Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau :: essays research papers

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were both born in Massachusetts. Emerson was born in Boston in 1803. Thoreau was born in Concord in 1817. Emerson attended Harvard and then became a Unitarian minister just like his father had been. Thoreau also attended Harvard but upon graduating, became a teacher and opened up a school. Both Emerson and Thoreau gave up their careers to pursue Transcendentalist philosophy. Emerson was one of the first to start the Transcendental Club. Thoreau became Emerson's student after he had moved into his house. Thoreau simplified his needs and began to experiment with Transcendentalism through experience. Although Emerson's writings achieved national recognition during his lifetime, Thoreau did not see such fame during his own life. They were both active Transcendentalists, but their philosophies and methods differed slightly. Emerson believed one should live in harmony with nature. One of his essays, appropriately titled, "Nature," was the first published essay on Transcendentalist philosophy. Emerson theorized that man was one and the same with nature and he wrote about his experiences with nature. In "Nature," Emerson wrote that, "In the woods, we return to reason and faith. "Although he was the one to write this, it was Thoreau who went to extremes and took this literally. Though Emerson and Thoreau both believed in living in harmony with something, they differed on what it was they were to live in harmony with. While Emerson lectured about Transcendetalist philosophy, Thoreau thoroughly practiced it. Emerson believed in living in harmony with nature. Thoreau believed in living in peace and harmony with ourselves. Thoreau took Transcendentalism to the extremes. He simplified every aspect of his live and went" back to nature" to test the experiences of Transcendentalism. He focused on how he could live in peace and harmony with himself in nature while Emerson lectured about living in harmony with nature. Thoreau took Emerson's teachings and expanded on them. Emerson played his role as teacher and Thoreau played his role as student. They did this both whle living in the same household and throughout their lives. Emerson taught Transcendentalist philosophy and Thoreau not only expanded on those teachings, he used them for experimenting with Transcednetalism.

Group Development Essay

The first stage is the forming stage. During this stage, things are characterized by much uncertainty. There is uncertainty as to what the purpose of the group is, what the structure of the group is, and who the leadership of the group is going to be. Members of the group will want to test the waters and try to determine how far they can go and what they can get away with during this stage of the group development process. The second stage is the storming stage. During this stage of group development, the members of the group accept the existence of the group but are against the restraints put on individual creativity. This can lead to serious problems if there is not some sort of compromise or agreement put in place on allowing individuals to be creative within the guidelines of the project. The third stage is the norming stage. During this stage, relationships among team members are becoming closer and group cohesiveness is coming together. The group identity is really becoming clear. This stage is considered complete when the structure of the group is completely solidified and the members of the group have decided on what is considered proper behavior for members of the group. In my opinion, this is one of the most critical stages in group development. The fourth stage is the performing stage. This stage of group development is really when things start to happen. Members of the team have fully accepted the structure and the team is working towards accomplishing the goals that were set forth initially. The group has gone from getting to know each other to complete understanding and working on accomplishing the  task at hand. The fifth and final stage of group development is the adjourning stage. This is only true for groups that are temporary. Permanent work groups are finished after stage four. This stage is normally when the group finalizes and wraps up the tasks that they have been asked to perform and then they go their separate ways. This stage is hopefully where the project is finalized and the group has been successful at accomplishing the goals that were initially set forth. Problem Identification There are two major problems that I see in this situation. The first problem that I see with this group is that there is going to be conflict of interests from each of the different groups. Each of the groups have different agendas as to how to fully accomplish the goals of the project. This can lead to problems or possibly a severe conflict between one or more of the groups. This differing of opinions and attitudes by the groups could also possibly lead to an overall failure to achieve any of the objectives of the group. The second major problem that I see with this project is demographic diversity. There are such wide and varied demographics in the school district that this project is going to take place. There could be conflicts that one demographic is being favored over another. There could also be problems that stem from this. If one demographic seems to think that another is being favored, then they could cause problems for the overall project and the goals of that project. Retrospective Evaluation The solution for the first problem will be the easiest of the two problems. During the formation of the development group for this project, common goals need to be decided upon by the development team. These goals need to be approved by all of the different entities that have an interest in this project succeeding. There should be one major common goal for the project and all of the groups should agree to this goal. If they cannot agree to a common goal, then there really is no need to go forward with the project. The solution for the second problem is going to be a little harder to solve. I believe that a non-interested third party group should be brought in to oversee the project. This will allow for an impartial representative to make decisions and also to ensure that no one demographic group is being favored more than another. If one groups interests are being pushed and another group see this favoritism, it could lead to problems and thus an overall failure of the project. Therefore, a third party should be placed in charge and there should be no conflicts because they should not favor any one particular group. Reflection The project is all about making things better for the kids of this school district. This could lead to better educational opportunities for all involved within the district. However, there are possible issues that need to be solved for this project to move forward and be a success. If these issues are addressed in the beginning then there should be resolutions and no problems should arise. This will allow a successful project and the enhancement of educational opportunities for the children of the school district.

Environmental Analysis Of The Tourism Industry - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2814 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Tourism Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The TUI is a global leading leisure travel group intending to provide customers with a wide choice of differentiated and flexible travel experiences to meet their changing needs. This course work explains the various strategies being used by this organisation. Strategy includes perspective, position, plan, and pattern. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Environmental Analysis Of The Tourism Industry" essay for you Create order Strategy is the bridge between policy or high-order goals on one hand and tactics or concrete actions on the other. Strategy and tactics together straddle the gap between ends and means. In short, strategy is a term that refers to a complex web of thoughts, ideas, insights, experiences, goals, expertise, memories, perceptions, and expectations that provide general guidance for specific actions in pursuit of particular results (Whittington 1993). ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY WITH IMPLICATIONS TO TUI The environment to be analysed is considered to be of two kinds namely the macro environment and the micro environment. The tool used to analyse the macro environment is PESTEL, and the tool used to analyse the micro environment is Porter`s five forces analysis. Porter`s five forces analysis deals with the factors that are outside the industry which influences within the industry, and could predict the profitability. This eventually influences the competencies of the firm. In order to compete effectively, the business should understand its industry and market. Porter has defined the forces contending that a competitive environment is created within the industry by the interaction of five different forces acting on a business. The five forces are rivalry among existing firms, threat of new entrants into market, supplier power, power of buyers, and threat of substitute products or services. Understanding these forces will help to generate the appropriate strategies for the firm to be successful ( Porter 2005). Rivalry occurs between the existing sellers in the market. In the case of TUI, it could be other tourism organisations. Rivalry determines the attractiveness of the customers towards an industry or a specific organisation. For the TUI, the rivalries were Thomas Cook, MyTravel Group, ReweTouristik and First Choice Holidays. Having a market share of more than 32 percent, TUI was the first player in the concentrated market. This indicates the high concentration for TUI in the market. This could be closely related to monopoly that is, the lack of economic competition. The threat of entry for new firm is usually based on the market entry barriers. The barriers for entry into the market could be the scale of economy, cost of entry, distribution channels, cost advantage, government legislation, differentiation etc. TUI was able to stand well in the industry because it had a large scale investment, good tour packages, low cost packages, and good services . All these factors helped TUI to cut off the threat of entry into the market as a new firm. The threat of substitute products or services could be technical threats, where in the latest technology is used to replace a product with some other industry which gives the same level of satisfaction or even better, and same outcome. TUI launched the virtual tour operator Touropa.com selling travel tours online, through travel agencies, television, call centres etc. These are the modes through which TUI obtained the direct sale of travel products through technology. The buyer power has got two important determinants which are the size and concentration of customers. If an industry has to attract a large number of customers, then it should have a greater concentration in the market. TUI can be considered to be a powerful buyer because there is just one buyer or very few buyers and a lot of sellers.TUI bought suppliers such as travel agency chain, airline and logistic services, various leading package holidays, all inclusive holiday club chain etc. TUI was then a leading company in tourism with over 200 tourism brands around the world making it a very powerful buyer. The supplier power is a mirror image of the buyer power. Suppliers of raw materials, labour and services to the firm can be a source of power over the firm if they are unique enough and well established suppliers. Supplier power can exist when there is switching costs, power of brands, possibility of forward integration of suppliers, fragmentation of customers. With regards to the case study TUI does not have powerful suppliers, because they bought most of them such as travel agency chain, airline and logistics services, tour operators etc. Other tour operators appeared to be the most vulnerable because they were handicapped by a high level of fixed assets and less able to manage their airline and hotel capacities. PESTEL ANANLYSIS In analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might in turn affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organizations supply and demand levels and its costs (Johnson and Scholes, 2001). A number of checklists have been developed as ways of cataloguing the vast number of possible issues that might affect an industry. A PESTEL analysis is one of them that is merely a framework that categorizes environmental influences as political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal forces. Political factors include government regulations and legal issues and define both formal and informal rules under which the firm must operate. The political factors include tax policy, employment laws, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and tariffs, political stability. For the TUI, issues with political factors could be terrorism, taxation etc. Different countries will have different taxation policies. Since TUI w orks on different countries, it will have to manage these policies with a strong management team. There were several terrorist attacks in tourist spots like New York, Djerba, Bali, Madrid etc. These attacks had created a feeling of insecurity among the tourists to visit the place again, which eventually affected the tourism industry. Economic factors affect the purchasing power of potential customers and the firms cost of capital. The economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation rate etc. Tour operators appeared to be the most exposed to the economic crisis due to the high level of fixed assets and less able to manage their airline and hotel capacities. The global economic downturn and health crisis has also had an ill effect on the international travel, thus affecting the TUI. Social factors include the demographic and cultural aspects of the external macro environment. These factors affect customer needs and the size of potential market s. Some social factors include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes, emphasis on safety etc. If a demographic data is collected about tourism and even if the result is positive, it`s not really reliable because, the opinion given during the research could change with changes in the economy of the country. Technological factors can lower barriers to entry, reduce minimum efficient production levels, and influence outsourcing decisions. Some technological factors include, RD activity, automation, technology incentives, rate of technological change. TUI has got the latest technology to convey information through media. TUI has launched the virtual tour operator Touropa.com through which travel tours are sold online, and also with the help of travel agencies, television and call centres. Environmental factors include weather, climate, and climate change, which may especially affect tourism industry. Climatic change could affect the inter national travel, but it`s not a prolonged problem. Environmental factors could also include pollution created by the flight fuel, food packages etc. TUI has got its own flight for travel and it emits co2 which is harmful to the environment. TUI also provides food services and hotel services. If they use plastic food packages it could be harmful to the environment as well. Such factors should be taken into account and tried to reduce as much as possible. Legal factors include discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law. Since TUI works on different countries for import, export and shipping purposes, there might be restrictions or rules and regulations that vary for different countries which could create an inflexible environment for the company. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF TUI When a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. There are two basic types of competitive advantage namely cost advantage and differentiation advantage. A competitive advantage exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, a competitive advantage enables the firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself. Cost and differentiation advantages are known as positional advantages since they describe the firms position in the industry as a leader in either cost or differentiation. A resource-based view emphasizes that a firm utilizes its resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage that ultimately resul ts in superior value creation (Porter 1985). COST ADVANTAGE AND DIFFERENTIATION ADVANTAGE Competitive advantage is created by using resources and capabilities to achieve either a lower cost structure or a differentiated product. A firm positions itself in its industry through its choice of low cost or differentiation. This decision is a central component of the firms competitive strategy. Another important decision is how broad or narrow is a market segment to target. Porter formed a matrix using cost advantage, differentiation advantage, and a broad or narrow focus to identify a set of generic strategies that the firm can pursue to create and sustain a competitive advantage. COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY IN TUI Cost leadership is a concept developed by Michael Porter, used in business strategy. It `means the lowest cost of operation in the industry. The cost leadership is often driven by company efficiency, size, scale, scope and cumulative experience. A cost leadership strategy aims to exploit scale of production, well defined scope and other economies producing highly standardized products, using high technology. In order to sustain during the slump in tourism, TUI introduced a new cost cutting programme strategy targeting yearly savings which they achieved. They were able to sell low cost holidays even without catalogues, decorations or seats, but customers got information about this and booked for the holiday themselves. TUI was also present in the low cost airline market in Germany and the UK. VALUE CHAIN The firm creates value by performing a series of activities that Porter identified as the value chain. In addition to the firms own value-creating activities, the firm operates in a value system of vertical activities including those of upstream suppliers and downstream channel members. To achieve a competitive advantage, the firm must perform one or more value creating activities in a way that creates more overall value than competitors. Superior value is created through lower costs or superior benefits to the consumer (differentiation). RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES According to the resource-based view, in order to develop a competitive advantage the firm must have resources and capabilities that are superior to those of its competitors. Without this superiority, the competitors simply could replicate what the firm was doing and any advantage quickly would disappear. Resources are the firm-specific assets useful for creating a cost or differentiation advantage and that few competitors can acquire easily. The following are some examples of such resources: Patents and trademarks Proprietary know-how Installed customer base Reputation of the firm Brand equity Capabilities refer to the firms ability to utilize its resources effectively. An example of a capability is the ability to bring a product to market faster than competitors. Such capabilities are embedded in the routines of the organization and are not easily documented as procedures and thus are difficult for competitors to replicate.TUI has got efficient distribution chan nels and good economies of scale which are considered to be the attributes that other organisations cannot imitate. The firms resources and capabilities together form its distinctive competencies. These competencies enable innovation, efficiency, quality, and customer responsiveness, all of which can be leveraged to create a cost advantage or a differentiation advantage. STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF TUI A firms strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage. Examples of such strengths include patents, strong brand names, good reputation among customers, cost advantages from proprietary know-how, exclusive access to high grade natural resources, favourable access to distribution networks. The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. For example, each of the following may be considered weaknesses lack of patent protection, a weak brand name, poor reputation among customers, high cost structure, lack of access to the best natural resources, lack of access to key distribution channels. In some cases, a weakness may be the flip side of a strength. Take the case in which a firm has a large amount of manufacturing capacity. While this capacity may be considered a strength that competitors do not share, it also may be a considered a weakness if the large investment in manufacturing capacity prevents th e firm from reacting quickly to changes in the strategic environment. LIMITATIONS OF THE TOOLS USED FOR ANALYSIS Â Porters model is a strategic tool used to identify whether new products, services or businesses have the potential to be profitable. However it can also be very illuminating when used to understand the balance of power in other situations. Â Porter argues that five forces determine the profitability of an industry. At the heart of industry are rivals and their competitive strategies linked to, for example, pricing or advertising but, he contends, it is important to look beyond ones immediate competitors as there are other determines of profitability. Specifically, there might be competition from substitute`s products or services. These alternatives may be perceived as substitutes by buyers even though they are part of a different industry. An example would be plastic bottles, cans and glass bottle for packaging soft drinks. There may also be potential threat of new entrants, although some competitors will see this as an opportunity to strengthen their position in the market by ensuring, as far as they can, customer loyalty. Finally, it is important to appreciate that companies purchase from suppliers and sell to buyers. If they are powerful they are in a position to bargain profits away through reduced margins, by forc ing either cost increases or price decreases. This relates to the strategic option of vertical integration, when the company acquires, or mergers with, a supplier or customer and thereby gains greater control over the chain of activities which leads from basic materials through to final consumption. Further limitations are that it is not necessary that new business models and the dynamism of the industries, such as technological innovations and dynamic market entrants from start-up will completely change business models within short times. For instance, the tourism industry is considered as being competitive and also being revolutionized by innovation that indicates Five Forces model being of limited value since it represents no more than snapshots of a moving picture. Therefore, it is not advisable to develop a strategy purely on a model basis, but to examine it in addition to other strategic frameworks of analysis. Â Nevertheless, that does not mean that Porters theories became invalid. What needs to be done is to adopt the model with the knowledge of their limitations and to use them as a part of a larger framework of management tools, techniques and theories. The model assumes that all business relationships are competitive, and that industry boundaries are stable over time, ignoring innovation and entrepreneurship(Grant 2007). Limitations of PESTEL model is that they come to some conclusion which is not exactly what the organisation is looking for, but the ways as to how the organisation could be improved. SWOT framework has a tendency to oversimplify the situation by classifying the firm`s environmental factors into categories in which they may not always fit. The classification of some factors as strengths, or weaknesses, or as opportunities or threats is somewhat arbitrary. For instance, a particular company culture can either be strength or weakness. A technological change can either be a threat or an opportunity. The firm should be aware of these factors and develop a strategic plan to use them to its advantage. CONCLUSION Strategy is that which top management does that is of great importance to the organization. The above study is about the environmental analysis of the tourism industry with implications to TUI. The tools that has been used to analyse are Porter`s five force model and PESTEL model. A study about the competitive advantage, strength and weakness of TUI is also done along with the limitations of the tools that has been applied to analyse. Competitive advantage of the TUI is its cost leadership strategy and it has been successful with this strategy so far. Even with the changing business environment TUI would most likely be successful for its strategy.