbell, GSM etc. One of the characteristics of this designed place security system is that an Image processing tool is used in combination with the embedded system to plan three-level smart security system for places. Face acknowledgment is used as an 3rd degree of security. This method includes the face acknowledgment which is one of the important and of import process in face acknowledgment method. In this undertaking, cross correlativity attack is used. This is one of the basic statistical attack to image regristration. cross correlativity is one of the standard tool for measuring the similarity between two images. Main ground for choosing the cross correlativity attack in this undertaking is due to its advantages. First advantage is that attack is simple to calculate. Second is the calculation of cross correlativity can be achieved utilizing fourier methods. One more advantage is that cross correlativity method is independent of scaling and interlingual renditions in the strength. 1.5 Advantages The advantages of place security system are:Detects offenses, protects ownerships from larcenies.As the system includes three different degrees of security, there will be less opportunity of being theft as dismay sound will be generated that alerts the neighbors.There will be increase in the place resale value during sale in the market.

Do we need statistic quality criteria?

The intention is to compare statistical analysis methods and dependencies. With the transformation into quantitative variables a rationalization effect is desired. In this way extensive data can be reduced to its core. To check the comparability required for that, quality criteria have been developed. These are according to current interpretation higher if the standardization of the research's content, the course of the investigation and the setting is easily realizable. There are five different types of criterion of measurement. These five criterion of measurement are divided into two groups.The main group and the sub group. Objectivity, Reliability and Validity belong to the main group. Acceptability and Economy are the two parts of the subgroup. This paper is focused on the main group. Chapter 2 – Criterion of Measurements 1. Objectivity Objectivity is the extent to which a test result in implementation, analysis and interpretation can be influenced by an investigator or if more come to matching results. Neither the implementation nor the analysis and interpretation carried out by different researchers may therefore produce different results.The implementing objectivity requires that the test result is unaffected by the user. The interpretation f objectivity requires that individual interpretations can not be used towards the interpretation off result. For example to measure the screw length by a calibrated measuring equipment is an objective measurement but the survey of employees by their team leader for the leadership is very subjective. 2. Reliability Reliability indicates the reliability of a measurement method. An investigation is described as reliable if it comes to the same conclusion at a repetition of the measurement under the same conditions.It can be inter alai determined by a repeat examination (test-retest method) or other equivalent test (parallel test method). The measure is the reliability coefficient and it is defined by the correlat ion of the two investigations. An example off reliable question is â€Å"How many employees has your department? † In second question has a lower reliability because it is unclear who is defined as a â€Å"team player† and therefore different opinions can come into existence. 3. Validity Some people say that there is no validity but indeed there are quite different kinds of validity.This is certainly true but they have in common: validity or validity of these measurements describe the degree of accuracy with which a method measures what it purports to measure. An intelligence test for example is only valid when intelligence activities are measured and not primarily the steadiness. A test has content that is â€Å"true† the problem is to determine that. The name of â€Å"intelligence† (as well as â€Å"aggression†, â€Å"anxiously† etc. ) is a so called construct: constructs are concepts that more or less appear to be theoretically meaningful . The described is not observed directly but inferred from indicators.Constructs are under the theory useful assumptions. Basically it's the problem of â€Å"truth† of statements which are hidden in the concept of validity: Are allegations true? In the example above: deserves a test that is sold as â€Å"intelligence test† this name? Psychologically more important is the â€Å"empirical validity† that means the match and predictive validity. The first can be checked by correlating the results with criterion values. In this way we could for instant demonstrate the validity of a calculation exam for the third school year by the correlation of the test results with the teachers' Judgments.A predictive validity is situated close to determine, for example, when designing a school readiness test: After the test survey one should wait at least until the end of he first school year and then assess the correlation between test results and school performance. The test is valid if the correlation fails high. Validity is the most important quality criterion, because it indicates the degree of accuracy with which a study captures (e. G. Personality traits or behaviors). The validation is performed using the correlation with an external criterion. There are different types of validity: 3. Construct validity: Construct validity is present when measurements capture what they should mete ( if a construct is inferred from a high correlation then construct validity is the same as liability). If hypotheses are being derived from a construct it means high construct validity and consequently good empirical confirmation of this hypothesis. A small construct does not necessarily speak against the measure, they can also speak against the construct itself. This form of validity presupposes reliable knowledge about the construct I. E. Knowledge of the relevant theories and the relevant findings.For the validity of an aggression test may speak, for example, when men achieve higher scores than women and when young men (about 20 years) have higher values Han older ones (about 40 years). In general aggressiveness in our culture is more distinctive for young men than for women and older men (detectable in the crime statistics). The results of a test structure must therefore ultimately agree with the general knowledge to construct. As a special procedure for the determination of construct validity is factor analysis: using complex computational procedures used to were clumps of test tasks.Usually it is not even particularly difficult to interpret these clumps (factors), one sees, for example are among many that (intelligence) tasks hose that require working with numbers, a special factor, as they will in future â€Å"number bound thinking â€Å"combined into one part test. Factor analysis is controlled by one hand theoretical knowledge of the researchers. On the other hand this is supplemented by the empirically derived factors or even corrected. Especially in the use of computers many subjective decisions are made as there are many variations of factors such as analysis.An example of high construct validity is about the Malaria experiment. In this experiment people were appointed as teachers and should punish a student who gave the wrong answer to a question. Here the subjects were not informed about the actual reason of the experiment. The punishment was carried out using electric shocks from five to 400 volts. The teacher (the subject) could not see the student but hear him/her. The student was not inflicted real harm. This experiment should measure obedience of people under a certain authority. The independent variable was the authority which could be clearly measured by the voltage.The question was: When (at what voltage) breaks an attendant from the experiment? So you can say: the higher the the more obedient are the students. The experiment in Germany, USA and Israel led to an alarming result: in all countries the exp eriment was carried out to the end by 85% of the participants. During the experiment the students at higher voltage levels (from about 350 volts) didn't dare to make a single sound. Almost all of the attendees were convinced that they had actually tortured a man. 3. 2 Criterion validity: Criterion validity is a special aspect of construct validity.Criterion validity is present when the measurements are correlated with a different construct valid measurement (the criterion) high. The construct is defined only on the criterion validity. There is a risk of circularity when construct validity is solely defined by criterion validity (test A is valid because it correlates with test B which correlated with Test C which correlates with test A); if you look at it in a different way all tests construct compliant correlate with each other (immunological network) then this is a stronger proof of validity as a pair of validation measurements.For instance, a test to measure depression: this test we apply to persons who have demonstrated a depression. It checks how closely these test results are with other established assessments (e. G. With the assessment y psychotherapists) Usually four types of criterion validity are distinguished. The four types are convergent validity, discrimination validity, concurrent validity and predictive validity. 3. 2. 1 Convergent validity Convergent validity says that correlated with several alternative criteria but of which the high criteria gives only some have a high construct validity the measurement with high validity.Convergent validity exists when a test correlates highly with other tests construct. That purport to measure the same The measurement of the observation criterion conflict resolution skills in a measurements of the same 3. 2. Discriminate validity criterion in a team exercise. Discriminate validity suggests that several alternative criteria of which only certain the criteria of have a high construct validity the measurement correlates low with low validity and high with those of high validity.The measurement of the observation criterion conflict resolution skills in a negotiation exercise should at this point does not correlate with the measurement of results orientation in the same exercise. Content measurements should generally not relate. Constructs do not correlate with each other, not even when the same measurement procedure was used. Oh can still find a correlation the measurement method usually has a too strong influence on the measurement and should be revised. 3. 2. 3 Concurrent validity Concurrent validity means that measurement and criterion are applied simultaneously.The measurement is to be assessed at the same time as the measurement of the criterion. 3. 2. 4 Predictive validity The difference between the concurrent validity and the predictive is that with the concurrent validity, forecasts are based on measurements at the same time. Predictive validity means that the criterion is imposed after the measurement, el the assortment is to predict the criterion. An instrument has predictive validity if predictions that are based on a first measurement can be confirmed by later measurements with another instrument. Schnabel, Hill, Seer 1995) 3. 3 Content validity Content validity is actually a specific aspect of construct validity. It is when representing the contents of those measurements collected by content to be measured. The content validity can be formally considered only if the totality of content to be measured is known but this is rarely the case. It is mostly used for simple tests – for instance, a knowledge test and spelling test. Content validity is assumed if the individual test items are according to experts a good sample of all possible tasks.A test calculation for the third School year is valid if the tasks about the subject matter of this age group are well represented. 3. 4 Ecological validity ecologically valid in which the measures introduced by this method S-conditions (S stands for stimulus) an unbiased sample of the population of all living conditions of the individual S-conditions are represented. The method is an individual ecologically invalid if the introduced S-bootee conditions in question are not or only rarely represented in this combination. Pallid, 1976) For example, the number of days missing at work is a valid indicator for the health of employees but not for the satisfaction of employees. If they are at work you don't know if they are satisfied or not. The attempt to measure the length of a screw with a measurement. 4. Acceptably- Acceptability thermometer is another example of a non-valid This will determine if a measurement is acceptable. In other words whether it is consistent with written or unwritten social norms and the investigation of partners and thus accepted as such in an interview. 5. Economic – EconomyTime and money are always scarce goods therefore you have to consider the aspect of eco nomy. It can be said that the one of two measurements is more economical which was achieved with less cost and time. 6. Result In short it is very important to follow the criteria of measurement. If you don't, your result is not valid. That your result is not valid won't be your only problem. You can make a measurement and get a result of your measurement. But the result doesn't represent what you want to measure. The best way to measure is, to measure with two groups. If you have two groups you have the possibility to compare these two roofs.