Fast food restaurant Essay

Introduction Fast food is very common in Hong Kong. We can find at least one fast-food restaurant nearby. McDonald, KFC, Burger King, Triple O’s, Cafe de Carol can be found everywhere in Hong Kong. Fast food means that the food can be prepared and served very quickly. It can save us time and is convenient. [pic][pic][pic] The aim of this report is to investigate fast food culture in Hong Kong nowadays. Firstly, trend of fast food culture in Hong Kong would be given in order to get further understanding of fast food. Secondly, negative impacts of fast food would be discussed. Thirdly, despite the fact that Hong Kong people are more aware of their health, fast food restaurants have emerged. Lastly, comparison between fast food shops and fast-service shops would be mentioned to find out how these two types of shops affect customers’ choice of catering. Mr. Victor Chan, the Managing Director of the Triple O’s, Hong Kong franchise, was interviewed to find out the answer. Current situation [pic]Fig. 1 Top 10 Global Markets for weekly Fast Food. According to the survey from ACNielsen (Refer to figure1), Hong Kong has the highest percentage of eating fast food in the world, with 61 per cent of people eating fast food at least once a week. The survey was conducted in October 2004 over the internet in 28 countries and regions across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US. It showed that more and more people are obsessed with fast food. Nine per cent of Hong Kong people visited fast-food restaurants at least once a day; 86 per cent of people visited at least twice a month. In the first nine months of this 2004, Hong Kong people visited fast-food restaurants on average seven times a month and spent $ 160. The survey revealed fast food has become a part of Hong Kong people’s lives. Hong Kong people are in fast pace of life. People have less time to eat and are busy to work. It makes fast food become more and more popular because it is convenient and comfortable. It replaces the position of traditional restaurants and these fast food shops have dominated our society gradually. Negative impacts of traditional fast food There are thousands of fast food shops in Hong Kong. They have totally changed eating habit and daily life of Hong Kong people. Albeit fast food is delicious and tasty, it brings several health problems. Fast food contains lots of fats and high calories. For example, McDonald’s provides a Big Mac, large fries and a large Coca-Cola drink which have 1430 calories. In fact, 2000 calories is the maximum amount a person needs in each day. Big Macs in Hong Kong contains more fat and cholesterol than those in the world. According to nutritional information on the company’s website, each Hong Kong burger weighed 560 calories but 80 calories is more than Australia, 67 calories more than Britain and 60 calories more than the Middle East. Obviously, fast food leads to obesity and diabetes, and increases the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Apparently, fast food contains high calories and lack in nutrition. Fast food is not proper meal that people can eat every day. Besides this, facing the influence of mass media and the trend in Hong Kong, slim body figures are encouraged. Therefore, Hong Kong people realize the importance of health. They are willing to eat healthy food with low calories and fats. In order to meet the demand of healthy and higher nutritional food from Hong Kong people, fast food shops start to provide healthy food to customers. For example, McDonald’s try to give more choice to customers by providing healthier food, likes fresh salad and low fat yogurt. Fast food culture in Hong Kong has changed. Emergence of Fast-service food shops in Hong Kong Interview with Triple O’s – White Spot Because of the rise in living standard and change in eating habits of Hong Kong customers, traditional fast food shops, such as McDonald’s and KFC, can no longer meet the demands of customers. The emergence of a brand new type of catering choice – fast-service food shops, introduces a new dining experience to Hong Kong customers, thus, bringing a positive and striking impact to the catering industry. One of the most successful fast-service food shops in Hong Kong is Triple O’s – White Spot, which was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1928, best known for its hamburgers In 2003, Triple O’s expanded its business to Hong Kong, setting up the first shop in the Great food hall in the basement of Pacific Place, Admiralty. Until 2010, there are already 5 Triple O’s established throughout Hong Kong, in which the franchises each record more than twice as many sales as the average location in BC. In order to know more about fast-service food shops, an interview has been conducted with the managing director of the Triple O’s, Hong Kong franchise, Mr. Victor Chan. [pic] [pic] Triple O’s – White Spot aims to provide high quality, home-made and healthy fast food and family-friendly services to create a new kind of dining experience to customers. According to Mr. Chan, Triple O’s’ in Hong Kong have to follow strictly the menu and ingredients set by the Canadian headquarters to ensure its high food quality. For instance, unlike traditional fast food shops that only focus in lowering their production cost, Triple O’s’ milkshakes are made of fresh milk and premium ice-cream. Burger beef is from Australia, delivered fresh to Triple O’s in Hong Kong, not frozen. Mr. Chan added that Triple O’s’ menu will not change in order to suit the appetite of Hong Kong customers, therefore resulting in a limited choices of food in their menu compared to other fast food shops. In order to provide freshly made burgers, it usually takes up to 5 to complete a whole meal set. That is why customer-friendly service is provided in Triple O’s. Instead of ‘self-help’ service in traditional fast food shops, waiters will deliver meals to customers in person, offering customers efficient dining services. Besides that, because of the insistence of high quality ingredients, price of food is again higher than that of fast food shops. Yet, it does not affect customer’s choice of catering since they are now enjoying a higher living standard, willing to spend more for the return of good food and nice service. Triple O’s’ success is also a result of change in eating habits and perceptions of Hong Kong customers. The idea of ‘thin is in’ is widely spread by the mass media, people are getting more conscious about their physique and health, leading to the rise of a new kind of eating habit – healthy eating. Believing that traditional fast food shops’ only provision of deep-fried food, customers tend to look for healthy, yet, delicious fast food for substitution. Triple O’s hit the exact demand of customers. ‘Food in Triple O’s is generally low in fat and that no preservatives and artificial flavours are added in. Vegetarian burgers and lots of vegetables are included in every meal set in order for customers to achieve a balance diet,’ said Mr. Chan, ‘healthy cooking methods are also used, such as roasting and grilling of burger beef and chicken stripes with refined olive oil rather than deep-frying. Fries with potato skins are again intended to provide dietary fibre for better digestion of customers. † Customers are free to choose according to their personal preference, having a custom-made burger in any way they want, like whether to add in any dressing in their burgers. Another special feature of Triple O’s is that there is no advertisement about it at all. â€Å"We rather spend our money in purchasing high quality ingredients than wasting them on advertising. We believe that with our food and service, reputation can be build up in no time. Once again, we prove ourselves right! † said Mr. Chan. Marketing is clearly not the major concern of Triple O’s. â€Å"From the fast food shops’ point of view, we (fast-service food shops) have become a huge competitor to the traditional fast-service shops. Like McDonald’s, they are, in fact, following our way in preparing food and provision of service. However, since there is vast difference between us and traditional fast food shops, we don’t treat them as a direct competitor. Our aim is not only to provide fast food to customers, but a new dining experience, which makes us unique in the catering industry. † Mr. Chan concluded by the end of the interview. Comparison between Fast food shops and Fast-service food shops Fast food shops have always been one of the dominating choices of catering. Yet, in recent years, there are a definite increasing number of fast-service food shops in Hong Kong, which result in an intense competition between the two. In the following table, we use the example of McDonald’s (fast food shops) and Triple O’s (fast-service food shops) to show the major differences between fast food shops and fast-service food shops, which affect customers’ choice of catering. [pic] [pic] |Differences |Fast food shops (McDonald’s) |Fast-service food shops (Triple O’s) | |Quality of food |Low |High | |Ingredients used |Use of low quality ingredients to cut off production cost| Strictly follow the Canadian headquarters’ use of high | | |e. g. |quality ingredients e. g. | ||milkshakes – milk, water, and milk |milkshakes – fresh milk and premium | | |powder |ice-cream | | |burger meat – organ meat mixed with |Burger meat – Australian imported, | | |bread crumbs and onion |pure beef | |Method of cooking |Deep-frying |Grilling and Roasting | |Health consciousness |Less |More | | |- lack of vegetables and fruits in the menu |- inclusion of vegetarian food choices | | |- unhealthy cooking method used |- healthier cooking methods used | | Flexibility of ordered food |Standardized food |Immediate, Custom-made e.g. | | |- Burgers are pre-made for purchase, which follow a |- Customers may add in more vegetables in their burgers or | | |uniform standard. |choose not to add any dressings at all. | |Food choices |Wide variety |Limited as it must follow the menu of their headquarters in | | |- Burgers, fries, ice-cream, different types of |Canada | | |fried-food, soft drinks, pies†¦ |- burgers, fries, onion rings, chicken stripes, milkshakes | |Characteristics |Fast, convenient | High quality of food, | | | |brand new type of dining experience | |No.of shops in HK |More |Less | |Cost |Low |High due to the high quality of ingredients used | |Services |Less |More | | |- provides only ordering services in the cashier |- provides not only ordering and packing up services, but | | | |also delivery of meals to customers like restaurants | |Advertisements |More |None | | |- wide coverage via the mass media (e. g. TV ads, the |- building up reputation by customers’ word of mouth | | |Internet, newspaper) |- money used in quality ingredients rather than in | | | |advertisements | From the above comparison, we can see that fast-service food shops introduces a brand new kind of catering experience to Hong Kong by providing high quality of food and efficient, customer-friendly services. As customers are being more health conscious, fast-service food shops seem to have hit the market, drawing enormous attention from customers of other types of catering choices, especially those of fast-food shops. Customers also enjoyed the idea of ‘immediate and custom-made’. Customers are able to order in according with their preferences. Burgers are freshly made with A-grade ingredients immediately upon order, which freshness of food can be completely guaranteed. Together with the efficient and friendly service provided, fast-service food shops seem to fulfill and satisfy the demands of picky customers. The success of a few fast-service shops in Hong Kong is inevitably bringing in a competitor to traditional fast-food shops. Conclusion In the past two decades, Hong Kong has inevitably been an international city under the great influence of fast food culture. As the only demand for food is efficiency, the mere provision of fast and convenient food could already satisfy the demands of most customers. Yet, with the improvement in economic level, living standard and change in eating habits of customers, fast food shop could no longer provide them with what they want. Customers are more willing to enjoy quality and healthy food and nice service when dining, thereby, leading to the introduction of fast-service food shops to Hong Kong. Fast-service food shops bring in huge impacts and brand new ideas to the fast food world. Not only efficiency, quality of food, provision of service and health consciousness should be brought into considerations in order to fulfill the demands of customers. The emergence of fast-service food shops provides a new choice of catering for customers, which leads to intense competition between fast food shops and them. Competition between the two definitely brings positive impacts to the catering industry. Traditional fast food shops seem to realize their shortcomings and need of change, now even McDonald’s follow the way of fast-service food shops by providing immediate-made burgers instead of pre-made ones. Because of the vast difference between fast food shops and fast-service food shops, it is difficult to determine at this stage that which one of them can dominate the fast food industry. The only thing for sure is that customers are, always and forever, the winner in this match, having to enjoy the great food! Reference OWikipedia OOfficial homepage of Triple O’s Hong Kong OSouth China Morning Post OHong Kong Yahoo OACNielsen OHKUSPACE [pic] [pic] [pic] Vocabulary Sheet – Fast Food Culture |Word (parts of speech) |Meaning | |Dietician (n) |a person who is an expert in nutrition or dietetics | |Fast-food addict (n) |a person who is addicted to fast-food | |Americanization (n) |assimilate to the customs and institutions of the U. S. | |Delicacies (n) |something delightful or pleasing, esp. a choice food considered | | |with regard to its rarity, costliness | |Sedentary (adj) |characterized by or requiring a sitting posture | |Coronary (adj) |of or pertaining to the human heart, with respect to health | |Superficial (adj) |shallow; not profound or thorough | |Standardize (v) |to bring to or make of an established standard size, weight, | | |quality, strength | |Unpalatable (adj) |not palatable; unpleasant to the taste | |Franchise (n) |the right or license granted by a company to an individual or group| | |to market its products or services in a specific territory | |Variant (adj) |tending to change or alter; exhibiting variety or diversity | | Proliferate (v) |to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively | |prominent (adj) |standing out so as to be seen easily; conspicuous; particularly | | |noticeable | |Prevalent (n) |widespread; of wide extent or occurrence; in general use or | | |acceptance | |Ubiquity (n) |the state or capacity of being everywhere, esp. at the same time | |Detrimental (adj) |causing detriment; damaging; harmful | |Umpteen (adj) |innumerable; many | |Flavor-enhancing (adj) |enhancing the flavor of food | |Paramount (adj) |chief in importance or impact; supreme; preeminent | |Consumer-friendliness (n) |products of non-harmful elements to consumers |

Dominant Price Leadership

ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN NAME: KEDAR SINGH TOMAR IUD No: 0901201057 IBS  No: 09BS0001057 Course Name: MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS Course Code: SLEC501 Faculty Name: DR. ANIRVINNA C. Date of Submission: 08TH SEPTEMBER 2009 Topic of the Assignment: DOMINANT PRICE LEADERSHIP Student Signature  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Faculty Signature DOMINANT PRICE LEADERSHIP Dominant price leadership exists when a. one firm drives the others out of the market. b. the dominant firm decides how much each of its competitors can sell. c. he dominant firm establishes the price at the quantity where its MR = MC, and permits all other firms to sell all they want to sell at that price. d. the dominant firm charges the lowest price in the industry. PRICE LEADER Marketing: Powerful firm whose prices are likely to be imitated by other firms in the same market. Price leaders usually are also the market leaders. DOMINANT LEADERSHIP Leadership characterized by a clear line of authority that gives the leader the power of delegation, and the power to control the subordinates' level of participation in decision making process.It is the most common form of leadership. PRICE LEADERSHIP Situation in which a market leader sets the price of a product or service, and competitors feel compelled to match that price. Oligopoly Models â€Å"Price Leadership† The firms in the Oligopolistic industry without any formal agreement accept the price set by the leading firm in the industry and move their prices in line with the prices of the leader firm. Price Leadership can be in any of the forms; Price Leadership by a Dominant firm Barometric Price Leadership Aggressive or Exploitative Price Leadership The structure of the DTH industry in India can be categorized as an â€Å"Olig opoly†.An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers (oligopolists). An oligopoly is a market dominated by a few large suppliers. The degree of market concentration is very high. Firms within an oligopoly produce branded products and there are also barriers to entry. Key characteristics of â€Å"Oligopoly† are following : †¢ Few larger supplier dominates the market †¢ Interdependence between firms †¢ Each firm produces branded products †¢ Significant entry barriers into the market in the long run which allows firms to make supernormal profits †¢ Each oligopolist is aware of he actions of the others. What is DTH? DTH stands for Direct-To-Home television. DTH is defined as the reception of satellite programmes with a personal dish in an individual home. DTH does away with the need for the local cable operator and puts the broadcaster directly in touch with the consumer. Only cable operators c an receive satellite programmes and they then distribute them to individual homes. Dishtv, subsidary of the biggest media conglomerate – Zee group, reached a significant milestone of crossing 4. Million subscriber mark and thus consolidating its leadership position as the largest and most innovative DTH Company in India. Dishtv is the leader in DTH sector with a market share of more than 53 per cent of the total subscriber base of 8 million. Dishtv’s footprint covers 5400 towns across India bringing smiles to 23 million Indians. Reliance communications subsidiary, Big TV, crossed one million subscriber mark within 90 days of launch. Big DTH is growing exponentially and is now next to Dish TV and Tata Sky with its 15 per cent market share.Launched in August this year, BIG TV is available at over one lakh retail outlets across 6,500 towns along with over 2,000 exclusive Reliance branded stores. Dishtv has consistently set the benchmarks for the Indian DTH industry and re defined the business through marketing innovations, introduction of new generation valueadded services and the highest standard of customer delivery. Today, Dishtv offers its subscribers choice and superior value for money with a range of innovative value-added services backed by excellent customer service.The Four Million milestone is not just a significant one for Dishtv but also symbolizes the successful growth of the Indian DTH industry. Dishtv has always been a forerunner in bringing new marketing innovations and going forward the company will initiate certain steps to rationalize the package offerings which may include charging of service tax etc. directly from the subscriber. Adding to its array of interactive value added service, dishtv launched the innovative Interactive Banking Service â€Å"ICICI ACTIVE† in association with ICICI Bank.This service enables Dish TV viewers to access information on ICICI Bank products and services, from the convenience of their homes. To celebrate the festive spirit of Diwali, Dishtv launched â€Å"BHAKTI ACTIVE†. Dishtv subscribers can now get Live Gurbani from Bangla Sahib and Nanded Sahib, Aarti of Sai Baba from Shirdi & Ganesh Aarti from Siddhi Vinayak, Mumbai, Aarti from Tirupati Balaji, Live Ganga Aarti from Haridwar and Bhasm Aarti of Mahakaal from Ujjain. Dishtv customers can now get blessed at the press of a button in the comfort of their home 24X7.Dishtv added 3 new channels on its platform. This addition will further enhance Dishtv’s strong bouquet of general entertainment, news, sports and regional channel offering to its discerning subscribers. The company had added a record 5. 29 Lakh subscribers during the Second Quarter of fiscal 2009 (July – September), breaking all its previous achievements. Dishtv’s footprint covers 6500 towns across India and it reaches into far flung markets which enable building of a diverse subscriber base across consumer segments. STRENGHTS Pio neer and leader of DTH services in India ? First mover advantage One year lead over nearest competitor ? ~ 3-year lead over others ? Largest subscriber base ~ 5. 0 mn (Mar-09) ? Backed by Zee Group India’s strongest Media group Full-service business model ? Basic subscription packs ? Value added services ? Bandwidth ? Teleport services Leveraging on first mover advantage backed by strong industry understanding ? Diversified content offering ? 240 channels + Services ? Content tie-ups at fixed rates ? State-of-the-art infrastructure ? Large distribution network ? Aggressive subscriber acquisition strategy to ensure continued market leadership DTH INDUSTRY MARKET SHARE 2008 | | | |Brand |Promoter |Market Share | | | | | |Dish TV |Zee group |53% | | | | | |TataSky |Tata Sons & Star TV |30% | | | | | |Big TV |Anil Dhirubhai Abani Group |15% | | | | | |Others (Sun Direct, AirTel Digital |Sun by SUN TV |2% | |TV ) |AirTel by Bharati telemedia | | | | | | Another way of confirmi ng it is by using the index Herfindahl.The Herfindahl index, also known as HERFINDAHL-HIRSCHMAN INDEX or HHI, is a measure of the size of firms in relationship to the industry and an indicator of the amount of competition among them. HHI s defined as the sum of the squares of the market shares of 50 largest firms (or summed over all the firms if there are fewer than 50) within the industry, when the market shares are expressed as percentages; the result is proportional to the average market share, weighted by market share. The higher the HHI Index the more oligopolistic is the industry In mathematical term it is defined as following : n H = ? si2 i=1 Where si is the market share of firm i in the market, and n is the number of firms.In the case of Indian DTH Industry the HHI index can be computed by squaring the market share of each player and adding them i. e. H = 532 + 302 + 152 + 22 H = 85399 Since this value of H is petty high it indicates that the market is oligopolistic. SUN TV NETWORK It is No 1 media company in South Asia and Asia Pacific Region based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1993, it offers a plethora of television channels in 4 languages covering the whole of southern India. It was the first fully privately owned Tamil channel in India when it emerged in 1993. Its serials and soaps have generated the maximum TRP for viewership all over India, making it the most popular network of channels in India.All its channels occupy the top spots in their respective languages. Sun TV, in Tamil is the Network's flagship and most popular channel. Being the premier channel, Sun TV is often used to refer cable tv in general or to the Sun TV Network in general. Sun TV and its sister channels have a dominating share of viewership in Tamil Nadu. Its cable arm, SCV is cable distribution and Sun Direct is the dominating DTH (direct-to-home) player in the state. Its radio network Suryan has a lion’s share of listenership; its magazine Kungumum a nd newspaper Dinakaran are leaders Although its main presence is in Tamil, it has channels in other languages also. Channel |Type | |Sun TV |Tamil Entertainment Channel | |Sun Music |Tamil Music Channel | |Sun News |Tamil News Channel | |KANNADA | |CHANNEL |TYPE | |Udaya TV |Kannada Entertainment Channel | |Udaya Movies |Kannada Movie Channel | |U 2 |Kannada Music Channel | |TELUGU | |CHANNEL |TYPE | |Gemini TV |Telugu Entertainment Channel | |Gemini Music |Telugu Music Channel | |Gemini News |Telugu News Channel | MALAYALAM | |CHANNEL |TYPE | |Surya TV |Malayalam Entertainment Channel | |Kiran TV |Malayalam Music Channel | |Kochu TV |Malayalam Kids Channel | |Chiri Thirai |Malayalam Comedy Channel(DTH) | FM RADIO STATIONS Sun TV Network has many FM radio stations based in India |Tamil FM Stations | |Radio Station |Area |Frequency | | |Suryan FM |Chennai |93.   MHz | | |Malayalam FM Stations | |Radio Station |Area |Frequency | | |S FM |Thiruvananthapuram |93. 5  MHz | | |Telugu FM Station | |Radio Station |Area |Frequency | | |S FM |Vishakapatnam |93. 5  MHz | | |Kannada FM Station | |Radio Station |Area |Frequency | | |S FM |Bangalore |93.   MHz | | |Hindi / Other Language FM Station | |Radio Station |Area |Frequency | | |Red FM |New Delhi |93. 5  MHz | | |Red FM |Mumbai |93. 5  MHz | | |Red FM |Kolkatta |93. 5  MHz | | PRINT MEDIA TAMIL NEWSPAPERS Dinakaran – (Daily Morning Newspaper) Tamil Murasu – (Daily Evening Newspaper) WEEKLY TAMIL MAGAZINE Kungumum Mutharam Because of the strong presence of SUN TV in every field whether its print media, TV, Radio and other close competitior in South India it is a clear market leader over there.

Living In An Apartment Essay

Finding a place to live, which is suitable for one’s family, is one concern of most families. The increase in population as well as the increase in land value and building costs, has resulted in the construction of many apartments especially in urban areas. There are some similarities as well as differences when we consider living in an apartment and in a house. In order to make an informed choice for one’s family, it is important to examine both the similarities as well as the differences of both options. Some of the similarities would be that it is possible to find a house or even an apartment of the size that you require, since there are houses as well as apartments of varying sizes. Furthermore, the fittings and the comforts that one could have in a house, can also be found in an apartment. Also just as one may have maintenance expenses for the upkeep of one’s house, one would also have such expenses, when living in an apartment. An apartment can be considered to be a complete housing unit, just as an individual complete house. When we consider the differences between the two options, we have to recognize the fact that in the case of the house, there is ownership of the land, whereas in the case of the apartment, the ownership is not of the land which is shared among the many, but instead the ownership is only of the apartment. In the case of apartments there are certain areas that are shared among the inhabitants, such as car parks, staircases, lifts and sometimes balconies and rooftop gardens. Whereas in the case of the individual house, these facilities are not shared by other neighbours. As such, there is greater privacy, in the case of the individual house. When it comes to enjoying good music or parties with friends, the greater privacy that is afforded to those living in their individual houses, allows them greater freedom to make their own decisions on these matters. Those living in apartments on the other hand, do need to be cautious as to how their decitions on these matters will affect their neighbouring occupants. If it disturbs them, they could complain to the management of the apartment, which can result in some sort of penalty.

Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

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Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 48

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Political science; Multicultural Nature;The book Privilage, Power, and Essay

Political science; Multicultural Nature;The book Privilage, Power, and Difference and the movieCrash - Essay Example However they can also be part of the solution as man has the potential to solve these problems. The central theme of the book can be summed up by this sentence in his book: "The trouble that surrounds difference is really about privilege and power - the existence of privilege and the lopsided distribution of power that keeps it going."(Allan Johnson 2001) According to Johnson all individuals confront issues of difference and privilege often causing fear and discomfort in people. Johnson also believes that differences in class have tremendous effect on peoples lives. But class is different from gender or race or ethnicity or sexual orientation. He believes that people have the potential to change the class to which they belong but the other differences are difficult to change because they are associated with birth. People are generally classified on the basis of their physical attributes and appearances. Class differences are a result of capitalism. The cause of modern racism is prima rily economic. Racism is a problem that affects all white people. Only the degree varies depending on their social class. The advantage of being white is likely to be more significant for the lower working-class than for whites belonging to the middle and upper classes. Social issues are prevalent because of the existence of privilege and misuse of power by people. Privilege creates inequality. People of all groups must work together to change this inequality. People dont want to discuss words such as "privilege," "racism," and "oppression." According to Johnson these words must be discussed openly and a collective effort must be made to resolve these issues. All feelings of blame, guilt, shame should be set aside and our focus must be on the dire need to change. In the movie Crash the director Haggis weaves several stories around incidents that happen during two days in Los Angeles. The stories revolve around a group of strangers who clash

Managing conflicts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing conflicts - Essay Example Conflict management is a common phenomenon in organizations (Rainey, 2009). Managing conflict aims at lessening the interdependent between the conflicting groups. It can involve physical separation of the conflicting parties. Physical separation buffers the creation of the inventory between the units of workflow making it less independent and reduces conflict. Generally, conflict is unending in any society where people live together. Introduction Many people and organization wish to compete peacefully with their market competitors, family members, and organizational departments. However, conflicts are inseparable from persons they form part of our daily living. Conflicts are the long live Methuselah and were present even in the beginning between the two brothers that is Cain and Abel. The term conflict has no definite meaning but scholars who are interested in studying it have created different accounts over the same. In an institutional setting conflict is a breakdown in the standar d mechanism of the decision making bringing difficulty in the management of the organization. Conflict is a dynamic process underlies the organizational behavior (Rainey, 2009). When people work together, there must be tension and conflict among the individuals from time to time. Conflict is the natural and the immediate outcome of disagreement and results individuals who differ in terms of thought and likes. Sources of organization conflict National organizational groups’ conflicts source from the individuals persons who from the organization (Jones, 2010). Conflicts at work place, according to the university of Colorado faculty, stems from issues from the employees and the management or among the employees. One cause of conflict in an organization is differing values among the organization’s persons. The work place consists of individuals who have different perspective towards the daily issue that emerge in the company and life generally. Some strongly believe to the m but are unwilling to comply with the standards. These beliefs are the main cause of conflicts to these institutions (McConnell and Leibler, 2011). For example some workers strongly belief in the diversity to the business, however they may not accept the different views from others or accept opposition over their belief. Another cause of conflict in an organization is the opposing interest of interest of the workers. This may come about if a worker decides to pursue his own goal without considering the goals of the business or the well being of other workers. It may result to result to strife among the workers hence a conflict. This situation occurs when some employees focus on achieving their own objectives without regarding their effect to the company’s operation. In the first instance, the victim may forget that she is a member of the institution’s team from which they are supposed to work to achieve a certain goal (Miller, 2008). The sole worker may work according to her own schedule in a manner that builds resentment to the whole organization. Personal conflict is another cause of conflict in an organization. Two or more people in an organization are prone to clash since no person is exactly like the other. One employee may possess a reversed personality while another may be an outgoing. When these two personalities clash, the immediate expectation is a conflict in the institution. Poor communication can also lead to strife among t

Entrepreneurship & Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Entrepreneurship & Innovation - Essay Example This is particularly a niche market, since traditionally, food shops offer meat foods that really do not emphasize on the health factor in their menus. This particular group needs consciously look for restaurants that cater to their needs, but also offer a variety of menus to make their eating experience more exciting. Members of the younger age group are the ones more adventurous of their food choices, and therefore needs an exciting array of dishes to choose from. The ones belonging to the older bracket have more particular menus in mind, and so they are more discriminating in terms of the ingredients and presentation. HEATLHWAY looks at being able to serve both the needs of these target markets. On top of this, management looks at being able to create a health restaurant that offers reasonably good prices and with good service. The young professionals market will also be a target market, as they need to socialize and find comfortable places to meet up with friends. They may also need a place where they could hang out, check on their laptops or just chill while dining. HEALTHWAY aims to cater to their needs by ensuring a good cozy atmosphere conducive for small talk, quiet reading or for relaxation. Moreover, the healthy options are perfect for this group of people who are also conscious of the food they take. HEALTHWAY positions itself as a restaurant with the mission of providing excellent food options to vegetarians and health conscious individuals. All efforts will be geared towards this mission, and as such, management plans to market the establishment with the following features: With technology constantly evolving and with people now having to do so many things in a short span of time, fast food and instant food is very much in demand. But the question is how healthy these foods really are and how beneficial are they to the people? Are these types of food really helpful in terms of nourishing

Research and Analyse an organisation in Business Finance and Law Essay

Research and Analyse an organisation in Business Finance and Law - Essay Example In this context, Barclays Bank operates in 60 countries worldwide with the primary focus on Europe. The institution is among the largest lenders in the world based on the market capitalisation measurements. The core operations of the bank are the investment and retail banking in various parts of the world. However, different forces acting on liberalised economies in most of the European Union nations due to the introduction of Euro and globalisation (Barclays.com, 2015) are influencing investment banking. The Barclays Bank provides services to multinational corporations operating different market models worldwide. The bank plays a great role in the banking sector by financing various government projects in different regions worldwide. Moreover, the bank provides services to individuals and corporations in the emerging economies in Africa, Asia and Europe. The operations of the company comprise of two major business that include the commercial and global retail banking (GRCB) as well as the investment banking and management business (IBIM). The strategy of the organisation aims at enhancing growth by diversification of their profit base. In addition, the organisations approach focuses on benefiting the customers through time and market-based growth. The management strategy of the Bank is its primary driver in the world banking industry (Rao, Rao and Sivaramakrishna, 2008). The strategy of the Barclays Bank is to provide a complete portfolio of services in various countries in the world. In addition, the strategy entails different concepts of providing a wide range of opportunities in order to facilitate growth by enhancing its market share and diversifying its products. Furthermore, the banks strategies encompass three primary concepts that include invest, learn and grow. The success of the bank is also facilitated by the ambition of the group to be one of the major

What Are the Main Perspectives in the Study of Psychology Essay Example for Free

What Are the Main Perspectives in the Study of Psychology Essay What research methods are used to study these perspectives? Every topic in psychology can be looked at in a number of different ways and various different approaches can be adopted for each topic. These approaches are known as perspectives (i. e. view) that involve certain assumptions (i. e. beliefs) about human behaviour: the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for undertaking this study. There may be several different theories within an approach but they all share the above common assumptions. Different perspectives have different research methods. The â€Å"Gloria Tapes† of 1975 are a good example of how different perspectives are used to address the same problems in a client’s life, as they are looking at her problems from different viewpoints (http://www. metafilter. com, accessed February 2012). For the purpose of this essay, we will be looking at the five main psychological perspectives. These include the psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioural, biological and humanistic perspectives. A wide range of research methods are used in psychology. In its simplest terms, Martin Shuttleworth (2008) defines research as â€Å"In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge† Types of research methods include laboratory and field experiments, case studies, correlations, interviews, observations and questionnaires. These research methods fall into two basic categories: quantitive and qualitive. Qualitative research gathers research that is not in numerical form and is useful for studies at the individual level (i. e. client centred therapy). Quantitive research gathers data in numerical form, which can be put into categories, in order or measured in units of measurement. This type of data can be used to construct graphs and tables of raw data. Experiments typically yield quantitative data (McLeod, S. A. 2007). This essay will now go on to explain the main perspectives in more detail and what different research methods are used for each perspective. The essay will end in a conclusion based on what has been discussed. Sigmund Freud was undoubtedly the main founder of psychodynamics. In 1900 he published his paper â€Å"interpretation of dreams† (Gross, R. 2001 page 15). This marked the beginning of psychoanalytical thought. Other psychiatrists who also helped strongly with the psychodynamic movement include Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Melanie Klein. Freud’s psychoanalysis is the original psychodynamic theory and is based on the belief that events in our childhood can have a significant impact on our behaviour as adults. He believed that people had little free will to make choices in life (opposite to humanism) and instead, our behaviour is determined by the unconscious mind and childhood experiences. Freud explained the human mind like an iceberg, with only a small amount of it being visible (Gross, R. 001 page 15). Most of our thoughts and ideas are not accessible at that moment (pre – conscious) or are totally inaccessible (unconscious). He used techniques such as free association, dream analysis and transference to unlock the subconscious. Most of our subconscious has been made up through repression, whereby threatening, traumatic or unpleasant experiences are â€Å"forgotten† and â€Å"locked away†. This is a major form of â€Å"ego defence†. Repression is closely related to resistance, interpretation of which is another key technique in psychoanalysis. Freud believed that personality is made up of three components: the id, ego and superego. The id and superego (unconscious) are in constant conflict with the ego (conscious), which tries to resolve this discord. If this conflict is not resolved, we use defence mechanisms to reduce our anxiety. Psychoanalysis attempts to help patients resolve their inner conflicts. The id also contains two instincts, eros (life and sex instinct) and thanatos (dream instinct). Thanatos has weaker energies than eros and is therefore channelled away from ourselves and into aggression towards others. One aspect of psychoanalysis is Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, which shows how early experiences affect adult personality. The most important stage is the phallic stage and during this stage boys experience the â€Å"Oedipus† complex and girls experience the â€Å"Electra complex† (Gross, R. 2001 page 15). These complexes result in children identifying with the same sex parent who enables them to learn sex appropriate behaviour and a moral code of conduct for their future life. However like lots of Freud’s work, it has been criticized for over emphasizing the importance of sexuality and under emphasizes the role and influence of social relationships. The types of research methods that are used to study the psychodynamic approach include case studies (i. . Anna O, Little Hans), experiments, hypnosis, slips of the tongue (paraplexes), projective tests (TAT, Rorschach) and dream analysis. Psychodynamic research methods are mostly unscientific and lack empirical support, in terms of analysing human behaviour. For this approach, we are more likely to see qualitative data collection (case studies) which are subjective and also unfalsifiable. The humanist approach believes this approach is too deterministic, leaving little room for personal agency although a great strength of psychodynamics is that it highlights the importance of the subconscious mind and defence mechanisms. Freud too criticizes other perspectives, especially behaviourism, as it doesn’t take into account the unconscious minds influence on behaviour (McLeod, S. A. 2007). Behavioural psychology is concerned with how outside environmental factors (stimuli) affect observable behaviour (response). It focuses on learned behaviour and how these behaviours are learned and reinforced. The underlying assumption is that psychology should be seen as scientific. Around this time Watson, who was the founder of behaviourism, became increasingly critical of introspection and was also starting to experiment on non – human animals. He believed the psychodynamic perspective was difficult to verify and was very subjective, the polar opposite of behaviourism which can be accurately measured. With his famous manifesto of 1913, Watson redefined psychology and launched the behavioural school of psychology (Gross, R. 2001 page 13). He believed people are born with a â€Å"blank slate† and that peoples (and animals) behaviour are controlled and taught from their specific environment, rather than internally (i. e. Freud, Jung). Freud completely rejects tabula rasa and believed people are born with â€Å"instincts†. Behaviourism is purely a â€Å"nurture approach† and how we are nurtured, determines behaviour. The two main processes whereby people (and animals) learn from their environment are namely classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning by association. The Russian psychologist, Pavlov (1897) accidentally stumbled upon this condition after originally studying digestion in dogs (McLeod, S. A. 2007). He noticed the dogs salivating whenever he came into the room, even when he wasn’t bringing them food between experiments. He believed dogs didn’t learn to salivate when they saw food. This was â€Å"hardwired† in them as an unconditioned reflex. So why were they salivating when they saw him enter the room? He came to the conclusion the dogs learnt over time to â€Å"associate† him with food. From this knowledge he conducted experiments where he successfully conditioned dogs to salivate to the sound of just a bell through the repeated association of the sound of a bell and food. This proved his theory. Operant conditioning involves learning from the consequences of behaviour. B. F.  Skinner investigated this theory with controlled experiments and showed how rats learnt and changed their behaviour from punishment, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement with his â€Å"Skinner Box† experiments (McLeod, S. A. 2007). This and other human experiments explained some behaviour by a person’s (or animals) motive, therefore proving behaviour occurs for a reason. One other behavioural theory that should be mentioned is social learning theory. Albert Bandura (1977 page 38) states behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning (bobo doll experiment). He believed we learn indirectly, observing behaviours of others then imitating them. For a person to imitate another, the behaviour must be seen as rewarding in some way (reinforced) otherwise this wouldn’t happen. Memory is also involved in some way, and then the behaviour is carried out. Behaviourism is very scientific, using quantitative data. Its laboratory experiments and research with non-human animals is always supported by empirical data, obtained through careful, controlled observation and measurement. These measurements and data are also very accurate. There are limitations to this perspective, with regard to it being too deterministic and its experiments having low ecological value for some. Humanists also believe you cannot compare animals to humans. Behaviourism began to loosen its grip during the 1950’s and during the 1960’s, cognitive psychology started to take hold. Cognitive psychology is introspective and focuses on mental processes such as memory, thinking, problem solving, language and decision making. It has been greatly influenced by psychologists such as Piaget, Bandura and Tolman (1948). It’s a very scientific perspective, and revolves around the notion that if we want to know what makes people tick and behave in certain manners, then we need to know what processes are actually going on in their minds. Unlike behaviorism, which focuses only on observable behaviors, cognitive psychology is concerned with internal mental states. It explains behavior in terms of how the mind operates, often comparing it to a computer (Gross, R. 2001 page 21). Such internal processes include perception, memory, language and maladaptive thinking. These processes are viewed as mechanistic. Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. It comes from the Latin word â€Å"perceptio† which means receiving, collecting and action of taking possession with the mind or senses. â€Å"Memory is the means by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use this information in the present† (Sternberg, 1999). Memory is essential to all our lives. Without a memory of the past, we cannot operate in the present or think about the future. Schemas are memory knowledge packages and can be defined as â€Å"a set of linked mental representations of the world, which we use both to understand and to respond to situations† Piaget, J. (1936). Born in 1896 Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Piaget called the schema the basic building block of intelligent behaviour – a way of organising knowledge. All of us use schemas in our everyday life as well as stereotyping, which are â€Å"mental short cuts†. Stereotypes are often communicated through words i. e. hairman. Another area of cognitive behaviour is social cognition which is concerned with how people think about each other and different social groups i. e. class, minorities. It is suggested people have psychological problems due to maladaptive thinking and irrational thoughts. C. B. T. challenges these thoughts and behaviours to treat such disorders i. e. Depression or Anxiety. Research methods for cognitive behaviour are mostly in the form of laboratory experiments. Case studies though are sometimes used in situations where individuals are brain damaged. It’s extremely scientific using mainly quantitive data. Skinner criticizes the cognitive approach, as he believes that only external stimulus response behaviour should be studied, as this can be scientifically measured (McLeod, S. A. 2007). One of its strengths though is that this perspective has many empirical studies to support its theories. It’s easily measured which is why it’s included in the medical model and is currently used widely in the NHS. The cognitive approach though, does not always recognize physical factors in determining behaviour. The biological perspective studies such factors. The biological perspective is a way of looking at psychological topics, by studying the physical basis for animal and human behaviour. It is one of the major perspectives in psychology, and involves such things as studying the immune system, nervous system and genetics. This field of psychology is often referred to as biopsychology or physiological psychology. This perspective has grown significantly over the past few decades, especially with advances in our ability to explore and understand the human brain and nervous system. Eysenck (1980) believes peoples personality behaviour can be explained in terms of the kind of nervous system a person inherits and has also produced evidence ( Eysenck 1967) relating to biological differences between introverts and extroverts, believing behaviour can be governed by physiology and genetics (inheritance), (Gross, R. 2001 page 616). MRI scans and PET scans also allow researchers to look at the brain in different ways and can explain behaviours in neurological terms. This can sometimes explain abnormal behaviour in people. Biological psychologists believe that schizophrenia is affected by levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter), and a brain scan can show up these levels. Autism can also be treated by psychoactive drugs and low carbohydrate diets too (Gross, R. 2001 page 582). Those findings have also helped psychiatry and helped to relieve symptoms of mental illness through drugs. One limitation of this perspective is that Freudians would say the biological approach only treats the surface symptoms and not the underlying causes of the actual problem. This approach is very scientific, using laboratory and natural experiments for physiological studies. Brain function studies include invasive (Autopsy) and non- invasive (CAT scans) methods. Brain damaged individuals are also investigated through case studies. The biological approach has a strong counter argument against the nurture approach (behavioural) but humanists would argue against this perspective as being too deterministic. Two of the most influential theorists in humanistic psychology are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow (Hierarchy of Needs Model). Carl Ransom Rogers was born in 1902 in Oak Park Illinois and is the founder of â€Å"person centred† or non-directive therapy. It’s a form of talk psychotherapy and the goal of P. C. T is to develop a sense of self wherein the client can realize, how their attitudes, feelings and behaviour are being negatively affected and make an effort to find their true potential (Rogers, R C 1961 page 18). Clients are aided by the therapist to find their own solutions to their problems through self-awareness, finally leading to self-actualisation. In Rogers’s words â€Å"the organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actualise, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism (Rogers, R C 1961, 487). He believes we can help ourselves through our own free will and personal agency, to self-actualise to become a fully functioning person once again. Humanistic psychologists empower their clients rather than have â€Å"power† or â€Å"authority over them like psychoanalysts or behaviourists do. They look at human behaviour not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the behaving. It’s based on the six core conditions needed for change. As humanists focus on the whole person (holism), they regard scientific measures (i. e. biological) inappropriate for studying behaviour, although their belief in free will is in opposition to the deterministic laws of science. The research uses qualitative data, using methods such as case studies and informal interviews. Qualitative data also gives genuine insight and more holistic information into behaviour. As we can conclude from the discussions on the various perspectives, each one focuses on their own unique conception of why humans behave as they do. Freud’s â€Å"tension reducing person†, Skinners â€Å"environmentally controlled person† and Rogers â€Å"growth motivated person† are all quite different from each other. This diversity of approaches and research methods reflect the complexity of this subject matter. However we’ve also noted some important similarities between different approaches, such as the deterministic nature of Freud’s and Skinners theories and the scientific nature of the behaviourist and biological approaches, which have no consideration for human free will. Each perspective has its own unique strengths and limitations and can even contradict each other’s theories. A scientific approach such as cognitive psychology tends to ignore the subjective (i. e. personal) experiences that people have. The humanistic approach accounts for this but largely at the expense of being non-scientific in its methods and ability to provide evidence. Each perspective though, has something of value to contribute to our understanding of ourselves and human behaviour. Without all these perspectives; our learning and understanding of human behaviour would indeed be more limited and therefore each perspective has its own unique place in psychology.

The competitive field that businesses compete within

The competitive field that businesses compete within Businesses exist in a very competitive environment and competition happens whenever two or more parties make every effort for a goal which cannot be shared. For example, supermarkets are in competition with each other to offer the best possible value for money goods, and to offer the most appropriate variety of products for their customers. Businesses battle in many ways. One of the most noticeable ways is over price. Within a market businesses are faced by direct competitors. These are firms that produce the same or very alike goods. However, most products are set apart in some way. For example, although soap powders may look highly similar each will offer some form of special ingredient that sets them apart. A direct competitor is a business that produces or sells a product or service that is the same or highly comparable to another in the same market. Indirect competition happens when firms compete for the same amount of spending, although they might be in different sectors of the same market or in different markets. Every growing or a successful organization has some competitors. If we take an example of McDonalds and Burger King: In making an analysis of McDonalds, the first issue we will examine is their company goals. McDonalds has a goal of one hundred percent total customer satisfaction. They do understand that this goal is not always achievable. If for any reason they do not meet that goal, they will do whatever it takes to correct their mistake. McDonalds has a second company goal that sets them apart from most of their competitors. One of there goals is the principle of giving back to the community and that remains one of their major goals today. If we take a look at McDonalds Guarantee states, food will be hot and your service will be fast and friendly. The customer service of McDonalds focuses on one customer at a time. They are much more concerned with the quality of the service rather than the speed. Employees usually take one order at a time and then prepare that order while the customers wait. After the current customer is satisfied, they move on to the next customer. This process allows great accuracy and quality but lacks speed. Employees in McDonalds work at a quick speed but it seemed like they had no time for customers. They acted as if it was a burden for them to stop and answer a simple question or refill a drink Where as Burger King Wants to individualize each customers order and provide the fastest service possible. Burger Kings policy is to give the customer many choices and to accurately and quickly provide whatever the customer chooses. This policy is reflected in their slogan which is YOUR WAY, RIGHT WAY. Operating under this rule makes it very easy to achieve their goals. Through the various choices they give it is easy to customize each order. Burger Kings procedures are also consistent with their goals. In order to individualize each order they provide customers with many options when ordering. Some options include fries or onion rings, cheese, bacon, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion. The customer can pick any mixture of these options that they wish. Burger King takes customer orders on a continual basis. One employee takes the customers order, the customer then moves down the line where another employee is preparing the order. Meanwhile, the original employee is taking another customers order. Customers also get their own drinks while they are waiting for their meal. This makes service much faster because employees do not have to prepare drinks. They also provided relaxing music for customers to listen to while dining. Burger King has got more than sufficient communication and leadership. Employees give the customers feedback on their orders. Each customer receives a receipt, which enabled them to double-check their order. The employees also read the order back to the customer before handing them the order. In terms of leadership, there is a manager to sort out things. Organizational Goals Both McDonalds and Burger King share the same basic organizational goals of profitability, sales volume, fast and courteous service, and cleanliness. There are slight differences to these goals by both companies. Organizational Structure When observing McDonalds and Burger king, the organizational structures of the two restaurants are very alike. There appeared to be a crew leader who was a non-managerial employee and, there was a manager who was present behind the counter. The managers of the restaurants seemed to be in command of every aspect of the whole food service procedure. Technology Both McDonalds and Burger King are on the cutting edge of technology. They both employ state of the art cash registers and both have electric timers built into their cooking machines. Although the cooking styles differ between Burger King and McDonalds, the method of production is the same. Large amount of food is cooked at once then placed under heat lamps or put in the microwave when an order is placed. Both stores have the same drive through technology with a speaker and a well-lit menu to relay the message to the cooks. Employee Motivation The motivation of both stores for employees to perform well is hard to ascertain from just observing, but it appears somewhat obvious. The people working in these establishments appear to have a lower social economic status, and the fact that a paycheck is coming at the end of the week may be the only motivation they have. Environment The environment at McDonalds and Burger King seems to be a simple, yet unstable one. It is apparent that the majority of people, who work there, are not choosing their employment as a career option. Therefore, the workforce is constantly changing and adapting to new employees and new situations. Leadership Style There was similar leadership style employed by the management at both stores. Task orientation was essential to meeting the goal of fast food. Each person had to be focused on the task at hand, because during certain hours of the day, both stores were very busy. There seemed to be little flexibility from management if it meant compromising their goals. McDonalds and Burger king have been competing with each other for several years now and theres no sign that its going to stop any time soon. As we all know that the economy is entering into a correction these two super-chains have to fight more and more to win business and defeat all there competitors. Burger King recently announced plans to drop the price of its double cheese burger from $1.99 to just 99 cents even though Burger Kings double cheeseburger is 30% larger than the version offered at McDonalds. This means that they are not making much profit on it. But they have to attract more customers towards them and defeat there competitor. On the other hand McDonalds is ready to drop the double cheeseburger from its dollar menu all together. Many franchisees are upset because the double cheeseburger is not a profitable item for the stores at a $1.00 price point. Complaints have been made that consumers will come in, order two double cheeseburgers and a glass of water and that means the store will lose money from that customer. The main fast food chains often offer special sandwiches and discounted prices on certain items as a way to draw customers back into their stores and keep them loyal to the company so they keep coming back. The method is very successful to draw in business, and as the economy continues to remain on unstable ground, we will likely see the fast food chains come up with better deals and more original food items to effort to draw customers in. http://www.americanconsumernews.com/2007/12/mcdonalds-and-burger-king-entering-into-new-price-war-competition.html Theyre continuously keeping an eye on each other and the competition, and making sure in McDonalds case, making sure Burger King didnt break in on its market share, and in Burger Kings case, finding ways to take away McDonalds market share. If we look at McDonalds versus Burger king 16 years ago, even with some of the challenges theyve had over that time horizon, McDonalds average U.S. sales per unit is up over 20 percent, while Burger King over that same time frame is down 8 to 9 percent. French fries have been a sore point for Burger King Operators for years. The company has tried new formulas in the last couple years, but Burger Kings fries are still considered by many in the industry to not measure up with McDonalds. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3957636/ The relationships between profits and product differentiation expose that both McDonalds and Burger King are better off avoiding close competition if the market area is huge enough. However in small market areas, McDonalds would be located together with Burger King. In contrast, Burger Kings profits always increase with greater differentiation. The balance depends on the markets size. In small markets McDonalds locates near the center of the market, and Burger King locates to the side of the market. In larger markets McDonalds and Burger King choose locations on opposite sides of the market although McDonalds locates closer to the best possible central location than Burger King. http://mktsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/6/792 One of the reasons why Burger King is so successful includes many factors but one of them was location. One of the best ways to explain it is Burger King has always found outlets where there is a large attention of people but that wasnt there only strategy because they also had the great idea of going head-to-head with McDonald across the street. By setting outlets in front or near a McDonald outlet they were guaranteeing visibility of their franchise.

Research On Destination Image And Perceived Expectation Tourism Essay

Research On Destination Image And Perceived Expectation Tourism Essay INTRODUCTION Back ground Tourism can be define as the activities of people traveling from their resident country to another not more than one conservative year in charge for leisure, business, knowledge and other purpose. In the early period of time when tourism was introduce, it was only the rich and few educated ones that love adventure travel to explore the other country culture as a tourist, so tourism then is not popular and can not generate much money for a country but as time go on tourism started to come into limelight to the extent that it serve as a major sector of income to some country. Tourism is growing very fast nowadays in the world to the extent that the world group it as the second largest sector of economy that generate income for country in the world. According to (WTO) world tourism organization, the sector has become a competitive sector in the world among different country of the world. Tourism business has grown to some level that some developed and developing countries like Greece depend on tourism as source of income for their country. They depend solely on it to develop the economy, create employments, and reduce poverty line of the people. All country now designs their region, cities, and state to attract tourist and tourist investor to their destination in order to compete in the tourism industries. Apart from developing the economy of a country, tourism also give room for country culture to come into limelight. Tourists being major focus in destination have impact on the destination itself and the product in that destination. The tourists presence in that destination improved the awareness of the place image. Destination image, this has to do with the tourists perceptions of products from a particular country, on their perceptions of the countrys production and marketing strengths and weaknesses.(Roth Romeo, 1992). Tourists are meant to evaluate a destination and in this process different tourist come up with different information about that destination which is very important in improving or damaging the image of a destination. Tourist are bourn to infer about a destination image and their inference about the value of a destination serve as a quality indicator, the combination of the information or judgment lead to overall evaluation of the destination satisfaction which lead to customer loyalty(Manrai, 1998,p.594). Furthermore, any tourist destination that was able to gain the loyalty of tourist, the destination will be at the advantage because the tourist will result to recommending that destination to other. Successful tourism can increase the receipt of the tourist in a destination; it can also increase income, government revenue, and employment. Attracting tourist to revisit and recommend it for others is very important in the success of a destination. (Chen and Tsai,2007). Malaysia was successful in increasing the number of tourist over the year among which is Nigeria tourist are included with the recorded number by (WTO) world tourism organization which rake Malaysia 9th position with 23 .6m among the top ten most visited country in the world. These was based on the Malaysia success in gaining the loyalty of the tourist and good destination image they have with the tourist, that is why Malaysia was able to attain this goal. Looking at the figure some years back the number is not up to this but every year the figure keep increasing, this also apply to Nigerian tourist in Malaysia, 2009 Malaysia recorded over10,000 Nigeria tourists and ever year the number keeps increasing. The research is looking at these increase in number of Nigerian tourist which is likely related to the destination image of Malaysia that has influence on perceive expectation of the Nigerian tourist, evidence from Chen Tsai, 2007.Destination image have two major influence on tourist behavior, the first one is the power to influence destination choice decision making and the second one is the after decision making behavior of the tourist on the destination, experience, evaluation and satisfaction which lead to revisit and recommendation of the tourism destination. Good impression of the destination image brings about loyal tourist, recommendation and revisiting of the destination and it will positively develop the tourism sector. Thus, the positive experience the tourist have on the product, services, food, hotel, hospitality of the people and other will facilitate the revisit or recommendation of the destination. Word of mouth information help tremendously in developing the image of a destination because it could produce another tourist visit to that destination or revisit. In order words, word of mouth and recommendation by the first timer visit to a place is the most reliable source of information of a destination. However, there is no research that have look into image destination with perceive expectation, this research is going to address how destination image influence perceived expectation of Nigerian tourist and also test if destination image have influence on the increase of Nigeria tourists over the years. 1.2 Purpose of the study The aim of this proposed study is to identify the significant image formation and it impact on Nigerian tourists satisfaction. Find out the relationship between destination image Nigerian tourist perceived expectation, perceive quality, tourists satisfaction and tourist loyalty. Using structural equation model (SEM) by empirically viewing Nigeria education tourist in Malaysia (Students) in particular as the major respondent. 1.3 Problem statement of the study The existing literatures shows that tourism researchers have traditionally focused on issues that relate to the demand sides of the tourist motivations and few behavioral patterns mainly to discover the reasons that made tourists visit a particular destination (Chen and Tsai, 2007; Alcaniz et al., 2005). Looking at the imaginary image of tourists it calls for the need to empirically establish the actual travel experience of Nigerian tourists in Malaysia. This is sequel to various industry reports in Malaysia that have been consistently negatively painting Nigerian tourists on issues like scams, black money, kidnapping, money laundering etc (Romance scam, 2010; NOTE; (Ernest, 2009). Interestingly, despite these negative public images of Nigerian tourists in Malaysia, the country has continuously witnessed a sharp increase in Nigerian tourists to Malaysia (Sirat et al., 2010; Sirat, 2005). Image as a dynamic concept has been argued as an effective means of comparing and analyzing historical and contemporary issues in travel literature, particularly how changes in tourist visitations have positively or negatively impacted tourism development of a society (Turel and Serenko, 2006). Arguably, tourist researchers has discovered and emphasized that the unique image of any destination has been developed in recent times through the creative use of imagery (Andriotis et al., 2008; Meng et al., 2008; Bowen and Clarke, 2002). This is because tourism suppliers have been strategically using such imagery in differentiating their products and invoking existential desires in the minds of their current and potential visitors (Sirgy et al., 2010; Gil and Ritchie, 2008). (Hudman and Johnson1994) second edition geography of travel and tourism. Hence, the uniqueness and diversity of the tourism products in the modern economy practically demand that destinations should cater for a wider ar ray of tourist interests, by constantly repackaging their products and re-imaging their destination along tourist demand and behaviors (Chen and Tsai, 2007). Grounded in these areas of research is (Fornell et al1996). That have empirically tested and established perceived expectation, perceived quality and perceived value as the antecedents of customer satisfaction and customer complaints and customer loyalty as the consequences of customer satisfaction across industry. Similarly, Gil and Ritchie (2008), Chen and Tsai (2007) and Alcaniz et al (2005) have all separately emphasized that the ability of travel providers to efficiently match tourist perceptions with their own perceptions would lead to a more effective and productive consumer centric marketing and further confirms the relevance of image in providing the required authentic visitor experiences. Base on the practical and theoretical gaps mentioned above, this study aims to examine Nigerian tourists experiences, by relating the concepts of image with the authenticity of their visits. This study proposes to breach the theoretical gap as emphasized by Chen and Tsai (2007) that difference between imagery and experience could positively or negatively impact travelers satisfaction. 1.4 Research objectives This study will research on destination image and perceived expectation that lead to perceive quality, tourists satisfaction which resulted to customer loyalty. The research objective will be listed below; To study the destination image, and tourist satisfaction To study the tourist perceive expectation of the destination image which lead to tourist loyalty To look into the relationship between destination images, perceived expectation, perceive quality and satisfaction that help in gaining the tourist loyalty. To recommend and give suggestion on how to keep the success and improve the destination image for the tourist to keep being loyal to the destination. 1.5 Research questions This research is going to ask these questions What could be the perception of Nigerian tourist on Malaysia as a destination, satisfaction and loyalty of Nigerian tourist? What is the perceived expectation of Nigerian tourist on the destination image? What are the relationship between destination image, perceived expectation, perceive quality, satisfaction and customer loyalty? What are the suggestions needed to continually improve the tourist satisfaction on destination? 1.6 Scope and limitation of the research The focus of this research is limited to the tourism industry, where selected literatures, handbooks, travel books, geography of travel and tourism book, Asians statistic year book, and (WTO) world tourism organization report. Malaysia ministry of tourism staffs will be contacted to get report on Nigerian tourist in Malaysia, Nigerian students and staff of Nigerian immigration embassy will be investigated with a set of sampling technique to explore the reason why Nigerian number keeps increasing in Malaysia. The research was to study the pre-visit, during visiting, and post-visit perception and satisfaction of the Nigerian tourist on the destination site. According to Malaysia tourism ministry over 10,000 Nigerians are now in Malaysia, which means that the number of Nigerians tourist is increasing every year despite the bad name given to them, that means that with the level of hostility towards Nigerians tourists in Malaysia they are still satisfied or not. Therefore, the research will focus on how Malaysia tourism industry was able to satisfied and meet up with the expectation of Nigerians tourist that make them chose Malaysia as their destination why not other Asia country e.g., India. Sample respondent will be chosen among the student to answer the questionnaire. 1.7 Research procedure The research procedure is the process the research study will take to solve the research question and arrived at expected result. More so, some literature of the research will be collected and review with major emphasis on image formation, tourists satisfaction, perceive expectation and tourists loyalty. Questionnaire will be design base on the construct from the theory and according to the previous study.

The fight for justice: The Barrett family of Galway :: Essays Papers

The fight for justice: The Barrett family of Galway The following newspaper clippings concern a Galway Traveller family named Barrett. Perhaps the individuals named Barrett in these stories are not actually related, though taking Traveller marriage customs into account, the likelihood is that they are. What is sure is that they are all Travellers, and on that basis alone they are worth viewing as a piece. Due to their lifestyle, Traveller families remain largely unrecorded by official history records. We receive occasional glimpses of such histories buried in the newspaper columns of court proceedings. We only hear Traveller voices when they are speaking as defendants. The only traces of depreciated minority populations are to be found in such public records, when they are found at all. Such has been the case with the Barrett family. A member of the Barrett family came to public prominence in 1996. Francie Barrett, then nineteen years old, represented Ireland at the Atlanta Olympics. This would seem to offer a happy ending to the sorrowful annals of the Barretts, an end to the prejudice and injustice. Such was not the case. Following is a 1931 account mentioning a man of the name Barrett: â€Å"In No Man’s Land: Galway Squatters to be Evicted† Connacht Tribune 7 Nov. 1931: 7. William Matthews and John Burke, Water-Lane, Galway, brought an action against James Barrett and Patrick Ward for trespass on property at Water-Lane, Galway†¦Burke swore that†¦these two men came along and built ‘shacks’ on it†¦Burke said even if these people paid rent for the place it would not be accepted as the Board of Health served notice on the owners that the premises were unfit for human habitation†¦Barrett swore that he was in occupation of the premises for the last four years†¦Ward†¦had a wife and seven children there and if he went out he had nowhere to go except the side of the road. He was willing to pay rent for the place or buy it. The Justice said he was satisfied these men were trespassers [and fined them]. In this case, two of the most common and numerous Galway Traveller family names, Ward and Barrett, are not even acknowledged as such. The newspaper describes them as squatters, and the court treats them as such. Their ethnic identity is denied by not being referred to, because to do so would problematise their treatment. There is no concern expressed as to the fate of the men and their families, once they have left the property.

Theories of Post-Coloniality: Edward W. Said and W.B. Yeats :: Essays Papers

Theories of Post-Coloniality: Edward W. Said and W.B. Yeats (Citations from Said’s essay â€Å"Yeats and Decolonization† as published by Bay Press, not the Field Day pamphlet) Post-colonial theory, a mode of thought which accepts European Imperialism as a historical fact and attempts to address nations touched by colonial enterprises, has as yet failed to adequately consider Ireland as a post-colonial nation. Undoubtedly, Ireland is a post-colonial nation (where ‘post-’colonial refers to any consequence of colonial contact) with a body of literary work that may be read productively as post-colonial. Although colonialism, as a subject for Irish criticism and theory, has been tentatively broached (for example, see Celtic Revivals (1985) by Seamus Deane) Edward Said’s lecture â€Å"Yeats and Decolonization†, published as a pamphlet by Field Day in 1988, was an important catalyst for post-colonial study of Irish literature and culture. The premise of this now seminal study is that Yeats was a poet of decolonisation, a muse expressing the Irish experience of the dominant colonial power of Britain. Rather than reading Yeats’s poetry from the conventional perspective of high European modernism Said explains that â€Å"he appears to me, and I am sure many others in the Third World, to belong naturally to the other cultural domain† (3). Using this as his point of departure, Said enters into a line of argument which claims that Yeats was a central figure in debating and asserting an overt drive towards the construction of a national Irish identity as a vital act of decolonisation. Further, Said places Yeats within a global framework of anti-Imperialism, drawing parallels between the Irish poet and Third world writers and theorists such as Fanon, Neruda and Achebe. Though an incredibly influential essay, the reverberations of which may still be felt in Inventing Ireland and other texts, it is also a work that demands close analysis and is replete with short-sighted and ill-informed ideas. Said locates Ireland among territories like India, South America, Africa and Malaysia as a site of colonial contention. In doing so he emphasises Ireland’s role, and thus Irish literature, in colonial history as a member of the peripheral (from a Eurocentric viewpoint) Third World. According to this â€Å"bog dwellers† are paralleled as the Irish counterpart to â€Å"innumerable niggers, .... babus and wogs† (6). Yet, this argument, in retrospect, does not hold. Denis Donoghue (â€Å"Confusion in Irish Studies†) has explicitly condemned post-colonial theory for adopting a global paradigm of colonial experience as a discourse which treats all Empires as homogenous.

Mapping an Argument Essay

The first article talks about the lack of regulation on the quality and safety of our food supply even though there are health food options, such as fruits and vegetables. Especially, in the federal school lunch programs that have contributed to poor health of our younger citizens. The United States has had one of the safest food systems in the world, but within the last few years 70 million Americans have gotten sick, 300,000 have been hospitalized, and 5,000 die from food-borne illnesses each year. Consumers always identify with wholesome – not harmful foods. Our children today are most at risk from these food threats, with about half of all food-borne illnesses hitting children under 15. The tens of millions of victims of food-borne illnesses represent only a small segment of the causalities from our failure as Americans to require safe and nutritious foods. A regulation of chemicals, many of the fruits and vegetables that should be healthy and nutritious are being laced with dangerous pesticides. Many foods that are being marketed to our children have trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup, that have contributed to the epidemic of obesity in young children, heart disease and diabetes in older populations. It is far from perfect, but the Food Safety Enhancement Act (HR2749) was passed by the House of Representatives in 2008 and has taken steps in the right direction. The Act has given more authority to the FDA, which had restored some of the power to conduct food inspections and strengthen oversight. Yes, many regulations have been in place but since January 2010, over 850,000 pounds of beef have been recalled due to E. oli. Like I said it is far from over, but many more safety legislation should be able to target the largest causes of these food-borne illnesses. I believe that all of this would not happen if the growth of small farms. The less risk of contamination and not as many people would be put into the hospital or even die because the animals, fruits and vegetables would be processed and cleaned correctly. They would be handled with no pesticides and would actually be more healthy then what is grown today. The second article talks about online poker. Many states are trying to outlaw online gambling, for example Minnesota, their arguments are trying to save citizens from ruin, but many states are running their own casino and betting operations. A ban on poker, a game the requires skill, is against American and capitalist principles and would restrict people’s freedom. Monday April 29, 2009, The Minnesota Department of Public Safety gave notice to all major internet service providers that they will be ordered to block service to a list of 200 internet gambling related sites. It may expand to â€Å"thousands† of sites, depending on compliance. Chris Fox, who plays poker for a living, is very biased about the issue since he plays poker for a living and if the ban is upheld, then he would have to move states. Canada on the other hand has not made online poker illegal and are much more friendly toward online poker players. Online poker is all about skill and defined on the Department of Public Safety’s own website, games of skills are not illegal. When the government all of a suddenly tries to attempt something like enforcing a law that does not even really exist and try to prevent players from doing something that is actually legal, it is always about money or politics. In conclusion, there is really no conclusion since there are many ways around this prohibition and that it will not prevent anyone who really wants to play from getting online and playing poker where ever they choose to. The Wire Act of 1961, which was meant for preventing the transmission of sports bets over phone lines and the internet did not exist. Many people have emailed the Department of Justice to let them know that people play online poker every day and that they should come arrest these people, but never heard anything back. The threats that are used now are very minimal and will find other Americans to hassle.

Cell Phone Should Not Be Used in Classrooms Essay

The use of cell phones in today’s society is at an extremely high rate that people of all ages and gender can be seen parading with their cell phones. Whether people are buying groceries or driving in their cars, cell phones have become important in everyday life. Phones should only be used in leisure time and not in school while studying. Cell phone use in schools should be restricted because it distracts students, it is disrespectful towards teachers, and may tempt students to cheat. Cell phone use in class distracts everyone’s attention from the class. When a cell phone suddenly rings in class it makes a lot of noise, delaying lecture time for students. Instead of spending time to pay attention to the lecture, many students will spend their time giggling. If students are not able to pay attention they will not learn anything. Another distracting thing about cell phone use is that many students use their phones and text with their friends. Many people who text in class are not advancing their studies, but their social life. Students who sit in class and text are just wasting their time, instead of using that time to further their education. Some students who have their phones in class play games instead of listening to the lecture. When a student starts to play a game, others easily become fascinated. Playing games in class distracts more students. Using cell phones in schools is not only distracting, but it can also be disrespectful. Read more:  Should Cellphones Be Allowed in School Argumentative Essay Using cell phones in class is not good idea because it is disrespectful to teachers. Students who text in class may not know what the teacher is asking about, and may end up falling behind in class. It is disrespectful to not listen to others while they are talking. It is bad etiquette to not listen to the lecture while the teacher spends their time to teach, not only does it wastes the teacher’s time, but also their own time. Using cell phones in school while the teacher is trying to teach disrespectful, but it can also be used as a medium for cheating. Schools should keep their current policies of not being able to use phones because students may use it to commit educational fraud. It is hard for a teacher to always know what their students are doing during an exam, like a student who may be looking up information on their phones. If students do  this, they will not be able to learn anything. Also, some students use their phones and tell others what the questions are on the test, making it unfair for those who are working hard to earn the scores that they deserve. Another is that if students are able to use their phones in class and communicate with someone who knows the answer while taking the test. It is true that cell phones would make a good learning tool, but it is really tempting to cheat during tests. Cell phones in our current society are part of our everyday life, but cell phones should only be limited to leisure time and not during school. Cell phones should not be used in school because it is distracting, it is disrespectful to teachers, and can be a tool for students to cheat. Students should learn to become independent from their cell phones just like the days when cell phones were not invented yet.

Analysis of ‘‘The Lifeguard’’ by Mary Morris Essay

‘‘The Lifeguard’’ by Mary Morris is a short story that focusses on change over time. A lifeguard accustomed to be the lord of all he surveys and with a big self-esteem, has a rude awakening when he proves deficient in the first aid needed to save a toddler, Becky, on the beach. The author demonstrates that we realise what we have only when a shattering event occurs. Trough characterization, foreshadowing and symbolism, Morris infers that once we realise what we have, it’s too late. The character outlook of what he sees has clearly changed from the beginning to the end of the story. At first, the lifeguard saw the beach just as a way of being seen and appreciated by the girls and envied by the other man. He was narcissistic, ‘‘Girls clung to my stand, [†¦] and I could do no wrong’’ (p.98) and the way he was always talking about how much he loved his body, and it made him lose the real reason why he was at the beach. He wanted to be admired by people on the beach. But when a child almost died in his arm because he was not really aware of what was going on near him and his incapacity to save Becky started to bother him. So he went to Mrs. Lovenheim’s house, where he realised something profound on the emptiness of his live. He thought he had all what he wanted, but the most important was missing, true love. This reality changed his perception of life as he said: ‘’I’ve never seen the water and the umbrellas of summer in the same way again’’ (p.105). Mrs. Lovenheim made him fall into despair as she left him at the doorstep, him, the lifeguard who had a tremendous self-confidence. Ric Spencer acted as a foreshadowing character. He clearly missed the time where he was lifeguard. As soon as he could, he was going close to Josh to talk about the old time when he used to be lifeguard. Ric often gave advices to Josh to always be careful, because only a split second of distraction and a bad event, like the drowning of Billy Mandel, can happens. Ric was always there to tell the principal character ‘‘You don’t know what you’ve got’’, ‘‘You don’t know how lucky you are’’ (p.101), because the older man realised the chance he had to be lifeguard and because it is at about the age of Josh that h e could choose a job he would have love more. So he is often telling Josh to enjoy while staying careful, because he knows you won’t always have the perfect job and that an accident has bad consequence. When Becky almost died, it completely gave full meaning to Ric’s words. It is as if Josh hit a wall. This has ruined his summer. He should have listened to many advices given by his former lifeguard instead of laughing of him. Mrs. Lovenheim was represented as a symbol superiority of throughout the story. As it progresses, he kept on talking about how Mrs. Lovenheim was always looking at him. It made him proud; otherwise he would not have talked about her all along the story. For him, the fact that this women was looking at him was a proof that he was admired by other people on the beach, that he was superior to people around him. But when the savior of Becky did not recognized ‘‘It suddenly occurred to me that she had no idea who I was, that she’d never really seen me at all’’. So he thought he was the real king of the beach, but this made him realised he had all wrong. Maybe all what he saw was wrong, maybe all he described was false. Therefore, what he had taken for granted was no longer what it was the day before. He may have to consider everything under another perspective. But the point is that Mrs. Lovenheim was used to be the symbol of admiration he wanted, but as h e saw she barely knew him, his world rocked. In conclusion, Mary Morris displays that we must enjoy what we have while we have it, because if we lose it, it can be on your mind for long time, and you may regret not to have taken good times out of it. The author has been able to illustrate it through his usage of characterization, foreshadowing and symbolism. The author showed why it is important to take care of what we have, because a little nothing can make us lose it all.

Japan or China the Most Important Strategic Relationship for Australia Among the Major Asian Powers?

Is Japan or China the most important strategic relationship for Australia among the major Asian powers? By Mej Amran B Mohamad RMAF Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College Haigate Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. 12 Nov 2009 Author can be contacted at : [email  protected] com. au ——————————————————————————————————————— Introduction Australia’s credentials and place in today international system is quite significant which influence greatly her ability to position and formulating herself strategically in the global scenario especially in the Asia Pacific region. As a nation with global interests, Australia deals with many countries in many regions and one of them is in Asian region. Australia undoubtedly and substantially engages hers interests in a wide range of aspects within the framework of the countries within this Asian region. Among the countries which are influential in shaping Australia’s strategic and defense policy within the Asia Pacific ring are China, Japan and South Korea, North Korea and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) block countries. On the other hand significant Australian interests are also engaged in Australia’s relationships with the other states such as the European Union and its member states, and in the South Pacific, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. However the emerging of China and the influence of Japanese among the major power and largest economies of the Asia-Pacific region has considerably alter the region stability lately. Many new factors and balancing pointers have emerged and its impacts cannot be ignored in shaping Australia strategic relationship and its development of defense policy. Consequently new form of challenges have emerged such as North Korea nuclear proliferation issues and overlapping claimed territory in the South China Sea to mention a few. As such advertently Australia needs to revisit and review back its strategic relationship between the so called major powers in Asia region like China and Japan in order to ensure its effective implementation of strategic environment. Australia essentially need to ensure its security, trading, investment, economic, social partners towards the region continue to uphold and be beneficial to Australia in order to continue sustain and maintain its competitive advantage. Aim The aim of this paper is to examine and to look into some critical aspects of Australia strategic and defense planning policy framework imperatives in order to decide whether China or Japan is the most important strategic relationship for Australia among the major Asian powers. Australia International Relations In its international relations arena, Australia utilizes its assets such as economic, strategic and cultural to uphold its international reputation as a responsible, constructive and practical country. It can be seen that the values which Australia brings to its international relations presently are the values of a liberal democracy greatly influence by her American ally. Australia global politics undoubtedly have been shaped by national experience and given vigour through cultural diversity of the country itself. Some of the important imperatives include the rule of law, the accountability of the government to an elected parliament, freedom of the press and a commitment to a ‘fair go’. Australia ranks eleventh in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. For comparison, Australia's main export destinations[1], 2008 to Japan was 22. 7% 1 and China 15. 6% respectively. Australia's main import sources, 2008 China 14. 6% and from Japan 9%. Australia’s defense capability is seem to be very significant in regional terms. Australia also has a broadly based alliance relationship with the United States, whose strategic engagement and commitment underwrite the stability of East Asia as a whole. Australia Strategic Environment According Senator the Hon Robert Hill Minister for Defense[2] in 2005, he stressed out that providing the capability to defend Australia and Australian interests remains the first responsibility of ruling government. Now lets us look into Australia strategic environment before discussing in depth by delineates the impact of globalization in relation to its strategic perspective. The Impact of Globalisation The world is undeniably experiencing profound and rapid change. While the international world system is dynamic, globalization is accelerating the movement of ideas and technologies and advertently exposing Australia to a new strategic environment framework such as increased the interdependency between countries and made borders more porous, increased of the potency of the terrorist threat, increase the complexity of the potential danger of WMD proliferation[3]. Globalisation has accelerated the trends which have a significant impact on security policy matters, defense capability and decision-making due to increased unpredictability and uncertainty; the technology revolution has led to a diffusion of technology at a faster tempo, particularly in the areas of information and communications; existing of asymmetric threats such as terrorism or WMD have reduced the value of defenses built around geographic advantage; non-state players quite often in some circumstances, constitute a strategic threat such as new form of transnational terrorist organisations, with no state allegiance and new types of weapons and tactics ; and borders as security barriers are now much less effective to mention a few[4]. The interconnectedness of globalisation profoundly have widen and intensify their impacts. Defense Policy In general, Australia’s defense policy response to this environment comprises of two major elements[5]. The first is to shape and build a defense capability that is versatile and adaptable. Australia has and will continue to build a force that is joint, balanced, networked and deployable. Such a force provides options for a credible response wherever Australia’s security interests are engaged. Secondly is to build strong security relationships both globally and regionally. It must be able to lead and have the capacity to contribute to coalitions in region of interest such as the Asia region as per say. Australia’s Security Interests Asia Pacific global issues have significant security implications for Australia. Generally the risk of global conflict diminished considerably with the end of the Cold War, however other potential threats remain. Conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia regions have the potential to disrupt global security. To address this Australia need to form a strategic partnership with many countries in her global political engagements and of course within Asia Pacific Ring, Japan and China are the most important priority among the Asia regional major powers. Australia’s national security and its economic interests are inextricably linked to the security and stability of the Asia Pacific region. It can be seen that the key components of Australia’s security strategy are maintaining a strong national defense capability, the security alliance with the United States, developing bilateral defense and security relationships with the countries throughout the Asia Pacific, and strengthening multilateral security links in the region, especially with the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). As such by continuously fostering strategic relationship with China and Japan are paramount. Regular bilateral security dialogues with countries in the Asia Pacific, and with key partners beyond the region, provide an opportunity to share views on a wide range of regional and global security issues, promote transparency and reinforce Australia’s commitment to working cooperatively with regional countries on security issues. Australia has increased the number of countries with which it has such dialogues, as part of its long-term strategy of promoting shared security perceptions in the Asia Pa cific region. The ARF for example is an important means of encouraging a sense of strategic community in the region. It complements the central role of bilateral links in dealing with global and regional security issues, and has an important role in encouraging regional support for international regimes against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their missile delivery systems. One of the features of the ARF in 2000 was the participation for the first time of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). On the other hand Australia sees Japan as a strong proponent and strongly supports ASEAN countries economic growth by providing financial aids and assistance in terms of Official Development Aids (ODA) for instance. Subsequently, Australia on the other hand has been very much part of the process of seeking to engage the DPRK more constructively with the regional and international community, including through an exchange of high-level visits. Australia announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the DPRK in May 2000. Australia has made a major contribution to the significant progress in establishing international regimes to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and of missiles. Australia’s future efforts will be concentrated on ensuring that these regimes are implemented and remain effective and, where necessary, are strengthened. Australia is a strong proponent of encouraging adherence to the international regime banning the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Australia is committed and relentlessly to adopt practical measures such as landmine clearance, victim assistance and mine clearance technology programs. So after looking inside the Australia needs, now lets us see what has China and Japan share in common and in what ways Australia can benefit more and have the edge by associating herself with the two countries strategically from my perspectives. One thing for sure is that Australia strategic relationships in the Asian region are becoming more complex and continue to evolve. China China’s increasing political and strategic engagement with the Asia-Pacific region with its emerging economic profoundly has many significant impacts on the global economy as well as within the Asia region. Its increasing demand for resources is driving China expansion of economic activity development in the Asia-Pacific region and also emerging as a significant technological centre for region. Hence, China’s importance to Australia grows along with this development accordingly and it cannot be totally ignored. Undoubtedly Australia sees China’s relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region are critically important to the maintenance of regional peace, security and stability. According to Jieh-Yung Lo, (2007)[6], Australia’s strategic responses would include China’s relationship with East Asia, placing strong emphasis on the Korean Peninsula. In particular, China’s relations with Japan and the United States play another vital role in shaping the security context for the entire region. It is in Australia’s national interest actively to encourage and support Chinese participation in dialogue and cooperation on regional security issues. As for example during 2000-01 the exchange of high-level visits started by the visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin to Australia in late 1999 continued, with six Australian ministers and the Deputy Prime Minister visiting China. The investment and trade relationship between Australia and China is very encouraging and expanding. China today is Australia’s third largest merchandise trade partner. New opportunities for Australia are wide open when China’s was accepted entry into the WTO, both in terms of greater market access for Australian goods and services. Thus by encouraging China to integrate further into the global economy and abide by international trade rules, the role China played in advocating regional stability become more pronounce.. Mutual economic and trade interests are increasingly underpinned by the strengthening of broader bilateral ties including cultural, educational, scientific and people-to-people links. With different cultures and traditions, Australia and China do not always share the same view, but regular dialogue and government-to-government exchanges have been established on a range of issues – from human rights to security issues – in a bid to discuss differences of opinion. The one-China policy will continue to be a fundamental element of the bilateral relationship within which Australia pursues important economic and trade interests with Taiwan. The size, competitiveness and pace of growth of the Chinese economy will continue to be a dynamic influence on other Asia-Pacific economies. Hence its strategic influence will continue to grow and need to be carefully weighted by Australia in planning her defense policy in the region. Japan On the other hand Japan arms of influence cannot be simply being ignored. It must not be forgotten and by reminiscing on the past history of the might of Japanese expansion and World War II (WW II) and the remarkable effort of its quick phase to recover and become a developed country later to become the giant world economy just next to United States need not to be considered lightly. As such undoubtedly Japan occupies a vital strategic position in North-East Asia and continues to play a primary economic and political role in Asia Pacific immediate region. So, realizing this, Australia relentlessly works hard to encourage and continue endlessly for close dialogue with Japan on a wide range of political, economic, and strategic issues and the development, to the extent possible, of policies which are mutually reinforcing. Japan continues to be Australia’s major trading partner, accounting for some 16% by value of our total trade (exports plus imports) in 2000. It is a significant investor in Australia and our largest source of in-bound tourism. The Japanese Government is taking more active role in regional and global security. It remains active in the war on terrorism. Japan increased its commitment to other part of the world such as Iraq, both financially and through the deployment of elements of the Japanese Self-Defense Force in non-combat roles. The Japanese Self-Defense contributions to peacekeeping effort are quite positive. On the other hand the strategic relationship with the United States continues to develop through increased interoperability, harmonization of Japanese and US capabilities and cooperation in missile defense. Australia’s partnership with Japan reflects the broad alignment of Australian and Japanese strategic, political and economic interests in the Asia-Pacific region. Like Australia, Japan supports the long-term strategic engagement of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region and recognizes the fundamental contribution that it makes to regional stability. Japan also shares our interest in advancing the APEC forum as the primary vehicle for economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region. The Australia-Japan Conference for the 21st Century was held in Sydney on 29 and 30 April 2001 to chart new directions – strategic, economic, cultural, educational and scientific – for the relationship. The Conference Declaration, ‘The Sydney Declaration for Australia-Japan Creative Partnership’, set out a comprehensive action agenda: to strengthen economic relations, including through a trade and investment facilitation agreement; to expand dialogue and cooperation on security; and to increase people-to-people links. The Prime Minister’s visit to Japan in August 2001 built further on these links. The Factors Shaping Its Development and the Challenges to Be Met To Ensure Its Effective Implementation. In today dynamic environment more quite often the failure of existing international institutions to provide confidence in collective security arrangements has prompted an increasing resort to coalitions-of-the-willing to resolve issues of common concern. As such anticipating and meeting hallenges to Australia’s security remains a demanding task. Some of the crucial factors shaping Australia defense planning in general include the war on terrorism, proliferatio n of nuclear weapons and weapon of mass destruction The war on terrorism continues unabated on many fronts. Successive terrorist attacks in NewYork, Washington, Jakarta, Bali, Madrid, London and elsewhere since 2001 have demonstrated clearly that no country is immune from experiencing the debacle and horrors of non state actor such international terrorism. The threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has yet to be defeated as some states still seek to acquire a nuclear weapons capability. Longstanding issues, including those relating to the Middle East, North Korea, Iran and Taiwan, remain the subject of international tension. Many countries, including in the Asia-Pacific region, continue to struggle to create the conditions they need for stable economic and political development. Issues of economic downturn, human trafficking, human migration, drugs smuggling, environmental issues, overlapping claimed, boundary disputes are among current issues that need to be emphasize and handle diplomatically and strategically. These imperatives are among many challenges faced by Australia. Analyse the Strengths and Limitations on Current Australian Policy Australia employs its defence capability as the most potent of the range of instruments in order to promote and support its security interests. Among Australia strength include having a formidable Australian Defence Forces (ADF) which is able to meet all these policy and strategic needs. The ADF is capable of operating as a networked, joint force across information, air, land and maritime domains. It also has the capability to operate in environments that are complex and ambiguous, and where adversaries, including non-state adversaries, have increasingly lethal capabilities. Through continuing modernization, it needs to retain capability edge over potential rivals by having the elements of versatility[7]. robustness[8], jointness[9] and integration[10]. At all times it must maintain high levels of preparedness as demonstrated by ADF personnel whom have been deployed in many operations, including those in East Timor, Bougainville, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Iraq, the Solomon Islands, and the Sudan to mention a few. Several of these operations have been concurrent. On the other hand, there have been continuing border security tasks, natural disaster relief operations and contributions to long-running UN peacekeeping or peace-monitoring operations in the Sinai and elsewhere in the Middle East. Other role includes supporting domestic security operations such as those for the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Some of the constraints include growing cost pressures on the defense budget. This consequently affects the rising cost of ‘state of the art’ military equipment, particularly capabilities essential for the ADF’s capacity to develop and operate as a superior networked force. The other aspects is the recruitment and retention of an evermore technically capable force amidst of a strong and growing economy, will surely become more challenging Thirdly is to ensure the most efficient use of resources posses a significant challenge to the ADF. Australia Strategic Alliance Priority to Chinese or Japan Australia security accord with Japan has been greeted with much controversy over Australia's actions and intentions of containing China. These two Asian major powers have brought back the shadows of â€Å"Cold War† language of fundamental power relations and strategic competition within the Asia region. However rivalry could be restricted to peaceful economic competition for economic resources. According to Jieh-Yung Lo[11] (2007) China and Japan produce an environment of bi-polar Asia and putting Australia with the dilemma of balancing its national interests in the face of this strategic competition. All this while Japan has become a long time trusted partners in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan and Australia share a common interest in regional stability and prosperity. And today, Australia and Japan enjoy one of the most significant economic and strategic partnerships in Asia. As can be seen in July 2003 besides the latest security accord, Australia and Japan concluded a Trade and Economic Framework to set directions for the future development of the bilateral trade relationship. On the contrary Australia recognizes that both China and Japan are important to its foreign policy and defense policy in the region and shares a growing and thriving relationship with China and on the other side of the coin have a stable relationship with Japan. Australia is very clear where its interests lie and tends to see economics and security as separate issues. It welcomes China's growth, but believes that Japan and the United States should remain influential players in regional affairs. 12] Conclusion From the discussion above it can be seen that it is essential for Australia to form up a formidable defense planning which must provide for both the needs of the present and the possibilities of the future into the uncharted territory. In my opinion thus Australia strategic a lliance with Japan is most crucial and prioritized compare to with China. It is based on many elements of shared values and interests between Japan and Australia. I cogently believed the relationship will still remain the cornerstone of Australia strategic partnership in order to foster and enhance further regional security and stability in the Asian region. Bear in mind that a country’s effectiveness and influence in international affairs is determined by a combination of tangible and intangible factors including its reputation, its geographic size and population, the size and success of its economy, its strategic culture and its defense capability. I can foresee that Australia will continue to work to support the Asia-Pacific region in addressing threats of terrorism, weapons proliferation and the challenge of failing states. In an ever more inter-related world, threats to our neighbours are threats to us among which include the threat of proliferation of WMD within the region and in supporting fragile and vulnerable states. Whether fighting terrorism, piracy, transnational crime, international drug syndicates or people smugglers, effective defense policy remains a key tool of the Australian Government. As such it is importantly and uniquely for Australia to form up a smart partnership and strategic alliance with another countries in this case among one of the major powers in Asia region the most important is Japan if compare to China. In building war fighting capacity to respond to possible future threats, undoubtedly the right defense policy framework will still remains the primary instrument of the Australian Government and will therefore continue to have a central role to play in protecting and assuring Australia’s national goals of a peaceful, stable and increasingly prosperous region. However China as an emerging economic power with it renowned of its military might of course also play a vital role in destabilize the East Asian region and have great influence on the North Koreas and its proliferation nuclear issues cannot be totally ignored. I strongly believe that that a good ongoing relationship with Australia-China is still very useful and Australia need to diligently and willingly maintain a role in influencing China to a certain extent. There is evident in Australia's growing economic and political relationship with China in terms of trade and regional affairs. I also believe that strategic competition between China and Japan will continue to be dominant factors and shape the security and future stability in the region. On present trends, I believe China has reasons to be confidence. Bibliography Books Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific century: Force 2030. Canberra, ACT : Dept. of Defense (2009) Dibb, Paul. 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RSIS Commentaries, 24 April 09 http://www3. ntu. edu. sg/rsis/publications/Perspective/RSIS0402009. pdf Australia's bilateral relationships can be found at http://www. dfat. gov. au/geo/fs Specific trade and investment information see http://www. dfat. gov. au/ And http://www. tradewatch. dfat. gov. au East Asian Analytical Unit http://www. dfat. gov. u/publications/catalogue/pub_bycountry. html DFAT statistical publications see http://www. dfat. gov. au/publications/index. html Australia's international treaty commitments http://www. austlii. edu. au/au/other/dfat Australia's human rights policy e http://www. dfat. gov. au/hr Australia’s international environmental activities http://www. dfat. gov. au/environment Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), http://www. ausaid. gov. au. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, http://www. aciar. gov. au Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office, http://www. asno. dfat. gov. au Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), http://www. austrade. ov. au Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC), http://www. efic. gov. au/ ———————– [1] Fact Sheet, Market Information and Research Section, DFAT, http://www. dfat. gov. au/geo/fs (dated 4 Sept 09) [2] Australia’s National Security, A Defence Update 2005, Australia Department Of Defense , pp. v [3] Ibid pp. 5 [4] Ibid pp. 2-4 [5] Ibid pp 12 [6] Jieh-Yung Lo, (2007), Article on China v Japan: implications for Australia? Dated 4 Dec 2007 [7] Versatility represents the capacity to perform a range of different roles, often concurrently. Aust ralia’s National Security, A Defense Update 2005, Australia Department Of Defense pp. 9 [8] Robustness is indicated by depth in resources and personnel and is an essential quality if the ADF is to retain the ability to sustain operations for lengthy periods. Ibid pp. 20 [9] Jointnes refers to responds to the challenge of ensuring that all service elements operate together in ways that make a truly joint force. Ibid pp. 20 [10] Integration represents the ability to network weapons platforms and capabilities to strengthen their effectiveness as part of a whole force. Ibid pp. 20 [11] Jieh-Yung Lo, (2007), Article on China v Japan: implications for Australia? Dated 4 Dec 2007. [12] Jieh-Yung Lo, (2007), Article on China v Japan: implications for Australia? Dated 4 Dec 2007