Control Chart

Tables of Constants for Control charts Table 8A – Variable Data ref : AIAG manual for SPC X bar and R Charts Chart for Averages Control Limits Factor Subgroup size (n) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 25 A2 1. 880 1. 023 0. 729 0. 577 0. 483 0. 419 0. 373 0. 337 0. 308 0. 223 0. 153 Chart for Averages Chart for Standard Deviation (s) Chart for Ranges (R) Divisors Divisors to to Control Estimate Factors for Control estimate Factors for Control Limits Factor Limits Limits ?x ?x d2 1. 128 1. 693 2. 059 2. 326 2. 534 2. 704 2. 847 2. 970 3. 078 3. 472 3. 931 D3 0. 076 0. 136 0. 184 0. 23 0. 347 0. 459 Centerline X bar and R Charts CL X = X CLR = R X bar and s Charts X bar and s charts CLX = X CL s = s Institute of Quality and Reliability www. world-class-quality. com D4 3. 267 2. 574 2. 282 2. 114 2. 004 1. 924 1. 864 1. 816 1. 777 1. 653 1. 541 A3 2. 659 1. 954 1. 628 1. 427 1. 287 1. 182 1. 099 1. 032 0. 975 0. 789 0. 606 c4 0. 7979 0. 8862 0. 9213 0. 9400 0. 9515 0. 9594 0. 9650 0. 9693 0 . 9727 0. 9823 0. 9896 B3 0. 030 0. 118 0. 185 0. 239 0. 284 0. 428 0. 565 Control Limits UCLX = X + A2 R LCL UCLR = D4 R LCL R = D3 R UCLX = X + A3 S LCL X = X ?A3 S UCL s = B4 s LCL s = B 3 s Control Chart Factors X = X ? A2 R B4 3. 267 2. 568 2. 266 2. 089 1. 970 1. 882 1. 815 1. 761 1. 716 1. 572 1. 435 ?x R d2 s c4 Page 1 of 3 Tables of Constants for Control charts Table 8B Variable Data ref : AIAG manual for SPC Median Charts Chart for Medians Charts for Individuals Chart for Individuals Chart for Ranges (R) Control Divisors to Limits Estimate Factors for Control Factor Limits ?x Subgroup size 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ~ A2 1. 880 1. 187 0. 796 0. 691 0. 548 0. 508 0. 433 0. 412 0. 362 d2 1. 128 1. 693 2. 059 2. 326 2. 534 2. 704 . 847 2. 970 3. 078 D3 0. 076 0. 136 0. 184 0. 223 D4 3. 267 2. 574 2. 282 2. 114 2. 004 1. 924 1. 864 1. 816 1. 777 Centerline CL Median Charts ~ X ~ =X CLR = R Charts for Individuals CL X =X CLR = R Institute of Quality and Reliability www. world-class-qua lity. com Control Limits Factor E2 2. 660 1. 772 1. 457 1. 290 1. 184 1. 109 1. 054 1. 010 0. 975 Chart for Moving Range (R) Divisors to Estimate Factors for Control ?x Limits d2 1. 128 1. 693 2. 059 2. 326 2. 534 2. 704 2. 847 2. 970 3. 078 D3 0. 076 0. 136 0. 184 0. 223 D4 3. 267 2. 574 2. 282 2. 114 2. 004 1. 924 . 864 1. 816 1. 777 Control Limits UCL ~ X ~ ~ = X + A2 R UCLR = D4 R UCL X = X + E 2 R UCLR = D4 R Control Chart Factors LCL ~ X ~ = X ? A2 R LCL R = D3 R LCL X = X ? E 2 R LCL R = D3 R Page 2 of 3 Tables of Formulas for Control charts Table 8 C Attribute Data ref : AIAG manual for SPC Centerline Control Limits Samples not necessarily of constant size UCL p chart for CL p = p proportions of units in a category pi = p+3 c chart for number of incidences in one or more categories ni LCL p i = p ? 3 p (1 ? p ) ni If the Sample size is constant (n) UCL p = p + 3 np chart for umber / rate of units in a category p (1 ? p ) p (1 ? p ) n LCL p = p ? 3 p (1 ? p ) n CL = np np UCL np = np + 3 np(1 ? p) LCLnp = np ? 3 np(1 ? p) CL c = c UCLc = c + 3 c LCLc = c ? 3 c Samples not necessarily of constant size CLu = u u chart for number of incidences per unit in one or more categories UCLu = u + 3 LCLu = u ? 3 u ni UCL u = u ? 3 u n UCL u = u ? 3 u n using average sample size UCL u = u + 3 u n If the sample size is constant (n) UCL u = u + 3 Institute of Quality and Reliability www. world-class-quality. com u ni u n Control Chart Factors Page 3 of 3

Leadership and Employee Morale

Assignment Leadership and Employee Morale Dorothy â€Å"Micki† Gould Kaplan University Organizational Behavior MT302 Professor Rhonda Shannon May 09, 2012 Unit 8 Assignment Leadership and Employee Morale The ten truths, just learning them is not enough. It is crucial to good leadership to apply them. (Kouzes & Posner, 2010) * You make a difference. Believe in yourself. Believe you can make a difference. If you do not believe it, neither will anyone else. * Credibility is the foundation of leadership. Mean what you say and say what you mean.Do not be misleading; be honest and upfront about everything. * Values drive commitment. If you do not know what you stand for, find out. You need to know what you value. * Focusing on the future sets leaders apart. How can you lead if you do not know where you are going? What is the end goal; do not think you are the only person who sees it or that can get you there. * You cannot do it alone. Remember to lead you have to have followers; you cannot lead if you do not include other people in your plans and have a team. Trust rules. Trust and respect, you cannot get either one without giving it. * Challenge is the crucible of greatness. Do not be afraid of change. If it is not working, ask for suggestions and /or look for different ways to implement changes. Make the changes necessary to grow. * Either you lead by example, or you do not lead at all. Do not expect someone or anyone to do something you are not willing to do yourself. This also goes back to credibility. Do as I do not just, as I say. * The best leaders are the best learners.Strive to learn. Going back to challenges and changes, if it is not working, find a new way to do it. Also, remember you can learn from your followers and team members. * Leadership is an affair of the heart. Have passion in what you are doing, or you cannot lead your team members to want what is best. This is my favorite. My job has a saying: Have a Heart H = Help everyone you can E = Enjoy your job and your customers A = Always â€Å"be there† for your co-workers and customers R = Respect everyone, especially the difficult peopleT = Truth is always the answer (Management, 2012) â€Å"All aspects of transformational leadership—are leaders able to motivate followers to perform above expectations and transcend their self-interest for the sake of the organization. Individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence all result in extra effort from workers, higher productivity, higher morale and satisfaction, higher organizational effectiveness, lower turnover, lower absenteeism, and greater organizational adaptability. (Judge & Robbins, 2007, p. 391) References Judge, T. A. , & Robbins, S. T. (2007). Organizational Behavior (14th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved March 22, 2012 Kouzes, J. , & Posner, B. (2010, August). Leadership Truths. Leadership Excel lence, 27(8), 15. Retrieved May 11, 2012 Management, B. (2012). Employee Handbook. BMG Employee Handbook. Brundage Management. Retrieved May 12, 2012

Palm's Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Palm's Strategy - Essay Example Having clarity regarding the level of performance and the factors affecting the performance helps the organization to comprehend the bottlenecks that exists in the organization. The organization than can utilize the resources in a more effective way. Nadler and Tushman’s Congruence Model: David Nadler and Michael Tushman at Columbia University formulated a simple yet effective approach to assess the organization dynamics based on the systems theory. The efforts taken by Nadler and Tushman to develop a theory to chalk out the flow of productive work in a company created the congruence model. The congruence model systematically breaks each step of the basic systems model to explain the systems model. The congruence model developed by Nadler and Tushman depicts the outcome of strategies applied on the inputs namely Environment, Resources and History. The outcomes are assessed in the level of organizational performance, Group /unit performance and individual performance (Nadler, T ushman&Hatvany, 2007) The entire model aims at assessing the application and strategy applied by the company on their key resources like Human resource, the background or the history they have and the environmental resource available to the company. ... Palm has been able to apply the strategy of generic competitiveness on the inputs to achieve the outcomes that it enjoys. Fig: Nadler and Tushman’s Congruence Model, Source: Cameron and Green (2009) Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies Applied By Palm: A number of theories have been developed in the area of strategic management. Porter’s Generic competitive strategies define the three standards on which an organization can base their growth strategies. Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. The cost leadership is the strategy applied by the company to be different from their competitors in pricing. Offering products at a lower price than their competitors without compromising with the quality of the product. Differentiation strategy implies strategies applied by organization to differentiate their products in such a way that they stand out in comparison to their competitor’s product. Focus is the area on which the company decides to place more stre ss on to achieve either cost leadership or product differentiation. Cost Leadership: When a company aims at cost leadership, cost reduction becomes a major goal for the company. A low cost strategy applied by Palm Inc. is increasing the scale of production. The company makes provision to cut costs that occurs due to unplanned reasons. One of Palm’s main business strength is the ability of Palm to produce cost effective products. Cost effectiveness allows Palm to generate better revenue. In a competitive market having a technologically sound product does not always guarantee better market share. Even the most high end customers look for cost effective bargain and Palm has been able to recognize this factor. The software technology developed by Palm is produced in such a way that they appeal to

International Business Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Business Environment - Assignment Example The author of the research essay "International Business Environment " analyses cheap asian economies and concludes that in a nutshell, the company can plan to expand its business on the Indian soil, as the opportunities are way stronger than the challenges there. Since India being a thick populated country with a growing economy currently, there is enough room for foreign companies to invest and bring business in India. However, the competitive automotive market in the country would ask the company to modify its cost and quality standards, as the automobile need description of the Indian market varies largely from the UK market. Considering facts of Indian market growth and the risk to opportunity ratio in the country, it can be recommended that the company should move ahead with the plan of going international by selecting the Indian soil. Cheap labor, low government taxes and a flourishing market for automotive in India makes it the best site to ensure speedy growth in revenue and reputation. The advanced and hi-tech machinery can be altered with less superior technology that can meet the quality and cost effective need of the country. Moreover, the company can first introduce its older models in the Indian industry to test and visualize the response of the people. By this technique, the company would be able to forecast its future in its industry without spending more in its inventory and designing procedures. Therefore, the step to move towards Indian automotive industry is affirmative.

Citizenship in the Age of the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Citizenship in the Age of the Internet - Essay Example In other countries, most of the public services are controlled by private authorities making the use of Government sites redundant. Part two of the article â€Å"How government online provision is currently organized and what it costs† talks about how the Government runs the online facilities and the cost associated with it. The major points are as follows: Part three â€Å"Future developments and strategy† discusses the strategy for the development of the Government sites in the future to facilitate the citizens of the country. The main points in this section are as follows: Part one of the article â€Å"Changes and challenges in information exchange across the department† points out the general practice of communication and the challenges the department faces because of it. The points discussed under this part are as follows: Telephone communication has reduced in importance, as it is not suitable for people not speaking English. Also it was seen that this mode of communication failed to provide new information to the Department. The third part â€Å"Pension credit† discusses the progress made by the Government to improve communication between the Department and the customers for the credit facilities. The points in this regard are as

Will guests consider service quality as well while they are gambling Literature review

Will guests consider service quality as well while they are gambling in hotel's casino - Literature review Example The present study would focus upon the aspect of service quality in the casino industry. The study would be covered under two parts, in which the first would be an analysis of the existing literature with regard to improvements in service quality. The second part would include a primary study which would be targeted at different individuals associated with the industry to help gain firsthand market information about the topic of study. Finally, a set of plausible conclusions and recommendations would be framed so as to prepare a guiding template for the marketers to gain competitive advantage (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010, p.4). Literature Review The Components of Service Quality A number of corporations think that enhanced long term sustainable profitability can be achieved through improved service quality and better customer satisfaction. This confidence is confirmed from a significant database on ‘profit impact of market share (PIMS)’, containing a substantial amount of data on large number of companies. Such evidences have made it prominent that enhanced service quality is considerably correlated with both enlarged market share and improved profitability ratios. During last few decades, the concept of quality management in service industry has seen to receive an increasing amount of attention from both the academia and the professional arenas (Lederer & Karmakar, 1997). The conformance of service quality relates to the acquiescence of the delivered service quality with the established specifications of any established service. This exemplifies that the conformance to the specifications is surely a significant component of total service... According to the research findings a number of corporations think that enhanced long term sustainable profitability can be achieved through improved service quality and better customer satisfaction. This confidence is confirmed from a significant database on ‘profit impact of market share (PIMS)’, containing a substantial amount of data on large number of companies. Such evidences have made it prominent that enhanced service quality is considerably correlated with both enlarged market share and improved profitability ratios. During last few decades, the concept of quality management in service industry has seen to receive an increasing amount of attention from both the academia and the professional arenas. The conformance of service quality relates to the acquiescence of the delivered service quality with the established specifications of any established service. This exemplifies that the conformance to the specifications is surely a significant component of total servic e quality. This is pretty significant unless the specific service specifications are inappropriate to the preferences of the customers. To capture more of the components leading to better compliance with the customers’ preferences, a number of organisations use the concept of performance quality. It refers to the intensity of customers’ satisfaction which can be achieved through the proper execution of the service specifications. Performance quality in any service industry can be segmented in two quality types including design and class quality.

VISUAL ANALYSIS PAPER Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

VISUAL ANALYSIS PAPER - Assignment Example In addition, the meaning of an artwork can be explained. In conducting a visual analysis, aspects such as color, perspective, forms, balance, frame, and overall appearance are used to mention but a few. In this paper, Lorenzo di Credi’s Madonna and Child painting will be used to conduct a visual analysis. The analysis will seek to explain the painting in-detail and most importantly explain why it stands out as a perfect painting that appeals to the eye than other versions of the Madonna and child works. Lorenzo di Credi was born in Italy in 1459. His time of birth places was midway through the Florence and Italian Renaissance period. During his early artist life, he worked with Andrea del Verrocchio in his workshop. He got to work with the famous Leonardo da Vinci and it is said that the two artists inspired each other greatly. Most of his works were based on religious themes, and he used several Renaissance paintings to create his own. The Madonna and Child painting is one of his famous pieces. The first (original) autograph of The Madonna and Child painting was done by Rogier van der Weyden, a Flemish artist, in the early 1450s. Lorenzo di Credi drew inspiration from this piece to come up with his own version thirty years later. It is rectangular oil on wood painting with dimensions of 71.1 cm (height), and 49.5 cm (width). It is estimated to have been created around 1480 to 1485 and is currently on display at the National Gallery in London. The main focus of the painting is the Madonna (virgin) with a child seated on her lap. They both have halos above their heads. The Madonna has a silk veil over her golden hair and is staring down at the child who sits on her right held at the waist in her right hand. She has a deep blue robe over a red dress. The child is staring towards the bottom left corner of the painting, away from the Madonna’s gaze. The child is only clad in a waistcloth. Both of its hands clasps around the

American History 2020 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American History 2020 - Essay Example 2). This principle reconciled American democratic ideals with its colonialist tendencies for which it fought against former mother country of Great Britain. It was used to justify territorial acquisition and transfer or absorb people of other nationalities. American businessmen wanted new markets for their manufactured products so Manifest Destiny emboldened American political leaders to pursue expansionism. The expansionist strategy went on for a century and continues even today in its foreign policy (Kinzer 552) by sometimes acting unilaterally in matters of international concern. American imperialism snared for the country various overseas territories such as Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico but a key distinguishing feature of this imperialism was its benevolence, unlike European imperialism that merely exploited the people and resources of the colonies they had grabbed and colonized (Conrad 72). Unlike what Great Britain did to India or Portugal to parts of Africa as the foremost proponent of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. America tempered its imperialism with the ideals of democracy, freedom, liberalism, and progressivism by spreading the benefits of democracy, capitalism, assimilation, and universal free education to all its colonies (Miller

Former incarcerated persons attitudes and perceptions of successful Dissertation

Former incarcerated persons attitudes and perceptions of successful reentry - Dissertation Example There has been a fourfold increase in incarceration, and parole release rates have reduced radically. At the same time, there has been a significant increase in parole supervision. This has been accompanied by a drastic increase in parole revocation, with the result that hundreds of thousands of people are forced back into prison. The policy makers have not accorded much importance to reducing recidivism and enhancing integration of the released convicts into the community (Travis, 2008). Latessa, another eminent professor in criminology claims that there is conclusive evidence, which clearly shows that treatment programs enjoy different levels of effectiveness. In fact, there should be a segregation of offenders into the low and high risk categories. Offenders belonging to the high risk category should be subjected to more intense supervision and treatment, as they tend to benefit from such measures. Services should primarily focus on the factors in offenders that lead to criminal b ehavior. It is now clear that programs that are properly designed and implemented have the capacity to reduce recidivism to a major extent. On the other hand, improperly designed and poorly implement programs can actually enhance recidivism (Latessa, 2008). ?American society has to envisage the onerous task of reintegrating into society, a large number of released prisoners. This number is quite significant, and was of the order of 635,000 per annum. The prison population, in the year 2002, was around 1.4 million, and 93% of these individuals would ultimately be released into society (Day, 2005, p. 346). Another disquieting feature of this state of affairs is that the average prison term does not exceed 2.5 years. In fact, some 44% of the prisoners would be released within a year of being incarcerated. Public safety is crucially affected, by prisoner reentry, which can be understood as the different activities that enable released prisoners to join the mainstream of society as respo nsible and law abiding members (Petersilia, 2009, p. 3). The majority of the ex – convicts suffer from social and medical problems. These individuals, in the main, tend to be uneducated, unskilled and devoid of adequate family support. In addition, they have to bear the cross of having been imprisoned, which invariably generates distrust and fear. Another, disquieting feature relates to the prevalence of substance abuse, in nearly 75% of the prisoners, and the affliction of a sixth of prisoners with mental illness. Less than a third of such prisoners are provided with treatment in prison (Holzer, Raphael, & Stoll, 2003). As revealed in a study a by Petersilia, an eminent scholar of criminal justice, the proportion of prisoners with infectious diseases is five times that of the proportion of the US population. The extent of this malaise can be gauged from the fact that around 25% of those infected with HIV or AIDS in the US transit through prison or jail. It has been stressed by experts in the area of public health that HIV will continue to increase in prisons and will eventually increase prevalence rates in the general community (Petersilia, 2009, p. 4). This will be the outcome of imprisoning and releasing a greater number of drug offenders. Furthermore, the number of prison inmates with marketable employment skills or adequate literacy to

Hinduism Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Hinduism Research Paper Essay For me, the process of reading this section and sorting the confusion of thoughts thereafter enough to write about, involved several attempts to reading, writing and letting it go. As I read through this section with much anticipation, I found myself struggling to capture the essence of the writings of Kant, Weber, Marx, Hegel and others. After numerous readings, I realised that I was reading about modernity through the perspective of western philosophical writers and social thinkers. My eastern heritage and western education had somehow missed adequate information on both Hinduism and a balanced approach to modernity. As I read the writings of Smith, shortly after the first page, the expectation of deepening my understanding of Hinduism was pushed to the back burner and I received an education on western philosophical and social thought. That was disappointing because I had hoped to learn more about Hinduism and its place in the modern day. My expectation was that somehow the author would reconcile so called rational theorisations (that I too am very attached to) and the in-explainable Hindu concepts that I was familiar with. Unfortunately, other than seeing shadows of faith based thinking in Hegel, the section on Hinduism and modernity abruptly ends with little or no understanding on Hinduism and the assortment of modern day theorists do not bridge the intellectual divide between the two concepts. A couple of days after reading this section and failing to write any thoughts, I suddenly realised another obstacle in my thinking. When I lived in India, amidst the Indian culture, I had come to accept Hinduism as the â€Å"modern† religion as opposed to Christianity or Islam. The basis of this label was that Hinduism lacked a book or structured definitions and paid no attention to conversion of others to Hinduism. As an organised religion, it was wonderfully ambiguous, largely spiritual and open to individual expression. It was okay to discard rituals or practices that did not my approval. That essence of Hinduism that I carried from my stay in India was a sharp contrast to the author’s perspective of Hinduism being the example of a â€Å"traditional† religion, and perhaps a far cry from modernity. My personal thought is that Hinduism, like philosophical or social theory has over the last 2000 plus years been defined by male dominated patriarchal societies. Like the cream on homemade Indian yogurt, that layer needs to be peeled away to study the essence of Hinduism or modernity and understand the closeness they share. European Discovery of Hinduism from â€Å"Hinduism and Modernity† The European discovery of Hinduism spans a period from the 15th century when the ports of Goa opened up for the Portuguese traders to the 18th century when the British begin to live in India and acculturate themselves with some of the Indian traditions. In these three hundred years, India seemed to change from an isolated country hidden from the world, to a country that could no longer hide its spices, its riches and its culture. Sadly though, the discovery of Hinduism for non Indians did not have a clear theoretical base, and was dependant on a largely oral and abstractly written sparse Hindu religious/cultural history, during a time when the Indian society was not open to sharing with the outside world. As a result, the accounts of Hinduism written by visitors depicted the Hindu religion as grotesque or insipid, by European writers who travelled to India and experienced the culture from their biblical eyes. The practice of sati, the deification of kings, the extreme deprivation of Brahmans and the overly sexualised art altogether presented a confusing picture that could not be corrected, because the language of India was not understood by the Europeans. To their sensibilities, the ways of the Indians were horrifying to say the least. The Europeans in India, who could have had the opportunity to experience the Hindu culture first hand, also were kept at the fringes by the Indians, as per the writings of Bentinck in 1807. It seemed as though their (European) â€Å"needs† and â€Å"business† were â€Å"taken care† for them, without them disturbing the hierarchy and the dictates of the local culture. At this point, it seems as though the hierarchical society in India was interchangeably used to represent the Hindu religion. There seemed to be very little understanding of the Hindu religion apart from the social structure, with the teachings of he religion being a closely guarded secret, by the priests and the wealthy. The fact that that Indians were not open to foreigners examining their religion is evident from Bernier’s writings. Bernier’s base of atomism of Gassendi could have led to a productive exchange between the European and Indian culture, however, it seemed as if he gave u p because he could not visualise a coherent Hindu cosmological theory and the â€Å"pundit† who was his only source of information, did not have enough skills to dialogue. There were sporadic writings through this time, for example by Abraham Roger, 1649, themed on â€Å"Paganism† that attempted to describe the Hindu culture of India, but at some point they tended to disintegrate into a judgemental dismissal of the body of knowledge that was very different to say the least. There always seemed to be enough examples to create caricatures and convince the western world, that India was not worthy of serious enquiry. All in all, from a modern day perspective, it seems that the Indians had created multiple layers to protect themselves from invaders, missionaries, scholars, traders all of them having an agenda to rip open the cultural centre and expose the vulnerability to the world. So it seems that visitors were kept at bay, given spices, gold, and sent on their way. The resistance also came from an established social structure and was maintained by those in power, for whom, it made sense to keep up the confusing and diffused aura, so they may profit as the privileged few who understood both sides. Marx and Weber’s writings in the 19th century are also historical sources of information on this time, although Marx did not write anything that helped the world understand Hinduism. Webers’s writings did contain some key concepts which were central to the Hindus, such as â€Å"Samskaras† or â€Å"Karma† but also contained some extreme views which were more true of Webers’ own personal struggles and growth. It was not until the late 18th century, under the colonial rule by the British, that Indians met westerners as friends, who wanted to understand or join the Indian culture, without an agenda. Around that time, Indians within India had also begun to look beyond their borders and the environment seemed ready for cultural exchange. The exchanges thereafter where both the Indian and the British culture absorbed elements from each other created an environment where a genuine interest could sustain and studies could be done. Dayananda Saraswati from â€Å"A Source-Book of Modern Hinduism† Dear Sikander Bhaiya, I came across something interesting and wanted to share it with you. I’m taking a class in Hinduism, about 10,000 miles away from home, and learning about Dayananda Saraswati, who as it turns out, is the founder of our Arya Samaj sect. You may recognize the Arja Samaj nurseries near our house, well here is some information behind the teachings at these schools. As my professor says, Swami Dayananda was born into a Brahmin family in 19th century India. But one point you should know is that his real name is Mool Shankar and he was born in Gujrat. He found the Arya Samaj, meaning cultural organization, after an impacting event during the night of Shivratri. When mice ran all over Shiva and ate the offerings given to him, he could not understand why the idol could not defend himself from a mouse. Then, after the death of his sister from cholera, he no longer believed and degraded idol worship. That is when he created the Arya Samaj movement for people who do not believe in idol worship. Nevertheless, Swami Dayananda did not form the Arya Samaj based on this one principle, looking at Hinduism as a whole he rejected all the â€Å"falsehood† and created an body who believed in all the good in Hinduism. Swami Dayananda studied believed in the Vedic scriptures. One such notion he believed in was Moksha. Moksha is the escape from the reincarnation cycle and to finally become one with God. But, I personally believe that reincarnation is not bad and have no desire to escape this cycle. Why would one not appreciate the life God has given us and instead escape life to be absorbed into the soul of the Divine Spirit? As Swami Dayananda proclaims Moksha â€Å"is not emancipation but death or annihilation†. Death and annihilation are not words that come with a good meaning. Not everyone should be influenced to reach Moksha but instead be grateful for and enjoy what God has given us. Education is the sector in which Swami Dayananda made the most progress. For one, he wanted the Veda Bhashya to be translated into English in order to pread the information contained in these scriptures to the Europeans. He also believed in equal education for all. At his point of time in history women were not given the same rights as men and were often left to take upon simple maiden tasks. But he stated that this would cause â€Å"warfare in the house†. Women will also be wanted a s teachers in all girls’ school and knowledgeable enough to be involved in administrative affairs. In addition, Swami Dayananda urged teachers and their scholars not to give into corrupt acts that could prevent teaching or learning. I think he wanted to ensure that people and their actions were not what kept them from acquiring knowledge. I greatly support Swami Dayananda’s belief that marriage should be Swayamvara. He believes that a man and a women should â€Å"suit each other† before marriage so they will be happier. In addition, he condemns child marriage, which usually results in women becoming widowed at a young age. This is such a pervasive phenomenon that completely stopping child marriage has still not occurred in India. Instead he added another custom that women can remarry as long as they were not â€Å"consummated† in their first marriage. This allows women to live a normal married life later on. I hope this letter has given you some light on Dayananda Saraswati and his Arya Samaj principles. Read on about this great Indian leader, his principles are inspiring. Tanya Ramakrishna Paramahansa, from â€Å"A Source Book of Modern Hinduism† Ramakrishna Paramahansa was a famous follower of Bhakti traditions of 19th century India. He was born into a poor Brahmin Vaishnava family in a Bengal village where he devoted his life to â€Å"strenuous spiritual discipline† (Richards,63) to reach union with the Divine, whom for Ramakrishna was Kali. He became a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple near Kolkata, the city where his portrait hangs on every corner. Ramakrishna understood that Hinduism is like a shoreless ocean but still has two main facets Bhakti and Jnana, methods to become union with the Divine. He had chosen the Bhakti path to reach full consciousness with his Divine Mother, Kali. But he does not narrow his view of religion and God to only Kali. I agree with Ramakrishna when he says that God comes in various forms and as one becomes more devoted to God they begin to understand the wholeness of God’s existence in this universe. When one sees Kali, the idol, with a naked eye they see black. But her color can be compared to the blue sky, as one approaches the sky they realize it has no color. Yet, the sky is nowhere and everywhere, just like Kali. So, as one comes closer to Kali you will see her without color. Indians believed that there once existed Asuras , demons, who were tall, dark skinned and out to harm. Kali is a goddess who absorbed the negative physical attributes of the Asuras, hence her dark colored skin, but on the inside is a goddess who embodies Shakti, empowerment and strength. In India, Kali is considered the most powerful women who kills all evil and absorbs their poison so others are void of it. She is a powerful female warrior, which goes against the stereotype that men are the ones who hold the strength and power to fight. Hinduism as a religion gives great power to women, unlike the society which strips women of their influence. I strongly support Ramakrishna’s perspective that â€Å"each religion is only a path leading to God† (Richard, 65). I admire the many rivers into one ocean analogy used to describe his idea of different religions but only one God. He was accepting of all other religions and believed â€Å"it is not good to feel that one’s religion alone is true and all others are false† (Richard, 65). One can see that equality was important to Ramakrishna whether it was through religion, the caste system or gender rules. He illustrated that by finding love for God, one’s mind, body and soul no longer belong as a part of the cast system. In addition, during Ramakrishna’s time in history women were not given the same rights as men and were often demeaned. But his belief that women should be worshiped as â€Å"embodiments of the Divine Mother† (Richard, 73) severed this separation. I greatly admire Ramakrishna as he demonstrates his idea of ‘duties’ undertaken by people for name and fame, resulting in an individual’s ego. Duties that are made and carried out by one’s self is not as selfless as those completed as they are presented. Success from carrying out ‘duties’ is what creates a person’s ego. The ego makes people individuals and separates them into ‘you’ and ‘I’. But God sees everyone as one and wishes others would see the same. The only means by which all individuals can become one is by â€Å"going away from the world into solitude† (Richard, 69). This moves the individual away from the distractions of the Maya and allows one to concentrate on the inner self to develop the love of God. With the love of God and as part of one, they are no longer an individual ego. Mahatma Gandhi from â€Å"Gandhi’s Key Writings: In Search of Unity† Let me tell you about a man named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who is known as Mahatma, meaning great soul, Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869 to a Vaishnava family. His mother and father were greatly religious people and influenced his perception of the world. However, growing up, he realized he was not a man of religion but of ethics. His interest in ethics drove him to study Law in London, England. With a background in Law, Mahatma Gandhi set out to create equality and morality amongst the people. His first attempt was in South Africa where he went to attain civil rights for the 62,000 Indians living there as laborers. At that time, Indians were not allowed to vote and were deprived of many other human rights. The civil rights movement lead by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa is where he found Satyagraha. Satyagraha as a theoretical principle was first introduced in Mahatma Gandhi’s book Hind Swaraj and he shows how he used this philosophical principle in South Africa through his book Satyagraha In South Africa. Satyagraha is a theory that â€Å"recognizes the universal possibility of goodness and virtue† (Suhrud,78). The original Gujurati title of Mahatma Gandhi’s book is Dakshin Africa Na Satyagraha No Itihas (Suhrud, 77) when translated into English it would read â€Å"A History of Satyagraha in South Africa†. However, Mahatma Gandhi had a strong stance between the words ‘Itihas’ and ‘History’, even though they can be considered direct translations of each other. He believed that Itihas in English means ‘it’s so happened’ as opposed to ‘history’ because for him history is associated with a past filled with wars and hatred. This is a glimpse of how Mahatma Gandhi coined the term Satyagraha as a â€Å"soul force† that is completely void of violence. (Suhrud, 77) Satyagraha’s meaning has many faces and the theory itself comes along with many values, but the real meaning of Satyagraha is â€Å"holding on to truth†. According to Mahatma Gandhi this meaning should insinuate love and firmness, bringing about non-violence. This is a separate term from passive resistance, because the latter is still considered a weapon using violence. In fact, one of the principles of Satyagraha is ‘Ahimsa’ meaning non-violence. Mahatma Gandhi started the Satyagraha struggle in South Africa with a series of non-violent protests. One such act was the burning of registration certificates at a community bonfire. This bonfire was an act of defiance against the Asiatic Registration Act of 1907. The means by which Gandhi took a stance against the act broke the law, hence he took the corresponding punishment i. e. multiple blows to the head. As a Satyagrahi, Gandhi did not respond to the violent punishment but instead attempted to get back on his feet and continue burning the registration certificates. Due to Gandhi’s persistence, he was thrown in jail for not succumbing to the police. This is one brutal example of how Mahatma Gandhi implemented Satyagraha in South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi believed that morals and ethics were essential in order to create unity amongst societies and the people within them. From moral and ethics he derived a dogma known as Satyagraha whose core values are truth and ahimsa. Mahatma Gandhi adopted this attitude and applied it in any of his rebellious acts in South Africa. This was an astute strategy he created, so regardless of his actions that stood against the power, he was still ethically correct, making it more difficult for the authorities to bring him down. In this manner, Mahatma Gandhi attained civil rights for the Indians in South Africa.

Sustainable Tourism: Development Challenges

Sustainable Tourism: Development Challenges Introduction Tourism is an ancient phenomenon and already the people during the times of the Mesopotamian society travelled. However, tourism only started to expand significantly post-Cook are of 1880 and mass tourism appeared post-war 1950’s (Weaver and Oppermann, 2000). Following were rapid, uncontrolled and unsustainable tourism destination development as can be observed on the Spanish Coast, where large hotels make the once regional, physical and social structures indistinguishable from many other mass tourism coastal areas (Richards and Hall, 2000). This chaotic mass tourism has led not only to irreversible environmental, socio-cultural and economical damages, but also has it made those destinations undesirable to tourists. And in fact; â€Å"There are examples from almost every country in the world, where tourism development has been identified as being the main cause of environmental degradation† (Lickorish and Jenkins, 1999:85). Therefore, sustainable tourism development seems to be one of the fad words of modern tourism management, and is thus on all the tourist companies’ agendas. The following assignment will investigate the issue of sustainable tourism, how â€Å"serious† and complex the subject really is? It will by no means be an extensive assignment, due to the time and word limitations at hand. Therefore further research would need to be undertaken to gain a full picture of the issue. Discussion Sustainable development and ethical tourism? Sustainability is a contemporary issue in tourism development that came in fashion during the past 20 years (Winpenny, 1991). Considering the Brundtland Commission in 1987, development is sustainable when â€Å"it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (1987, cited in Winpenny, 1991:3). A different definition of sustainability is offered at the Globe ’90 Conference in Vancouver: â€Å"Sustainable tourism development is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that we can fulfil economic, social and aesthetic needs while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems† (Tourism Stream Action Committee 1990, Ledbury cited in Hein, 1997:30). These definitions show how complex the subject of sustainability is in its very nature of having to encompass so many things. And also â€Å"In the USA GNP per capita is $24,240 whilst in Kenya it is $964. Are the needs of either countries population met? And who is to decide what these ‘needs’ are? The UN? Or perhaps the World Bank, who service the ‘needs’ of developed economies by removing greater wealth from Africa through dept repayments than is injected through meagre aid budgets? This reality – that some people meet their needs by preventing others from meeting theirs is overlooked† (Butcher, 2003:131). Therefore leaving the choices those countries (third world) are faced with is to accept aid or investment on the terms offered, or not accept them at all (Butcher, 2003: 123). Now the question is, is this really sustainable, and most of all ethical? The impacts of tourism are divided into three elements; economical, environmental and socio-cultural (Coltman, 1989). Therefore, it could be argued that the sustainable discussion should be looked at in those three headings. According to this concept of sustainable tourism there are three points that are to be achieved through tourism development: Increasing economic value of tourism An improvement in the life quality of people Protection and responsible use of natural resources (Keyser, 2002) McKercher (1993:131) states that â€Å"the inherent vagueness of â€Å"sustainability† is its greatest weakness† and he notes on how the term is used to legitimize and justify activities and policies by the industry and the conservation movement for mutually exclusive activities. McKercher is not the only one supporting views along this notion. Smith and Duffy (2003) argue that business ethics is about reacting to customers’ values and expectations and is merely an attempt to improve an industries image and thus increase its sales. Along with this fad for sustainability, many new terms for alternative tourism have emerged. Hein (1997) actually suggests that many of those new forms of tourism, like green, progressive and alternative tourism is purely a reaction to the contemporary green and environmental movement that we are experiencing in Western societies. Therefore, that would then imply certain superficiality and that this whole trend is more about attracting customers, rather than being really concerned about sustainability. However, Fennell (2003) on the other side notes that the trend has initiated many new fashionable tourism forms, like ecotourism, which when applied properly, should be beneficial. However, caution should be the word to consider, as those labels are easily abused as marketing tools. The chances of marketing abuse is debatably encouraged by the argument that consumers are driving this movement at least partially, as their demands are changing when it comes to the consumption of tourism services. Goodwin (cited in Jenkins et al. 2002) argues that the movement for responsible forms of tourism is beginning to impact mainstream consumer preferences. And Butcher (2003) notes that there has been an important shift to a growth in ethical consumption, not only in tourism, taking Body Shop as one success example. And while this ethical tourism is debatably having a clean image of being â€Å"good†, it may not be all as shiny as it sounds. â€Å"Ethical consumption ends up moralizing about exaggerated problems between people, hosts and tourists, and moreover, neglects an assessment of the social inequalities that characterize relationships between nations† (Butcher, 2003:3). He also argues that the promotion of nature-based tourism shows little prospects in regards to the potential to address the real problem, namely the poverty and inequality. A good example is Ethiopia and the case of the 5 star Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa. The owner of the hotel was praised for his sensitive treatment and re-homing of the shack-dwellers who used to live there. However, the area of this luxurious hotel is surrounded by poverty. And for being in one of the poorest countries in the world, it is questionable of how moral it is to rub such wealth of a luxury 5 star Sheraton Hotel into the faces of the people who have to live under extreme poverty (Smith and Duffy, 2003). Codes of ethics and chain of distribution and the impact on the tourism industry Firstly one should outline what exactly a code of ethics is. A â€Å"†¦.codes of ethics or conduct are lists designed to elicit a change in behaviour of particular stakeholder groups; a form of compliance for acceptable behaviour at a tourism setting† (Fennell, 2003:11). Environmental commitment, responsibility, integrated planning, environmentally sound management, cooperation between decision makers, and public awareness, are according to Genot (1995, cited in Fennell, 2003) the core principals of any code of ethics. One can easily recognise the complexity of the subject, especially when considering that it has to be applied to everyone involved in the tourism process and hence all the chains of distributions. Arguably a code of ethics could have positive impacts on the tourism industry and its channel of distributions. Simply because it would clarify what exactly ethical and sustainable development and tourism is. However it would prove almost impossible to monitor al the chain of distribution outlets. And also may the codes be against certain chains own value system, which bring us to the locality of ethics which will be discussed later on in the assignment. Wheeler (1994, cited in Fennell, 2003:186) is also critical of the implementation of codes of ethics and the sustainability and ecotourism trends, and so he notes: â€Å"†¦ a never-ending series of laughable codes of ethics: codes of ethics for travellers; codes of ethics for tourists, for government and for tourism businesses. Codes for all – or, more likely, codeine for all†¦. But who really believes these codes are effective?† In Zimbabwe there is the aid-funded Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire). Limited ecotourism and game hunting are organized here where the revenues support the rural population. While this is advertised as appropriate development but is this symbiosis per se a good thing? (Butcher, 2003). And moreover, how is it going to be possible to ensure that everyone adheres to the code of ethics, when the people are rural and unable to identify with the Western values and ethics system? Fair trade and ethical tourism Ethical tourism has been said to be synonymous with sustainable tourism, alternative tourism, appropriate tourism or sympathetic tourism (Hall and Lew, 1998). Hall and Lew (1998) argue that it is Western values and ethics that provide the base for the implementation of the concept of ethical tourism, and in thus impose its Western culture on the host domination. Is this then ethical in itself? Following are some examples for fair trade and ethical tourism initiatives illustrated in the case of the Gambia: Fair Trade practices in tourism (just like Fair Trade bananas) are being established by the Gambia Experience in conjunction with Tourism Concern (Author Unknown, 2002). TUI and First Choice take part in a revolutionary scheme to raise awareness of under-aged prostitution. Therefore the Crimestoppers lines in the UK now accept calls from holidaying British people. Those tourists have on their flight into the Gambia been taught the signs, and encouraged to report inappropriate behaviour of under-aged prostitution (Baldwin, 2004). The Gambia Tourism Concern has various initiatives; a street newspaper called Concern Magazine, an in-flight video aiming to raise awareness and encourage appropriate behaviour (Smith, 2002) and there is a weekly radio programme for the locals, educating them about issues of tourism (Williams, 2002). This debatably is to inform both, the tourist and the locals, of appropriate ethical behaviour towards the other party. Conclusion The definition of sustainability and hence the term sustainable tourism can be interpreted in various ways, and thus makes measurement a difficult task. It is questionable whether sustainability in tourism really does exist as there are always some aspects of concern. However, sustainability and ethical consumption seems to be in fashion, and hence making the possibilities of the terms being (ab)used for marketing purposes even bigger. To clarify the standards for sustainability, ethical codes should be implemented across the tourism industry. However, this again in itself might pose an unethical aspect, as it might impose culturally dependable aspects on host communities, and what is right in one community, may not be right in another community. Also would it be impossible to control the adherence of the different chains of distribution units. To conclude, it could be said that there is no single answer to this complex conundrum of sustainable and ethical tourism. And while there may be some superficiality in its use within the industry, it may be questioned whether it is not at least better to have some effort, than none at all. References Author Unknown (2002) Small operators push change, Travel Trade Gazette UK Ireland, 26/08/2002, Issue 2528, p20 Baldwin N. (2004) Sex tourism fight scores first victory, Travel Weekly: The Choice of Travel Professionals (Reed), 20/08/2004, Issue 1732, p68 Butcher J. (2003) The Moralization of Tourism, Sun, Sand †¦ And Saving The World? London; Routledge Coltman M. M. (1989) Introduction to Travel Tourism, An International Approach, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Fennell D. A. (1999; 2003) Ecotourism, An Introduction (2nd edn.), London; Routledge Hall C. M. and Lew A. A. (1998) Sustainable Tourism, A Geographical Perspective, New York; Longman Hein W. (1997) Tourism and Sustainable Development, Hamburg; Deutsches Uebersee-Institut Jenkins T., Birkett D., Goodwin H., Goldstein P., Butcher J. and Leech K. (2002) Ethical Tourism, Who Benefits?, Reading: Hodder Stoughton Keyser H. (2002) Tourism Development, Cape Town: Oxford University Press Lickorish L. J. and Jenkins C. L. (1997) An Introduction to Tourism, Oxford;  Butterworth-Heinemann McKercher B. (1993) The unrecognized threat to tourism, Can tourism survive ‘sustainability’?, Tourism Management, April 1993. Richards G. and Hall D. (2000) Tourism and Sustainable Community Development, London; Routledge Smith M. K. (2003) Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies, London; Routledge Smith M. and Duffy, R. (2003) The Ethics of Tourism Development, London; Routledge Weaver D. and Oppermann M. (2000) Tourism Management, Brisbane; John Wiley Sons Australia, Ltd Williams S. (2001) The Gambia, African Business, Jul/Aug 2001, Issue 267, p44 Winpenny J. T. (1991) Values for the Environment, London; HMSO Bibliography Cooper C. and Fletcher J. and Gilbert D. and Wanhill S. and Shepherd R. (1998) Tourism Principles and Practice (2nd edn.), Harlow; Longman Heery E. (1992:825) The management of international Tourism (Book Review) Journal of Management Studies, Nov. 92, Vol. 29, Issue 6, p825 Middleton V. T .C. and Hawkins R. (1998) Sustainable Tourism, Oxford; Butterworth Heinemann Sharpley R. and Telfer D.J. (2002) Tourism And Development, Clevedon; Channel View Publications Theobald W. F. (1996:2005) Global Tourism (3rd edn.), San Francisco: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann Witt S. F., Brooke M. Z. and Buckley P. J. (1991) The Management of International Tourism, London: Unwyn Hyman Ltd.