Epistemology †Empiricism Essay

Principles like those Parmenides assumed are said in contemporary jargon to be a priori principles, or principles of reason, which just means that they are known prior to experience. It is not that we learn these principles first chronologically but rather that our knowledge of them does not depend on our senses. For example, consider the principle â€Å"You can’t make something out of nothing. † If you wished to defend this principle, would you proceed by conducting an experiment in which you tried to make something out of nothing? In fact, you would not. You would base your defense on our inability to conceive of ever making  something out of nothing Everything we know originates from four sources. The first, our senses, can be thought of as our primary source of information. Two other sources, reason and intuition, are derivative in the sense that they produce new facts from data already supplied to our minds. The fourth source, authority (or â€Å"hearsay,† or â€Å"testimony† of others), is by nature secondary, and secondhand fact-claims are always more wiggly and difficult to validate. Other sources of knowledge are commonly claimed, and it is not inconceivable that there might exist other sources; but if they do exist,  knowledge derived from them is problematic, and careful analysis usually finds that they can be subsumed under one or more of the four known sources and must be seriously questioned as legitimate, separate sources of reliable information. In summary, what is the nature of our knowledge about the real world of objects/events? Our knowledge of reality is composed of ideas our minds have created on the basis of our sensory experience. It is a fabric of knowledge woven by the mind. Knowledge is not given to the mind; nothing is â€Å"poured† into it. Rather, the mind manufactures perceptions, concepts, ideas, beliefs, and so forth and holds  them as working hypotheses about external reality. Every idea is a (subjective) working model that enables us to handle real objects/events with some degree of pragmatic efficiency. However persuasive our thoughts and images may be, they are only remote representations of reality; they are tools that enable us to deal with reality. It is as though we draw nondimensional maps to help us understand four-dimensional territory. The semanticists have long reminded us to beware of confusing any sort of map with the real landscape. â€Å"The map,† they say, â€Å"is not the territory. † An abstraction, by definition, is an idea created by the mind to refer to all objects which, possessing certain characteristics in common, are thought of in the same class. The number of objects in the class can range from two to infinity. We can refer to all men, all hurricanes, all books, all energy-forms—all everything. While abstraction-building is an inescapable mental process—in fact it is the first step in the organization of our knowledge of objects/events—a serious problem is inherent in the process. At high levels of abstraction we tend to group together objects that have but a few qualities in common, and our abstractions  may be almost meaningless, without our knowing it. We fall into the habit of using familiar abstractions and fail to realize how empty they are. For example, what do the objects in the following abstractions have in common? All atheists, all Western imperialists, all blacks or all whites (and if you think it’s skin color, think twice), all conservatives, all trees, all French people, all Christians. When we think in such high-level abstractions, it is often the case that we are communicating nothing meaningful at all. â€Å"The individual object or event we are naming, of course, has no name and belongs  to no class until we put it in one. † Going as far back as Plato, philosophers have traditionally defined knowledge as true justified belief. A priori knowledge is knowledge that is justified independently of (or prior to) experience. What kinds of knowledge could be justified without any appeal to experience? Certainly, we can know the truth of definitions and logical truths apart from experience. Hence, definitions and logically necessary truths are examples of a priori knowledge. For example, â€Å"All unicorns are one-horned creatures† is true by definition. Similarly, the following  statement is a sure bet: â€Å"Either my university’s football team will win their next game or they won’t. † Even if they tie or the game is canceled, this would fulfill the â€Å"they won’t win† part of the prediction. Hence, this statement expresses a logically necessary truth about the football team. These two statements are cases of a priori knowledge. Notice that in the particular examples of a priori knowledge I have chosen, they do not give us any real, factual information about the world. Even though the statement about unicorns is true, it does not tell us whether there are any unicorns in the world. Similarly, the football prediction does not tell us the actual outcome of the game. Experience of the world is required to know these things. The second kind of knowledge is a posteriori knowledge, or knowledge that is based on (or posterior to) experience. Similarly, the adjective empirical refers to anything that is based on experience. Any claims based on experience purport to add new information to the subject. Hence, â€Å"Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit† and â€Å"Tadpoles become frogs† would be examples of a posteriori knowledge. We know the freezing point of water and the life cycle of tadpoles through experience. Thus far, most philosophers would agree on these points. The difficult question now arises: Is there any a priori knowledge that does give us knowledge about the real world? What would that be like? It would be knowledge expressible in a statement such that (a) its truth is not determined solely by the meaning of its terms and (b) it does provide information about the way the world is. Furthermore, since it is a priori, it would be knowledge that we could justify through reason, independently of experience. The question, then, is whether or not reason alone can tell us about the ultimate nature of reality. 1. Is it possible to have knowledge at all? 2. Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? 3. Does our knowledge represent reality as it really is? Rationalism claims that reason or the intellect is the primary source of our fundamental knowledge about reality. Nonrationalists agree that we can use reason to draw conclusions from the information provided by sense experience. However, what distinguishes the rationalists is that they claim that reason can give us knowledge apart from experience. For example, the rationalists point out that we can arrive at mathematical truths about circles  or triangles without having to measure, experiment with, or experience circular or triangular objects. We do so by constructing rational, deductive proofs that lead to absolutely indubitable conclusions that are always universally true of the world outside our minds (a priori knowledge about the world). Obviously, the rationalists think the second question should be answered affirmatively. Empiricism is the claim that sense experience is the sole source of our knowledge about the world. Empiricists insist that when we start life, the original equipment of our intellect is a tabula rasa, or blank tablet. Only through experience does that empty mind become filled with content. Various empiricists give different explanations of the nature of logical and mathematical truths. They are all agreed, however, that these truths are not already latent in the mind before we discover them and that there is no genuine a priori knowledge about the nature of reality. The empiricists would respond â€Å"No! † to the second epistemological question. With respect to question 3, both the rationalists and the empiricists think that our knowledge does represent reality as it really is. Constructivism is used in this discussion to refer to the claim that knowledge is neither already in the mind nor passively received from experience, but that the mind constructs knowledge out of the materials of experience. Immanuel Kant, an 18th-century German philosopher, introduced this view. He was influenced by both the rationalists and the empiricists and attempted to reach a compromise between them. While Kant did not agree with the rationalists on everything, he did believe we can have a priori knowledge of the world as we experience it. Although Kant did not use this label, I call his position constructivism  to capture his distinctive account of knowledge. One troubling consequence of his view was that because the mind imposes its own order on experience, we can never know reality as it is in itself. We can only know reality as it appears to us after it has been filtered and processed by our minds. Hence, Kant answers question 3 negatively. Nevertheless, because Kant thought our minds all have the same cognitive structure, he thought we are able to arrive at universal and objective knowledge within the boundaries of the human situation. Before reading further, look at the highway picture for an example of a classic  experiment in perception. Did you get the right answer, or were your eyes fooled? One way that skeptics attack knowledge claims is to point to all the ways in which we have been deceived by illusions. Our experience with perceptual illusions shows that in the past we have been mistaken about what we thought we knew. These mistakes lead, the skeptic claims, to the conclusion that we can never be certain about our beliefs, from which it follows that our beliefs are not justified. Another, similar strategy of the skeptic is to point to the possibility that our apprehension of reality could be systematically flawed in some way. The story of Ludwig, the brain in the vat who experienced a false virtual reality, would be an example of this strategy. Another strategy is to suppose that there is an inherent flaw in human psychology such that our beliefs never correspond to reality. I call these possible scenarios universal belief falsifiers. The characteristics of a universal belief falsifier are (1) it is a theoretically possible state of affairs, (2) we have no way of knowing if this state of affairs is actual or not, and (3) if this state of affairs is actual, we would never be able to distinguish beliefs that are true  from beliefs that seem to be true but are actually false. Note that the skeptic does not need to prove that these possibilities are actual. For example, the skeptic does not have to establish that we really are brains in a vat, but merely that this condition is possible. Furthermore, the skeptic need not claim that all our beliefs are false. The skeptic’s point is simply that we have no fail-safe method for determining when our beliefs are true or false. Given this circumstance, the skeptic will argue that we cannot distinguish the situation of having evidence that leads to true beliefs from the situation of having the same sort of evidence  plus a universal belief falsifier, which leads to false beliefs. Obviously, the skeptic believes that nothing is beyond doubt. For any one of our beliefs, we can imagine a set of circumstances in which it would be false. For example, I believe I was born in Rahway, New Jersey. However, my birth certificate could be inaccurate. Furthermore, for whatever reasons, my parents may have wished to keep the truth from me. I will never know for sure. I also believe that there is overwhelming evidence that Adolf Hitler committed suicide at the close of World War II. However, it could be true (as conspiracy theorists maintain) that his death was faked and that he lived a long life in South America after the war. The theme of the skeptic is that certainty is necessary for there to be knowledge, and if doubt is possible, then we do not have certainty. We now have the considerations in place that the skeptic uses to make his or her case. There are many varieties of skeptical arguments, each one exploiting some possible flaw in either human cognition or the alleged evidence we use to justify our beliefs. Instead of presenting various specific arguments, we can consider a â€Å"generic skeptical argument. † Generic Skeptical Argument 1. We can find reasons for doubting any one of our beliefs. 2. It follows that we can doubt all our beliefs. 3. If we can doubt all our beliefs, then we cannot be certain of any of them. 4. If we do not have certainty about any of our beliefs, then we do not have knowledge. 5. Therefore, we do not have knowledge. Pyrrho of Elis (360–270 B. C. ), a philosopher in ancient Greece, inspired a skeptical movement that bore his name (Pyrrhonian skepticism). Pyrrho was skeptical concerning sense experience. He argued that for experience to be a source of knowledge, our sense data  must agree with reality. But it is impossible to jump outside our experience to see how it compares with the external world. So, we can never know whether our experience is giving us accurate information about reality. Furthermore, rational argument cannot give us knowledge either, Pyrrho said, because for every argument supporting one side of an issue, another argument can be constructed to prove the opposing case. Hence, the two arguments cancel each other out and they are equally ineffective in leading us to the truth. The followers of Pyrrho stressed that we can make claims only about how things appear to us. You can say, â€Å"The honey appears to me to be sweet† but not, â€Å"The honey is sweet. † The best approach, according to these skeptics, was to suspend judgment whenever possible and make no assumptions at all. They believed that skeptical detachment would lead to serenity. â€Å"Don’t worry about what you cannot know,† they advised. Some skeptics distilled these arguments down into two simple theses. First, nothing is self-evident, for any axiom we start with can be doubted. Second, nothing can be proven, for either we will have an infinite regress of reasons that support our previous  reasons or we will end up assuming what we are trying to prove. Descartes began his quest for knowledge with the assumption that if he had rational certainty concerning his beliefs, he necessarily had knowledge, and if he did not have certainty, he did not have knowledge. The skeptics who came after Descartes agreed with this assumption. However, as we will see in the next section, Descartes argues that there are a number of things of which we can be certain and, hence, we do have knowledge. On the other hand, the skeptics doubt whether Descartes or anyone can achieve such certainty. Lacking any grounds for certainty, the skeptics claim we cannot have knowledge about the real world. Thus, the skeptics think that Descartes’s arguments for skepticism are stronger than his proposed answers. Such a philosopher was David Hume, whom we will encounter later when we examine empir EXAMINING THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF SKEPTICISM Positive Evaluation 1. Weeding a garden is not sufficient to make flowers grow, but it does do something valuable. In what way could the skeptics be viewed as providing a â€Å"philosophical weeding service† by undercutting beliefs that are naively taken for granted? 2. The skeptics are unsettling because they force us to reexamine our most fundamental beliefs. Is it better to live in naive innocence, never questioning anything, or is it sometimes worthwhile to have your beliefs challenged? Negative Evaluation 1. The skeptics make the following claim: â€Å"Knowledge is impossible. † But isn’t this claim itself a knowledge claim that they declare is true? Is the skeptic being inconsistent? 2. The skeptics use the argument from illusion to show that we cannot trust our senses. But could we ever know that there are illusions or that sometimes our senses are deceived  unless there were occasions when our senses weren’t deceived? 3. Some skeptics would have us believe that it is possible that all our beliefs are false. But would the human race have survived if there was never a correspondence between some of our beliefs and the way reality is constituted? We believe that fire burns, water quenches thirst, vegetables nourish us, and eating sand doesn’t. If we didn’t have some sort of built-in mechanism orienting us toward true beliefs, how could we be as successful as we are in dealing with reality? 4. Is skepticism liveable? Try yelling to someone who claims to be a skeptic, â€Å"Watch out  for that falling tree limb! † Why is it that a skeptic will always look up? Think of other ways in which skeptics might demonstrate that they do believe they can find out what is true or false about the world. 5. Is Descartes’s demand for absolute certainty unreasonable? Can’t we have justified beliefs based on inferences to the best explanation, probability, or practical certainty? Does certainty have to be either 100 percent or 0 percent? The answer is that our reason tells us that â€Å"something cannot come from nothing† and â€Å"material objects do not vanish into thin air. † We will distrust our senses before  we will abandon these beliefs. Hence, our reason seems to have veto power over our sense experience. We often trust our reason even in the face of apparently solid, experiential evidence. The rationalists raise this trust in reason into a full-fledged theory of knowledge. Rationalism is a very influential theory about the source and nature of knowledge. This position may be summarized in terms of the three anchor points of rationalism. These three points are responses to the second question of epistemology, Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? Reason Is the Primary or Most Superior Source of Knowledge about Reality According to the rationalist, it is through reason that we truly understand the fundamental truths about reality. For example, most rationalists would say the truths in the following lists are some very basic truths about the world that will never change. Although our experience certainly does illustrate most of these beliefs, our experiences always consist of par-ticular, concrete events. Hence, no experiences of seeing, feeling, hearing, tasting, or touching specific objects can tell us that these statements will always be true for every  future event we encounter. The rationalist claims that the following statements represent a priori truths about the world. They are a priori because they can be known apart from experience, yet they tell us what the world is like. LOGICAL TRUTHS A and not-A cannot both be true at the same time (where A represents some proposition or claim). This truth is called the law of noncontradiction. (For example, the statement â€Å"John is married and John is not married† is necessarily false. ) If the statement X is true and the statement â€Å"If X, then Y† is true, then it necessarily follows that the statement Y is true. MATHEMATICAL TRUTHS The area of a triangle will always be one-half the length of the base times its height. If X is larger than Y and Y is larger than Z, then X is larger than Z. METAPHYSICAL TRUTHS Every event has a cause. An object with contradictory properties cannot exist. (No matter how long we search, we will never find a round square. ) ETHICAL PRINCIPLES Some basic moral obligations are not optional. It is morally wrong to maliciously torture someone for the fun of it. Sense Experience Is an Unreliable and Inadequate Route to Knowledge Rationalists typically emphasize the fact that sense experience is relative, changing, and often illusory. An object will look one way in artificial light and will look different in sunlight. Our eyes seem to see water on the road on a hot day, but the image is merely an optical illusion. The rationalist claims that we need our reason to sort out what is appearance from what is reality. Although it is obvious that a rationalist could not get through life without some reliance on sense experience, the rationalist denies that sense experience is the only source of knowledge about reality. Furthermore, experience can tell us only about particular things in the world. However, it cannot give us universal, foundational truths  about reality. Sensory experience can tell me about the properties of this ball, but it cannot tell me about the properties of spheres in general. Experience can tell me that when I combine these two oranges with those two oranges, they add up to four oranges. However, only reason can tell me that two plus two will always equal four and that this result will be true not only for these oranges, or all oranges, but for anything whatsoever. The Fundamental Truths about the World Can Be Known A Priori: They Are Either Innate or Self-Evident to Our Minds Innate ideas are ideas that are inborn. They are ideas or principles that the mind already contains prior to experience. The notion of innate ideas is commonly found in rationalistic philosophies, but it is rejected by the empiricists. The theory of innate ideas views the mind like a computer that comes from the factory with numerous programs already loaded on its disk, waiting to be activated. Hence, rationalists say that such ideas as the laws of logic, the concept of justice, or the idea of God are already contained deep within the mind and only need to be brought to the level of conscious awareness. Innate ideas should not be confused with instinct. Instinct is a noncognitive set of mechanical behaviors, such as blinking the eyes when an object approaches them. The theory of innate ideas is one account of how we can have a priori knowledge. Other rationalists believe that if the mind does not already contain these ideas, they are, at least, either self-evident or natural to the mind and the mind has a natural predisposition to recognize them. For example, Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716), a German rationalist, compared the mind to a block of marble that contains veins or natural splitting points that allow only one sort of shape to be formed within it. Thus, the mind, like the marble, has an innate structure that results in â€Å"inclinations, dispositions, habits, or natural capacities† to think in certain ways. In contrast to this view, John Locke (a British empiricist) said: â€Å"There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses. † In response, Leibniz tagged the following rationalistic qualification at the end of Locke’s formula, â€Å"except for the intellect itself. † Obviously, in saying that the mind contains rational ideas or dispositions, the rationalists do not believe a baby is thinking about the theorems of geometry. Instead, they claim  that when a person achieves a certain level of cognitive development, he or she will be capable of realizing the self-evident truth of certain ideas. Leibniz pointed out that there is a difference between the mind containing rational principles and being aware of them. Rationalists give different accounts of how the mind acquired innate ideas in the first place. Socrates and Plato believed that our souls preexisted our current life and received knowledge from a previous form of existence. Theistic rationalists, such as Descartes, tend to believe that God implanted these ideas within us. Others simply claim that these principles or ideas naturally accompany rational minds such as ours. THE RATIONALISTS’ ANSWERS TO THE THREE EPISTEMOLOGICAL QUESTIONS Section 2. 0 contained three questions concerning knowledge: (1) Is knowledge possible? (2) Does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of experience? and (3) Does our knowledge represent reality as it really is? While differing on the details, all the rationalists give the same answers to these three questions. First, they all believe that knowledge is possible. Generally, we are able to discern that some opinions are better than others. For example, in the discipline of mathematics some answers are true and some are false. We could not know this fact if obtaining knowledge was impossible. Second, the rationalists agree that only through reason can we find an adequate basis for knowledge. For example, in mathematics and logic we are able through reason alone to arrive at truths that are absolutely certain and necessarily true. Third, rationalists agree that beliefs that are based on reason do represent reality as it truly is. In the following sections, I examine three classical rationalists to see how they illustrate the three anchor points of rationalism and  answer the three epistemological questions. Socrates’ answers to the three epistemological questions should be clear. (1) We are able to distinguish true opinions from false ones, so we must know the standards for making this distinction. (2) These standards could not be derived from experience so they must be unpacked through a rational investigation of the reservoir of all truth—the soul. (3) Since our rational knowledge provides us with information that enables us to deal successfully with the world and our own lives, it must be giving us an accurate picture of reality. However, according to Plato, since the  physical world is constantly changing, sense perception gives us only relative and temporary information about changing, particular things. Being a typical rationalist, Plato thought that ultimate knowledge must be objective, unchanging, and universal. Furthermore, he argued that there is a difference between true opinions and knowledge, for our beliefs must be rationally justified to qualify as knowledge. Finally, Plato believed that the object of knowledge must be something that really exists. Plato and the Role of Reason Do mathematical truths, such as those in the multiplication tables, exist within the mind  or do they exist outside the mind? Plato would say both. If mathematical truths exist only in the mind, then why does physical reality conform to these truths? If mathematical truths are only mind-dependent ideas, then why can’t we make the truths about triangles be anything we decide them to be? The world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was created in the mind of Lewis Carroll. He could have made the world’s properties be anything he decided. But obviously, we can’t make up such rules for the properties of numbers. We don’t create these truths; we discover them. Thus, Plato would argue, these truths are objective and independent of our minds. But if they are independent of our minds, then they must refer to something that exists in reality. Although the number seven, for example, has objective properties that we discover, these properties are not physical. We do not learn the truths about numbers by seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling, or touching them. From this concept, Plato concludes that the world of mathematics consists of a set of objective, mindindependent truths and a domain of nonphysical reality that we know only through reason. What about justice? What color is it? How tall is it? How much does it weigh? Clearly, these questions can apply to physical things, but it is meaningless to describe justice in terms of observable properties. Furthermore, no society is perfectly just. Hence, we have never seen an example of perfect justice in human history, only frail, human attempts to approximate it. Because reason can contemplate Justice Itself,* we can evaluate the deficient, limited degrees of justice found in particular societies. Particular nations come and go and the degree of justice they manifest can rise or fall. But the objects of genuine knowledge  Ã‚  such as true Justice or true Circularity are eternal and unchanging standards and objects of knowledge. Plato on Universals and the Knowledge of Reality Thus far, Plato has argued that there are some things that we could not know about (Justice, Goodness, Equality) if experience was our only source of knowledge. The soul must have somehow acquired knowledge independently of the senses. But what, exactly, are the objects of this special sort of knowledge? In answering this question, Plato builds on the distinction he has made between the here-and-now realm of sense experience and the unchanging realm of rational knowledge. He says that in the world of sense experience we find that particulars fall into a number of stable, universal categories. Without these categories, we could not identify anything or talk about particulars at all. For example, Tom, Andre, Maria, and Lakatria are all distinct individuals, yet we can use the universal term human being to refer to each of them. In spite of their differences, something about them is the same. Corresponding to each common name (such as â€Å"human,† â€Å"dog,† â€Å"justice†) is a Universal that consists of the essential, common properties of anything within that category. Circular objects (coins, rings, wreathes, planetary orbits) all have the Universal of Circularity in common. Particular objects that are beautiful (roses, seashells, persons, sunsets, paintings) all share the Universal of Beauty. Particulars come into being, change, and pass away but Universals reside in an eternal, unchanging world. The rose grows from a bud, becomes a beautiful flower, and then turns brown and ugly and fades away. Yet the Universal of Beauty (or Beauty Itself ) remains eternally the same. Plato believes that Universals are more than concepts, they are actually the constituents  of reality. Hence, in answer to the third epistemological question, Plato believes that knowledge of Universals provides us with knowledge of the fundamental features of reality, which are nonphysical, eternal, and unchanging. Plato also refers to these Universals as â€Å"Forms. † The following thought experiment will help you appreciate Plato’s emphasis on Universals and universal truth. Descartes on the Possibility of Knowledge Although Descartes was certain he could not be deceived about his own existence, the possibility of a Great Deceiver cast a shadow over all his other beliefs. Unless he could find something external to his mind that would guarantee that the contents of his mind represented reality, there was little hope for having any knowledge other than that of his own existence. Descartes sought this guarantee in an all-powerful, good God. Hence, Descartes says, â€Å"As soon as the opportunity arises I must examine whether there is a God, and, if there is, whether he can be a deceiver. For if I do not know this, it seems that I can never be quite certain about anything else. †12 If Descartes could prove that such a God exists, then he could know that knowledge is possible. But notice how limited are the materials Descartes has at his disposal for proving God’s existence. He cannot employ an empirical argument based on the nature of the external world, for that is an issue that is still in doubt. So, he must construct a rationalistic argument that reasons only from the contents of his own mind. STOP AND THINK Descartes on the Role of Reason In the following passage from Meditation III, Descartes says the â€Å"natural light of reason† shows him that (1) something cannot arise from nothing and (2) there must be at least as much reality in the cause as there is in the effect. †¢ What examples does he use to illustrate each of these principles? †¢ How does he apply these two principles to the existence of his own ideas? The argument that Descartes has given us in the previous passages can be summarized in this way: 1. Something cannot be derived from nothing. (In other words, all effects, including ideas, are caused by something. ) 2. There must be at least as much reality in the cause as there is in the effect. 3. I have an idea of God (as an infinite and perfect being). 4. The idea of God in my mind is an effect that was caused by something. 5. I am finite and imperfect, and thus I could not be the cause of the idea of an infinite and perfect God. 6. Only an infinite and perfect being could be the cause of such an idea. 7. Therefore, God (an infinite and perfect being) exists. THE THREE ANCHOR POINTS OF EMPIRICISM The Only Source of Genuine Knowledge Is Sense Experience The empiricists compare the mind to a blank tablet upon which experience makes its marks. Without experience, they claim, we would lack not only knowledge of the specific features of the world, but also the ability even to con.

My Leadership Style Analysis Essay

My Leadership Style Analysis WGU Leadership SAT2 Task 1 My Leadership Style Analysis A1. Leadership Style Evaluation There are many different leadership styles. After reading the assigned chapters for this task. I was able to identify my own leadership style as a result. In order to know my leadership style, I took a series of assessments in order to determine my personal leadership style. Assessments I took that helped me to determine my personal leadership style are: â€Å"the Emotional Expressive Scale, Personal Magnetism Deficit Inventory, Task Oriented Attitudinal and Behavior assessment, Clarifying your Work Values, What Style of Leader are you or would you be, What is your propensity of taking Risk, How Flexible are you, the Least Preferred Co-worker Scale for Measuring Leadership style, and Measuring your Situation and Perspective assessments (DuBrin, A. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 9780547143965). After taking the above assessments, I was able to determine that my personal leadership style is Participative. A Participative leader is â€Å"a person in charge who shares decision making with group members† (DuBrin, A. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 9780547143965). A1a. Strengths As a Participative leader, my leadership style advocates teamwork. Advocating teamwork is considered strength for my leadership style. This is strength for my leadership style because advocating teamwork gives team members opportunity to participate in the decision-making making process of developing team, and as a result, employees are empowered, and feel a sense of belonging as a result. Another strength that my leadership style has is that my leadership style strives for consensus. This is considered strength for my leadership style because having a consensus empowers employees, and provides them with a sense of belonging as a result. A1b. Weaknesses One weakness of my leadership style is that if team members do not agree on something, a decision cannot be made until all team members are in agreement with a specific decision. This can be considered a weakness for my learning style if team members are not able to Another weakness for my leadership style is the opportunity for wasting time. This is considered a weakness for my leadership style because if teams are not able to form a consensus for any reason, productivity stops, a valuable time is lost until a consensus is formed. A2. Comparison of Leadership Styles Other leadership Styles that I learned about and found interesting are the Autocratic Leadership Style, and the Entrepreneurial Leadership Style. The Autocratic Leadership Style is when the leader â€Å"retains most of the authority for himself or herself† (DuBrin, A. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 9780547143965). Unlike the Participative Leadership style, the Autocratic Leadership Style retains most of the authority, while Participative Leadership Style allow team members the ability to make decisions based on policies and procedures develop by teams, with the final approval of management. In addition, the Autocratic leadership style are not concerned with the concerns of team members. While the Participative leadership style allows for team members to develop and form their opinions, and as a result, this privilege implies that this leadership style is concerned with the concern of t eam members. The â€Å"Entrepreneurial leadership style stems from personality characteristics and circumstances of individuals† (DuBrin, A. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 9780547143965). The Entrepreneurial leadership style is a leadership style for individuals who are innovative enough to open and operate their own  business. The Entrepreneurial leadership style is completely different from the Participative leadership style. The Entrepreneurial leadership style tends to have higher achievement and is where the Participative leadership style tends to strive for consensus. The Entrepreneurial leadership style tends to be more creative and enthusiastic than the Participative leadership style. The Participative leadership style tends to negotiate demands of employees, and the Entrepreneurial leadership style responds immediately if a crisis presents. A3. Leadership Style Discussions Understanding different Leadership Styles can help me to become an effective leader by helping me to identify deficient areas in my personal leadership style. Being able to identify personal leadership deficiency will give me the opportunity of being aware. Being aware of deficiency in my leadership style will help me to gain new skills that will help me to improve and perfect deficient areas in my leadership style. This newfound awareness will allow me the opportunity to obtain knowledge, skills and abilities needed in order for me to become an effective leader. Another reason understanding different leadership styles can help me to become an effective leader is that it will give me the opportunity to think outside the box. This skill will help me to be more creative in my leadership style, and as a result, I will gain and implement new leadership skills to my personal leadership style. This new skill will allow me to future improve and perfect deficient areas of my leadership style , and will help me to become an effective leader as well. In addition, understanding the many different leadership style will also help me to become a effective leader by ultimately allowing me to understand the many different learning styles, this will allow me to improve my communication skills, which will allow me to effectively communicate with employees. This skill will improve my leadership skills, and help me to become an effective leader as a result. A4. Problems In order to minimize problems for leaders in the workplace, it is imperative that leaders are emotionally intelligent, know their own personal leadership  style, and understand the many different leadership styles in order to minimize problems for them in the workplace. Problems that can present for leaders in the workplace that do not have a complete understanding of differences in leadership styles are miscommunication, and a decrease in employee moral as a result. A4a. Overcoming Problems In order for leaders to improve miscommunications in the workplace, leaders should hold weekly meeting and encourage employee input. This will demonstrate to employees that the leader is concerned with team members and is accessible to employees when needed; this can improve communication in the workplace as a result. In addition, conducting weekly meetings will also establish an open door policy for employees. An open door policy demonstrates to employees that you are available, and as a result, communication can future be improved in the workplace. In order for leaders to increase moral in the work place, leaders should take the opportunity of the open door policy to get to know their employees personally, in addition, in an effort to increase employee moral, leaders should plan team building activities in an effort to increase employee moral as well. Taking the opportunity of the open door policy to get to know your employees personally will increase employee moral in the workplace. Employees will continue to believe that their organization appreciate them as employees, and as a result, communication will improve, and employee moral will increase as a result. Leaders can further improve employee moral by encouraging team-building activities. For example, leaders should incorporate quarterly activities such as employee luncheon, and or employee picnics in order to improve employee moral. These teambuilding activities will further demonstrate to employees that the company appreciates them and as a result, employee moral will increase as a result. A5. Synergies Three potential advantages that may be created between the Leadership styles are the ability to collaborate with other team members, obtaining a higher level of enthusiasm, and the ability to make decisions confidently. The Participative leadership style can create the advantage of allowing team members to obtain knowledge, and implement skills that are presented by  other team members as a result. . The ability to collaborate with team members will allow both employees and leaders opportunity to develop ideas as a result. The Entrepreneurial leadership style will give teams and leaders the opportunity to become enthusiastic while performing job descriptions. Being enthusiastic in the work place will allow both team member and leaders to become motivated while performing job descriptions as a result. The Autocratic leadership style will give leaders opportunity to make business decision more confidently. This ability for leaders to make business decisions confidently empowers leaders in the work place, when leaders are empowered, they develop self-confidence needed while making business decisions as a result. A5a. Increasing productivity The ability to obtain knowledge, and implement skills that are presented by other team members will increase productivity because employees will gain new ideas and skills that can help them to perform their job description with ease. When employees are confident with performing their job description, productivity will increase as a result. Being enthusiastic while performing duties in the workplace stimulates and motivates both team members and leaders the same, and as a result, team members are eager and happier while performing their job descriptions, and as a result, productivity increases when employees are happier in the workplace. When managers have the ability to make sound business decisions with confidence, leaders are empowered, employees become subordinate to their leaders, and as a result, productivity increase because leaders become responsible for administer employees performance appraisals that can provide raises for employees as a result. B. References Ciulla, J. B., Price, T. L., and Murphy, S. E. (2005). The quest for moral leaders: Essays on leadership ethics. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. ISBN-13: 9781845429454. Topchik, G. (2007). The first-time managers’ guide to team building. New York: AMACOM. ISBN-13: 978814474297. Anonymous. (2009). Introducing the  one-on-one dispute resolution process. Dispute Resolution Journal, 64(3), 90. Brown, J. (2010, January). Leadership vs. management. Supply House Times, 52(11), 118,120-121. Gesell, I. (2010). How to lead when the generation gap becomes your everyday reality. Journal for Quality and Participation, 32(4), 21-24. Guttman, H. (2008). Leading high-performance teams. Chief Executive (231), 33-35. Momeni, N. (2009). The relation between managers’ emotional intelligence and the organizational climate they create. Public Personnel Management, 38(2), 35-48. DuBrin, A. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 9780547143965.

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty Thesis

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty - Thesis Example All of these are grounded on the supposition that Jesus Christ is the son of God that was sent to save humanity. Yet, there are many fundamental differences between these churches that cause social and personal conflicts such as the concept of redemption and the Christian Liberty. This paper will examine those two topics comprehensively. First, this paper will examine how Christianity defines theology and how it is supposed to be achieved. Second it will examine the contextual meaning of Christian Liberty and how its concept affects contemporary social issues. Introduction to Theology of Redemption Literally, redemption means to buy back or repurchase (Wrigth 80). This is clear from the words of the Old Testament, in which the word redemption is used to refer to the ransom of slaves (Green 69). Redemption isn’t a new concept to theology. Several religions have some form of redemption practice or belief. Other religions have a broader meaning for redemption. More often, it is r elated with a person overcoming their shortcomings as a being in order to attain an exemplary position. In Buddhism, for example, giving up attachments to material desires is known as redemption while the Judaic belief system regards redemption as the act of bringing back of Israelites from their exile. Modern Christian theology regards redemption as a form of deliverance from sin which is an important element of salvation. However, the arrival of Jesus Christ provided a whole new meaning to the concept by providing a new context. The supposed betrayal of Adam and Eve became the all-encompassing sin and Jesus Christ was the way out of it (Hladky 108). He presented a greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, thus obtaining eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12; Colossians 1:14). Upon Jesus Christ’s death, redemption went beyond slaves but it is a lso about salvation from sin. Origen’s Theory of Redemption When we consider the theory of redemption, it isn’t possible to have a discussion without considering the concepts of Origen Adamantius. He is often attributed to controversial notions like universal reconciliation, universal salvation and other heteroclite views but the author Fredrick W. Norris wrote a book The Westminster handbook to Origen in the year 2004 and wrote that such an attribution would be entirely erroneous (Das 157). Origen proclaimed the diversity and radical nature of views about the soul (Deeway 79). He claimed that the soul is infinite with no beginning or end. It can, however, vary in strength depending on the decisions made from the previous life. The previous life will determine one’s current life. Â   This concept was widely accepted until Emperor Constantine took over the church in the year 325AD. Much later, the Emperor Justinian condemned this philosophy in 553 AD and the Chu rch has since criticized the basis of Origen’s theory. There is a great debate on whether his parents were actually pagans or Christians because his theories and completed works have always been grounded on debatable claims and concepts (Drane 84). This resulted to a lot of controversies. He became popular but he also had to face some terrible animosity from the Bishop of Alexandria named Demetrius at the time. The story of his dispute with the Valentinian doctrine follower is a well known anecdote and it took place when Origen was preaching at Caesarea Palestinae but he went to Greece to meet the follower of Valentinus Candidus. The doctrine basically indicates that salvation and damnation are

Chucks Wagon Inc and the Experience of a HBS Student Case Study

Chucks Wagon Inc and the Experience of a HBS Student - Case Study Example The case of Chuck’s Wagon Inc describes the experience of an HBS student as he has been taken a challenge of transition from an intern to a president at Chuck’s wagon Inc. This paper aims to provide the appropriate suggestion for the organization in order to improve the performance of the organization and take the organization out of the bad situation. In order to gain this objective paper has been distributed into 4 major sections in first section Swot analysis has been conducted and on the basis of the analysis, a decision to eliminate the lowest sale products has been proposed. In the second section, two performance measurement methods have been discussed such as financial and non-financial and appropriate suggestion regarding performance measures has been made. The third section is consists of the incorporation of performance measures in balance scorecard. However, in last section activity-based costing method has been suggested to improve the operations and its benefits and appropriateness to the organization have been discussed. SWOT analysis is an important tool to realize the company’s internal weaknesses and chances that exist outside the firm to grow (Helms, & Nixon, 2010). Therefore, in order to recommend the appropriate strategic model, it is essential to analyze the organization potential and opportunities exist for the organization. On the basis of the analysis, it has been determined that the major issues that company is facing include operational complexity, credit issues, marketing and pricing issues, lack of data availability, SKU based profitability, variability in the material of the product, and operating losses. The company needs to take some strategic decision in order to extract the company from maturity stage. The approach that has been used to make the decision is â€Å"rational strategic model of decision making† this approach will allow realizing the pros and cons of each decision made (Elbanna 2009).  

Interpretation and Application to Facts of Extracts from Three Essay

Interpretation and Application to Facts of Extracts from Three Statutes - Essay Example He intends to do this by exposing the dog to a chemical-impregnated rag. Just as is usually the case, there are several acts that make up for Alec’s Actus Reus. Although the main criminal act done by Alec is an attempted harm of a sniffer dog, yet Alec has also trespassed Claire’s property, which is her cottage. It is important to note that by destroying the sniffer dog’s olfactory organs, Alec was committing the crime of destroying someone’s property. Despite the destruction of property often being legally referred to as vandalism, Alec’s destruction of property can be fittingly called as such, only that it borders on mutilation, since the property in this case is a living being, a dog. The part of the dog that is being mutilated is its olfactory organ, whether this mutilation is permanent, r temporary, that notwithstanding (Biles, et al., 2011, 177). Conversely, Alec is also acting in collusion with drug dealers, which is another criminal offence. While freedom of association may be cited by the defendant as an explanation to Alec’s tete-a-tete with drug barons, his very act of mutilating Bruno amounts to a (willful) obstruction of justice. Alec’s act is not only classifiable as an anticipatory obstruction of justice, but it also totally proscribed and described. ... Conversely, it is also important to note that Alec’s action makes him complicit to a crime. Guam v. Dela Rosa, 644 F.2d 1257, 1260-61 (1981) sheds light on the fact that Alec has knowledge of an anticipated criminal act (drug dealing and destruction of police property) and continues to strengthen their cause (by attempting to disable a police dog). This totally and explicitly renders Alec an accomplice to crime. Even the mere fact that Alec knew about the drug dealers and maintained contact with them, still serves as exculpating evidence against him. This is because, both points of legal references describe an accomplice as one who is party to an offence by the virtue of having encouraged the principal offender with acts or/ and words, and thereby facilitating the crime. This accomplice needs not participate in the main crime; he merely enables it. Alec by all means is an accomplice since he verbally agreed in a binding agreement and also actively tried to incapacitate a polic e dog, with the chief aid of abetting and enabling the transpiration of narcotics. By also entering Claire’s cottage without permission, Alec became guilty of the crime of trespass. Another salient component that gives the case a strong ground is Mens Rea (the state of a guilty mind, a criminal intent and a wrongful purpose). Alec, having formed a liaison with drug dealers, had planned to destroy Bruno’s sense of smell. He seized Bruno by the collar, drag him towards his van, so as to expose his nose to the chemical-impregnated rag. The conclusion to the foregoing is that there is no room whatsoever for any lawful excuse that may be extended in favor of Alec. Besides this, it is most probable that Alec has a case to answer and that he is likely to be found of

Ethnic American- History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethnic American- History - Essay Example But the debate on Immigration today involves more complex issues as varied as the issues of human rights to cultural apprehensions to corporate economics. Thus for the second or third generation immigrant the issue is much more complex than the first generation immigrant. The big corporate companies approach the issue of immigration as a source of cheap labor availability. There are ethnic lobbies who want to strengthen their bases of political power, using the immigrants. Even the opponents of immigration don’t have a common platform. Protecting the American culture from getting polluted by immigrants is the concern of the extreme rightists. Depressing wages and disappearing jobs are what are worrying the labor advocates. Thus the immigration debate today is beyond the perception of any single immigrant group like the Mexicans and is much more complex than what the first generation immigrants faced. The most important aspect of the debate about immigration today is the economic aspect of it. The corporate lobby in the United States wants not to stop immigration at all, because these immigrants constitute a source of cheap labor. One can employ an immigrant for meager wages with no other benefits of labor. This helps them to increase their profits enormously. More over these immigrants are ready to work in areas where American workers are reluctant to work. Thus these illegal migrants fill up the jobs which the Americans refuse to take up, because they are unpleasant and physically demanding with bad working conditions, especially in agriculture, construction and service industries. The Pew Hispanic Centre estimates that in 2001 workers with out legal documents comprised 58% of work force in agriculture, 23.8 % in private house hold services 16.6% in business services 9.1% in restaurants and 6.4 % in construction. Almost 90% of the immigrant workers are not educationally qualifi ed enough to be conscious of the price of the work they are

Discuss the reasons for the recent weakness of the US Dollar Essay

Discuss the reasons for the recent weakness of the US Dollar - Essay Example It still rules as the de facto world currency. Foreign Exchange market is liquid where investors and players participate freely... Its daily turnover in 2004 as per the Bank of International settlements was reported to be$1.9 trillion. London was the biggest foreign exchange market followed by New York â€Å"Somewhere between 40 to 60 percent of international financial transactions are dominated in dollars. For decades the dollar has also been the world’s principal reserve currency. In 1996, the dollar accounted for approximately two thirds of the world’s foreign exchange reserves† (255) writes Robert Gilpin in his ‘Global Political Economy: Understanding Economic Order (2001) The exchange rate of dollar against many currencies in the world has fallen down leading to depreciation of dollar value exchange rate of euro, yen and Indian rupee from January 2007 to June 2007 shown below.. Dollar depreciated by 9% against Indian rupee, and by 1.2% Rate against euro The dollar-pound exchange rate that was settled at 0.6 to 0.64 in 1999 is set at 1.999 in July 2007 i.e. dollar has depreciated by 217% against sterling pound in the same period from 1999 t0 2007 July. Apart from the introduction of Euro in 1999 that squeezed the strength of dollar the Iraqi war turned to be dampener for US dollar. The heavy burden on US economy for fighting the war had an adverse impact on the domestic prices and psychology of other nations. The value of dollar is very much indirectly proportional to gold price in the international market. The following table shows gold price has raised by 135% over 1999 prices. This is one of the principal reasons for dollar price depreciation. The dollar deprecated by 25% against euro from the level of one in 1999 to 0.744 in July 2007. The acute adverse balance of trade and burgeoning debt of America added fuel to the fire. The America’s balance of payment is highly critical. There is a persistent

Technical Paper Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Technical Paper - Case Study Example Moreover, there are some limitations associated with the SIEM such as number of events per second to be generated, based on the logs being generated from the system and pulled by the SIEM agents Firewall. (2007). Vulnerabilities in network security are regarded as the â€Å"soft spots† that are evidenced in every network. These vulnerabilities exist in the network as well as individual devices that constitute the network. HTTP, FTP, and ICMP are not secure essentially. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and SYN floods are associated with the inherently vulnerable structure upon which TCP has been designed Various types of network equipment such as firewalls (Agnitum outpost persona firewall pro 2.0.2004), switches, routers; all have security weaknesses that must be acknowledged and safeguarded against. Those include the following weaknesses: Network administrators or network engineers are required to understand the configuration weaknesses and accurately configure their computing and network devices to counteract the common configuration weaknesses. This common problem occurs upon turning on JavaScript in web browsers which enables attacks by means of hostile JavaScript whilst accessing untrusted sites. Some complications also take place due to IIS, Apache, FTP and Terminal Services. Significant security problems come about because of misconfigurations of the equipment itself. For instance, misconfigured routing protocols, certain access lists or even some SNMP community strings can open up large security holes. The unauthorized discovery and mapping of systems, services, or vulnerabilities is referred to as Reconnaissance. It is also known as information gathering and it commonly manifests before an actual access or denial-of-service (DoS) attack. Reconnaissance is rather comparable to a thief casing a neighbourhood in search of vulnerable homes to break into, like easy-to-open doors, windows left

Arts, Media, Philosophy Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Arts, Media, Philosophy - Research Proposal Example In order to answer the question, â€Å"are Americans more or less literate than they used to be? The answer to this is yes they are (Brandt, 2001). This is because of the advanced levels in technology that have enabled the literacy levels to spike. Change has caused the rising trend of more Americans becoming literate in all field, and in particular the field of technology. Change is inevitable, and Americans came to learn that sooner or later adaptation to the changes that traverse the universe with both positive and negative results (Brandt, 2001) is inevitable. In line with the positive thoughts, it has helped boost security, taken education to a whole new level; production in the agriculture sector has improved and has led to improved living and comfortable lifestyle. The downside of this high literacy levels is the mass production of weapons aimed at destroying other states or countries that are deemed a threat. As it was said before in this essay, change is inevitable; but a positive outcome is better and not a negative one (Brandt,

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 345

Assignment Example Ford’s financials for the fiscal year that ended December 2003 addressed foreign exchange risk management. The company first understands and measures its exposure to various risks. For example, Ford is exposed to foreign currency risks. The firm utilizes cash flow hedges to prevent and minimize the risks. However, Ford hedges only between 25% and 30% of its foreign exchange risks. The firm hedges various currencies including Swedish krone, Mexico pesos, British sterling pounds, Brazilian reals, and Japanese yen (Hyman 32). Ford uses various hedging techniques to minimize the risks. These methods include value-at-risk (VaR) analysis. VaR assists the organization to assess its exposure to variations in foreign currency exchange rates. The VaR model focuses on profit and losses. Therefore, the technique allows Ford to calculate the size of the deviation between the probable profit and a yearly planned profit with a 95% probability. The current currency volatility in Venezuela is Ford’s primary concern. In 2015, the company announced that, it took charge related to its operations in Venezuela that would reduce fourth-quarter net profit by about $700 millions (Reuters 1). Venezuelan bolivars value fluctuates due to the illegal market. Reuters reported that illegal traders exchange a dollar for more than 180 bolivars. Such exchange rate is high compared to the country’s three-tiered exchange rate system. Venezuela’s currency exchange rate ranges between 6.3 bolivars and 50 bolivars to the dollar (6). Overall, Ford has grown significantly since its establishment. Despite the fact that the company experiences many risks in its operations, the firm adopted sound hedging techniques. Similarly, any company operating either locally or internationally might experience different challenges. However, good management strategies would propel the

Pros and Cons of Partnership as a Form of Ownership Essay Example for Free

Pros and Cons of Partnership as a Form of Ownership Essay Q.1 Identify the pros and cons of the partnership as a form of ownership? A partnership is formed when two or more people engage in a business activity and share investment, profit and loss. Just like any other form of ownership, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Following we discuss some of the pros and cons of a partnership. Pros of the Partnership (1) Ease of Formation: Partnership is comparatively simple to form. All you need to form a partnership is an agreement. A verbal agreement is enough to start a partnership however it is much recommended that partnership be formed based on a written legal partnership agreement. (2) Funding: Partnerships generally have a low startup cost. With two or more people investing capital in the company, the business will have a much stronger financial ground. Two or more people can also have better access to outside funds needed to run the business (3) Divided Responsibility: In a partnership responsibilities of running a business are shared by the owners. Shared responsibilities ease the work load on individuals and can also increase productivity by splitting responsibilities in a way that individuals can use their special skills to maximize the output. (4) Support: Owning and running a business can be very demanding, challenging and stressful. Having a business partner can give you a little peace of mind because a partner can provide moral support when needed. (5) Taxation: The income profit/loss in a partnership flows through the business to individual partners for taxation. In other words the partners are taxed only on the basic of personal income i-e how much loss or profit a partner endured. Cons of Partnership: (1) Liability: In a partnership both partners have un-limited liability (not in LP and LLP). Both partners are responsible for not only their own actions but also the actions of their partners. So, if your partner fails to pay a debt, you personally are responsible for paying that debt and vice versa. If someone sues the partnership and the business doesn’t have enough money to cover the expenses than the partners personal assets will be at stake. (2) Conflicts and Disagreements: Partnerships are for the long term and over the course of time conflicts arise and disagreement happens. Whether these are personal or management style conflicts. They can adversely affect the business. When general partners don’t agree it can delay the decision making time of the company and a bad conflict is enough to dissolve a partnership. (3) Dependence on Partners: The success of any partnership depends heavily on contribution from all partners. If a partner withdraws the business will be crippled, if a partner dies the partnership can die with him. Moreover you can’t make any business decision on your own you’re dependent on your partner. (4) Difficulty Withdrawing: It is not that easy to get out of a partnership. Whoever needs to withdraw will be personally liable for any monetary obligations due at the time of withdrawl. Q.2 Discuss funding options for small business? In order to run a business you need capital. Getting the money together to start a new business is the top priority of any entrepreneur. There are several ways to finance a small business. Following are some options for financing a small business. (1) Personal Resources: Using your own assets is the most common form of small business financing. You can use money from your saving, ask family or friends for capital or use a credit card. (2) Loans: In order to startup a new business, entrepreneur borrows money from the banks. The banks charge an interest rate on the money lent. The business owner must pay the original money borrowed plus the accumulated interest over the life of the loan. In today’s economy it is not easy to secure a commercial loan with the bank. A better and easier way for a new business to get a bank loan is with loan guarantee from the SBA. (3) Angels Investors: Another way to fund a small business is by private investors. Angel Investors are individuals who have a lot of money and are looking to invest a large amount into a profitable business for financial gain and profits. (4) Venture Capital: The companies who fund promising and high potential companies in exchange for ownership shares are known as venture capital firms. Venture capital is the money provided by venture capital firms to startup businesses that are perceived to have a long term growth potential. It has a high risk for investor but also has potential for above average profit returns. 3. Determine and discuss how managerial accounting can help managers with product costing, incremental analysis and budgeting? Managerial accounting provides accounting information needed by managers inside an organization to run its day to day operations. It provides managers with financial information’s needed to make sound business decisions. Managerial accounting information includes budgeting, product costing, performance reports, variance analysis and financial ratios. Following we look at three managerial duties that rely on information received from managerial accounting: (1) Product Costing: Product costing is the process of accurately determine the cost of a single product, by analyzing all the expenses that accrued from the beginning (raw material) to the end (sale). In traditional costing method indirect costs are applied to products, based on an overhead rate that is predetermined. The traditional costing system is easier and much simpler but fails to add the cost of non-manufacturing goods that are associated with the production of that item. (2) Activity Based Costing: Activity Based Costing is a new method in costing. It’s much more complicated that the traditional costing system. ABC gives a much more accurate product cost. Under activity based accounting associated with production of an item is determined and priced. This priced activity is than assigned to every product that requires the prices activity for production. Managerial accounting provides managers with the financial information needed to determine the cost of a manufactured product. (3) Incremental Analysis: Incremental Analysis is a decision making tool. It is used for the analysis of financial information needed to make an informed decision. In incremental analysis two different alternatives are weighed out in terms of cost/profit and the impact of the outcome of this analysis will have on a particular decision. It basically points our related cost and revenue of each alternative and the impact this alternative will have on future income. After using incremental analysis and choosing one alternative over the other. The cost change that occurs due to choosing the alternative is called incremental cost. Managerial accounting provides us with the numbers needed to compare two different alternatives, pick the right one and analyze the difference in cost. Budgeting: It helps managers plan and control costs and revenues. Budgeting is a tool for managers to determine how much money needs to be spent in order to generate a certain level of income. Budgeting in simple terms can be called forecasting; in budgeting we prepare a very detailed statement of financial results that are likely to happen in a time period to come. Companies use budget to plan for a future period based on financial statements. Managerial accounting provides managers with the financial statement for budgeting. Q4. Discuss the basic components of the marketing process using the product or service of your choice as an example? Marketing strategy can be described as an activity to position a product, attract customers while promoting the interest of stakeholders in a business. Marketing makes it possible to communicate the value of a product or service to consumers. Following the basic components of marketing process is explained briefly using artificial jewelry as a product. (1) Product Strategy: Methodologies, tools and technology used by a business to differentiate and distinguish its product from its competitors, is called product strategy. In terms of artificial jewelry my strategy would be to describe my product in full detail including where it was made, who it was designed by and what metals were used in its formation. I would also set my product apart by choosing appealing packaging and I would back the quality of my product by giving guarantees. And above all I would provide exemplary product designs and excellent customer service. (2) Pricing Strategy: Pricing Strategy is very important in marketing because it generates a turnover for the company and it’s also important because it affects other components of marketing as well. In terms of artificial jewelry first I would do a thorough research on competition prices, than I would calculate my final cost and select a pricing objective. I would compare my sale price with that of my competitors, and make sure that my price is lower than the competitors and value of my product is higher than the competition. Initially, I would keep my profitability low and will try to build clientele base by providing unbeatable prices. (3) Distribution Strategy: Distribution plays a very important role in marketing strategy. It involves how well the final product is delivered to the consumer. The product must be delivered to the end user in the right quantity, at the correct date and time. In terms of artificial jewelry most of my sales will be distributed at shows and festivals organized by different entities and a major part of my sales is also going to be web based. I will contact different shipping companies to find out the best courier in terms of price and value. And ship my jewelry through the best medium, at minimum amount of tie. (4) Promotion Strategy: Promotion Strategy is also vital part of marketing. A promotion strategy includes all the ways used by companies to provide information about their product in such a way that it would ultimately increase the company’s sale. In terms of artificial jewelry I would offer some sort of coupon and advertise my discount. Offer free shipping (when possible), maintain customer relations and send out promotional information to existing clients. Q.5 Discuss the role of social responsibility and technology in the marketing function. Social Responsibility in Marketing: Being socially responsible for an organization means that it cares and shows concerns about the people and environment in which they conduct business. Marketing can be described as promotion, selling and distribution of a product. Social responsibilities in marketing would first of all include truth telling about their product , all the information about the product should be correct and up to date. Companies should be concerned about their environment and take steps to make a cleaner. Companies should also show support for social causes in marketing. Company should market their product in a way that it doesn’t offend any group of people. Technology in Marketing: The technological boom in the past years had definitely revolutionized marketing. The internet has created numerous marketing opportunities for businesses. Now days there are numerous marketing firms that work exclusively on the internet. At first radio changed marketing, than TV and now it’s the age of hand held devices and internet. Marketers now days know that constant technological advances require evolution in the marketing process. With technological advances it’s much simpler and quicker to get customer feedback. It is much simpler to deliver the product to the customer and to do market research and maintain your brand reputation. Technology had had a great impact on marketing.

Satisfaction Rates Among Outpatients of Hospital

Satisfaction Rates Among Outpatients of Hospital Assessment of satisfaction among outpatient department (OPD) patients visiting tertiary level government hospital ABSTRACT Background Selection of an appropriate health care and measurement of its quality is very complex and elusive yet the tools of its measurement have been improving. It is easier to evaluate the patient’s satisfaction towards the service than to evaluate the quality of medical services that they receive. (1) Therefore, a research on patient satisfaction can be an important tool to measure of health system performance and improve the quality of services. (2,3). Satisfaction manifests itself in the distribution, access and utilization of health services. Objective: The main objective of this study is to measure the satisfaction of OPD (Outpatient Department) patients in tertiary care public health facility namely Guru Gobind Singh govt. Hospital, Jamnagar, Gujarat. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from a pre-tested pre-structured questionnaire from 322 patients who gave the verbal consent at the end of their O.P.D visit at tertiary health facility, Guru Gobind Singh Government Hospital, Jamnagar for days from to. The items in the questionnaire referred to particulars of the patients such as age, gender, education, occupation, income, family type etc.; perception of patients towards doctor , paramedical staff, basic amenities and quality of care. The responses were expressed in proportions. The data was tabulated on Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed using EPI info. Results –Although majority of patients were satisfied with the availability of medicines; availability of information on illness, treatment and prevention; doctor’s patience, compassion and dedication but most of the patients were not satisfied with the behaviour of hospital personnel ;delay in reception of investigation reports ;unhygienic toilets and improper cleanliness of hospital; and lack of availability of drinking water . INTRODUCTION Quality care is the most important dimension of public health and it has emerged as an internationally important aspect in the health care services provision. This quality of care can be measured in terms of structure, process and outcome. Structure refers to the basic infrastructure and facility, process refers to the way the care is delivered and outcome refers to the end result. (4) While measuring health outcome and quality of patient care services, patient’s satisfaction is considered to be important component. Patients’ perceptions about health care systems and his satisfaction seem to have been largely ignored by health care managers in developing countries (12). The outcome of any disease is influenced not only by the appropriate diagnostic and treatment services but also the receipt of satisfactory care from service providers. A satisfied patient is more likely to develop a deeper and longer lasting relationship with their medical provider, leading to improve compliance, continuity of care and ultimately better health outcome. But it is difficult to measure the satisfaction and gauze responsiveness of health systems as not only the clinical but also the non-clinical outcomes of care do influence the patients’ satisfaction ,(5)such as: Quality of clinical services provided, availability of medicine, behavior of doctors and other health staff, cost of services, hospital infrastructure, physical comfort, emotional support, and respect for patient preferences.(6) Mismatch between patient expectation and the service received is related to decreased satisfaction.(7) Therefore, assessing patient perspectives gives them a voice, which can make public health services more responsive to people’s needs and expectations.(8,9) In the recent past, studies on patient satisfaction gained popularity and usefulness as it provides the chance to health care providers and mangers to improve the services in the public health facilities. Patients’ feedback is necessary to identify problems that need to be resolved in improving the health services. Even if they still do not use this information systematically to improve care delivery and services, this type of feedback triggers a real interest that can lead to a change in their culture and in their perception of patients. (10) OPD is the window to any health system and OPD care indicates the quality care of hospital reà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ected by patient’s perception in terms of satisfaction to the services they are provided.(11)This study was therefore undertaken at OPDs of tertiary level health facility in Jamnagar to measure patient satisfaction. The main objective of this paper is to know the desired level of services as perceived by the patients about various components of out-door patient department (OPD) services. In this study, the OPD is defined as the hospital’s department where patients received diagnoses and/or treatment but did not stay overnight. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study design: Institution based cross-sectional study. Study population: The present study was conducted among the patients attending the outpatient department (OPD) of Guru Gobind Singh government hospital, Jamnagar. Period of study: The period of survey was days from to. Sampling frame: The sampling frame consisted of the outpatient department (OPD) of Guru Gobind Singh government hospital, Jamnagar. . Sample size: fifty percent of the OPD patients. Sampling technique: random sampling technique. The sampling population was interviewed from the most frequented OPDs (Medicine, General surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Paediatrics, Orthopedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Skin, Tuberculosis and Chest diseases) according to probability proportion to size based on the past years OPD attendance. Inclusion criteria: A new or referred patient attending the OPD of the respective health care facility who gave verbal consent, Exclusion criteria: Patients working in the health care facility and patients admitted (indoor patients) and follow-up patients attending the OPD of the respective health care facility, who didn’t gave verbal consent or gave incomplete information, were excluded from the study. Selection of patient: The patients attending the OPD of the respective health care facility were selected for the interview by systematic random sampling. Depending upon the previous attendance of the particular department and the time taken to complete the interview, a random number was chosen and every nth patient was selected for the interview. This process was continued till the required sample size was completed. Tools of data collection: Permission to conduct the study was taken from the superintendents of the concerned health care facility. All the patients were interviewed after they had consulted the doctor. Informed verbal consent was taken from all the participating patients before the start of the interview after telling them about the objective of the study and the approximate time that will be involved in the completion of the interview. The prescribing doctor was largely kept unaware of the procedure, except in unavoidable circumstances, to avoid the bias in their behaviour with the patient. A pre-tested pre-structured questionnaire was used to record information taking the key elements of socio-demographic characteristics and perception of the patients regarding quality of services available at the outpatient health care facility. Analysis Data was tabulated on Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed using the software Epi Info version 6. OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS:- Table 1-socio-demographic profile of the patients:- Among all the subjects interviewed during the data collection, 322 were included in the statistical analysis and the remaining were not included, because of incomplete information. A majority (56.21%) of the responders were male. The mean ages of the responders were years .About 40% of the responders were illiterate. About half (56%) belonged to a joint family. Nearly half of the study subjects belonged to the lower socioeconomic status category as per the Kuppuswamy classification. TABLE 2-PATIENTS’ PERCEPTION OF THE QUALITY OF SERVICES AVAILABLE (n =322) The results regarding each question are shown in Table 2. Most of the respondents were satisfied with the availability of medicines, also they were able to get the medicines easily. Most of the respondents agreed that complete information was provided to them on the illness, treatment, and the methods to avoid illness. Almost half (48%) of the patients were not satisfied with the politeness of the hospital personnel. More than half (61%) of the patients stated that hospital personnel were not helpful. 59 % patients said that the doctor did not give them adequate time while 60% of the patients said that the doctor has given enough time to listen completely to their complains. 57% of the patients were satisfied that the doctor has checked carefully and was readily answering their questions. Almost 50% of the patients were told that the doctor gave them adequate time and didn’t rushed. 42% patients couldn’t easily locate the place of investigation. 55% of the patients didn’t receive their reports in time. 57% of the patients were not satisfied with the cleanliness of the hospital. 69% of the patients were not satisfied with the toilet conditions. 59% of the patients stated that drinking water wasn’t available in the hospital. TABLE – 3: QUALITY OF CARE Overall 66.45% respondents termed the hospital services as satisfactory, 62.11% were satisfied with the treatment given, but 52.48% stated that the services provided were not worth the money spent, and 40.99% replied that they would not like to visit the facility again in future. [Table 3]. DISCUSSION In our current study, patients were satisfied with the ease of availability of the required medicines while in a study done by Sivalenka (13) medicine supply was an area of concern. Most of patients were satisfied with the information provided to them about illness, its treatment and prevention. Patients were not very satisfied with the behaviour of the hospital personnel .lack of monitoring of staff, due to very high patient load, could be the reason for this. It was observed during the study that the ultimate satisfaction of the patient is their rapport with the doctor. A patient forgets the pain he faces to reach the doctor if the doctor sees him with patience and compassion. In our study, most of the patients were satisfied with the behaviour of the doctor, which was similar to the result of study by Kumar et al (14). More than half of the patients were not satisfied due to the delay in reporting time of the investigations thereby increasing their waiting time which is similar to other studies (17-18). Some of the responder cited inability to locate the departments as a constraint. Lack of proper sign boards leads to difficulty in locating the departments. A good number of patients were not satisfied with the cleanliness of the hospital. Also most of them were not satisfied with the condition of the toilets. As compared with private sector, government hospitals lack in general cleanliness and hygienic toilets, thereby leading to severe patient aversion and dissatisfaction, which needs to be improved .similar findings have been observed in some other studies (13-16) As observed in our study, Overall level of satisfaction of patients towards government tertiary care health facility is low, although patients appeared to be satisfied with the doctors, which seems to be a strong reason of their still existing faith in the tertiary care government hospital. Thus we need to improve the rest of the factors so as to keep up to the expectations of the patients ,thereby try to fulfill the basic need of patient- which is readily available ,easily accessible, and satisfactory health services for all. CONCLUSIONS Efforts should be made to reduce the patient load at the tertiary level facilities so that doctors and other staff can give more attention and time to the patients. The findings of the present study can be utilized to improve the services at public health facilities of the state resulting in the more satisfaction of patients availing such public health facilities. REFERENCES (1)Study on Patient Satisfaction in the Government Allopathic Health Facilities of Lucknow District, India, Ranjeeta Kumari et al Indian Journal of Community Medicine / Vol 34 / Issue 1 / January 2009 (2) White B. Measuring patient satisfaction: how to do it and why to bother. Family Practice management [serial online] January 1999; [9 screens]. Available from: http://www.aafp.org/ fpm/990100fm/40.html. (3) How satisfied are your patients? Family Practice Management April 1998; [2 screen]. Available from: http://www.aafp.org/ fpm/980400fm/fpstats.html (4) Measuring patient satisfaction: A Cross sectional study to improve quality of care at a tertiary care hospital. – by Andrabi Syed Arshad et.al. Healthline ISSN2229-337X Volume 3 Issue 1 January-June 2012 (5) Agrawal D. Health sector reforms: Relevance in India. Indian J Community Med 2006;31:220-2. (6) Jenkinson C, Coulter A, Bruster S, Richards N, Chandola T. Patients’ experiences and satisfaction with health care: Results of a questionnaire study of specific aspects of care. Qual Saf Health Care 2002;11:335-9. (7)McKinley RK, Roberts C. Patient satisfaction with out of hours primary medical care. Qual Health Care 2001;10:23-8. (8)World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2000-Health Systems: Improving Performance. Geneva: WHO, 2000. (9) Rao KD, Peters DH, Bandeen-Roche K. Towards patient-centered health services in India- a scale to measure patient perceptions of quality. Int J Qual Health Care 2006;18:414-21. (10) 6. Boyer L, Francois P, Doutre E, Weil G, Labarere J. Perception and use of the results of patient satisfaction surveys by care providers in a French teaching hospital. Int J Qual Health Care 2006;18:359-64. (11) Assessment of Client’s Perception in Terms of Satisfaction and Service Utilization in the Central Government Health Scheme Dispensary at Kolkata, D Haldar, AP Sarkar, S Bisoi1, P Mondal2Indian Journal of Community Medicine, Vol. 33, Issue 2, April 2008 (12) Measuring Patient Satisfaction: A Case Study to Improve Quality of Care at Public Health Facilities. Prahlad Rai Sodani. Indian Journal of Community Medicine / Vol 35 / Issue 1 / January 2010 (13) Sivalenka S. Patient satisfaction surveys in public hospitals in India. Available from: http://www.rand.org. [Last accessed on 2011 Feb 16] (14) Kumari R, Idris MZ, Bhushan V, Khanna A, Agarwal M, Singh SK. Study on patient satisfaction in the government allopathic health facilities of Lucknow district, India. Indian J Comm Med 2009;34:35à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ42 (15) Peerasak L, Surasak B, Pattanawadi U. Patient satisfaction on health service at the family medicine learning centers. Chiang Mai Med Bull 2004;43:67à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ76. (16) Bhattacharya A, Prema Menon P, Vipin Koushal V, Rao KL. Study of patient satisfaction hospital in a tertiary referral hospital. J Acad Hosp Adm 2003;15:29à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ31 (17) Measuring patient satisfaction a case study to improve quality of care at public health facilities / Ind jcom. Med Vol 35 issi 1 jan 2010, 52-56. Prahlad Rai Sudani et.al. (18)Patient satisfaction with out of hours primary medical care. Quality in health care,2001;10:23-28 R K McKinley, C Roberts.

Background To Spain And Sector Focused Tourism Essay

Background To Spain And Sector Focused Tourism Essay Spain is located in South-western Europe; Spain borders the North Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and Pyrenees Mountains. Spain is famous for its spectacular festivals for example, Bull fighting, carnivals, fiestas, delicious food, stunning beaches and glorious weather. Spain has the fifth largest economy within Europe and being the twelve large economy in the world. (Spain Country Brief) Spain is the biggest producer of Olive Oil and third biggest producer of Wine. Spain has also got the second biggest tourism industry in the world, which is Spains main source of income in terms of economics, which contributes nearly 11% of Spains GDP and employing around 2million people (Economy Watch). A definition of tourism is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environments for personal business/professional purposes (UNTWO: Understanding Tourism). Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. Due to the development of jet aircraft this has allowed destinations in many countries to be developed across the globe, allowing tourism to grow significantly. Today people have more spare leisure time so people place much more value on holidays, travelling and experiencing visiting new destinations. (S, Page J, Connell, 2006). Definition of Tourism Demand: A definition of tourism demand from an economic approach is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The schedule of the amount of any product or service that people are willing and able to buy at each specific price in a set of possible prices during a specified period of time (Cooper, et al, 1998). It is important to monitor tourism demand because it is what can make a business suffer. For example, it is the total amount of people which stay in accommodation, how many people book flights, tickets into attractions, car hire, insurance and other ancillary service. If the demand is low and organisations dont monitor the demand then the tourism organisation can suffer. An example, is the tour operator Thomas Cook when they had to close around 200 stores and cut fleet because they had a net loss of  £521(million) (Bloomberg), Thomas Cook has also had to cut fleets to several destinations and cut five Spanish Hotels so they have had to buy thousands of seats and link with Easy Jet to make profit, they didnt mon itor the demand of tourist therefore are suffering now. Environment Analysis (PEST): The term PEST analysis has been used to describe the MACRO environment the PEST analysis includes political, economic, social-cultural and technological factors (D, Jobber), these factors are uncontrollable within organisations and the demand for travel. For example, political factors can determine whether people travel such as, foreign currency restrictions, regulations including paid holidays, pensions and working hours. Some economic factors that may result in demand for travel to be decreased include disposable income and employment, social-cultural factors include, cultural differences, social/cultural class and some technological factors include improvements in transport, online on how people now book holidays. These factors determine whether a tourist will want to travel, which again they may have no say in whether they can travel. An example from the PEST analysis that can determine whether a tourist travels to Spain is exchange rates and recession (under economics). The recession has recently been in the media about the recession in Spain. Spain and Greece are upon the countries in Europe that are being affected by the recession the worst which are leading to riots in many towns/cities within Spain. According to (The Money Updater Article), people in Spain have been forced to sell their homes or being evicted due to people of Spain not paying their bank loans due to rising unemployment and a reduction in benefits. In Spain it is said that 38 people have been arrested and 64 seriously injured. (The Money Updater). With riots occurring frequently this is going to put many tourists off travelling to Spain as it may be seen as a dangerous place to visit. Tourism is Spains second biggest industry accounting for 11% GDP, so Spain has to try and minimise political issues, so tourism can still be an appeal for inboun d tourist. Another reason which can determine whether tourist demand will increase or decrease is exchange rates. As many countries suffer due to the recession, many people do not have much disposable income than before so therefore exchange rates can determine whether a person will travel to Spain. In this economic climate the pound/euro against the dollar is weak, so this may put people of travelling to Spain and will opt to travel to America where they will get more value for money. When the pound and Euro are weak prices in everyday items increase including food/drink and people dont want to pay over the odd prices. When the pound and Euro are strong then people will travel to Spain because things become cheaper and it will make people want to travel. If people from the UK want to travel to Spain and exchange GBP and Euros of  £250.00 this will be converted to 307 Euros (XE: Currency Converter) the pound and euro is weak but travelling to Spain you still get more than you would travelling to the UK for a holiday where if you convert 250 Euros to GBP you will only get  £203 back which will not be appealing for tourist as they have lost money, so this may well be appealing for tourist wanting to travel to Spain because there money will go further. Key Determinants of Tourism Demand to Spain: There are many different types of determinants that determine whether a tourist will travel that link to the PEST analysis these include, price such as, recession, disposable income, inflation and exchange rates, transport development, online development, cultural factors, government restrictments such as VISA policies. The higher the product/service is the consumer is not likely to purchase and the lower demand is to travel, but the lower the price of the product the higher the demand will determine travel to that Spain. There are different types of demands which can determine whether a person will travel to Spain these include; effective or actual demand, these are tourists that actually do travel and can easily be measured. There is also supressed demand it is section of the population that do not wish to travel for some reason, even in the 20th century few people do not travel to international destinations but many people do participate in domestic tourism. There are two different types of elements these include potential demand; this could be mean that a person will want to travel to Spain or other destinations but due to different circumstances such as, not as much disposable income or work commitments they will opt to travel in the future and make plans for the future, but if circumstances change where they may get paid holidays and therefore opt to travel they may go into the effective demand category. Another category can include deferred demand, this considers environmental issues in a desti nation such as, lack of accommodation, weather conditions or terrorist activity, and those in the differed demand may opt to travel elsewhere or in the future. Finally, there is a demand called; no demand, where people just dont have no desire in travelling at all now or in the future, this can link to different social classes on for example the older generation may not have no desire to travel because of the cost of travel insurance and other expenses. (Cooper, et al, 1998) Recession is a key determinate that determines whether a person will travel to Spain. Why this effects people to travel or not to travel is because this may cause a person to be made unemployed or salary cuts or inflation rates (everyday items increasing) If the recession is effecting a person they may make future plans to travel when more paid holidays will be given or they have more disposable income. According to (ETN Global Travel Industry News), in 2009, Spains tourism declined by 10% and in 2008 30.2million people visited Spain but this decline by 10.3million in 2009 due to the recession and people not have any spare disposable income. Domestic tourism did increase, with more people taking frequent holidays and not travelling abroad, this may also be to do with recession too. Another factor that can determine whether a tourist will travel is weather conditions in Spain. The recession has hit people hard around the world, but luckily Spain has good weather, in the Spanish Islands such as Lanzarote where the weather is good all year round, because Spain has a good climate reaching highest temperatures of around 27-30 degrees in some parts of Spain which is appealing to tourists coming from countries with cold climates such as the UK, so they will pay for tourism product because of the climate. Another reason that can determine whether a tourist will travel to Spain is Travel TAX, this links to political factors on the PEST analysis. According to (BBC News, 2012), Tourist travelling to Spain may face extra Airport TAX, passengers have been emailed which say they have to pay extra additional costs even if they paid for their holiday well in advance. Spain have done this to cut deficit, but this is a factor that is definitely going to put tourist of travelling to Spain, airport tax is already expensive, tourist will opt to travel to Spain in the future or travel elsewhere. The budget airline Ryan Air is also considering cutting fleet to some of Spains airports. Another factor that determines whether a tourist will travel to Spain is transport development. The development of budget airlines has allowed people from all walks life rich or poor to travel there preferred destinations extremely cheaply. This will appeal to tourist as they can get flights extremely cheap to luxurious locations in Spain. Motivation of Demand to Spain: nzte: Spains Country Brief. Available: http://www.nzte.govt.nz/explore-export markets/europe/doing-business-in-spain/pages/spain-country-brief.aspx.Last accessed 3/12/12. Economy Watch: Tourism Industry. Available: http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/spain/industry-sector-industries.html.Last accessed 3/12/12. UNWTO: Understanding Tourism. Available: http://media.unwto.org/en/content/understanding-tourism-basic-glossary.Last accessed 3/12/12. S, Page and J, Connell (2006). Tourism a Modern Synthesis. 2nd ed. London: Cengage Learning EMEA. 4 C, Cooper, J, Fletcher, A, Fyall, D, Gilbert S, Wanhill (2004). Principles and Practises of Tourism. 2nd ed. London: Prentice Hall. 38 [A] C, Cooper, J, Fletcher, A, Fyall, D, Gilbert S, Wanhill (2004). Principles and Practises of Tourism. 2nd ed. London: Prentice Hall. 39. [B] This is Money Reporter. (2012). Book with Thomas Cook, fly with Easy Jet struggling package holiday giant to buy thousands of seats from budget airline. Available: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2200617/Thomas-Cook-buy-thousands-seats-easyJet.html.Last accessed 4/12/12. Clementine Fletcher Armorel Kenna. (2011). Thomas Cook to close 200 U.K stores, cut fleet after loss. Available: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-14/thomas-cook-to-close-200-u-k-shops-cut-fleet-after-loss-2-.html. Last accessed 4/12/12. David Jobber (2007). Principles and Practises of Marketing. 5th ed. Berkshire: McGraw-Hil. 77. Jennifer. (2012). The Euro Zone Erupts with Rioting in Spain and Greece. Available: http://themoneyupdate.com/tag/riots-in-spain/. Last accessed 4/12/12. XE: Currency Converter. Available: http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=250From=EURTo=GBP. Last accessed 4/12/12 ETN Global Travel News. (2009). Spain Projects 10% Decline in Foreign Visitors. Available: http://www.eturbonews.com/11458/spain-projects-10-decline-foreign-visitors.Last accessed 4/12/12. BBC News. (2012). Tourist to Spain face extra airport TAX. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18720587.Last accessed 4/12/12.