Transmittal of Project Report on Flextime Strategy Research Paper

Transmittal of Project Report on Flextime Strategy - Research Paper Example Solutions and its impacts on both the employers and employees of the company. Various factors included in this research study were about the different types of flextime policies implemented by some of the well reputed business firms in the world and its impact on the organization. Primary research was also performed through questionnaires designed to survey the employees of Health Tech. Solutions. Based on the findings and analysis of the research study, it is recommended that Health Tech. Solutions should consider implementing a flextime policy for its employees that includes 4-day work week with 4 out of 10 working hours every day available as flexible time according to the choice of the employees. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions associated with the project report or if you need any kind of additional information. I will try to assist you in every way possible. Enc. Project Report TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 OVERVIEW 7 TYPE S OF FLEXTIME 9 IMPACT ON EMPLOYER 11 Advantages 11 Disadvantages 12 IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE 12 Advantages 13 Disadvantages 13 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 14 Secondary Research and Analysis 15 Primary Research and Analysis 17 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 20 CONCLUSION 21 RECOMMENDATIONS 22 REFERENCES 22 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Table – 1: Preference for 4-day or 5-day work week 19 Table – 2: Preference of 8-hour days as working hours 20 Table – 3: Preference of 10-hour days as working hours 20 Figure – 1: Employees favoring work from home 19 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Flextime strategies have received a renewed attention in many of the companies all around the world. Health tech. Solutions is also thinking of implementing a flextime strategy in their company as suggested by many of the employees in the company. This research study deals with the problem statement about the various merits and demerits of a flextime strategy being implemented by an organization and its various impact s on both the employees and employers of an organization. Both secondary and primary research methods have been employed in order to conduct this study successfully. The different types of flextime strategies followed by five of the well reputed companies have been included in this study. Those companies include Pricewaterhouse Coopers, KPMG, Sun Microsystems, etc. Primary research has also been performed which included a questionnaire survey of the employees of Health Tech. Based on the research it has been found that the flextime strategies adopted by most of the companies have proved to be very much advantageous for them. It has resulted in increased performance of the employees and reduction of the employee turnover rates. The information collected from the questionnaire survey suggested that employees had greater interest in having flexible working hours in their work schedule. Hence it is recommended that a flextime strategy should be implemented in Health Tech. Solutions. The flextime policy should include four days 10-hours day per week work schedule and would include 4 hours as flexible working hours for the employees. It is suggested that implementation of flextime strategy in Health Tech. Solutions would prove advantageous for the company since the performance level of the employees would increase and the company would be able to save significant amount of turnover costs. OVERVIEW The concept of flexible timing in work

Organizational Behavior at My Company Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior at My Company Essay To understand how the concept of organizational behavior can be applied and described through the work environment of My Company, I will first explore a general definition of what Organizational Behavior is and then relate how the individual components apply. According to Stephen Robbins, author of our Organizational Behavior textbook, Organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organizations effectiveness(9). The first component of this definition is to see the impact that the individuals have, followed by the impact of the groups, and then finally the impact of the structure. I will expand on each of these areas and relate them to the current practices within My Company. It is probable that the single most prevalent aspect of organizational behavior through the eyes of an employee would be the impact that they personally have on the company. What this implies, is that when I try to describe the impact individuals have to the company, it will be solely from my perspective as a non-managerial employee. Had my perspective been from that of an employee in a management-level position, it would most likely differ. From the experiences that I have had in the two and a half years that I have worked at My Company, it seems to me that individuals are encouraged to take the initiative to make their work as productive as possible. I have been part of many changes that have been initiated by non-management level employees to try and streamline and improve efficiencies within the company. This has led me to believe that one of the in-use espoused values is that of empowering all levels of employees with the ability to make changes that will directly affect their p articular areas. When evaluating the group component and how that relates to the My Company environment, I am going to make the assumption that a group is the equivalent of a department. These departmental segregations help to increase internal accountability and define what each group will be responsible for. Each group has its own independent structure and operates a little differently depending on the style of the individual manager. Many of these groups (departments) can be broken down into subgroups to further delegate  components of work. The outcome is that within each department or group there is a hierarchy where you will find different forms of leadership. Some of these subgroup leaders lead by being experts in their fields rather than having a title of being a manager. Within my group there is a distinct leader that I work for. I have found that if I am struggling with a project or if I cannot define the scope of a job that I am working on often times I can rely on help from the leader of my group to help achieve the desired results. If for some reason components (individuals) within my subgroup started to perform poorly, the outcome could have serious consequences to the productivity of our entire department. Conversely, if we were able to drastically improve performance metrics for our areas of responsibility, we would then be able to offset some work from other areas within the group. This interdependence of the subgroups has helped our group to have more control of the aspects that will impact how productively the company will continue to be going forward. Through the process of defining the groups within My Company, I have made reference to the internal group structure. Instead of rehashing this same information and tying it back to the structural component mentioned in the definition of organizational behavior, I am going to relate how my manager is able to structure her team to be as effective and productive as possible. Looking through the four essential management functions (Robbins 5) defined in our reading material, (planning, organizing, leading and controlling) I am able to see how my manager struggles to constantly apply these ideas in her day to day responsibilities. Our group organizes weekly meetings where we try to plan what tasks we would like to undertake in the near future. My manager is responsible for keeping these meetings in focus so that overall group objectives are met. Through controlling and delegating within these meetings, she has shown the ability to lead our group and utilize different strengths of individuals to maximize our effectiveness. Being able to take more of an observational role in this situation has helped me to understand the different idiosyncrasies that exist within our company and department. By identifying these quirks I feel that I am able to better understand how many of the different internal components and people must work together in order to achieve desired results. This has helped me to recognize, at least  at the group level, how one can utilize many of the resources to maximize efficiencies within My Company. Works Cited Robbins, Stephen. Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Pearson, 2001.

Communication Leaflet Essay Example for Free

Communication Leaflet Essay Idea occurs: this is when you think of an idea that you want to communicate. We all communicate for a reason, which is usually to pass on information to another person. Message coded: once we have thought of an idea we compose this within our thoughts, how we are going to say our idea to the recipient in a way the recipient will understand. For example, is the message going to be spoken to them, do they speak English. Is the message going to written down for them or are we going to use sign language, if so, what signs are we going to use to portray our message. Message sent: idea/message sent to the recipient. Message received: message is received by the other person. The recipient senses they have a message, for example either by seeing the message you’re signing or have written to them or hearing the message you’re speaking to them. Message decoded: recipient looks at the message and has to process what you have communicated for them to understand what has been spoken, signed or written, the message could be misunderstood easily by interpreting words differently. Message understood: the message has been received, decoded and understood by the recipient. If it has been communicated clearly, for example if there were no barriers within the communication cycle, the recipient will show their understanding by replying to your message. As the conversation continues, the sender of the message will then become the receiver of the replied message and so on and so on. Example of a message being sent using the Communication Cycle. The cycle will only continue if both parties understand what one another are sending, they can only do this by listening and processing what is being sent, understand then you can reply appropriately. In the communication cycle, things don’t always go smoothly and communication can break down when the cycle is broken. The cycle can break if the sender is unclear when they are sending their message or the receiver can misunderstand the message due to other distractions and then assume something else was being sent. Working in health and social care, your communicational skills are one of the most important skills you’ll need and use everyday. When communicating with patients/service users it is important they understand what discussions are taking place so they can join in them and it is equally as important for you to understand them so you know what they need and the choices they want to make. Communication barriers There are so many barriers that could affect communication between people. For example: Noisy surroundings: these can be a barrier as you may not be hear what is being spoken over the noise. For example, The manager of a care home was having a staff meeting when they were distracted with a noisy drilling and hammering sounds from workmen using loud tools in the room next door.. To overcome a noisy distraction you could ask the workmen how long they are going to be and if it isn’t too long you may take a break or postpone your meeting until they have finished. You could ask if they could delay theirs works for the remainder of your meeting. If this is not possible, rearrange your meeting for a later day, move room location for the remainder of the meeting. Disabilities: A physically disabled person attending their eye appointment and there is no lift at the opticians. To overcome this barrier you would enquire to see if the have another means to transporting the service user up the stairs and if this was not possible, enquire if the appointment could take place downstairs and if this was not possible, arrange an appointment where they can accommodate a wheelchair. Cultural differences: same meaning but different beliefs in different cultures. For example, eye contact when initially greeting some cultures is important but continuing eye contact is seen as a sign of disrespect. Some cultures like you to introduce yourself, they like a smile and a shake of hands. They are particular with the way they shake hands, extend the hand out and gently touch the other person’s hand, they don’t like the strong grasping shake of hands that the some cultures have. Bad lighting: bad lighting can be a distraction for example, someone who is visually impaired and wears glasses is at a meeting and the bright florescent lights are reflecting off their lenses or flickering distracting their sight. To overcome this barrier, you would enquire of any disabilities people may have, such as visual impairments or epilepsy and would not use lighting that will affect their condition or change room locations if the problem of flickering lights persists. Jargon: is technical terminology used by professionals for example, when a doctor uses full medical terminology when speaking to a service user and they do not explain what they mean in a way the service user can understand. Slang: is wording and phrases that are used by service users that could have several ways of being misinterpreted by others, for example, the elder service users may say they have water problems, and they are meaning they have toileting problems, we may think they mean tap water problems. Slang can be used when all parties understand. Language barriers: someone who doesn’t speak in a language you understand, for example, they are foreign or they can only communicate with sign language. To overcome a language barrier, enquire what language they communicate and have in place a signer if needed or a translator. Body language: is an aid to expressing what we want to communicate, verbally and none verbally. Body language that can be misinterpreted, for example, a manager stood at their office door with their arms folded may be seen as they are angry when really they are stood there listening as they are waiting for a visitor. Aggression: an aggressive attitude is often a barrier as this behaviour is frightening to others and can be intimidating. Mobile phones: ringing at the wrong time, for example, you are at Sunday mass with a service user and whilst your at the alter with the service user, your mobile phone rings. To ensure mobile phones do not ring, put signs in place to ask people to kindly turn their mobiles on silent if they cannot turn them off for any reason.

The Rural Development And Agritourisms

The Rural Development And Agritourisms As per the evidence in the chapter 2, it is clear that tourism is an important sector and it has the ability to contribute for national development of many countries in developed and also in developing world. In this chapter, relationship between agritourism; a form of rural tourism and rural development is going to be studied to understand the level of contribution of agritourism for the rural development using existing literature especially in developing countries. Therefore, this chapter establishes the vital theoretical background for this research. This chapter is consisted of three main sections. In the first section, information related to rural development including definitions, different sectors of rural development, a new paradigm of rural tourism and barriers of rural development in developing countries. The second section provides information related to agritourism such as the concept, definitions, theoretical basis of agritourism, activities of agritourism, factors affecting for successful agritourism, advantages and disadvantages of agritourism, impact of agritourism for local residents, important policies related to agritourism development and current situation and development of agritourism in the world and in Asia. In the last section, relationship between agritourism and rural development has been discussed in detail. 3.1 Concept of rural development Before understand what rural development is, it is important to look at what rural areas are. In general, rural areas are geographical areas that are located outside the towns or cities. Hamlets, villages, towns, and other small settlements are in or surrounded by rural areas. Rural areas are open swath of lands that has few homes or other buildings, and not very many people. In rural areas, population density is lower than urban areas. Still 70 percent of the worlds poor is living in rural areas (World Bank, 2010) and agriculture is the main source of income and employment. Agriculture and forestry represent activities which occupy many fields of land and play a primary role in the managing of the rich natural resources and in the formation of the landscape in the rural regions, where they constitute an essential part of the natural environment and cultural heritage. Wildlife is more frequently found in rural areas. Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of life and economic wellbeing of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated rural areas. It aims at the improvement of welfare of rural populations through the sustained growth of the rural economy. As a concept, it connotes overall development of rural areas with a view to improve the quality of life rural people. As a phenomenon, it is the result of various physical, technological, economic, socio-cultural and institutional factors. As a discipline, it is multi-disciplinary in nature representing an intersection of agricultural, social, behavioral and management of sciences (Fotiadis, 2009.). Rural development is not simply an economic proposition; it has social, psychological and cultural dimensions as well. It is a multi-dimensional as well as multi-directional concept. Thus, rural development is a program designed to improve the socio-economic living conditions of the rural poor. It aims at raising their cultural level and reorienting their rich traditions. It seeks to achieve increase rural production and productivity, greater socio-economic equity and a higher standard of living for the rural poor. It is partly ameliorative and partly development-oriented (..). Development is interlinked with motivation, innovation and the active participation of the beneficiaries. Rural development recognizes the importance of improved food supplies and nutrition, as well as the importance of basic services such as health, housing, education and expanded communications, which will go a long way in enhancing the productivity of the rural poor. Moreover, it aims at providing gainful e mployment, so that the rural people too may contribute their mite to the national product. Rural development implies a fuller development of existing resources, including the construction of infrastructure, such as roads and irrigation works, the introduction of new production technology, the revival of traditional arts and crafts, and the creation of new types of institutions and organizations (Desai, 2005). Not like traditional rural development approach that was based on modernization theory, the contemporary rural development is a new rural development approach, representing a policy model that seeks to focus less on the production of primary commodities and more on innovation and diversification (Ploeg et al., 2000). The model claims to encourage more democratic and effective rural development on the basis that different local stakeholders are involved as decision makers in the development process, and that the emergent development outcome is more innovative and integrated as a result. (Macken-Walsh, 2009). 3.1.1 Definitions of Rural Development There is no universally accepted definition of rural development. The term is used in different ways in vastly divergent contexts. Rural development can be defined as the development of regions excluding the urban areas such as the towns and cities. Smaller settlements such as villages, farmsteads, and market towns are normally included within the concept of rural, while most of the land area is expected to be used as agricultural land, forest or in its natural state (Apostolides. 2001?). According to Robert Chambers, rural development is a strategy to enable a specific group of people, poor rural women and men, to gain for themselves, and their children more of what they want and need. It involves helping the poorest among those who seek a livelihood in the rural areas to demand and control more of the benefits of rural development. The group includes small-scale farmers, tenants and the landless. Rural development may be defined as overall development of rural areas to improve the quality of life of rural people. It is an integrated process, which includes social, economical, political and spiritual development of the poorer sections of the society. Social or economic activities or initiatives designed to improve the standard of living in areas far away from large towns or cities. Thus, the term rural development may be used to imply any one of the above-mentioned connotations. The avoid ineffective floundering among the myriad definitions, it can be defined as a process leading to sustainable improvement in the quality of life of rural people, especially the poor 3.1.2 Barriers for rural development In many countries several problems can be identified against the rural development. They act as barriers to reach rural development. Most of them are common to number of countries. Some main barriers prevailing in developing countries can be summarized as follows. Depleting natural resources, resulting in insecurity of food and employment, compelling over majority of the rural population to live in poverty. Pollution of the environment and climate change, causing shortage of clean drinking water and adverse impact on agricultural production. Lack of employment opportunities, forcing the landless and small farmers to migrate to urban areas reducing young labour for the activities of rural areas. Poor access to education, resulting in low literacy and unemployment of the youth. Particularly among women having adverse effect on their skills development, employment productivity, family welfare and education of their children. Poor health status due to lack of clean drinking water, hygiene, sanitation and drainage facilities; Inadequate health care facilities, leading to high child mortality and morbidity; loss of labour productivity, economic loss, indebtedness and poor quality of life. Poor infrastructure for receiving timely information on development opportunities, market demand and prices for agricultural commodities, new technologies, forward and backward linkages, credit facilities and development policies of the government and Lack of technological skills to conduct processing and value addition to agricultural and other local products available in rural areas. Lack of peoples organizations and participation for supporting various socio-economic development activities and governing themselves (Hegde, 2010; Walsh, 2009; Commission on Sustainable Development, 2007). If we can overcome these problems, significant level of rural development can be obtained. It is the responsibility of the government to create a suitable environment for rural people to engage in rural development activities to gain sustainable development. 3.1. 3 New rural development paradigm As explained earlier, the traditional rural development approaches mainly based on industrial sector and modernization path. Decline in number of farms and a sharp drop in employment opportunities were seen as inevitable outcomes of this model. In addition, regional disparities increased and tensions grew between farming on the one hand and landscape, nature, environment and product on the other (Knickel 1990; Meyer 1996; Roep 2000). Until the early 1990s, due to scale-enlargement, intensification, specialization, within other sectors, a strong trend towards internalization was the parameters that circumscribed developments in the agricultural sector. With the understanding of these issues, present rural development means a new developmental model for the agricultural sector. This model entails societys expectations of agriculture and with the interests, prospect and perspectives of increasing segments of the agrarian community. In brief, new rural development can be seen as the sear ch for a new agricultural development model which is targeting to use rural resources in an effective manner to distribute benefits for the majority of the community. It is impossible and undesirable to refer to rural development as a new blueprint, but understanding of what elements should comprise in this new model are emerging fast. (Mannion 1996; Saraceno 1996) Agritourism, an alternative for diversification of agriculture is one of the main elements of it. 3.2 Concept of Agritourism Agritourism can be explained as a farm enterprise operated for the enjoyment and education of the public that may also generate additional income for the farmer by promoting farm products and experiences and giving many opportunities to local community to enhance their living standards (Wilson, Thilmany, Sullins, 2006). The concept is gaining popularity and its providing a great escape for people in urban environment from their high-paced, strenuous and many times monotonous lifestyle. At the same time its helping the new generation to get first-hand experience of the rural life, which otherwise is limited only to the books for them. Spending time on the farms, interacting with the local people and farmers to get an insight into their day-to-day work and their traditions, participating in the local fairs and festivals, doing the actual work on the farm, milking the cow, riding a bullock cart, are some of the activities that can be enjoyed on an agritourism outing. 3.2.1 Theoretical basis of agritourism Agritourism is multifunctional and cooperative strategy (Sidali, Spiller and Schulze, 2011; Wilson, 2007; Essex, et. al., 2005; Schmitt, 2010; Mason, 2000). The post-productivits agricultural system is the new approach in agricultural development. It is very complicated than subsistence and productivits agriculture systems (Topcu, 2007). Post-productivits agriculture system is a broad concept and the five main tasks of it are qualitative priorities in food production, alternative income sources for farmers and sustainability of agricultural lands, conservation of environment and new employment opportunities. Agritourism can easily link with these new aspects of agricultural development. Moreover, agritourism can be performed in five important sectors such as agricultural economic, socio-cultural, environmental and educational context in an effective manner. Further, since it is highly involved with the gender factor, agritourism as a gender approach is also having higher importance ( Topcu, 2007; Sidali, Spiller and Schulze; 2011; Wilson, 2007; Essex, et. al., 2005). 3.2.2 Definitions of agritourism Before 1990, only a little information has been published on agritourism. This lack of information was one of the reasons for the absence for the commonly accepted definition (Lack, 1997). However, after 1990, the research literature on agritourism has flourished and several number of definitions are available now (McGehee Kim, 2004). Some selected definitions of agritourism are as follows. Agritourism can be defined as the practice of engaging in activities, events and services that has been provided to consumers for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes at a farm, ranch, or other agricultural, horticultural, or agribusiness operation in order to allow consumers to experience, learn about, and participate in various facets of agricultural industry, culinary pursuits, natural resources, and heritage (Colorado Agritourism Research Project, 2010). Tew (2010) cited The Agribusiness Development Division of the Missouri Department of Agriculture (2010) defines agritourism as, visiting a working farm or any agricultural, horticultural, or agribusiness operation for the purpose of appreciation, enjoyment, education, or recreational involvement with agricultural, natural or heritage resources Agritourism as an innovative agricultural activity related to tourism and agriculture both in which has capacity to create additional source of income and employment opportunities to the farmers and local communities (Maruti, 2009). Agritourism can be characterized as a business or activity that invites visitors to come on-farm or into a rural community to enjoy agriculture, its produce and the natural environment in which it exists. Agritourism is generally an additional enterprise added to the farm, integrating tourism into agri-business (Porcaro, 2009). An activity, enterprise or business which combines primary elements and characteristics of agriculture and tourism and provides an experience for visitors which stimulates economic activity and impacts both farm and community income (Bruch, 2008). Tourism on a working farm in which visitors can experience a direct connection with the host farm, rural life and/or the local environment. There is not a consistent definition of agritourism in the literature, and it has been used interchangeably with other terms. For example, some studies have previously been synonymously linked to rural tourism, farm tourism, agro-tourism, agricultural tourism and farm based vacation (Seong-woo and Sou-yeon, 2006; Ilbery, 1998; Ilbery, 1991). However, the main idea of all of these definitions is more or less similar. As a whole, agritourism can be explained as an interaction among agricultural producers, visitors, and local residents. Operators (mainly farmers) can earn extra income from the farm, visitors can get real knowledge and experience on farming and local residents can enhance their living slandered in several ways. 3.2.3 Working definition for agritourism in the study For the purpose of this study, agritourism is defined as tourism activities that conduct in working farm and surrounding, for enjoyment, education, recreation of visitors, hoping an additional income for the operator from farm resources in special and sustainable local development in general. This is the working definition for agritourism in this study that is suitable in Sri Lankan context. After having strong theoretical knowledge and practical experience in agritourism sector, this was developed, including considering the main purposes of agritourism visitors, motivation of agritourism operators and expectations of local residents for rural development. Economic, social, environmental dimensions have been included in this definition. 3.2.4 Activities involved in agritourism Normally, agritourism activities are the tourism activities take place in agricultural lands and surrounding rural environments. The number of agritourism activities mainly depends on the size of the farm and nature of the farming activities. These activities are important for the visitors to enjoy and learn agriculture. Blacka et al (2001) has divided agritourism activities in Virginia, into six categories as lodging and camping (bed breakfast, camp sites, youth camp, farm vacation, weddings, honeymoons), special events and festivals (music festivals, haunted house, holiday celebrations, harvest festivals) Off the farm (farmers markets, roadside produce stands), recreational activities and events (fee fishing, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, skeet shooting), tourism related direct marketing (pick your own fruits/vegetables, sell processed food on the farm, sell herbal organic products) an youth and or adult education (Organized tours, agricultural educational programs, dem onstrations). Lack (1995) divided agritourism British Colombia, into three groups as retail sales/ direct marketing (goods produced on-site, customer harvested produce and goods produced off-site), Tours (tour of processing facilities, scenic tours and tours of production facilities) and activities (accommodation, cultural activities, recreation and educational or hands on experiences). It is important to include all the possible agritourism activities because it helps to increase the length of stay and satisfaction of the visitors. In European countries, in a farm there are activities for visitors even for several days. However, the number of agritourism activities is lower in Asian countries. Further, activities in agritourism and rural tourism havent clearly categorized yet and most of the time they are used interchangeably. Briefly, a successful agritourism operation should have three aspects. They are the need to have things for visitors to see (educational tours, historical recreations, festivals/special events, crop arts), things for visitors to do (educational activities, petting zoos, hay rides, pick your own) and things for visitors to buy (food drinks, farm products, souvenirs). Things to see and do are often offered free of charge. But, money can be earned by selling things to the visitors (Adam, 2001). Agritourism can be used as primary, supplementary or complementary enterprise. As a primary enterprise, agritourism would be the main activity in the farm. Agritourism could be a minor activity in supplementary enterprises and it would share equal footing in complementary enterprises (Blacka et al., 2001). Agritourism can consist of different alternatives such as temporary attraction or special event, part of a large agriculture-oriented destination, part of a large non-agriculture-oriented dest ination, and complete agritourism agritourism operation. Different forms agritourism business Farmers can incorporate agritourism activities to their farms in various ways according to the situation. Four possible ways are; as a supplementary, complementary or primary enterprise, farmer must be ready to think creatively and plan effectively in order to success the agritourism enterprise (Mnguni, 2010). Supplementary enterprise In a supplementary enterprise, agritourism could be a minor activity that would support the other products on the farm. For example, if the primary enterprise is crop production, educational and training programs can be introduced with marketing facility of value added crop products. Complementary enterprise In a complementary enterprise, agritourism activities have equal share with other enterprises in the farm product mix. For instance, if there is a grapes production enterprise on the farm, it the farmer wants to sell half of the grapes to a whole seller and the remainder to pick-your-own operations for visitors on the farm, then the two enterprises would be complementary enterprises. The primary enterprise In the primary enterprise, agritourism would be the major activity on the farm. For example, suppose that a farmer wants to open a winery on the farm and invite guests to spend the day or the weekend tasting wine. As a part of the wine tasting package, farmer may include overnight lodging in a cottage on your farm. You may produce grapes for the wine on your farm to supplement your wine tasting activities. Here agritourism is the main part of the farm product mix and it becomes the primary enterprise (Bernardo, Valentin and Leatherman, 2007; Blacka, et al, 2001). 3.2.5 Issues and challenges of agritourism development As agritourism is a business activity, lots of requirements are essential for the successfulness of it. However, as agritourism is conduct mainly in rural areas by farmers, presence of several issues and challenges is a common phenomenon. For example, a study by Lack (1995) in British Colombia, has discovered that, lack of training, marketing knowledge, quality control, finance, appropriate insurance, excessive regulations, personal challenges for farm families, conflict with primary agricultural production, distance from markets, infrastructure limitations and farm disease are the challenges of agritourism development in that country. Agritourism in Nova Scotia has some obstacles. Many agritourism operators face the problem of lack of assistance and the knowledge required to produce market-ready products as Nova Scotia Tourism and Culture is reluctant to include and to enhance agritourism in their marketing campaigns. This lack of support hinders the development of agritourism produ cts and services resulting poorly developed and marketed products by farmers. So, farmers could not develop many skills required to operate an effective tourism business (Colton and Bissix, 2005). A study in Haryana, India has reported that the Lack of funds for publicity and advertisement less number of visitors, Lack of technology to develop farm tourism, lack of motivation of farmers, inadequate price for farm products/activities as major constraints in establishing agritourism (Shehrawat, 2009). In Sri Lanka, issues and challenges in agritourism are small size farm lands, lack of required skills for the operators, poor level of processing of agricultural products, low level of publicity and promotion are the significant factors. Furthermore, lack of visitors, environmental pollution, poor condition on infrastructure, are the common problems for all the operators (Malkanthi and Routray, 2011b). Although there are few differences, most of the issues and challenges are common for many countries. As issues and challenges are negatively affect for the growth of the sector, finding solutions is utmost important. 3.2.6 Sustainability in agritourism operations Sustainable tourism development is supposed to meet the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing the opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled, while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems (World Tourism Organization, 1999) Therefore, Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability. Same as other tourism destinations, sustainability of agritourism destinations are very important in long run. Although most of the destinations that are feasible in short run, face difficulties in survival in long run. So, economic feasibility, social acceptability and environmental friendliness of tourism operations are equally applicable to agritourism as well. World Tourism Organization (2001), defines sustainable development as convene the requirement of present tourists and host regions as caring and improving opportunity for prospect. Its management of resources satisfies in way of economical, social and aesthetic needs satisfying while maintaining cultural integrity necessary for ecological processes, biological diversity and existence support system. Markandya, et.al., (2003) have reported that the three main linkages among tourism and sustainable development are economic, social and environmental. Tourism can kill itself if we mismanage the tourism activities and places (Yalcin Kuwan Perran Akan, 2001). Unspoiled natural environment is an asset of the industry. It will create the competitive advantage to the industry (Cater, 1993). The implementation and success of policies of sustainability, in employing tourism income to support social and cultural development and wild life conservation, require strategy framework which guides tourism development in a balanced and coherent way (Hall, 1998). Economic feasibility As one element of destinations economy, tourism must support a viable economic base. A healthy economy enables a country, region or city to pursue initiatives designed to enhance the quality of its residents (Ritchie Crouch, 2003). Traditional way of management of tourism destination was rather productive and resource-centered. But since there are limits in adapting to the market, the present strategy is combined supply and market let approach. In this context, management of demand is highly responsible for the sustainable tourism development (Kastenholz, 2004). So, instead of profit maximization of a destination by damaging the environment in short term, now the principle is to obtain the optimum profit. Economic benefits are positively related with the number of visitors. Further arrangement of traditional and cultural events is cost effective with this large number. However, as agritourism is a niche market, socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable, cooperation of cultural activities is very important. Socio-cultural feasibility It is widely accepted that local community participation is essential in sustainable tourism. Since agritourism is a service industry, goodwill and cooperation of host communities are the key factors of the success of the industry (Cole, 2006; Knowd, 2006). It is more important for the positive effects of tourism to the local community. It should be free from negative effects to the community. So, it is essential to test the social acceptability of tourism destinations (Gonzalez and Falcon, 2003). Convery, Dutson Scott (2006) found out the importance of stronger link between tourism and surrounding communities. The study also emphasizes the importance of social capital and social network in remote upland rural locations for the success of the operation. Most common measurement in tourism socio cultural force is the relation of visitors to the local population. Vital indicators are the stay-over time and average length of stay (Mcelroy, 2003). Sharpley (2002) said that socio-cultural growth includes population of remote areas, development and maintenance of public services, renewal of local craft, customs and cultural recognition. So it influences the chance for social control and exchange. Environmental feasibility Tourism destination should less damage to the surrounding environment; especially it should be free from serious environmental pollution activities. So, it should match with environmental rules and regulations and followed by Environment Impact Assessment (United Nations, 1999). However, the literature reveals that little evidence is there regarding environment being considered by farmers, planners and tourism professionals (Kline et al. 2007). Thus, sustainable agritourism should ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation. Also, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance. It should make careful use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity. Sustainable agritourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable agritourism is a continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary. Furthermore, it should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them. Although it is difficult and expensive, agritourism development should follow the sustainable tourism procedures to obtain the real benefits of it forever. However, most of the operators in many countries mainly emphasize only on short term economic advantages without social and environmental benefits. This is the reason for the breakdown of many tourism operations including agritourism, within a short time period. 3.2.7 Government policies in agritourism In general local government is the most important authority in establishing tourism development policies (Perce, 1989). However, the types and the content of its involvement vary from country to country based on the political, economic, and constitutional systems. In many European countries governments have supported the growth of the agritourism sector. There are national policies for the support and development of agritourism in a number of countries for a long time. For instance, in France, state financial aids to support the renovation of redundant farm buildings into accommodation facilities were introduced in 1954. Farms in Italy, Germany and Denmark also have long benefited from national support for the development of tourist facilities (Frater, 1983; Nilsson, 2002). In Britain, Scheme offering financial incentives and advices about diversification, together with partial relaxation of planning restrictions, have facilitated the development of farm-based tourism. The farm diversification Grant Scheme introduced by the ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1988, was one of the first measures offering grants to farmers to help them develop diversification schemes (Walford, 2001). According to Douglas Douglas, (2001); Fernando, Rebollo Biadal, (2003), it is important to develop policies in a proactive nature to lay the foundation and capture the development potential of tourism for rural communities. So, the national rural tourism strategy of a country must emphasis on infrastructure development, product development, accreditation and industrial standards, education and training, market analysis and the role of government authorities and industrial leaders in further developing the rural tourism product. Ritchie Crouch (2003) reported that policy is an important factor which ensures the success of tourism destination. It also creates a friendly environment among stakeholders. Therefore, the main objectives of agritourism policy are to minimize and alleviate negative environmental, s

Fragments of A Painful Case and Paper Pills -- Painful Case Paper Pill

Fragments of "A Painful Case" and "Paper Pills" Although James Joyce and Sherwood Anderson situate their subjects in very different milieux (Joyce's in Dublin; Anderson's in Winesburg, Ohio), two of their subjects speak the same language of idiosyncrasy. In Joyce's "A Painful Case," Mr. Duffy keeps on his desk "a little sheaf of papers held together by a brass pin. In these sheets a sentence was inscribed from time to time and, in an ironical moment, the headline of an advertisement for Bile Beans had been pasted on to the first sheet" (Joyce 103). In Anderson's "Paper Pills," Dr. Reefy records his thoughts on "scraps of paper that became hard balls and were thrown away" (Anderson 36). These scribbled bits of subjectivity offer insight into the constituions of Anderson's doctor and Joyce's painful case. Living "in Chapelizod because he wished to live as far as possible from the city of which he was a citizen" (Joyce 103), Mr. Duffy provides an example of the unwittingly mechanized individual. Mr. Duffy attempts "to preserve an interior life of introspection against the overwhelming and machine-like activities of city life" (134) but he resembles nothing so much as a well-oiled machine. Duffy tries to live self-contained in the gap between nature and culture, when these terms are defined so that "we can see the infant's relation to the mother as somehow 'natural' and the post-Oedipal child as one who is in the process of assuming a position within the cultural order as a whole" (Eagleton 156). Associating with "neither companions nor friends, church nor creed" (Joyce 105), Duffy removes himself from familial and societal ties and from "his body, regarding his own acts with doubtful side-glances" (104). The first threat to... ...uded the world. It became terrible and then faded away and the little thoughts began again" (37). In this cycle of univocity and fragmentation, even the twisted apples have their day in the sun. As opposed to Duffy's ordered collage, Reefy's confounding lack of order -- in a different twist of Modernist irony -- assure his wholeness and his health. Works Cited Anderson, Sherwood. "Paper Pills." Winesburg, Ohio. Ed. John H. Ferres. New York:Viking Penguin, 1977. 35-8. Butler, Christopher. Early Modernism: Literature, Music, and Painting in Europe, 1900-1916. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995. Joyce, James. "A Painful Case." Dubliners . New York: Penguin, 1993. 103-14. ---. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.. Ed. Chester G. Anderson. New York: Viking Penguin, 1977.

Philosophy Statement :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Philosophy Statement Education is the window to the world. It can be possibly described as the eyes, the ears, the heart and the soul of every person who has entered a classroom. Why is education important? For me, it is important because it helps develop a student intellectually, socially, and emotionally. It encompasses a wide range of talents that is essential to the every day world. Education is a universal concept due to the fact that it is widely available to every child in the United State. However, that does not make education a success for every child. Ultimately, the success rate of education rests with a child’s teacher and that is what should motivate every teacher in the classroom. As a teacher, I plan to motivate my students using the following philosophies if essentialism, existentialism, and progressivism. The following use of these philosophies in my classroom can result in a positive and enlightening atmosphere in the intermediate and secondary level classrooms. Essentialism backs up the traditional role of teaching that many students will experience in the intermediate or secondary English classroom. I am a firm believer in this philosophy because it has been tried and tested throughout the years. In fact, it is the main philosophy that my teachers used in the classroom. I believe that all students come with a basic knowledge but need guidance from teachers. In fact, teachers are the core center of education in the essentialist classroom and they need to direct students in the areas of math, science, literature, English, foreign language, and history. As an English teacher, I plan to use essentialism in teaching the basic skills of grammar and writing and choosing appropriate literature that I believe will help students as they further their education. Also, the choice of literature will help students develop morally and socially. The nest philosophy that I plan to use is centered on the idea of existentialism because it focuses on a student-centered classroom. I believe that students should have a voice in their classroom and I plan to be democratic and allow students a limited amount of freedom and free will. In light of this philosophy, I plan to allow students freedom in selecting literature and the decision to evaluate their progress through book reports, presentations, and group work.

Porters Diamond Of Competitive Advantage :: Business Economics

Introduction Since its publication in 1990, Michael Porter's book The Competitive Advantage of Nations has attracted much consideration. The main analytical tool of the book is the diamond of competitive advantage (figure 1). This model is based on four country specific "determinants" and two external variables. Porter's four determinants and two outside forces interact in a "diamond" of competitive advantage, with the nature of a country's international competitiveness depending upon the type and quality of these interactions. However, because it is fundamentally a home-based model of international competitiveness, the diamond theory is criticized by many international business scholars. Dunning , and Rugman  ¬,  ¬Ã‚ ¬ point out that the influence on competitiveness of two-way foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign government influence and interference on trade and investment have been neglected. Rugman and Collinson have also evaluated the model and identified eight areas for commen t. This essay will look at Rugman and Collinson's criticisms of Porter's model, focussing on three major areas: the role of FDI, foreign government influence and Multi National Enterprises (MNEs), before looking at developments to Porters diamond with country specific examples. RUGMAN'S AND COLLINSON'S CRITIQUE OF PORTER'S DIAMOND The eight areas identified for comment and evaluation namely: the model is limited by being based on ten countries, which are either industrialised or a member of a triad; the Government is of critical importance, and has been neglected by Porter; chance although critical, is difficult to predict or guard against; Porter's model must be applied in terms of company-specific considerations and not in terms of national advantages; Porter delineates only four distinct stages of national competitive development; Porter contends that only outward FDI is valuable in creating competitive advantage, and inbound foreign investment is never the solution to a nation's competitive problems; reliance on natural resources is viewed by Porter as insufficient to create worldwide competitive stature; the model does not adequately address the role of MNEs. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FDI tends to focus on opportunities in the same continental region. This often reflects attempts by multinationals to build up regional networks starting near their home base. A major conceptual problem with Porter's model is due to the narrow definition he applies to FDI. Porter defines only outward FDI as being "valuable in creating competitive advantage" and that inward FDI is "not entirely healthy" . He also states that foreign subsidiaries are importers, and that this is a source of comparative disadvantage .