Business Policy

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN MASTER OF SCIENCE (SINGAPORE) Business Policy BMGT 4025S STUDY GUIDE MSc14/15 FT / Singapore Copyright October 2012 1 Author: Dr Yousef Eiadat and Dr Richard Tan (2012) This manual was prepared for University College Dublin as a comprehensive support for students completing the above mentioned Degree programme.  © This publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part without permission in from University College Dublin. Module Co-ordinator: Dr Yousef Eiadat & Dr Richard Tan Contact details Mobile: TBA Office: TBA Email: [email  protected] om. sg 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Welcome message 1. INTRODUCTION a. Background details b. Module aims 2. MODULE OUTLINE a. Module learning outcomes b. Themes and topics c. Learning supports 3. MODULE DELIVERY SCHEDULE a. Session arrangements b. Student engagement c. Office hours arrangements 4. ASSESSMENT DETAILS a. Assignments b. Module assessment components i. Pre module ass ignment ii. Group project iii. Examination 5. GRADING a. University grading policy b. Grade descriptors for assessment components 6. CONCLUDING COMMENTS APPENDICES 5 6 10 12 16 19 21 3Welcome message Welcome to this unit on Business Policy. Dr Yousef Eiadat will be joining me in teaching this course. In this unit we aim to build skills in Strategic planning – the analysis behind strategic decisions, the crafting of strategies and the implementation of them to ensure organisational success. Strategy involves managing the interface between an organization and its external environment. To this end, the first three topics develop skills in strategic analysis, leading to consideration of the positioning of an organisation in its strategic environment.These cover internal and external analysis, and the options in setting strategic direction. This analysis is critical to successful strategy because success depends upon finding the right fit between the strengths and weaknesses of th e internal workings of the organisation and the opportunities and threats in the external environment. We will spend time ensuring that you can apply the main tools and techniques to the real world situation outlined cases. Should you require clarification on any matter pertaining to the module, please do not hesitate to contact me.Dr Yousef Eiadat Dr. Richard Tan Module coordinator, BMGT4008S 4 PART 1: INTRODUCTION This Study Guide is designed to provide you with details of the module (Business Policy, BMGT4025S), the learning outcomes, delivery and assessment arrangements. The Study Guide consists of 6 parts Part 1 gives background details to the subject area are provided and the broad aims of the module are set out. Part 2 consists of the module outline. In this part the (a) module learning outcomes, (b) the themes and topics to be explored are explained along with the (c) learning supports to be used.Part 3 gives details of the module delivery arrangements. It sets out the sessi on arrangements and the expectations in relation to your prior preparation and student engagement. Part 4 provides details of the assessment techniques used in this module explaining the assessment components, their rationale. Part 5 explains the UCD grading policy and grade descriptors drawing on the university document are given for each assessment component (i) Pre-module assignment, (ii) Main Assignment and (iii) Examination (closed book). Part 6 presents the concluding comments. a.Background to the Topic Strategic management is predominantly focused on creating effectiveness – it is concerned with the long-term compatibility between an organisation and its relevant external environment. Good strategies also create organizational flexibility. Managing the interface between the external environment and the organisation requires it to become flexible enough to respond to environmental changes. Strategic mistakes come from misinterpreting environmental trends or not reacting rapidly enough to changed industry conditions. The knowledge has a dramatic impact on a firm’s success. b.Module Aims The aim of this module is to provide students with an overview of the theory and practice of strategic management. The module is designed to deepen your awareness and 5 understanding of the factors that contribute to effective management of enterprises – large and small. The theory underpinning the firm and MNE is assessed and students are encouraged to develop an ability to critically evaluate its applicability in today's world. Among the topics covered on this course include: Theory and practice of business management. Theoretical developments are also evaluated for their relevance for the international manager.Key management issues and techniques related to business competitiveness. This includes varies variables that influence a firm’s competitiveness, role of culture, sourcing, doing business in specific regions in Pacific Rim etc. The modu le draws on the student’s prior learning and work experience, and combines insights from IB, Human Resource Management and other areas. The assessments have been designed with this in mind as detailed later in the study guide. PART 2: MODULE OUTLINE Module Title: Business Policy Module Code: BMGT 4025S No. of ECTS: 10 ECTS Learning Outcomes I.Undertake environment scanning processes and critically assess the impact on the organisation and their strategy. II. Identify and critically assess the significance of cultural issues on business and to critical evaluate the appropriate strategies to gain maximum competitive advantage. III. Critically assess the theoretical underpinnings of principal concepts, frameworks, and techniques of strategic management and describe the variety of factors that influence a firm's success. IV. Explain the strategic options available to firms in growth strategies and analyse the forces that affecting this decision.V. Identify emerging issues in mana gement. On completing the Business Policy module, students will be expected to be able to: i. Assess the potential of different strategies in the context of different cultures, risks and uncertainties. 6 ii. iii. iv. Expand on the complexities of Business. Identify business issues confronting companies planning to expand internationally. Illustrate how companies compete in markets. Module Text: Jones, G. R. , Hill, C. W. L. (2011), â€Å"Theory of Strategic Management with Cases†, International Edition, 10th Edn. Cengage.Learning Materials For this module, please read the assigned chapters in the prescribed text and the additional readings assigned (see list below). I. Hanson, D. , Dowling, P. , Hitt, M. , Ireland, D. , and Hoskisson R. , (2011), â€Å"The Management of Strategy Concepts†, 9th edn, Thomson Learning. II. Brooks, J. Weatherston and G. Wilkinson, (2011), The International Business Environment: Challenges and Changes, 2e Other useful sources: I. Academy of Management Journal II. Strategic Management Journal III. Journal of Marketing IV. European Journal of Marketing V. The Wall Street Journal VI.The Financial Times Students completing the International Business module are expected to participate in session discussions and learning activities and be familiar with recent developments in the business world. To facilitate this, the following source material is useful 1. The Economist 2. The South China Morning Post 3. The Straits Times 4. The Financial Times 5. Business Week 7 6. Fortune PART 3: MODULE DELIVERY SCHEDULE The module delivery relies on students’ ability to engage in prior preparation, to seek confirmation and clarification as appropriate and to be actively engaged during the sessions.Session Arrangements Each student is expected to attend and be prepared for all sessions. Table 1 below outlines the structure for the sessions. Table 1: Module Delivery Schedule – themes, readings, cases No. Theme /Topic title Te xt chapters articles/ Readings* Case / exercise TBA in lecture 1 1 Strategic Leadership: Managing the Strategy-Making Process for Competitive Advantage. Chap. 1 Dr Yousef Eiadat 2 External Analysis: The Identification of Opportunities and Threats. Chap. 2 Dr Yousef Eiadat 3 Internal Analysis: Distinctive Competencies, Competitive Advantage, and Profitability.Chap. 3 Dr Yousef Eiadat 4 Building Competitive Advantage Through Functional-Level Strategy. Chap. 4 Dr Yousef Eiadat 5 Building Competitive Advantage Through Business-Level Strategy. Chap. 5 Dr Yousef Eiadat 6 Business-Level Strategy and the Industry Environment. Chap. 6 Dr Yousef Eiadat 8 7 Strategy and Technology. Chap. 7 Dr Richard Tan 8 Strategy in the Global Environment. Chap. 8 Dr Richard Tan 9 Corporate-Level Strategy: Horizontal Integration, Vertical Integration, and Strategic Outsourcing. Chap. 9 Dr Richard Tan 10 Case Presentation/discussionTBA Dr Richard Tan 11 Corporate-Level Strategy: Formulating and Implementing R elated and Unrelated Diversification. Chap. 10 Dr Richard Tan 12 Corporate Performance, Governance, and Business Ethics. Chap. 11 Dr Richard Tan 13 Implementing Strategy in Companies that Compete in a Single Industry. Chap. 12 Dr Richard Tan 14 Implementing Strategy in Companies that Compete Across Industries and Countries. Chap. 13 Dr Richard Tan 15 Exam revision Dr Richard Tan 16 * Some chapters in the text are assigned for more than one theme. 9Preparation Required in Advance of Sessions / Seminars In addition to the pre-course assignment, you are expected to have read the following topics in advance of meeting the module coordinator / course lecturer at the seminars. Student Engagement During the sessions, students are expected to be able to discuss issues arising from the assigned chapters and readings for the topics as scheduled above. Session participation is a vital element in the design of this module. Therefore, all students are expected to engage in class discussion and d ebate in order to facilitate the formation of their critical judgements.To support your learning, Power-Point slides will be available which (on certain occasions) may need to be upgraded / modified during or following the sessions depending on the issues raised. Office Hours We will be available before and after each class session, should you wish to meet us individually to discuss any aspect of this module. PART 4: ASSESSMENT DETAILS Assessment is undertaken to establish the extent of student learning on completing a module and according to Biggs and Tang1 (2009) it is the senior partner of teaching and learning.This module has three assessment components with specific weightings and marks awarded totalling 1002. The purpose of each assessment is as follows: †¢ Assessment 1 (the Pre-Course Assignment) aims to introduce and appraise International marketing in the world setting. It is also designed to focus your learning in preparation for the face to face sessions. †¢ Ass essment 2 (Assignment) is designed to critically appraise issues in Business policy, International strategy and formulate strategies. Biggs, J. and Tang, C. 2009, Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Maidenhead: Open University/McGraw Hill. As the Overseas Programme modules are worth 10 ECTS they should be graded out of 200 marks. 1 10 †¢ Assessment 3 (Examination) is the formal examination, which aims to get insights on your understanding of issues (theory and practice) addressed in the module. Students are expected to complete all assignments ensuring that they are submitted by the specified date. All submissions must be typed, be well laid out, written in an academic style with appropriate headings (introduction, main part and concluding comments) and sections.Please ensure that all submissions are entirely your own work – for UCD’s policy on plagiarism click on the link below (please see Appendix 2 for further information on Plagiarism and the policy o n the Late Submission of Coursework): http://www. ucd. ie/registry/academicsecretariat/plag_pol_proc. pdf The weighting assigned for each component is shown in Table 2a below. (* I = Individual; G = Group) Table 2a – Assessment Components Assessment components 1. Pre-module Assignment 2. Assignment 3. Examination Weighting 10% 40% 50% I / G* I I I Table 2b – Assessment datelines Assignment Deadlines Pre Course Assignment (PCA) Main Assignment (MA)Date Assignment Due 29 Oct 2012 30 Nov 2012 11 Module Assessment Components In the following pages, further details of each assessment component are presented along with expectations in relation to prior preparation and completion. 1. Pre-Module Assignment Assignment: Case analysis This assignment is a case analysis. Students are to answer the following case questions. Case 1: Wynn Resorts (Print) Q1: What are Wynn Resorts’ distinctive resources and competencies? Q2: What is the industry structure in which in which Wynn Resorts operates? Case 2: APPLE in 2008 (Print) Q1: Historically, what were Apple’s major competitive advantages?Q2: Using Porter’s five forces model how has the structure of the personal computer industry changed over the last 20 years? Assignments Guidelines: This is an individual assignment. The aims is to introduce and appraise International business in the world setting This is an essay discussion paper. As an essay, your work must not contain any headings (other than the question itself), graphs or illustrations. The report should have a cover and its main discussion shall not exceed six (6) pages. The cover page shall contain the student’s number and full name, and the title of this course.The report shall be in plain white paper and stapled on the top lefthand corner, no file is required. Font – Times New Roman or Ariel 12 pts and line spacing is 1. 5. A good quality work will requires: o o o o o Evidence of wide & relevant (and correctly referen ced) reading and research; Presentation of a balanced and well considered argument; Originality; Knowledge and understanding of key concepts; Analysis and level of argument, Good use of appropriate frameworks, theory or models; Good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of models used; 2 o o A logical conclusion fitting the arguments presented and, Demonstration of a clear and concise writing style. Please see page 18 for assessment and grading standards. Students should familiarize themselves with the University’s policy on the late submission of coursework. This Pre Course Assignment (PCA) must be submitted in hard copy. See the PCA deadline in table 2B above. Please read the Grade Descriptors in the PCA Grade Descriptor table. 2.Main Assignment: Case analysis Assignment: Case analysis This assignment is a case analysis. Students are to answer the following case questions. Case 16 – Alarm Ringing: Nokia in 2010 (in textbook). 1. Describe Nokia’s vi sion and mission for its organization and how was it implemented? What suggestions can you provide (if any) that would or would have strategically positioned them in a competitive market? 2. Using the competitive forces model, what alarms should Nokia have identified in their strategic pursuits? 3.In Nokia’s current situation, what strategy and techniques do you suggest to better position them for future growth? 4. What should Nokia have done to compete technologically? 5. What generic business level strategy should Nokia pursues today? What actions the company have to take at the functional level to support this strategy? 6. Nokia when into a strategic alliance with Microsoft, explain what possible competitive advantages could Nokia gain from this relationship. What is Nokia’s new competitive positioning. 13Assignments Guidelines: This is an individual assignment. The aim is to critically appraise issues in Business and corporate level strategies formulation for the f irm. The report should have a cover, content and its main discussion shall not exceed twenty (20) pages. The cover page shall contain the student’s number and full name, and the title of this course. The report shall be in plain white paper and stapled on the top left-hand corner, no file is required. Font – Times New Roman or Ariel 12 pts and line spacing is 1. 5.A good quality work will requires: o o o o o o o Evidence of wide & relevant (and correctly referenced) reading and research; Presentation of a balanced and well considered argument; Originality; Knowledge and understanding of key concepts; Analysis and level of argument, Good use of appropriate frameworks, theory or models; Good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of models used; A logical conclusion fitting the arguments presented and, Demonstration of a clear and concise writing style. Please see page 18 for assessment and grading standards.Students should familiarize themselves with the Univ ersity’s policy on the late submission of coursework. This Main Assignment must be submitted to your Programme Manager in hard copy. See the deadline in table 2B. Please read the Grade Descriptors in the Main Assignment Grade Descriptor table. 14 4. Examination: 5. The examination (3 hours) will focus on module themes and the material covered in the text, cases, assigned readings, videos and class discussions. For this, students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of theory and practice addressed throughout the module.The examination question format will be designed to allow you show your understanding of the topics discussed and also reveal your learning (new and prior). More specific guidelines regarding the examination paper format and questions will be provided during the final session. 6. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about its design and style and be advised the type of answers expected. 7. A recent past examination paper is included in Appendix 3 of this Study Guide, please be prepared for slightly different style of question PART 5: GRADINGThis section of the Study Guide provides students with details of the UCD grading system and also explains criterion referenced grading (UCD Policy). Under criterion referenced grading, students are graded on the quality of their work without reference to other students (norm referenced). For instance, the submission that meets the required guidelines in terms of writing style, analysis, description and / or summary will be awarded according to the standards set out. All students’ work is graded to indicate the standard attained using the criterion referenced approach.Table 3: UCD Grading System Grade A+ A AB+ B BC+ Very good Excellent Description Grade Point 4. 2 4. 0 3. 8 3. 6 3. 4 3. 2 3. 0 15 C CD+ D DE F G Good 2. 8 2. 6 2. 4 Acceptable 2. 2 2. 0 Marginal Fail (unacceptable, no compensation) Fail (Wholly unacceptable; no compensation) 1. 6 1. 0 0. 4 NG Fail (Wholly unacceptable; no relevant attempt) 0. 0 More specific grade descriptors are set out for your assessment components in the following pages. Table 4 below provides descriptors for the Pre-Module Assignment – please read them prior to submitting your work.Table 4: Grade Descriptors – Pre-Module Assignment Grade Criteria Paper is exceptionally well searched. Extremely detailed and accurate with critical evidence A3 from a wide variety of sources that is all properly cited. Strong evidences of wide & relevant originality, knowledge and understanding of key concepts, analysis and level of argument. Exceptionally critical, relevant and consistent connections made between arguments, evidence, subtopics, showing excellent analysis. Presentation of a balanced and well considered argument.Demonstration of a clear and concise writing style. Paper is well researched in detail with accurate & critical evidence from a variety of sources B that is properly cited. Evidences of wide & relevant originality, knowledge and understanding of key concepts, analysis and level of argument. Consistent connections made between While the criteria detailed above refer to A – D grades (inclusive) only, please note that all bands will be used (A+, A and A-; B+, B and B- etc) for grading assignments. 3 16 vidence, subtopics, arguments & thesis / topic showing good analysis Some aspects of paper is researched with some accurate evidence from limited sources with C some citations. Some connections made between evidence, subtopics, arguments & thesis / topic showing analysis. -limited information on topic with lack of research, details or accurate evidence D -limited connections made between evidence, subtopics, counterarguments & thesis / topic -lack of analysis Table 5: Grade Descriptors – Main assignment Grade Criteria Paper is exceptionally well searched.Extremely detailed and accurate with critical evidence A4 from a wide variety of sources that is all properly cited. Strong evidences of wide & relevant originality, knowledge and understanding of key concepts, analysis and level of argument. Exceptionally critical, relevant and consistent connections made between arguments, evidence, subtopics, showing excellent analysis. Presentation of a balanced and well considered argument. Demonstration of a clear and concise writing style. Paper is well researched in detail with accurate & critical evidence from a variety of sourcesB that is properly cited. Evidences of wide & relevant originality, knowledge and understanding of key concepts, analysis and level of argument. Consistent connections made between evidence, subtopics, arguments & thesis / topic showing good analysis Some aspects of paper is researched with some accurate evidence from limited sources with C some citations. Some connections made between evidence, subtopics, arguments & thesis / topic showing analysis. -limited information on topic with lack of research, details or accurate evidence D limited connections made between evidence, subtopics, counterarguments & thesis / topic -lack of analysis While the criteria detailed above refer to A – D grades (inclusive) only, please note that all bands will be used (A+, A and A-; B+, B and B- etc) for grading assignments. 4 17 NB All students are advised to read the UCD Business School Code of Practice for Group work – see Appendix 1. TABLE 6: Grade Descriptors – Formal Closed Book Examination Grade Characteristics Answers are extremely detailed and accurate with critical evidence from a wide variety of sources.Strong evidences of wide & relevant knowledge and understanding of key A concepts, analysis and level of argument. Exceptionally critical, relevant and consistent in addressing the question and made between arguments, evidence, subtopics, showing excellent analysis. Presentation of a balanced and well considered argument. Demonstration of a clear and concise writing style. Answers have goo d detail with accurate & critical evidence from a variety of sources. Evidences of wide & relevant originality, knowledge and understanding of key concepts, B nalysis and level of argument. Consistent in addressing the question and made between arguments, evidence, subtopics, showing good analysis. Demonstration of a clear and concise writing style. C Some aspects of answers have good detail with some accurate evidence from limited sources. Address some aspect of the question and made between arguments, evidence, subtopics, showing good analysis. -limited information on topic with lack of details or accurate evidence. D -limited connections made between evidence, subtopics, counterarguments & thesis / topic. lack of coherent analysis. PART 6: CONCLUDING COMMENTS This Study Guide is designed to assist and guide your learning for this module. It is important that you read it regularly and do so in conjunction with the core text, the assigned readings and session materials. Should you need clarification on issues covered, please let me know during the seminar sessions. I hope you enjoy the module and wish you good luck with the rest of your study and for the future. 18 Name of Module Co-ordinator, Dr. Richard Tan Date: Oct 2012 19 APPENDIX 1:You are advised to read the following important documents before you commence your studies on this module: 1. Guidelines for the Late Submission of Coursework This document provides a detailed outline of the rules and regulations surrounding the presentation, submission and marking of assignments. The guidelines provided must be adhered at all times to avoid an unnecessary loss of marks. Further details on www. ucd. ie/registry/academicsecretariat/late_sub. pdf 2. A Briefing Document for Students on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism.The University understands plagiarism to be the inclusion of another person’s writings or ideas or works, in any formally presented work (including essays, theses, examinations, projects, l aboratory reports, oral, poster or slide presentations) which form part of the assessment requirements for a module or programme of study, without due acknowledgement either wholly or in part of the original source of the material through appropriate citation. Further details please go to www. ucd. ie/registry/academicsecretariat/plag_pol_proc. pdf Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty.In any assignment, plagiarism means that you have presented information or ideas belonging to someone else falsely as being your own original thoughts on a subject. All assessments/projects submitted must be the result of your own work. The following statement must be included on the cover page of all assignments submitted: I declare that all materials included in this essay/report/project/dissertation is the end result of my own work and that due acknowledgement have been given in the bibliography and references to ALL sources be they printed, electronic or personal. Signed: Student name/s, stu dent number Date: 0 APPENDIX 2: Note to Students: Providing a copy of this paper does not signify that future papers will follow the exact same format. SEMESTER I EXAMINATION 210 Academic Year – 2009/10 MASTER OF SCIENCE (Singapore) MSc9/10 Full-Time BMGT 4025S Business Policy Professor John Benson Professor Brian Fynes Dr. Paul McGrath Professor Pat Gibbons* Mr. Richard Tan* Time Allowed: 2 Hours Instructions for Candidates Answer any TWO (2) questions. All questions carry equal marks. 21 Question 1 Write an essay explaining the concept of the Resource-based view in strategic planning and formulation.In your discussion explain and emphasise how resources and capabilities can lead to a competitive advantage. Also illustrate the five-steps describing the linkages between resource identification and strategic decisions that will lead to above-average returns. Illustrate your answer with reference to the Apple case study or from your group project. Question 2 In September 2001, two leading players in the global computer industry – Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) and Compaq Computer Corporation (Compaq) – announced their merger.HP bought Compaq for US$ 24 billion in stocks and it was the biggest deal in the history of the computer industry. However, the acquisition strategy to achieve strategic advantage and competitiveness did not succeed and the performance of the merged firms suffered. Identify and explain the reasons for HP’s decision to acquire Compaq. In your discussion provide insights as to the likely reasons for the poor performance after the firms merged. Question 3 When Apple launched its iPhone into the mobile phone market, many competitors responded and attacked. Describe and discuss why Apple was attacked by competitors.In your discussion you should consider and explain the concept of market commonality and resource similarity that increases the likelihood of an attack. Also offer insights into Apple’s competitor aware ness, motivation and ability that increases the likelihood of strategic action against others. Question 4 Strategic alliance is a primary type of cooperative strategy. This is an alternative strategy a firm could use to grow, develop value-creating competitive advantages, and create differences between them and competitors. Write an essay and explain in detail the 3 main types of strategic alliances.In addition, offer insights into the benefits for a firm entering into an alliance in the slow, fast and standard-cycle markets. Illustrate your discussion with any other examples you feel to be relevant. Question 5 Write an essay that explains in detail the concept of cost leadership strategy as a competitive strategy. In your discussion, explain and provide insights into the cost reduction strategies a company can adopt in order to achieve cost leadership within a strategic group. 22 Illustrate your answer with reference to competitive strategies in the Personal computer industry (Acer , Dell, etc) oOo 23

Address Resolution Protocol

————————————————- Address Resolution Protocol The  Address Resolution Protocol  (ARP) is a  computer networking  protocol for determining a network host's link layer or hardware address when only its  Internet Layer  (IP) or  Network Layer  address is known. This function is critical in local area networking as well as for routing internetworking traffic across gateways (routers) based on  IP addresses  when the next-hop router must be determined. ARP was defined by  RFC 826  in 1982. [1]  It is  Internet Standard  STD 37. ARP has been implemented in many types of networks, such as  Internet Protocol  (IP) network,  CHAOS,  DECNET, Xerox  PARC Universal Packet,  Token Ring,  FDDI,  IEEE 802. 11  and other  LAN  technologies, as well as the modern high capacity networks, such as  Asynchronous Transfer Mode  (ATM). Due to the overwhelming prevalence of  IPv4  and Ethernet in general networking, ARP is most frequently used to translate  IPv4 addresses  into Ethernet  MAC addresses. In the next generation Internet Protocol,  IPv6, ARP's functionality is provided by the  Neighbor Discovery Protocol  (NDP). ———————————————— Overview and IPv4-plus-Ethernet example Consider a LAN where machines using IPv4 over Ethernet wish to communicate. A sender wishes to send a message to some other machine on the LAN and knows a destination IPv4 address. The destination IPv4 address is hopefully associated with some appropriate network interface belonging to the recipient machine, and is present on the LAN. But in order for communication to succeed, the sending machine  first needs to discover the ethernet MAC address of the intended recipient network interface. This requirement comes about because Ethernet hardware does not (necessarily) understand IPv4 protocols or IPv4 addresses in the sense that Ethernet hardware ‘listens out for' relevant Ethernet MAC addresses but does not ‘listen out for' IPv4 addresses. (An impractical alternative would be to have all units listen to every Ethernet packet and inspect the contents for relevant IPv4 addresses, discarding the packets that are intended for other devices, but this would be very inefficient. ) So before sending an IPv4 packet, the sender sends a roadcast message onto the LAN using ARP in order to discover the Ethernet MAC address of some interface that is listening for that desired target IPv4 address. Some appropriate unit replies that it has a network interface with a certain MAC address that is associated with the IPv4 address in question. The original would-be sender now has the information needed and can go ahead and send its IPv4 packet to the destination inserting it int o an Ethernet frame with the correct destination MAC address for the appropriate recipient. The sender's operating system also stores the newly discovered MAC address in a table (‘caches' the result). This table of mappings from IPv4 addresses to MAC addresses is retained and consulted again and again, so the ARP discovery procedure only has to be performed one time, when a packet is sent to a ‘new' destination IPv4 address. ————————————————- Operating scope The Address Resolution Protocol is a low level request and answer protocol that is communicated on the media access level of the underlying network. For  Ethernet  systems, an ARP message is the payload of Ethernet packets. ARP therefore operates only across the local link that a host is connected to. Within the framework of the  Internet Protocol Suite, this characteristic makes ARP a  Link Layer  protocol. [2] ARP is also very often discussed in terms of the  Open Systems Interconnect  (OSI)  networking model, because that model addresses hardware-to-software interfaces more explicitly and is preferred by some equipment manufacturers. However, ARP was not developed based on the design principles and strict encapsulation hierarchy of this model and, therefore, such discussions create a number of conflicts as to the exact operating layer within this model. Most often ARP is placed into the  Data Link Layer  (Layer 2), but since it requires the definitions of network addresses of the  Network Layer, it is not unusual to find it referenced at that layer. An example of use in OSI networking, is ATMARP, used to resolve  Asynchronous Transfer Mode  (ATM)  NSAP  addresses in IP over ATM deployments. ————————————————- Packet structure The  Address Resolution Protocol  uses a simple message format that contains one address resolution request or response. The size of the ARP message depends on the upper layer and lower layer address sizes, which are given by the type of networking protocol (usually  IPv4) in use and the type of hardware or virtual link layer that the upper layer protocol is running on. The message header specifies these types, as well as the size of addresses of each. The message header is completed with the operation code for request (1) and reply (2). The payload of the packet consists of four addresses, the hardware and protocol address of the sender and receiver hosts. The principal packet structure of ARP packets is shown in the following table which illustrates the case of IPv4 networks running on Ethernet. In this scenario, the packet has 48-bit fields for the sender hardware address (SHA) and target hardware address (THA), and 32-bit fields for the corresponding sender and target protocol addresses (SPA and TPA). Thus, the ARP packet size in this case is 28 bytes. Hardware type (HTYPE) This field specifies the Link Layer protocol type. Example: Ethernet is 1. Protocol type (PTYPE) This field specifies the upper layer protocol for which the ARP request is intended. For example, Internet Protocol (IPv4) is encoded as 0x0800. Hardware length (HLEN) Length (in  octets) of a hardware address. Ethernet addresses size is 6. Protocol length (PLEN) Length (in octets) of a  logical address  of the specified protocol (cf. PTYPE). IPv4 address size is 4. Operation Specifies the operation that the sender is performing: 1 for request, 2 for reply. Sender hardware address (SHA) Hardware (MAC) address of the sender. Sender protocol address (SPA) Upper layer protocol address of the sender. Target hardware address (THA) Hardware address of the intended receiver. This field is ignored in requests. Target protocol address (TPA) Upper layer protocol address of the intended receiver. ARP protocol parameter values have been standardized and are maintained by  IANA Internet Protocol (IPv4) over Ethernet ARP packet| bit offset| 0 – 7| 8 – 15| 0| Hardware type (HTYPE)| 16| Protocol type (PTYPE)| 32| Hardware address length (HLEN)| Protocol address length (PLEN)| 48| Operation (OPER)| 64| Sender hardware address (SHA) (first 16 bits)| 80| (next 16 bits)| 96| (last 16 bits)| 112| Sender protocol address (SPA) (first 16 bits)| 128| (last 16 bits)| 144| Target hardware address (THA) (first 16 bits)| 160| (next 16 bits)| 76| (last 16 bits)| 192| Target protocol address (TPA) (first 16 bits)| 208| (last 16 bits)| ————————————————- ARP probe An  ARP probe  is an ARP request constructed with an all-zero  sender IP address. The term is used in the  IPv4 Addre ss Conflict Detection  specification (RFC 5227). Before beginning to use an IPv4 address (whether received from manual configuration, DHCP, or some other means), a host implementing this specification must test to see if the address is already in use, by broadcasting ARP probe packets. ————————————————- ARP announcements ARP may also be used as a simple announcement protocol. This is useful for updating other host's mapping of a hardware address when the sender's IP address or MAC address has changed. Such an announcement, also called a  gratuitous ARP  message, is usually broadcast as an ARP request containing the sender's protocol address (SPA) in the target field (TPA=SPA), with the target hardware address (THA) set to zero. An alternative is to broadcast an ARP reply with the sender's hardware and protocol addresses (SHA and SPA) duplicated in the target fields (TPA=SPA, THA=SHA). An ARP announcement is not intended to solicit a reply; instead it updates any cached entries in the ARP tables of other hosts that receive the packet. The operation code may indicate a request or a reply because the ARP standard specifies that the opcode is only processed after the ARP table has been updated from the address fields. [4][5][6] Many operating systems perform gratuitous ARP during startup. That helps to resolve problems which would otherwise occur if, for example, a network card was recently changed (changing the IP-address-to-MAC-address mapping) and other hosts still have the old mapping in their ARP caches. Gratuitous ARP is also used by some interface drivers to effect load balancing for incoming traffic. In a team of network cards, it is used to announce a different MAC address within the team that should receive incoming packets. ARP announcements can be used to defend  link-local  IP addresses in the  Zeroconf  protocol (RFC 3927), and for IP address takeover within  high-availability clusters. ————————————————- ARP mediation ARP mediation  refers to the process of resolving Layer 2 addresses when different resolution protocols are used on multiple connected circuits, e. . , ATM on one end and Ethernet on the others. ————————————————- Inverse ARP and Reverse ARP The  Inverse Address Resolution Protocol  (Inverse ARP or InARP), is a protocol used f or obtaining  Network Layer  addresses (e. g. ,  IP addresses) of other nodes from  Data Link Layer(Layer 2) addresses. It is primarily used in  Frame Relay  (DLCI) and ATM networks, in which Layer 2 addresses of  virtual circuits  are sometimes obtained from Layer 2 signaling, and the corresponding Layer 3 addresses must be available before these virtual circuits can be used. As ARP translates Layer 3 addresses to Layer 2 addresses, InARP may be described as its inverse. In addition, InARP is actually implemented as a protocol extension to ARP. It uses the same packet format from ARP; but has different operation codes. Reverse Address Resolution Protocol  (Reverse ARP or RARP), like InARP, also translates Layer 2 addresses to Layer 3 addresses. However, while in InARP the requesting station is querying the Layer 3 address of another node, RARP is used to obtain the Layer 3 address of the requesting station itself for address configuration purposes. RARP is now obsolete. It was replaced by  BOOTP, which was later superseded by the  Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol  (DHCP). ————————————————- Proxy ARP Proxy ARP  (Address Resolution Protocol) is a technique by which a device on a given network answers the  ARP  queries for a  network address  that is not on that network. The ARP Proxy is aware of the location of the traffic's destination, and offers its own MAC address in reply, effectively saying, â€Å"send it to me, and I'll get it to where it needs to go. Serving as an ARP Proxy for another host effectively directs LAN traffic to the Proxy. The â€Å"captured† traffic is then typically routed by the Proxy to the intended destination via another interface or via a  tunnel. The process which results in the node responding with its own MAC address to an ARP request for a different IP address for proxying purposes is sometimes referred to as ‘publishing'. ————————————————- Uses Below are some typical uses for proxy ARP: Joining a broadcast LAN with  serial  links (e. g. ,  dialup  or  VPN  connections). Assume an Ethernet broadcast domain (e. g. , a group of stations connected to the same hub) using a certain IPv4 address range (e. g. , 192. 168. 0. 0/24, where 192. 168. 0. 1 – 192. 168. 0. 127 are assigned to wired nodes). One or more of the nodes is an  access router  accepting dialup or VPN connections. The access router gives the dial-up nodes IP addressses in the range 192. 168. 0. 128 – 192. 168. 0. 254; for this example, assume a dial-up node gets IP address 192. 168. 0. 254. The access router uses Proxy ARP to make the dial-up node present in the subnet without being wired into the Ethernet: he access server ‘publishes' its own MAC address for 192. 168. 0. 254. Now, when another node wired into the Ethernet wants to talk to the dial-up node, it will ask on the network for the MAC address of 192. 168. 0. 254 and find the access server's MAC address. It will therefore send its IP packets to the access server, and the access server will know to pass them on to the particular dial-up node. All dial-up nodes therefore appear to the wired Ethernet nodes as if they are wired into the same Ethernet subnet. Taking multiple addresses from a LAN Assume a station (e. g. , a server) with an interface (10. 0. 0. 2) connected to a network (10. 0. 0. 0/24). Certain applications may require multiple IP addresses on the server. Provided the addresses have to be from the 10. 0. 0. 0/24 range, the way the problem is solved is through Proxy ARP. Additional addresses (say, 10. 0. 0. 230-10. 0. 0. 240) are  aliased  to the  loopbackinterface of the server (or assigned to special interfaces, the latter typically being the case with  VMware/UML/jails/vservers/other virtual server environments) and ‘published' on the 10. . 0. 2 interface (although many operating systems allow direct allocation of multiple addresses to one interface, thus eliminating the need for such tricks). On a firewall In this scenario a firewall can be configured with a single IP address. One simple example of a use for this would be placing a firewall in front of a single host or group of hosts on a subnet. Example- A network (10. 0. 0. 0/8) has a serve r which should be protected (10. 0. 0. 20) a proxy-arp firewall can be placed in front of the server. In this way the server is put behind a firewall without making any changes to the network at all. Mobile-IP In case of  Mobile-IP  the Home Agent uses Proxy ARP in order to receive messages on behalf of the Mobile Node, so that it can forward the appropriate message to the actual mobile node's address (Care Of Address). Transparent subnet gatewaying A setup that involves two physical segments sharing the same IP subnet and connected together via a  router. This use is documented in  RFC 1027 ————————————————- Advantages The advantage of Proxy ARP over other networking schemes is simplicity. A network can be extended using this technique without the knowledge of the upstream router. For example, suppose a host, say A, wants to contact another host B, where B is on a different subnet/broadcast domain than A. For this, host A will send an  ARP  request with a Destination IP address of B in its ARP packet. The multi-homed router which is connected to both the subnets, responds to host A's request with its MAC address instead of host B's actual  MAC  address, thus proxying for host B. In the due course of time, when host A sends a packet to the router which is actually destined to host B, the router just forwards the packet to host B. The communication between host A and B is totally unaware of the router proxying for each other. ————————————————- Disadvantages Disadvantage of Proxy ARP include scalability (ARP resolution is required for every device routed in this manner) and reliability (no fallback mechanism is present, and masquerading can be confusing in some environments). It should be noted that ARP manipulation techniques, however, are the basis for protocols providing  redundancy  on broadcast networks (e. g. ,Ethernet), most notably  CARP  and  Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol. Proxy ARP can create DoS attacks on networks if misconfigured. For example a misconfigured router with proxy ARP has the ability to receive packets destined for other hosts (as it gives its own MAC address in response to ARP requests for other hosts/routers), but may not have the ability to correctly forward these packets on to their final destination, thus blackholing the traffic.

Assignment on human growth and development

Assignment on human growth and development This essay uses theoretical perspectives of social sciences relevant to human growth and development by demonstrating the socialisation process and the impact of family structures on the normal development of Gerry. It uses the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explore the effects of poverty on Gerry’s infancy and it will use Balter, Catherin & Tamis-Lemonda to support Maslow’s philosophy needs. Furthermore it will go on to use Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis to show the effects of attachment during Gerry’s infancy. More still with the use of Erikson’s stages of identity versus role confusion to discuss Gerry’s adolescence, the theory of generativity versus stagnation to explore his adulthood developmental task of his contributing and stagnation to society and finally the psychological crisis of ego integrity verses despair to explain the effects and causes during his development in middle adulthood. However, other psychologists theories will be used to support Erikson’s theories or critic them. During his infancy, 0-2 years by Piaget (1936) (cited in Crawford and Walker 2009 p 22), Gerry and his family experienced poverty because his father had been made redundant. This means that Gerry’s family could not afford to meet his basic needs. According to Maslow’s pyramedical model (1970) ( cited Steers 1998: p21 ) lower -level needs such as food, clothing and shelter have to be fulfilled to a reasonable degree before the more advanced need levels such as self actualisation, esteem, love/ belonging ,and safety are met. It can be argued that the failure of Gerry’s family to meet his basic needs had a profound effect on his development. This argument is supported by Balter, Catherin & Tamis- Lemonda. They argue that â€Å"children growing up in poverty develop developmental delays in intellectual development. Social, emotional and behavioural problems† (Balter, Catherin & Tamis- Lemonda 2003: p.391) (cited Chafel, 1993 and Garbarino, 1993). Poverty goes hand in hand with gross inequality, unemployment and adverse consequences for poor people and society as a whole. Deprivation experienced by poor families affects their quality of life, their health and life expectancy and the education outcomes of their children. Poverty brings despair and fear† Rebach and Bruhn (2001: p. 369). This argument is supported by Spode and Saracho, (2006) (cited in Duncan and Brook-Gunn, 1997), who say that â€Å"children growing up in poverty develop more emotional and behavioural problems than children who live in above the poverty line. This is because early cognitive and behavioural outcomes show to predict later school success†. Another challenge that Gerry encountered was maternal deprivation. This occurred when his mother was in hospital during the birth of Lily and as a result, Gerry had to be looked after by his grandmother. According to Bowlby’s (19 53, 1969) (cited in Smith, Cowe and Blades 2004 p106) maternal deprivation hypothesis, â€Å"children should not be deprived of contact with the mother during a critical period when the primary attachment relationship is being formed†. He also believed that both mother and baby were predisposed biologically to stay in contact and only this relationship would allow normal development. However, critiques of Bowlby like (Oakley 1981) (cited in Holmes 1993: p. 45) argue that to generalise that any separation of mother from child in the first three years of life is likely to be damaging is unwarranted. Oakley further argued that there is no harm in entrusting the infant to the care of a responsible grandmother or baby-minder.

Fast Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fast Food - Essay Example not just limited to any particular region or country and town, rather all over the world fast food is quite common and strongly followed and like all over the world. However being the most ubiquitous form of food that is available in every nook and corner, it has resulted in plenty of criticism from the experts over ages and has been tested for many cases of improper diet. American teen agers are perhaps the most frequent ones and most fond of fast food. For this reason this generation is called the fast food generation (Schlosser). They are fonder of this food than the conventional form, be it their schools, their evening outings, all around they would prefer fast foods. The modern generation and modern times are termed as fast food generation and fast food era respectively. Since every individual is enrolled and associated with the consumption of fast food in one way or the other, therefore they have become an integral part of modern day civilizations. They have a direct negative impact on the pregnant women as well. A multi billion industry that cannot be packed up by any means, and statistics showing the business being expanded by very high proportion around the world. In the United States, one out of three adults is a regular eater of fast food and as a result are not able to stop their children from eating the junk food. Other survey conducted in this regard resulted in showing that some of them ate the food in company of their children; as a result the children are in direct line of attack as well whenever their parents visit the fast food chains. Study conducted over number of school students and their usage of fast food showed considerable percentage of increase in obesity due to the amount of fast food intake, and the amount of weight gained is staggeringly alarming(Currie, Moretti, et.al). While fast foods may not be all unhealthy food items, the problem associated is that of extremely high energy food intake in form of fast food and further on,

Women as Spies in the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Women as Spies in the Civil War - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that although the role of espionage has been admitted to be a very important factor through the entire course of the American Civil War in most historical records, it has been denied the deserving respect in terms of detailed narratives elaborating upon the actual significance of the roles played by spies. This holds true even more in case of women who served as undercover agents.   The author has rightly presented that this unavailability of detailed mention in records results primarily from the nature of the job itself. Often, records would be destroyed to protect the identities of the agents by themselves or by other officials. So, the historian addressing this issue would have to seek out often intentionally obscured and carefully camouflaged tracks by the agents themselves, officials of both the governments and last but not the least, time. The paper tells that proper chronicling of Civil War intelligence activities is thus a strenuo us challenge due to the absence of records, the absence of access to records, and also the dubiousness of the available records. The confederacy’s state secretary, Judah P. Benjamin burned all records related to intelligence activities that he could find when the news of the Federal troops entering Richmond came. On the other hand, till 1953, Intelligence records belonging to the Union were kept sealed in the National archives.

Gender and Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gender and Work - Essay Example been expected to find work and earn for the livelihood of the family, and the women have stayed home, bearing children, caring for the immediate needs of the family. From the 1950s onwards, new trends were observed as women have been prompted by financial constraints to find work and also help sustain family needs. Such trends grew to more significant proportions, to the current trends which have now been observed in society. Men and women are now equally expected to find work, have careers, or simply work for themselves, not necessarily for their families. Regardless of the seeming egalitarian situation such work conditions have created, issues on discrimination have still been observed. Moreover, such issues have also been very much apparent as far as leadership or managerial positions are concerned. The male: female ratio for managers in organizations very much favours more men occupying leadership roles. However, organizations are often quick to dismiss such trend, arguing that t he difference is mainly caused by the fact that men are more interested in gaining managerial roles, and that women can have as much chance to be leaders much as men. This argumentative essay shall analyse the issue or contention that: Women are being discriminated in the workplace in relation to leadership or managerial roles and positions. This essay shall first provide facts relating to statistical figures on women versus male leadership ratio in organizations. Next, it shall argue on one hand how women are still being discriminated against for leadership roles. A different perspective on the argument will also be presented. Also, both sides of the argument will be considered in order to indicate a logical and well-evidenced position on the issue. A conclusion will summarize the arguments and provide a clear and logical answer to the issue raised. A reflective analysis will also provide a personal perspective on the issue. Although women are already making up a huge proportion of

E-government Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

E-government - Dissertation Example It is worth mentioning that the aspect of e-government represents a dynamic process, constant innovations incorporated within advanced technologies and upgraded development of products along with processes. Consequently, the goal related to e-government depicts management of human as well as public finances and service delivery. Furthermore, it depicts enhancement of quality of the public services by a considerable level. It further takes into concern the climatic condition of investments that entail business-to-government transactional costs as well as lowers legal burdens. There exist four different models that are being used by the governments to create institutional framework in fulfilling the functions related to policy making as well as strategy formulation. Furthermore, implementation of models concerning e-government fosters effective governance as well as coordination by a greater level (Committee of Experts on Public Administration, 2003). Consequently, the four models repr esent policy along with investment coordination, administrative coordination, technical coordination and shared coordination. These models enhance the effectiveness of e-government related activities at large. With this concern, the concerned study will entail the global status as well as the trends being followed in the e- government sector. It will further entail the different models of e-government. The models of the e-government will include USA, Iraq and UK model. In addition, the study will further entail the historical process related to e-government. The study of the current situation prevailing within Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) forms a part of this study. Information related with the infrastructure of the society of KRG has also been included in this particular study. E-government based strategic targets as well as recommendations for KRG with respect to information society also frame a part of this particular study. The vision of the ministry of KRG linked with e-go vernment approach and its implementation forms a part of the concerned study. 2. Global Status and Trends in e-Government E-government represents the government that pursues to optimise the functions by transforming internal as well as external relationship in terms of applying information and communication technology. There exist certain effective driving forces that help in the development of e-government. World-making agenda helps ‘New Public Management’ coalitions in terms of raising the efficiency as well as the effectiveness within public administration. This further helps in saving with respect to personnel cost and thus raises the excellence of the communal services. Politicians, those who are concerned about societal welfare and the urban civilization based organisations consider e-government as an instrument for effectively managing labour market and reducing geographical constraints with respect to the supply of public services (Committee of Experts on Public Administration, 2003). Concerning with the emerging trends in e-government, it is to be stated that a new concept related to marketing as well as politics has been included in the contents of e- government website. Furthermore, it has been revealed that market value is defined in sub-categories. The subcategories

El Nino And Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

El Nino And Disease - Essay Example Although largely a regional phenomenon, as Fagan portrays, the effects are global in nature, as shown through various analyses. Warm ocean water temperatures, occurring anomalously, do develop from the South American west coast and influence climatic conditions across the vast Pacific Ocean. The El Nià ±o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) refers to different variations, in terms of the surface ocean temperatures along the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Air surface pressure is also affected within the Pacific Ocean’s tropical eastern region with the two variations being coupled (successive in nature). First, is the warm oceanic phase (El Nià ±o), which goes hand in hand with high air surface pressure, within the western Pacific region.Next follows the cold phase, which occurs with low oceanic air pressure. The above scenario portrays two extremes of climatic patterns, with the oscillations causing such conditions as droughts on the one hand, and floods on the other. This is the pr imary reason, why cholera and malaria are the most endemic of diseases significantly influenced by this phenomenon. Regionally, the wider Pacific Ocean is affected, in terms of water temperatures (both above and below the surface); in addition to developing nations, especially those bordering the water mass. These states, majorly dependent upon the fishing industry, and the agricultural sector are thus influenced in more than one way.Not only is their economic basis majorly affected, so too are the prevailing health statistics.

Social work; Critically evaluate its implications for social work Essay

Social work; Critically evaluate its implications for social work practice in challenges in transracial adoption and racial identity - Essay Example In addition, social workers work together with birth families to establish their abilities to continue to engage in their children’s lives as well as to parent, and/or to cope with cessation of parental rights. Social workers assist with placement transitions, and give post-adoption services in order to guarantee enduring and strong adoptive families. It is apparent that adoption is an alternative for young children and older teens, for children of varying ethnic and racial background, and for children with diverse educational, developmental as well as medical needs. This paper will discuss different aspects surrounding transracial adoptions, in particular, the transracial adoption of black children. Transracial adoption is the joining of parents and children of different racial background together in adoptive homes as well as families. It usually occurs through varying types of domestic adoption such as foster care, stepchildren and children in interracial marriages, and international adoption. In transracial adoption, the issue of racial identity features prominently (Lee 2003, 712). Some individuals argue that transracial adoptions will lead to loss of racial identity, particularly if a child is adopted in a family of different race at a very young age. Racial or ethnic identity issue concerns the use of racial or ethnic self-descriptors among transracial adoptees. It also involves attitudes of adopted children towards their race and determines whether they are comfortable or proud with their ethnicity and race. One of the significant elements of transracial adoption is the actual relationship between ethnic and racial occurrences of transracial adoptees and their psychologic al adjustments (Steinberg & Hall 2011, 262). Transracial adoptees exhibit a great deal of variability in their racial or ethnic identities. They have considerably lower racial or ethnic identities compared to same-race adoptees. Domestic

Adoption Should not Be Promoted over Abortion Assignment

Adoption Should not Be Promoted over Abortion - Assignment Example A lot of the times when he brings up adoption, the author does not actually explain what's wrong with it.   He just states that it is wrong and then glosses over the explanation by using shock words. Even though I do not agree with her, the author does present sources for her data that back up her arguments. However, I have seen sources that argue just as convincingly for the opposing opinion. Although the author is arguing for her opinion, she prefers to do so through the presentation of study results and listing the possible consequences. She does not seem interested in using rhetorical devices to make her argument more effective. Yes. Even though the author does not cite articles, he represents several sides of the issue and does not just resort to scare or smear tactics to convince people that he is right and his opponents.  Appeal to Fear – Basically the entire speech.   The author consistently uses terms like â€Å"genocide,† â€Å"scourge,† â€Å"pl ague,† and even compares the issue to the use of gas chambers. Hasty Generalization – The author assumes that all white people are racist.  If a black child is adopted by white parents, he will not be able to cope with racism because his white parents will not know how to teach him it.  The teaching of sex education to children educates them about sex, meaning that they will be more likely to engage in sexual activity.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay Example for Free

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of Scout and Jem, two young children who learn about racism and injustice in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. The childrens father, Atticus, is a lawyer who is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man unjustly accused of rape. It is through this trial, as well as through other characters, that the children learn about the injustices of the world and the need for compassion, a trait that demands that we rise above our selves and see things from another point of view. This different perspective is the crux of compassion for it is only by understanding anothers point of view that we can truly empathize and have compassion for someone who is different from us. It is through compassion that one understands why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, those creatures and people who do no harm and need our understanding. Finally, it is through compassion that we can overcome human weakness, such as prejudice and injustice, and act with integrity and courage. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Arthur Radley, Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson are three characters that demonstrate the need for compassion. One of the few characters that deserve compassion in this novel is Arthur Boo Radley. His father prohibits him from leaving the house and having any contact with the rest of Maycomb. Thus, it is just about impossible for him to even live a normal life. Moreover, Arthurs mysterious lifestyle inevitably leads to frequent false accusations that more than hurt his reputation. From Arthur Radley, Jem and Scout as well as the reader learns that what one may think of another may not be true until they completely understand things from that individuals standpoint. As Mrs. Maudie says it, they dont do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. Thats why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This quote is a perfect description of Arthur and how he treats others. It tells the reader that like a mockingbird, he does good deeds for others and asks of nothing in return. For instance, in the novel Arthur puts gifts in an oak tree for Jem and Scout to enjoy. In addition, towards the end of the book, he rescues them from Bob Ewells sudden attack. Yet, a person worthy of compassion does not necessarily have to perform good deeds. A good model of this is Mayella Ewell. In a society so concentrated on ones wealth, it is hard for anyone like Mayella Ewell to meet its expectations. Therefore, one may also be compassionate towards Mayella. Living in poverty, she has to struggle to support seven siblings along with a drunken father. Whats more is that her familys past not only affects others outlook on her; it takes away from her sense of worth as well. She has no friends and through the trial Scout realizes that she must have been the loneliest person in the world. Harper Lee also informs us that the Ewells have brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if the belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson. She further states that these flowers belong to Mayella. Since having no friends, Mayella turns to gardening. She treats the flowers as though they were her only friends and cares for them dearly. This shows that she is just a normal child who needs as much care and attention as anyone. But because of her family history others dont feel the need to have compassion for her. Also as a result of her horrible upbringing, Mayella soon makes a choice that would eventually ruin another mockingbird. Deserving more compassion than anyone is Tom Robinson. Tom, a poor black male, has to make a great effort to provide for a wife and four kids. He is a hard working and sincere man whose only mistake was having sympathy for Mayella Ewell. He tries to do her favor but because of the racism in Maycomb, Tom is soon accused of raping Mayella and founded guilty. Losing hope, he tries to flee but is soon shot down because of his crippled arm. Then shortly after Toms death Scout finds a roly-poly in the house. Why couldnt I mash him? I asked. Because they dont bother you, Jem answered in the darkness. The roly-poly is a perfect portrayal Tom Robinson in that both of them had not done anything to cause any harm. Nevertheless, they are both punished. Jem understands this because he feels compassion for the insect as well as compassion for Tom. As Arthur, Mayella and Toms situations show, having compassion is a  necessity when dealing with others. Through compassion we understand from a different perspective what someone experiences. It is through this perspective that we rise above our differences and accept what is truly there. Without compassion, discrimination, injustice and rivalry will surely prevail.

Advertisment Essay Example for Free

Advertisment Essay â€Å"Someone’s trash is another person’s treasure.† Trash can be used to describe many things, things like objects dirty or worthless. We rarely think of trash to be used to describe a person for their worth or their looks. The media today tries to portray a â€Å"perfect† image of what a person should look like when in reality people are beautiful just the way they are. Nobody is trash. The advertisement that I choose was one that was promoting Gold’s Gym. The picture was of a black metal trashcan tilted ever so slightly to the left, but standing firmly in powdery whitish yellow beach sand. The trashcans shadow lays to the right of it assuming that it is a little past mid day. The background is bursting with colors ranging from white, blue, and green in the ocean and a baby blue in the sky with wispy clouds barely covering the sky. The main object in the picture is the trashcan. It is a black metal can with a yellow color wrapped around the middle third of it. In the yellow, a text is written in black and it says, â€Å"Keep Our Beaches Beautiful† and in smaller font says, â€Å"(and pick up the trash, too).† Finally, on the bottom â€Å"Gold’s Gym† is written in bold gold font, on the black trashcan, a little smaller than the other font. The colors are vivid in contrast, making the picture warm and it creates instant happiness. The bright yellow stands out from the black trashcan causing the observer to first focus on the trashcan and the writing. Once the observer reads what the trashcan has to say, they then look out onto the ideal ocean with the almost perfect sand that looks as playable as a puppy and as soft as a pillow. That is the view of beautiful. The ad has a double meaning to it. The trashcan is there to keep the beach clean from all the trash. Beautiful. The writing on the trashcan saying, â€Å"Keep our beaches beautiful† and then Gold’s Gym advertising written under that is promoting that people go and workout at the gym to be fit. Beautiful. What is beauty? According to this, the ad claims that at least a part of being beautiful is working out and looking fit. Is that really true beauty? People work hard to become that â€Å"perfect† image that society and the media has embedded in our minds. This was most likely a hugely successful ad, solely because it hit close to home with many people who have low self-esteem. â€Å"The ‘Beach body’ can be achieved by signing up for a year at Gold’s Gym,† is what people are thinking when they see this ad. The beach looks so beautiful in the ad that people become motivated enough to work out so they look â€Å"good† at the beach rather than being the â€Å"trash† on the beach. They just want to fit it and have a sense of belonging. Are people really trash? The ad sure thinks so. Even though the trashcan aspect is directed more so to the actual trash that is on the beach, it still symbolizes that people are trash if they are ugly. A person can become beautiful by attending Gold’s Gym, so why wouldn’t they just do that if that were all they needed to become beautiful? People nowadays are so focused on body image; women start having eating disorders in order to be â€Å"beautiful†, while men think they are only beautiful if they have a six pack or huge muscles. The advertiser at least thinks that he is good looking or fit in order to have credibility. They have a high sense of self-esteem because they think that being beautiful relates solely to a person’s appearance rather then as a whole, both inside and out. This ad is about more than just keeping beaches clean and promoting Gold’s Gym, it is about the image of people. The media has twisted the real image of people so much so that if a person doesn’t look good then they are called â€Å"trash.† Are people really trash?

The Impact Of Ict On Accommodation Sector Tourism Essay

The Impact Of Ict On Accommodation Sector Tourism Essay Domestic and international tourism in New Zealand has grown significantly in the past decade and shows every sign of continuing to do so. A vital component of the tourism industry is the Accommodation sector. Over 3000 accommodation enterprises employ more than 20,000 New Zealanders on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis and bring important economic benefit to both rural and urban settings. The accommodation sector is characterised by considerable uptake of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in areas such as bookings, Property Management System (PMS) and back-office functions. This research aims to create a better understanding of how ICT adoption is influencing the demand for, and use of, accommodation in this important sector and how enterprise owners and managers feel about the ICT issues that stem from the tourist influences. The research is based on: (i) a review of global and local research in tourism, ICT and accommodation use; our findings reveal that ICT adoption is having important impacts on accommodation use and demand in both small and large enterprises, the researcher conclude with the presentation of a major findings and some thoughts on approaches that may enhance the ability of the accommodation sector to cope with the complex interactions between ICT adoption and tourism activities. 1.2 INTRODUCTION The increasing use of the Internet and other communication technology is changing the way the industry does business, allowing small operators to access those interested in their product irrespective of location, and allowing firms of all types to reap productivity gains, (Bahalis 1998, 2003). Tourists are also able to benefit from additional transparency in pricing and the ability to customize the experiences they seek (Inkpen 1998; Milne et al 2004). Medlik and Ingram (2000) stated in many years, hotel are important attractions for visitors who bring with them spending power and who tend to spend at a higher rate than they do when they are at home. Through visitors spending, hotel thus often contributes significantly to local economies both directly and indirectly through the subsequent diffusion of the visitors expenditure to other recipients in the community. However, the pattern and structure of the accommodation sector, growth in tourism, increase in capacities, globalisation and technology innovations has been the contemporary force for the hotel chains to extend their presence worldwide, achieving huge marketing success and market identity. Their success is not based only on promoting only one standardised product buy by introducing multiple brands which differentiate their services offered in the eye of the tourists. According to the international Hotel and Restaurant Association (IHRA), there are over 300 hotels chains which comprised one third of the worlds accommodation capacities. New Zealand is very much part of this dynamic and competitive tourism environment. The New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 (TIANZ 2001) identifies tourism as one of the nations key earners of foreign exchange and argues that the industry is likely to play a growing role in the future of New Zealands economy. During 2002 over 2 million international visitors spent an estimated NZ$6.140 billion. Taking into account the direct and indirect effects of this expenditure and the not inconsiderable (but harder to estimate) impacts of domestic tourism we see that the industry contributed approximately 9% of New Zealands GDP for the year to March 2002 and 14.3% of total exports (Statistics New Zealand, 2003). Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are a key element in attempts to enhance the yield of the industry. It has also been suggested that ICT change the very rules of tourism with industry leaders being forced to adopted new managerial and strategic best practice (Buhalis 2000, Law 2001). The New Zealand Tourism Strategy has as one of its key strategic objectives the need to build the ICT capability of New Zealand tourism enterprises, especially among the 85-90% of businesses that are classified as small tourism enterprises (STE) (Nodder et al 2003a). The Strategy identifies tourism as a knowledge and information-based sector and highlights the ability of ICT to collect, analyse and distribute information widely across the sector supporting a better understanding of visitors needs, preferences and behaviours. It is also argued that ICT can foster a higher degree of interaction between stakeholders through an internet presence, email, electronic discussion groups and teleco nferencing. Such networking and linkage formation offers the opportunity to realise enormous benefits (Nodder 2003; Nodder et al 2003). This research addresses these issues in the context of the New Zealand accommodation sector. Accommodation represents the cornerstone of both the international and domestic tourism markets and accounts for a major component of total tourist spend. The sector is relatively labour intensive and is a significant employer in both urban centres and more peripheral rural regions (Morrison and Thomas 1999; Statistics New Zealand 2003). It is a diverse industry including everything from large hotel with multinational organisational structures, through to small owner operated motels and bed and breakfast establishments. 1.3 Aims and Objectives The core objectives of this research are to: To develop a clearer picture of the current competitive context facing the accommodation sector in New Zealand, in order to provide a backdrop to the ICT and labour use dimensions that from the focus of the research. To gain an understanding of how ICT is being adopted and used in the New Zealand accommodation sector and to review wherever possible the differences that exists between small and large operations and between those operating in rural and urban settings. To provide a clear sense of how ICT adoption is influencing the demand for tourist and the workplace organisation and use of workers. In particular we focus on themes of hiring, internal communication, productivity, turnover and retention and processes of customer out-sourcing. To synthesize and discuss findings and present some tentative ideas that can assist the accommodation sector, and the regions that depend on it, to better anticipate and respond to the sometimes complex links between ICT adoptions and tourism demand for modern technology. 1.4 LITERATURE REVIEW It is important to note the international literature has generally shown that in the past small tourism firms have been less likely to implement ICT than their larger counterparts (Mutch, 1998; Paraskevas, 2002; Milev and Marsh 1998). Studies in the US, for example, show that managers in larger properties (greater than 300 rooms) attach significantly more important to the Internet as a tool to make reservations and analyse the competition than their smaller counterparts. Similarly, they rated its importance as a means to communicate with colleagues, vendors and corporate offices significantly higher (Van Hoof, et al, 1998). This is also fits the patterns seen in the studies conducted in the UK (Sigala et al, 2002, Evans and Peacock 1999; Buick, 2003, Main, 2001) and elsewhere (Milne and Pohlmann 1998). Resent years have seen a growing number of small operations embracing ICT for no other reason than they simply have no choice (Ateljevic 2002). The competitive cost of being invisible in a sector that is increasingly dominated by web-based booking systems is too great to bear for small operators who are already facing low margins and growing competition (Buhalis 1999). Thus ICT uptake is growing rapidly and, in the case of New Zealand, the use of computers, email and the Internet is reaching near saturation levels (Nodder et al, 2003a). Nevertheless it is important to note that there are varying levels and degrees of ICT use and many commentators argue that the sophistication with which hard and software is used still lags behind larger operators, even though the actual equipment may be in place (Milne et al, 2004). The reason for the past, and sometimes present, lag in ICT uptake and use by small businesses are many and varied and are inevitable shaped by both internal and external (environmental) factors, ICT use by smaller accommodation operators tends to be dominated by accounting functions, data processing and inventory management tools. While email and website use is also increasingly common as noted above this is not necessarily enough to meet the evolving demands of increasingly technologically savvy consumers. Buhalis and Laws (2001) discuss the behaviour of these new consumers who are becoming more used to interacting in an electronic environment and are increasingly demanding that tourism enterprises be easily accessible on the Internet. Not only do they require access to information but also the ability to book online and submit payment in a secure environment (Mason and Milne 2002; Gatty and Blalock 1998). Buhalis (2003, 143) comments on a number of factors that determine the introduction of ICT by SMTE. Factors originating in political, social and economic forces can lead to the uptake and development of technology as part of broader strategies. Thus it could be said that the new, sophisticated consumer is pushing SMTE to respond and increase efficiencies (Nodder 2003; Milne et al, 2004). Similarly, SMTE who are forming strategic alliances in order to increase their influence on a global market require the support that can be delivered by up-to-date ICT. As pointed out by Cooper (1998), accommodation is the fundamental element of the tourism product, not only is it the largest and most ubiquitous sub-sector within the tourism economy. The accommodation sector is the essential components for the tourism development, planning and economy within any destination and consists of different sub-sectors from which hotels can be considered as the significant one. It is on this premise that Medlik and Ingram (2000), contributed by saying that the primary function of a hotel is to accommodate those away from home and supply them with their basic needs but through the years the diversification in the provision of accommodation as tourism products, change in consumer demand, needs and expectations, globalisation and modernisation challenge has given rise to an increase level of ICT competition among accommodation service providers. The accommodation sector and the impact of technology have had great influence on the distribution of the accommodation products. The development of technology has seen accommodation providers reviewing their marketing strategy and delivering their product via an innovation distribution channel. The Global Distribution Channel (GDS) and Computer Reservation Channel (CRS) represent the strongest distribution system for hotels and international chains. According to Travel Mole (2001), the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association has reported that hotels bookings made through Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Sahara and World span grew 11.4 percent in 2000, with 48,787,000 bookings. The evolution of the internet provide the opportunity for the online booking through a central reservation system as well as the implementation of online marketing strategy and interaction with customers such as the e-commerce. However, it shows that despite the impact of the environment, seasonality or technological, the accommodation industry will still continue to innovate and diversify and expand to cater the demand in tourism products. 1.5 Accommodation, and ICT a review ICT are increasingly recognised as a critical part of the strategic management of accommodation organisations irrespective of size (Buhalis, 2003 p51). Studies of the significant intra-firm impacts of new technologies have been paralleled by broader analyses of ICT ability to alter distribution network and global industry structures (Nodder et al, 2003). Internally there has been a focus on the impact of technologies in both front office and back office areas with an emphasis on point of sale (POS) technologies, in-room entertainment, back-office accounting, human resources management and supplier relationships (Anon 2002b; 2003b, Baker and Sussman 1999). Emphasis on the broader impacts of ICT has been placed on airline-based Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and Computer Reservation Systems (CRS), Property Management Systems (PMS) and Destination Management Systems (DMS) (Milne and Ateljevic 2001). The latter have been used by enterprises to enhance performance in the global distribution channels that dominate international tourist flows, and to create seamless integration between internal technology use and the outside world (Go and Pine 1995; Gray et al, 2000). In simple terms, tools that facilitate the transmission of information and a level of interactivity between tourism operator and consumer are indispensable to each stage of the tourism value chain, especially when considering distribution and the ability to enter new markets (Buhalis 2001a, b). There are a number of ways that Information and Communications Technologies can enhance the performance of an accommodation enterprise and assist in gaining competitive advantage (Baker et al, 1999; Baum and Odgers 2001; Buhalis 2001c, Milne and Pohlmann 1998). These include; allowing a quicker response time to market and immediate processing of enquiries; integrating different applications to allow seamless processing with reduced error; sharing of resources; increasing capacity of work flow and worker productivity; customization and/or standardisation of key product offerings; flexibility and the adaptability needed to keep pace with the fast moving market, and the ability to creating communities of online suppliers and clients (Murphy 2003; Mutch 1998; Sigala et al 2001). The relationship with the customer can therefore be enhance at the information gathering and pre-arrival stage, during the arrival, check-in and stay stage, and also in the departure and post-stay stage. The ability to mine data gathered from clients and to measure the performance of individual workers and departments also makes it easier to benchmark, compare and contrast performance across global boundaries while also creating localized improvements (Van Hoof 1996, 2003). The accommodation businesses has this concern of improving market share and increase profitability as a result of providing a unique experience to customers with the accommodation structure located within an ecologically fragile natural environment. So it is very important that accommodation businesses adopt an environmental management scheme by adopting water conservation concept by reducing water usage mainly in areas where there are water shortage, energy conservation, for example the Hong Kong Guide identify a way for saving energy with the use of a computer which controls energy and even rooms in a way that as soon as a room is vacated and doors shut the light will shut automatically. Technological innovation is also depicted as an improvement in a product or service performance in terms of quality, cost, speed or number or characteristic (Cohen Levinthal, 1990). The technological innovation within the tourist accommodations activity has to capture the particular and differential features of sector, characterized by the nature of the service. According to Gallouj and Winstein (1997) there are some aspects that characterize service and have a great influence on the definition of technological innovation. Those can be relevant to the accommodation sector in the following ways: First, there is a close interaction between production and consumption (coterminality) that makes difficult the typical product and process manufacturing distinction. The coterminality implies that the innovation activities will focus on service individualization, adapting the service provided to the customer requirements. Moreover, the coterminality leads to a higher degree of service heterogeneity the exchange object differs from one case to another. Only institutional changes, effectively implemented as a business strategy, must be regarded as technological innovations, and not those spontaneously generated and derived from human interaction. This characteristic fits on the hotel set of services provided to their customers. The second is the intangibility and growing information contents in the provision of services. The information and communication technologies play a critical role in the innovation activities of tourist accommodation businesses: to reach the potential customers with information that helps to get the deeper understanding of the service purchased; to reach the largest share of the demand; to obtain and process the information for a better business performance. The role of human resources as a key competitive factor. The importance of the human factor in service activities is associated with the capability to establish the quality and features of the service finally provided. Training and education activities are explicitly considered as one way to improve and upgrade the technological capabilities of service companies. Changes in the organization architecture can be linked to the introduction of new technologies, and should be included as technological innovation activities. These organizational issues are relevant in the accommodation industry to fulfil the services requirements. As Weiermair (2001) notes, Information and Communication Technologies play an integral role in enabling tourism operators of all types to act local and think global. Information and Communication Technologies have been claimed by many commentators to be the backbone of the tourism industry (Wong 2001; McCann 2001; Applebee et al, 2000; Connolly and Olsen 2001) and accommodation is no exception to this rule. ICT is seen as a vital, and often somewhat overlooked, element that shapes and underpins management of operations, human resources, sale and marketing and accounting and finance (figure.1) Indeed ICT is seen more and more as an enabler of competitive improvements for both small and larger enterprises alike (Anckar Walden 2001; Gretzel and Fesenmaier, 2000). The tourism industry includes a wide range of activities such as restaurants, entertainment, transportation and accommodation. A rigorous and reliable analysis of the technological change focuses on one of these activities that include a homogeneous set of companies with similar production functions inputs, outputs and available technology and market environment. The homogeneity of the available data and the relative importance within the industry, make advisable to choose the hospitality business as the field of the study. The lodging sector is an outstanding tourist activity since is a sine qua non in the provision of all the other tourism services, being the basic requirement of the tourist at the destination point. Figure 1: The integral role of ICT in the accommodation sector (Connolly and Olsen, 2001, 87) Connolly and Olsen, 2001, 87) Within New Zealand, like elsewhere around the world, the government and major telecommunications enterprises have a vital role to play in providing the connectivity and bandwidth to support ICT uptake and effective use in business (e.g. Ministry of Economic Development Project Probe initiative) and in which industry and business leaders to build capabilities (a key objectives of the eCommerce Action Team ECAT). As Nodder (2003) notes, however, these initiatives have often highlighted the needs of large businesses, sometimes overlooking the SME that are vital to sectors such as accommodation. 1.6 The New Zealand accommodation industry an overview The New Zealand accommodation industry is made up of a range of segments and is not an easy sector to define. The researcher begin this section with a short discussion of definitional issues revolving around accommodation type and size, then address issues related to the sectors overall size, economic value and geographical structure. Defining accommodation and size The key elements are defined below and are based on the descriptions provided by one of the nations leading providers of accommodation based information the Automobile Association (see www.aatravel.co.nz):  Ã‚ ¬ Hotels: includes both hotels and resorts Hotels of world class standard are found in major cities, leading provincial and resort areas. They have bar and restaurant facilities. Rooms have phone and TV, toilet, bath/shower facilities and usually have tea/coffee making facilities. Country hotels and pubs offer clean, pleasant rooms. Hotels and pub can refer to taverns without accommodation. Some sporting lodges and upmarket resorts offer exclusive hideaway location with top-class facilities.  Ã‚ ¬ Motels: includes motor inn, apartments and motels These are a popular form of accommodation for domestic travellers and family groups as most units offer self catering facilities. They also have phone. TV tea/coffee, bathrooms and toilet facilities; they have made up beds, bedding and parking. Breakfast can usually be ordered at an extra cost.  Ã‚ ¬ Hosted: includes private hotels, guesthouses, bed and breakfast, and holiday farm (farm stay) accommodation Guesthouses may sometimes be in restored older buildings, not all include breakfast. Private hotel means no liquor license. Home-stay and farm-stay normally means accommodation is available in the family house, though a separate annex or cottage may be included. Bathroom may be separate or shared. Guests may share home cooked meals with their hosts or fellow travellers, breakfast is usually included in the tariff, and other meals are sometimes available by prior arrangement.  Ã‚ ¬ Backpackers/Hostels Generally independently owned, with an emphasis on enabling travellers to mix and mingle. Most offer a mix of shared rooms (dormitories) and double/twin/single rooms. Prices can start as low as $15. The focus market for this group is often younger independent travellers.  Ã‚ ¬ Caravan parks/Camping grounds. Tent sites, caravan sites, campervan sites etc with central toilet facilities and recreational facilities (games, TV rooms), some also offer onsite cabins which offer beds and a roof but little more, some are more upmarket with ensuite facilities, TV etc. Industry Characteristics The New Zealand accommodation sector continues to grow although periods of International uncertainty and domestic overseas economic fluctuations have impacts on the industry from time to time. Although there are some sectoral fluctuations overall trends in occupancy rates have been rising during the past five years (Figure 2). The relatively robust nature of the industry is underlined by the fact that during this period the global tourism industry has faced some of its most challenging times with the spectre of terrorism and health related pandemics creating a major downswing in international arrivals for several developed and developing nations. Figure2: Five years trends in accommodation sector occupancy rates (Source: Statistics New Zealand, 2004) Performance in the past year has been steady with most segments of the industry showing little growth. The overall occupancy rate for February 2004, excluding Caravan parks/camping grounds, was 69 percent, the same rate as that recorded a year earlier (Table 3.1). Hotels and motels both recorded rates of 72 percent in February 2004, while backpackers/hostels recorded a rate of 63 percent. Four of the five accommodation types recorded increases in guest nights in February 2004 compared with February 2003. Total guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation were 3.2 million in February 2004, a 3% increase compared with February 2003 and 10% increase compared with February 2002. Motels (up 53,000 or 5 percent) recorded the largest absolute increase in guest nights, followed by backpackers/hostels (up 41,000 or 11 percent). Motels had the largest share of total guest nights in February 2004 with 33 percent, followed by hotels with 30 percent and caravan parks/camping grounds with 2 2 percent. 1.7 CONCLUSIONS This research has highlighted a number of key issues in the relationship between ICT adoption and accommodation use/demand in the New Zealand hotel sector. The main findings can be summarised as follows: In common with other parts of the world, the New Zealand accommodation sector is becoming increasingly reliant on ICT. Large hotels have already invested heavily and are now enhancing and fine-tuning their use of more mature technologies. For small operations the take-off in ICT use has occurred more recently. Future investment in ICT is unlikely to slow. The Internet and the use of on-line information by consumers and suppliers are playing a major role in influencing overall accommodation industry performance and organisation. The impact of on-line booking is being felt across all segments of the industry. As the Internet evolves into a single, powerful information highway supported by diverse technology applications, there will be many opportunities for more flexible and efficient sales processes, data-warehousing, customized service provision and labour monitoring. 1.8 RECOMMENDATION While ICT will continue to improve efficiency and reduce cost in the large accommodation sector its main role in the future is seen as the facilitation, provision, and monitoring of service quality and the blurring of divisions between departments and different properties. There is a clear sense that technologys major impact on job reduction has already occurred. There is a real need for workers to have a deeper understanding of not just the technology itself, but also of how the technology is embedded within overall business operations and performance. The task of the improving service and performance through ICT adoption in accommodation organizations is complex. The implementation of technology may very well assist in improving service quality but research shows quite clearly that technology and information alone do not confer competitive advantage. If managers want to convert ICT investments into real service quality and performance improvements they must understand its links to, and impacts on, workers, managers and suppliers. In simple term the work of managers is becoming more complex and they too increasingly require a deeper understanding of ICT as a business tool and its potential applications in the business setting. In recent years accommodation businesses have been influenced by substantial ICT change, both from within and outside the industry. The experience gained in recovering from adverse impacts, or from adapting to take advantage of new opportunities, has been hard won. Lessons learnt from such valuable experiences need to be shared to ensure the continued development of the industry. At the same time it is clear that the role of ICT in the industry will grow and evolve in the next few decades, bringing with it a range of new labour and training need. There is widespread consensus that formal training in the sector falls short of the evolving industry requirements for skilled workers. Hotel and tourism schools appear to be having problems keeping up with technological changes which require. In concluding the researcher is of the opinion that there is a need to better facilitate access to training programmes for operators, their staff, and cluster organisations. Improved feedback to industry on tourism demand and supply trends is required, and the establishment of formalised communication between tourist and tertiary providers is increasingly necessary. Recent initiatives highlighted in the Tourism Strategy will certainly help to overcome these issues. It will also be important to monitor the efforts made by groups like the CTC in Canada and Service Skills Victoria in Australia, as they establish new bodies that link the accommodation industry and training providers together to lead workforce development for the sector. Such bodies have the potential to assist industries, enterprises, and their workforce to integrate skills development with business goals. Based on the above role of ICT in the hotel industry, the impact of ICT on the accommodation sector can not be measured. Words count 4,286