Reflecetion paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflecetion paper - Essay Example This memo will address strengths and weaknesses, as well as the risks and opportunities of the expansion. Opportunities 1) Market expansion through economies of scope and scale. Understandably, by expanding to Italy, we are already growing our market share without the high costs of starting a new company in Italy. Its existing revenues and market share will be added to ours. At the same time, from Italy, we can expand further in Europe too. 2) Trend of merger and acquisitions (M&A) in the tourism industry. M&A is the trend in the global tourism industry, including hotels. The articles from Warwick Clifton, â€Å"The Global Hotel Industry: Big, Beautiful and Branded? Part One and Part Two,† highlight that M&A is becoming more prevalent across regional and national markets. International hotel chains are gobbling up local independent hotel chains, in order to rapidly expand across the world. We have to take advantage of M&A and purchase potentially lucrative chains to purchase. Threats 1) Weak Euro. An article from Wharton shows that a weak Euro is bad for hotel business because of dampened consumer confidence. When they cut back in spending, they do so for luxury goods and services, and that includes hotel services. Furthermore, a weaker euro means lower spending power. We can see potential increases in the prices of goods and services that we need in operating these Italian hotels. 2) Damp economic climate in Europe, in general, and Italy, in specific. The economic crisis is hitting several countries in Europe hard, including Italy. This can affect business in Italy for the next couple of years or more. 3) Mixed success in hotel business. The article â€Å"Market Conditions Tighten for Italian Hotel Industry† indicates uneven success in the Italian hotel industry. It says â€Å"Declines for the Padua, Genoa and Bologna markets highlight the difficult market conditions,† while â€Å"the seasonal market of Taormina & Messina in Sicily report ed double-digit RevPAR growth (+18.4 percent) YTD† (â€Å"Market Conditions†). We cannot expect immediate high return for our acquisition because of mixed business revenues due to the slack in the business climate. Strengths 1) Full control of how the chain should be managed. The top management can exert transformational changes that are required to raise the standards of the Italian chain. The home country management will have the power and authority to enact necessary changes to improve the quality of services in the chain. 2) Lower costs in terms of acquiring local knowledge and familiarity. Local managers and employees already know the cultural, operational, and budgetary idiosyncrasies of the host country. It is assumed that the existing human resources are familiar with the market characteristics enough to no longer need a costly comprehensive market research. 3) Empowered organizational culture can be used to enhance quality standards. We can enhance the standard s of the hotel enough to warrant higher hotel rates. We can use the empowered approach of the Italians to let them manage and own organizational changes that will benefit them as employees. 4) Acquisition expands HRM knowledge and skills for multinational operations. If we want to be a multinational hotel business, we must not be afraid of learning from different cultural environments. This acquisition will help our home HRM gain

Doctor Manette’s Role In A Tale of Two Cities :: A Tale of Two Cities

Doctor Manette’s Role in A Tale of Two Cities Introduction- Individual characters often exist as the heart of a novel. I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Tale of Two Cities evolved from Doctor Manette’s story A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doctor Manette’s story II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Recalled to Life† A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doctor Manette’s appearance B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His revival C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His relationship with his daughter III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doctor Manette’s relapses A. His newfound strength IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doctor Manette as a hero Conclusion- Doctor Manette as the nucleus of the novel. Individual characters often exist as the heart of the novel. They contain dynamic characteristics and occupy a central position in the novel. In A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens uses Doctor Manette as the core of his novel, Doctor Manette â€Å"is a worthy hero and a crucial piece in the puzzle†(Glancy 75). His personality and story thrusts him into the spotlight throughout the book. The novel revolves around his character. A Tale of Two Cities evolved from Doctor Manette’s story. He has witnessed the aftermath of a rape and assault committed by two twin nobles, the Evrà ©mondes, and is forbidden to speak of it; â€Å"†¦the things that you see here are things to be seen and not spoken of† (Dickens 325). But when Manette tries to report these crimes he is locked up in the Bastille. The novel is then built up through Doctor Manette’s cruel and unjustified imprisonment and the events following his release from prison(Lindsay 103). That is how he becomes the core of the novel. Upon the opening of the novel Dr. Manette is a weak and horrific man. He is a man â€Å"recalled to life† (Dickens 24) from an eighteen-year imprisonment and has the appearance of an aged man having white hair and a ragged face; â€Å"he is a ghost, the empty shell of a man† (Glancy 69). He is very confused, so confused he cannot recall any of his past or even remember his name. â€Å"The experience of oppressive misery has not merely twisted him†¦it has broken down the whole system of memory in his psyche† (Lindsay 104). He is a mere victim of the past. â€Å"Dr. Manette has been driven mad, broken and goaded into a destroying curse, by eighteen years of unjust imprisonment in the Bastille† (Johnson 30). He is too accustomed to imprisonment to be able to bear freedom, which was true of many prisoners during the Revolution. But he is resurrected at the sight of his daughter, who stimulates the memory of his wife with her â€Å"threads of gold†, or her golden hair.

Cost Club Scenario Essay

Introduction Every employee has fundamental rights in the workplace that include their right to privacy, fair compensation and free from discrimination. Even applicants have rights before they are hired as an employee. Some of those rights include discrimination that is based solely on a person’s race, gender, age, religion, national origin, or during the hiring process (FindLaw, 2014). Employee Privacy * Employees have the right to privacy with regards to their personal possessions * This includes their purses, handbags. Briefcases, lockers.* Employees have limited rights with respect to e-mail messages and internet usage while using Cost Clubs computer system * Employers do not have the right to conduct a credit checks or background checks on an employee or perspective employee without the express written permission of the employee (FindLaw, 2014). Employee Unions Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employers are forbidden from interfering in an employee’s right to organize, or to join or assist in a labor organization for collective bargaining purposes, or prohibit working together to improve terms and conditions of their place of employment. Union employer’s may not coerce their employees in exercising any of their rights such as (National Labor Relations Board, 2014): * It is illegal for an employer to threaten their employees with the loss of their jobs or benefits if they choose to join or vote for a union or participate in protected concerted activity. * Threaten employees with plant closure should their employees choose to have union representation. * Employers are not to question employees about their union activities or sympathies * Promise employees benefits in order to discourage union support * Punishing  employees for engaging in union or protected concerted activity * Retaliating against an employee by transferring, laying off, terminating, assigning employees to more difficult work task or for filing an unfair labor practice charges or participating in an NLRB investigation (National Labor Relations Board, 2014). Occupational Safety and Health Administration Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (,OSHA) employers have a responsibility to their employees to provide a safe environment for their employees. Employers are responsible for providing their employees with a workplace free of serious hazards and must follow all OSHA safety and health standards as well as identify and correct any safety or health problems found. It is also the employer’s responsibility to (United States Department of Labor, 2014). * Keep employees informed about hazards through the offering of training, labeling, alarms, systems that are color coded, material safety data sheets that pertain to chemicals and other methods. * Employees are to be trained in a manner in which they can fully understand * Employers are to maintain accurate and complete records of any work-related injuries or illnesses that may occur in the workplace. * Employers are to post any citations, injuries and illness data where is it easily viewed by employees. * OSHA is to be notified by the employer within eight hours should there be a workplace fatality or when three or more workers have been injured or hospitalized due to an accident. * Display the official OSHA poster that describes the rights and responsibilities in plain view for employees to read per the OSHA Act (United States Department of Labor, 2014). Employee Retirement Income Security Act Compliance assistance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) sets the minimum standards for retirement and health benefit plans in private industry. Although ERISA does not require an employer to provide a retirement plan or to provide benefits it only requires those who have established plans meet and follow a level of standards. ERISA covers retirement, health, and other welfare benefit plans. (United States Department of Labor, 2014): * Meet ERISA standards of conduct * Employers are to assure that the funds of the plan are protected and that  participants who qualify will receive their benefits. * Employers are to include new health laws * Employers are to provide a continuation of health care coverage for an employee that due to certain events would result in a reduction ,in their benefits. * The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) amended ERISA to make health care coverage available for employees that have either been terminated or have quit (United States Department of Labor, 2014). Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is responsible for setting and establishing a minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards that affect employees in the private sector andFederal, State and local governments (United States Department of Labor, 2014). * The wage for covered nonexempt workers is $ 7.25 per hours * Overtime pay to be at the rate of one-half times their regular pay after a 40 hour workweek. * There is no limit to anyone 16 years or older to the amount of hours they may work. * FLSA does not require Cost Club to pay overtime for weekends, holidays for an employees, regular days off, unless overtime is typically worked on those days. * Employers are required to display the official poster of the FLSA. (United States Department of Labor, 2014). Conclusion In order to ensure and maintain a high moral level of employee behavior. Employees of Cost Club must fully understand the ethical and legal implications of their decisions. As they relate to their employees personal and professional values. This should be reflected at every level upper, and lower management included. Cost Club needs to develop and implement a Business Code of Ethics that can be reviewed with all employees at all Cost Club locations. By implementing a Business Code of Ethics, Cost Club will weave together not only the legal principles of employment, but the moral issues that commonly arise in employment issues. These ethical behaviors are vital to Cost Clubs overall success. The stakeholders of Cost Club are able to take direction from Cost Clubs, Business Code of Conduct. And when an ethical dilemma occurs the code will become one of the employee’s best tools for dealing with the dilemma. When Cost Club chooses to engage in employee monitoring, this practice will be posted and announced to all employees.  Employees need to understand the laws and Cost Clubs corporations, policies along with the Business Code of Conduct. Cost Club also needs to exercise restraint in looking over their employees shoulders when it comes to use of the internet and email. (Mujtaba, 2014). When everyone understands all the ground rules then the workplace environment at Cost Club will be fair. If Cost Clubs employees are being ethical and following the policies he or she should not be concerned with monitoring and at the same time Cost Club should conduct their monitoring of employees within the guidelines of the law (Mujtaba, 2014). References FindLaw. (2014). Employee rights 101. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://employment.findlaw.com/employment-discrimination/employees-rights-101.html. Mujtaba, B. G. (2014). Ethical implications of employee monitoring: What leaders should consider. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.huizenga.nova.edu/Jame/articles/employee-monitoring.cfm. National Labor Relations Board. (2014). Employer/union rights and obligations. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/employerunion-rights-and-obligations. United States Department of Labor. (2014). Employee retirement income security act ERISA. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/erisa.htm. United Stated Department of Labor. (2014). Employer rights and responsibilities following an OSHA inspection. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3000.html#12. United States Department of Labor. (2014). Wage and hour division. Retrieved April 13, 2014, fro m http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/.

How To Use Sin in Spanish

The Spanish preposition sin generally means without and thus can be thought of as the opposite of con (with). For English speakers, its use is generally straightforward, the main difference being that it usually is not followed by an indefinite article (un or una, meaning a). Here are some examples of its use: Para el paciente sin esperanza, no existe futuro. (For the patient without hope, a future does not exist.)Nunca conduzco sin gafas. (I never drive without glasses.)Daniela no podrà ¡ ir a la escuela sin computadora. (Daniela will not be able to go to the school without a computer.)Cuando la gente vive sin felicidad, no temerà ¡n a la muerte. (When people live without happiness, they will not fear death.)Hay muchos hogares sin telà ©fono. (There are many homes without a telephone.) Sometimes phrases using sin are better translated using the English suffix -less or -free: Las parejas sin hijos sufren muchas crà ­ticas. (Childless couples receive much criticism.)Los diamantes sin defectos son extremadamente raros. (Flawless diamonds are very unusual.) ¿Son los refrescos sin azà ºcar la solucià ³n al problema? (Are sugar-free drinks the solution to the problem?) Fast Facts Sin is usually the equivalent of without in English.When sin is followed by a noun object, it is seldom necessary to place an un or una before the noun, although one is sometimes used for emphasis.Sin is frequently used in phrases, most of whose meanings can be determined by translating the other words in the phrase. When to Use an Indefinite Article With Sin If the indefinite article is used after sin, it often is done for emphasis. Also, if the object (the noun after sin) is followed by an adjective or a clause, the indefinite article is often used: Yo estaba en Mà ©xico sin un centavo. (I was in Mexico without a single cent.)Se fue sin un adià ³s. (He left without even saying goodbye.)No hay democracia sin un orden social liberal. (There is no democracy without a liberal social order.)La clonacià ³n de un dinosaurio serà ­a imposible sin un à ³vulo de dinosaurio intacto. (The cloning of a dinosaur would be impossible without an intact dinosaur egg.) Following Sin With Infinitives When sin is followed by a verb, nearly always the infinitive form is used. Note how these sentences are translated to Spanish. In particular, the final two examples use sin in a way that without is not used in English: Tengo que aprender a vivir sin fumar. (I need to learn to live without smoking.)Aprender sin pensar es inà ºtil. (Learning without thinking is useless.)Sin leer es imposible escribir bien. (Without reading it is impossible to write well.)Hay muchas lecciones sin aprender. (There are many unlearned lessons.)La lata sin abrir puede durar hasta 12 meses. (An unopened can can last for 12 months.) Phrases Using Sin Dozens of phrases use sin. Heres a sampling: asociacià ³n civil sin fines de lucro, organizacià ³n sin fines de lucro — nonprofit organization aun sin — even without. Example: Cuando uno es inteligente, aun sin estudiar puede pasar con 100. (Someone intelligent can pass with a 100 even without studying.) ausente sin aviso — absent without permission barril sin fondo, pozo sin fondo — bottomless pit (usually used figuratively) callejà ³n sin salida — dead-end street (can be used figuratively) dejar sin efecto — to invalidate, to render useless estar sin blanca, estar sin un cobre — to be penniless or broke sin motivo — for no good reason, for no known reason misterio sin resolver — unsolved mystery quedarse sin nada — to end up with nothing. Example: La atleta puso todo pero se quedà ³Ã‚  sin nada. (The athlete gave it her all but ended up with nothing.) quedarse sin palabras — to be at a loss for words repetir sin parar — to say over and over again sin asombro — surprisingly sin cesar — without stopping, continuously sin compromiso — without any obligation sin contar con — to ignore possible consequences, to not take into account sin coste — free, without charge sin defensa — defenseless sin direccià ³n, sin rumbo — aimless, without goals sin duda — without a doubt, undoubtedly sin ganas — enenthusiastically, unwillingly sin hacer — undone sin otro particular — without further ado sin par — unique, without an equal sin pensar — without thinking sin razà ³n — with no reason sin tardar — immediately, without delay sin ton ni son — without rhyme or reason viaje sin retorno — one-way trip vivir sin — to live without. Example: No puedo vivir con ti. (I cant live without you.)