The literature of exile and imaginary homelands in salman rushdie, Essay

The literature of exile and imaginary homelands in salman rushdie, bharati mukherjee, and v. s. naipaul - Essay Example The exile is not (he cannot be, he cannot exist) -- at least in the common Western conception of being -- but is rather the sum of competing and contradictory forces that play out over the surface of the exiles being, without ever constituting a rigid and single edifice. If the exile can be said to have a "being" at all, then, it can only be understood to be one that is based on the formation of certain circumstances, of history, of discourse, of culture--what Walter Benjamin might have called a "constellation."1 However, these very structures--history, discourse, culture--can no longer be considered looming edifices of constitutive control and hegemonic power, after the experience of the exile as portrayed in these novels they lose some of their force. For the strange logic of the exile invades these structrues too, works within them too, and they (the structures), like the exile, cannot be considered single, unitary, or stable. The exile steals from them their authority by the power of his or her interruption. The exile too follow this logic and the structure which both pervades the exiled individual, and which gives him or her the power for resistance. In the preceding analyses of the writings of Salman Rushdie, Bharati Mukherjee, and V. S. Naipaul, I have attempted to chart the trajectory of the logic of the exile as it passes through their writing. I have tried to put into the words (however problematically) the flow of constitution and dissolution that occurs on the boundary of both language and self, and which is what forms the particular literary power of these writers, and determines their placement as writers of the post-colonial situation. Now, in this conclusion, I would like to situate these various writers back into a dialogue with both the theory and practice of post-colonial scholarship, and attempt to see precisely how the various movements within and between the six texts that I have concentrated upon play themselves out against the wider background of the post-colonial situation. Perhaps more importantly, I wish to cement the argument I speculatively began in the preceding chapters that these three writers, though extremely different in matters of style, material, and/or execution, all present a seriously radical answer to the malaise that the post-colonial situation presents. They are certainly not, as some critics have presented them, writers who have benefited from the comforts of exile, and have been accepted into the mainstream of their chosen land (for Naipaul, England; for Mukherjee, the United States; for Rushdie, England and the United States ) unproblematically. None of them are conservative, nor are they apolitical. However, they do come to the notion of a post-colonial politics with a new mode of functioning and from a new place of departure. Their politics is not of the old kind, but of a markedly new and total aspect: the target of their revolutionary destruction cannot be put in such simple terms as party, nation or racial groups. Let us consider the various kinds of exile that make up the cast of characters within Midnight's Children, The Satanic Verses, Jasmine, The Holder of the World, The Mimic Men, and The Enigma of Arrival. In all cases these novels concentrate on the personal nature of the central character's exile. In

Developing Cross-Cultural Capabilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Developing Cross-Cultural Capabilities - Essay Example The company has its top management in the UK while it wants the rest of employees in the other countries to be locals. In the researcher's case, the manager would get adapted to the new culture easily. There are varieties of potential opportunities in the global markets. It requires managers of organizations to ensure there is the development of cross cultural capabilities. The managers should ensure their employees have the necessary knowledge that will see them blend well with foreign cultures. They have to conduct extensive research about foreign cultures. The lessons will ensure the employees have created sustainable working relations with the business community. They have to understand in depth the different communication styles and cultural patterns. The report recommends the top management of any organization has to engage in diversifying management. It will assist in creating an environment that promotes cross-cultural capabilities. It will assist in developing an interactive working environment. The report recommends for training and awareness of employees. It will play an important role in building cross-cultural capabilities. The report recommends for an organization that attracts, retain, and motivates its employees. It will be a means of the business improving its competitive margin. The business will be in a position to compete with highly competitive businesses in the global markets. Additionally, the organizations have to diversify its workforce in order to attract the top talents.

In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and in The Fifth Child Essay Example for Free

In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and in The Fifth Child Essay In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and in The Fifth Child an outsider is progressively released into an existing society destroying peace and goodness as it comes In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson the outsider is Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll is a very clever person who does not like having to be a good, respectable member of society and trying to live up to his reputation all the time. After living his life like this for a while and becoming ever more frustrated by living like this he uses his knowledge of drugs and medicine and Mr Hyde is born as the evil side of Jekylls personality. In The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing the outsider is a boy called Ben the fifth of five children from a couple called David and Harriet. David and Harriet wanted a happy family life with many children and a big house. This dream world was going fine until the outsider Ben is introduced. This essay is going to look at the similarities and differences between the two books and the two outsiders. The reader from the first time they are met views both Ben and Hyde as outsiders. Harriet just after she has given birth to Ben describes him as a troll or goblin This is certainly not the usual reaction a mother gives her new born child or creature as Harriet describes him. Ben was not like other new born babies he was muscular, yellowish, long his forehead sloped from his eyebrow to his crown. His hair grew in an unusual pattern from the double crown where started a wedge or triangle that came low on his forehead, the hair laying forward in a thick yellowish stubble. He did not look like a baby at all. The first time we meet Mr Hyde he is attacking a small child in the street trampled calmly over the childs body which is not normal practice for the normal man in the street. Stevenson makes this more horrific by saying it sounds nothing to hear but I think it does sound quite nasty to hear but it was hellish to see implying that it is much worse than it sounds. Mr Hydes appearance made the doctor who would usually have nothing to hold against Hyde turn sick and white with the desire to kill him. Later in the book Mr Utterson tries to describe Hyde there is something wrong with his appearance, something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere, he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldnt specify the point. All this suggests that Mr Hyde is not normal. Stevenson then goes to describe Hyde through his house and his front door. Mr Hydes house lies just past a market that is described as having an air of invitation, like rows of smiling sales women. Mr Hydes house is nothing like this being situated in a court and is one of a sinister block of buildings this description immediately makes you imagine a dark house with dark anti-social inhabitants. Stevenson then goes on to say the house showed no windows, nothing but a door on a lower story and the door which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained all of this is not actually just describing the house but Hyde as well. It says Hyde is a dark anti-social man that does not like visitors and does not generally fit in. In The Fifth Child there is also an object like Mr Hydes door used to describe, but this time peoples feelings and what is going on. This is the big table; it is used to show the state of the family and relationships. The table near the beginning of the book before Ben is born is full of people at Christmas who are all happy and Christmassy but when Ben is born less and less people come around until at the end of the book the table is totally empty apart from Harriet. Harriet is imagining what it used to be like before Ben was born with many people all enjoying themselves and how much better it would have been without him. Mr Hyde and Ben are both violent people. Mr Hyde had trampled over a small child in the street and killed an MP with a walking stick; both of these people were people that someone of Hydes age should have been stronger than, an old man and a small child. Ben had sprained his older brothers arm and attacked an older girl in the playground, both of these people should have been able to overpower someone of Bens age but Ben seems to be abnormally strong. When Ben was a small baby his mother did not breast-feed him like she did with her others because it hurt too much the child looked at her and bit, hard. This may suggest that Ben is more evil than Hyde in being able to attack people that should be stronger than him. Stevenson describes the event of Hyde trampling a small child in a different way to the way Lessing describes how Ben attacks a girl in the playground. Stevenson tells the story through Mr Enfield who is talking to Mr Utterson but Lessing uses Harriets thoughts to tell the story of Ben. Stevenson doesnt just describe what Hyde did to the girl he goes on and makes the incident more realistic and tries to compare Hyde with other things such as a juggernaut to provoke more feeling in the reader it sounds nothing to hear but it was hellish to see. Lessing on the other hand describes Bens actions almost as a series of bullet points, stating what he did and nothing else he had pulled her down, bitten her and bent her arm back until it broke. For this reason, that Stevenson used more description in parts of his book I can find parts of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde more believable and mare memorable. These parts of the two books also show how far apart they were written. In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Stevenson uses the word juggernaut, which then meant a large unstoppable force but in todays world has become to be associated with large lorries. Also in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde there are few women and the ones we do hear about are servants or maids but in the Fifth Child there are many women and one of the most important people in the book, Harriet, is a woman. We also do not hear many people called by their first names in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but in the Fifth Child last names are seldom used. The title of this essay I agree with most of except for the part that says, progressively released. This part of the statement is true for Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, as Mr Hyde is only really understood at the end of the book he is not easy to describe. In the Fifth Child Ben is thrown into the middle of everything suddenly and can even be different before he was bourn David felt a jolt under his hand. The second part of this statement destroying peace and goodness as it comes I totally agree with. In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Hyde causes Jekyll so much pain that eventually he commits suicide. In the Fifth Child Ben scares Harriet and David off having any more children and breaks the family apart by making some of Harriets other children go to boarding school and by making them go and live with relatives.

Ethical Decisions Scenario Analysis Essay Example for Free

Ethical Decisions Scenario Analysis Essay Reflection Question: Discuss whether you generally make ethical decisions using a traditional or a modern ethical model. Provide an example using an experience you have had in your daily life. I would have to say that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. Being true to oneself is ethically speaking. I used to get detention in HS and being an honor student really hurt me. Peer pressure was another feeling that couldn’t be surpassed. Stress and anxiety are add-ons to one’s life experience. I have both. Depression is yet another I have not really dealt with. These feelings are not mutual and do not come easily. Ethics are the study of moral standards and how they affect conduct, by definition. Traditional ethics are from the past and are from the way that people thought about morals and the way that life should be lived back then. Modern ethics came from traditional ethics, but were revised a bit to fit in with new times and with new ways of thinking. Ethics are a part of everyone’s lives. Both are similar, but I believe that the development with the two came from within a person. Someone did not just make up how a person feels inside. A person knows right from wrong from being taught. With that  being said, a person would know that stealing is wrong and that there would be something inside of them saying something like if you take that money from that person that is wrong and you will feel bad if you have good morals. Both forms of ethics have changed through the years and are now at what is called the modern ethics that we have adjusted to fit into today’s society. I would think that the biggest connection between the two forms of ethics is that it is based on morals and how a person feels deep down inside. I feel that it is based on what your heart tells you.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Analysis

Intercontinental Hotels Group Analysis Intercontinental Hotel Groups is an international hotel company that has a goal that it always aims at achieving is that to create Great hotels that the Guests love. Intercontinental hotels group which is also known in short form as IHG has more guest rooms available under their banner than any other hotel group. IHG has grown from a very small company to a massive company handling various branded hotel properties under its wings. IHG has more than 650.000 rooms in over 4,400 hotels across 100 countries the total stays that are done by guest in the IHG properties is over 130 million every year. 1(IHG website) With a clear view of what are its priorities, IHGs main purpose is creating Great Hotels Guests Love with everything done focused on the guest the staff. It operates hotels in three different ways as a franchisor, a manager and on an owned and leased basis. It also operates seven leading hotel brands InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. It also manages the worlds largest hotel loyalty programme in the industry known as the, Priority Club Rewards, which has 48 million members worldwide. IHG is molded around these three regions: The Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Asia Pacific. 2(IHG Annual Report) 1 Strategic Corporate Development History of IHG: The formation of IHG has gone through various stages as any other company would have gone through which was taken successfully by William Bass who had a brewery in 1777 slowly but gradually entered in the hotel industry by acquisition of a breweries like the Mitchells Butlers in the 1960s which grew considerably large which when the government realized issued orders in legislations that breweries cannot hold on a large number of pubs which then made Bass reduce the pubs it owned dramatically which triggered a huge amount of cash flow which gave Bass an ability to develop an international hotel business which started with the acquisitions of a few hotel groups like Holiday Inn in 1988 also launched the Holiday Inn Express to be complementary to the Holiday Inn brand, side by side Bass grew his pub business side by side acquired The Harvester Chain of Restaurants in 1994 also launched its new brand of hotels known as Crown Plaza Hotels resorts climbing up to the upscale hotel mar ket. In 1996 bass tried to acquire  ½ of Carlsberg Tetley which again was hampered by the UK government which helps Bass to come back on line concentrate on the hotels pubs divisions leaving breweries aside. A year later in 1997 the hotel business focus becomes truly brand focused because Bass had already sold a few north American midscale hotels but held back to the brand name of the hotels through franchising agreements. Also that year Bass created launched a new brand of hotels known as the Staybridge Suites which was targeted at the upscale hotel market. Staybridge suites became the fastest brand in this upscale segment to reach 50 units in America. In 1998 Bass acquired the intercontinental hotel company, adding adding to its fold another upscale brand to its hotel portfolio. It was another considerable acquisition to cost saving synergies to the fold of hotel portfolio run by Bass. In 1999 Bass again acquired 550 handpicked high potential sites in UK also a strong 3500 strong pub estate from allied domecq. In 2000 Bass went on to acquire the Southern Pacific Corporation (SPHC) in Australia, which guaranteed Basss position as the leading hotel company in Asia Pacific. Later in the year Bass sold of his Bass breweries for 2.3 billion pounds. This was the final step by Bass to completely focusing on being the international hospitality retailer from being a domestic brewer a process which took a long period of 10 years to complete. Over the period of time Bass sold off name of bass and changed the name to Six Continents PLC. a name which it bettered into to reflect the global spread of the groups business. In the month of February 2001 Six Continents sold 988 of its smaller unbranded pubs for 625million pounds, which further funded the buying of the European Posthouse chain of hotels for 810million pounds. The acquisition of this company which had strategically placed hotels could be converted to Holiday Inn concentrating the Holiday Inn brand in UK Europe. Later that year it went on to acquire Intercontinental Hong Kong for 241 Million pounds strengthening its position in the Chinese Asia Pacific markets. On 1st October 2002 Six Continents Plc announced its separation of the groups hotel soft drinks businesses (to be called Inter Continental Group Plc) from the retail business (to be called Mitchells Butlers Plc) of which 700 million Pounds of the proceedings returned capital to shareholders. The whole procedure of separation was completed on the 15th of April 2003. Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG) from then on is a distinct, discrete company, listed in the UK US stock markets. In July 2003 IHG sold Staybridge Suites to Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) entered into a 20year management agreement. Later in the year they added a midscale extended stay brand Candlewood Suites to its portfolio. In the year 2004 IHG announced the introduction of a new brand, hotel Indigo which focused on providing affordable boutique accommodation. In the same month, the group adopted new standards for selling and re-selling hotel rooms for guest stay through online travel companies. Following the success of the Up Scale market brand of Staybridge Suites North America IHG launched its extension of Staybridge suites to UK in April2005. Also in 2005 IHG went ahead disposed of its soft drinks 100% holdings in Britvic Plc. With this disposal IHG became a company with a pure hotel focus. In 2006 IHG went ahead signed a joint venture with All Nippon Airways (ANA), resulting the following projects IHG ANA hotels group Japan will be the largest international hotel operator in Japan, the worlds second largest hotel market. The deal saw the introduction of three new brands created for Japan. ANA-IHG, ANA-Crowne Plaza ANA Holiday Inn. In the year 2007 IHG announces that a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand family, comprising Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn Holiday Inn Express. The re launch was done with the intention of giving it a refreshed contemporary brand image. All the hotels were supposed to have completed the re launch in 2010 with the 1st re launch taking place in 2008. In the year 2008 after the re launches of Holiday Inn taking place Staybridge Suites extended its brand more in UK the first Hotel Indigo opened in London. In 2009 the1500th hotel was relaunched over the 40% of Holiday Inn Holiday Inn Express. Strategy used from the start to the current time period: Bass the main brain behind the whole formation of the Intercontinental Hotel Group has played a major role in the slow but steady growth of this company from a small company to a worldwide known company. Bass has grown this huge group through the basis of trial error round which he has experimented in various concepts of owning then selling then franchising finally managing properties. Bass has being following the linear model of growth through various acquisitions. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC was formed by the separation of Six Continents PLC (previously Bass PLC) on 15 April 2003. The restaurant and pubs part of Six Continents became Mitchells Butlers plc. However, IHGs brands trace their history back much further than 2003. Our Holiday Inn brand, one of the worlds most recognized was created in the 1950s by Kemmons Wilson in the US. InterContinental, another of our brands was created by Pan Am in the 1940s, when hotels were built in many of Pan Ams destinations. 3(ihg.com) Over the past few years, Intercontinental hotels group has maintained itself strategically to be more efficient and effective and make full use of their global status. A predominantly franchised and managed, fee-based business was the main focus of IHG. The strategy that IHG followed made their income stream predictable with a strong cash generation which allowed it to continue in growth because all their new hotels were funded by third-party investment. IHG went ahead and relaunched Holiday Inn in 2007 and although the unexpected economic circumstances that came by IHG during that time period, it went on and got on with the $1 billion programme because of the belief of the heads of IHG that it was exactly the right time to go ahead with the relaunches. The relaunch went on to building back peoples perceptions of Holiday Inn. The guest wanting to try Holiday Inn with IHG with its value theyre giving the Brand once down another try and liking and accepting what they found. Guest satisfaction was going up and owners could see the Revenue per rooms out perform. These economic circumstances might seem like a great reason to shy away from making such big changes, but time will show that it is both a very opportune and very effective initiative for this, our biggest brand, as quoted by the CEO of IHG Mr. Andrew Cosslett. 3 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 Current strategy used by Intercontinental Hotels Group: Bass the main brain behind the whole formation of the Intercontinental Hotel Group has played a major role in the slow but steady growth of this company from a small company to a worldwide known company which currently has an operating strength of 4400 hotels with 130 million guests visiting a year and under its umbrella has and widely known and reputed hotel brands covering all the major segments of the market, also have a reservations system which consists of 10 call centers in 29 languages it has also strived to be the top leader in the market has been able to position itself through its strategy of growing doing retailing in hotel sector have been able to position itself among the 6 largest hotel market, much more than any other company. Intercontinental hotel group has also been able to make the no.1 website for its guests investors in 13 different languages. They also have a global sales team of 8000 to conduct the sales of the hotels situated all over the 100 countries that they have their presence. Intercontinental hotels also has a loyalty programme which offers priority club rewards which are largest in the industry for over 48milllion of the guests which has been planned so strategically that . It has been stated on IHGs website that We have moved from investing heavily in hotel properties to return to our roots as a hotel franchise and management company with only a few owned assets. This change of focus has led to an industry-leading asset sale programme. Since 2003 we have sold  £2.9 billion worth of property. Many of these hotels have remained under our brands with management or franchise contracts, thereby creating a future income stream for IHG 4 (ihg.com). Over the past few months, IHGs continued growth in new rooms has helped to put off some of the revenue lost from Revenue per room declines. Driving in coming revenue into the hotels had been a priority and its system is the key to delivering this. Their system comprises of world class reservations centres, websites, global sales teams and Priority Club Rewards loyalty scheme and delivered 68 per cent of rooms revenue to the hotels in 2009. Reducing the overall cost base of IHG was crucial to managing through the downturn. IHG was already reducing costs to run the properties more effectively but with the economic downturn they steeped up the pace of change that was being gradually run. While they were reducing costs by taking better advantage of their way of operation as well their spread being worldwide, this also forced them to make reductions in the number of staff which unfortunately impacted jobs of IHG staff all over in the majority of properties. All these actions were taken in 2009 to reduce costs, while it was a very difficult period of the economic downturn; it allowed IHG to save a lot of cash and continue its investments in those things that attract guests to come to its hotels and revenues to the owners. The great working relationship that IHG shares with the owners of their properties, both directly and through the IAHI, which is IHGs Owners Association, has also been major contributor to the quick recovery also to the massive expansion taking place. By working alongside with the hotel owners, IHGs able to focus on the guest experience and on delivering Great Hotels Guests Love. 5 (ihg.com). 4http://www.ihgplc.com/files/reports/ar2009/files/pdf/2009_Annual_Report.pdf 5http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 The 48 million members of IHGs Priority Club Rewards programme remained loyal though the economic downturn and had been most supportive during the difficult times. Not only did these guests stay with IHG more often, they spent more when they did. A guests loyalty can never be taken for granted it is something that can take years to achieve and seconds to lose. So IHG had made sure they have continued to add benefits to the loyalty programme right through the downturn, and made membership of it even more worthwhile. In 2009 it enrolled six million new members into the programme thats a significant number of people whose first choice will now be to stay in one of IHGs hotels. IHGs future growth will be achieved predominantly through franchising and managing rather than owning hotels which in turn will drive down costs increase profits by the fact that all the investment in the hotels would be done by third parties. Approximately 641,000 rooms operating under the Group brands are franchised or managed and 5,800 rooms are owned and leased. The franchised and managed fee-based model is attractive because it enables the Group to achieve its goals with limited capital investment at an accelerated pace. A further advantage is the reduced volatility of the fee-based income stream, compared with ownership of assets. A key characteristic of the franchised and managed business is that it generates more cash than is required for investment in the business, with a high return on capital employed. Currently 87% of continuing earnings before regional and central overheads, exceptional items, interest and tax is derived from franchised and managed operations. The Current Strategies followed by IHG Hotels Group: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 90% of deals signed in scale markets and key gateway cities; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 10 signings of Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites outside of North America; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 439 hotels opened globally. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increased proportion of revenue delivery through IHG global reservations channels and PCR members direct by four percentage points to an average 68% of global hotel rooms revenue in 2009 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Major procurement savings made; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increased use of offshore transaction processing; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technology infrastructure developed to support owner management and loyalty marketing. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Continued to cascade Great Hotels Guests Love in hotels and corporate offices; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Meeting ongoing resourcing requirements to match hotel growth in scale markets; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Managing employee engagement; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continued focus on attracting and retaining talent. 1,697 relaunched Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels open around the world; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Industry-leading Priority Club Rewards (PCR) loyalty programme with 48 million members, contributing $5.6bn of global system rooms revenue à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Green Engage sustainability management system developed (patent pending); rolled out to over 900 hotels by 31 December 2009; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Extensive consumer research undertaken to quantify green opportunity with consumers; and (IHG annual report) 3 Future strategies to be used by Intercontinental Hotels Group: IHGs prime focus should be on growing faster by making its brands the first choice for both guests and hotel owners. We will do this by building the hotel industrys strongest operating system, focused on the biggest markets and segments where scale really counts. 5 (ihg.com). During these tough economic times, IHG had taken decisive action both to strengthen the efficiency of its businesses and to keep their course with its growth strategy. IHG should continue to invest in its staff, its systems and its brands, while moving even closer in working relationships with its hotel owners and partners. With momentum and a united, winning spirit inside the business, IHG is well placed to make the most of the upturn when it comes. As quoted by the CEO of IHG Mr. Andrew Cosslett. IHGs Ambition IHG should focus on its core purpose of creating Great Hotels Guests Love as the moto has always been, which is a growing crave to deliver among other key performance indicators (KPIs), closely enduring top quartile shareholders returns when measured against a broad global hotel peer group. For the three-year period of 2007 to 2009, IHG was fourth among its peers on Total Shareholder Return (TSR) and should always remain focused and try to come to the 1st position. Measuring IHG against a collection of specific KPIs aimed at delivering its core purpose, cascaded to the hotel level. Successful performance against various combinations of these metrics would result in higher profitability.. IHGs Future Strategy: IHGs strategy has seen significant development through 2009 as it moved to make its core purpose a reality, despite challenging economic circumstances. In 2009, IHG took a hard look at its operations and capabilities to focus on what really matters most to deliver Great Hotels Guests Love. It has backed this up with a major effort to align its staff and measure the most important drivers, resulting in a clear, target-based programme within the hotels to motivate teams and guide behaviors. IHGs strategy encompasses two key aspects: Where does it choose to compete; and How will it win where it competes? The Groups underlying Where strategy is that IHG would grow a portfolio of differentiated hospitality brands in select strategic countries and global key cities to maximise the scale advantage. The How aspect of our strategy flows from our core purpose and our research at the hotel level as to what really makes a difference for guests. In support of this overall strategy there are key priorities like Where we compete and How we win. To help IHGs hotels and corporate staff measure their efforts in achieving Great Hotels Guests Love, IHG provides clear metrics aligned with the four How we win priorities against which progress is gauged. The Group strategy also translates into specific regional objectives and priorities. . IHGs Delivery System:C:UsersdDesktopUntitled.png Driving demand IHGs operating system is made up of all the things we do to drive demand for our brands. This includes our advertising and marketing campaigns, our 10 global call centres, 13 local language websites, an 8,000-strong sales force, Priority Club Rewards the worlds largest hotel loyalty scheme which has 48 million members and all the advantages that IHGs global hotel distribution and scale brings to brand awareness. Hotel distribution IHG has over 4,400 hotels in over 100 countries worldwide. Our brands are in the top 3 in 7 of the 12 largest hotel markets in the world. When people travel, they look for familiar brands they know from home, increasing the demand for hotels that operate under our brands around the world. Advertising and marketing Each year, IHGs franchisees pay a fee into a central fund. This fund is used on their behalf for marketing and promotions to drive guest demand for IHGs brands. Brand sponsorships, television and print advertising campaigns and public relations activity across the globe are all ways in which the fund can be used. Priority Club Rewards IHGs Priority Club Rewards is the largest hotel loyalty scheme in the world, with 48 million members. Web presence The 13 local language websites take over 7.4 million bookings a year theyre a shop window for the hotels across the world under IHG,s banner, 365 days a year. www.holiday-inn.com is one of the industrys most visited websites, notching up 75 million site visits in 2005. The websites operate in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. Reservation system IHG,s 10 global reservation offices are available to take hotel bookings from guests 24 hours a day in 26 languages including Arabic, Cantonese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog and Thai. They deal with 700 transactions per minute. Sales force IHG have a global sales force of more than 8,000 professionals throughout the world, talking about and selling the booking of hotels under our brands to individuals and companies. Considering the future strategy which is goin to be used to the growth achievement of IHG are as follows: Consumer understanding: As one of the worlds largest hotel groups, IHG has gained valuable insights into where and how consumers seek hotel information and make reservations across various channels and from various local, regional and global sources. This information has shaped the way we engage with our customers and enabled us to drive up returns for owners. Global Reservations System All IHG hotels benefit from the worlds most advanced reservation system Holidex Plus.The system links more than 230,000 terminals worldwide and processes over 130 million stays a year thats about 700 transactions per second. This is serviced by our 12 worldwide reservation centres which receive up to 14 million calls annually in 15 different languages. Global Distribution Systems (GDS) Our reservation systems also link with all the major GDS, the channel of choice for travel professionals and large corporate buyers. This gives us global around the clock access to the travel trade. IHG online Our websites continue to be a fast-growing reservation channel. They offer a comprehensive, customer-friendly and secure booking service in 13 languages and provide a low cost of sale. We receive more than 5 million unique web visitors per month and also benefit from the lowest clicks-to-book rate in the industry. Worldwide sales IHGs worldwide sales team is more than 8,000 strong. As well as generating new revenue, the team also manages key corporate and agent accounts and provides local hotel sales support to maximise revenue and keep IHG hotels top of mind. 6 (IHG.com) Some Of the Future Milestones to be achieved: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue international roll-out of Staybridge Suites and Hotel Indigo; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Execute growth strategies in agreed scale markets; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue to leverage scale and build improved strategic position during the economic downturn Increase global sales force effectiveness; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue further procurement programmes to identify efficiencies; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Begin migration to next-generation revenue management IT systems; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue focus on owned and managed estate margins and return on capital employed (ROCE), especially in our key InterContinental assets. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Drive greater efficiency and simplicity through better use of technology; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Focus on developing skills to support the key goals for responsible business, guest experience and financial returns. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Complete Holiday Inn repositioning roll-out; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue to simplify brand standards process to improve owner returns without impairing guest experience; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue to enhance experience for PCR members in hotels and across global reservations channels; increase IHG business from PCR members à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Continue to roll out the Green Engage sustainability management system to 100% of our owned and managed hotels and expand into the franchised estate in all three regions; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Focus on innovation within new and existing brands to deliver valued green related hotels and services to guests. (IHG annual report) 6 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=293 BIBLOGRAPHY: 1http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=16 2http://www.ihgplc.com/files/reports/ar2009/files/pdf/2009_Annual_Report.pdf 3 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 4http://www.ihgplc.com/files/reports/ar2009/files/pdf/2009_Annual_Report.pdf 5http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 6 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=293

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Essay -- sexuality, biology, ch

In today’s day in age, different sexualities and gender identities are quickly becoming more accepted in mainstream society. Despite this change, there are many people who believe that having a different sexual orientation or gender identity is a choice that is frowned upon. In order to refute this belief, research and biology of the brain is necessary. Researching the brain on the basis of sexuality is a fairly new topic of discussion because it is somewhat difficult and confusing. This paper will explore the different identities of gender, sex and sexual orientation and the main biological reasons behind these. There is also some validity of different sexual orientations and identities through the evidence of sexual disorders like Klinefelter’s and Turner’s Syndrome and gender dysphoria. In order to discuss the biology of gender identity and sexual orientation, it is necessary to first examine the differences between multiple definitions that are often mistakenly interchanged: sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Sexual orientation is defined by LeVay (2011) as â€Å"the trait that predisposes us to experience sexual attraction to people of the same sex as ourselves, to persons of the other sex, or to both sexes† (p. 1). The typical categories of sexual orientation are homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Vrangalova and Savin-Williams (2012) found that most people identify as heterosexual, but there are also groups of people that identify as mostly heterosexual and mostly gay within the three traditional categories (p. 89). This is to say that there are not three concrete groups, but sexual orientation is a continuum and one can even fluctuate on it over time. LeVay (2011) also defines gender as â€Å"the ... ...ved October 9, 2015 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/klinefelter-syndrome/DS01057. Swaab, D. F. & Garcia-Falgueras, A. (2009). Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation. Functional Neurology, 24(1), 17-28. Turner Syndrome Society. (2011). Learn about TS: Fact Sheet. Turner Syndrome Society of the United States. Retrieved October 9, 2015 from http://turnersyndrome.org/learn-about-ts/fact-sheet Vrangalova, Z., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2012). Mostly heterosexual and mostly gay/lesbian: Evidence for new sexual orientation identities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 85-101. doi: 10.1007/s10505- 012-9921-y. Zhang, S., Liu, Y., & Rao, Y. (2013). Serotonin signaling in the brain of adult female mice is required for sexual preference. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(24), 9968-9973.

Essay --

Review of Literature We live in a world where academic succession leads to better opportunities and a prosperous life. But in order to obtain academic language and understanding, a person has to be successful in reading. It is said you cannot do well and achieve in Science, Social Studies, and Math if you cannot read and apprehend what you read. How could you understand a Science lab report, how could you analyze a History article, and how could you solve a multiplication word problem if you cannot read? Reading is crucial. Learning to read begins at home. â€Å"Parents play a key role in their children’s literacy development and school success† (Piper, 2010, p.48). In a national survey of 22,000 public schoolteachers, 90 percent indicate that a lack of parental support is a problem (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1988). In order for students to succeed academically in reading it is important for parents to get involve and assist their child with endless effort and time. Schools are required to educate a child, but teachers cannot do the job alone. More burdens are placed on teachers with less support from home (Lickona, 1991). This literature review was embarked on in an effort to investigate the question: how does parent involvement at home with reading fluency strategies affect students’ performance with automaticity and prosody? Researchers focus on ways to encourage and engage parents to get involve in their child’s education and disseminate what effects of parental involvement in reading have on the improvement of students’ reading fluency. This literature review scrutinize: ways to overcome obstacles or barriers of parental involvement, the importance of... ...hols, W. D., & Rickelman, R. J. (2000). Effects of parental involvement in developing competent readers in first grade. Reading Psychology, Vol.21 Issue 3, p. 195-215. Mapp, K. L. (2003). Having their say: parents describe why and how they are engaged in their children’s learning. School Community Journal, Vol.13, No.1, p. 35-64. Lincoln, USA: Academic Development Institute. Morrow, L. M., Kuhn, M. R., & Schwanenflugel, P. J. (2006). The family fluency program. The Reading Teacher, Vol.60, No.4, p.322- 333. Musti- Rao, S. & Cartledge, G. (2004). Making home an advantage in the prevention of reading failure: strategies for collaborating with parents in urban schools. Preventing School Failure, Summer 2004, Vol. 48, Issue 4, p. 15- 21 Piper, L. E. (2010). Parental Involvement in Reading. Illinois Reading Council Journal, Spring 2010, Vol. 38, No.2, p. 48-51.