Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Relationship Between Tourism And Terrorism Tourism Essay

The Relationship Between Tourism And Terrorism Tourism Essay The words tourism and terrorism exist at either end of a continuum of quality of life. The word tourism means living happily, enjoyment, and relaxation, while terrorism means feeling of death, destruction, fears and panics every where. According to Beirman (2003), tourists are primary concerned with travelling to the destination satisfying their desires with minimum complications, threats to their safety and wellbeing , while on the other hand Gilham (2001) said, physical threat or serious disturbances to ones plans are suffer to reduce the prospects of a tourist destination or tourist firm. In past decade terrorism has very severe impacts on the travel and tourism industry than any other industry. The main reason of this may be because the basic objectives of the terrorist groups are to spread fear, as a result the basic safety and security of people threatened. According to Abraham Maslow (1943) the Hierarchy of needs, he said that human nature never satisfied when they have met th eir basic needs for safety and security. When they are able to satisfy their basic needs, then they attempt to satisfy their self actualisation needs such as better life, travel and tourism. According to Essner 2003), the psychological impacts are enough to have severe impacts on tourism. The fear of terrorism is irrational, because in terrorist attack chances of being killed are very little and security environment has demonstrated its negative impacts on tourism in many top destinations around the world. Three industries are dominated in 21st century, telecommunications, Information technology and tourism. According to World Tourism Organization 2008 report, tourism provides employment over 100 millions around the world. Tourism is an important economic sector for UK economy and according to BBC 2010 report; domestic and overseas visitors put an  £115 billions a year in UK economy. The direct contribution in the UK economy was  £52 billion in term of GDP which represent 4% of UK economy. Tourism also provides 1.36 million jobs in 2009 to UK workforce which is 4.4% of total work force. UK is the worlds sixth largest international tourism destination in term on number of tourists, but after September 11, 2001 and July 7, 2005 incidents this industry was badly affected. According to the LCCI (2005) report, it has been estimated that the fall in tourism could cost UK tourism industry over  £300 millions. In this competitive age, the business environment is changing dramatically. Terrorism is the biggest threat to tourism industry because travel is susceptible to the incidents of terrorism. When people travel they always avoid hazards, so for tourists safety is the major concern. During the past decade especially after September 11 2001, there are number of events which have had significant negative impacts on UK tourism. The correlation between terrorism and tourism is undeniable in the era due to industry strength and tourist places are the ideal target for terrorist to create large amount of economic and social disruption in the country. In UK terrorism can be seen in substantial part, as a result of this backlash to the tourism industry. There are number of definitions of terrorism, in the world of Alexander et al (1979) terrorism is a threat or use of enforcement and inclemency to achieve a political goal by means of intimidation fear, and coercion. In the present world context, the European Union (2001) define the terrorism relevant to international business in the following words. Terrorist offences are certain criminal offences set out in a list comprised largely of serious offences against persons and property which, given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an international organisation where committed with the aim of: seriously intimidating a population; or unduly compelling a Government or international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act; or seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation. According to U.S Department of state (2002), terrorist select businesses (e.g. tourism places) for attack compare to other targets. The most kind of attack is bomb blast, although armed attacks and kidnapping are also some kinds of terrorist attacks. According to Council of Foreign Relations (2002) reported the majority of victims in terrorist attack are civilians. The relatively large number of tourists may not prepare to face these kinds of terrorist attacks. However the scenario has changed as it was at the time of terrorist attack in 9/11. Kunreuther et al (2003) cited that during the days of terrorist attacks in 9/11 a common feeling came into mind of people that it could be me. But with the passage of time this may give way to may be it will not me next time. This kind of behaviour is more common now a day in south Asia. But it is a common thinking that it is extremely easy for terrorist that to attack any where in the world. Even in low cost and low tech attacks, terrorists ac hieve to disrupt the tourism industry. Terrorism has deep history science the cold war but this issue become most salient after terrorist attacks in September 11 2001. This incident affected the UK and international tourism industry in various ways. On one hand the world tourism industry was affected financially, the other hand it suffers due to legal and security issues. The international tourism industry between countries was most seriously affected due to security and safety concerns and legal issue. Especially UK, US and other developed countries were compulsion to protect their territory and people at any cost. Tourism industry in UK and USA found themselves floundering financially in the months after the terrorist attack on world Trade Centre, while rest of the world tourism industry also lost millions of dollars. According to U.S department of state (2002) more than 3000 people of different nationalities were killed in the terrorist attacks only in the United States in September 11, 2001. The attacks were the consp icuous example of terrorism on global level. According to the overview of European commission (2001) this was the one of the major event in the past decades which diversifies the viewpoint and outlook of people around the world. Terrorism affects both the long term and short term perspectives of the businesses around the world. Czinkota (2002) cited that terrorism influenced long term karma of entire industries, for example tourism, retailing and manufacturing industries. After the September 11 terrorist attacks many international tourist destinations have badly affected legally because countries have introduced new laws for foreigner tourists e.g. strict visas requirements, security check and criminal record check etc. UK government also introduced strict immigration law for every one who wishes to come UK for tourism in the effort to prevent further terrorist attacks. The new terrorist laws restricted the tourists for freely travel across the UK borders and require by security department to keep proper track of their activities. The anti terrorist laws have made very complicated for tourism industry to conduct its business activities across the international borders as a result many countries tourism industries have financially struggled. Another major issue that affect the international tourism industry is security and government have to invest huge amount of money to improve both internal and external security. The security is most important becau se terrorist target hot spots to achieve their targets. There is not a vast existing literature which shows the relationship between terrorism and tourism management theories, and the lack of presence of research literature is absolutely visible on the relationship between terrorism and tourism management, which elaborates constructive techniques for tourism industry in the presence of phenomena of terrorism. Terrorism has capacity to create atmosphere of fear and can be intimidate industry in number of ways. This threat of terrorism attacks poses a continuous atmosphere of risk for the tourism around the world. This risk itself creates extension for treatment of risk in management theories. The majority of management literature theories adopt term uncertainty as a factor of unpredictable environment which may influence the performance of firms in certain ways. The environment effected by terrorism also has a factor of unpredictability in it. This study is another attempt to research and investigates impacts of terrorism on the tourism in dustry in UK and we will also discuss different approaches for reducing and handling the terrorism threats. Research aim and objective: Research Aim: This aim of this research is to analyse and explore the effects of terrorism on tourism industry in the United Kingdom after September 11 2001. The second part of my research is to critically analyse and recommend the most appropriate strategies for tourism industry to deal with the terrorist threats or scrutinize the different strategic views to avoid and minimise the impact of terrorism on industry. Research Objectives: This research has the following individual objectives: Critically analyse the impact of terrorism on individual organization and the whole market. Evaluate the managerial performance in organizations, before, during and after the happening of the terrorist attacks and in uncertain environment. Research Questions: What is terrorism and why terrorist target business? What are the effects of terrorism on business? How to development strategy for managers or adopt a better approaches to deal with above mentioned issues? Abbreviation and terminology: Uncertainty: specifically mean the unpredictable environment; it is unpredictable when next terrorist attack will occur. Risk: mean threat; internal and external threat in business environment which may affect the productivity of organisation.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Gun Control Essay examples -- Argumentative Firearms Essays Papers Wea

Gun Control Gun control is an issue that many are faced with daily. Parents are concerned about the safety of their children more now than before. Some want gun control and some do not. I am against gun control because I believe if properly educated about a gun, anyone can use it to a certain extent. I know gun control laws would help cut back on the store robberies, bank robberies, gang shootings, etc. Gun laws that restrict the sale of handguns would help keep handguns out of criminals’ hands. I understand the beliefs of some who feel that by banning guns the streets and communities would be a much safer place. Gun control laws are not the cure-all for all of society’s problems. Yes, they would cut back on many crimes, but they will not completely â€Å"cure† all of them. People who are for gun control commonly base their decision on myths. Here are just a few of the many myths about gun control:  ¥ Gun Control Saves Lives  ¥ Guns Should be Banned Because They Kill Thousands of People Each Year  ¥ Gun Control Reduces Crime Above are just three of the many myths of gun control. Let’s take a closer look at each one of these. Gun Control Saves Lives â€Å"The truth is gun control costs lives, as evidenced by cities which enforce near total bans on firearms ownership. That’s because criminals don’t obey gun control or any other kind of laws. This means that citizens who do are effectively rendered defenseless.† (â€Å"Saves Lives†) How can a waiting period help an innocent person that is being stalked or threatened? Does prohibiting a person from carrying a gun keep them safe from rapists or attackers? How do any of the gun control laws keep you safe? Which one would save your life if you were being attacked ri... ...ral to the ‘Gun Control’ Movement.† Educational. 5 March 2001 http://spot.colorado.edu/~tiemann/guns.html â€Å"Dr. Tim Wheeler Interview.† Online Posting of Interview. 5 March 2001 http://www.guntruths.com/Resource/dr_tim_wheeler_interview.htm â€Å"Gun Control Saves Lives.† Online Posting. 5 March 2001 http://www.guntruths.com/Myths/gun_control_saves_lives_the_trut.htm â€Å"Guns Kill Thousands Every Year.† Online Posting. 5 March 2001 http://www.guntruths.com/Myths/50,000.htm Madden, Russell. â€Å"The Myth of Gun Violence.† The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol. 4, No 9, February 28, 2000. Polsby, Daniel D., and Dennis Brennen. â€Å"Taking Aim at Gun Control.† The Heartland Institute Web page. 5 March 2001 http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Polsby/gcsumm.html â€Å"Ten Myths about Gun Control.† Homepage. 5 March 2001 http://www.arachne-web.com/shooting/10myths.htm

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Primary Stakeholders of Google Inc Essay

Introduction The American multinational enterprise, Google Inc., predominately leading the globe in internet services and products. They provide online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud storage, applications and other software. Their customers are advertising agencies and large businesses who pay to be exposed on the many free services Google offers to internet consumers. The largest shareholders Brin Sergey and Larry Page, founded Google while attending Stanford University. Google is the most universally used internet search engine, which allows them to gather interests and information about the consumers using their free services. Advertisers spend billions to strategically place their ads through Google because the free Google services accumulates personal interests and information needed to identify consumer demographics on the internet. In recent years the government and general public have raised concern about consumer privacy, as well as, the monopolistic presence in the internet market. Their shareholders are predominately internal making any external influence to the company improbable. Google employees are carefully selected and generally consist of newly graduated software geniuses; recently the media has criticized Google for the majority of their employees being Caucasian and Asian males. Google Inc. has a responsibility to manage its operations to maximize shareholders profits, but how well does it treat the other four primary stakeholders: the government, employees, customers, and general public. (Google, n.d.) Government Google has gained the government’s attention through multiple investigations over the years. In 2011, Google government officials from Europe joined the United States Congress to bring antitrust investigations against the Company. The next year in 2012, the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, conducted an investigation to gather evidence suggesting Google is a monopoly. Apple competes through SIRI and the app store as alternative search methods to  Google. Amazon holds the lead in product searches and Facebook is commonly used to search for trusted customer reviews by friends. The FTC was unsuccessful in proving their monopoly case and Google still dominates the internet/ computer market easily eliminating any start up competition. The Google business model makes sure no shareholder has a vote that could significantly impact the company, but the way media, government, and the majority of web users, interpret their activity could influence the company’s objectives. The FTC government agency has the influential power to investigate and bring media attention to the topic of Google’s seemingly unfair advantage in their market (Singer, 2012). Customers Approximately 99% of Google’s revenues are derived from businesses advertising on the free services it provides users. In Google’s system many advertisers bid on keywords. Popular keywords like â€Å"Miami Florida† are sold for much higher â€Å"value-per-click† than other less popular search topics. This revenue method allows Google to attract both large corporations and small business to place advertisements. The free services provided for Google users has destroyed markets. Decreasing the demand for products/ services like GPS, road atlas, and current traffic status by allowing the free anytime access to Google Maps. Google distracts its users with free services that make their life easier when Googles actual intent is selling individual attention and information about the users to advertisers. Google users are the product and not the customer. Through Google user’s searches and personal information like passwords saved in google chrome or contacts from gmail accounts, Google can deliver a product to advertisers tailored to their exact needs; people looking for shoes are delivered to shoe sellers, and people located in a certain town are delivered to local restaurants (Newman, 2011). Shareholders Google Inc. is a huge company owning 66 percent of its shares leaving 34 percent of the company owned by external shareholders. Founder Brin Sergey owns the largest amount of shares by an Individual at 21.8 million shares. There are less than five major external shareholders are institutions such as, FMR LLC, Vanguard Group INC, State Street Corp, Price T Rowe Associates INC, and Barclays Global Investors UK Holdings LTD. Unlike Microsoft, Intel,  and Apple; Google does not give cash back to its shareholders. Amazon and Facebook also do not yield cash dividends, but they are not as large, mature or as profitable as Google. If Google wanted to increase its shares a capital return program could be attractive to new investors. The cost of Google offer such a program would mean applying a payout of about 1.5 to 2.5 percent to compete with its peers. Google has three classes of shares: Class A gets one vote per share, Class B gets 10 votes per share, while Class C receives no voting privileges. Class B shares are only held by company insiders so Brin Sergey, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt own 92.5 percent of these shares, thus the majority vote (Niu, 2015). Employees Google is universally acclaimed as a great place to work. Its stock has soared 674% since its inception in August 2004. Their offices abound with areas designed to promote interaction, like a bowling alley in the California office or a pub lounge in the Ireland office. The search engine company provides its employees with a great health plan, legal aid, travel assistance, and a college reimbursement plan. If an employee dies, Google will continue to pay 50% of the deceased’s salary to his or her family for a decade (keep in mind they higher new graduates with an expected long life ahead of them). The California headquarters lobby is decorated with lava lamps, a piano, and search query projections posted on the wall. There are colorful fun exercise balls and bicycles for physical fitness in the hallways. Google receives 3 million applications annually and only higher about 0.2%, statistically Ivy League schools have a higher acceptance rate than Google. Engineers make up the majority of Googles employees and their salaries range from $ 100 thousand to $ 200 thousand. Engineering interns make approximately $ 7 thousand monthly (Unknown, 2014). Over all Google is more than generous when it comes to the treatment of their employees and promotes job low turnover (Waggoner, 2013). General Public According to Forbes magazine in 2013 four companies tied for first in corporate social responsibility: Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, Google and BMW (Smith, 2013). Google has gained its popularity though the free services it provides all Google users. They have about $62.3 billion in cash and even after subtracting out its long and short term debt it has $57.2  billion. The majority of its profits, $41.8 billion, are held in foreign subsidiaries for tax avoidance. Being a technology based company, replacing hardcopies with electronic documents saves the company money as well as the preservation of the environment. Therefore google can brag about its efforts to achieve â€Å"green† status whether they are simply eliminating supply costs or have a general concern for the environment. Google has minimized the environmental impact of their services. Their carbon footprint is practically zero, but it doesn’t need an access amount of environmental resources (Google, 2015). Conclusion Google is a young, expanding, and profitable company. The government is concerned and continually investigating Google because of its controversial monopoly in the search engine market and antitrust based on the selling of user information. The general public and government should be concerned that Google invests approximately two –thirds of its cash overseas to avoid tax laws in the United States. The advertisement customers that Google provides as their revenue generating services are given information tailored to view ads strategically and that makes Google more successful than other internet marketing company. The shareholders of Google are mostly internal owners; no capital return programs have been established and all impacting votes are controlled by the internal shareholders only. The employees are treated extremely well compared to companies across the globe. Google will continue to grow based on its business plan, which brilliantly manipulates the general public users into thinking they are getting services for free while they make billions by selling adverting companies the information they want without breaking any laws. Google could treat the general public and government stakeholders better by improving user privacy and cease avoiding taxes. Bibliography Google. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google Google. (2015, 3). The Big Picture. Retrieved from Google: http://www.google.com/green/bigpicture/#/ Newman, N. (2011, May 29). You’re Not Google’s Customer. Retrieved from The Blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-newman/youre-not-googles-custome_b_84159