Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics - Essay Example Examples of such emotions can be lust, greed, anger, jealousy, hatred, joy, and-in some cases- even love. However a â€Å"continent† person is able to resist the pressure of such emotions. He is able to dutifully abide by the path that reason prescribes, even if in reality he has no desire for doing so. This dutiful adherence to goodness is not just applicable to cases where the ‘good’ course of action has been determined by a person’s own intellectual and rational faculties. It can also apply to cases where ‘good’ has been determined and prescribed by society. Dutiful, albeit passive and thoughtless, adherence to ethical norms can also be called â€Å"continence†. An â€Å"incontinent† person (the Greek word is akratà ªs), on the other hand, is one who succumbs to the pressures of his desires and emotions and violates what in his own opinion is the demand of reason. The incontinent person lacks mastery of feelings. However, Aristotle maintained that â€Å"incontinence† is quite distinct from â€Å"evil†. The â€Å"evil† are those who believe that virtues (such as justice, temperance and truthfulness) are useless, and are not to be pursued at all. While the â€Å"incontinent† person fails to pursue ‘good’ out of a ‘weakness of will’, the evil do not even attempt to be virtuous. In other words the evil do not reach the conclusion that the virtuous course of action is rational; which seems, more or less, like a defect in their intelligence, or their rational faculties. He refers to the evil as kakos or as phaulos. It is important to note that even though the â€Å"incontinent† a re removed from acting in a virtuous manner, they do acknowledge a duty of doing so. Hence, according to Aristotle, their situation is not hopeless (incontinence isn’t vicious). Here one might raise the concern that if the â€Å"incontinent† succumb to the inexorable counter-pressure of their desires and their emotions; then their actions are involuntary. And since, as the well known dictum suggests, ‘ought’ implies ‘can’, we can safely assume that the â€Å"incontinent† aren’t morally responsible for their seemingly reprehensible actions. However, Aristotle’s notion of â€Å"voluntary† (Book 3, Chapter 1) is entirely negative. An action is voluntary in two conditions. The first condition is the absence of any sort of ‘compulsion’ toward the performance of the action, and the second condition is the absence of ‘ignorance’ about the harmful consequences of the action. Note that ‘compul sion’ in used here only in the sense of being compelled by an external force (a force that lies outside the agent). And since desires and emotions lie within a person, therefore when an â€Å"incontinent† person succumbs to the pressure of his desires he can not be said to be acting involuntarily. It is clear that a person will act in ways that are ‘good’ if he is â€Å"continent†, and resists the irrational appetites that haunt him. However, according to Aristotle, the life of such a person is not virtuous. Aristotle believes that true ‘virtue’ and goodness are quite distinct from both continence and incontinence. In fact, Aristotle regards ‘continence’, ‘incontinence’ and ‘

Meaning of Life Susan Wolf Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Meaning of Life Susan Wolf - Essay Example The meaning of life comes from within us and is not granted from without. I find this as the most convincing as regarding the question to the real meaning of life. This is surely the greatest way to perceive life-one’s own life, the life of a nation, a species, the world, and all living things. The meaning of life comes to us when we do things that our heart and mind desires, things that seem of importance to us. Otherwise, doing things that draw boredom since they seem not of much interest ton us does not bring the meaning of living into us. We can realize the idea of meaningless existence and the meaningless of life if we keep on doing things that bear no fruits to us and brings nothing (Taylor 433). It surely has no meaning to perform an activity that has been drawn repeatedly but, have no direction and purpose of it. With this, the objective of existence is meaningless. Richard Taylor draws this idea from our lives, and that of the animals, the endless activities that get nowhere. However, he also says that if this is what one is willing to per sue then the idea of meaning of life comes in. At one point, we ask ourselves why we do things repeatedly without getting anything out of it, a perfect image of meaningless existence.... t that he wants to work on, he must have the ability to be able to contribute in a positive manner to that project, and lastly the project that he is working on should be worthy in an independent manner of its own. A man must be able to have the strength to look back at his life when it is about to get over, and at that time, be satisfied truly to an extent that he feels as if his life has had some meaning or the other. (A., 2010) â€Å"What is perhaps most distinctive about my conception of meaning, or about the category of value I have in mind, is that it involves subjective and objective elements, suitably and inextricably linked. â€Å"Love† is at least partly subjective, involving attitudes and feelings. In insisting that the requisite object must be â€Å"worthy of love,† however, this conception of meaning invokes an objective standard: it is implicit in insisting that an object be worthy of love (in order to make a contribution to meaning in the lover’s life) that not any object will do.† (Wolf, Susan) The main aim of living one’s life, writes Wolf, should be of an objective worth and not subjective worth. Wolf writes that most people try to base or model their lives on people who inspire them and make them feel as if their lives were full of and ‘in’ meaning. Most people pick and motivate themselves by understanding actions of people who have benefited humanity at large, for example Mother Teresa and Albert Einstein. She writes that people must be able to feel satisfaction and fulfilment in order to find a sense of meaning in their lives. However, a person must carry out his own actions and achieve everything that he does on his own and according to his own merit in order to feel like he has done something meaningful which will make him happy and worthy

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Free Research Paper Example Essay I. INTEGRATED SCIENCE(Interaction: Environment and organism) II. COURSE PAPER: CASE STUDY Bacteria constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria were among the first life forms to appear onEarth, and are present in most habitats on the planet, growing in soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and deep in the Earths crust, as well as in organic matter and the live bodies of plants and animals, providing outstanding examples of mutualism in the digestive tracts of humans, termites and cockroaches. On February 6, 2013, scientists reported that bacteria were found living in the cold and dark in a lake buried a half-mile deep under the ice in Antarctica. There are typically 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and a million bacterial cells in a millilitre of fresh water; in all, there are approximately five nonillion (5Ãâ€"1030) bacteria on Earth, forming a biomass that exceeds that of all plants and animals. Bacteria are vital in recycling nutrients, with many steps in nutrient cycles depending on these organisms, such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere andputrefaction. In the biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds such as hydrogen sulphide and methane. Most bacteria have not been characterised, and only about half of the phyla of bacteria have species that can be grown in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology, a branch ofmicrobiology. Most bacteria secrete a covering for themselves which we call a cell wall, However, bacterial cell walls are a totally different thing than the cell walls we talk about plants having. Bacterial cell walls do NOT contain cellulose like plant cell walls do. Bacterial cell walls are made mostly of a chemical called peptidoglycan (made of polypeptides bonded to modified sugars), but the amount and location of the peptidoglycan are different in the two possible types of cell walls, depending on the species of bacterium. Some antibiotics, like penicillin, inhibit the formation of the chemical cross linkages needed to make peptidoglycan. These antibiotics don’t outright kill the bacteria, but just stop them from being able to make more cell wall so they can grow. That’s why antibiotics must typically be taken for ten days until the bacteria, unable to grow, die of â€Å"old age†. If a person stops taking the antibiotic sooner, any living bacteria could start making peptidoglycan, grow, and reproduce. Bacteria were the most prominent creatures in the early stages of lifes history almost 4000 million years until 600 million years ago. Fossils called stromatolites can still be found and were made by Cyanobacteria. III. SOURCE/REFERENCES * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria * http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio106/bacteria.htm * http://bacteriamuseum.org/cms/Bacteria/what-are-bacteria.html * http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/bacdr.html * http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/bacdr.html IV. CONTENT A. BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE CASE Endogenous endophthalmitis is a potentially blinding ocular infection resulting from hematogenous spread from a remote primary source. The condition is relatively rare but may become more common as the number of chronically debilitated patients and the use of invasive procedures increase. Many etiologic organisms (gram-positive, gram-negative and fungal) have been reported to cause endogenous endophthalmitis. Risk factors are well defined and include most reasons for immune suppression. A high clinical suspicion is needed for early diagnosis and treatment. Early intravenous antibiotic therapy remains the cornerstone of treatment. The roles of intravitreal antibiotics and vitrectomy are evolving and may become more widely accepted as therapeutic modalities. The authors report a case of endogenous endophthalmitis and provide a brief review of the literature. Endogenous endophthalmitis is defined as an intraocular infection resulting from hematogenous bacterial spread. It is relatively rare, accounting for 2 to 8 percent of all cases of endophthalmitis, and is associated with immunocompromised states, debilitating diseases and invasive procedures.1 Because of the rapid advance of medical technology, a longer life span of patients with chronic diseases and a rising prevalence of long-term intravenous access, the disease may become more common in clinical practice. It is important that the family physician be aware of endogenous endophthalmitis because early diagnosis and prompt aggressive treatment are imperative if vision loss is to be avoided. B. POINT OF VIEW Banana bacterial (Xanthomonas) wilt, first detected in Uganda in 2001, has since spread rapidly. Approximately one third of Ugandas banana growing land is now affected by the disease, which renders fruit inedible and ultimately kills the plant. The Ugandan government has been praised for its promptness in attempting to control the spread, but despite these efforts, and the encouraging success of control in some areas, the risk of further spread, both within and beyond Uganda, remains. Strengthening and refining the control effort is now clearly essential, but how should this be done, where are the research priorities, and what action should be taken by Ugandas neighbours? In July this year an expert consultation of senior stakeholders from policy, research and disease control, was convened at the UKs Central Science Laboratory near York. They offered New Agriculturist their points of view on the current status of the disease and the ways forward for control.

The Marriott International Incs Development Marketing Essay

The Marriott International Incs Development Marketing Essay The former of the Marriott International Inc was founded by J. Willard Marriott when he and his wife Alice Sheets opened a nine-stool AandW Root Beer stand which they later called The Hot Shoppe in Washington, DC the spring of 1927.It sold hot food such as tamales, chili, and tacos were added to attracting customers during the winter months. In the following few years, with the hot shoppes kept expanding, Marriotts food service had a good development. In 1957, Marriott opened its first hotel which was a 365-room Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. In 1967 its name was changed from Hot Shoppes, Inc., to Marriott Corporation and J.W. Marriott, Jr., became President and CEO. During the next 26 years, Marriott was developing fast by opening different kinds of hotels to meet the need of people and acquiring other companies. In 1985, J. Willard Marriott passed away and his oldest son J. Willard Bill Marriott, Jr., was named CEO and took over most major responsibilities. Marrio tt International Inc was established formally in 1993 when the former company splits into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation. With its establishment, Marriott International Inc starts to become a worldwide operator and franchisor of hotels and related lodging facilities step by step. ( http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/heritageTimeline.mi) Today, Marriott International Inc headquarters in the Bethesda area of unincorporated Montgomery County, Maryland. And it is a leading worldwide hospitality company with about 3150 lodging properties located in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. In 2010, its sales is $10,908.00M, And there are 137000 employees in this company. With its excellent business achievement and economic strength, Marriott International Inc has become one of Worlds Fortune 500 for many years. And its rank is 213 in 2010. This big company is still developing and making progress continually. (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/10664.html) Marriott International Incs development cant be achieved without the key people in this company. Nowadays, this companys CEO and chairman is J.W. Marriott, Jr. His leadership spans over 50 years, and he has taken Marriott from a family restaurant business to a global lodging company with 3500 properties in 70 countries and territories. Arne M. Sorenson, the president and COO of Marriott International, Inc. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. And he joined Marriott in 1996 when he specialized in mergers and acquisitions litigation and now he is responsible for the performance and growth of all of Marriotts worldwide brands and businesses. Marriotts Executive Vice President and CFO is Carl T. Berquist. Mr. Berquist holds a B.S. in accounting from Penn State University and is a member of Penn States Smeal Business Schools Board of Visitors. In 2002, he joined Marriott as a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. And now Mr. Berquist become the CFO with responsibility for global finance, including financial reporting, project finance, global treasury, corporate tax, internal audit, and investor relations. (http://news.marriott.com/our-leadership.html) Although it has steady growth and profitability every year, Marriott International Incs Mission Statement is still to be the best lodging and food service company in the world. It will achieve this goal by treating employees in ways that create extraordinary customer service and shareholder value. And its Vision Statement is to be the worlds lodging leader. To be the leader, this company keeps focusing on serving the guest, extensive operational knowledge, the development of employees skills, and offering the best lodging brands in the lodging industry. (http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/heritageJWMarriottJR.mi) Marriott international Incs steady growth and profitability is also related to its strategic alliances. Such as Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, Black Culinary Alliance, Gay Lesbian Alliance against Defamation and Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility. (http://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?page=diversity_partners) Acquisitions play an important role during the development of Marriott International Inc. The recent acquisition on Mar 16 2011, Marriott International Inc acquires AC Diplomatic, Barcelona from AC Hotels SA. And later in March 1997, Marriott International acquired Renaissance Hotel Group N.V. for $916 million in cash and the assumption of $54 million in debt. This acquisition is the largest acquisition in Marriott history. (http://www.alacrastore.com/mergers-acquisitions/Marriott_International_Inc-1065110) Section2 Marriots is committed to global diversity to provide services that are above and beyond its customers experience. This strategy and concept has become its blueprint in its marketing plan to match the needs of the customers to the various products and services and provide the best possible experience for their guests during their stays in the hotel. The company is global having three thousand properties in sixty eight different territories and countries by franchising hotels under different brands. Marriotts marketing plan will entail research in the industry to gather critical information and experiences to better generate marketing strategies that would be effective through application of customer care and integrity. Cost leadership and product differentiation has been integrated at Marriotts which offers different brands either luxurious or moderate to fit various clients needs http://www.marriottconsulting.com/planning_services.php#business_plans Standard packages in service and products provide a more variety to the different atmospheres created by the different products offered by Marriotts. Other parameters must be included in the marketing plan like the marketing concept, product lifecycle and focus strategies that are important to guide a hotels marketing plan. The Hotels entry and foundation in the market place plays a major role in its marketing plan by detailing its goals, marketing objectives and the necessary factors to consider while implementing its marketing plan processes. Marriotts marketing strategies are geared towards the plan of maintaining its tradition of cherished service through the hotel brands to elevate guests stays, thus accomplishing its overall marketing objectives. http://www.academicwritingtips.org/component/content/article/35-social-sciences/562-marriot-hotel.html Our company met previous goals. Marriott International fourth-quarter net profit of 173 million, Marriott International Hotel Management Group, the fourth-quarter net profit of 1.73 billion U.S. dollars, earnings per share were 46 cents, this performance better than last year. The fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, Marriott International hotel management group net profit of 1.06 billion U.S.evenue was 36.4 billion U.S. dollars, 3.38 billion higher than the same period last year dollars. Marriott International Hotel Management Group, the fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share, exceeding analysts had expected. Market research firm FactSet Research survey, analysts on average expected to Marriott International hotel management group for the fourth quarter of 36 cents per share on revenue of $ 3,580,000,000. http://sandiego.jobing.com/catering-sales-manager-courtyard-by-marriott-old-town/job/2710752 Marriotts commitment to society blends corporate financial contributions with in-kind giving and the volunteer service of our associates around the world. We participate in efforts to provide shelter, food, and childrens health, while creating career opportunities for our associates in the workplace and supporting education in the hospitality industry. http://www.marriott.com/corporate-social-responsibility/corporate-values.mi Marriotts environmental vision is to demonstrate that corporate responsibility in hospitality management can be a positive force for the environment while creating economic opportunities around the world. Marriott International has expanded its goals for its Diversity Outreach Initiative with a $1-billion pledge to minority-and women-owned suppliers over the next four years, relationships with four newly signed minority- and women-owned and managed financial services firms, and a plan to double the number of minority owners and franchisees in five years http://www.resource-recycling.com/rr_conference/hotelandtravel.html Section3 Marriott International Inc. is a participant in the Lodging industry. But it is not only a participant but also a leader. Its industry is stable and keeping growing everyday. Marriott International Inc. has been earning strong profits recently, even through comparable periods last year. With the improvement of economy and room rates have bolstered the industry. Figures from a recent report show that average daily rates revenue per room, and occupancy for U.S. hotels all increased during the first week of 2011. Expansion from the ground up, as well as through acquisitions, has been going on in South and Central America, as well as in China and India. With a growing middle class in India and China, MAR meet the need for increased accommodation in the area. As the economy continues to recover, the Lodging industry will be hoping to continue to develop fast. So MAR will be full of motivation and energy to develop. Whether in China or the world, the service quality, advanced technology, and services of Marriott International advanced the worlds first hotel group. Which has won wide public recognition and customers a high degree of trust? Marriott launched a number of brands through market segmentation for different market segments: they are Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Courtyard, Ritz-Carlton, Ramada and other hotel brands. Marriott has its own characteristics and different market positions. For example, a luxury-class hotel is JW Marriott, Marriott and Renaissance hotels w ith a high quality, but the brand image of the Renaissance is more flexible. Marriott Executive Apartments is the market for long-term accommodation. Courtyard is for mid-range market. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/139599-marriott-reluctant-reward-program-participant.html) Marriott hotels, resort hotels and suites are for upscale, full-service hotels. Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is the high consumption-oriented class, which it is able to provide the best facilities, food and service symbol. Ramada is a high-quality mid-priced brand, mainly for business and sightseeing tourists. (http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/glance.mi) Marriott international competitors have begun doing so more pro-actively. The industry of hotels is highly fragmented. Competition with hotels is generally based on the quality of rooms, restaurants, meeting facilities and services, attractiveness of locations, availability of a global distribution system, price and other factors. There are 3 competitors of Marriott international: Hilton Hotels: Hilton is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world. It is primarily involved in the management and development of hotels across the globe. Initially Hilton focused on acquiring and owning more real estate. However, it has recently changed its growth strategy, and it now focuses on spreading its operations through franchisees. InterContinental Hotels: IHG is the largest hotel company by number of rooms, with 590,361 rooms in over 100 countries around the world. It operates a diverse portfolio of brands across multiple economic segments, including Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts. Crowned Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn, and Holiday Inn Express. Orient-Express Hotels: Orient-Express Hotels is a hotel and leisure group, which is focused on the luxury market. The company owns and operates luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains, and river cruises in over 25 countries. (http://www.dailyfinance.com/company/marriott-international-inc) The ways to counter the competition: Marriott prefer to use multi-brand strategy to meet the needs of different market segments Marriott for different market segments successfully launched a series of brand They has been struggling to improve the service details and content, customers will be related to differences in the details of effective records, as well as the attitude of its staff and overall good quality Marriotts corporate culture summed up as: Marriotts staff to create a practical action for the guests to experience the service, its purpose is to serve the people. Marriott full play the enthusiasm of employees and retain talent, and attaches great importance to the role of human resources (http://www.academicwritingtips.org/component/content/article/35-social-sciences/562-marriot-hotel.html) As we all know, Marriott face large competition. So they should invest in research and development. Here are their investments: 1 Project construction area of over 20,000 square meters, is expected to invest over 100 million Yuan, the construction of a 16-story, 300 or more rooms of the modern high-star hotels. 2 Marriott said its hotel owners and new franchise partners will invest a total of $ 190,000,000 bed. 3 1.5 billion of investment in large projects settled Marriott International Ming Shan Hall Here are Marriotts ways to promote their products or services. 1. Know your Hotel: You must be a product expert for both your hotel and your competitors. 2. Prime Selling Time: Adhere to prime selling hours, by market, and ensure those hours are dedicated to pure selling activities and customer interaction. 3. Access to Manager: No Messages on any enquiries, even if the General Manager has to take the call. 4. Customer Rapport: All transactions with customers and sales activities demonstrate our desire to know them and build relationships. 5. Determine Customer Needs: You must determine objectives of event, definition of event success and qualitative decision-making criteria in addition to quantitative dates, rates and space.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Marriotts advantages in its area are that Marriott Hotel: Marriott Hotel was at the service management group, the basic philosophy of people serving people, which has two aspects: fair treatment of every employee, while focusing on the feelings of employees, so that they understand home feeling. Marriott nearly 50% of managers are promoted from within the company, the companys job vacancies to give priority to internal staff, only no suitable internal candidate before hiring from the community, and outside recruitment, salary levels provided by the general high the industry average of 50% to 75%. The hotel is a typical service industry, Marriott that only a good company to employees, employees will be good guests. There are five systems to ensure its Marriott Hotel in the real implementation of its people at the service concept. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_International) How does the Marriott Internet develop so fast and Marriott will what the situation introduced new brand or new product on-line? The answer is: when its through in the hotel market survey found there is enough, not yet fill blank or the demand is not fully satisfy customer demand, the company will launch when demand for these new products or services this means that companies need to continuously for customer demand research. Through the analysis can be found, Marriott, the core competences lie in her customer survey and customer knowledge, Marriott will be applied to all this from fair hotel to li jia all hotel brand. So, Marriotts superiorities are not Hotel management, but the customer knowledge acquisition, processing and management. Marriott has been committed to seek it the gaps between different brands. If the investigation shows that some segments of the market has enough targeted customers need some new product or service features, so Marriott will ascend product or service to meet customer new demand; If the survey shows that in one subdivision target audience, many people to a range of different characteristics have needs, Marriott will put these people as a new customer group and developed a new brand. Marriott international company provides beneficial for brand development thinking. For an existing product or service for, new features added to what extent is only necessary to ascend? And to what extent can create a new brand? The answer is: when additional features can create a kind of new things and can attract different target customer, you will have the product or service ascension or brand new born. Marriott company announced the development of the elastic suite this brand of practice is a good example. At the time, Marriott will elastic suite price at $75 between 95 and plans to March 1, 1999, 14 home built in when the two years later add 55 house. Elastic suite fair suite and fair suite originally is fair hotel part. Male was founded in 1997, at the time, the Wall Street journal is so describe the fair suite: capacious but lack adornment, toilet no door, sitting room of the shop is linoleum, its pricing is 75 dollars. In fact, people who are sensitive to the price and terms, this suite are fair in the hotel room of the sample more spacious. The question is: fair suite customers may not like linoleum, and are willing to pay for decorate a bit better room some more money. Hence, Marriott by increasing the ironing board and other pleasant thing to change fair suite image, and through laying carpet, adding the fireplace and breakfast room to improve the sitting room conditions. T hrough these aspects of ascension, Marriott hotel clued into the new batch of target customers emphasizing value buyers. But later, Marriott found fairness suite of the ascension is not always effective, price sensitive type customers dont want, and pay attention to value its customers and the pig. Hence, Marriott consider fair suite convert elastic suites, and restart the customer market segmentation. By measuring, Marriott got this data: relative to price sensitive type customers as fair suite brings the income, those who pay attention to the customer value for elastic suite at least $5 more income. In a competitive market segment for product promotion, we must pay special attention acquire and maintaining customers. For the price sensitive type customers, you must undertake product or service to avoid they turn to the ascension of competitors. Without competition or no foreseeable competition exists, then there is no need for ascension. In fact, competition often always exist, the key is to adopt necessary ascension to ensure that competitive advantage. Face price sensitive type customer, too much room doesnt help fair hotel create a competitive advantage. For China, we can learn a lot from the Marriott. Usually, hotel business income can be divided into three parts, one is relatively stable guest room, it is the hotel accommodation income that came with the catering business income, and three is including offices, shops, apartment rent and entertainment business, miscellaneous income each. Now, with all kinds of office buildings, shops, apartment hotel time, a lot of the fat, the hotel by wantonly robbed in this competition, almost crumbled; in big cities is entertainment speaking, the entertainment blossom everywhere, hotel entertainment income is increasingly atrophy. For example, 2000 Guangzhous biggest garden hotel total operating income is RMB 4.1 billion, compared with 1996 garden hotel revenue 5.4 billion, short four years time, incredibly shrunk more than 24 percent. The garden hotel general manager LiaoMingHua some helplessly say, we pulled out all the way, but the garden hotel business performance is still in step by step and sliding into deep In 2000, the China hotel reve nue is 3.9 billion, the white swan hotel revenue for 3 million, compared to 1996 5.2 million and 3.4 million, in a big shock, and Oriental hotel and international hotels performance is also down dramatically. 2001 is attempting to rumors China industry has been the United States has a good hotel in hotel management ability of the Marriott hotel management group purchase; this makes Guangzhou hotel industry sticker shock. China hotel, said to the outside of the top hotel management control only by Hong Kong new world change, in order to Marriott hotel shareholders did not change, the more there is no takeover, said. It is reported, China hotel grunde Hong Kong new world hotel limited company management, but from the beginning of the change in 2001 by Marriott management, accordingly, Marriott hotel every year from China, turnover extracted from 2.5 percentage points in return. With Chinas eventual entry into the WTO, the famous hotel groups like Sheraton, Hilton, west in brand has an grily blew the trumpets into Chinas hotel industry, the international brand and local hotels exchange unavoidable. Domestic even heavyweight hotel even so big alligator, other colleagues situation can be seen, international and domestic hotel gap also therefore! In fact, the biggest gap between Chinese and foreign hotel management, especially in it is the management strategy of the brand as the core. China hotel industry wants to win in the competition and obtain continuous development, it is necessary to learn modestly from foreign peer learning and solid improve their management level. Marriotts approach is to provide some new ideas for us? Nowadays, the hospitality industry is same as consumer goods is undergoing drastic changes. As a hotel operator, you must always ask yourself: I am ready to compete in upgrading of product or service in order to protect their market, or prepare for new segments of the market to develop new product? If choose the former, pay attention to product or service, thus reduces ascension is not incremental cost, because the existing customers often dont want to pay more. If choose the latter, new product or service must contain many new targeted customers expect things, further says, is the need to have a different brand this brand wont impact the original brand, and new customers can accept this new product or service and are willing to pay higher prices. Marriott hotel through creating elastic suite successfully will a make price sensitive type dissatisfied customers mode is transformed into a emphasizing value customer mode, it is a typical case. Section4 MARRIOTT REVENUES totaled $11.7 billion in 2010 compared to $10.9 billion in 2009. Total fees in 2010 were $1,185 million, an increase of 9 percent from the prior year. Stronger base management and franchise fees reflected the increase in worldwide REVPAR and unit growth across the system. Incentive management fees increased 18 percent reflecting higher property-level profit due to worldwide REVPAR increases and continued cost control, as well as international unit growth. For full year 2010, 27 percent of company-operated hotels earned incentive management fees compared to 25 percent in the prior year. Approximately two-thirds of incentive management fees came from hotels outside North America in both 2010 and 2009 BALANCE SHEET : At year-end 2010, total debt was $2,829 million and cash balances totaled $505 million, compared to $2,298 million in debt and $115 million of cash at year-end 2009. Adjusting for the debt associated with securitized Timeshare mortgage notes now required to be consolidated under new accounting rules, adjusted total debt, net of cash, totaled $1,308 million, a decline of $875 million since year-end 2009. At year-end 2010, Marriott had no borrowings outstanding under its $2.4 billion revolving bank credit facility Google: http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Travel_Biz/80829_Marriott_International_Announces_Plan_to_Spin_Off_Timeshare_Business_/ 29 March 2011 The stock price of the company and major competitors: Key Stats  MARMore Stock Ind Avg Price/Earnings TTM 29.6 41.8 Price/Book 8.3 3.3 Price/Sales TTM 1.2 1.8 Rev Growth (3 Yr Avg) -3.5 -3.1 EPS Growth (3 Yr Avg) -11.3 Operating Margin % TTM 5.9 7.7 Net Margin % TTM 3.9 2.9 ROE TTM 33.6 5.8 Debt/Equity 1.9 1.0 Top Marriott International, Inc. Competitors Companies Location Accor SA Évry,  France Hilton Worldwide, Inc. McLean,  VA InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Denham,  Buckinghamshire Competitor on file Minnetonka,  MN Competitor on file Toronto,  ON Competitor on file Spartanburg,  SC Competitor on file Chicago,  IL Competitor on file New York,  NY Competitor on file Boca Raton,  FL Competitor on file White Plains,  NY Competitor on file Phoenix,  AZ Competitor on file Silver Spring,  MD Google: http://www.hoovers.com/company/Marriott_International_Inc/hjfkxi-1-1njea3.html 29 March 2011 But what happened to the stock prices and why, this is because Marriott Internationals asset-light business model, premier brands, and experienced management team have helped the firm carve out a narrow economic moat. Although 2009 was challenging, the travel market  has stabilized and a slow recovery  has taken hold. In our opinion, Marriotts long-term prospects remain bright. Google: http://quote.morningstar.com/Stock/s.aspx?t=MAR 29 March 2011 And what the company will be in the future, The companys 2011 full year guidance assumes that the spin-off of the Timeshare segment does not occur in the current year and does not include pro forma adjustments or transaction expenses.    For the full year 2011, the company expects a strong pricing environment. The company assumes full year 2011 systemwide REVPAR on a constant dollar basis will increase 6 to 8 percent in North America, outside North America and on a worldwide basis. The company expects to open approximately 35,000 rooms in 2011 as most hotels expected to open are already under construction or undergoing conversion from other brands. Given these assumptions, full year 2011 fee revenue could total $1,310 million to $1,340 million and owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expense, could total $115 million to $125 million. The company estimates that, on a full year basis, one point of worldwide systemwide REVPAR impacts total fees by approximately $15 million pretax and owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expense, by approximately $5 million pretax. The company expects 2011 Timeshare contract sales to be in line with 2010 adjusted levels. The company expects its 2011 general and administrative costs to increase 3 to 5 percent over 2010 adjusted levels reflecting increased spending for brand initiatives and higher costs in international growth markets. The company expects investment spending in 2011 will total approximately $500 million to $700 million, including $50 million to $100 million for maintenance capital spending. Investment spending will also include other capital expenditures (including property acquisitions), new mezzanine financing and mortgage notes, contract acquisition costs, and equity and other investments. Based upon the assumptions above, full year 2011 EBITDA is expected to total $1,170 million to $1,230 million, a 12 to 18 percent increase over the prior years adjusted EBITDA. Google: http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Travel_Biz/80829_Marriott_International_Announces_Plan_to_Spin_Off_Timeshare_Business_/ 29 March 2011 A financial advisor said about the companys stock as an investment. Marriott International Inc.s shares slipped 2.2% premarket to 36.80% after Goldman Sachs lowers its stock-investment rating on the hotel operator to neutral from buy, where it has been since January 2009. Goldman remains bullish on the hotel sector, but says valuation of Marriotts timeshare unit, which it is spinning off, is creating a drag. Goldman says the timeshare division may produce lower margin than expected and units earnings are more cyclical, meaning the remaining hotel entity multiple would have to expand dramatically to offset the possible dilution of the spinoff. Google: http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/03/28/hot-stocks-this-morning-nokia-alcatel-lucent-and-many-more/ 29 March 2011

Aztecsinga Clendinnen Essay -- Essays Papers

Aztecsinga Clendinnen Inga Clendinnen has had a fascination for the MesoAmerican area and it's history for over 30 years. Having wrote many books on the peoples and history of the region, her knowledge makes her well qualified to write a book such as Aztecs. The book is not one based on historical facts and figures, but one which is founded on interpretations of what the author believes life was like in different spheres of Aztec life. Clendinnen refers to the Aztec peoples as Mexica(pronounced Meh-SHee-Kah)as that is what they called themselves and her interpretations of Mexican ceremony as a form of visual performance is breathtaking. We firstly delve into the city and what it means to the Mexica people. Then, we enter the minds of the people who enjoy their part of society in different ways. From the warriors and priests, to the mothers, wifes and children of Tenochtitlan. Next, Clendinnen enters the world of rituals, sacrifices and aesthetics before finishing off with the defeat of the Mexican city of Tenochtitlan by the forces of Cortes in 1521. Studys into the Aztec way of life have usually focused on the Spanish conquests, rise to power of Tenochtitlan and especially into the ritual performances conducted by the peoples of Mexica. Aztecs:An Interpretation focuses more on the authors interpretations of what the Mexica people may have thought, felt or understood about the world around them. Clendinnen attempts to understand Mexica belief `not in belief at this formal level,but in sensibility:the emotional,moral and aesthetic nexus through which thought comes to be expressed in action,and so made public,visible and accesible to our observation.'1. Clendinnen states that the `account will unhappily,but by necessity,lack historical depth,'2. The sources that she has access to are numerous but Clendinnen chooses to concentrate on General History of the Things of New Spain. A book written by Bernado de Sahagun, a Franciscan monk. This book is commonly called the Florentine Codex and deals with information gathered by Indian scribes. The codex is twelve volumes in length and was collected after the conquests of the Mexica by Spain. Clendinnen states that though the Codex has fallen out of favour with scholars,`they still use them extensivly' 3. The main writing format consists of `essays-tentative,discusive explorations'4. usi... ... A few photos of Tenochtitlan and warriors headdresses, clubs and obsidian blades would increase the pleasure 10 fold. Also in places the author tends to divert to other Ameriindian cultures and use their ritual practices as examples. These comparisons can bring the ritual practices of a 500 year extant culture into modern day belief. Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs:An Interpretation is an outstanding book dealing with investigations into how the Mexica peoples may have veiwed the world in which they lived. From the daily life of a commoner to the explosively, awe inspiring lives of the priests and warriors. Clendinnen has used thoughtful insights and a fresh perspective that will have general readers and specialist readers alike engaged in a powerful and elegantly written interpretation that is hard to put down without reflection upon this lost culture. Bibliography: 1: Clendinnen,Inga.Aztecs:An Interpretation.(New York:Cambridge University Press,1991),pg 5 2: ibid.,p.7 3: ibid.,p.9 4: ibid.,p.11 5: ibid.,p.11 6: ibid.,p.17 7: ibid.,p.112 8: ibid.,p.219 9: ibid.,p.269 10: ibid.,p.269 11: ibid.,p.269 12: ibid.,p.270

James Boswell :: essays research papers

In 1757 it does not appear that he published any thing, except some of those articles in the Literary Magazine, which have been mentioned. That magazine, after Johnson ceased to write in it, gradually declined, though the popular epithet of Antigallican was added to it; and in July 1758 it expired. He probably prepared a part of his Shakspeare this year, and he dictated a speech on the subject of an address to the Throne, after the expedition to Rochfort, which was delivered by one of his friends, I know not in what publick meeting. It is printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for October 1785 as his, and bears sufficient marks of authenticity. By the favour of Mr. Joseph Cooper Walker, of the Treasury, Dublin, I have obtained a copy of the following letter from Johnson to the venerable authour of "Dissertations on the History of Ireland." "TO CHARLES O'CONNOR, ESQ.1 "SIR, "I HAVE lately, by the favour of Mr. Faulkner, seen your account of Ireland, and cannot forbear to solicit a prosecution of your design. Sir William Temple complains that Ireland is less known than any other country, as to its ancient state. The natives have had little leisure, and little encouragement for enquiry; and strangers, not knowing the language, have had no ability. "I have long wished that the Irish literature were cultivated.2 Ireland is known by tradition to have been once the seat of piety and learning; and surely it would be very acceptable to all those who are curious either in the original of nations, or the affinities of languages, to be further informed of the revolution of a people so ancient, and once so illustrious. "What relation there is between the Welsh and Irish language, or between the language of Ireland and that of Biscay, deserves enquiry. Of these provincial and unextended tongues, it seldom happens that more than one are understood by any one man; and, therefore, it seldom happens that a fair comparison can be made. I hope you will continue to cultivate this kind of learning, which has too long lain neglected, and which, if it be suffered to remain in oblivion for another century, may, perhaps, never be retrieved. As I wish well to all useful undertakings, I would not forbear to let you know how much you deserve in my opinion, from all lovers of study, and how much pleasure your work has given to, Sir,

Nursing Ethics Essay

What is personal ethics? Many people have their own perceptions and definition of what personal ethics are. When speaking about personal ethics this topic deals with what an individual believes to be morally right or wrong. Personal ethics comes from what one was taught by child by their caregiver whether it was mom, dad, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, or uncle. Since these ethics were instilled in us as children by our caregivers we carried these ethics into our daily lives and the decisions that we made. As a child my mother main focus was to make sure I knew right from wrong. As a parent she just didn’t say that something was wrong, but she told me why it was wrong. I think this is the most important aspect when understanding ethics and why people make the decisions they make. I think it is important to hold personal ethical views so when one is being faced with a challenging moral issue they will be able to efficiently handle the situation. My mother and grandmother based their ethical views according to their religious background. Both my mother and grandmother are Christian ministers and their views were guided from the Bible. As a nurse I make ethical decisions every day. Some of these ethical decisions are easy and some not quite so easy; however, my decision is based upon how I was taught and my personal beliefs and what is the best outcome for the patient. I think as a nurse I am still learning and can always make room for improvement. My personal ethics are constantly being tested as a nurse and the decision I make not only influences patients but also my peers. As a nursing manager in my facility it is my job that I make good ethical decisions because I have other nurses looking at me to make concrete decisions in some cases. Values are a person’s principles or standards of behaviors. My value is what I consider to be important in life. What is important to me may not be important to someone else. This is what I had to consider in the world of nursing. I  would come to accept that everyone is different and though they are different and values are different we both should be able to respect one’s views and decisions. This is important so that we may achieve our primary goal of purpose which is to care for the patient. My values and beliefs are rooted and grounded in my Christian background. Values that I was taught as a child was â€Å"do unto other as you would have them do unto you†. Simply put to treat people how you want to be treated. This causes a sort of immediate feedback for creating our moral standards and making ethical decisions (Scivicque, 2007). As a manager, I have learned how to be humble, and listening and learning from others. Another important value that was instilled in me as a child was to share and to be grateful for what you have. This I come to realize that I being a young woman most women my age have not accomplished the things that I have. By knowing this I do not take my career for granted. I enjoy my co-workers and patients that I work with. I enjoy overall caring for people and watching them thrive towards their highest potential. An example of an ethical dilemma I might encounter in the nursing field is the giving of blood to a Jehovah Witness. According to a Jehovah Witness’ beliefs they do not believe in administering blood or blood products for life-saving measures. The ethical dilemma is what do you do in an emergency situation? What if their beliefs go against everything you stand for? M best response in this situation is to focus on the patient as a whole. As a nurse we have to care for the patient physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially. Physically the patient would need a blood transfusion, but spiritually the patient will decline due to beliefs. I think this is the perfect opportunity to educate the patient of the risk and benefits of receiving the blood transfusion. As a nurse I take my job very seriously. While I’m working I ask myself what if these patients were my family members. How can I be present with the patient and listen to their concerns without judging them as a person? These are all questions I have to ask myself when providing care to my patients. I am not a perfect nurse by far but I am striving to be the best versatile nurse I can be to ensure that my patients reach their optimal level of wellness. References Scivicque, C. (2007). Developing Personal Ethics. Retrieved from http://suite101.com/article/developing-personal-ethics-a34018