Doppelgängers Revealing Personal Duality - Literature Essay Samples

A recurring plot point in Edgar Allan Poe’s short horror stories, doppelgà ¤ngers allow Poe to delve deep into characters’ consciences, enabling the reader to grasp the contrasting duality of human nature. This theme appears in Poe’s â€Å"William Wilson† providing suspense and thrilling plot twists for a memorable ending. A popular literary technique, doppelgà ¤ngers appear most often in Gothic literature. Based on a compound German word, â€Å"doppelgà ¤nger† can be literally translated to mean â€Å"double-goer.† A fitting translation, â€Å"double-goer† properly describes the character to which a doppelgà ¤nger refers. Defined as either â€Å"a ghostly counterpart of a living person† or a â€Å"double, alter ego, a person who has the same name as another,† doppelgà ¤ngers basically describe extremely similar characters who have a very strong personal connection, whether they are related, or just happen to sha re the same name (â€Å"doppelganger†). In Poe’s short story, â€Å"William Wilson,† the narrator, who calls himself William Wilson, meets his namesake, when another William Wilson arrives at Dr. Bransby’s Academy. Immediately, his doppelgà ¤nger affects Wilson’s mental wellbeing. Wilson’s doppelgà ¤nger follows him throughout the world, foiling his attempts at trickery. Following several build-ups of passionate hatred, Wilson’s displeasure overflows, and he tries to defeat his namesake, but both times, he cannot complete the act he intended because of a shocking realization. A true doppelgà ¤nger, William Wilson’s namesake possesses several traits exactly like those of Wilson. First, of course, â€Å"although no relation,† they possess the same name. At first, Wilson attempts to write this off as a coincidence, calling the shared name â€Å"one of those every-day appellations which seem, by perspective right, t o have been, time out of mind, the common property of the mob† in order to assign less value to the fact that they have the same name (Poe 243). Another â€Å"mere accident,† Wilson and his namesake arrive at the school on the same day, setting â€Å"afloat the notion that [they] were brothers† (245). Surprisingly, had this same-named stranger been his brother, he and Wilson would have been twins; Wilson learns that they also share a birthday, along with the author: â€Å"the nineteenth of January, 1813† (245). Wilson also discovers that his doppelgà ¤nger are â€Å"of the same height† and â€Å"even singularly alike in general contour of person and outline of feature,† furthering the belief that they could be twins (246). After realizing all the similarities that cannot be helped, the doppelgà ¤nger takes the imitation further, purposefully mimicking his style of dress. With practice, the doppelgà ¤nger manages to copy Wilson’ s voice, but the doppelgà ¤nger has a â€Å"constitutional defect† which prohibits him from speaking audibly (247). The doppelgà ¤nger can only manage to whisper, but â€Å"his singular whisper† slowly becomes â€Å"the very echo† of Wilson’s voice (247). Despite these glowing similarities, Wilson finds â€Å"no reason to believe that†¦this similarity had ever been made a subject of comment, or even observed at all by our schoolfellows† (247). With all these disturbing similarities, Wilson confesses â€Å"nothing could more seriously disturb [him]†¦than any allusion to a similarity of mind, person, or condition existing between [them]† and develops feelings of disgust and vexation. Truthfully, however, the original William Wilson is â€Å"aggressive, witty, and imperious,† while his namesake presents himself as â€Å"Quiet, gentle, and wise—but unthreatened† (Warner 1). Following Wilson’s opinion of him, the doppelgà ¤nger maintains a detrimental hold on Wilson. A cunning prankster, Wilson often attempts to pull pranks on his fellow classmates, until his doppelgà ¤nger arrives. His namesake’s â€Å"constant thwarting† of his schemes â€Å"sparks a slowly smoldering hatred in Wilson† (â€Å"There are Two Sides to Every Poe† 1). In an attempt to punish his doppelgà ¤nger, Wilson intends to play a prank on him. Sneaking into his bedroom late at night, Wilson pulls back the drapes around the bed, but cannot bring himself to carry out his plan, because the face he sees in the bed is his own. To escape this terrifying sight, Wilson flees the Academy for Eton College. With newfound control over his doppelgà ¤nger, William Wilson quickly reverts to his old ways. In a â€Å"moment of intoxicated weakness and depravity,† the doppelgà ¤nger returns, announcing his return by whispering the shared name into Wilson’s ear (1). Once aga in, this confrontation sends Wilson running away to Oxford University. While at Oxford, Wilson predictably continues with his â€Å"hedonistic antics† when he attempts to â€Å"cheat a nobleman, Lord Glendinning, at cards† (1). Suddenly, the intruding doppelgà ¤nger reveals Wilson’s scheme, saying he is â€Å"fulfilling a duty† (Poe 256). This opinion of his deed reveals the doppelgà ¤nger’s true form and purpose in Wilson’s life. Serving as an external view of Wilson’s conscience, the doppelgà ¤nger allows an internal conflict within William Wilson to exist in true sight. Clearly, Wilson and his namesake represent the duality of human nature. As Wilson portrays himself through his scheming true self and his appropriate doppelgà ¤nger, so people often face internal conflicts with either side of themselves. For example, the temptation to cheat on a test may entice the overwhelmed side of a student, but the desire to maintain a certain level of integrity inspires the honest side of the same student. Poe introduces the doppelgà ¤nger to appropriately show William Wilson’s internal conflict externally. Facing â€Å"a conflict of conscience—doing good versus doing evil,† William Wilson truly fights his conscience when he battles against his doppelgà ¤nger (Coulahan 2). Unfortunately, Wilson realizes his true connection to his doppelgà ¤nger too late.The final straw, Wilson’s doppelgà ¤nger arrives at a masquerade party and foils Wilson’s attempt at seducing a beautiful married woman. Upon hearing the â€Å"ever-remembered, low, damnable whisper† in his ear, Wilson breaks into a â€Å"[f]renzy of wrath† towards his doppelgà ¤nger (Poe 260). Engaged in a swordfight, the doppelgà ¤nger seems unwilling to partake in the confrontation for the obvious reason that there can be no winner when someone fights with himself. In an absolute rage, Wilson stabs his namesake repeatedly through the chest. To â€Å"prevent an intrusion,† Wilson turns away from his doppelgà ¤nger for a split second, but when he â€Å"immediately return[s] to [his] dying antagonist,† he sees instead a large mirror (261). In the mirror, Wilson witnesses his â€Å"own image, but with features all pale and dabbled in blood,† indicating that by killing his doppelgà ¤nger, he has actually killed himself. Confirming this, the doppelgà ¤nger reiterates that by murdering him, Wilson has murdered himself.Indeed, killing one’s conscience ultimately leads to death, whether physical or emotional. By ignoring the morals engraved into their characters, people undermine the moral fiber that keeps society running in an orderly fashion. As Wilson ignores his doppelgà ¤nger in attempts to cheat in cards and seduce a married woman, he harms not only himself but also those his schemes are directed at. Similarly, the duality of human beings ke eps both sides in check, allowing the conscience to dictate moral behavior.Poe uses the common literary technique, doppelgà ¤ngers, to portray the common theme of duality of human nature. Serving as the good side, the doppelgà ¤nger in â€Å"William Wilson† provided a loathed contrast to the evil William Wilson. By incorporating doppelgà ¤ngers as a literary technique, Edgar Allan Poe externalizes an internal conflict in several stories, including â€Å"William Wilson.†Works Cited Coulahan, Jack. William Wilson. Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database. 19 Dec. 2001. New York University. 7 Sept. 2008 . doppelganger. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.Merriam-Webster Online. 7 September 2008Poe, Edgar A. Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: HarperCollins, 1970. There are Two Sides to Every Poe. Shyspeak.net. 3 June 2006. 7 Sept. 2008 . Warner, C. S. Doppelgà ¤ngers in Poes William Wilson and the Movie, Fight Club. Associated Content. 8 Aug. 2007. As sociated Content. 7 Sept. 2008 .

Interesting Facts and Data About American Indians

Due to longstanding cultural mythology and the fact that Native Americans constitute one of the smallest racial groups in the United States, misinformation about indigenous peoples abounds. Many Americans simply regard Native Americans as caricatures that only come to mind when Pilgrims, cowboys, or Columbus are the topics at hand. Yet American Indians are three-dimensional people who exist in the here and now. In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month, the U.S. Census Bureau has collected data about American Indians that reveal noteworthy trends taking place among this diverse racial group. Get the facts about what makes Native Americans unique. Almost Half of Native Americans Are Mixed-Race According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more than five million Native Americans live in the United States, making up 1.7 percent of the population. While 2.9 million U.S. indigenous peoples identify as solely American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.3 million identified as multiracial, the Census Bureau reported. Thats nearly half of the indigenous population. Why do so many Natives identify as biracial or multiracial? The reasons for the trend vary. Some of these Native Americans may be the product of interracial couples—one indigenous parent and one of another race. They may also have non-Native ancestry that dates back to generations past. On the flip side, many whites and blacks claim to have Native American ancestry because race mixing has taken place in the U.S. for centuries. There’s even a nickname for this phenomenon, â€Å"Cherokee Grandmother Syndrome.† It refers to people who report family legends that a distant ancestor such as their great-great-grandmother was Native American. This isn’t to say that the whites and blacks in question are always lying or mistaken about having indigenous ancestry. When talk show host Oprah Winfrey had her DNA analyzed on the television show â€Å"African American Lives,† she was found to have a significant amount of Native American lineage. Many people who claim American Indian origin don’t know much, if anything, about their Native ancestor and are ignorant about Native cultures and customs. Yet they may be responsible for a boost in the indigenous population if they claim Native ancestry on the census. â€Å"Reclaimers are perceived as preying upon the current trendiness of Nativeness as well as perhaps embracing this heritage for economic, or perceived economic, gain,† Kathleen J. Fitzgerald writes in the book Beyond White Ethnicity. Examples include Margaret Seltzer (aka Margaret B. Jones) and Timothy Patrick Barrus (aka Nasdijj), a couple of the white writers who profited from writing memoirs in which they pretended to be Native American. Another reason for the high number of multiracial Native Americans is the spike in the number of Latin American immigrants in the U.S. with indigenous ancestry. The 2010 census found that Latinos are increasingly choosing to identify as Native American. Many Latinos have European, indigenous and African ancestry. Those who are intimately connected to their indigenous roots want such ancestry to be acknowledged. The Native American Population Is Growing â€Å"When Indians go away, they don’t come back. Last of the Mohicans, last of the Winnebago, last of the Coeur d’Alene people†¦,† says a character in the Native American film â€Å"Smoke Signals.† He alludes to the widely spread notion in U.S. society that indigenous peoples are extinct. Contrary to popular belief, Native Americans did not all disappear when Europeans settled in the New World. Although the warfare and disease that Europeans spread upon arriving in the Americas did decimate entire communities of American Indians, U.S. indigenous groups are actually growing today. The Native American population rose by 1.1 million, or 26.7%, between the 2000 and 2010 census. That’s much faster than the general population growth of 9.7%. By 2050, the Native population is expected to increase by more than three million. The Native American population is concentrated in 15 states, all of which have indigenous populations of 100,000 or more: California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, New York, New Mexico, Washington, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, and Illinois. While California has the largest number of Native Americans, Alaska has the highest percentage of the population. Given that the median age of the Native American population is 29, eight years younger than the general population, the indigenous population is in a prime position to expand. Eight Native American Tribes Have at Least 100,000 Members Many Americans would draw a blank if asked to list a handful of the nation’s largest indigenous tribes. The country is home to 565 federally-recognized Indian tribes and 334 American Indian reservations. The largest eight tribes range in size from 819,105 to 105,304, with the Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, Mexican-American Indians, Chippewa, Sioux, Apache, and Blackfeet topping the list. A Significant Portion of Native Americans Are Bilingual Unless you live in Indian Country, it may be a surprise for you to learn that many Native Americans speak more than one language. The Census Bureau has found that 28% of American Indians and Alaska Natives speak a language other than English at home. That’s higher than the U.S. average of 21%. Among the Navajo Nation, a whopping 73% of members are bilingual. The fact that many Native Americans today speak both English and a tribal language is, in part, due to the work of activists who have striven to keep indigenous dialects alive. As recently as the 1900s, the U.S. government actively worked to stop Native peoples from speaking in tribal languages. Government officials even sent indigenous children to boarding schools where they were punished for speaking tribal languages. As elders in some indigenous communities died, fewer and fewer tribal members could speak the tribal language and pass it on. According to the National Geographic Society’s Enduring Voices Project, a language dies every two weeks. More than half of the world’s 7,000 languages will vanish by 2100, and many such languages have never been written down. To help preserve indigenous languages and interests worldwide, the United Nations created a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. Native American Businesses Are Booming Native American businesses are on the rise. From 2002 to 2007, receipts for such businesses jumped by 28%. To boot, the number of Native American businesses increased by 17.7% during the same time period. With 45,629 Native-owned businesses, California leads the nation in indigenous enterprises, followed by Oklahoma and Texas. More than half of indigenous businesses fall into the construction, repair, maintenance, personal and laundry services categories. Sources and Further Reading Fitzgerald, Kathleen J. Beyond White Ethnicity. Lexington Books, 2007.  Hinton, Leanne, and Ken Hale. The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice. Leiden: Brill, 2013.The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010. 2010 Census Briefs. Washington DC: United States Census Bureau, January 2012.United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Indigenous Peoples. United Nations, 2007.

Comparing my Local Grocery Store to Walmart - 1126 Words

For this assignment, I decided to go to a grocery store by my house named Meijer. Meijer is just like any other grocery store, similar to Wal-Mart, yet higher quality products than Wal-Mart. The clothing for both boys and girls sections are close together. I noticed that there are articles of clothing that are similar for boys and girls, but they are called different names to make them more masculine or feminine. For example, shirts for girls are called fashion tops and just shirts for boys. Some patterns that I saw in the clothing/toys is that for almost each advertisement or label had a picture of a boy or a girl to indicate which toy or clothing is meant for which gender. I did find some things that I thought were unusual. One thing†¦show more content†¦Other factors are how kids play with each other, their peers they are surrounded by, and the media. Males tend to be more physical when they play indicating that they are more aggressive than females are. Both males and fe males play different sports than females. An instance would be football, soccer, and wrestling, compared to cheerleading, gymnastics, and volleyball for the girls. Football, soccer, and wrestling are a more physical contact sport than cheerleading, gymnastics or volleyball are. Peers is also another part for socialization because the way boys or girls act around each other. Children follow by example, so if they see their friends doing something, they will most likely follow. As children get older, peers plays a bigger part in influencing children to act a certain way according to society and other peers. Lastly, the media is additionally has a huge impression on how kids should act and look. The commercials for children on T.V. convince children what they should be playing with, who they should be playing with, how they should look, and how they should act. It is very rare to see girls playing Legos or hot wheels in commercials. The same is for boys, commercials do not promote boys playing with and accessorizing with Barbie dolls. Some clothes that are deemed to be gender neutral are certain types of shirts and shoes. An example of a gender neutral shirtShow MoreRelatedUsing A Randomized Block Design And Socioeconomic Sequential Testing Essay1727 Words   |  7 Pagesstill have the time and money to pursue my other interests. This, however, has not always been the case because I failed to realize that this new adventure would be weighed down with much responsibility. One of the necessary responsibilities that I did not consider until I moved away from home was grocery shopping. As a full time student, working part time, I am forced to embrace frugality. Because of this, I have chosen to investigate my typical weekly grocery list. Using a Randomized Block DesignRead MoreStrategic Management And Planning : Walmart Vs. 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Customer Feedback Landmark Hotel in Auckland

Question: Discuss about theCustomer Feedbackfor Landmark Hotel in Auckland. Answer: Introduction: The report discusses about the issues faced by Landmark hotel in Auckland. In light of losing several business accounts and drop in the rate of repeat bookings, General Manager of hotel emphasizes on measuring by ways of collecting data as he thinks that management is best done when various variable affecting it is measured. Report has two parts. In first part, varies ways of measuring guest satisfaction is discussed along with their strength and weakness. Integrate feedback from different ways and a way is designed for sharing the information and identifying people for reporting it (Ariffin et al., 2013). Second part of report discusses about several sub sets of questions from the survey conducted on guest for hotels. Various issues identified in the operation of hotels are discussed and several recommendations are provided for actions. Discussion: Part A: Landmark hotel is facing few issues concerning its booking rates and has been losing several business accounts. General Manager is thinking that guest satisfaction report would be relevant in determining the cause of lagging business and therefore he intends to measure the satisfaction of gests by some possible sources. Foundation of any successful business is formed because of satisfied customers (Chen et al., 2015). This is so because customer satisfaction leads to repeated purchase, build brand loyalty by spreading positive word of mouth. Satisfaction depicts the overall attitude of the customers toward the provider of service. There seems to exist positive connection between loyalty, customer satisfaction and retention. Measuring the satisfaction of customers assist the organization in understanding the key drivers that is causing dissatisfaction and satisfaction among the consumers with service provider. Moreover, it helps organization in focusing on its customers and improving their satisfaction. It also helps hoteliers in understanding the extent to which satisfaction is influenced by factors that is outside their control (El Haddad, 2015). However, there are various factors influencing customer satisfaction. Three possible sources for measuring guest satisfaction and their strength and weakness are as follows: There are various sources of measuring customer satisfaction and it comprise of external and internal sources. Conducting customer satisfaction survey- It is one of the economic and efficient ways of measuring customer satisfaction. They are designed to give unambiguous and anonymous insight into perception and thoughts of service and product. Gathering information directly from customers would be beneficial in measuring satisfaction (Molina-Azorn et al., 2015). However, there are some pros and cons of this method. Conducting survey helps in getting up to date feedback by regularly scheduling email and online surveys. It helps in receiving an immediate feedback from customers. Benchmark results are obtained as the organization can gain continuous insight into the customers. On the other hand, conducting survey might be faced with time constraint. Privacy issues is another disadvantage of this source as there is insecurity of releasing private information (Padilla-Melndez Garrido-Moreno, 2014). Telephonic interviews- This tool kit for measuring satisfaction comes with low cost and high control of sample and standards of interviewer. It uses simple scales for ratings. Some of the weakness of this method is explanatory visuals cannot be shown using this method. It is not possible to access all the customers through the phone. Reviewing Operational Data from your Own Organization: This source helps in uncovering customer discontent potential areas by reviewing key operational data. It will help in uncovering some factors that would be immediately fixed, which will get the business on right track and make customers happy (Prasad et al., 2014). It provides specific information that could be used in quality management. At the same time, some relevant information might be missed which can be solely available from external sources (Zhou et al., 2014). Therefore, this source is somewhat reliable. It is very essential for hotel such as landmark to manage its feedback properly so that it is directed toward implementing strategies for improving booking rate and acquiring of business accounts. Feedback report generated from measuring satisfaction of customers needs to be reported to senior management, operational management, customer facing staffs, communication staffs, strategic and police staffs. Involvement of the senior and operational management of landmark hotel would make them act on solving existing issues (Oh et al., 2015). This report would give them a sense of the way customers feel toward the service provided. Implementing results of customer satisfaction measurement is also critical for customer facing staffs. Feedback report of landmark hotel should be designed in such a way that it should that it include both summarized and specific information. Feedback report include cover page and a body consisting of three main sections. It will include a section of data on performance of hotel along with cover page for summary information. It will also contain a section of job specifics and companywide competencies. The data are summarized from the respondents concerning questionnaires. Information are presented using the descriptive statements. Feedback report include the evaluation of negative elements being discovered. Resolving of the issues is done by framing an action plan to be included in feedback report. Part B: Data of guest survey spreadsheet is calculated and analyzed with the help of measures of central tendency and standard deviation (Pizam et al., 2016). Mean, median, mode and standard deviation have been used for calculation purpose. Mean is average value of given set of observations. It is obtained by dividing the total number of observation by total number of observations. Median shows the middle most values in the set of observations. This value separates higher half of sample of data from the lower half. Mode is the most appeared value in data set. It means mode is most frequent occurred value. Standard deviation denotes variation from the average value and it is a measure of dispersion. It measures absolute variation of a distribution. Analysis of Figures From Guest Survey: First question mean, median, mode and standard deviation stands at 2.93,3,3 and .83 respectively. Most of respondents agree that service provided is of high standard. Mean, median, mode and standard deviation of second question stands at 3.06,3,4 and .87. Most of respondents agree that they are welcomed and looked after. Mean, median, mode and standard deviation of hotel maintenance stands at 2.1,2,2 and .71. These figures show that respondents are not satisfied with maintenance of landmark hotel. Fourth question mean, median, mode and standard deviation stands at 2.1,2,2 and .74. Figures depicts that room was not clean to high standard upon arrival. Mean, median, mode and standard deviation of fifth question stands at 2.5,3,3 and .77. It is depicted from figure that most of respondents disagree about room ability for getting good night sleep. Sixth question mean, median, mode and standard deviation stands at 2.4,2,2 and .67. Figure depicts that some of respondents disagree that breakfast was not an enjoyable experience. Mean median, mode and standard deviation of seventh question stands at 2.9,3,3 and .71. It is depicted by figure that most of respondents agree that good environmental practices is practiced by hotel. When it comes to recommend hotel by respondents, mean, median, mode and standard deviation stands at .53, 1, 1 and .507. Figures depicts that only few respondents would recommend this hotel to others. Ninth question mean, median, mode and standard deviation stands at .83, 1, 1 and .37. This value shows that only few respondents strongly disagree that they have stayed at this hotel. Average value is deviating least from observed value (Yang et al., 2014). Last question deals with preferring other hotel than Landmark hotel after experience. Mean, median, mode and standard deviation stands at .433, 0, 0 and .504. This Figure depicts that none of respondents would prefer another scenic hotel after experience of this hotel. From the above discussion and analysis of figures, some of issues faced by hotel can be listed down as below: Landmark hotel does not have high standard of maintenance Upon arrival, guests are experiencing untidiness Landmark hotel has very fewer chances of being recommended by majority of respondents. Therefore, from above analysis, landmark hotel needs to maintain high standard in terms of cleanliness of rooms and maintenance of hotel rooms. Respondents are less likely to recommend landmark hotel to others. Recommendation: It is recommended on part of hotel to embrace the idea that maintenance of assets and management of visibility should be increased. This shows that attention of senior level management is required for controlling and maintaining the infrastructures. Asset management history of hotel should be tracked and evaluated monthly for identifying trends of hotel maintenance. It would include energy drains, many work orders issues related to potential capital expenditure and bottlenecks. It should be ascertained that all the assets of hotel along with asset detail such as description, installation cost, serial number, and vendor, associated cost and expected useful life. Hotel should make evaluation of all the above. Any increase in proactive maintenance should come with setting of the target and a computerized maintenance management software should be installed. This would provide senior management. It is also required on part of management to take some measures to promote the hotel, as fewer respondents are likely to recommend the hotel to others. This can be done by offering packages, organizing events, launching loyalty programs and making seasonal promotions. Conclusion: From the above discussion, it can be concluded that maintenance trends of landmark hotel are the most important identified issue leading to falling booking rates. It is the responsibility of owners and management of hotels for maintain physical infrastructure, equipment is while jointly maintaining environmental responsibility. It is confirmed by majority of respondents that maintenance issue was the main reason behind decrease in preference of customers toward service of Landmark hotel. Reference: Ariffin, A. A. M., Nameghi, E. N., Zakaria, N. I. (2013). The effect of hospitableness and servicescape on guest satisfaction in the hotel industry.Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration,30(2), 127-137. Chen, C. M., Yang, H. W., Li, E. Y., Liu, C. C. (2015). How does hotel pricing influence guest satisfaction by the moderating influence of room occupancy?.International Journal of Hospitality Management,49, 136-138. El Haddad, R. (2015). Exploration of revenue management practicescase of an upscale budget hotel chain.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,27(8), 1791-1813. Molina-Azorn, J. F., Tar, J. J., Pereira-Moliner, J., Lpez-Gamero, M. D., Pertusa-Ortega, E. M. (2015). The effects of quality and environmental management on competitive advantage: A mixed methods study in the hotel industry.Tourism Management,50, 41-54. Oh, H., Oh, H., Kim, K., Kim, K. (2017). Customer satisfaction, service quality, and customer value: years 2000-2015.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,29(1), 2-29. Padilla-Melndez, A., Garrido-Moreno, A. (2014). Customer relationship management in hotels: Examining critical success factors.Current Issues in Tourism,17(5), 387-396. Peir-Signes, A., Segarra-Oa, M. D. V., Verma, R., Mondjar-Jimnez, J., Vargas-Vargas, M. (2014). The impact of environmental certification on hotel guest ratings.Cornell Hospitality Quarterly,55(1), 40-51. Pizam, A., Pizam, A., Shapoval, V., Shapoval, V., Ellis, T., Ellis, T. (2016). Customer satisfaction and its measurement in hospitality enterprises: a revisit and update.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,28(1), 2-35. Prasad, K., Wirtz, P. W., Yu, L. (2014). Measuring hotel guest satisfaction by using an online quality management system.Journal of Hospitality Marketing Management,23(4), 445-463. Xiang, Z., Schwartz, Z., Gerdes, J. H., Uysal, M. (2015). What can big data and text analytics tell us about hotel guest experience and satisfaction?.International Journal of Hospitality Management,44, 120-130. Yang, Y., Luo, H., Law, R. (2014). Theoretical, empirical, and operational models in hotel location research.International Journal of Hospitality Management,36, 209-220. Zhou, L., Ye, S., Pearce, P. L., Wu, M. Y. (2014). Refreshing hotel satisfaction studies by reconfiguring customer review data.International Journal of Hospitality Management,38, 1-10.

Media Conglomeration Essay Example

Media Conglomeration Essay CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, UPN, Spike TV, TV Land, CMT: Country Music Television, Comedy Central, Showtime, and Blockbuster Video. Â  These are just a few of the companies that media giant Viacom owns. Â   Viacoms website states that CBS is the most watched network on TV. Â  It also says that MTV is the most widely distributed television network in the world, Paramount Pictures is a leading distributor of motion pictures, and infinity broadcasting is one of the largest radio operators in the United States. Â  Viacom also owns book publishing companies, video stores, and even amusement parks. Â  There is no doubt that Viacom is one of the largest and most influential companies in the world. But does the quality of the media go down because of these large media giants? Â  Do companies care about the public being truly informed, or are they just out Beginning with thefirst of the mega media mergers, Capital Cities buying ABC in 1986, and then after the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which opened the floodgates, the trend has been for large corporations to buy media and broadcast companies. Â  According to the FCC there have been over 1000 broadcast deals in the last ten years. Â   But often the conglomeration of media outlets hurts consumers by taking choice out of their hands and putting it into the hands of corporations. The media giants have become neglectful in their duties to serve a public interest. Â  Instead they serve their own narrow interest. Â  These narrow interests do serve the stockholders, theoretically of which anyone can become, but this is not the traditional position that media outlets should hold. Corporate pressure to squeeze out every penny in earnings has forever changed the look of news reporting. Â  Gone are the days of respected newsmen such as Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. Â  Gone are the

Quality Management for Organizational Excellence

Quality Management for Organizational Excellence Quality management is a continuous organizational process which is aimed at meeting and exceeding the customers’ requirements through specific processes and an organization wide participation in planning and implementation. The elements of quality management include focus on the customer, strategy, teamwork, continual commitment and a scientific approach. Other elements are continuous improvement, training and education, control and obsession with quality (Hakes, 1991).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Quality Management for Organizational Excellence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The customer is the most important aspect of an organization because all activities that the firm conducts are geared toward the supply of goods or services to the customer. The internal customer is just as important as the external customer. The internal customer refers to individuals that are members of an organization who contrib ute to the final product that is offered to the customer. Since processes are what determine the end product, it is necessary to continually improve them. When set objects are met, new objectives should be set for great levels of quality. Organizations that practice quality management are strategic in that they aim to be in line with set organizational objectives (Hakes, 1991). Quality management also takes into consideration the future of the organization and activities of competitors. The organization is obsessed with meeting the quality standards that are required by the customers. In this way, the employees desire to do their best all the time. The focus on quality is not just for the short term but for the long run as well. In order for the entire organization to be one-minded in quality, all employees have to be trained and educated on quality management. The quality management process requires that there be adequate control from top management, although autonomy is encourag ed. A scientific approach is used in setting targets, benchmarking and performance appraisal (Hakes, 1991). Kaoru Ishikawa was a pioneer in the subject of quality management. He emphasized on the quality management elements of customer focus and education of employees. His doctrine pointed to employee training as the basis for the commencement and maintenance of quality management in an organization. He came up with quality circles which enable employees to be involved in problem solving while increasing their ability to identify opportunities for growth (Hakes, 1991). The development of these elements made Kaoru Ishikawa successful because organizations have been able to increase revenue and deal with competition in the market.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Quality management is very useful in today’s market environment. Competition is one of the biggest challenges facing firms. Market leader should employ quality market so as to maintain there position in terms of market share and profits. On the other hand, small organizations that are growing or trying to penetrate the market, would benefit greatly from quality management. Customers in the current market are very complex and knowledgeable. They know what they want and expect companies to provide goods and services which meet certain standards. Quality management would enable a firm to meet the customers’ needs thus ensuring that there will be repeat purchases and loyalty to the brand. The quality management field is likely to grow in future. More efficient and effective system will be developed so as to improve the position of the firm in the future market. The focus may be on external factors in the market such as changes in technology, globalization and environmental concerns. Reference List Hakes, C. (1991). Total quality management: the key to business improvement: a Pera International executive briefing. London: Springer.

Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and Acceptance Research Paper - 2

Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and Acceptance - Research Paper Example This will help educators and students to detect bias in books, in the media and other reading materials. It is high time publishers and writers became objective and try not to undermine the beliefs of others. Most educative materials are bias and do not have a global perspective. It is, therefore, time there is a change to the approach of doing things. The society is not equal since some are advantage unlike some. Educational opportunities are not available for all. Equity pedagogy aims at providing equal opportunities to all in the society. Transforming of the schools will help in promoting national unity and harmony. Multicultural competency helps an individual to improve his or her way of perceiving, believing, evaluating and problem solving. The fact is people are self-centered and do not care about others. Cross cultural interaction and exchange is slowly making people understand the significance of cohesion. There is inequality in the society because of stereotypes and tendenci es of prejudice. There are many myths about other people’s culture and this has a negative effect on how communities relate. Some communities make others feel inferior causing hatred and animosity. Lack of cultural interaction is the main cause to the problem. It is hence vital for stakeholders to embrace multicultural education system since it will provide solid solutions that are long term. Answers to part B and C Culture refers t the knowledge, values, experience, attitudes, religion, concepts of the universe and spatial relationships developed by a group of individuals through both group and individual striving. Culture also entails the patterns of behavior developed and transmitted from one generation to another. Various cultural groups think act and feel differently depending on their beliefs. There are no scientific standards to determine which group is superior or inferior (Knight 2004). Multi cultural education refers to inter discipline and cross-curricular educatio n that prepares students to work and live in a diverse environment. Respect and appreciation of cross-culture is increasing gaining momentum throughout the world. It is encouraging and impressive that students are learning cultures outside those of their own. This helps them interact well with people of different cultures. Multicultural education provides an opportunity for learning institutions to create cultural awareness among students though the various students’ organization. This equips students with the skills they need to interact with other people having different cultures and beliefs. As globalization is taking shape and businesses expanding, cross-cultural interaction is on the rise. As more people from different cultures interact, they exchange the cultures and learn to compromise with what other people think and feel (Johanna, 2000). Multicultural education is principal in addressing cultural differences and cultural bias because it encourages respect and appreci ations of other people’s beliefs. In an educational setting, students become aware on the cultures of other people, reasons as to why they behave the way they do and why it is crucial to respect other people believes (Knight, 2004).Multicultural educa