Workforce Preparedness Is An Integral Venture in Public Health Assignment

Workforce Preparedness Is An Integral Venture in Public Health - Assignment Example Notably, the workforce is an instrumental and invaluable infrastructure within the healthcare sector. This, therefore, implies that preparation of the workforce towards discharging their duties is an important way of ensuring the infrastructural strength of the firm is accounted for. This strengthening program can be accomplished through strategic training. Through such training, the workforce acquires essential skills that enable them to discharge their assigned tasks with uttermost commitment and comfort. In addition, such training help in unveiling the innovative nature of employees, an aspect that is important in ensuring sustainability in service delivery (Scutchfield & Keck, 2003). In some instances, it has proved essential for any given public health institution to form linkages and alliances with like-minded institutions. Such partnerships promote professional interactions between employees. Through such ideological exchanges, the subject workforce is empowered to tackle arising situations with enhanced sobriety. Further, the institutions should establish or subscribe to a learning resource center. Such centers enable the workers to access current information and trends in the healthcare sector. Through such understanding of trends, the firm is able to plan effectively. In summary, workforce preparedness is an integral venture in public health. As such, the employees must be subjected to environments suitable for educational advancements. For instance, the firm can offer incentives to facilitate employees access to competency enhancing lessons. With enhanced employee competency, evidence-based practice will be observed in the firm. Such a practice is vital in promoting positive client experience hence continued partnership. It is equally important for the firm to create opportunities for the employees. Such opportunities can be important in boosting their morale leading to higher work turnover. Above all, the various strategies used by the firm in a bid to foster employee preparation must be workable and achievable.

Years 1515-1525 Henry Viii Essay Example for Free

Years 1515-1525 Henry Viii Essay Do you agree with the view that in the years 1515-1525 Henry VIII wholly surrendered power in government to Cardinal Wolsey? To a certain extent within †¨Source 4 (by J.J. Scarisbrick 1968) supports the idea that possibly Henry VIII actually did surrender power over to Wolsey. The evidence within the source that suggests this possibly for being the truth is ‘a self-indulgent King had wholly surrendered the cares of the state into the Cardinals hands’. To further support this case, it is clear that Wolsey was extremely powerful, he had vast amounts of bishoprics (Archbishop of Canterbury, Tournai, Durham just to name a few) and was the head of things such as the Star Chamber where Wolsey got himself heavily involved with. This is shown when you compared the number of cases Wolsey took on (120) compared to that of Henry VII who dealt with only 12. Also Wolsey had control of all of the state finances and could make large changes to things such as the taxation system he was able to introduce a new form of tax known as the ‘Subsidy’ which was more popular since it meant the poor payed far less tax than previously than with the old 15’s and 10’s taxation method. This new taxation method allowed Wolsey to pay for king’s foreign affairs. As well as this ‘subsidy’, since Wolsey had such significant power he was able to also raise considerable amounts of capital through other means, such as through ‘benevolences’ and enforced loans from the nobility, which raised  £200,000 in 1522. This shows that Wolsey was especially powerful as ‘benevolences’ was money disguised as a gift and was only ever done by monarchs, possibly suggesting that Wolsey could be classed as an Alter Rex. Despite the positivity and great power J.J. Scarisbrick gives to Wolsey within the source we also learn that George Cavendish influences this source significantly even right from the beginning ‘Cavendishtells us’. Cavendish was Wolsey’s friend and servant, meaning he would be more than likely faithful to his master and try and write as positively about him as possible. This means that potentially the source might not be so reliable. However, Source 5 written in 1994 by John Lotherington, appears to disagree with that of the view of source 4. In parts it appears to actually agree with source 4, ‘Wolsey held a dominant position in government and controlled the distribution of patronage’ but then the source continues to say, ‘And of course the ultimate source of all power was the King’. This quote can be proven true with examples of Henry preventing Wolsey from doing something, such as in 1523 when Wolsey launched a sea attack upon the French without the kings permission, this led to Wolsey having to apologize for his actions. This shows that Henry still had control over Wolsey and that he couldn’t get away with something so easily. Also even though source 4 claims that Wolsey had very strong control, that even with this power he couldn’t prevent such things like The Amicable Grant of 1525 from being a disaster, and without aids from The Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk it could have been an even more disastrous, this proves Henry was more in control than Wolsey because the Dukes only subdued the rebellions on Henry’s behalf, not Wolsey’s. This is showing how Henry had not wholly surrendered his government power, and could still contest Wolsey’s decisions and problems. The source was also written in 1994, therefore the historians view is likely to be more factual rather than written in the period and being more biased, as can be the case, especially if that figure in question is still alive or has close descendants. Source 6 appears to agree with the opinions of Source 5 in that Henry VIII had not wholly surrendered power in government to Wolsey. Source 6 is a letter from Henry to Wolsey in 1520, it says, ‘I desire you to keep a watch on the Duke of Suffolk, the Duke of Buckingham, my lord of Northumberland, my lord Derby, my lord of Wiltshire and on any others of whom you are suspicious’ The source shows Henry giving orders to Wolsey, suggesting that Wolsey did not have all of the governmental power, I also know this from my own knowledge. For example Wolsey’s fall from grace on the 9th October 1529 (when he is charged with praemunire, which is exercising his legatine power to the detriment of the King) because he was unable to secure the divorce for Henry. The fact that the King was able to remove Wolsey’s power so quickly again illustrates how Henry had no wholly surrendered his government power to Wolsey, as his decisions overruled any of Wolsey’s. The source is also fairly reliable, as it was written by Henry himself and is clearly giving Wolsey orders, even before he has fallen from grace. In conclusion, I do not agree with the view that in the year’s 155-1525 Henry VIII wholly surrendered power in government to Cardinal Wolsey. This is because both sources 5 and 6 corroborate the idea that although Wolsey does have a large amount of government power, Henry still makes overruling decisions and exercises government power over Wolsey. This is also backed up with my own knowledge. Therefore, Henry did not wholly surrender his government power to Wolsey.

History Of Cultural Tourists Tourism Essay

History Of Cultural Tourists Tourism Essay Tourism has been known as one of the worlds fastest and largest growing industry. The industry has become very significant to all countries across the world as for decades it has been a major contributor to a countrys economic growth and development. Nevertheless, today there has been a trend and an increasing growth of various tourism markets segments in the tourism industry, which one of them is known as the cultural or heritage tourism that has become the most significant and fastest growing segment in the tourism industry (Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 1998 cited in Huh, Uysal, and McCleary, 2006). Cultural tourist defined by The Australian Bureau of Statistics (1998) is someone who has visited to cultural places and spent at least one night in more than forty kilometres from his original place of residence. The cultural places or attractions can be various including art galleries, museums, animal and sea parks, libraries, concerts, theatre plays, dancing performances and cinema (cited in Filippou et al., 2010). Cultural tourism as a distinct product category generally is different than when people travelling to a destination to experience cultures. Since all travel could involves cultural elements in which tourists are moving from their own cultural environment and travel to destination to experience other cultures. Even various touring activities may enable tourist to experience cultural differences. Yet, cultural tourism means more than just cultural displacement and it is important to distinguish between cultural tourism and touring to different cultures. Cultural tourism i nvolves in the consumption of different range of a destinations tangible and intangible cultural heritage assets include archeological sites, museums, castles, historical or famous buildings, arts, theatre, primitive cultures, subcultures, ethnic communities and other things that represent people and their cultures (Richards, 1996; Goodrich, 1997; Miller, 1997; Jamieson, 1994 cited in McKercher, Ho, Cross, and Ming, 2002) There are only few research has been published examining the cultural tourism market, yet there are some figures indicating the size and the significant of this market. According to various research studies, a significant amount of percentage of tourists going for cultural experiences such visiting cultural attractions and participating in various cultural activities which are not sun, sand and sea related (Richards, 1996 cited in Yun et al., 2008). The World Tourism Organization has also estimated the cultural tourism market accounts for 37 percent of all tourist trips and demand is growing by 15 percent per annum (Richards, 1996 cited in McKercher and Cross, 2003) The growth and importance of this cultural tourism has been stimulated mainly due to the rising demand despite the fact research has showed that cultural tourism is not developing as fast as the global tourism as a whole (de Hann, 1998 cited in Richards, 2007). However, due to the emerging of more educated and sophisticat ed tourists has enable people to access culture and globalization also tend to create more interest in cultures as well as local heritage. Cultural tourist now represents as a new type of mass tourist which seeks for meaningful cultural experiences (McKercher and DuCros, 2003). Thus, this paper objectives is to present a market intelligence report to Australias Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) which will provide them information particularly on cultural tourism segment. This paper also attempts to identify and analyze the profile characteristics and behavior of cultural tourists market in terms of its (1) demographic characteristics, (2) types of information sources used, (3) travel booking preferences, (4) travel motivations, (5) activity participation, (6) travel expenditure, and (7) the marketing implication that needs to be taken account or understand by the destination marketers in such a way for destination to maximizes the its appeal and profit, and highly attract more cultural tourists to the destination by understanding their behavioral profile. 2.0 Target Market Analysis There have been various tourism research studies of cultural tourism which have focused on identifying and analyzing the characteristics of cultural tourists market. These studies are aim to provide comprehensive information and to learn in depth about the target market including their demographic characteristics, the travel behavior characteristics and motivations of tourists who visits cultural destinations, information sources used, booking preferences, expenditures as well the type of cultural activities they participated in such a way to develop marketing strategy of the destination. 2.1 Demographic Characteristics Firstly, to have the understanding of the cultural tourism market segment of what are the characteristics of cultural tourists that visit cultural attractions or participate in cultural activities, hence demographic indicators are being used in tourism research to profile tourists such based on gender, age, income, educational levels, occupation, or marital status. On September 27, 1999 and April 16, 2000, data study were collected by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) in the United States by conducting a Travel Attractions and Motivation Survey, which to examine US originated tourists and helps to obtain general understanding of tourist behaviors and demographic profiles of cultural tourist in visiting various of cultural attractions or activities (Kim et al., 2007). There are 29 types of cultural attractions being identified and were categorized into a few distinctive groups using cluster (four clusters) analysis (see appendix A1) which are include festival and musical attractions, Commercial recreation parks, local festivals and fairs, knowledge or aesthetic seeking attractions. A series of logistic regression analyses were used in this study to identify the various demographic characteristics (gender, age, income, and education) on the four clusters of cultural attraction participation (see appendix A2). In addition, another study were a lso conducted which was composed of tourists who visited the cultural attraction of Virginia Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) in June and August 2002 (see appendix B) (Huh, Uysal, and McCleary, 2006). On the basis of the two studies mentioned above, demographic characteristics of cultural tourism segment can be clearly identified. It can be concluded that greater percentage or number of women participate in cultural tourism than men. Research also shows that the cultural or heritage tourism segment is slightly moved towards more females. U.S Department of Commerce and the U.S Presidents Committee in the Arts and the Humanities (2005) showed that the majority of women or females participate more in cultural activities compared to men, this is because the position women has improved in recent decades, both in the family and workplace. Women also tend to have the biggest role in decisions making regarding to family vacations both in terms of duration of trips and destination choice (cited in Filippos et al., 2010). From the findings can be concluded cultural tourists are largely made up of adults and the senior age group in the aged of 40s- 60s years. Despite the younger age group ty pically aged 20-29 shows the smallest percentage in cultural tourism yet they are also part of the key demographic group. Moreover, large number of of cultural tourists tends to belonged to the high social group with high household income of $80,000 or more, and generally they are well highly educated with higher percentage of having college and advanced degree (graduate level). Hence, the higher education level of tourists, it shows greater participation and interest in cultural tourism. In contrast the lower percentage of participation in the four clusters of cultural attractions is mostly tourists with lower education level in high school and college. 2.2 Information Sources used As part of information search about the destination that tourists want to visit, there are wide range of information sources of travel that tourists can choose prior to their destination include brochures and material published by visitor information centers and by tourist boards, articles or magazines, internet, TV, word of mouth (WOM) by friends and relatives, travel guidebooks, tour guides, travel agents, and past experiences. The different kinds of information sources available may be grouped into those accessed through internal and external searching (Fodness and Murray, 1997, 1998; Gursoy and Chen, 2000 cited in Osti, Turner, and King, 2009). To know the main travel sources of information being used by cultural tourists can be obtained from a secondary data study which was drawn from the 2004 Tourist Exit Survey conducted on Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canadas major tourist destination, with a total of 3,139 surveys were completed by overnight pleasure tourists (Yun et al., 2008). The 3,139 tourists were categorized into two clusters groups of non-cultural tourist (cluster 1) and cultural tourists (cluster 2) about 1,996 (63.6 percent) of tourists have low participation in cultural activities and 1,143 (36.4 percent) highly involved in cultural activities. Based on the survey results, it was found that the majority of cultural tourists most likely to used the internet or tourism website as a main source of information which accounts for 58.4 percent. Travel information package (49.4 percent) is also become the second main important source of information used by cultural tourists, followed by friends, relatives, or co-workers which accounts for 36.9 percent, this may reflect the high information content of travel information package and strong personal recommendation from friends or family. Cultural tourists are also more likely to use package tour, travel guidebooks, and tourist information centre as well as a source of their travel information. However, very few of them used of newspaper story or advertisement, travel agent, and television program or advertisement as their source of information (see appendix C). 2.3 Travel Booking Preferences Travel booking preferences is closely related to how cultural tourists book its travel in order to visit a cultural destination. Motivations for Travel What are generally the main travel motives of cultural tourists towards attending cultural experiences in a particular destination? Murray (1964), defined motives as a separate distinguishable internal characteristic that occurred, direct, and integrate a persons behavior (cited in Kay, 2009). Some empirical research studies have been conducted to gain better understanding of tourist motivation for traveling to cultural attractions and events or other cultural experiences being offered in the destination. A growing body of conceptual and empirical research is showing basically that not all cultural tourists are homogeneous. Some studies have segmented this market based on the importance or centrality of cultural tourism in the decision to visit a destination. Then McKercher (2002) has built on these studies by adding depth of experience and created a two dimensional model that produces a conceptual model of cultural tourists (see appendix D1) in which he classified and identified five types of cultural tourists based on the centrality and depth of experience (from shallow to deep), and the importance (or centrality) of cultural tourism (Low to high). He recognized different tourist may display different experiences despite having the same or similar motivation levels. Since availability of time, travel partners, tour group participation, level of awareness and interest, education, ethnic background and various other factors could affect individuals participation in cultural tourism (c ited in McKercher, Ho, Cros and So-Ming, 2002). The types of cultural tourists he has identified include the purposeful (high centrality/deep cultural experience), sightseeing (high centrality/shallow experience), casual (modest centrality/ shallow experience), incidental (low centrality/shallow experience), and serendipitous (low centrality/ deep experience) cultural tourists. This model was then tested empirically on a sample on a sample of cultural tourists visiting Hong Kong and differences can be identified in terms of their travel motives (see appendix D2). Based on the data results of this study, each of the different types of cultural tourists are motivated to travel for different reasons than other tourists. Purposeful and sightseeing cultural tourists were motivated to travel for educational and cultural reasons, see travel mostly as a change to grow personally and as a change to learn about anothers culture. In contrast, incidental, casual serendipitous cultural tourists were motivated to travel for creation, fun, and r elaxation, yet to learn also about other cultures. However, serendipitous see travel as more to change to grow personally instead for relax (McKercher and Cros, 2003). There was another general research study by Pandora L. Kay, in the journal of Cultural Experience Tourist Motives Dimensionality: A Cross-Cultural Study (2009). It examine tourists motivational for attending and experiencing a range of cultural related experiences, some was by taken a sample represented by Japanese tourists and Mainland Chinese tourists (see appendix D3). The data showed a generic scale for measuring travel motives for tourists visiting cultural attractions, most commonly found on the dimensions from selected empirical studies representative of the considerable body of tourist motivation research in various contexts. The data shows the most commonly found travel motive dimension in a general context in relation to cultural and non-cultural attractions. Several motive dimensions being listed and it emphasized a large number of psycho-socio-physiologically based dimensions and with the listed of the authors. It clearly shows that only one significant travel motive dime nsion found for cultural attraction motives which mainly for education or knowledge based on the three studies. 2.5 Activity Participation There are huge varieties of activities that cultural tourist usually participate in. The most common and important activities that cultural tourists still mostly engage or participate is visiting cultural sites or attractions such as museums, galleries, and monuments. Based on ATLAS (2004) surveys, about 60 percent of tourists had visited a museum, 30 percent had visited a monument and 29 percent visited a gallery. In addition, there is a trend of moving toward a greater visitation to various different types of cultural attractions in a destination mainly towards arts attractions such as visiting to art galleries, performing arts, and festivals (cited in Richards, 2007). Furthermore, study of cultural tourist taken from Tourists Exit Survey on Canadas major destination Prince Edward Island (PEI), 2004 have identified the different activities participate by cultural tourist compared to non-cultural tourists (see appendix E1). Overall, high percentage of cultural tourists were likely to participate in sightseeing, visiting beaches, visiting a national park, driving tour, and shopping for crafts and souvenir compared to other travel activities being listed. Nevertheless, activities that cultural tourists pursued in a destination can also be different from one another since different types of cultural tourist display different behaviors at a destination. McKercher (2002) classification of five different types of cultural tourists based on the centrality and depth of experience ranging from a shallow, superficial or sightseeing experience to a much deeper, learning oriented experience may display differences in cultural activities participation (see appendix E2). The first is purposeful cultural tourist which characterized as highly motivated and tends to have high centrality and deep cultural experience, thus this type of tourist would generally participate in activities of visiting cultural sites such museums instead of shopping, they likely to visit shop in local markets rather than in stores selling brand names. Tourist who is highly motivated but has more shallow experience is known as the sightseeing cultural tourist. This type of t ourist usually interested in collecting experiences rather than pursuing any one activity in depth, and mostly undertakes activities such visiting museums, shopping or visit local market. The third is casual cultural tourist that has a shallow experience and a destinations culture or heritage such historic buildings or theme parks plays role in the decision to visit. The incidental cultural tourist also has shallow experience and not so motivated to travel for cultural or reasons but still participate in mass cultural tourism activities such as heritage theme parks and other places of entertainment. They tend to avoid visiting temples and other religious assets, and rather choose to visit stores selling brand names. Lastly, the serendipitous cultural tourist is characterized as having deep experience yet has no motivation to travel for cultural reason and still participate in cultural activities like visiting museums (McKercher, 2002, McKercher and Cros, 2003). 2.6 Travel Expenditure Travel expenditure is refers to travel budget or the amount of money in which cultural tourists spend on cultural tourism in a destination. According to a research, cultural tourists known in their high spending on cultural tourism in most tourist destinations with average total spending over $1920 which consider as much higher than visitors on a rural holiday ($1320), at the beach ($1825), and on city trips ($1535) in 2004 ( Richards, 2007). The same data results of study which were taken from the 2004 Tourists Exit Survey conducted on Prince Edward Island (PEI) with 3,139 respondents of overnight pleasure tourist both consist of non-cultural tourist and cultural tourists, clearly shows the differences in travel expenditure between the two clusters (Yun et al., 2008). Cultural tourists generally spend more than non-cultural tourist with the average total spending per person per trip basis of $1186.2 whereas non-cultural tourists only have the total average spending about $825.1 (see appendix F). The relatively high amount of spending of cultural tourists highly associated with the high income levels which characterized this market segment. In terms of expenditure categories, based on the data results the largest percentage cultural tourist spent on accommodations, at restaurants and bars, spending on souvenirs and crafts. 2.7 Marketing Implications Based on all the key findings on the profile characteristics and behavior of cultural tourism segment from various research studies, it has showed that cultural tourists have displayed different characteristics, behaviors, needs, wants and interest compare to non-cultural tourists, as well as different behavior, experience, and motivation are demonstrated in the five different types of cultural tourists indentified by McKrecher though their demographic characteristics are largely the same. This will likely affect the destination marketing or management organization in taking decisions of developing its marketing strategy which can be in terms of product, promotion, packaging, and distribution. Cultural tourists like to seek different activities when they travel include sightseeing, visiting to museums, historical building, and other sites represent culture of a destination. Then destination marketers need to understand the needs of cultural tourists and travel behaviors through a promotional effort of promoting and providing a variety of packaging arrangement of cultural attractions. The types of packaging arrangement that can be offer to cultural tourists can involve different types of cultural products such as museum packaging with art festival and theatre performance or can also be national parks and art galleries. The advantage of these packaging arrangements can create a wider level of interest and offers the variety of experiences that most people are seeking, as well as increasing perceived value for time and money spent. Furthermore, cultural tourists are generally motivated to travel for knowledge or educational reasons and seen as for self personal development by learning others culture. A good strategy of promoting cultural attractions or activities can be created by emphasizing the educational elements or educational information that may benefits to the tourists. Besides, various promotions could be focuses on promoting cultural facilities, attractions, and events through advertisement such as on website, travel guidebooks, or travel operator can be used to capitalize on opportunities to attract more cultural tourists and increase their motivation to participate in greater cultural activities. Moreover, a growing body of conceptual and empirical research has shows the conceptual model or typology of cultural tourists identifying there are five types of cultural tourists which has demonstrates differences on the basis of their behavior, involvement cultural activities and travel motivation. Each of different types of tourists may seek different experiences and engage at different levels of cultural attractions both high and low involvement. For these reasons, destination marketers need to accurately segment the different types of cultural tourists market and apply differentiating marketing strategy for packaging and promotional or advertising in such a way to attract and suits the needs of the different types of cultural tourists. The first is the purposeful cultural tourists who are greatly involved in cultural activities and highly motivated to travel to gain deep experience and knowledge, while sightseeing tourists similar to purposeful tourists the main difference is having shallow experience. Thus, destination marketers need to create an informative promotional or advertising strategy emphasize on works shops, exhibitions, performance, architectural, discussions, museums collection book shops, publications and research to attract both of these cultural tourists. Since these tourists have high involvement, they need to develop deep understanding of the meaning of cultural connections of the attraction and they are may highly attract or influenced by cognitive information (Kantanen and Tikkanen, 2005). Next, the casual and incidental cultural tourists both have shallow experience and not highly motivated to travel to cultural attractions instead they are motivated to travel for fun, creation and relaxation yet still somehow engaging in more cultural entertainment and theme parks. Therefore, persuasive advertising strategy that appeals emphasize on parks, galleries, theater, theme events and parks would appropriate to attract this low involvement type of tourists. Then one effective marketing communication that allows to reach these tourists when they spend time in the destination would be TV advertising on the local network. Lastly, serendipitous cultural tourists who have no motivation to travel to a destination for cultural tourism yet have deep experience. Therefore, satisfaction strategy is can be used to highly attract this tourists to persuade them to visit a destination and experience a cultural attraction. Promotional can be mostly emphasizes on art, architecture, museums, exhibitions, theatre or music performances, and theme events (Kantanen and Tikkanen, 2005). 3.0 Conclusion As the main objective of this paper is to present market intelligence report specifically on cultural tourism segment to Australias Destination Marketing Organization, in terms of its demographic characteristics, information sources used, travel booking preferences, travel motivation, activity participation, travel expenditure, and its marketing implications. Overall, based on the key findings from various research studies of cultural tourists that has been clearly identified, has showed that the cultural tourists segment are different with non-cultural tourists in terms of its characteristics, behaviors, needs and wants. Cultural tourists are made up of adults to senior age with the majority of women participating. This group of segment also highly educated and belong to the high social group of having large household income and travel expenditure. They also tend to choose the internet, travel information and gain information from friends and relatives as their main travel sources o f information. However, McKrecher (2002) reveals that not all cultural tourists are homogeneous and each have different in motivation, experiences and cultural activities participation classify as the purposeful, sightseeing, casual, incidental and serendipitous cultural tourists. The main marketing implication for these reasons, destination marketers should be able to segment the different of cultural tourists market segments with different cultural products needs, promotional strategy and packaging arrangements to cater the needs each of the cultural market as well as to increase their participation in cultural activities. .

The Gift I Cherish :: Personal Narratives Turkey Essays

The Gift I Cherish Right before Haldun went back to Turkey, he gave me a good luck charm that he brought here from home. The good luck charm was a hand made gift Haldun had received from his parents before coming here. I thought that this was the greatest thing ever, especially coming from one of my best friends. To make any sense of this, I would have to go back about nine months ago. It was the first day of school when I had my study hall in the cafeteria, I noticed a student which resembled an adult in his late 20’s. I knew he couldn’t be over 21 so I knew he couldn’t be in his late 20’s. he had hair over his ears, and a scruffy beard. I didn’t know him but I knew the people he was sitting with, so I proceeded to walk over to the table and say hi to the kids that I knew. The next day I also noticed him in my Government class. I had already sat down so I didn’t get to sit next to this anonymous person. So the next day in government, I made it a point to sit next to him and I did. I proceeded to introduce myself and we got to talk for a little and it was obvious he was foreign, but from where remained mysterious. He also told me his name was Haldun. After a few classes we got a chance to know a little bit about each other and I found out he was from Turkey. I also saw him in the weight room and we started talking a lot more. It was fun talking to him so I could always make fun of his English because it was so poor. The one day after we both finished lifting I saw him waiting at the school exit, so I asked if he drove and he said that he drives in Turkey but he isn’t allowed to drive here in America. Then he said he thought he missed the activity bus and he would have to wait for the next one to arrive. So I then told him that I drive and I could take him home.

Why Kellogg

Why have you elected to apply to the Kellogg School Executive MBA Program My ambition is to enhance my knowledge in global strategy, eEntrepreneurship, and marketing, and buildwhile building strong relationships with successful leaders and innovative thinkers worldwide. and I want truly wish to learn from the school that has been consistently ranked No. 1#1 in for Executive MBA programs due to for the quality of its faculty members, students and teaching methods.Kellogg is my first choice because it uncompromisingly addresses real life aspects of business. The way the learning model is organized through (interactive means as study groups, analysis of actual real- life business cases, classes and workshops) provides the ideal learning environment for people those who may havewith an experience to share. At Kellogg, the emphasis is put on the team work.Curriculums, a perfect combination of theory and practice, are is updated with current techniques and technologies, and moreover, can r eceive inputs from studentsinput from students is welcome. I value the fact that Nnearly every single professor in Kellogg’s EMBA program is the author of the famous bookshas authored a book, among and they are all being a true pioneers in their field.The current EMBA curriculum emphasis on gGeneral mManagement and along with an excellent choiceexcellent options for of global electives (such as gGlobal initiatives in mManagement) will enhance my knowledge in global markets. All these things will help me formulateing an effective global sStrategy for the product development at SyncadaXXXXX. My long- term career goals and establishing my own in Ccompany in eE-commerce requires me to sell my ideas effectively to the prospective customers.Marketing, Kellogg’s best-known strength, will put me at aon a fast track to achieve my these goals. Kellogg’s worldwide nNetwork is huge and nearly one third of its alumni reside outside North America and I want exploit it one I w ish to to build upon . I would like to and grow relationships with influential leaders across the world. Finally, the city of Chicago is a serious plus that will put me in the heart of one of the world's business capital. The proximity to the Minneapolis is always plus for me to reduce my travel time to Kellogg.

Hurricane Katrina- a Natural Disaster

Did you know that a hurricane is basically a small tornado? When warm air and cool air collide over a large water source such as a sea or ocean, a hurricane is made. Hurricane Katrina just happened to be the second largest hurricane in United States history. Being formed in the Caribbean Sea, it was at first a category 1 hurricane. It gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico, placing it's rank at category 5. After hitting Louisiana at it's highest peak, it decreased to category 3.Winds at 120 miles per hour and waves as tall as three stories high put together the most horrifying event ever known to Americans. During evacuation, many people fled to a safe area in search of shelter. Texas was one place that most people went to since they welcomed them more than any other state. However, after the victims got there, crime soared and Texans had no way to control or deal with so much crime. Because of this, it is very unlikely that Texans will welcome victims with such hospitality next time. There was, however, a dome built to house the Katrina victims: the Astrodome.Even though the Katrina victims had so many places to go, some were forced to stay behind because of hospitalization, they were abandoned by their caretakers, a lack of transportation, e. t. c. Out of all areas that were hit by Katrina, New Orleans suffered the most damage. 80% of the city was flooded. About 204,000 homes were either damaged permanently or temporarily and more than 800,000 citizens uprooted from New Orleans. The population shrunk to 75% of it's original population. The number of homeless people doubled to 12,000 people within two years.Experts have estimated that it will take 8 to 11 years for New Orleans to fully recover from Katrina. Most people think of hurricane deaths as direct, but in reality, deaths caused by hurricanes are mainly indirect. Some examples of indirect deaths caused by Katrina are suicide, illness, murder, starvation, and dehydration. Mental illness and tragic sufferin g can lead many people to suicide. Lack of medical care can lead to infection or weakness, causing more deaths. Because of lack police force, crime rate and murder was at it's peak.Since there was no way to access food overseas or through land, starvation and dehydration was very common. During and after Hurricane Katrina, the economy crashed. There was an estimated $200 billion worth of economic damage. Not only did the prices for gasoline, oil, and other chemicals increase, but there were shortages in many areas all over America. The failed economy in America also upset the economy internationally. India, Iran, Russia, and Cuba were just some other countries affected by the international terror. Oil was the part of the economy that was affected the most.There were about 580 reports of oil, petroleum, and other hazardous chemical spills. Only one of these spills alone would release about 1 million gallons of oil. Because of this, they had to reduce oil use greatly to have any remai ning at all. Another reason is that 60% of oil imports traveling through the Gulf couldn't get through. In consequence, the Department of Energy was forced to release 30 million barrels of emergency oil. Through all of these disappointments, there is some pleasure caused by Hurricane Katrina. It caused the construction of of innovation funds.In time, the areas hit by Katrina were renovated and the most beautiful that they've ever been. There was also an international hurricane awareness introduced by Katrina. Other countries and America now know to be more prepared for future hurricanes similar to Katrina. It also created the ability to redevelop land using more modern technologies. The land hit today has the most advanced technology in the country. Even though Katrina has had some good outcomes, it was overall horrid. It has affected America and the rest of the world in sad, cruel ways.Thousands of people died, others were relocated, supplies were minimized, and it took people year s to recover from their experience. â€Å"not just a disaster of nature, but a breakdown of government. † The words of Barack Obama, current President of the United Stated. Seven years have passed by, and since 2005, America had made great progress. Besides the very few places and people that are still recovering, it is almost as if these horrid times have never existed. But even though damage has almost gone away completely, we will always remember the damage and hardships that were due to Hurricane Katrina: a natural monster.

Culture Shock Essay

Culture shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country or to a move between social environments also a simple travel to another type of life. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of five distinct phases: Honeymoon, Negotiation, Adjustment, Mastery and Independence, are the most common attributes that pertain to existing problems, further hindrances include: information overload, language barrier, generation gap, technology gap, skill interdependence, formulation dependency, homesickness (cultural), infinite regress (homesickness), boredom (job dependency), response ability (cultural skill set). There is no true way to entirely prevent culture shock, as individuals in any society are personally affected by cultural contrasts differently. The four phases Honeymoon phase During this period, the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new food, the pace of life, and the locals’ habits. During the first few weeks, most people are fascinated by the new culture. They associate with nationals who speak their language, and who are polite to the foreigners. This period is full of observations and new discoveries. Like most honeymoon periods, this stage eventually ends.[4] Negotiation phase After some time (usually around three months, depending on the individual), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. Excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as one continues to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one’s cultural attitude. Language barriers, stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food accessibility and quality may heighten the sense of disconnection from the surroundings. While being transferred into a different environment puts special pressure on communication skills, there are practical difficulties to overcome, such as circadian rhythm disruption that often leads to insomnia and daylight drowsiness; adaptation of gut flora to  different bacteria levels and concentrations in food and water; difficulty in seeking treatment for illness, as medicines may have different names from the native country’s and the same active ingredients might be hard to recognize. Still, the most important change in the period is communication: People adjusting to a new culture often feel lonely and homesick because they are not yet used to the new environment and meet people with whom they are not familiar every day. The language barrier may become a major obstacle in creating new relationships: special attention must be paid to one’s and others’ culture-specific body language signs, linguistic faux pas, conversation tone, linguistic nuances and customs, and false friends. In the case of students studying abroad, some develop additional symptoms of loneliness that ultimately affect their lifestyles as a whole. Due to the strain of living in a different country without parental support, international students often feel anxious and feel more pressure while adjusting to new cultures—even more so when the cultural distances are wide, as patterns of logic and speech are different and a special emphasis is put on rhetoric. Adjustment phase Again, after some time (usually 6 to 12 months), one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines. One knows what to expect in most situations and the host country no longer feels all that new. One becomes concerned with basic living again, and things become more â€Å"normal†. One starts to develop problem-solving skills for dealing with the culture and begins to accept the culture’s ways with a positive attitude. The culture begins to make sense, and negative reactions and responses to the culture are reduced. Mastery phase In the mastery stage assignees are able to participate fully and comfortably in the host culture. Mastery does not mean total conversion; people often keep many traits from their earlier culture, such as accents and languages. It is often referred to as the biculturalism stage Reverse culture shock Reverse Culture Shock (a.k.a. â€Å"Re-entry Shock†, or â€Å"own culture shock†) may take place — returning to one’s home culture after growing accustomed to a  new one can produce the same effects as described above. This results from the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the readjustment process to the primary culture. The affected person often finds this more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock. This phenomenon, the reactions that members of the re-entered culture exhibit toward the re-entrant, and the inevitability of the two are encapsulated in the saying â€Å"you can’t go home again,† first coined by Thomas Wolfe in his book of that title. Outcomes There are three basic outcomes of the Adjustment Phase: Some people find it impossible to accept the foreign culture and integrate. They isolate themselves from the host country’s environment, which they come to perceive as hostile, withdraw into a â€Å"ghetto† and see return to their own culture as the only way out. These â€Å"Rejectors† also have the greatest problems re-integrating back home after return. Some people integrate fully and take on all parts of the host culture while losing their original identity. They normally remain in the host country forever. This group is sometimes known as â€Å"Adopters†. Some people manage to adapt to the aspects of the host culture they see as positive, while keeping some of their own and creating their unique blend. They have no major problems returning home or relocating elsewhere. This group can be thought to be somewhat cosmopolitan. Culture shock has many different effects, time spans, and degrees of severity. Many people are handicapped by its presence and do not recognize what is bothering them. Transition shock Culture shock is a subcategory of a more universal construct called transition shock. Transition shock is a state of loss and disorientation predicated by a change in one’s familiar environment which requires adjustment. There are many symptoms of transition shock, some which include: Excessive concern over cleanliness and health Feelings of helplessness and withdrawal Irritability Anger Glazed stare Desire for home and old friends Physiological stress reactions Homesickness Boredom Withdrawal Getting â€Å"stuck† on one thing Suicidal or fatalistic thoughts Excessive sleep Compulsive eating/drinking/weight gain Stereotyping host nationals Hostility towards host nationals Culture Shock The term, culture shock, was introduced for the first time in 1958 to describe the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment. This term expresses the lack of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate. The feeling of culture shock generally sets in after the first few weeks of coming to a new place. We can describe culture shock as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin. Often, the way that we lived before is not accepted as or considered as normal in the new place. Everything is different, for example, not speaking the language, not knowing how to use banking machines, not knowing how to use the telephone and so forth. The symptoms of cultural shock can appear at different times. Although, one can experience real pain from culture shock; it is also an opportunity for redefining one’s life objectives. It is a great opportunity for leaning and acquiring new perspectives. Culture shock can make one develop a better understanding of oneself and stimulate personal creativity. Symptoms: Sadness, loneliness, melancholy Preoccupation with health Aches, pains, and allergies Insomnia, desire to sleep too much or too little Changes in temperament, depression, feeling vulnerable, feeling powerless Anger, irritability, resentment, unwillingness to interact with others Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country Loss of identity Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country Unable to solve simple problems Lack of confidence Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity Developing stereotypes about the new culture Developing obsessions such as over-cleanliness Longing for family Feelings of being lost, overlooked, exploited or abused Stages of Culture Shock Culture shock has many stages. Each stage can be ongoing or appear only at certain times. The first stage is the incubation stage. In this first stage, the new arrival may feel euphoric and be pleased by all of the new things encountered. This time is called the â€Å"honeymoon† stage, as everything encountered is new and exciting. Afterwards, the second stage presents itself. A person may encounter some difficult times and crises in daily life. For example, communication difficulties may occur such as not being understood. In this stage, there may be feelings of discontent, impatience, anger, sadness, and feeling incompetence. This happens when a person is trying to adapt to a new culture that is very different from the culture of origin. Transition between the old methods and those of the new country is a difficult process and takes time to complete. During the transition, there can be strong feelings of dissatisfaction. The third stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture. A new feeling of pleasure and sense of humor may be experienced. One may start to feel a certain psychological balance. The new arrival may not feel as lost and starts to have a feeling of direction. The individual is more familiar with the environment and wants to belong. This initiates an evaluation of the old ways versus those of the new. In the fourth stage, the person realizes that the new culture has good and bad things to offer. This stage can be one of double integration or triple integration depending on the number of cultures that the person has to process. This integration is accompanied by a more solid feeling of belonging. The person starts to define him/herself and establish goals for living. The fifth stage is the stage that is called the â€Å"re-entry shock.† This occurs when a return to the country of origin is made. One may find that things are no longer the same. For example, some of the newly acquired customs are not in use in the old culture. These stages are present at different times and each person has their own way of reacting in the stages of culture shock. As a consequence, some stages will be longer and more difficult than others. Many factors contribute to the duration and effects of culture shock. For example, the individual’s state of mental health, type of personality, previous experiences, socio-economic conditions, familiarity with the language, family and/or social support systems, and level of education. How to Fight Culture Shock The majority of individuals and families that immigrate from other countries have the ability to positively confront the obstacles of a new environment. Some ways to combat stress produced by culture shock are: Develop a hobby Don’t forget the good things you already have! Remember, there are always resources that you can use Be patient, the act of immigrating is a process of adaptation to new situations. It is going to take time Learn to be constructive. If you  encounter an unfavorable environment, don’t put yourself in that position again. Be easy on yourself. Don’t try too hard. Learn to include a regular form of physical activity in your routine. This will help combat the sadness and loneliness in a constructive manner. Exercise, swim, take an aerobics class, etc. Relaxation and meditation are proven to be very positive for people who are passing through periods of stress Maintain contact with your ethnic group. This will give you a feeling of belonging and you will reduce your feelings of loneliness and alienation Maintain contact with the new culture. Learn the language. Volunteer in community activities that allow you to practice the language that you are learning. This will help you feel less stress about language and useful at the same time. Allow yourself to feel sad about the things that you have left behind: your family, your friends, etc. Recognize the sorrow of leaving your old country. Accept the new country. Focus your power on getting through the transition. Pay attention to relationships with your family and at work. They will serve as support for you in difficult times. Establish simple goals and evaluate your progress. Find ways to live with the things that don’t satisfy you 100%. Maintain confidence in yourself. Follow your ambitions and continue your plans for the future. If you feel stressed, look for help. There is always someone or some service available to help you. What Is It? Culture shock isn’t a clinical term or medical condition. It’s simply a common way to describe the confusing and nervous feelings a person may have after leaving a familiar culture to live in a new and different culture. When you move to a new place, you’re bound to face a lot of changes. That can be exciting and stimulating, but it can also be overwhelming. You may feel sad, anxious, frustrated, and want to go home. It’s natural to have difficulty adjusting to a new culture. People from other cultures (whom you’ll be hanging out with and going to school with) may have grown up with values and beliefs that differ from yours. Because of these differences, the things they talk about, the ways they express themselves, and the importance  of various ideas may be very different from what you are used to. But the good news is that culture shock is temporary. What Causes Culture Shock? To understand culture shock, it helps to understand what culture is. You may know that genes determine a big part of how you look and act. What you might not know is that your environment — your surroundings — has a big effect on your appearance and behavior as well. Your environment isn’t just the air you breathe and the food you eat, though; a big part of your environment is culture. Culture is made up of the common things that members of a community learn from family, friends, media, literature, and even strangers. These are the things that influence how theylook, act, and communicate. Often, you don’t even know you’re learning these things because they become second-nature to you — for instance, the way you shake hands with someone when meeting them, when you eat your meals each day, the kind of things you find funny, or how you view religion. When you go to a new place, such as a new country or even a new city, you often enter a culture that is different from the one you left. Sometimes your culture and the new culture are similar. Other times, they can be very different, and even contradictory. What might be perfectly normal in one culture — for instance, spending hours eating a meal with your family — might be unusual in a culture that values a more fast-paced lifestyle. The differences between cultures can make it very difficult to adjust to the new surroundings. You may encounter unfamiliar clothes, weather, and food as well as different people, schools, and values. You may find yourself struggling to do things in your new surroundings that were easy back home. Dealing with the differences can be very unsettling; those feelings are part adjusting to a new culture.