Recipe for an Indispensable Executive Assistant [Infographic]

Recipe for an Indispensable Executive Assistant [Infographic] This executive assistant infographic from Convene is adorable and right on the mark! Since its already worth about a thousand words, Ill just call out a few of my favorite elements:Supersonic HearingThis is the benevolent flipside to the gate-keeper function. Sure, your job is to keep knucklehead stuff off your bosss desk, but you also get to bring the concerns of your colleagues to their attention, which can improve conditions for everybody.Battery PackHaving an extra battery in my bag to recharge my phone on the go has already changed my life. Especially if you have a special phone for work-related tasks, invest in an external charger (see if you can get it reimbursed as a business expense, even!). Theyre smaller and smaller every day, but lifesavers in the clutch.Titanium SpineKnowing how to stand up for yourself (and your boss), who to stand up to, and when, is a crucial soft skill for an executive assistant. Youve got to make decisions quickly and be able to defend them (though you should also maintain flexibility to accept constructive criticism when appropriate).

Idioms and Expressions With Money

Idioms and Expressions With Money The following idioms and expressions with the noun money are less formal than collocations used with money. However, they are common in everyday conversation. Each idiom or expression has a definition and two example sentences to help understanding of these common idiomatic expressions with money. Color of Someone's Money Definition: the amount of money someone has available Show me the color of your money and then we can talk.If we knew the color of the companys money we could make a better bid on the deal. Easy Money Definition: money that can be earned with little effort Some people think that playing stocks is easy money.Unfortunately, there are few jobs are truly easy money. Front Money Definition: money paid in advance of receiving something Ill need to put up $100,000 front money to get in on the deal.Always be suspicious of companies that ask for front money. Heavy Money Definition: a lot of money Tom will bring heavy money into the company if he agrees to invest.They have heavy money. Im sure theyll buy the house. Hush Money Definition: money paid to someone so that they dont provide information Many people are paid hush money to not testify in court. Its illegal, but it happens.The gang tried to pay the man off with hush money, but he was having none of it. Mad Money Definition: money used to have fun, money to waste Weve put away a few thousand dollars in mad money for our next vacation.Dont go to Las Vegas without some mad money. Money From Home Definition: easily gained money Peter thinks investing in stocks is money from home.Shes looking for a job thats money from home. Good luck! Money Grubber Definition: someone who does not like to spend money, a stingy person Shell never give you money for your idea. Shes a money grubber.Money grubbers cant take it with them. I have no idea why they take it so seriously. I say easy come, easy go. Money Talks Definition: money has influence in a situation Of course, they let the big box store build in town. Never forget: Money talks.Just remember money talks. If they really want you for the position, theyll meet your salary demands. On the Money Definition: correct, exact Id say you are on the money about that situation.His guess that the company would succeed was on the money. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is! Definition: lets have a bet about something Come on, if you think that is true, put your money where your mouth is! Ill bet you 100 to 1 that it isnt true.She put her money where her mouth was and made a fortune. Smart Money Definition: the best option, money of smart people investing in something The smart money is on Congress changing the law.He thinks the smart money is going to invest in renewable energy. Soft Money Definition: money which can be earned without much effort Take the job for a few months. Its soft money.Jane thinks the position is soft money. Spending Money Definition: money to spend to have fun, purchases unnecessary items Its important to have at least a little spending money each month.They dont have much spending money, so they like to stay home rather than go on vacation. Throw Money at Something Definition: waste money on a situation Throwing money at the situation isnt going to make it better.Some governments feel that throwing money at a program always helps. Once youve learned these expressions, its a good idea to also learn important phrasal verbs about money. Finally, use the business English resources on the site to continue improving your English as it relates to the business world.

Oil Is Hindering Development In the Middle East Region Essay

Oil Is Hindering Development In the Middle East Region - Essay Example This essay stresses that over a long time since the discovery of oil, politics has assumed central place in the exploration, drilling and trade in oil products. This has been due to great economic significance of oil and its being the most depended source of energy. The focus on oil has been immense and concentrated to the extent that deaths and destruction of properties result. This has been to the struggles witnessed between groups of personalities or organizations to exercise exclusive rights of over oil. Efforts by politicians, autocrats and scientists to explore and find other sources of energy with specific intention of decentralize focus and dependence on oil has proved futile. Oil is too important and sweet to ignore in favour of other sources of energy. This paper makes a conclusion that the Middle East region has a great history of endowment with huge reserves of crude oil and natural gas. Oil is in its simple form a black gold that can make a country achieve quick and advanced development. Unfortunately, oil in Middle East equals resource curse that results to negative development despite plenty of natural resources with huge potential to raise big revenues. Various theories contribute to the dwindled development that most of the Middle East countries including Yemen, Syria and Iraq among others are facing. The theories include but not limited to authoritarianism, Islamism, rentier states, dependency, regional and global power politics on oil.

Literacy Enhancement Teaching Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literacy Enhancement Teaching - Assignment Example I made two colorful books, with splashing colors. One book contained the photographs of those persons whom Evan was familiar with, like his parents, his aunt, and me. I showed him the pictures twice a day for two weeks. Initially, he would not take an interest but that was only for a day. From the second day on, he started taking great interest which showed that he was recognizing the faces. When I showed him the pictures, he gave me smiles and giggled as if he was too pleased to see the faces. He also did some baby talk which included little sounds. This helped me learn that this activity enhanced his recognition capability and memory. In understanding the patterns of cognitive development in infants and children and how families affect their development, the contributions of Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Erik Erikson (1902-1994) hold a very significant importance. Children go through a number of cognitive stages in intellectual development, and they learn to develop emotional attachm ent right from their infancy. This emotional attachment made Evan recognize the faces in the photographs and smile at them. In the second book, I attached pictures of things that Evan saw on daily basis. They included his feeding bottle, diaper, a fluffy little cushion, and some of his toys. First I showed him the things in real, and then I would show him the pictures. I noticed that every time I showed him the pictures, he would raise his legs in the air and do some baby talk like â€Å"oo-aa†. This activity helped develop memory and initiated speech. Evan would also touch the pictures as if wanting to get a feel for them. My experience proved that Evan loved to see the pictures and feel the textures.  

Software Requirement Specification Essay Example for Free

Software Requirement Specification Essay Students to several process modeling techniques for representing business processes. Although this chapter focuses primarily on data flow diagramming, brief overviews of functional hierarchy modeling and Oracle’s process modeler are given. After a brief introduction to process modeling, data flow diagramming techniques are introduced in a section called â€Å"Data Flow Diagramming Mechanics. † This section demonstrates the basic DFD symbols, definitions, and rules. The authors use the Gane and Sarson symbol set throughout the book, and these symbols are explained in this section. Hoosier Burger, the food ordering system first mentioned in Chapter 2, is used to illustrate basic data flow diagramming concepts. This section also includes explanations of decomposition and balancing. Chapter 8’s third major section introduces four different types of DFDs: current physical, current logical, new logical, and new physical. Hoosier Burger’s inventory control system (which is manual) is used to illustrate the first three types of DFDs. Current practice in using DFDs indicates that very little time should be spent on the current physical DFD. The fourth major section in this chapter, â€Å"Using Data Flow Diagramming in the Analysis Process,† introduces guidelines for drawing and using DFDs. This is different from the mechanical rules presented earlier. Topics include completeness, consistency, timing, iterative development, primitive DFDs, and analyzing DFDs for system inefficiencies and discrepancies among DFDs that are supposed to be modeling the same system. A Hoosier Burger example helps illustrate these guidelines. The â€Å"Oracle’s Process Modeler and Functional Hierarchy Diagrams† section introduces students to two other process modeling tools. These tools are Oracle Designer’s process modeler and functional hierarchy modeling, a tool found in several CASE products. In this section, the authors show how to prepare basic process models and functional hierarchy diagrams. Additionally, the authors compare and contrast Oracle’s process models to data flow diagramming. In the last section of this chapter, the authors’ overview process modeling for Internet-based electronic commerce applications. As they explain, process modeling for Internet-based electronic commerce applications does not differ from more traditional applications development projects. Instructional Objectives Specific student learning objectives are included at the beginning of the chapter. From an instructor’s point of view, the objectives of this chapter are to: 1. Show how to logically model processes with data flow diagrams. 2. Teach students data flow diagram symbols and the mechanical rules necessary to create accurate, well-structured process models. 3. Show students how to decompose data flow diagrams into lower-level diagrams. For people who are not familiar with data flow diagrams, the students should find that it is relatively easy to show them that data flow diagrams are a better way to model processes. Chances are that this person’s original picture already has many of the elements of a standard data flow diagram anyway. Research has found that process modeling is a very natural activity for most people, even when they are not formally trained in this technique.

Overview of Flight of the Iguana by David Quammen :: essays research papers

Chapter Analysis- Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This chapter, or in this case the introduction, is exactly what it is labeled as; an introduction. The main ideas of this introduction are more or less used to explain the goals of this book and also used to familiarize the reader with what is to come. Throughout the introduction, the author, David Quammen refers to a wide variety of unique and unheard of organisms that exist in nature. Not only do these organisms sound weird, but many often behave in unordinary ways. The okapi, the Xylocaris, the chambered nautilus, and the plant that eats frogs are just examples of the many different organisms Quammen talks about. The reason for Quammen’s use of such organisms is not to scare readers away from nature, but to actually lure them in. The main idea of Quammen’s whole introduction is basically to show readers that nature is not a freak show, but to show simply nature itself. At first this whole idea may seem a little cloudy and vague, but as you read on , one will start to understand what Quammen is really striving for. Quammen uses animals and plants as examples to show the very intricacies of nature and the natural world. One example that he uses that has helped my understanding of this idea was the black widow spider. Quammen tells us of his strong fear of spiders and he goes on telling us how the black widow is very poisonous and menacing, yet possesses an undeniable beauty. He also states the black widow as being dangerous but not malicious, and gorgeous or hideous depending upon how we see it. Quammen’s point is that no matter how you see the spider, it is still part of nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adding to this idea that nature and all of its ugliness and abnormalities is still in fact nature, Quammen goes on further by addressing the human attitude towards nature’s intricacies. By this, Quammen refers to the human attitude towards nature as a whole based solely upon his/her opinion of one organism. As textual evidence for this idea, the example of the spider can be used again. Most people associate the black widow as being venomous and deadly, and so they unfairly associate the same characteristics with harmless beneficial house and garden spiders as well. This attitude toward the spiders can also be applied to nature as a whole. Since humans posses this attitude towards nature, a lot of nature’s beauty is often overlooked.

Ivy’s Essay

Travel Broadens the Mind Saint Augustine once said â€Å"the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page†. Traveling, like reading, broadens the mind. It enriches life experience, sparks inspiration and makes people poised. Travel enriches life experience. It is a process of feeling the world: enjoying beautiful sceneries, tasting different food, meeting interesting people and experiencing new cultures. I traveled a lot when I was a kid.I remember once when I was in the Liangshan yi autonomous region, Sichuan, my parents took me to the Torch Festival. People dressed in clothes with Yi features, surrounded a big torch, dancing and singing with great joy. I was highly affected by the atmosphere, my face was reddened and my whole world was lighted up. I can still remember those smiling faces and joyful cheers. Travel offers us a shot to better understand the world and make us more open to embrace the new things which could make our life more exciting and meaning ful.Travel sparks inspiration. Whiling traveling, we enter a totally different space, the air we breathe; the language we hear; the food we try can always arouse our love for life and give us inspiration. San Mao, a famous Chinese writer, composed most of her works while traveling. One of her best known work The Story of Sahara is about her experience in the northern Africa. This book vividly described the lifestyle, culture and native people in the Sahara Desert.If she had never been there, there would be no such a wonderful work. Besides writers, musicians and artists often get inspired through travel. On the journey, we might meet obstacles. A flat tire, a landslide, or extreme weather may make us feel scared and panic, but somehow we can tough it out. After all those experience, we will be awed by nature and be brave and poised no matter what happens in our life. Life is a book, and with travel, we can read through the pages and make our life rich and beautiful.

Hotels and the Environment

HOTEL INDUSTRY AND THE ENVIRONMENT By VASUNDHARA TANWAR LITERATURE REVIEW When we talk of hotels we never think that something like that could have an impact on the environment and people would spend millions of rupees and infinite number of hours to deal with this so called impact. However this is absolutely the case. The seemingly small problem is literally taking the world by storm. So much so that national governments, hotels and even the UN are taking steps in order to find solutions to this problem.Extensive research has been done in the recent years by economists and scientists etc to come up with the most sustainable ways to run hotels since the degradation of the environment is a major concern worldwide. Papers like â€Å"An analysis of environmental management, organizational context and performance of Spanish hotels† by M. J. Alvarez which addresses the factors that determine the deployment of environmental management practices and its effects on firms’ finan cial performance have been published.Results find support for the notion that age of facilities, size, chain affiliation, stakeholder environmental pressures, and their use of operations management techniques exert a lasting influence on the degree of implementation of environmental management practices by hotel firms. Moreover, findings show a positive relationship between environmental management practices and firms’ financial performance. Various other economists in different countries have drawn similar conclusions. The United Nations environment programme also published a guide â€Å"how the hotel and tourism industry can protect the ozone layer†.Environmental Good Practice in Hotels, published by UNEP IE and the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), presents 15 case studies selected from the IH&RA annual Environmental Award. The case studies document environmental programmes initiated by independent hotels and international chains across the globe – in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Action areas include environmental policy, design and construction, water, energy, waste, emissions, purchasing, staff training, and guest communication. The range of environmental initiatives featured is extensive, from simple recycling easures to water conservation using the latest technology, and from resorts built to strict environmental guidelines, to small hotels where the personal commitment of the general manager drives environmental activities. All case studies highlight the environmental and economic benefits gained by the actions taken. Also included are examples of environmental initiatives taken by national hotel associations, and a list of sources on environmental management publications and programmes in the hotel industry. These are just some examples of what is being said and done by organizations that observe what is going on.The actual participants, the hotels, are also not far behind. Many hotels hav e come up with various innovative ways to contribute to the betterment of the environment. Some of them have won various awards for this very purpose. Hotels now days strive to achieve the ECOTEL ® certification which is primarily the hallmark for environmentally sensitive hotels. One of the pioneers in such activities would be the orchid group of hotels. However, there are others that strive to achieve excellence in this cause and some have been quite successful too. INTRODUCTION Most countries rely heavily on the services sector for its growth.A major part of this sector is tourism. Tourism is one of the leading growth sectors of the economy and brings in billions of dollars for developing countries. When we talk about tourism we can hardly isolate it from talk of hotels. Hotels in a sense are synonymous with tourism and one cannot be talked about without reference to the other. The growth of the tourism industry has greatly increased the amount of stress on the environment. Now each individual has varying degrees of impact on the environment which largely depends on the personal choices made by individuals and is scattered world over. The same is true for hotels.They have an effect on the biodiversity right from its conception. This makes it imperative for us to study exactly how and where do hotels affect our environment, what can be done to reduce this impact and how aware is the current generation of hotels regarding this issue. Taking the example of India we see that as a result of increasing tourism in Goa, developers built several hotels. The hotels soon drew up to 66,000 gallons of water per day from wells and other local sources. Many of the wells and rivers the community had relied on went dry. This is a common problem in many areas where tourism runs into the limits of natural resources.With various such instances in several parts of the world today, ECOTOURISM—tourism that is nature-oriented and environmentally focused—is growing rapidly. This represents a growing market for environmentally friendly options in the tourism industry. Ecotourism aside, many in the hotel industry have recognized the negative impact their business activities have on the environment and have taken action to alleviate those impacts. Environmentally responsible business practices dovetail well with the newfound popularity of ecotourism. They harmonize tourism and environmental sustainability.This awareness has given rise to what can be called the â€Å"GREEN HOTELS†. The term â€Å"green hotels† describes hotels that strive to be more environment friendly through the efficient use of energy, water, and materials while providing quality services. Green hotels conserve and preserve by saving water, reducing energy use, and reducing solid waste. They have seen benefits such as reduced costs and liabilities, high return and low-risk investments, increased profits, and positive cash flows. Identifying these benefits and inc entives has allowed the popularity of green hotels to grow. Hotels are consistently becoming greener.The most costly and wasteful use of resources in hotels are usually in the consumption of nonrenewable energy, excessive water use, and the generation of waste. Through this paper we would try to point out the complex nature of the impact that hotels have on our environment and the steps that can be taken in order to minimize this impact as much as possible. We would also like to shed light on the work that has already been done in this field by various hotels and organizations. Many organizations have done commendable work in trying to reduce their ecological footprint and have, in some sense, become pioneers and inspiration for others.For instance, the orchid group of hotels is pretty known for the kind of work it does. IMPACTS Tourism has a fairly large environmental footprint. Hotels, being at the heart of it, shoulder the responsibility for this. The following table shows that h otels are responsible for 21% of total emissions generated by tourism industry. These just constitute one part of their impact which in reality has many layers and levels to it. The hotels have an impact on the biodiversity at each stage of its life cycle, right from planning to its closure.These impacts could be summarized as follows: At the planning stage, the most important issue in determining the level of impact that a hotel will have relates to choices about its location and design. Even the most sustainably operated hotel will have major impacts if it is built in a biodiversity-sensitive area. Choices about the materials that will be used to construct the hotel, where those materials will come from and the total physical footprint of the hotel will also influence how significant its impacts will be in the operational stage.At the construction stage, impact is determined by the size and location of the area cleared for development and where construction activities are taking p lace, the choice of construction methods, the sources and amount and type of materials, water and energy used to build the hotel, the location of temporary camps for construction workers, inadequate storage facilities for construction materials, the amount of construction waste that has to be disposed of, and other types of damage such as surface soil erosion or compaction caused by construction activities or disruption of natural water flows and drainage patterns.In the operational stage, a hotel's impact comes mainly from the energy, water, food and other resources that are consumed in running the hotel, by the solid and liquid wastes it produces, by the way its grounds are managed, and by the direct impacts of its guests. In addition, regular renovation and replacement of furniture, appliances and facilities can cause impacts through purchasing choices and increased waste generation.Using energy and water more efficiently, using organic and sustainably produced food, reducing, tr eating and disposing of waste appropriately, making sustainable purchasing decisions and managing gardens with natural-style plantings can all help a hotel to reduce its adverse impacts on biodiversity. Similarly, a hotel's relationship with host communities not only affects the sustainable operations of the hotel but also the use of environmental resources by communities themselves. At the closure stage, a hotel's impacts come from the disposal of materials removed from the hotel to refurbish it, convert it for other uses, or demolish it, nd from the work involved in these activities. It may be possible to reuse and recycle some materials, but there may also be some toxic materials, particularly from older buildings, which will require careful handling and management. A responsible hotel operator should also foresee supporting activities of ecological restoration as required. Responsible siting and design, the effective management of energy and water consumption, and the proper dis posal of wastewater and solid waste are important challenges for any hotel hoping to improve the sustainability of its operations.Now even though a hotel has environmental impact through different stages of its lifecycle the most easily cited and the longest running impact that they have is at their operational stage since once a hotel has been built, it stays in the business for very many years under normal circumstances. The day to day running has impacts which are a lot times ignored in the overall picture. This mostly becomes the case because individually, hotels do not have a significant impact on the environment. Collectively however, they can be very wasteful and use huge amount of resources.It has been estimated that seventy-five percent of hotels’ environmental impacts can be directly related to excessive consumption. This is wasteful in terms of resources and creates unnecessary operational costs. The three key areas of environmental impact are energy, water, and wa ste. Energy – Excessive energy use is extremely costly and with minor adjustments, it can lead to massive cost savings. According to Gossling et. al. (2005), â€Å"the average energy consumption per bed per night in hotels might be in the order of 130 Mega joules.Hotels generally use more energy per visitor that local residents, as they have energy intense facilities, such as bars, restaurants, and pools, and have more spacious rooms. Studies have determined that a hotel emits an average 20. 6 kg of carbon dioxide per night. Waste – A study conducted by Bohdanowicz(2005) also indentified that hotels are not only resource intensive and that waste generation is on e of the most visible effects on the environment. One estimate identified that â€Å"an average hotel produces in excess of one kilogram of waste per guest per day†.Approximately thirty percent of waste in hotels can be diverted through reuse and recycling. Water  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Tourists and residents alike require a clean and dependable supply of water for survival including drinking, cooking and cleansing. However, water is integral to the amenities usually expected by tourists, such as swimming pools, landscaped gardens, and golf courses. Water also supports industries such as agriculture that support the tourism industry (Pigram, 1995). Thus, tourists demand more water than local resident s on a per capita basis (Essex, Kent ; Newnham, 2004).It has been estimated by Salen (1995) that 15,000 cubic meters of water would typically supply 100 rural farmers for three years and 100 urban families for two years, yet only supply 100 luxury hotel guests for less than two months (Holden, 2000). In dryer regions, tourists' water consumption can amount to 440 liters a day per tourist, which is almost double the average amount of water used by residents in Spain (UNEP, 2008). In destinations that do not have the required infrastructure and systems to manage these impacts, severe degradation of the environment can occur.The following table summarizes the environmental impact of the day to day workings of any hotel Service/Activity| Description| Main Environmental Impacts| Administration| Hotel management Reception of clients| Energy, water and materials (mainly paper) Generation of waste and hazardous waste (toner cartridges)| Technical Services| Equipment for producing hot water and heating Air conditioning Lighting Swimming pools Green areas Mice and insect extermination Repairs and maintenance| Energy and water consumption Consumption and generation of a wide range of hazardous products Air and soil emissionsGeneration of waste water Pesticides use| Restaurant/bar| Breakfast, lunch, dinner Beverages and snacks| Energy, water and raw materials consumption Packaging waste Organic waste| Kitchen| Food conservation Food preparation Dish washing| Consumption of energy and water Packaging waste Oil waste Organic waste Generation of odours| Room Use| Use by guests Products fo r guests' use Housekeeping| Energy, water and raw materials consumption Use of hazardous products Generation of waste packaging Generation of waste water| Laundry| Washing and ironing of guest clothesWashing and ironing of hotel linens| Consumption of energy and water Use of hazardous cleaning products Generation of waste water  | (Graci, 2009) This gives us a clear enough picture of the ecological impacts of hotels. Thus it becomes imperative that each hotel recognizes them and takes initiative to curb these impacts. With the growth of the tourism sector all over the world and with more and more hotels coming up each day these small things become issues of epic proportions when looked at collectively. In a time when our environment is in a very fragile condition one can’t ignore such a situation.The sooner hotels realize this the better it would be. However, these issues were not even brought to light till very recently. The annual hospitality consultants’ conferenc e in 2007 did not even mention any of the environmental issues that plagued hotels in their top 10 problems of the industry. BEST PRACTICES There are many green practices that hotels can implement and they also help save unnecessary costs. There can be many ways in which a hotel can reduce its footprint. Some of them can be: * Not discharging waste in water bodies – prevents pollution. * Recycling Use of compact fluorescent lights – saves energy. * Reuse of linens – saves water, detergent, energy and greenhouse gases. * Low-flow shower systems – saves water and energy. * Local products – save transportation costs. * Installation of green roofs – saves energy. * Installation of solar heaters or other renewable energy source – saves energy. These points are just a brief outline to what can really be done in order to go green. The possibilities as such are endless. There are some more sophisticated and cost heavy methods that can also be undertaken. BENEFITS OF GOING GREENCost benefits Financial savings are one of the most significant factors that influence the implementation of environmental initiatives in a hotel. This is especially evident for hotel businesses that operate in a highly competitive market and where the cost of energy, water and waste disposal are high. Hotel operators that can maximize their efficiency and reduce waste will be more cost-effective than their competitors. Hotels also use large amounts of energy to keep guests cool in hot temperatures, and equally large amounts of energy to keep them warm during the winter.In some destinations, hotels place an additional, sometimes unsustainable demand on local water resources and generate large quantities of food and packaging waste. Despite the setup costs and the possible lengthy return on investment associated with environmental initiatives, the economic benefits usually outweigh the cost of implementation. Starting with projects that are less ca pital intensive – such as retrofitting light bulbs, energy metering, and training staff to be conscious of energy use – can lead to substantial cost savings. Competitive advantageGreen programs can provide a competitive advantage to leaders as long as green activities continue to be voluntary. Over time, however, green practices in the hospitality industry will become a baseline requirement, particularly as the cost of non-renewable energy continues to rise, regulatory pressure increases, and consumers become more demanding. Therefore, hotels with business models that revolve around green practices will have the strongest opportunity to achieve a competitive advantage by being ahead of the emerging sustainability curve. Employee retentionEmployees are identified as one of the greatest benefits of going green. Employees, like hotel guests, are increasingly sophisticated and â€Å"tuned† into current thinking in society and are far more likely to identify with an employer whose principles and practices are aligned with their values. Environmental programs have proved to be an effective means of generating enthusiasm and motivating staff to work as a team to achieve a common purpose. Many hotel companies use environmental programs as a staff incentive – the financial savings earned are translated into cash or other rewards such as in-house events or trips.Employee turnover rate in the hotel sector is relatively high therefore increasing the retention rate will also save the business money in training of new staff. Customer loyalty There has been a shift in the expectations and demands of consumers. The typical hotel guest of today is more sophisticated and to varying degrees is likely to be concerned about environmental issues such as recycling bottles, cans and paper at home as well as making greener lifestyle choices, such as organic food or fuel-efficient vehicles.Many guests however, make their decision to stay at a hotel facility based on location, amenities, and service. The implementation of environmental initiatives may play a smaller role in a guest's choice of a property. The influence from customers however occurs when their level of awareness increases and they come to expect environmental practices such as recycling. Despite first-time guests basing their decisions on location, amenities and service, customer loyalty may increase once they have experienced a hotel which has demonstrated a level of environmental commitment.Regulatory compliance Hotels must anticipate future regulatory changes and implement initiatives to mitigate the possible costly effects of emerging regulation. Savvy businesses are aware that regulations do not have to be a negative restraint on their daily operations – in fact, they can offer opportunities to gain an advantage over competitors. Some environmental regulations are good for economic competition as they stimulate innovation that can offset the cost of complianc e. By implementing measures in the face of societal and egulatory pressures, unexpected, but substantial cost savings as well as potential new areas of profit may be found. The hotel industry worldwide is increasingly being regulated for waste, water, energy use and greenhouse gas emission. Being aware of pending rule changes will allow you to adopt measures in advance, and avoid potentially higher future costs which may be associated with compliance. Risk management Risk minimization is now viewed as increasingly intertwined with good corporate social responsibility and governance.Managing risk is as much about minimizing the potential damage from decisions and actions taken from within a company as it is about managing external exposure. Traditionally, a hotel's risk management strategy has been focused on health and safety concerns around food and water, pest infestation, fire or water damage, outbreaks of disease, and guest security and safety. In recent years however, environme ntal and social issues are emerging as a key risk issue for the lodging sector. Environmental risks include: * Water and land contamination. * Air and noise pollution. Supply chain environmental practices. * Waste management. Environmental risks also have an impact on the cost of capital for businesses of various types and sizes, and may affect the value of a company over the long term. In addition, the investment community is increasingly regarding excellence in environmental management and performance as an indication of the quality and aptitude of management in general. Some insurance companies and lenders are beginning to selectively adjust their rates based on environmental criteria stipulated by ethical funds.Companies that integrate the environment into their business decisions and reduce their environmental risk and potential liabilities are in a better position to secure investment and reduce their financial and reputational market exposure (Graci and Dodds, 2009). Cause it 's the right thing to do! Beyond regulation and compliance, many environmental and social initiatives are voluntary. Whether driven by cost savings or a principled strategy, the hotel industry is recognizing the environment, the community and their human capital as a valuable resource to be protected.Long-term business sustainability will depend on this. Many hotels have implemented social initiatives and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their regular day-to-day practices. Corporate social responsibility in the hotel industry ideally exists in human resources management, the local community, and through promoting and practicing environmental initiatives and is heavily influenced by internal and external forces. CSR has been widely expanding throughout the hotel industry, mainly to prove that corporate unethical behavior is no longer a problem.Thus, hotels are embarking on being ethical through social initiatives by protecting and supporting communities, their human resourc es, and by implementing environmental initiatives. Many international and local hotels are becoming involved in corporate social responsibility in order to extend their brand knowledge to different types of audiences, to gain employee retention and improved competitive advantage, and lastly because it is â€Å"the right thing to do†. Sixty-five percent of the top 100 companies in the world employ some sort of corporate social responsibility statement featured on their websites.Several multinational companies have gained a very negative brand reputation based on their past unethical practices. Larger companies have been criticized as being the main culprit in releasing excess greenhouse emissions, climate change, environmental devastation, and unfair treatment of employees. Due to such criticisms and negative publicity, many businesses have increased the focus on corporate social responsibility. HIGH ACHIEVERS When it comes to hotels that are environmentally sustainable the fi rst name that comes to mind is the Orchid group of hotels.The Orchid  became Asia's first Five Star hotel to win the ECOTEL ® certification shortly after opening in May of 1997 and today (January 2011) is the only Hotel in the World to win over  80  international / national awards in 13 years from inception. Under the management of  The Orchid  Owner Vithal Kamat, the hotel has earned more environmental accolades than any other hotel in the world. With this latest achievement,  The Orchid  becomes one of only six hotels in the world to maintain top-level, â€Å"five-globe,† ECOTEL ®-Certification. Though orchid group is a pioneer in environmentally friendly hotels, others ave also done substantial work. The fern group of hotels in India being one of them. The Uppal in New Delhi, Seasons in Pune etc are other ecotel hotels. Various international hotels are also actively involved in such projects that put environmental sustainability at its fore. In conclusion it can be said that though environmental sustainability is big problem that is plaguing the hospitality industry, it’s still not too late to correct the situation. References * www. uneptie. org * http://www. concepthospitality. com * Accor 2010, ‘Child Protection'.Retrieved February 04, 2010 from  http://www. accor. com/en/sustainable-development/ego-priorities/child-protection. html * Alexander, S 2002, Green Hotels: Opportunities and Resources for Success. Portland: Zero Waste Alliance. * Bohdanowicz, P 2005, ‘European Hoteliers' Environmental Attitudes: Greening the Business, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 188-204. * Bohdanowicz, P 2006, ‘Environmental Awareness and Initiatives in the Swedish and Polish Hotel Industries – Survey Results' International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 662-668. * Bohdanowicz, P. and Zientara, P. 2008, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Hospit ality: Issues and Implications. A Case Study of Scandic' Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 271-293. * Brebbia, C. A. and Pineda, F. D. 2004, Sustainable Tourism. WIT Press, Boston. * Claver- Cortes, E. , Molina-Azorin, J. F. Pereira-Moliner, J. , Lopez-Gamero, M. D. 2007, ‘Environmental Strategies and Their Impact on Hotel Performance' Journal of Sustainable Tourism. , vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 663-679. * Dodds, R. 005, Barriers to the Implementation of Sustainable Tourism Policy in Destinations. University of Surrey School of Management, Surrey. * Essex, S. , Kent, M. , ; Newnham, R. 2004, ‘Tourism development in Mallorca: Is water supply a constraint? ‘ Journal of Sustainable Tourism, vol 12, no. 1, pp. 4-28. * Fairmont Hotel and Resorts 2001, The Green Partnership Guide. A Practical Guide to Greening your Hotel, 2nd edition, Toronto * Fairmont Hotels and Resorts 2008, Corporate Responsibility. Retrieved February 04, 2010, fromhttp://w ww. fairmont. com/EN_FA/AboutFairmont/enviroment/Awards/CorporateEn

Being Too Skinny †A Personal Essay

Being Too Skinny – A Personal Essay Free Online Research Papers To have healthy body, fair skin, sharp features and cuteness- key elements towards which boys used to open their responses for girls, when I was in 9th grade in late 80s. â€Å"Dating† wasn’t openly allowed and common at that time in Indian culture but the idea was there of liking some one and sneaking around secretly. None of the above elements were in my account though- combination of very thin body, average look, and wheatish skin- that was ME. I had few ideas to create new skin and little bit beautiful face with make up but I was totally empty when had to deal with my skinniness eighty pound, butt less, skinny and full of visible bones containing body. Many times my closest friend Neel had expressed her feeling saying â€Å"Dolly, You got to put some extra kgs fat on your bones or else you will have to dig out for stick figure husband†, which insisted me to realize the reality of being extremely skinny. I used to be nervous sometime thinking about my tiny body but being very studios and sincere student- studies, future goals had caught me tightly enough so my thiness didn’t bother me much at that time though all of my girl friends had boyfriends secretly which made me feel bit uns uccessful for not catching any boy’s eye on me. Some three years ran over and final year of school came up. l. One day when I reached at school Neel-my best friend jumped towards me with mixed feeling of anger, surprising and happiness â€Å"Dolly, what have I heard about you I didn’t expect this from you, I ‘m your closest friend and you even didn’t care to tell me about all these, I’m so mad at you†. I some how felt scared as I had little idea about what might be in her mind but I ask her with act of knowing nothing about the situation â€Å" Neel, What happened, what have you heard about me?, just calm down and let’s talk†- Then I settled down the issue with her anyways. The secret was hidden in my chest successfully since last two years disclosed suddenly that day in school some other scattered comments spilled on me that day â€Å"Dolly, What is going on? Is it really true? â€Å", â€Å"Dolly, wow you have made a history†. Yes, world came to know the biggest secret o f my life that I had an affair with most eligible, desirable and hot favorite boy in our batch- Annie, who is currently known as my dear husband. Many students including me had one question – Why he chose me? , the skinniest girl in the school though he was able to get any damn beautiful girl around him? My fatless body became a topic and always teased , whenever family and friends got an opportunity. My dearest uncle- Jaimy said to me once â€Å"It seemed that hollow matchstick was flying in the air, when you were dancing†. We all were attending my cousin’s pre- wedding dance party and uncle Jaimy made a big confusion – Was his comment on my dancing skills or my skinny body? People are so crucial some time that they make comment which doesn’t have straight meaning. I spent enough time in my life to scrutinize people’s attitude towards me of being so bony when I was in India during my 20’s. I was landed recently from India, totally unaware of body structures of white and black people It was first day at work in USA at near by convenient store, surrounded by black people’s residents. My vision was so surprised by seeing each customer coming and leaving that store, every one was so called â€Å"healthy†-guys were showing off puffed muscles by tattooing them and each female looked like a factory of lump sum fat. I wondered â€Å"what must be the difference between my size and their, I was wearing one size so I guess they must be belong to 16-18 or 20? ,do they need to customize the size? as I had never seen such kind of giant clothes in my home country. That day went by and I got chance to develop some happiness of being skinny. My skinny body was worth of many great comments that day like â€Å" Hey pretty girl, you are so lucky to have this kind of body , you don’t have to check calories count on back of every food wrapper† , â€Å" hey be autiful, can we switch our bodies as I ‘m carrying huge one and have been dreaming about skinny one like yours? God, I was so happy that night which made me to ask that secretive question to my husband Annie- Why he chose me? , He laughed at me, hugged me real tight and said â€Å" Dolly, I love you so much all it matters so go to sleep and I will reveal that secret some other time†. That was the day when I felt happiness of being slim because I was liked and loved the way I was, none compromised made. But some how I middle of that night I felt â€Å" there would me nice If I can put up little more weight and make myself more beautiful though I don’t want to be a giant or huge one.† I had new goal of my life -to make more fat tissues for myself. I started eating cheese and butter with each bite of my day, gained few pounds on my bones which helped me to feel beautiful without any make up but specially India people around me never stopped bothering me about my skinniness .I was introduced to one of our community member through my friend Sheetal recently â€Å" Hey , this is Dolly-one of my good friend, I was talking about†. That lady carrying 150 pound on her bones looked at me and said â€Å"Hey Dolly, you are lot skinnier than Sheetal desctibed you earlier, do me a favor –can you take few pounds from me?† I was shocked after getting this kind of comment at first introduction. I was confused about her concern, was she complaining about her being so fat or about me being so flat by idea of giving up some pounds to me. I was little bit angry as she pointed out my characteristic at first sight. Anyways I smiled at her and replied humorously that â€Å"I do get that offer many times†. I could take pr ide of being the way I was when I was surrounded by American people but it sucked when I had to face my own community. Many years went by I had always got comments, complements, humors and advices. I was passing through my mid thirties. One incident made me to think about my lanky characteristic. I was in my English class; teacher had asked us to write an essay on â€Å"impact of any personal characteristic on our life†. I decided â€Å"my thinness† without any further thinking. When we classmates and teacher discussed our thoughts and topic of the essay teacher made a comment about my topic â€Å"You are so lucky to be like this thin as you will get reward in your 40s†. It wasn’t a huge complement but yes, I never thought what it would be in my 40s before. She certainly opened new thoughts for me of being skinny. Well, because of essay I had to dig out my past experience and outcomes of being svelte. The same night I was discussing about my English class assignment with my husband and he laughed at me and said â€Å" you have been always so concern about your body, now l eave it alone and enjoy your life† I picked up his mood and asked him to go out for dinner as it was our 9th wedding anniversary. â€Å"Hey honey, today is the day you can tell me your little secret, it’s a perfect time, please tell me what made you to marry me?† we both were enjoying our romantic dinner at my favorite restaurant ‘P.F. Changs’, I hold his hand and gave him soft look . He replied â€Å" Dolly, you have always thought that your bones don’t have enough fat but when we were in school many boys were mad for you as you were most sophisticated, reliable, loyal and sincere girl but no one ever dare to come to you because of your straightforwardness. One more thing Dolly, if you remember I was also a thin boy so I always dreamed about thin girl like you. Finally I decided to take that risk and asked for your companionship for life time†. I cried and thank god of â€Å"being thin†. Research Papers on Being Too Skinny - A Personal EssayStandardized TestingPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyThe Spring and AutumnHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayHip-Hop is ArtEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThe Hockey GameThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsMind Travel

Why you need to stop researching and start writing - Emphasis

Why you need to stop researching and start writing Why you need to stop researching and start writing Theres no getting away from it: research is addictive. And theres a good reason for that – were all hard-wired to search. Its a survival mechanism, programmed into us by evolution. As hunter-gatherers on the savannah, we needed something that would shake us from our slumber; that would make us get off our fur-clad backsides and look for food or shelter. As you need both to live, this was undeniably a positive trait. And so those ancestors who happened to get a kick out of finding things survived, while those who could take or leave the wildebeest-tracking or shelter-finding starved or risked attack at dawn. As a result, we all became programmed to look. That kick you get when you find something new is actually a surge in the production of the feel-good hormone dopamine. And where once it was useful, these days it can actually be a real handicap. Thats because we get a dopamine rush not just from finding food or shelter, but from finding information. And information is everywhere. We dont even need to find it: it finds us. In todays always-on, smartphone-dominated world, it can sometimes feel like information hunts or even haunts us. But we still have our original programming in place. We still want information. And our tech-connected world provides it in spades. We look, we find, we feel good (for a moment, at least), and we look for more. This positive feedback loop is a recipe for addiction. And addicts are what millions of us are. Dopamine compresses time. It makes an hour seem like a few minutes. (Time really does fly when youre having fun.) As Clay Johnson says in his book, The Information Diet, A quick check of email when we get home can often end up in evenings entirely lost to LCD screens. It actually takes energy to avoid information, because resisting the urge to search means overcoming millions of years of evolution. And when information is all around us, avoiding it can be exhausting. And so we come to writing – or, more specifically, not writing, because were still researching. When youve been given free licence to go hunting for facts, its going to be hard to stop – especially if youre an information junkie already. If youre researching a report, every new little nugget of data, every intriguing fact, gives you a (perhaps subconscious) frisson of pleasure and spurs you on to look for more. Research is also a safe place. As long as youre looking, your report is still perfect. As long as youre still searching, you dont have to face the terrifying prospect of being crippled by writers block. In the end, research itself can become another displacement activity. At some point, there will come a time when you have to stop researching and start writing. What you need to do to overcome this is start to stack the odds in your favour again. So here are five ways to do exactly that: 1. Set a time limit on your research A project without a deadline is a hobby. If it is a hobby, then great. But if youre being paid to find information, then at some point youre going to have to report back. Staying in research mode forever is pointless, so set a time limit. Put a date in your calendar or – for more regular, smaller projects – give yourself just a day or two, or even just a few hours. Then start writing. 2. Use placeholders in what you write It can actually be profitable to write with small gaps in your knowledge. I wrote this piece in 45 minutes, but I was only able to do that because I didnt allow myself time to look up the name of the author of the book I mentioned above. Instead, I just wrote [insert name of author] and carried on writing. You can come back and fill in the gaps later. 3. Read offline The internet is one giant warren of research rabbit holes that lead you to distracting websites (and usually, I find, to social media or endless news sites). Its all too easy to disappear down one while fact-finding, and to be gone for hours. Apps like Pocket  and Evernote overcome this. Pocket, for example, lets you send information (articles, videos and images) to an app that you read offline (on any platform), in a layout that looks more like a book and without distracting menus. It also lets you tag the items you add to it, as does Evernote. Its a real boon to effective research. 4. Get some sleep Burning the midnight oil could actually be working against you. It takes immense willpower to stay super-focused and – ultimately – to stop researching. And your brain needs to be on top form in order to connect ideas and get writing. No amount of coffee will push ideas quickly enough around a brain fogged by tiredness. 5. Practise information hygiene Wean yourself off your information addiction by limiting how much information can chase you. Every smartphone or computer notification is a distraction that you need energy to ignore. (The author Kathy Sierra calls them cognitive leaks.) If you give in to them, youll reinforce your addiction to research. If you dont, youll leach away energy – energy that would be much better spent writing. Ive got a confession: Im an information addict too. I love that dopamine rush. In fact, one of lifes more old-school pleasures for me is to visit a university library. I love the heady aroma of centuries of accumulated knowledge. But thats generally not why you research. You do it not just to discover, but to share. And if you dont share it, no one will ever know that you discovered it in the first place. So, stop researching, and start writing. Image credit: Pet Greens Live Catnip

Poetry Analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poetry Analyze - Essay Example The poem has a whole bunch of ideas concerning parenthood and the roles of both the parents in bringing up a home. It tells a story of a complete family comprising a father, a mother and children. The mother is a homemaker and takes care of her family by doing home chores such as cleaning the diapers and ensuring her children are safe. The dad on the other hand works to provide for the family, it be evidenced by the fact that it is in the evening that we are introduced to her husband who probably is from work. She tends to the needs of her husband as said in the second last stanza of the poem, â€Å"later that night when Thomas rolled over and lurched into her.† From the last two stanzas, the poem introduces the relationship of a couple in parenthood. These two people are in very different situations. One goes to work to provide for the family, the other takes care of the family by looking after the kids. In all these occurrences, we see the way roles are divided in the running of family affairs. The situation of the woman is that which makes her selflessly dedicate herself to her roles as a mother. Despite the fact that she needs time for herself, she has no freedom at all to be herself in the family; she puts her family first in line and only gets the pleasure of resting for an hour. The rest of the time, she is a mother and a wife. This shows her dedication to parenthood. From the last two stanzas, we see the way the woman is submissive to Thomas by taking care of his needs as a husband. Thomas does not notice how tired the wife has been from the day’s activities. She does not complain about it to her husband instead she does what she wants her to do. This portrays Thomas as a man who is not caring about his wife because we are shown from the last stanza that â€Å"Thomas rolled and lurched into into her, she would open her eyes and think of the place that was hers for an hour.† This means that as a wife she is withdrawn