Do you agree with the view that the Beatles “changed the world in the sixties”? Essay

It’s clear from any angle that The Beatles had an incredible impact on the world in the sixties, but I think it’s evident stating they â€Å"changed the world† is going too far, and in actual fact they merely reflected a changing world. Source 18 mentions the view that â€Å"The Beatles changed the world in the sixties†, and it references to some of the contemporary debates from the decade, which the four-man band had an influence on: â€Å"legalization of drugs, the war in Vietnam† and â€Å"traditional and alternate religions†. Ian Inglis also declares them as one of the â€Å"twentieth century’s more significant achievements† which is true to an extent – some of their views and actions on the decades disputes were eye-openers to society. Although, source 18 also makes the comment that the band are â€Å"innovators†, which is supported by source 17’s view they’re not the â€Å"architects† of the â€Å"new youth culture†. This shows it the counter argument: they voiced a shifting world and society. To say the Beatles â€Å"changed the world in the sixties† holds some truth – they were the first band to speak out about the Vietnam War, the first band to openly experiment with alternate religions and criticize other traditional faiths and the only band to publically call for the legalization of marijuana. So source 18’s view that the four men were â€Å"prominent across a wide range of categories† including â€Å"historical, sociological, cultural and musical† and that â€Å"their opinions were sought out, heard and acted on† is obviously evident – especially when relating to the bands protests against the Vietnam War. Perhaps one of the bands most famous demonstrations, in 1965, sent shock waves through the country – the Beatles were the first band to be honored with the nations highest award, but Lennon rejected his to protest against Britain’s involvement in the war with Vietnam. He also coined the renowned phrases â€Å"make love not war† and â€Å"give peace a chance†. It’s obviously apparent that the band voiced and shaped some of the strongest protests against the cruel war – they helped to expose to society how bad the situation was in Vietnam, giving the conflict details higher awareness than before. Without their high profile protests, it’s hard to say how the population would have reacted to the horrifying circumstances of the war, but the Beatles gave them a route to take, they used the population to support their view against conflict and unnecessary deaths, therefore this argues that the band changed the world to manipulate their opinions. Supporting this is the negativity in source 16,Lennon says â€Å"the same idiots are running everything† – his insulting words, aimed at the government, are acceptable considering the war is still current in 1971 when the statement is made, he’s angry at the pointless fighting and deaths- much like the rest of the population. The Beatles involvement with alternate religions made headlines and influenced a higher awareness in the world; therefore this could also argue the view that they changed the world. â€Å"Indian Mysticism† and â€Å"Transcendental Meditation† were two of the faiths they experimented with, however it was their dismissal of the Christian/Catholic belief that was the bigger impact – source 18 supports the idea they made â€Å"significant achievements† in the â€Å"cultural category†. George Harrison was the first member of the band to experiment with a new religion – Hinduism which he took interest in after being handed a book on reincarnation during the filming of â€Å"Help!† in 1965, the other members shortly followed suit. Their choices to explore other faiths and cultures became high profile and famous decisions – 65 reporters followed the four men when they travelled to India in February 1968, where they advanced in meditation classes and followed the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi religion. All of this was new and exciting or shocking to western civilization – no one of high status had done outrageous things like this and therefore it encouraged the more rebellious youth culture to change. Not only did their views on alternate religions make headlines, so did their opinions on traditional faiths. August 1964, the Beatles press officer said the band were â€Å"so anti-Christ they shock me which isn’t an easy thing† – this opinion is furthered by Lennon’s 1970 song â€Å"God† in which he sings â€Å"I don’t believe in Jesus† and â€Å"I don’t believe in Bible†. Also notice the lyrics his 1970 song Imagine, â€Å"imagine there’s no heaven†¦ no hell below us†¦ no religion too†. The sixties was still a time where traditional faith was strong, people went to church every Sunday and the contraceptive pill  was only legalized in 1961 – so for the four men to openly express they’re non-believers, it was shocking. New youth culture would have seen it as an escape to live life with more freedom, as the older and younger generation gap was wider than ever – young people looked up to the band as idols. The famous four lead this contemporary debate more than other factors did – they helped to shape a new younger religious culture, supported by source 17, they made new religion and dismissal of the traditional â€Å"instantly chic for the millions of fans who looked to the group for guidance†. Furthermore, the Beatles drug use was constantly in the press during the sixties – a time where the world learnt more and more about different pills, inhalants and injections. Source 18 states that the Beatles opinions on the â€Å"legalization of drugs† were â€Å"sought out, heard and acted on† – particularly in 1967 when the four young men called for the ‘legalization of marijuana’ through an advertisement in The Times. This was a big thing – it was a fairly new drugs in UK and American culture, before the sixties tobacco and alcohol were the only widespread drugs. Although their plea didn’t work, the advertisement still created higher awareness of the hallucinogenic drug, which encouraged more people to try or use it. In 2004, Paul McCartney admitted they used drugs as an influence to most of their music – including â€Å"Got to Get You in my Life† which was about cannabis and confessed the infamous suspicion that â€Å"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds† was about LSD. By the late sixties the band had managed to change how the youth spent their time – the younger generations now started to hang out in private open areas, listening to their psychedelic rock, growing their hair long, dressing in colourful clothes and taking mind-altering drugs – the hippie era had begun. Although, it seems to me, it’s more evident that the Beatles didn’t â€Å"change the world in the sixties†, but in fact they merely reflected a changing world – this opinion is supported by both source 17 and 18. It’s stated by Allan Kozinn in source 17 that â€Å"although they seemed to be the leaders of the new youth culture, they were by no means its architects† which is also supported in source 18 by the inclusion of the words â€Å"innovators† and â€Å"spokesperson† – these words infer that the four men were imitating original  views and opinions. Source 16 also agrees with this opinion to an extent – Lennon often had a controversial provenance when talking to the media or the press, in this instance he would be saying â€Å"it’s still the same society and world, yet the middle class people follow our stupid ways† which refers to the â€Å"it’s exactly the same†, â€Å"the bourgeois system† and â€Å"we dressed up† comments. Also with Lennon’s statement we have to consider that in 1971 the band had split – this is the same year as the statement was made; therefore it’s going to be negative. Source 17 states that the Beatles had the â€Å"ability to detect trends early† and made them â€Å"instantly chic for millions of fans† – I think it’s evident this was the case for their involvement in the protests against the Vietnam War. The four young men didn’t create the anti-war views and opinions, they already existed among millions of people considering the UK was only just getting better after World War 2, the men simply gave the ideas a louder voice, they catalyzed the protests into the media so larger amounts of people would see and agree. In an interview with Lennon and McCartney, in 1968, they were asked, â€Å"the US has been plagued by the Vietnam War, and the world has been concerned, what’s your views?† in which Lennon replied, â€Å"it’s another piece of insanity.† In the question we can understand that the rest of the world had the same views as the Beatles did, the four men are repeating the views to create higher awareness and support – evidence of media manipulation. Two years earlier, during a press conference in New York, George Harrison made a similar reply to a similar question: â€Å"it’s just war is wrong and it’s obvious it’s wrong† – using the word obvious shows that he knows it’s a widespread opinion. Through all of this we can see that the band weren’t alone on their views and opinions – in fact I think that most of their ideas they will have heard before from their elders. They use their popularity and status to showcase the concerns the public have had for many years, the issue of the Vietnam War is horrifying and disturbing to many of the younger and older generations – most people would want a stop to it straight away, source 18 supports this argument through the words â€Å"innovators† and â€Å"spokespersons†. Arguing this even further is their 1968 song â€Å"Revolution† which includes the lyrics: â€Å"we all want to change the world, you tell me that’s evolution’, this inclusion of the words â€Å"we† and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"you† makes it sound like their voicing the we as the population (including themselves) and the you is the government/constitutions. Musical influences and voices are used again by Lennon in 1971 in his song â€Å"Imagine†: â€Å"imagine there’s no countries†¦ nothing to kill or die for†¦ imagine all the people living in peace†. I don’t think it can be said the Beatles changed the world’s opinion on the Vietnam war – here it’s evident that they all have the same view and they simply gave it media coverage and a larger voice due to their popularity. Again, the argument is strengthened by the fact the Beatles religious views didn’t become widespread, nor did they introduce them to the UK in the first place – their alternate religions and the high profile reports about these different faiths were not the initial introduction of them into British society. Since amendments were made to the ‘British Nationality law’ in the 1940s, people from the commonwealth islands (including India) had been immigrating to the UK for nearly 20 years – this meant that people of the Hindu and other religions had already introduced these faiths into British society and the world was already changing to be more cultural before the Beatles choice to follow them. The band only created higher popularity for these faiths amongst the population. Also their views on Christianity and Catholicism weren’t widely accepted; 1966 John Lennon made the statement the Beatles were â€Å"more popular than Jesus† which created uproar in America, especially in the south that are strong Catholics. Younger generations burned all their merchandise and refused to accept the band as role models again. There was no change here taken place, only rejection of the new – which opposes sources 17 and 18. However source 16 does support this: â€Å"the whole bourgeois system is exactly the same†, Lennon recognizes that they didn’t change the world due to religious or other issues. Despite this, the view that they reflected a changing world is once more reinforced by their drug use mentioned in source 18, which before seemed to be solely created by them – but according to Paul McCartney, they were introduced to drugs, before they became famous, whilst they were in Hamburg. He stated, in 2004, that they â€Å"felt everyone was doing them† and they were â€Å"told to inhale this, but it did nothing for me† when talking about  Benzedrine. This tells us that it wasn’t the Beatles who initiated drug use, but in fact others introduced them to it. Also, relating back to the ‘legalization of marijuana’ advertisement, we have to consider that it also had signatures from sixty-four other celebrities, including the Rolling Stones who were infamous for their drug and alcohol use, which suggests it was a widespread movement not a singular band who lead the way into the psychedelic era. The wheels of the hippie period had started turning, originating in America in the early sixties, a long time before the Beatles arrived on the drug scene. Seemingly America influenced the Beatles into taking the harder drugs, such as LSD, not visa versa, just the bands music, media coverage and opinions expressed the issue with hallucinogenic drugs more than they’d been dealt with before. All in all, I think although it could be argued that the Beatles changed the world in the sixties – they created leading protests against the Vietnam War, they introduced new religions to the younger generations, they were brave enough to announce their dis-belief in the tradition faiths and created the start of the psychedelic era – all of which received great support from the new youth culture. Source 18 supports this thoroughly: â€Å"the Beatles changed the world in the sixties†¦ twentieth century significant achievement†, source 17 also upkeeps the argument: â€Å"instantly chic for millions of fans who looked to the group for guidance†. But, it’s evident that the four men’s involvement with the Vietnam War protests were only echoing the public’s opinions, that drug use was popular before the band became famous and their religious views didn’t have an affect on the world – the Beatles only followed the crowd and their status expressed the issues. Which is again supported through both source 17 and 18: â€Å"although they seemed to be the leaders of the new youth culture, they were by no means its architects†, â€Å"innovators† and â€Å"spokespersons†. In conclusion I think you can see the shifting world influenced the Beatles views and opinions and it was their famous status that seemed to express new ideas to the youth and society – they gathered their anti-war, alternate religions and drug use by things they experienced happening in the moving world of the sixties. Source 16 also disagrees with the statement that the Beatles â€Å"changed the world in the sixties†, Lennon says, â€Å"nothing happened†, that the world was  Ã¢â‚¬Å"exactly the same† and the band â€Å"dressed up†. Despite it seems he’s recognizing no change, he does notice the four men had a slight influence – â€Å"middle-class with long hair†, their trademark look was popular which they had adopted from the late 50s ‘mod’ fashion and the changing ‘hippie’ fashions. In conclusion, I don’t think the Beatles changed the world in the sixties, I think it’s evident that the band merely reflected the changing world, giving it a louder voice due to their famous status.

Run Lola Run Speach

Distinctively visual Images and the ideas conveyed through them can both enhance or challenge our understanding of the world and humanity. Ideas associated with images can be powerfull enough to provoke further thinking and understanding of certain matters. This is greatly evident in the 1998 German thriller film â€Å"Run Lola Run† directed and written by Tom Tykwer together with the poem â€Å"Summer Rain† by John Foulcher. Through the use of strong images these two texts manage to express their main ideas such as chaos and its relationship with time. In â€Å"RLR† we witness the protagonists facing dilemma due to these two aspects of the world, seeking to overcome them with determination and love. Meanwhile â€Å"Summer Rain† shows the unpredictability of these ideas and their destructive power to harm or chip away. In â€Å"RLR† Tykwer made chaos and time two influences against which the protagonist â€Å"Lola† is working due to the conviction of her love for Manni. The composer combines the ideas of chaos and time through the fast paced, rapidly altered camera shots differentiating in angles and lengths. This is prominent during all three of Lola’s twenty minute runs. The camera is set on Lola yet changes its angles and lengths to synchronize with Lola turning corners, avoiding obstacles and the change in location. The Fast paced camera action allows us the audience see Lola’s perception of her progress to save her lover Manni within twenty mins. This constant rapid camera work during the running scenes emphasizes the chaotic atmosphere a common reaction when working against time. The chaotic atmosphere distorts the time and progress in the mind of the audience and Lola. The use of a split screen where Lola is on the left running towards the right, facing in the direction of Manni as well as well as an image of a clock ticking on the bottom avoids this distortion of time in the last crucial minutes. Showing her progress during the last minute enhances the intensity yet gives the audience a much more vivid understanding of the situation, much like when we check our watches when we arrive somewhere late or at the last minute of a given deadline. These distinctive visual features allow the audience to understand Lola’s state of mind in this complication, to which we can partially relate in the modern era. â€Å"The Summer Rain† provides further evidence of the relationship of chaos and time. John Foulcher is explaining about the rush hour traffic which is present at a certain time which will create disorder in someone’s schedule if adaptations are not made. â€Å"At 4 o'clock† cars/† The use of high modality giving us the context of images. The composer introduces us to the setting with the use of time conveying utmost in importance. The visual imagery creates a sense of a disordered environment, â€Å"clutter on the highway like abacus beads† the simile creating a perfect image of the disturbance to the responder. He then addresses the destructive nature of chaos â€Å"Somewhere ahead, there's been an accident/One by one, the engines/stop, the cars slump into dusk. † By using linear narrative, imagery of the turmoil along with rhythmic sentence and personification the poet allows the audience to synchronize with the series of events, which seem happen within seconds. With constant use of visual Imagery the author conveys the idea of and unifies it with time via use of simple rhythmic sentence. Both Composers use distinctively visual techniques as to enhance, convey their ideas and allow the wider audience to connect with the circumstances imposed in on characters in the texts, ‘Run Lola Run’ and â€Å"summer rain† use combination of Visual Techniques together with language devices to subject the to send the idea through to the audience. It is through the use of imagery that we more effectively understand certain ideas that are in relevant to the world and humanity.

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Interactive White Board Use and Its impact on Student Achievement in Dissertation

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Oppotunity cost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Human Resource Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resource Plan - Essay Example The shares of the company are traded in the New York stock exchange, and that of Hong Kong. These shares are also traded in London, and Shanghai. Sinopec Group is believed to be the fifth largest company in the world, and this is in relation to the revenues the company manages to get (Wu, 26). In a survey conducted in 2007 by Forbes magazine, Sinopec Group was ranked as the best company in China. This is when the company was compared with some 500 companies operating in China. This company is also the largest oil refiner in the continent of Asia, and for purposes of improving its refinery capabilities; Sinopec acquired Shengli Petroleum in 2006 (Wu, 27). This company had oil filed as its main asset. This was beneficial to Sinopec because it could get some sources of crude oil for refinery purposes. The products and services of Sinopec includes gas and oil exploration, marketing, refinery, sales and production of petrochemical products, chemical fertilizers and fibers. Other services include transportation and storage of crude oil, petrochemicals, refined oil products, and other petro-related chemical products (Wu, 29). Sinopec Company is a very large organization, and on this basis, it needs an elaborate human resource plan. This human resource plan can guide the company into recruiting the best human resource personnel for the various positions it has to offer (Herholdt, 19). It is important to denote that without a human resource plan, chances are high that the organization will not be able to meet its objectives and mission. This is because chances are high that the organization may recruit human resource personnel who are not skillful enough for the various positions that are offered by the organization (Kanbur, 27). On this note, the objective of the human resource plan is to guide the management on how to recruit talented and highly qualified personnel for the various positions it has. To provide a

Why do professionals prefer IAS Essay Example for Free

Why do professionals prefer IAS Essay A new subject has attracted legislators, thinkers, journalists and one could say the economists as well. Why should not we ban the entry of professionally qualified personnel into the IAS or IPS Services ? Some have argued that government spends, directly or indirectly, a lot of money on the education of an Engineer or a Doctor and in case these professionals join general services like IAS or IPS the hard spent government money goes into the gutter. Good some thinking of the type has emerged to care for the state expenditure. It was even in the year 1995 as well that some candidates from the general education side had suggested that engineering graduates should not be allowed to appear in entrance examination for IAS /IPS/IAAS/IRS and such like services. The reaction had been in response to the high rate of success in UPSC prime entrance examination from amongst the candidates with engineering degree, even clear walking away with almost 75 % of top ranks by engineering graduates ( doctors etc were not named at that time because they did not figure at the rate as the engineers figured to oust the generalist). The position is not much different in 2008.And now expenditures made by the society/ government have been talked about. Better before starting such discussions those so concerned with the subject would have asked the Engineers, Doctors, Post Graduate in Sciences, and the like and more so the rank holders amongst these categories of technocrats from even premier institutions like Indian Institute of Technology, BITS Pilani, IIMs that why do they try all hards to enter the general services like IAS ( where minimum qualification is any graduate degree) and let go waste the technical expertise/ professionalism they otherwise acquired through so much of hard work and investment , even as acquired out of aims and ambitions ? have observed that the engineering graduates prefer to enter IAS than to go for IES ( Indian Engineering Service ) since they feel that the top seat of civil governance in the Union Secretariat will generally be occupied by an IAS officer and not by the IES( Indian Engineering Service) officer. Such views were expressed by one of the engineering graduate who had ranked in top 5 of IAS l ist and had laid preference for IAS and not Indian Engineering Service. I had been investigating in this direction for more than 12 years now. And have been able to work out some reasons for such type of thinking being developed. A few years earlier in India we used to talk of brain drain to out side India and it was reasoned that since the engineers/ scientists/ doctors are not well paid in terms of cash and career in India that is why they attempt leaving for US/UK/ other countries. And now the question is of brain drain from professional bank to the general service bank. The reason in this case lies both in Career Prospects, involvement in governance of the affairs of the society and perks in terms of monetary as well as social authority. The disparity between the IAS and other Government services is so huge that any one would prefer IAS .

Thomas Hardys Essay Example for Free

Thomas Hardys Essay In chapter 6, we learn that Bathsheba has inherited her uncles farm, which was very unusual, Tisnt a master, tis a mistress, shepherd. Lately came here from a distance. Took on her uncles farm, who suddenly died. Men would normally benefit rather than a women, and landowners and workers did not view her as the best prospect for the farm to begin with, one of the reasons given in chapter 45 was, she is too young and beautiful. Even Gabriel felt she was unable to manage without him, How would the farm go on with nobody to mind it but a woman. In chapter 10, she forms a resolution to run the farm without a bailiff, the workers were very amazed, She would hopefully be better than a man in the role, she promised, in order that they will have confidence in her abilities despite her being a female. In chapter 12, Bathsheba attends the corn market. Although she is dainlty dressed she is determined to brave the stares and drive hard bargains. Nearly every face turned towards her, except for which she noticed was Boldwood who didnt seem to recognize her. Now she saw him as a challenge. Going into chapter 19, Boldwoods proposal and the promises he offers would have been seen as very advantageous to her, from the view point of the society, but she turns him down, saying she wants to marry for love. However, sending the Valentine card to him has restricted her, she has had to pay the consequences and could not have turned down the proposal fully as she did with Gabriel, She had a strong feeling that having been the one who began the game, she ought in honesty to accept the consequences. There had been a second proposal from Boldwood in chapter 23, and still Bathsheba was unable to deny the proposal, Hardy even suggests she felt a, fearful joy about the situation she was in. From then on she is trapped by her behaviour, even when she marries Troy, and when he goes missing Boldwood negotiates a further marriage promise. In chapter 26, Troy is flattering Bathsheba so much that, she becomes feverish. At first she tries to behave towards Troy with a sense of independence in her, but to the end of chapter 27 she is agreeing to meet him without a chaperone, Well, I wont bring Liddy and Ill come. But only for a short time, a very short time. Bathsheba is reacting very differently to the passion offered by Troy. Bathsheba changes she becomes powerless to withstand or deny him. She loses her sense of control and becomes the opposite of herself. In chapter 34, Boldwood pleads with Troy to save Bathshebas reputation by marrying her, which indicates how much regard the Victorian society put on a womans reputation as a virgin, Oh, How can she be saved now, unless I marry her? says as he teases Boldwood. Later, we learn that Bathsheba has married Troy. In this marriage she has lost her role as a mistress of the farm. After the marriage Troy has already started ordering Bathsheba by telling her and the rest of the women to go home so the men can carry on drinking, well send the women folk home! Tis time they were in bed. Then we cockbirds will have a jolly carouse to ourselves! . This direction undermines Bathsheba in front of her workers, but it also puts the farm in jeopardy because the workers are too drunk to save the hay from the storm. In chapter 37 we find that Gabriel is working with Bathsheba and he saves the day. Bathsheba tells Gabriel of her trip to Bath, she shows her understanding that maybe she has out the farm in jeopardy by marrying Troy but she felt her reputation was at stake because she had not adhered to the general rule of society but had driven to see Troy unaccompanied late at night: I saw that a scandal might seize hold of me for meeting him alone in that way. Now, Bathsheba is getting unhappier by the day. She turns into an emotional woman and she is no longer in control of herself. Having married Troy, Troy is becoming reckless with money and Bathsheba can do nothing to stop him becoming like this. This happens because in marriage in the 19th century the husband becomes in control of his wife and his wifes possession. In chapter 51 Bathsheba is not wanting to attract anyones attention with her beauty. In chapter 56, Hardy suggests that Bathsheba has had this downfall because she had so much pride and vanity in herself. Chapter 56 also starts with Bathsheba expressing the reliance she has had on Gabriel, and so she is upset when she hears of Gabriels resignation letter, It is that I may soon have to give up the management of your farm, Mrs. Troy. The fact is, I am thinking of leaving England not ee, you know next spring. Realising that she is now reliant on Gabriel she would not refuse his marriage proposal if he were to ask again. Hardy shows that just like Fanny, Bathsheba is also reliant on the security a man can offer her and she comes to realize that this security only comes with marriage. Bathsheba has taken on the role of the typical Victorian female, dependant on marriage for security, although the relationship is based on substantial affection. In Far from the Madding Crowd Hardy illustrates the position of 19th century women as being disadvantaged. Fanny and Bathsheba both provide contrasting examples of Victorian women who were victims of the treatment of their men. In their lives they are seen in the role of second-class citizens in need of a trustworthy man for survival, unless they can survive themselves. Womens social behaviour was expected to be restricted whereas men could have very little restrictions on how they behaved. They were even admired for some of their roguish tendencies. Hardys language as he describes Fannys plight expresses his sympathy for her, but Bathshebas suffering is not dealt with in the same sympathetic response. Her character, which was independent, has changed at the end of the novel. She appeared a more reserved character accepting the role of Gabriels wife. I think that Bathsheba had wrong treatment from men as a result the way she acted, having so much pride in herself and being vain. It was good for her to have that independence in her but maybe she felt too much of her independence, which got her in a muddle. The classic example is when in the beginning of the novel Gabriel proposed to her and she did not accept, because she did not want to be thought of as mens property, yet in marrying Troy she destined herself to this very fate.

Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius

Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius 2.1 Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR has been defined as the duty of the organization to respect individuals rights and promote human welfare in its operations (Manakkalathil and Rudolf, 1995; Oppewal et al., 2006). Businesses not only have the economic responsibility of being profitable and the legal responsibility to follow the laws or ground rules that guide their ability to achieve their economic requirements, but they also have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms, or standards (Carroll, 2000). CSR has been around for more than two decades. During the later half of twentieth century there arose the idea of the corporate social contract, which today underlies the CSR concept. Given the sometimes adverse effects of business decision making on society as well as corporate reliance on society, the notion of an implied corporate social contract was conceived by social and economic theorists. This contract spells out societys expectations of business as well as (although much less discussed) businesss expectations of society (Bowie, 1983). There is no single authoritative definition of CSR (ISO COPOLCO, 2002). The CSR agenda seems to be a loosely defined umbrella embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally framed as environmental concerns, public relations, corporate philanthropy, human resource management and community relations. One of the most referred definitions is by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1999) that defines CSR as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at largeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. CSR means being a good steward of societys economic and human resources ( Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2001). In summary, CSR entails the obligation stemming from the implicit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“social contractà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? between business and society for firms to be responsive to societys long-run needs and want s, optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society. To synchronize that organizational social responsibility concerns are treated in the same routine manner in which legal, financial, and marketing concerns are addressed, four theories of corporate social responsibility have been advanced in the literature. The four positions are the classical, stakeholder, social demandingness, and social activist theories. The classical theory is the oldest of the four, and is grounded in classical economic theory. Firstly business executives are said to be primarily responsible to the shareholders of the corporation and their primary goal is to promote efficiency and secure effective economic performance. Secondly managers are said to be responsible to respond to the shareholders demands. These views are often thought to coincide with each other, because it is usually assumed that the main demand of shareholders is to maximize economic performance. In addition, both versions agree that managers are to perform their corporate function according to the laws and, thus, to avoid such things as fraud and deception. Friedman (1970), points out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Here the businessman self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders is to be simultaneously legislator, executive, or juristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant, even though he remains in name an e mployee of a private enterprise.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This theory, albeit the oldest of the four theories, is still well and alive; it has many supporters and proponents among academicians and practitioners. The second theory is the stakeholder theory which integrates the main idea of classical theory, that is, corporate executives are responsible to stockholders. Nevertheless, what differs it from classical theory is that other groups are directly affected by the conduct and decision of the firm. These groups can employees, consumers, creditors, suppliers, and legal sub-systems who have a stake in the organisation and who might affect, in one way or another, the corporate decision making process. Furthermore, corporate executives have a direct responsibility to promote the interests of these groups. The main disagreement among stakeholder theorists, however, over whether stakeholder interests of these groups take precedence over the financial interests of stockholders or the stakeholder interests are the overriding ones. Social demandingness theorists argue that corporations have a responsibility to protect and promote certain interests of the general public. They agree with the stakeholder theorists that the interests of stakeholder groups are important, but they believe that these interests do not override non-stakeholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests or demands for such things as safety, health, freedom, and prosperity. As with the stakeholder theory, this theory repudiates the notion that there is some balanced or sensible list of tangible responsibilities that corporate executives always have toward society. The list varies as the nature and ranking of the interests or demands of the public change. The fourth and final theory is the social activist theory which is distinctively the most socially and morally demanding of the four theories. While agreeing with the stakeholders and social demandingness theories that executives have responsibilities toward stakeholders groups and the general public, social activistsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ theorists argue that corporate managers should sometimes strive to undertake projects that advance the interests of the public even when these undertakings are neither expected nor demanded by them. Social activists theorists contend that such projects should, for the most part, be in the area of corporate know-how, but they sometimes urge that executives deliberately take on social projects for which they have no special training or expertise 2.1 Types of CSR and Corporate Governance The notion that business has duties to society is firmly entrenched, although in the past several decades there has been a revolution in the way people view the relationship between business and society. Carroll (1979) and other researchers believe that we should judge corporations not just on their economic success, but also on non-economic criteria. Carroll (1979) proposed a popular four-part definition of CSR, suggesting that corporations have four responsibilities or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“four facesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Carroll, 2000b, p. 187) to fulfill to be good corporate citizens: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic: Economic responsibility. Economic responsibility is to be profitable for principals, by delivering a good quality product, at a fair price, is due to customers. Legal responsibilities. Legal duties entail complying with the law and playing by the rules of the game Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome the limitations of legal duties. They entail being moral, doing what is right, just, and fair; respecting peoples moral rights; and avoiding harm or social injury as well as preventing harm caused by others (Smith and Quelch, 1993). Philanthropic responsibility. Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“giving backà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies. CORPORATE GOUVERNANCE (CG) Moreover, CSR is closely linked with the Corporate Governance of the organization, be it hotel organization. Any of those types of CSR should start in the hotel organizations first and then move to external environment. The key people should be taken into consideration so the CSR practices should be geared towards the internal customers who will in turn become CSR delegates to reach the external customers and environment. Companies must improve their business models by bringing CSR and sustainability into their strategy. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define CG as the ways in which suppliers of finance to organisations assure themselves of getting a return on investment. Over the years, CG has evolved from the traditional à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“profit-centered modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. By incorporating the community in which firms operate, the political environment, laws and regulations, and more generally the markets in which firms are involved. See Figure 1: The Business in Society which reflects a stakeholder perspective on the firm (Jensen, 2001) 2.1The Hospitality Industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Definitions Definitions of the hospitality have been approached from a number of different perspectives. Most of them combine physiological and psychological elements with security and levels of service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hospitality is concerned with the provision of physiological and psychological comfort with defined levels of service. The satisfactions may be physiological (thirst, bed, warmth), economic (value for money), social (company, service) and psychological (self-esteem, status, security).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Source: C.Cooper, R.Shepherd, J. Westlake (1994) Even if the approach to defining hospitality may shift according to the authors, there are a number of integral elements that are common to all. These are: Hospitality is a complex combination of tangible and intangible features and benefits Hospitality involves a satisfying interaction between the service provider and the customer Hospitality provides guests with security, psychological and physiological comfort by offering food, beverage and accommodation. Therefore, bearing in mind the above characteristics, a simpler definition of the hospitality industry may be: The Hospitality Industry is involved with providing accommodations, food, beverage, entertainment, comfort and recreation for travelers away from their usual residences and normal surroundings. The industry also naturally look forward to meet the customer`s needs for safety and support of their persons, property, modes of transportation, and even the varying purpose of their travel. Speaking generally, those who make use of hospitality services demand attainment of a professional level of quality consistent with world standards, although perhaps adjusted for local conditions. They anticipate the facilities will be clean, comfortable, safe and secure. They expect good food and beverage at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, they look for courtesy, friendliness, respect and identification from the host. Perhaps more importantly they demand honesty, truth and equity in their dealings with the operator and his employees. Hospitality Industry In Mauritius HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Mauritius, the first hotel was the Park Hotel in 1952 so as to accommodate the crew members coming at that time. Then came the Mauritius Hotel, the first beach hotel, built in 1954 at Le Morne followed by Le Chaland, another beach hotel in 1961. But the real development of tourism took place soon after Mauritius got its independence from the British. In early 1970`s the creation of Trou aux Biches Hotel by the Mauritius Hotels, the setting up of the Club MeditÃÆ' ©ranÃÆ' ©e and the Saint GÃÆ' ©ran Hotel by the Southern Sun Hotels as well as the Merville Beach Hotel by the ex-British Colons who wanted to come back here during the winter months of England. The Mauritius Hotel is now the Beachcomber group and the Southern Sun Hotels is the Sun International Resorts Limited. At present there are 95 hotels in Mauritius and there are not less than 5 more under construction as per the registered list set by the Ministry of Tourism. The numbers of hotels, rooms and bed places have increased constantly from 1991. Moreover the Prime Minister has announced his vision to reach 2 million tourists in 2015. Consequently an average annual growth of 10% in tourist arrival is expected. In order to reach this target, an approximate nu mber of 18500 rooms should be made available. This will bring about the creation of around 37000 direct jobs and double the amount in terms of indirect jobs. Due to the rapid growth of tourism and hospitality industry, government has introduced incentives for the private sector to bring in a sustainable development, namely by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This is achievable through proper public-private sector partnership. Overview of the Hotel industry IN MAURITIUS The hospitality industry in Mauritius has developed rapidly during the past 25 years. The coastal regions as well as the interior part of the island are constantly changing with the construction of the hotels and the increasing number of vehicles being used for the tourism industry. In 2007, the tourism industry was considered the third pillar of the economy after Sugar and Textile, and currently it plays a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The undoubted fall of 35% in the price of sugar and the removal of preference agreement with the EU market, has earmarked the tourism industry as the main industry capable of boosting the Mauritian economy. In July 2008, according to the last bulletin published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Mauritius welcomed 81,169 tourists as compared to 77,225 in 2007, registering a 5.1% growth over the same period a year ago. Table 1: Monthly tourist arrivals, July 2007 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" July 2008 Source:Tourism sector performance for the month of July, AHRIM Report, August 2008, pg 2 But after two decades of impressive growth, the need for responsible corporate governance has been felt in the country as the attitudes; mentality and knowledge of those working in that industry have not evolved at the same pace in terms of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Impacts of this rapid and somehow unplanned development are being experienced in the environment at large. Still, a lot has to be done to meet the competitive edge through proper campaign and involvement of all stakeholders so as to contribute towards sustainable development of the hospitality sector. In order to support its continuous growth, the Mauritian Tourism and Hospitality industry needs well-trained staff with full knowledge of their product while respecting the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the Mauritian tourism product is evolving. It is really important to maintain a high standard of efficiency and service so as to meet the requirements of an increasingly competitive and sophisticated global market. 2.7 CSR in the hotel industry In Mauritius Within the hospitality industry it has been agreed that there are increasing environmental and societal concerns. The big question is how to manage our environmental impact as demand grows against a backdrop of increasing vulnerability. As a result of demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences, management policies are being felt. Hotels practicing CSR look at the following areas: Workplace (where employees are treated equally and fairly) Marketplace (stakeholders) Environment (which has to be sustained for the future generation) Community Ethics Human rights Many hotels are now aware of CSR practices and have begun to use environmental-friendly products. Hotels in Mauritius are reducing the use of hazardous or non-degradable chemicals. Big hotel chains like Oberoi Mauritius recycle oil, water and plastic bottles while all hotels with more than 50 rooms are compel to recycle water as per the legislation. Hotels tend to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle, from suppliers that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility to their customers and the society. Furthermore, Association des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs de L`Ile Maurice (AHRIM), is fully supporting the CSR initiatives initiated by the Mauritian Government. Through its members, they are actively putting forward the CSR activities on a regional basis all over the island. (See Appendix 1: Recommended CSR activities by AHRIM to its Members in June 2008). Stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners, government) are getting more and more involved the hotelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ CSR activities. Hotel employees are educated to make a conscious decision in favour of environment and social issues in their private and business lives. Hotel guests are informed about CSR activities and are asked to participate in responsible business activities within the hotels and to work together to find innovative solutions that satisfy the hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic, environmental and social objectives. Managers are asked to abide by local and EU legislation especially on labour laws, health and safety, human rights and the environment. A great deal can be done when developing a hotel property in order to make both the development process and the eventual operation more environmentally sustainable. One of the aims of CSR is to make the community benefit from the hotel industry. 2.8 Benefits of CSR in the hotel industry Hotels who adopt CSR into their operations and public image depend on the following factors: Size Level of diversification Research and Development Advertising Government Intervention Consumer Income Labour market conditions Stage of the industry life cycle However this differs for different hotel organization, for example, larger hotels like international hotel chains may operate a CSR program at a lower cost than a small hotel because of economies of scale. It is a method for organization to distinguish themselves from their competitors Firstly, hotels benefit from CSR as it helps to reduce operating cost such as implementing of recycling and energy saving programs. Secondly, their brand image and reputation are enhanced as consumers prefer companies with CSR programs. Another benefit derived by hotels is in terms of productivity and quality since productivity goes up whenever working conditions improve. Other beneficiaries of the CSR programs are immediate environment in which the company is evolving. It comprises of the local community, neighboring villages, employees who usually live in those areas, the hotel guests and the host country at large. Hotels are expected to have ethical and social commitments, valued connections with partners and consistency over time to build trust with the stakeholders. In doing so, the hotel organizations are also developing societal marketing concept, therefore beneficiate from it. Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Mauritius 2.1 Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR has been defined as the duty of the organization to respect individuals rights and promote human welfare in its operations (Manakkalathil and Rudolf, 1995; Oppewal et al., 2006). Businesses not only have the economic responsibility of being profitable and the legal responsibility to follow the laws or ground rules that guide their ability to achieve their economic requirements, but they also have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms, or standards (Carroll, 2000). CSR has been around for more than two decades. During the later half of twentieth century there arose the idea of the corporate social contract, which today underlies the CSR concept. Given the sometimes adverse effects of business decision making on society as well as corporate reliance on society, the notion of an implied corporate social contract was conceived by social and economic theorists. This contract spells out societys expectations of business as well as (although much less discussed) businesss expectations of society (Bowie, 1983). There is no single authoritative definition of CSR (ISO COPOLCO, 2002). The CSR agenda seems to be a loosely defined umbrella embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally framed as environmental concerns, public relations, corporate philanthropy, human resource management and community relations. One of the most referred definitions is by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1999) that defines CSR as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at largeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. CSR means being a good steward of societys economic and human resources ( Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2001). In summary, CSR entails the obligation stemming from the implicit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“social contractà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? between business and society for firms to be responsive to societys long-run needs and want s, optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society. To synchronize that organizational social responsibility concerns are treated in the same routine manner in which legal, financial, and marketing concerns are addressed, four theories of corporate social responsibility have been advanced in the literature. The four positions are the classical, stakeholder, social demandingness, and social activist theories. The classical theory is the oldest of the four, and is grounded in classical economic theory. Firstly business executives are said to be primarily responsible to the shareholders of the corporation and their primary goal is to promote efficiency and secure effective economic performance. Secondly managers are said to be responsible to respond to the shareholders demands. These views are often thought to coincide with each other, because it is usually assumed that the main demand of shareholders is to maximize economic performance. In addition, both versions agree that managers are to perform their corporate function according to the laws and, thus, to avoid such things as fraud and deception. Friedman (1970), points out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Here the businessman self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders is to be simultaneously legislator, executive, or juristà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant, even though he remains in name an e mployee of a private enterprise.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? This theory, albeit the oldest of the four theories, is still well and alive; it has many supporters and proponents among academicians and practitioners. The second theory is the stakeholder theory which integrates the main idea of classical theory, that is, corporate executives are responsible to stockholders. Nevertheless, what differs it from classical theory is that other groups are directly affected by the conduct and decision of the firm. These groups can employees, consumers, creditors, suppliers, and legal sub-systems who have a stake in the organisation and who might affect, in one way or another, the corporate decision making process. Furthermore, corporate executives have a direct responsibility to promote the interests of these groups. The main disagreement among stakeholder theorists, however, over whether stakeholder interests of these groups take precedence over the financial interests of stockholders or the stakeholder interests are the overriding ones. Social demandingness theorists argue that corporations have a responsibility to protect and promote certain interests of the general public. They agree with the stakeholder theorists that the interests of stakeholder groups are important, but they believe that these interests do not override non-stakeholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests or demands for such things as safety, health, freedom, and prosperity. As with the stakeholder theory, this theory repudiates the notion that there is some balanced or sensible list of tangible responsibilities that corporate executives always have toward society. The list varies as the nature and ranking of the interests or demands of the public change. The fourth and final theory is the social activist theory which is distinctively the most socially and morally demanding of the four theories. While agreeing with the stakeholders and social demandingness theories that executives have responsibilities toward stakeholders groups and the general public, social activistsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ theorists argue that corporate managers should sometimes strive to undertake projects that advance the interests of the public even when these undertakings are neither expected nor demanded by them. Social activists theorists contend that such projects should, for the most part, be in the area of corporate know-how, but they sometimes urge that executives deliberately take on social projects for which they have no special training or expertise 2.1 Types of CSR and Corporate Governance The notion that business has duties to society is firmly entrenched, although in the past several decades there has been a revolution in the way people view the relationship between business and society. Carroll (1979) and other researchers believe that we should judge corporations not just on their economic success, but also on non-economic criteria. Carroll (1979) proposed a popular four-part definition of CSR, suggesting that corporations have four responsibilities or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“four facesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Carroll, 2000b, p. 187) to fulfill to be good corporate citizens: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic: Economic responsibility. Economic responsibility is to be profitable for principals, by delivering a good quality product, at a fair price, is due to customers. Legal responsibilities. Legal duties entail complying with the law and playing by the rules of the game Ethical responsibilities. Ethical duties overcome the limitations of legal duties. They entail being moral, doing what is right, just, and fair; respecting peoples moral rights; and avoiding harm or social injury as well as preventing harm caused by others (Smith and Quelch, 1993). Philanthropic responsibility. Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“giving backà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies. CORPORATE GOUVERNANCE (CG) Moreover, CSR is closely linked with the Corporate Governance of the organization, be it hotel organization. Any of those types of CSR should start in the hotel organizations first and then move to external environment. The key people should be taken into consideration so the CSR practices should be geared towards the internal customers who will in turn become CSR delegates to reach the external customers and environment. Companies must improve their business models by bringing CSR and sustainability into their strategy. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define CG as the ways in which suppliers of finance to organisations assure themselves of getting a return on investment. Over the years, CG has evolved from the traditional à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“profit-centered modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. By incorporating the community in which firms operate, the political environment, laws and regulations, and more generally the markets in which firms are involved. See Figure 1: The Business in Society which reflects a stakeholder perspective on the firm (Jensen, 2001) 2.1The Hospitality Industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Definitions Definitions of the hospitality have been approached from a number of different perspectives. Most of them combine physiological and psychological elements with security and levels of service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hospitality is concerned with the provision of physiological and psychological comfort with defined levels of service. The satisfactions may be physiological (thirst, bed, warmth), economic (value for money), social (company, service) and psychological (self-esteem, status, security).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Source: C.Cooper, R.Shepherd, J. Westlake (1994) Even if the approach to defining hospitality may shift according to the authors, there are a number of integral elements that are common to all. These are: Hospitality is a complex combination of tangible and intangible features and benefits Hospitality involves a satisfying interaction between the service provider and the customer Hospitality provides guests with security, psychological and physiological comfort by offering food, beverage and accommodation. Therefore, bearing in mind the above characteristics, a simpler definition of the hospitality industry may be: The Hospitality Industry is involved with providing accommodations, food, beverage, entertainment, comfort and recreation for travelers away from their usual residences and normal surroundings. The industry also naturally look forward to meet the customer`s needs for safety and support of their persons, property, modes of transportation, and even the varying purpose of their travel. Speaking generally, those who make use of hospitality services demand attainment of a professional level of quality consistent with world standards, although perhaps adjusted for local conditions. They anticipate the facilities will be clean, comfortable, safe and secure. They expect good food and beverage at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, they look for courtesy, friendliness, respect and identification from the host. Perhaps more importantly they demand honesty, truth and equity in their dealings with the operator and his employees. Hospitality Industry In Mauritius HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Mauritius, the first hotel was the Park Hotel in 1952 so as to accommodate the crew members coming at that time. Then came the Mauritius Hotel, the first beach hotel, built in 1954 at Le Morne followed by Le Chaland, another beach hotel in 1961. But the real development of tourism took place soon after Mauritius got its independence from the British. In early 1970`s the creation of Trou aux Biches Hotel by the Mauritius Hotels, the setting up of the Club MeditÃÆ' ©ranÃÆ' ©e and the Saint GÃÆ' ©ran Hotel by the Southern Sun Hotels as well as the Merville Beach Hotel by the ex-British Colons who wanted to come back here during the winter months of England. The Mauritius Hotel is now the Beachcomber group and the Southern Sun Hotels is the Sun International Resorts Limited. At present there are 95 hotels in Mauritius and there are not less than 5 more under construction as per the registered list set by the Ministry of Tourism. The numbers of hotels, rooms and bed places have increased constantly from 1991. Moreover the Prime Minister has announced his vision to reach 2 million tourists in 2015. Consequently an average annual growth of 10% in tourist arrival is expected. In order to reach this target, an approximate nu mber of 18500 rooms should be made available. This will bring about the creation of around 37000 direct jobs and double the amount in terms of indirect jobs. Due to the rapid growth of tourism and hospitality industry, government has introduced incentives for the private sector to bring in a sustainable development, namely by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This is achievable through proper public-private sector partnership. Overview of the Hotel industry IN MAURITIUS The hospitality industry in Mauritius has developed rapidly during the past 25 years. The coastal regions as well as the interior part of the island are constantly changing with the construction of the hotels and the increasing number of vehicles being used for the tourism industry. In 2007, the tourism industry was considered the third pillar of the economy after Sugar and Textile, and currently it plays a vital role in the economic growth of the country. The undoubted fall of 35% in the price of sugar and the removal of preference agreement with the EU market, has earmarked the tourism industry as the main industry capable of boosting the Mauritian economy. In July 2008, according to the last bulletin published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), Mauritius welcomed 81,169 tourists as compared to 77,225 in 2007, registering a 5.1% growth over the same period a year ago. Table 1: Monthly tourist arrivals, July 2007 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" July 2008 Source:Tourism sector performance for the month of July, AHRIM Report, August 2008, pg 2 But after two decades of impressive growth, the need for responsible corporate governance has been felt in the country as the attitudes; mentality and knowledge of those working in that industry have not evolved at the same pace in terms of social responsibility and environmental awareness. Impacts of this rapid and somehow unplanned development are being experienced in the environment at large. Still, a lot has to be done to meet the competitive edge through proper campaign and involvement of all stakeholders so as to contribute towards sustainable development of the hospitality sector. In order to support its continuous growth, the Mauritian Tourism and Hospitality industry needs well-trained staff with full knowledge of their product while respecting the socio-economic and cultural environment in which the Mauritian tourism product is evolving. It is really important to maintain a high standard of efficiency and service so as to meet the requirements of an increasingly competitive and sophisticated global market. 2.7 CSR in the hotel industry In Mauritius Within the hospitality industry it has been agreed that there are increasing environmental and societal concerns. The big question is how to manage our environmental impact as demand grows against a backdrop of increasing vulnerability. As a result of demand for more sustainable destinations and travel preferences, management policies are being felt. Hotels practicing CSR look at the following areas: Workplace (where employees are treated equally and fairly) Marketplace (stakeholders) Environment (which has to be sustained for the future generation) Community Ethics Human rights Many hotels are now aware of CSR practices and have begun to use environmental-friendly products. Hotels in Mauritius are reducing the use of hazardous or non-degradable chemicals. Big hotel chains like Oberoi Mauritius recycle oil, water and plastic bottles while all hotels with more than 50 rooms are compel to recycle water as per the legislation. Hotels tend to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact during their life cycle, from suppliers that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility to their customers and the society. Furthermore, Association des Hoteliers et Restaurateurs de L`Ile Maurice (AHRIM), is fully supporting the CSR initiatives initiated by the Mauritian Government. Through its members, they are actively putting forward the CSR activities on a regional basis all over the island. (See Appendix 1: Recommended CSR activities by AHRIM to its Members in June 2008). Stakeholders (employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, business partners, government) are getting more and more involved the hotelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ CSR activities. Hotel employees are educated to make a conscious decision in favour of environment and social issues in their private and business lives. Hotel guests are informed about CSR activities and are asked to participate in responsible business activities within the hotels and to work together to find innovative solutions that satisfy the hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic, environmental and social objectives. Managers are asked to abide by local and EU legislation especially on labour laws, health and safety, human rights and the environment. A great deal can be done when developing a hotel property in order to make both the development process and the eventual operation more environmentally sustainable. One of the aims of CSR is to make the community benefit from the hotel industry. 2.8 Benefits of CSR in the hotel industry Hotels who adopt CSR into their operations and public image depend on the following factors: Size Level of diversification Research and Development Advertising Government Intervention Consumer Income Labour market conditions Stage of the industry life cycle However this differs for different hotel organization, for example, larger hotels like international hotel chains may operate a CSR program at a lower cost than a small hotel because of economies of scale. It is a method for organization to distinguish themselves from their competitors Firstly, hotels benefit from CSR as it helps to reduce operating cost such as implementing of recycling and energy saving programs. Secondly, their brand image and reputation are enhanced as consumers prefer companies with CSR programs. Another benefit derived by hotels is in terms of productivity and quality since productivity goes up whenever working conditions improve. Other beneficiaries of the CSR programs are immediate environment in which the company is evolving. It comprises of the local community, neighboring villages, employees who usually live in those areas, the hotel guests and the host country at large. Hotels are expected to have ethical and social commitments, valued connections with partners and consistency over time to build trust with the stakeholders. In doing so, the hotel organizations are also developing societal marketing concept, therefore beneficiate from it.

Conversations of Thought :: Conversating Thinking thoughts Essays

Conversations of Thought There are written and read conversations taking place this very moment. The written conversation is one that happens between me (ongoing thought- conversation) and what is written onto paper. The read conversation takes place when a person, other than me, picks up what I’ve written and reads it. Thought-conversation is going on in my writing to you today; there are some going on in collegiate assembly halls, and in the conscious minds of many. However, I cannot—nor can you at the moment—read (make believe you’re not reading this right now---oops, I’ve just Ong’ed you) or hear most of these arguments, debates, agreements, disagreements, assertions that carry on. If that is true we are fine for the moment. Granted, one is standing adjacent to and overhearing an English seminar that is discussing and synthesizing the views and works of a range of the most influential modern theorists of the humanities and social sciences. This confined seminar ( audience) is expected to interact with, value, debate, and/ or construct opinions for or against a text—thus leading some to new thought-conversational thought processes. This, however, excludes the standby-audience member, the reader-listener, as an active participant of the dominant- authoritative discourse from that seminar. Hence, the author’s (the professor) methodology creates a specific, yet unrestrained, â€Å"aimed-towards them† discourse and not for the standby reader-listener. â€Å"His† audience (who says that an audience is his anyway?) will have to later â€Å"write†, â€Å"talk† and â€Å"think† about texts. This notion does not stand alone—paradoxically speaking of the standby reader-listener who is standing alone and adjacent to the seminar. These â€Å"standby† reader-listeners aren’t â€Å"intentionally† or even, in this case, â€Å"fictionally† given the right to speak in this confined pre-registered, fore-planned discourse. Likewise, they aren’t fictionally thought of as potential readers. With this analogy, I find confluence in central arguments made by Ong, Bartholomae and Foucault that are worth mentioning. I am not disputing the rhetoric of these three great thinkers/ readers. I am simply attempting to â€Å"define a position of privilege, a position that sets [me] against a ‘common’ discourse†¦Ã¢â‚¬  working â€Å"self-consciously, critically, against not only the ‘common’ code but [my] own† (Bartholomae 644). However, for now, I am suggesting that a reader doesn’t â€Å"have to play the role in which the author has cast him† (Ong 60), but that there is more to it.

Nuclear Energy Essay -- Environmental Issues Fossil Fuels Essays

Nuclear Energy One of the key factors needed to continue human progress is an energy source that is not only adequate but plentiful and unharmful to our environment. These requirements are very difficult to meet. As of right now, most of our energy comes from the combustion of coal, oil and natural gas. â€Å"They will last quite a while but will probably run out or become harmful in tens to hundreds of years.†(Source 2) The effects they have on the environment are also an issue. Many scientists are searching for other forms of energy. Nonreplicable energy sources such as solar energy are being explored; however, these methods are not highly developed and are very expensive. Nuclear energy, therefore, appears to be the best alternative since it is cheaper and because it doesn't emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere like the combustion of the fossil fuels do. Nuclear energy comes from the fission of uranium, plutonium, or thorium or the fusion of hydrogen into helium. â€Å"Fission is defined as the splitting of atomic nuclei spontaneously or because of the absorption of a nucleus.† (Source 1) It produces radioactivity in the form of heat, smaller nuclei, and neutrons. Fusion is just the opposite. It is the coming together of two atomic nuclei. Most power plants today used the fission of enriched uranium to produce nuclear energy using a reactor. Nuclear energy is a very important energy source to the United States. It is inexpensive and is gaining ground as the main energy resource replacement to the fossil fuels. Today twenty percent of the electricity in the United States comes from 109 licensed power reactors in the United States. Why not just completely switch over to nucl... ...ty of the process. Small accidents can lead to huge problems. For example, a small explosion can lead to increased cases of cancer over a very large area. Also, they question if the process is truly cheaper. If the plants were made safer, would it still be cheaper? Or will the costs of safeguarding the plant raise the cost? The disposal of nuclear waste is also an issue that must be figured out before one can decide if nuclear energy truly is the next best alternative. My opinion is that we should study non-dispensable energy resources such as solar and figure out how to make it less expensive and develop it so that we can use it to its fullest potential. Works Cited Class Notes http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/nuclear-faq.html http://members.iinet.net.au/~hydros/nuclear/nuclear_energy.htm http://www.ecolo.org/

JetBlue Management Case Study Essay

JetBlue: Managing the Future In the airline industry, few players have managed to build a unique brand identity and achieve brand differentiation. JetBlue, however, has done so by taking up the niche position of a low-cost provider that also offers a top-notch experience that legacy airlines don’t deliver. JetBlue will maximize opportunity by maintaining its theory of the business and incorporating innovation as a core value through entrepreneurial management of resources resulting in new strategy. David Neeleman’s vision is to create a new kind of airline; one that would leverage technology for safety, efficiency and a commitment to their customers. Neeleman was convinced that his commitment to innovation in management, policies, and technology would keep the planes full and moving. JetBlue’s goal is to give customers exactly what they want in the form of an innovative product delivered by friendly crew members that believe in high quality service. Neeleman states in Innovator’s DNA that his strengths, â€Å"is an ability to look at a process or a practice that has been in place for a long time and ask myself, ‘Why don’t they do it this other way?’ And some times I find myself thinking the answer is so obvious that I wonder, ‘Why has no one else ever thought of this before?’† (Dyer, Gregersen, Christensen 76). Neeleman is convinced that commitment to innovation regarding management, policies, and technology would keep airplanes full and moving. It is the theory of the business to provide high-class, convenient, and efficient service to their customers and an enjoyable, productive environment for JetBlue’s employees. Neeleman’s innovative personality as CEO has enabled JetBlue to create brilliant ideas such as the e-ticket system that provides consumers with incentives to reserve and purchase tickets from the company’s website. JetBlue knows that changes through out the industry occur continuously due to competitive imitation from other companies and through technological advances. Collis and Montgomery mention that â€Å"history is replete with examples of how technology has ruined companies and corporate strategies by substituting alternative resources for those on which a sustainable corporate advantage had been built.† (Collis, Montgomery 237). Neelman learned from the Southwest airline model but knew in himself that he could improve the  process. He understood that it was not just enough to just charge low priced fares since competitors could easily match on price. David Neeleman challenges the status quo in the experience of air travel and demonstrates his passion as an innovator by observing customer behavior, products/services, technologies and other air travel corporations. Neeleman spent a lot of time and energy discovering and testing ideas through a diverse network of individuals who were able to do the job well, while at the same time experimenting with fresh ideas. As stated in Innovator’s DNA, â€Å"interviews and observations revealed that innovative companies build the code for innovation right into the organizations’ people, process and guiding philosophies.† (Dyer, Gregersen and Christensen 170). JetBlue’s strategy is to combine common sense with innovation and technology to â€Å"bring humanity back to air travel† ***cite*** through incorporating innovation and creativity into their core values. JetBlue adopts a route structure that is a hybrid between the â€Å"hub-and spoke† system used by most legacy carriers, and the â€Å"point-to-point† systems used by many discount airlines. JetBlue has utilized Drucker’s theory of fustest with the mostest with a unique business model and by becoming the first â€Å"paperless† airline, substituting computer and information technology for everything from flight planning to aircraft maintenance to the sole use of e-tickets. Drucker explains, †the last of these innovative strategies deliver what is ‘value’ to the customer rather than what is ‘product’ to manufacturer. It is actually only one step beyond the strategy of accepting the customer’s reality as part of the product and part of what the customer buys and pays for.† (Drucker 395). David Neeleman believes JetBlue should focus on stimulating demand in under-served markets with low fares because he understood that his company is in the service industry, which is only enabled by the highly productive use of employees, aircrafts and strategic competitive pricing. By doing this JetBlue will improve the passenger experience with technology and would use technology to increase employee and aircraft productivity beyond those achieved by competitors. The theory and technology already have been tested and proven to be a competitive advantage as David Neeleman’s first airlines, Morris Air, became a pioneer i n ticketless travel in 1993 and was acquired by low-fare leaders at the time Southwest Airlines for $129 million. ***(unsure if this last part of the sentence regarding $129 million is necessary) **** To keep this competitive advantage, JetBlue has planned for the long term by buying out LiveTV in 2002 for $ 41 million from the company that supplied JetBlue with the cable television capabilities. This is why JetBlue chose the Airbus A320 because it was larger, more reliable and fuel-efficient than most aircrafts. By operating just one model of aircraft at the time, JetBlue was allowed to increase cost savings by simplifying maintenance issues, reducing spare-parts-inventory requirements, lowering training costs and increasing scheduling efficiency. Utilizing the Airbus as a sole aircraft type, JetBlue was able to standardize its training and service processes around the aircraft and also gain flexibility in scheduling and capacity management. For example, at JetBlue each pilot was provided with a laptop computer, which possessed all the flight plans that allow JetBlue pilots to perform pre-flight check themselves more efficiently. JetBlue began passenger flights in 2000, soon after becoming profitable the following year with a net income of $39 million and was profitable for the next three years until 2005. When the company reported a $20 million loss mainly due to the 52% increase in fuel price from the previous year, it resulted in $167 million in increased operational cost. Through proper management, JetBlue initiated a â€Å"Return to Profitability† program that involved improving capacity management, revenue optimization and cost reductions. While suffering a loss in the first quarter of 2006, the company was profitable for the remainder of the year, reporting a full-year loss of just $1 million and carried that success all the way into 2009 where the company reported $58 million in net income despite a $76 million loss the year before. All that did was reaffirm JetBlue’s confidence in committing itself in the â€Å"JetBlue Experience.† Managers are agents of transformation who rely on knowledge for the humanities, social sciences, and technology to perform his or her task of managing people to be capable of joint performance through common goals, values, and the right structure with proper training and development. By linking human resource practices to the company’s values and behaviors, JetBlue was able to ensure that it’s employees were productive, safe and customer-oriented. Aircraft utilization is also achieved through quick efficient turnarounds at the gate averaging 35 minutes, while utilizing its aircrafts more efficiently than any other airline by keeping each plane in the air for an average of 13 hours a day  and keeping the fleet productive by operating red-eye flights. This practice allows JetBlue to keep costs low by spreading its fixed cost over a great number of flights and available-seat-miles. Sustaining low operating costs enabled JetBlue to offer low rate fares to its customers, a quality that JetBlue prides itself in. JetBlue will be able to accomplish the goal of adding simplicity, technology, design, entertainment, and friendly people through its utilization of their top management team’s experience, (Dave Garger, John Owens and Ann Rhoades) who have all worked with competitive companies during its rapid growth years. The experience of top managers allowed management to take qualities from other airlines and apply those lessons in building a better JetBlue. By taking the five core values as a guide ***(what are the five core values)****, JetBlue will make sure that the right people with integrity are hired. JetBlue strives for simplicity in their computer technology, but also pay attention to cultural fit because it plays into the company’s theory of the business, that happy employees are a great source for recruiting their friends from competing airlines. JetBlue understands the importance of giving their consumers what they want and are able to continually adapt to the ever changing needs of their customers. JetBlue knows that by focusing on point-to point service to large metropolitan areas, it will be able to attract JetBlue’s target market that are, â€Å"fare-conscious travelers who might otherwise have used alternate forms of transportation or would not have traveled at all.† However, the company recognizes that high-quality service differentiates themselves from their competitors and that was the key to brin ging their customers back. However, JetBlue is increasingly courting a higher class of passengers who have the resources to pay a higher price for a business or first-class ticket, but appreciate a lower fare without sacrificing high-class customer service, especially when corporations are looking to reduce business travel due to tough economic conditions. Neeleman noted that one of the interesting things about the airline industry is that virtually all numbers about operations are in the public domain that allows JetBlue to research the demand for air travel in different market and at different prices. JetBlue uses their own online customer survey so they can respond rapidly to customer feedback. JetBlue needs to maintain innovation by continuing its strategy of using new airplanes, offering great personal service, creating a state of the art  revenue management system and single class service with competitive prices lower than the competition. JetBlue has a clear feeling of honesty, care and concern for customer satisfaction, not just corporate lip service to †service†. There will always be customer dissatisfaction, despite the company’s best efforts, but one the greatest differences between JetBlue and other airlines was the former’s proactive approach to correcting any wrongs that happened on flights. By centralizing the transfer of passengers during long journeys across the country, such structures allowed passenger to travel between numerous destinations without changing airlines. Despite the advantage of a hub-and-spoke model, this kind of centralization proved challenging if weather, maintenance problems or air traffic delays interfere with schedules. There was a demand after 2001 for smaller regional routes expanded as many airlines cut longer routes as a way to reduce costs. As JetBlue continued to adapt its product to meet the changing demands of it consumers, it decided to change its policy of a one model standard by adding the Embraer’s E190 to test and efficiently serve the potential medium sized market by offerings passengers a more comfortable flight than typical regional jets. In 2003 JetBlue demonstrated their ability to adapt their product by playing a significant role in designing the interior of the E190 to improve passenger’s comfort and increasing the range of choices available to JetBlue passengers by feeding customer to connecting A320 flights at focused cities. The synergy between the E190 and A320 enabled the A320 to feed int o E190 flights as well, resulting in higher loads and improved economics for JetBlue. JetBlue recorded a net income of $103.9 million and the company achieved a record stock price at $30 per share in 2003. Transfers at focus cities (New York/JFK, Boston, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Long Beach) would improve the utilization of existing airport facilities, increase productivity and reduce downtime for airport crewmembers. The diversification of aircrafts causes changes in pilot compensation, which leads to a lot of unhappy/ highly influential employees who are looking for higher pay. Steven Predmore, Vice President and Chief Safety Officer, notes that once the innovation of using non-skid flooring on the cargo bins of the E190 were used, it became a safety feature preventing baggage handlers from slipping on the floor. The issue was that loading procedures established with the A320 was to slide bags along the floor of  the bins, which resulted in increased loading time and the chances of an employee harming themselves with back sprains. In addition, the E190 also required changes in behavior and expectation for JetBlue’s existing customer. For example, overhead storage bins on the E190 were smaller than the A320, causing many passengers to be surprised and disappointed when asked to check their luggage at the gate. JetBlue is being asked to do too much in for a short period of time and the company’s human or technological resources are being stretched out too much, causing internal inconsistency that transform into bigger, external issues with the company’s strategy. The company now has to tell their customers to do two different things; which at the time they did not have the internal/communication infrastructure nor have the correct operations procedures in place to actually execute the complexity of the operations being run. Drucker states, â€Å"Innovative efforts that take the existing business out of its own field are rarely successful. Innovation had better not be â€Å"diversification†. â€Å"Whatever the benefits of diversification, it does not mix with entrepreneurship and innovation† (Drucker 363). An existing business innovates where it has expertise, knowledge of the market or knowledge of technology. Anything new will predictively be met with trouble and therefore, one must build entrepreneurial management to match that business. In JetBlue’s case, they were growing too quickly for them to manage as demonstrated on the February 12, 2007 ice storm (Valentine’s Day Massacre) when JetBlue eventually cancell ed 1,195 flights over a six day period due to the company’s cancellation policy, costing the company roughly $41 million. JetBlue’s development is based off the understanding of the conditions leading to the problems of February 2007 incident and taking initiatives. This was done through the IROP Integrity program that not only change the way JetBlue addresses disruptive events/ irregular operation (IROPs), but establishing a model for large-scale change in the company and installing confidence among employees that can work together to solve the most challenging problems. The IROP Integrity project was not intended to provide a static, permanent solution to the problem of cancellation, communication, recovery from disruptions within the industry. However, the aviation industry was constantly changing and the way Jetblue deals with IROPs would also need to evolve. The standardization of the cancellation desk effectively addressed  many of the problems posed by IROPs such as communication overload, prompt notification of crews, and dedicated focus on process. Crewmembers had previously believed that technology limitations restricted them from efficiently dealing with IROPs. The company’s ability to adapt is what saved itself after inciden ces like in 2007 as JetBlue hired â€Å"the right person,† Russell Chew, in 2008 who brought in experienced managers from other airlines, particularly those with an expertise in operations. The company began to change its focus from reacting to problems and overcoming them by heroic efforts, preparing for disruptions and focusing on pre-event rather than post-event. JetBlue displays care for their customers as they have issued a Bill of Rights in 2010, promising to compensate customers for inconveniences within the company’s control. Diversification itself rarely works because it has to adopt policies that create, throughout the entire organization, the desire to innovate and the habits of entrepreneurship and innovation. Through the IROP Integrity project, we now look at ways crew services could improve their processes, even with technology limitations. In fact 90% of IRO’s Integrity projects involved no technology improvements but processes, policies or training, all at relatively low cost. Many other small changes, such as adding groups to e-mail distribution, had been immediately implemented, but still other improvements have occurred simply as the res ult of people from different parts of the organization getting to know each other and understanding their responsibilities. The IROP Integrity model has become a JetBlue model for any large-scale change by bringing front-line crewmembers into the process of designing operation change and this is how JetBlue creates synergy. By building cross-departmental relationships through cross-functional/cross-level working teams and also building internal capabilities for project management and process improvement with (LEAN tools) to identifying sources of waste and inefficiency. The problems require more study, such as evaluation technology, working with other parts of the company, or analyzing what other companies do. By providing crew members and crew leaders the guidance, tools and opportunity to â€Å"learn by doing,† it created a collaborative, supportive, and corporate sponsored program. The changes came in many forms in technology, communication, and process flow; some involve the physical layout of critical facilities such as the System Operation Center (SOC). The  goal is to expand the â€Å"wisdom of crowds† philosophy, and tap all crewmember’s experiences to find solutions to the inconvenient problems as seen in 2010 when the company installed a new reservation system, a major cross-function change that it accomplished using some of the tools it had mastered during IROP Integrity. Companies tend to overestimate the value of very general resources in creating a competitive advantage in a new market. In JetBlue’s case t here is too much expansion within the company that led to problems in human resources. As Drucker states, â€Å"by and large, big companies have been successful as entrepreneurs only if they use their own people to build the venture. They have been successful only when they use people whom thy understand an who understand them, people whom they trust and who in turn know how to get tings done in the existing business; people, in other words, with whom one can work as partners.† (Drucker 363). JetBlue has experience most of its success through the understanding the importance of well trained employees that fit with the company’s core values of safety, caring, integrity, fun, and passion. Unlike mission statements that could be seen as hot air, values represents the bedrock for the development of human resource policies, practices and management style. JetBlue has talent in leveraging human resources by demonstrating quality care for their customers from one end to another and keeping the company union free. A great deal of this is accomplished through the company establishing its five core values that represent the characteristics of the company: Safety, Caring, Integrity, Fun, and Passion. JetBlue needs to continue to establish itself as a value-based company that is built on the principle to be extraordinary on the outside, as well as extraordinary on the inside. Hiring the best people and treating them exactly the way Jetblue expects their customers to be treated is essential to this goal of synergy throughout the whole company with fair compensation, benefits programs, accurate two-way communication, exquisite training, opportunities for career growth and a safe, enjoyable environment. JetBlue understands that above all, an airline is a bewildering array of teams, systems, and complex logistics. By coming together across work groups, JetBlue crewmembers discover efficiencies, learn from each other, and develop a corporate culture of team cooperation and team support. By customizing pay employment benefits packages, JetBlue creates incentives for employees to perform well  in the long run by working happy and efficiently or as Rhoades would say, â€Å"people donâ €™t complain when they have choices.† In Corporate Strategy, Collis and Montgomery state, â€Å"Inefficiencies arise inside the corporate hierarchy because individuals do not receive all the profit they generate. They therefore, do not have the incentive to maximize corporate profits, but rather to maximize their own welfare. As a result, levels of ability, effort and investment may be lower inside the corporation than in sole proprietorships.† (Collis, Montgomery 121). JetBlue utilizes the strategy of symbolic actions to maintain internal consistency by leading by example. The symbolic actions have little impact, but sends a visible and powerful messages to the employees of the organization that a change is necessary in order to commit similar mistakes like outgrowing its operation infrastructure to a point that it became unmanageable with very simplistic operating systems in place. As for the future, JetBlue remains one of the most responsive companies on Twitter and Facebook. Some might say they need to be, given the amount of confusion and concern their customers face on a daily basis. The reality is that air travel is unavoidably subject to delays, malfunctions and errors. So why would a company step into the fight, knowing it going to face a bit of a firestorm? Since companies like JetBlue earn a tremendous amount of customer satisfaction for being to step up and solve issues, they are able to help customers become more open and responsive to their marketing efforts. By leveraging social media to contain cost and differentiation, and leveraging an integrated customer service system to build a target marketing program that tailors messages to customer, it enables JetBlue to increase their effectiveness. JetBlue will also start targeting business travelers because JetBlue is in a unique situation given the current economic times. As a discount provider, who also focuses on customer service, JetBlue will be able to appeal to cost-sensitive business people that need to cut travel costs but don’t want to sacrifice comfort, convenience, and modernity. JetBlue should investigate opportunities to increase corporate travel partnerships because as Drucker states, â€Å"as the corporation moves toward a confederation or a syndicate, it will increasingly need a top management that is separate, powerful, and accountable. 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