The Different Lifestyle Issues that Affect Peoples Health

Introduction This essay discusses the different life style issues that affect people’s health. Many diseases and disorders result from lifestyle choices. Through life style changes, individuals can afford a life free from diseases. Physical exercise and proper relaxation have been identified as critical to avoiding stress, obesity and even other complicated conditions like cancer.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Different Lifestyle Issues that Affect People’s Health specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More By avoiding smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, individuals avoid associated diseases and social problems. This essay covers issues to do with stress, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, diabetes and cancer. For each of the mentioned issues, I consider the causes and best ways of stopping or limiting related destructive behavior. Stress Stress happens when we are stretched or straining. Straini ng can happen in the psychological, physical, emotional or mental self. When one thinks a lot, it will translate into stress. The same happens when one does too much physical activity. Stress can largely be associated with unhealthy lifestyles. Unhealthy lifestyles are characterized by overdoing of some things and neglect of given aspects of self. For example, people who over eat are likely to suffer from stress induced by effects of overweight. Stress often registers both as a feeling and a physical condition (Ratcliff 69). Some people realize they are stressed when they start to behave in certain awkward ways e.g. making simple mistakes at work. Stress induces sleeplessness, headaches, stomachaches, general tension in the body, general fatigue, bouts of anger, nervousness, lack of appetite, overeating, mood swings, loss of enthusiasm for life and unexplained anxiety (Ratcliff 52). The signs and symptoms vary from individual to individual. In extreme cases, individuals turn to drug abuse or alcoholic tendencies when stressed. To avoid stress, individuals have to learn to balance work and relaxation. Life is neither about work nor leisure. Everything has to be done in the right dose i.e. work hard but also relax enough. For students, stress management would require budgeting well for time. The timetables should allow for study time, physical exercise time and some time of pure relaxation. Tobacco Tobacco smoking has been practiced for a very long time. Many people smoke tobacco for pleasure. Smoking is an addiction that people take to out of influence especially from company. Tobacco has chemical properties so that when inhaled they activate the body and make the body alert (Connolly 22).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Smoking tobacco has been scientifically proved to be the cause of many breathes system related complications and cancer. Smoke particle p erforate the lungs in the long run leading to lung failure or lung cancers (Connolly 37). It is also known that tobacco smoke contains carcinogens which affect body cells making them cancerous. Widespread smoking is associated with advertisement or marketing campaigns by tobacco companies. In the advertisement, thought currently, highly restricted, smokers were depicted as the cool guys (Connolly 75). Smoking was associated with achievement or being super. Currently, despite antismoking campaigns, smoking continues. As an individual, I can not imagine myself smoking because there is no recorded benefit that one gains from smoking. More sensitization and legislation against tobacco smoking is a sure way of stopping and limiting smoking. Alcohol Alcohol is used almost world wide. Continued use of alcoholic drinks results in addiction and development of health problems. Individuals who are addicted to alcohol have a compulsion to be drunk always. Stress, socio-economic problems or frus tration is the key reason why people become alcoholics. Those who start taking alcohol at a young age are more likely to become alcohol dependent (Goodwin 18). Alcoholism has many negative effects in the life of an individual. Continued dependence on alcohol translates into an individual draining his or her finances. Alcohol is one of the greatest expenditure for alcoholics. Alcoholics develop ill health due to the effect of alcohol on the liver (Goodwin 10). There are also a number of cognitive problems associated with excessive consumption of alcohol. Alcoholics also develop negative social behavior e.g. withdrawing from social activity, becoming abusive and intolerant. In the extreme conditions, alcoholism makes individuals to develop suicidal behavior; when drunk, the fear of doing the unthinkable is found. Furthermore, alcoholics tend towards violence and such deviance as rape or other crimes. Alcoholism is managed through use of medicines and therapy (Goodwin 133). It is consi dered that given the effects of alcohol on the body, detoxification or purification is necessary. Group therapy or counseling is necessary to help people confront and acknowledge that alcoholism is a problem they have. Group therapy is encouraging as it helps one realize there are others suffering from the same but breaking from it is possible. The best way of dealing with alcoholism is avoiding alcohol completely.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Different Lifestyle Issues that Affect People’s Health specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Drugs Drug abuse is use of generally associated with use of certain drugs that make an individual psychoactive or enhances performance (Abadinsky 2). There are a number of drugs that produce unhealthy reactions in the human body. They suppress the nervous system, induce over secretion of fight or flight hormones, or generally lead to over-excitement. In the long run, such drugs either impair ones mental capacity or physical performance. Examples of such drugs include opium, cocaine, heroine etc. although the drugs, on the short term, induce a happy feeling in the user; in the long run they are addictive and affect the individual adversely. Drug abuse often causes individuals a lot of problems. When found out, drug abuse often carries some form of criminal penalty. People who abuse drugs also have high propensity towards violence, unprotected sex, lawlessness, crime, and suicide. Drug abuse also leads to addiction or dependence that makes individuals virtually unproductive. It has been proved that some drugs when used cause physiological damage to the brain and the nervous system (Abadinsky 18). Many psychiatric problems result from drug abuse e.g. smoking of bhang. Generally, efforts to limit or control abuse of drugs are effected through legislation and harmful effect sensitization. It is criminal to handle or use certain substances such as heroine or cocaine (Abadinsky 37). Government, non governmental organizations and even religions do a lot to sensitize community against drug abuse. As an individual, being principled and avoiding peer pressure comes in handy in avoiding the drug abuse traps. Diabetes Diabetes is a condition that results in the body not being able to regulate blood sugar. This is caused by the pancreas producing less or too much insulin (Moran and Merriman 3). Due to the insulin available being in abnormal amount, it does not work properly producing an abnormal condition in the body. This happens when one eats too many sugary food stuffs, due to bacteria attack or exposure to chemical toxins. Although diabetes is sometimes inherited, many cases of the disease are acquired due to lifestyle related issues. Eating of sugary things contributes in a big way to occurrence of diabetes cases (Moran and Merriman 41). From very early ages, parents often find themselves trapped in appeasing their children with sweet t hings as cakes and sweets. However, these sweet foods only increase blood sugar to the level where the pancreas becomes overworked or the insulin produced is not enough to facilitate breakdown of sugar. Lack of physical exercise also contributes in a big way to sugar levels going high (Moran and Merriman 73). Physical exercise uses energy which is obtained from breakdown of sugar thus leading to reduction of blood sugar levels.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To avoid diabetes, one has to regulate the amount of sugary foods he or she takes. Physical exercise is critical for proper metabolism and catabolism in the body. This helps towards breakdown or use of much blood sugar, reducing risk of overworking pancreas. Cancer Cancer refers to a condition when body cells grow uncontrollably forming a lump called a tumor. There are different kinds of tumor that register in the body in different ways. Some cancerous cells (cells that are growing abnormally and replicating out of control) spread around the body while others are often localized. When cancerous lumps or tumors form, they affect the normal flow in the body. They normal destroy the body system within which they grow. Cancer is believed to be hereditary i.e. it inherited through the genetic disposition in families. Old age is the second uncontrollable factor that disposes people to cancer. In old age the immune system becomes weaker and possibility of cell mutations I higher. However, it also largely depends on exposure to certain risks in life. Carcinogens are known to increase likelihood of getting cancer as they damage DNA thus leading to cells growing uncontrollably (Anderson 29). Smoking is widely believed to be the number one contributor to carcinogens presence in the human body. Carcinogen is also accessed through inhaling exhaust fumes. Many sexually transmitted disease causing viruses are also closely associated with cancer and they lower body immunity. Eating a poor diet puts an individual at the risk of cancer because body immunity and proper cell formation is depended on diet. Lack of exercising and obesity are associated with cancer because proper functioning of body is affected. Cancer can be prevented through avoiding of certain destructive behaviors. Smoking and drinking alcohol only raise the risks of getting cancer. Individuals have to avoid expressing themselves to the chemicals and radiation that is also associated with cell mutation (Anderson 123). Individuals have to eat right because health largely depends on what individuals eat. Conclusion This essay considers the different destructive behaviors that people engage in. From the different issues discussed, it is clear that lifestyle choices play a critical role in ensuring health living. It is advisable that individuals eat well, avoid smoking, resist any form of drug abuse, do physical exercises and avoid exposure to harmful chemicals or radiation to avoid risk of disease or other social defects. Works Cited Abadinsky Howard. Drug Abuse: An Introduction.3rd Ed. Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1997 Anderson, Greg. Cancer: 50 Essential Things to Do. 3rd Ed. New York: Plume, 2009. Connolly, Sean. Tobacco. Mankato: Black Rabbit Books, 2006. Goodwin, Donald W. Alcoholism, the Facts.3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 Moran, Katherine, and Merriman Lisa. Diabetes: The Ultimate Teen Guide.  New York:Scarecrow Press, 2004 Ratcliffe, Gail. Take Control Of Your Li fe: The Five Step Stress Management Plan. London: Simon Schuster, 1995 This essay on The Different Lifestyle Issues that Affect People’s Health was written and submitted by user Luka Silva to help you with your own studies. 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buy custom Drugs essay Drugs that help in enhancing loss of appetite have been found suitable in helping obese patients to reduce and maintain a health body weight. However, these drugs are not and should never be treated as an equivalent of a balanced diet or body exercise .The effectiveness if these drugs have proven to be linked to a well balanced diet and physical exercise (Peeters Laurie., 2007). Its one of the most recent drug discovered and approved by FDA to be effective in decreasing appetite thus leading to loss of weight especially for obese patients. It works in the stomach and in the duodenum by hindering the digestion of fat by 30 percent. Unlike other drugs, it has no effect on the brain and this is its main strength since its very safe for people suffering from hypertension and has less heart risks (Peeters Laurie., 2007). Also it can be used over a long period of time unlike other drugs which are nomally for short time use. If a person with obese is given this medication, it will help in eliminating all the excessive fats in his/her body but in additional to the drug, fatty foods are discouraged and physical exercise is emphasised on (Adrian Martin., 2004). It can be used for a long period of time Safe and preferable for people who may be suffering from heart problems or diabetes Has no effect on the brain which may be dangerous to a patients health. Its the only drug that has been found to be harmless when used for obese patients who are under the age of eighteen years. It is approved in case where an obese patient is in a critical condition. Xenical drug is said to help in lowering cholesterol in the body thus cancels the chance of getting a heart disease. Have a good effect on sugar and body chemicals and this reduces the chances of getting diabetes. Use of the Xenical drug to decrease appetite in order to treat obesity have been found to have some weaknesses on those that use them. Such negative effects include: slight headpains, feeling dizzy, anxiety and feeling restless. The use of this drug may also result to an increase in the bowel movement and frequent visit to the latrine if the patient fails to avoid fatty foots. This is a type of study where similar measures are taken severally on similar objects but under different circumstances. For instance, to test on the effects and efficiency of Xenical on obese patients, a patients weight may be measured after a using the drug for a certain period of time and compare it to when they take another drug such as; Meridia for the same purpose. Buy custom Drugs essay

Economic Growth Rate Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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The concept of sky credit card Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The concept of sky credit card - Essay Example From the research it can be comprehended that aggressive marketing and easy availability of credit cards has resulted in credit cards being used to finance consumer purchases as a way of life. Research suggests that socialization as a consumer begins in infancy with children making their first purchase at the average age of eight years. There has been a change in attitude towards credit card which implies that consumers are more willing to use credit to finance their consumption. The widespread us of credit cards reflects the consumer preference for using credit cards and technological advancements have made it possible for the creditors to offer revolving credit. The credit card has allowed for convenience in purchasing but still one needs to go to the shops and cash machines to use the credit card. For the first time, Sky TV and Barclays have joined hands to introduce an interactive credit card known as Sky Credit Card which offers the convenience to make purchases right from the c omfort of the living room through the television. The users will be able to place the SkyCard in the second slot of their set-top boxes and through the remote control they can manage their accounts and make purchases. The attitude-behavior relationship in consumer finance differs from that in social settings. The consumers may have favorable attitudes towards borrowing but having low incomes poor credit history may impose constraints on the level of credit that they would like to enjoy.

Security Risks Associated With VoIP Implementation Research Paper

Security Risks Associated With VoIP Implementation - Research Paper Example Part 2 gives detailed descriptions of the testing or test cases. Part 3 discusses groups that will be affected by the tests. Part 4 discusses those who will be involved with testing. Part 5 discusses how results will be assessed. Part 6 gives the changes that will be made as a result of the testing. Part 7 discusses how to test the security risks in the 250K company. Chapter 4 gives the summary, findings, conclusions and recommendations. Many businesses internationally have applied Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as a substitute for the traditional Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) as stated by Ransome and Rittinghouse (2005, pp. 278-302). The improvement of VoIP offers a wide range of advantages ranging from saving of cost, efficiency in staff operations to offering improved shopping encounter for customers. These benefits go a long way in enhancing a business' competence and offers market leadership and dominance. Business management may be able to expand its competitive advantage by making use of the benefits that VoIP offers while considering some risks that should be dealt with by giving remedies and avoiding them altogether. The management of these risks is in the end the onus of the company management. These risks may range from compromising of high quality delivery, controlling of expenses that are security related to call hijacking among others. It is important to appreciate here that these risks offer huge drawbacks to business performance and their mitigation is a key factor that requires a great deal of management's attention. The paper is aimed at providing management with insight into what the risks of VoIP are. 1.2 Situational analysis In business, it is the task of the management to deploy, coordinate, allocate and combine inputs or resources in such a way that the goals of the organization are achieved as effectively as possible (Wallingford, 2005, pp. 245-263). In a business these resources are categorized into information, physical, human and financial resources. The former is quickly becoming one of the most important of the resources. The information resource consists of organized or processed data. The value of the information resource can also play a role in providing a business with a significant competitive advantage. Businesses are currently operating in the information era, wherein quality of information can establish the difference between successful and unsuccessful ventures. The factors that contribute to the quality of information have consequently become increasingly important. Completeness, timeliness, relevance and accuracy are, among other things, attributes of good quality information. Good qua lity information is communicated to the appropriate users before it is regarded as useful or valuable. Communication is the manner in which information is made accessible to other users, whereas telecommunications is the digital transmission of data or information from one terminal to another in terms of function and sophistication (Wallingford, 2005, pp. 245-263). Basic ways of communication include the use of telephones and fax. According to Wallingford (2005, pp. 245-263) the machines used in communication vary, whereby more technologically advanced and newer methods of communication

Classification of Outsourcing

Classification of Outsourcing Outsourcing can be classified as moving all or part of an organizations activity to a third party business. The activity could be in the form of producing a good or the performance of a service. In some type of industries, outsourcing may well be the only feasible business model, either for all businesses or for a subgroup of businesses. The general example is newspapers outsourcing their news gathering service (especially, collecting information in other countries) to Third party service providers such as Reuters and the Associated Press. (Varadarajan, R. 2009) Outsourcing is one of the measures a company takes to cut costs by moving their jobs to an outside vendor on an ongoing basis. The organisation was providing these services internally before outsourcing them to the third party vendor. A company that effectively engages in cost cutting would be in a better position in the market. Companies with low cost leadership are able to gain the potential market share. (Oza, A., and K. H ill. 2007) Outsourcing is a trend that will carry on over a period time. Cost reduction cannot be the only motivation for outsourcing since cost reductions is only possible in specific conditions, e.g. the third party provider is be able to achieve economies of scale that the outsourcer does not. Business do not simply indulge in the process of outsourcing to perform the same task at lower cost, as this could be achieved through reorganising internal activities.(Quà ©lin, B. Duhamel, F. 2003) Businesses have hired vendors for particular jobs or to level off peaks and troughs in their workloads for years. In the recent years outsourcing has been employed with great success by companies such as General Electric and Procter Gamble. Even though in general most companies would indulge in outsourcing to either cut costs or reduce the head count, today the drivers are more strategic and it focuses on keeping value-added activities in house where an organization can better utilize its own core competencies. Many companies are discovering that outsourcing is about corporate growth, making better use of skilled staff and even job creation, not just cheap wages abroad. (Brent, P. 2009) Based on the above arguments there are two types criteria that a company would bear in mind before making any decisions on outsourcing. The first is known as tactical outsourcing wherein the decision is often taken based on cost with no consideration to other benefits or risks associated with that decision. The second is strategic outsourcing where other aspects are taken into consideration. These include quality improvements and unavailability of resources. (Espino-Rodrà ­guez, T.F. Padrà ³n-Robaina, V. 2004). There are also some possible disadvantages of outsourcing if not done correctly. Outsourcing has to be done for the right reasons as mentioned above. The company has to carefully assess the possible benefits which could be in the form of cost reduction or increased customer satisfaction before making any decisions on outsourcing. Some of the other possible disadvantages could be losing staffs that have been trained in the process that may be outsourced or failure to meet th e desired criterion as agreed by the third party vendor. (Jones 1997) It is true that there some disadvantages associated with the process of outsourcing but a carefully crafted rational decision based on logical thoughts would help companies to get the extra bit of competitive advantage through lower cost disciplines, at the same time improving their quality of service and product delivery capability (Domberger, 1998). Globalization is the key word and today companies compete in the global market and not in regional or national market. The new developments in information and technology means that production processes could be separated in and place. Also customers have a wide range of products to choose from and this in turn would reduce customer loyalty. All this adds to complexity and one response to above changing needs is outsourcing. (Pedersen, H.S. Jenster, P.V. 2000). Outsourcing was first observed in the manufacturing industry, and China was the front runner in terms of attracting jobs and foreign investment. In this phase of outsourcing, it was noticed that organisation in order to take the advantage of cheap labour would set up its manufacturing plant in the Far East or Mexico. As outsourcing become more widespread, more and more functions were capable of being outsourced. The biggest upsurge in outsourcing was observed when service activities were outsourced. What began as a process for cutting costs has evolved into a means of growing a companys business value. Transferring non-core company processes off to experts not only helps in delivering increased efficiencies, it delivers the potential for enhanced performance. The important thing is to combine the right people, processes, and technologies to gain maximum efficiency and achieve competitive advantage. (Oza, A., and K. Hill. 2007) International Data Corporation (IDC) has done some analysis of the top outsourcing deals in the current years and the data reveals contract expenditures of almost U.S. $56 billion. The scale of outsourcing has reached astonishing proportions, as seen in the case of Fiats U.S. $7 billion deal and NTLs U.S. $2 billion deal with IBMs Global Services. (Kakabadse, A. Kakabadse, N. 2005) Outsourcing worldwide has now topped US $ 1 trillion per annum. (Oza, A., and K. Hill. 2007) In the service industry, outsourcing was initially restricted to basic support activities but recently outsourcing has entered all non-core service functions. In 1997, 34% of enterprises. Outsourced all or part of their information technology (IT) and this proportion is expected to increase to 58 % by the year 2010. Similar increases are expected for activities such as telecommunication, accounting and human resources. (Oza, A., and K. Hill. 2007) Outsourcing has evolved in the past few years and a new industry called Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has come to age. It is expected to be â€Å"the next big wave† in information technology services. Business process outsourcing is a more specialised form of outsourcing in which an entire business process, such as accounting, procurement or human resources, is handed to a third party vendor(RAMMOHAN RAO. 2004). According to Gartner Group, which is one of the top IT consulting firms, a BPO can be defined as delegating one or more business processes to an third party provider which in turn owns, facilitates and manages the particular process based on a clear and measurable performance criteria. As per a study done by International data corporation the BPO market is expected to reach 1 .2 trillion in the coming years. In terms of market share the United States leads the BPO market followed by Europe and the Asia pacific region. (Yang et al 2007). Call centres constitute the biggest part of this BPO market. (RAMMOHAN RAO. 2004) â€Å"Call centres are defined by Richardson and Gillespie (2003, pp. 88-89) as having three distinct characteristics: 1. workers are employed in specialist activities which put together telecommunications and information systems technologies; 2. Their work is administered by automated technology which virtually simultaneously distributes work, manages the speed of that work and monitors their performance; and 3. Workers are directly interacting with the customer either through in-bound calls, making out-bound calls or a combination of the two.† The National Association of Call Centres, a non-profit organization serving the call centre industry, categories different sectors in the call centre industry. These are: 1. financial services/banking/insurance; 2. telecommunications; 3. medical services 4. government 5. directory services/job placement (Jobs et al. 2007) According to industry estimates, there were over 300,000 call centres worldwide at the end of 2002, employing around 18m people. (RAMMOHAN RAO. 2004) Call centres can in the form of contact centres which are part of the company (‘‘inhouse call centres) or Third party call centres (‘‘service bureaux) which interacts with customers on behalf of several companies. Basically, with the help of call centres companies try to provide an extended form of customer service, and try to ensure their clients satisfaction and commitment (Zapf et al 2003). Employees in call centres are not just taking out-bound and in-bound calls, but they would also interact with customers through e-mails and online chat as well. With the advent of technology customers are increasingly using email to correspond and there are incentives to do so since there is no charge for postage and emails can be easily stored. The advancement in IT systems enables a customer service agent to interact with customers through voice and email and service both at the same time. Online chat is a real time text conversation between agent the customer. E-mail and chat service may be used by clients who cannot use a traditional telephone due to disability. (Irish 2000) Outsourcing in financial service industry Financial Services Industry at the Forefront The financial industry is not new to idea of outsourcing, and its use, prompted by need to lower cost and the need to focus on core business area, is increasing sharply. As per a report, 15% of the financial services sector in the US, which is approximately about $356bn, would be outsourced in the next few years. The growth in this sector would help in reducing cost for certain services provided by the financial institution and at the same time would help in increasing efficiency. (Singh, D. 2005). A study conducted of 31 European banks reported that the majority intended to increase their level of outsourcing, particularly of BPO. Banks that already opted for BPO had a strong focus on efficiency while mostly ignoring the impact of BPO on the effectiveness of business processes (Gewald, H. Dibbern, J. 2009). There has been a growth of 15% to 20% in revenues from outsourcing activities in the financial institution. Even very large Financial Institution that have stayed away from outs ourcing activities are now moving towards it for greater efficiency. According to estimates nearly half of all financial institutions have outsourced at least a part of their services functions. (Lowell, M. 1992.) They are now concentrating on core competencies (activities or services which provide a strategic advantage or competitive edge) and outsourcing other activities to the best or most efficient provider of a product or service. To be sure, adopting an outsourcing approach impacts an organization dramatically. Prior to analyzing this impact, it is important to understand the trends within outsourcing. (Siemers, R. 19 95). The financial services industry was among the first industries to adopt large campus-style call centres. Customers needing information about their bank account or information on their credit card balance are likely to get an odd look if they call into a branch and ask for help instead of picking up a phone and getting in touch with their banks call centre. Just as banks and insurance firms were quick to see the potential for saving money by consolidating branch office functions in a central call centre, they have also been the first to look further afield in an effort to cut costs. (www.callcenteroutboundcalls.com) Most companies in the financial services industry started their own call centre known as captive call centres. Captive call centres require huge capital investment and at the same time cost involved in running the centre is very high. In captive call centres all the capital expenses such as infrastructure development are borne by the parent company, third-party call center services outsourcing firms do not require businesses to do so. Third-party call center services outsourcing firms, especially those that have been operational for more than five years, have their own infrastructure, systems, and equipment and they do not charge businesses for these. So, choosing a third-party call center service would help the parent company to save plenty in terms of capital investments. (Figgat, D. Dove, M. 2008) Third-party vendors are usually preferred over captive outfits because of substantially lower costs, flexibility and the ability to enforce price and quality competition. (www.infotech.indiatimes.com) Banks and financial institutions depend upon telephone call centers to meet the needs of a changing and ever more demanding consumer for 24/7 access. Call centers serve as a source of service recovery, added value, market intelligence, and strategic advantage. (Feinberg et al 2002) The call centre industry is a very big industry and there are a lot of companies that handle projects for majority of the banks and financial institution. These companies have to make distinct marketing strategies so that they could approach banks and financial institution for outsourcing. Through this project we are trying to identify what strategies a call centre needs to have in place if they are to receive projects from banks and financial institution. GEM is a call centre based in Belfast and this project would help in developing a marketing fit for GEM position it as a key customer contact service provider for the UK financial market. Information about Gem It is one of the leading providers of outsourced customer service via email, telephone, sms and live chat and in Europe and they operate in 29 different languages. It is considered to be one of the primary developers of best practices in contact centres in U.K. Gem was originally designed to provide services for outsourced email handling and was essentially an email ‘call centre. Since then, the company has extended its range of activities and now provides services which include customer care, technical support and sales to back office processing. In addition to providing different kinds of services in multiple languages, gem captures important customer and staff feedback and uses this unique information to consult on enhancing a clients brand. Exports account for 98% of gems business, which includes 38% to the US, 38% to the UK and 15% to mainland Europe. Gems has a wide range of client base from media, e-commerce, travel, hi-tech and government sectors. Current customers include Cisco Systems, King.com, Match.com, Microsoft, Play.com and Channel 4 television. In terms of certification Gem was accredited with ISO 9001:2000 in October 2006.Since the company has been operating its business with such high values and they are also one of the major players in the BPO industry in U.K. they have received some industry awards to name a few. 1) Belfast Business Top 50, Belfast Media Group 2) Gold Award Winner for Best Online Customer Service Team (Figleaves), People in Retail Awards 3) Gold Award Winner for best UK Call Centre Manager of the Year Awards, Call Centre Management Association (www.the-gem.com) To segment, identify and profile the key players in the financial market within United Kingdom. U.K has one of the most varied and competitive financial services sectors in the world with both specialist and non-bank providers offering services such as credit cards, insurance and loans. (Farquhar, J. Panther, T. 2008). The financial services industry is going through a massive change and is fast becoming highly competitive. Traditional players are offering new services to protect their client base and at the same time are competing with new players for a share in the financial services market. The industry in particular is going through a change and new tools, techniques and services have been developed which were traditionally offered via bricks and mortar channels (Boyes, G. Stone, M. 2003). The major banks have undergone a considerable degree of consolidation, and supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsburys, as well as online banks have entered the market for financial services. Some building societies have become banks. Some banks have taken over building societies, insuran ce companies and indeed other banks. The type of services has expanded into credit cards, mortgage lending, insurance, and so on.The banking services industry could be divided into four distinct groups: traditional high street banks and former building societies, online banks, credit card companies, and retailers providing financial services. (www.capco.com) In the UK, High street banks traditionally enjoyed a dominant retail market presence because of their tight control over the payments system. The huge branch system coupled with less use of technology meant that major high street banks like Royal bank of Scotland, Barclays bank, Lloyds banking group, HSBC bank, standard chartered and building societies like Nationwide enjoyed a dominance in the UK financial services industry.(Consoli, D. 2005) But with the recent crisis in the U.K. banking industry, with the examples of northern rock and RBS there is a lot of distrust among the general public. (Butler, S. 2009). At the same time, high street banks have come under lot of pressure from new entrants to the financial services sector such as Prudential (Egg), Virgin, MBNA and CapitalOne and supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsbury (Harden, G. 2002). New entrants who have entered the financial services industry have gained a competitive advantage through the use of technology. New entrants have information from the customers of their traditional activity, and with CRM they can integrate their information sources and exploit aggregated data on the clientele. It could be argued that access to such high level consumer information should enable banks and other financial institution to give a more personalised and more efficient service. For consumers, the high personal convenience that a bank offers higher would be the possibility of a closer bank customer relationship and enhanced customer satisfaction (Harden, G. 2002). In recent years new entrants into retail banking sector like supermarket banks and online banks have threatened the dominance of major players. (Essvale Corporation Limited). Supermarket banks The reasons why these companies wish to start up in banking are diversification of their business, looking for new sources in order to increase their profitability and a desire to offer a complete service to their customers with the expansion of their current financial services complementary to their main activity. In the UK, the main supermarkets, by means of alliances with banks, have created their own bank subsidiaries, which allow them to offer a whole range of financial products. Some of these are Tesco, Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer. (Gonzà ¡lez Guerrero 2004) Among the major supermarket brands eying this banking business, the most high-profile is undoubtedly the supermarket chain Tesco, which is already the countrys largest food retailer and has a longstanding personal finance arm that sells car, home and travel insurance, savings accounts and credit cards. It has also been running a pilot scheme providing banking sections inside five of its existing 2,200 supermarkets for the last few months, and plans to launch current accounts and mortgages over the next couple of years ((MarketWatch: Global Round-up).Tesco has been creating strategies to capitalise on customers disenchantment with traditional high street banks by aggressively launching new products to counter the ones offered by banks. U.K.s largest retail chain plans to open 30 branches which is likely to be branded Tesco Bank within existing supermarkets in the coming few months.(Bradshaw, T. 2009) Another leading supermarket chain, J Sainsbury, already has a Sainsburys Bank arm offering loans, credit cards, savings and insurance, while the pharmacy chain Boots has expressed interest in financial services. Like Tesco, Sainsbury sees a big opportunity in the financial services market. According to Darren Shapland, Finance director of Sainsbury, the supermarket chain is a challenger and not as big as some of the other financial service providers but the there is a huge potential since 1.8 million customers walk into their shops every week (Butler, S. 2009). The UKs leading bookseller, stationer and newsagent chain WHSmith, meanwhile, has Post Office branch facilities in 80 of its stores, with services that extend to savings accounts and foreign exchange. Another retailer Alliance Boots wants to get into the financial services industry and coincidently or not has hired former HBOS CEO as its new boss. But in the case of Boots they have no tradition of offering financial services products apart from travel insurance and it may them a few years before they could be regarded as force to reckon with. (Butler, S. 2009). At the other end of the spectrum are overseas interests that see an opportunity for a tightly focused banking operation in the UK, running a few branches and targeting a very specific market. The most high-profile among these is Vernon Hill, the US entrepreneur who founded Commerce Bancorp in 1973 and grew it into a business that he eventually sold to Toronto-Dominion for $8.5 billion in 2007. Hill has applied for a banking license with the countrys regulator, the FSA, and has gone public with plans to open the doors of an institution called Metro Bank (MarketWatch: Global Round-up) The highly competitive nature of the financial services market has resulted in new. Developments and banks are creating strategies to utilize alternative delivery channels. One of the delivery channels that have been in existence for some time now is electronic or online banking. Many of the financial institution in the UK have launched or developed transactional electronic banking services. Internet banking services were first introduced in the UK in the early 1980s with the Homelink service provided by the Nottingham Building Society and the Bank of Scotland. But this service was not very popular then and was discontinued after some time (Daniel, E. 1999). Since the rapid development in internet based services, Customers now are more prone to use this service it is possible for them to use banking services anytime and anywhere at their own convenience and with lower fees as compared to traditional banks. Internet banking has given rise to a relatively new concept called internet on ly banks where these organizations dont have a physical set up like traditional banks but provide all types of products and services through internet, Telephone and ATM machines. (Sayar Wolfe 2007). First Direct was not one of the first banks to launch internet only bank in the summer of 1997.Egg is still the most popular internet only bank with a market share of 5.9% in the online banking sector. Internet banks like Egg, Smile, Cahoot and First Direct have a simple banking principle keep costs low and undercut competition. Credit Cards Credit card helps the card holder to obtain credit from the card issuer and allows him to repay the debt over a flexible time period usually 90 days and user can even to add to the debt by paying a certain amount of interest; this is the so-called revolving credit facility. Majority of the banks in the UK provide credit card facilities. The other financial institutions which provide credit card facilities are monocline banks. Monocline banks are credit card issuers who focus on credit card as their main product lines. Companies such as MBNA, Capital One and Morgan Stanley and types of Monoline banks operating in UK (Worthington Edwards. 2000). The competition in the credit card market in UK has intensified in the last few years. The result of this has been the emergence of flexible credit cards. These types of credit cards allow users to select the features of their card which includes the colour of their card and the APR and they also have the option of changing the features based on their circumstances. Virgin and Cahoot are some of the card issuers who are offering such features. (M2 PRESSWIRE 2003.). U.K. is one of the largest users of credit card, with more than half in U.K. as compared to entire Europe and two thirds of total value transactions. (Irish News 2004). Other financial services Personal Loans are one of the other services provided by the financial industry. They help customers to borrow credit from banks and other financial institutions and they pay interest for using the credit over a period of time. Personal Loans are available either against collateral or in some cases with out collateral. Some of the major players in the Personal loan market in the U.K are Nationwide, Sainsbury, HSBC and Abbey (Santander). Insurance Insurance is a service where the insurer is covered for risks by paying a premium to the insuring company. The premium is either paid on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Some of the major insurance companies in U.K are Norwich Union, Standard life and Legal and General. To identify what processes or departments in financial companies can be outsourced. The advent of technology has meant that customers have multiple sources to contact their service providers. The first service that was launched by banks was telephone banking wherein customers could contact their banks 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Most banks started with their in house call centres called captive call centres to provide service to their customers. As discussed above due high fixed and operation maintaining a captive call centre is an expensive proposition. That is where third party call centres come into picture. The services that are offered in call centres are customer service where customers query about his bank accounts, credit cards, personal loans or mortgages are serviced. Marketing of banks products is another service that call centers provide. Popularly known as telemarketing, this service helps banks to make customers aware of different products and services they offer and also any discounts that they could be eligible for. Banks also face a lot of situation where customers have either used their accounts over the agreed overdraft limit or they havent paid their regular installments for their credit cards, personal loans or Mortgage loans. Most banks have a separate department to handle these type of situations which would help them to contact the customer for debt. recovery. These departments are known as collections teams, and would call customers to remind them that they have failed to make their regular installments. Online banking is another service that banks offer and as discussed above offers anytime banking to customers at the click of a button. Call centres provide customers service for online banking services as well so that if the custom ers face any issue while they are online they could be guided in the right direction. Chat service is another part of online banking, and even though most banks have not introduced it for customer service in bank accounts and they are used for mortgage servicing. All the banks do their best to satisfy customers either through good customer service or through different types of products, but inspite of this there a small number of customers who remain unsatisfied and these types of customers would like to express their dissatisfaction. Complaint handling teams would normally service these types of customers and they would thoroughly look at customers complaints and would try to resolve them with the business policies of the bank. Back office process like processing of bank accounts, personal loans and mortgages are some of the other services that call centres provide to financial institution. In case of insurance companies claims handling would be would be one of the services offered by Call centres. Some of the financial institutions that have indulged in outsourcing are HSBC, Abbey and few others banks. Most of these banks have outsourced their operations to offshore locations like India. A complete list is mentioned in Appendix 1.

Unbranding Starbucks

The coffee industry has been booming since the 1950’s mostly because of the explosion of the cafe style coffee houses in the 1990’s that have followed industry forerunners such as Starbucks (Sangeetha, 2010). Coffee is the second leading commodity worldwide, with a market share worth over $100 billion and over 500 billion cups consumed annually (Goldshein, 2011). Coffee is produced in over 50 countries worldwide providing a livelihood for over 25 million people, but 67% of the world’s coffee growth is conducted in the United States (Goldshein, 2011). In the 1990’s, with the coffee craze, came locally owned cafes and specialty stores that by 2005 made up 30% of the coffee retail market. These niche coffee shops have shown a 7% annual growth rate annually (Goldshein, 2011). For supermarkets and traditional (larger) retail outlets, who in 2005 held 60% of the market share, remained the primary channel to acquire both specialty and traditional coffee beverages (Sangeetha, 2010). For Starbucks, this market share helped to make them the third largest restaurant chain in the United States (Goldshein, 2011). In 2008, the economic downturn began and the corporate coffee chains were forced with closing stores due to overwhelming overhead with the increase to coffee prices as external factors (Sangeetha, 2010). This forced coffee companies to reinvent their promotional strategies for their specialty coffees in 2009 to send the message that these coffees would allow for â€Å"thrifty luxury† and comfort during stress (Sangeetha, 2010). This reinvention also sparked a socially responsible note with consumers that were demanding these responsibilities be adopted by the companies they purchase from. By expanding product lines and market offerings, many corporate coffee companies scrambled to find a solution to the changing market demands of consumers. As the market continues to shift, growth of coffee will focus on differentiating the brand and returning to the quality assurance that consumers have grown to expect (Colbert, 2013). By creating new products and innovations, companies will likely increase their market shares and profits (Colbert, 2013). Much of the growth of future demands for coffee will come from price sensitive developing markets due to the volatility that persists in the current market supply of coffee (Colbert, 2013). Though global brands have a large following, local brand will continue to flourish in coming years due to their ability to tailor their product offerings to consumers while corporate companies will continue to see these local coffee houses intrude on their consumer base (Colbert, 2013). In recent years, the coffee market has made a shift to more convenient ways for consumers to procure coffee. Starbucks made the move to more convenience for consumers by teaming up with Pepsi-Cola to offer bottled Frappuccino at supermarkets and convenience stores (Sangeetha, 2010). Starbucks also teamed up with Kraft Foods Inc. to supply stores with bagged whole bean and ground coffee for consumers to enjoy in the comfort of their own home (Sangeetha, 2010). With the trend of instant coffee, Starbucks responded to that as well and created a line of instant coffees to be sold in their Starbucks locations as well as supermarkets (Sangeetha, 2010). Other companies such as Nescafe and Folgers are also offering an instant coffee on the shelves of supermarkets and have been for decades now (BIC, 2013). Along with the instant coffee craze, single-serve systems have been a hot commodity to help coffee retailers maintain a market share. Green Mountain Coffee (GMC) began as a small coffee shop in Vermont and has grown to producing and selling 26. 8 million pounds of Arabica coffee annually (GMCR, 2013). Because GMC prides themselves on sustainable and responsible business practices, in 1998 they developed the Keurig single-serve system to cut on waste and produce better tasting, freshly brewed coffee in a minutes time (GMCR, 2013). At first, Keurig was only offering GMC and a few select brands, but as the single-serve trend picked up, companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks jumped on the band wagon (Staff, 2011; Chen, 2013). In 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts joined the Keurig family but were only offering their products at Dunkin’ Donut locations and not in supermarkets (Staff, 2011). Though offering the single-serve packs for your system at home was a good thought, Dunkin’ Donuts hurt themselves when it came to convenience because patrons still had to visit a store to purchase the single-serve packs for their home system (Staff, 2011). Earlier this year, Starbucks also signed on with GMC and Keurig to produce Starbucks and Tazo branded single-serve packs (Chen, 2013). This agreement is a five year contract and will triple the amount of Starbucks products on the Keurig machine by taking on additions such as Seattle’s Best and Teavana Teas to name a few (Chen, 2013). This strategy will increase the marketing position for Starbucks as well as GMC and Keurig because Starbucks has a loyal following that may see the single-serve system as an opportunity to save money and added convenience. In 1971, Starbucks opened as a small coffee shop in historic Pike’s Place Market in Seattle, Washington (Starbucks, 2012). By 1982, Starbucks was ready to grow as they hired on Howard Schultz as the director of retail operations and marketing (Starbucks, 2012). He realized that espresso was a trending beverage in Italy and saw a potential for a coffee bar culture that we now know as Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks, 2012). This was the first growth strategy that Schultz envisioned; creating an atmosphere for young and trendy coffee drinkers to sit and enjoy their cup of coffee. Schultz next strategy was to expand Starbucks beyond Seattle and Washington. With the help of local investors, Starbucks opened across the country and in just two years had 17 locations including Chicago and Canada (Starbucks, 2012). Starbucks was making a name for it and by 1988 had 33 locations and began providing health insurance for employees (Starbucks, 2012). Though Starbucks remained a privately owned company, in 1991 they offered a stock option programs for all employees unlike any other American company had before (Starbucks, 2012). This was a growth strategy for Starbucks because it showed a true interest in the well being and future of employees. Not only did the employees benefit from such incentives, but Starbucks received a brand name boost through media and word of mouth for their generosities (Starbucks, 2012). That same year, they opened their first airport coffee shop and maintained 116 stores in North America (Starbucks, 2012). By 1993, Starbucks has grown to such proportions that to keep up with production they opened their own coffee bean roasting plant in Washington State and more than doubled their store locations to 272 (Starbucks, 2012). 994 brought on a huge change for Starbucks with the drive thru window that now assimilated them to restaurant chains like McDonalds and began to weaken Starbucks profit margin (Starbucks, 2012). With this assimilation came even more expansion for Starbucks with a second roasting facility located in Pennsylvania, 677 locations nationwide, and introduction of new p roducts like the Frappuchino and premium ice cream in supermarkets (Starbucks, 2012). These growth strategies helped create a lifestyle and image association with the Starbucks logo as well as broadened their product variety which is a perceived value for consumers. In 1996, Starbucks opened their first location outside of American in Japan and later in Singapore (Starbucks, 2012). With the globalization that the company began to experience, this meant that their brand name and consumer loyalty was quickly catching on and not just in America. By 1997, Starbucks had 1,412 locations and also began the Starbucks Foundation to help strengthen communities in which they operate (Starbucks, 2012). This foundation is still active today and is used to fund literacy programs, develop young leaders, and participate in community service opportunities to give back with hands on approach (Starbucks, 2012). This is a perfect example of the social responsibility craze that began in 1999 and Starbucks teamed up with Conservation International to encourage and promote sustainable coffee practices and in 2000 became Fair trade certified with TransFair USA (Starbucks, 2012). Starbucks has continued to grow by establishing their own trading company, acquiring Seattle Coffee Company in 2003, and keeping up with the economical and sustainable practices of consumers offered the first paper cup made of recycled material in 2006 (Starbucks, 2012). This again reinforced Starbucks strategies to become industry leaders because in 2006, consumers were increasingly concerned about sustainability and it was forecasted that consumers will be willing to pay more for economically responsible products and services (Fletcher, 2006). From 2007 to current day, Starbucks has been rebranding and reworking their business practices trying to get back to their original design and a way to save money in the long run (Sangeetha, 2010; Starbucks, 2012). With a variety of new coffees on the menu and more food offerings, Starbucks has created a food giant that is now competing with McDonalds and other â€Å"quick service restaurants† and 17,651 stores globally as of July, 2012 (Starbucks, 2012). Unbranding for Starbucks is a major risk because it is competing with itself as well as the same competitor that the company is trying to outdo. With uick service restaurants serving specialty coffee on a bargain budget, Starbucks is risking losing a larger piece of the market pie with the unbranded store concept. Starbucks is known mostly for their name and logo in the global market. This is an attribute not a scar and as so Starbucks should be proud of their history and even more proud of the power house of coffee they have become. It was noted that the unbranded stores were expanding their horizons by offering beer, live music, and pottery classes as to attract a younger and more trendy consumer like that of competitors (Mitchell, 2009). These provide a clear message on what the average coffee consumer wants in today’s market; cheap, fast, and trendy. The age of the corporate coffee house is beginning to die off because consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about economic issues and boycotting corporate America (Prakash, 2013). This is mostly due to the interconnectivity that young America and youth of the world are experiencing with the internet, Facebook, and cell phones and create a learning curve for older generations (Prakash, 2013). Bottom line is that consumers enjoy the coffee that Starbucks sells, but subconsciously they are ultimately buying for the brand recognition, consistency, and pride they feel when drinking from a Starbucks logo cup that has their name written on the side of it. If McDonalds offered the exact same coffee as Starbucks but at their ridiculously cheap prices, there is no guarantee that consumers would completely jump ship from Starbucks simply because of the brand recognition and expectations that follow it. I believe that continuing to unbrand Starbucks is taking a step away from the heart of what Starbucks is known to be. The business model that Starbucks had in place before the unbranding begun was not broken completely, but simply had broken or misguided components. Face it, Starbucks grew too big, too fast and opened stores faster than they could keep track of. That is an aspect that corporate fails to realize; local coffee shops have one, maybe two locations to maintain and thus keeps the over head low. With the low overhead of locally owned shop, they are able to offer wider variety of products and services. They also often have backing from other local businesses through the chamber of commerce and because the owner is a member of the community has ties that help grow business through patronage. The unbranded store may work in Seattle, but only for a short time before consumers realize they are being taken for a fool by the big bad corporation. Starbucks needs to do what they do well, serve a hot cup of coffee with friendly banter in exchange and customer service that beats any other cafe and rid them of serving breakfast items. They are a coffee shop not a McDonalds. Starbucks is a strong brand name that is recognizable globally and the leading coffee conglomerate in the United States. I propose that Starbucks live up to the superior standards that they set forth in the beginning and continue to offer premium quality coffee under their branded logo. With the unbranding it has been made apparent that Starbucks employees staged sit-ins at local coffee shops in Seattle to â€Å"spy† on the competition (Mitchell, 2009). These sit-ins resulted in one of the unbranded stores looking identical to a bar next door in terms of color scheme and aesthetic design (Mitchell, 2009). Starbucks needs to stop trying to be the competition and regain their momentum as the pack leader by running with the global recognition that they hold benefit over local cafes. By co-branding more products and taking on sponsorship opportunities that feed positivity into the Starbuck brand and reinforce company values, consumers will pay tribute and return with loyalty. We have seen it done with McDonalds and Ronald McDonald House Charities. In 1974, the first Ronald McDonald House opened with the help of Shamrock Shake donations made by a Philadelphia store owner (McDonalds, 2012). If Starbucks would take their Starbucks Foundation and team up with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America to promote youth leadership and strengthening the community (Starbucks, 2012). The success that McDonalds experienced after helping to open the Ronald McDonald House, is the same experience that Starbucks could potentially take advantage of to improve the company image and consumer base. With the increasing interest in social responsibility and the extraordinary amount of devastating events and natural disasters happening, this is an issue that is in Starbucks’ backyard. The urban youth that need guidance and nurturing; their future consumer demographic all wrapped in a nice tiny package waiting to be tapped into.Work CitedBest Instant Coffee (BIC), 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.instantcoffeebrands.net/ Chen, K. Starbucks to Triple Products for GMCR’s Keurig. The Motley Fool, May 9, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/05/09/starbucks-to-triple-products-for-gmcrs-keurig.aspx Colbert, R. Coffee 2013: Ready for Take Off. Robobank, International Coffee Organization, March 5, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.ico.org/event_pdfs/seminar-consumption/rabobank-e.pdf Fletcher, A. Sustainable development a business reality, says report. Food Navigator, April 25, 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Sustainable-development-a-business-reality-says-report Goldshein, E. 11 Incredible Facts About The Global Coffee Industry. Business Insider, November 14, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-the-coffee-industry-2011-11?op=1 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), 2013. Keurig Brand Partners. Retrieved from: http://www.keurig.com/in-the-news/2010/~/media/files/news%20and%20media%20pdfs/roaster_profiles.ashx McDonalds Corporation, 2012. Ronald McDonald House Charities. Retrieved from: http://www.rmhc.com Mitchell, S. Starbucks Goes Stealth with Unbranded, â€Å"Local† Cafes. Institute for Local Self Reliance, July 22, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.ilsr.org/starbucks-goes-stealth-unbranded-local-cafes/ Prakash, P. State of the Urban Youth, India 2012. IRIS Knowledge Foundation,2013. Retrieved from: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=professor_vibhutipatel&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fas_ylo%3D2013%26q%3Dyouth%2Band%2Bpolitics%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C44%26as_vis%3D1#search=%22youth%20politics%22 Sangeetha, K. Starbucks Unbranded Stores: A Move to Regain Former Glory. Amity Research Centers HQ, 2010. Staff Writer. Green Mountain, Dunkin’ team up on single-serve joe. Boston.com, February 22, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/02/green_mountain_21.html Starbucks Company, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.starbucks.com/

Automobile Repair and Mechanics Essay

Automobile repair is not only an interesting field to me, also I feel automobile maintenance is necessary knowledge to have in today’s auto market. Like studying for school or learning the skills of a job; I feel knowing how to repair a vehicle will produce a cost effective lifestyle, and take out all the hassle anyone who owns a vehicle encounters everyday. How many Americans can change their own oil that don’t work as mechanics, or what is the average repair bill for a same day repair are questions that bring concern to how becoming my own handyman makes a productive choice. I decided to explore the topic a little more to get a better understanding of the requirements to become an auto mechanic, for I have decided to become certified in Automotive Technology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(definition)- â€Å"an auto mechanic is a technician that inspects, maintains and repairs automobiles and light trucks that run on gasoline, electricity or other alternative fuels; like ethanol†. Auto mechanics play a very important role in maintaining and keeping vehicles running efficiently. The field of auto mechanics reveals a long history, specialized schooling and strong career objectives for anyone that would like to choose this field as a career. There are certain requirements to become an auto mechanic, and a student can get the basics of automobile repair by taking a vocational class in high school. The course is not really considered training, but the class gives a basic knowledge of what mechanics do. To be considered a qualified auto mechanic; completing training at a post- secondary school like Pinellas Technical Education Centers or at a community college are the best choices, but the college aspect is not as much hands on as the secondary school. â€Å"PTEC consists of 2 years of intense training†(brochure), and the community college usually offers an associate degree for this field that also takes 2 years to complete the coursework. With these types of training, getting the most up to date training needed is essential; like using computer systems to detect problems with cars. Another form of training involves working as an apprentice to a master technician so questions are answered from experience . When all the formal training is completed a mechanic is considered certified when receiving a ASE Certification. This stands for Automobile Service Excellence Certification. The Bureau of Labor statistics suggests that individuals who live in large cities should get certified to help them with their search for jobs. An auto mechanics basic job function is performed in some type of repair shop, and working 40 plus hours a work is expected with such high volume of vehicles to work on. Sometimes work can continue into the weekend, along with performing work on the side to help earn some extra money. The working environment for the job involves identifying and fixing problems that deal with the car in a repair shop. Most of the time repairs are done indoors in a large, open garage like facility, including mechanics to get dirty due to all the grease repairs performed daily. These functions are real important that this does not bother someone who might want to do this as a job, for some of the grease and dirt is almost impossible to get completely rid of. Many shops have now included electrical technology as part of their services due to the fact that most cars have specialized computer systems. â€Å"This new service has increased the mechanics skill level greatly† (resource). â€Å"Many repair shops rely on these computerized systems to help in identifying problems related to the car† (Ly). The term auto mechanic is slowly fading away, and many mechanics are now being labeled as service technicians. The change in the name comes from the fact that working on many different parts of the car, and computer systems that require additional and more advanced training. Auto mechanics make a pretty good living. Starting out as a new auto mechanic the annual income will range between $25,000 – $35,000. The next level mechanic could make $35,000- $45,000. After that the pay can be anywhere from $45,000 up to $100,000, for the higher pay range is for a Master Mechanic. It would be best to try and achieve the highest level of pay to make this job worthwhile. This is not exactly a goal that I am going to set forth for myself to achieve because simply auto work is all I’m interested in. Many Master Mechanics work for luxury car manufacturers like Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche. The future for service technicians looks very bright. For the next 3 years the auto mechanics field will see an increase close to 10- 20%. This increase is due to many technicians retiring, and due to an increase in cars being purchased. Dealerships and independent car repair shops will be the main employers of service technicians. The outlook continues to look positive for auto mechanics even though economic downfall is predicted to continue. In conclusion, auto mechanics is a very diverse field that requires complete dedication and skill to help become successful. Mechanics involves a long history, specialized schooling and the desire to achieve. Auto mechanics has evolved into a very complex and sometimes challenging field, and the future job outlook for this field is great and it is a very good choice for anyone interested in pursuing this career.

Cellular life essays

Cellular life essays In this paper I will show my knowledge of many different topics of Cellular Life. I will explain the theory of biogenesis, cell theory, the history of both and how they tie in together. I will also state the scientific method and why it is important to science. Abbi Spallonzani used Scientific method in his biogenesis experiment. Scientific method are some rules or principles used in research and experimentation. Objectivity is the attempt to observe things as they are. Approach is using either inductive reasoning or deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is using results of observations and experiments with more general hypotheses and theories. Deductive reasoning is using the exact results of previous experiments. Deductive reasoning is used back in the mid 1800's when Louis Pasteur was offered a prize if he could solve the theory if abiogenesis was possible. Abiogenesis is the belief that living things can come from non-living things. Biogenesis is the belief that living things are given birth from other living things. He used previous experiments such as Francis Redi, John Needham, Abbi' Spallonzani, and many others to devise a strategy. He made swan neck flasks with large enough holes in them to let air in but no microorganisms. He boiled mutton broth and put it in the jars and the broth lasted over a year without spoiling. This proved that abiogenesis was wrong. The organisms and flies in previous experiments succeeded in attacking the broth but since the swan neck jars kept them out this proves that nothing can grow from a non living object. The cell theory is a set of rules that are true of all living things. A cell can only be created by another cell. All living things have at least one sell. Cells are the fundamental structure of all organisms. ...

Future professional of tourism Essays

Future professional of tourism Essays Future professional of tourism Essay Future professional of tourism Essay Introduction New touristry is an of import topic for future professional of touristry. To work in this sector we have to be cognizant of new signifier, new inclination and new finishs. Travel Sellerss have to cognize supply and demand in this field. Our file is a glance of some new ways of travel and new finishs. We need to maintain watching on this new signifier of touristry because it is really competitory sector. That s why we have chosen to depict two new finishs and two new signifier of touristry. In one portion we explain couchsurfing that is a new signifier of touristry based on people exchanges. It is about a manner of life with values and aspirations. Une phrase Sur la partie de reb. : In a 2nd portion, we show two new finishs. First Bulgaria, its figure of visitants has increased by 4000000 in 8 old ages. This state with a seashore on Black sea is more and more visited particularly by Europeans. Phrase sur partie de Reb. Tourism evolves and new signifiers are created Couch surfboarding CouchSurfing s definition Couchsurfing is a new manner of going based on sharing. An organisation based on Internet ( www.couchsurfing.com ) manages the connexions between people. CouchSurfing is an international non-profit web that connects travellers with locals in over 230 states and districts around the universe. A couch or a sleeping room is offered to a visitant by a local for his stay. Since 2004, members have been utilizing this system to come together for cultural exchange, friendly relationship, and larning experiences. Today, over a million people who might otherwise neer meet are able to portion cordial reception and cultural apprehension. Our mission as an organisation is to make inspiring experiences: cross-cultural brushs that are fun, piquant, and lighting. These experiences take many signifiers. CouchSurfing s initial focal point was on hosting and surfboarding ( remaining with a local as a invitee in their place ) . Alongside these nucleus experiences, we now besides facilitate a turning array of activities and events. [ 1 ] CouchSurfing members portion cordial reception with one another. These exchanges are a uniquely rich signifier of cultural interaction. Hosts have the chance to run into people from all over the universe without go forthing place. Surfers, or travellers, are able to take part in the local life of the topographic points they visit. The CouchSurfing community continues to spread out its skylines. Members are ever happening more ways to link and larn about each other. Every twenty-four hours, people across the universe portion java, bivouacing trips, meetings, linguistic communication exchanges, treatments and all kinds of other experiences. Who and how tallies CouchSurfing? Casey Fenton launched the site on Jan 1, 2003 with co-founders: Dan Hoffer, Sebastien LeTuan, and Leonardo Bassani de Silveira. Casey continues to assist CouchSurfing as Executive Director of the organisation. The CouchSurfing organisation has no physical location. Alternatively, it exists in the coactions of diverse people from around the universe. The strategic way of the Couchsurfing organisation is composed by a Board of Director and a Strategy Team. Each member of these two groups brings different specialised accomplishments. Members of scheme squad: Casey Fenton, co-founder and Executive Director ; Mattthew Brauer, General Manager ; Jim Stone, Chief Operations Officer ; Weston Hankins, Chief Technological Officer ; Cameron Mills, Project Portfolio Manager. There besides some full-time employees and contractors. They have a assortment of functions from edifice and keeping the web site to forming fundss. Finally, some portion clip voluntaries help them to pull off the organisation. They are Couchsurfing members and they greet new members, report website bugs and answer member inquiries. CouchSurfing is a non-profit organisation, funded wholly by the contributions of members. Harmonizing to the web site, every month, 1000s of CouchSurfers choose to back up the community by acquiring verified, an individuality cheque that includes a contribution. Other members choose to do independent or extra contributions. Contributions help to pay for the costs of running the web site, like waiter hosting, storage, database care, mapping package, and many other costs [ 2 ] . Each positive experience between members costs 24? USD in CouchSurfing operating costs. The end of CouchSurfing has neer been about money, and utilizing the site is free to all members. CouchSurfing s non-profit position lawfully means that all resources must be spent straight on accomplishing the mission instead than making net income for private involvements. Few statistics 1775916 Couchserfers are going sharing places in the universes. There are 236 states represented and 70637 metropoliss for 318 linguistic communications spoken. The 10 states most visited are United States with 395657 visitants that represent 22,3 % of couchsurfers, Germany with 168807 visitants ( 9,5 % ) , France with 150939 visitants ( 8,5 % ) , United Kingdom 85587 visitants ( 4,8 % ) , Canada 85544 visitants ( 4,8 % ) , Australia 50821 visitants ( 2,9 % ) , Italy 50652 visitants ( 2,9 % ) , Spain 48858 visitants ( 2,8 % ) , Brazil 48503 visitants ( 2,7 % ) and Netherland 35661 visitants ( 2 % ) . We note that about all continent are represented in the top-ten, except Asia but China merely come in 12th place. Sing the most visited metropoliss Paris is on first place, so London and Berlin comes on 3rd place. The mean age of surfboarders is 28 and 85 % of surfboarders have between 18 and 35. Our sentiment Couchsurfing is a meaningful new manner of going. It creates connexions between civilizations and can enrich lives of everybody. It is more than a manner of going it is a manner of populating with many values like exchange without net income. We think that couchsurfing is a door to see new point of position and new civilization by going or welcoming. It is besides a tool to go more particularly for immature people. Indeed, even if it could be less comfy than hotel room, it is free. Travel aid to construct head and this manner of going license to go more, further and better. Partie de Reb New finish appears Bulgaria Bulgaria is a little state in south-eastern Europe. It have frontiers with Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. This state owns seashores on Black sea. The clime and the alleviation license to develop a big figure of touristic merchandises. In 2000 the figure of visitants were 2100000, it addition and there were 6000000 tourers in 2008. Bulgaria s assets The natural landscape is one of the most of import assets. First, mountains and high extremum are attractive for ski touristry. Most of the 44 ski resorts are located in western state around Sofia, the capital metropolis. The most celebrated are: Aleko ski centre on Vitosha mountain at 22 kilometer of Sofia s metropolis centre with 29km of ski tallies, Borovets ski resort on Rila mountains that is a high category resort with luxury hotels, Bansko in Pirin mountain, that s one of the new ski resort in Bulgaria with 56 kilometers of ski tallies and a great off piste skiing, Pamporovo ski resort in the bosom of Rodopa Mountain is the southernmost resort in Europe. Then, we can happen the Black Sea Coast celebrated for its mulct sanded beaches, and perfect temperatures of H2O and air. The northern and the southern seashore are different. On the north tourers can happen clean and unagitated sea surrounded beaches with all right grain aureate littorals. The most celebrated and the most frequented sea side resort are Golden Sand, Albena, Roussalka, Riviera, Slanchev Den ( Sunny Day ) , St.Konstantin and Elena. On the South, picturesque bays and steep stones coexist with broad beaches and sand dune. The seashore provides fantastic nature and modern buildings on vacation small towns like Elenite, Sunny beach, Nessebur, Sopozol Rural touristry is another signifier nowadays in Bulgaria but less important. An unconventional signifier of touristry Health touristry is a great portion of touristry in Bulgaria. With over 600 mineral springs with temperature between 10 A ; deg ; C and 120 A ; deg ; C, Bulgaria is a thermic finish. Pavel Banya, Hisar, Velingrad, Narechen, Vurshets, Kyustendil and Momin Prohod, near Kostenets are the most celebrated of the wellness resort. They treat different diseases like bronchial asthma, perturbations of locomotors system, cardiovascular diseases, neurological upsets Another Health or medical touristry exists in many signifiers. Peoples travel in Bulgaria for medical, dental or surgery attention, particularly from United States and developed state where medical intervention are more and more expensive. Health Tourism is a combination of health and health care coupled with leisure and relaxation. Diet Center: Some tourers travel to lose weight and the most celebrated clinic is located in the sea side resort of St-Konstantin and Elena. A stay in the clinic last between 10 and 20 yearss and cost between 500 and 2000 Euros including providing in hotel, a medical audience, medical tests and a diet plan for each patient. Fictile surgery: It attracts tourers because of the low monetary value and the quality of services. In the center of 90 s a batch of clinics have opened and a high competition appear. The clinics managers had to put in high engineering and high qualified staff. As illustration a chest augmentation cost on mean 6000 Euros in France, England or Germany and merely 2500 Euros in Bulgaria. Tooth attention: The monetary values are cheaper than in Western Europe because they are alining on Bulgarian criterion of life. We can happen a batch of good clinics in large metropoliss like Sofia, Burgas, Varna and Plovdiv. Some circuit operator offer medical trip to their clients, they organize the whole stay. Global medical travel in USA and BGmedical travel in Bulgaria are specialized on medical travel. Our sentiment Harmonizing to us, it could be interesting to go abroad for surgery or medical attention. Indeed, in many Hesperian states a batch of people are underinsured or uninsured. It means that many people have to pay for their medical attention. Harmonizing to a Harvard survey, in USA half of personal bankruptcies are related to medical disbursals. We think that it s sometimes the lone solution to bring around decay. Peoples have to be careful. First of all, they must look into the process and comparison with their outlooks, inquire about follow-up attention needed, clip required for recovery, physical therapy etc Then, they have to choose the infirmary by sing its accreditation, awards and acknowledgments, installation and equipments and statistics like success rates. Finally, it s indispensable to heck the enfranchisements, preparation and reputation of the sawbones. www.couchsurfing.com Attached papers N A ; deg ; 1: Couchsurfing International, Inc. Income and Expense statement 2008 These statistics are generated on March, 31th 2010 at 5:37 am.

Eat Local Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Eat Local - Assignment Example The mere appearance of the burger was enticing. On consumption, I articulated its tasty nature to the regular and fast deliveries covered from the farm to the restaurant. Further, the organic farming practices and sustainable strategies used by the farm in outsourcing other products contributed to the food’s value. I ate mashed potatoes served with beef stew on the second day, whose ingredients emanated from Buckleberry Farm. It was realistic from the cost analysis that the farm stipulated reduced prices for its products prices citing to the reduced costs of the meals (Miller, 2014). For instance, the burger sold at $7 compared to the other burgers that cost $7.9 in the competing restaurants. The perception held following the meal’s consumption was that â€Å"local† food represented any supplies bred under sustainable and socio friendly methods within the US (Schindler, 2014). I concluded that eating local food was a healthy and an economical practice worth embra cing. In the contemporary global community, the majority human population prefers organic to inorganic foods. The perception is that organic agricultural foods are healthy compared to those grown under inorganic practices. It is arguable that the former practices include toxic elements that harm flora and fauna. The highlighted aspect prevails amongst other benefits accrued from the solution to consume locally grown and processed foods. The production and processing of the food at Buckleberry Farm is subject to strategic measures that guarantee hygiene and fast delivery thereafter. Arguably, the locally produced food will cost less compared to similar foreign or distant products in Eugene, Oregon. The freshness of local foods is evident from the practices embraced by the stakeholders (Miller, 2014). Foreign foods are subject to costly processes from production to marketing. In the end, outsourcing of the foreign foods incurs

Banking policy in Burma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Banking policy in Burma - Essay Example The indigenous banks of Burma were not started, until after the county’s independence in 1948.The banks that started operations in Burma during the colonial times, targeted the export trade of rice. They centralized their operations around Rangoon, engaging mainly in Chettiar lending, except a few like Dawson’s bank, which exited Burma after the 1942 invasion by the Japanese (Econ 335 a). Remarkable in the philosophical and the ideological banking profile of colonial Burma, are the exchange banks, which initiated western banking services at Burma. These exchange banks trace their origins to the trading firms of Burma, which mediated the commercial dealings of Burma with the outside world – throughout the nineteenth century. These firms include the Wallace Brothers, which was a remarkable example of the transition from being merchants, towards assuming the role of merchant bankers. By the end of the 19th century, the traders and the merchants that had operated as banks across the British Empire, either converted or left business for international banks. Most of these banks were headquartered at London, including Lloyds Bank and the National Bank of India (Econ 335 a). Most of the banks did not engage in the service of the entire population, particularly the countryside, but focused on the financing of rice trade, among a few other commodities at Rangoon. The finances of these banks were mostly outsourced from outside Burma, particularly London; the banks, later diversified towards the collection of deposits from European professionals, managers, and Burmese and Indian traders. The banking sector of colonial Burma was characterized by trade finance and the sale of bills of exchange. The bill of exchange is among the finance tools that revolutionized international trade during the nineteenth century; the instrument allowed exporters to receive the value of their exports, immediately after the sale of the exports, and in the local currency. The service was offered by exchange banks, which marked a reduction in the risks borne by exporters and importers; it also increased their access to credit. The bills of exchange were a short-term credit instrument, ordinarily 60 days, and not longer than 90 days. Banking institutions like the British banks, concentrated in the provision of financial services, and funding to businesses, particularly European as well as the colonial administration and its agencies. For instance, the Imperial bank offered wholesale financing to Chettairs, thus was an import financier of the Burmese agricultural sector. Despite the dominance of British banks, non-British exchange banks like Citibank started their operations in Asia, during 1812. The bank started its operations at Rangoon in 1919. For example, some Chinese banks arrived into Burma, immediately after the completion of Burma Road, in 1938 targeting the upcoming opportunities (Econ 335 a). There was the rise of Burmese banks, including  "U Rai Gyaw Thoo and Dawson’s Bank†. Dawson’s Bank was started in 1905, with the role of assisting Burmese agricultural players, so that they could free their lands from Indian-money-tenders. The local banks sought closeness to the farmers, so that they would ensure that they would get cheap credit, and, so that the banks would ensure that they used the money for the specified purpose. U Rai Gyaw Thoo was among the first Burmese-operated and owned bank, which grew out of shipping, trading and money lending. There