PERSONAL BRAND Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PERSONAL BRAND - Essay Example I think this is what attracted me to the profession during my youthful days. However, as I grew up I came to learn more about the banking industry and the opportunities that presents itself to people in the industry. As I went on my high school education, I did more research on what subjects I was required to pass in order for me to join a campus in pursuing a relevant course. It is after high school that I decided to pursue a bachelor’s course in management, which I knew would be instrumental in achieving my professional goals. As I go about my campus education, I have learned a lot both about the industry and myself that equips me with all the necessary skills needed for a career in the industry. I have learnt a lot, and still believe that there is more to learn in and from the industry. Throughout my education life, I have acquired various skills. Firstly, I have acquired great computer skills both through education, and through my own general practice. I am proficient in M icrosoft office applications. I have perfected my skills especially in Microsoft word, Microsoft access, Microsoft power point, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft publisher. I have focused mainly on these five applications since they are the ones used among the Microsoft office applications in the banking industry. ... This I have done by personally studying CPA. I posses good communication skills which I have acquired over the years especially in my campus education. I also possess profound marketing skills, which I have acquired throughout the course. Such skills have been strengthened during small business projects that I have undertaken together with my classmates that have required us to use and compliment our skills since we needed to market both our products and ourselves. All the above skills are crucial in the banking industry irrespective of the profession one specializes in. when it comes to management I believe the skills I posses are very advantageous and some distinguish me from others in the discipline. I believe that in any profession personal values are important since they help one in making sure that they approach their profession with ethically. I come from a Christian family hence I have had Christian values instilled in me since I was a child. I believe in being honest thus as I go about my life I make sure I am honest all the time. This is advantageous since honesty is important especially in the banking industry since one is tasked with handling huge sum of money where without honesty one might be influenced to try and steal some. I also believe in working hard and going out of my way in meeting both my goals and those of the institutions. I also believe in giving back to the community especially if I am financially able. This is where I believe that I must help those unfortunate in life both financially and emotionally since it is a humane thing to do. I also believe that conservation of the environment is paramount and I do my best to ensure I

Fan fiction Essay Example for Free

Fan fiction Essay Fan Fiction writing is the act of writing material with information from someone without their consent either written or otherwise. The written material is then released to the public on grounds that show the material as owner’s original; and doesn’t acknowledge it as re-edited. This will appear as the original material given that the reader had not had a chance to get the very original material. I want to agree that this activity is not legitimate one, the fact that a writer (author) writes their work and it goes into the public arena doesn’t require reframing or amendments. If the reader thinks of that work in another version, let it remain within them. Let not that which they think would have been better of; go out to the public. Interfering with this is wrong. Supposing all the fans decided to alter this original material into their way and everyone has a different understanding of same article? Letting this out to the public as well? Would not people get confused? I believe if a writer wants an opinion about their article, they know how to go about it, they know where to send it or who to give it to before it is released to the public. By the time it is getting to the public it is usually the writer’s best on that. I quite disagree that fun fiction should be a way of improving young writer’s skills of writing. Why cant these young writers come up with themes yet not released to the public and write on them? Why can’t they also get creative? There are so many things that the writers have not covered so far. It is also so wrong for fan writers to write an article and post it using the original writer’s names. Is this not theft? Is it not offensive to impersonate? The text showed this â€Å"Fan fiction is a good way to avoid learning how to be a writer. Fan fiction allows the writer to pretend to be creating a story, while using someone elses world, characters, and plot. Coloring Barbies hair green in a coloring book is not a great act of creativity. Neither is putting lipstick on Ken. Fan fiction does exactly those kinds of things. † A very good example given on the text ‘the extreme analogy: You send me a photograph of your family reunion, titled The Herkimers Get together. I think it looks dull. So I Photo-Shop it to put your friends and relations into compromising positions in various stages of undress. Then I post it on the Internet, under the title The Herkimer’s Get Together, and add a note that it was sent to me from Pete Herkimer of Missoula, Montana. Suddenly there is your face and name, and the faces of the people you care about, doing things that you would never do. Are you flattered that I thought your photograph was interesting enough to use? Or are you insulted and horrified? Are you alarmed that I so clearly connected work that is not yours to your good name? Although I must agree with the statement from the text ‘And As for definitions, to what extent is Paradise Lost a fan fiction of the Bible? To what extent is Tennysons Ulysses a fan fiction of the Odyssey? For much of human history, the concept of creative ownership Hobb seems to be using was thoroughly different: characters could be reused and rewritten as seen fit. Even given the capitalist ownership argument, which I personally find distasteful, narrow-minded, and restrictive, once again, the fan fiction under discussion is NON-COMMERCIAL’ There are those exceptions that would be allowed, the example of Paradise lost, and this seems to be a clearer edition of the Bible as far this generation is concerned. The fact that it is a book used for the continuity of the salvation of human race may need to be re-edited but the change of theme may not be altered. Another importance of fan fiction may be an act that is based on a book and probably is used for literature in schools. The author may have not written it as a play but someone else may act it and this way students may understand the book better as compared to reading it. I know that all the fan writers have a different way of looking at a particular article from that of the original writer and that is they want to reframe it, but I wonder where they were when the story was being created in that way which they don’t settle for. Keeping any ideas of how it should have looked to oneself is the best thing. Can’t people respect the work of others and promote original text writings? Fun fiction sometimes may even change the whole outlook of a story, there must be reasons why an author/writer decides to use some words and leave out others. There is a reason why the chapters in a book follow each other the way they do. In case a fan writer for example interferes with the flow of chapters and decides to bring the last chapter in the middle then any other reader might not find a reason of reading the book to the end. The flow is changed therefore the conclusion of the story comes in the middle, so why go ahead and read what you already know? Fan fiction sometimes is used on the internet, whereby an article from a newspaper may be used and with the application of coral draw; alteration may happen. When this same article is sent to people on the net, it might just convince them since they can see that it is from a legitimate source from a well known editor or writer. While this may happen on basis of malice and once the damage is caused rectifying it may be hard. So generally I know that fan fiction may be damaging. All writers have a chance of developing good writing skills but not through fan fiction as written the text ‘The first step to becoming a writer is to have your own idea. Not to take someone elses idea, put a dent in it, and claim it as your own. You will learn more from writing one story of your own, no matter how bad it is, than the most polished Inuyasha fan fiction that you write. Taking that first wavering step out into the unknown territory of your own imagination is what it is all about. When you can write well enough to carry a friend along, then youve really got something. But you arent going to get anywhere clinging to the comfort of saying, If I write a Harry Potter story, everyone will like it because they already like Harry Potter. I dont have to describe Hogwarts because everyone saw the movie, and I dont have to tell Harrys back story because thats all done for me. I agree with this statement totally. A good writer should have their own ideas and develop those ideas into stories. Reading more will help any writer get skill and get broader but fan fiction writing is demeaning to any writer. It makes a writer wholly rely on an article already thought and written instead of promoting the unique ideas any individual writer may be able to come up with. The danger of letting this continue is that we will never know what the original writer of a story intending us to know. We can never differentiate between fiction and true story. My conclusion would be depending on the intention of the fan fiction writer; this is how it can be looked at as a legal act or an illegal one. The writer in the text who is against this uses so harsh language and I found it not fair since it is not everyone who writes for fan fiction has a bad motive. â€Å"Look, the original author really screwed up the story, so Im going to fix it. Here is how it should have gone†.

Rivalry Among Firms In Global Hospitality

Rivalry Among Firms In Global Hospitality The Porters 5 forces framework is an outside-in approach whereby the industry forces affecting the business performance is analysed to facilitate managers in decisions to direct their resources in achieving maximum profitability. The 5 forces identified by Porter are the horizontal competition from substitutes, new entrants and existing rivals as well as the vertical competition from the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers (Porter, 1980). In this essay, the author would like to analyse the competitiveness of the hospitality industry by critically evaluating the strength of each force individually with relevant examples and identify the most influential force. 2.1 Threat of new entrants Threats of new entrants are one of the principal forces of Porters theory of five forces (Porter, 1980). Bain (1956) who initiated the study of entry barriers identified the major barriers as capital requirements, economies of scale, product differentiation, government approval and absolute costs. These barriers create constraints for new entrants to enter the industry, creating fewer competitors therefore retaining the market shares of existing firms to achieve higher profit (Botten and McManus, 1999). International hotel chains enjoy large economies of scale (Salinger, 1990) as they have huge numbers of hotel chains and brands therefore expanding their market power. The Hilton Worldwide brand shares the same source of supply through their supply management system and customer database through their technology platform, the OnQ system across all hotel chains (Hilton Worldwide, 2012; Hilton Franchise, 2012), forcing new entrants with small scales to accept the cost disadvantage which directly affects their profits and sustainability (Pearce and Robinson, 2009). Due to the analogous product and service offerings, brand identification is the best way for hotel chains to differentiate themselves from competitors (Dubà © Renaghan, 2000; Makadok, 2010). International hotel chains has succeeded in creating brand awareness through rapid expansions of brands such as Hilton and Holiday Inn (Okumus et al., 2010) with assurance of quality as well as the implementation of different loyalty programmes, causing new entrants the challenge to overcome customer loyalty (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). Capital requirement of opening a new hotel is very high. It incurs high fixed costs (Chung, 2000) for the land and the construction plus renovation of the hotel. Huge amount of start-up and running cost is also required to recruit employees and roll-out marketing activities such as the development of the hotel brand through advertising as well as research and development activities (Matovic, 2002). Huge budgets must also be allocated for maintenance and u pkeep of the hotel property (Hall, 1987). Besides structural barriers which are influenced by the nature of the industry, there are also behavioural barriers which Sigfried and Evans (1994) describe as the retaliation strategies firms implements such as patents, predatory pricing, and exclusivity agreements with suppliers and distributors. However, the liberation of trade barriers by governments due to the trend of globalisation lowers the entry barriers especially in developing countries which do not have the resources to provide sufficient hospitality services and requires foreign firms to help develop the tourism sector (Hitt and Hoskisson, 1999). Conversely certain government do limit entries and provide exclusive rights to the local firms. Weighing the facts in this study, barriers of entry to the hospitality industry is still considered relatively high, especially to the luxury segment where more investment and development of brand is required, and customers loyalty in existing luxury brands are already high which is proved by the high prices the consumers are willing to pay for a hotel room. In the budget or midscale segment, new entrants could attempt price penetration but the sustainability of the business could be unfeasible if consumers choices are dependent on the pricing only (Graf, 2011). Generally the threat of new entrant is fairly low, but could increase if there is liberal trading policies and high concentration of the industry in the particular location. But once a new entrant decides to take the high risk of entering the industry and has the ability to innovate and make differentiation in products and services, they will aggressively pursue market share to cover the high fixed cost invested (Matovic, 200 2), raising the competition level in the industry. 2.2 Threat of substitutes Porter (1980) has also identified the threat of substitute in increasing intensity of rivalry. Substitutes give consumers more options often with better prices or value in achieving the same basic needs or wants. Substitutes are often not identified as primary rivals, making them difficult to be anticipated by firms (Magretta 2012). The presence of substitutes limits the profitability of firms by placing a ceiling in prices and increase price elasticity of the hotel product (Porter, 1980). When the pricing factor is considered, threats are formed when substitutes offer lower prices for the similar product, offer better quality products with a slight increase in price and when lower quality of products is provided with a significant drop in prices (Lewis et al., 1989). Technological advancement supported by the high speed of internet has posed significant threat to the meeting and conference facility of a hotel which are the main revenue source of business hotels with the availability of teleconferencing. Many corporate companies would consider teleconferencing to be an ideal choice as it eliminates the high cost incurred for flight tickets, lodging and rental of conference facilities and equipment as well as the time consuming trips (Leocha, 2009). Other potential substitutes for the business traveller segments could be corporate guesthouses and long stay hotels (Regal Wing, 2011) whereas leisure travellers could opt for cheaper alternatives such as rented apartments, informal lodging with friends or families, RVs, camping, simple capsule hotels or make plans for overnight rides by long hour flight, train or bus. Business of airport hotels are also affected by the availability of sleeping capsules and rooms in airports (USA today, 2009) which remo ves the need of transit passengers to rent day rooms in hotels. However, threats of substitutes in upper-scale luxury hotels are relatively low because consumers of this segment demands for exceptional comfort along with exclusive service standards, amenities and recognition which typical substitutes could not meet (Griffin et al., 1997). There are many substitutes in the hospitality industry except for the high end hotels. The author concludes that the overall threat of substitute is moderate as the availability of substitutes is very dependent on the location of the hotel and consumer preferences as hotel provides more comfort, convenience and security compared to the substitutes. 2.3 Power of suppliers The power of suppliers has direct impact on the profitability of hotels as it controls the input of the hotel which is vital for the operations of any hotel and provides flexibility to a hotel to give surplus to their customers. The hospitality industry is considered a matured industry (Martel 1974) and there are many suppliers who are readily in the market (Kim and Oh, 2004; Olsen and Roper 1998). Hotel suppliers include outsourced firms providing operational services such as accounting, maintenance, security, promotion and storage (Burt and Pinkerton, 1996) or even off-premise laundry services. Real estate agencies are important suppliers when hotels are planning their pipelines and there are many which are available and competing for businesses from hotels as the investment is very huge. With active mergers and acquisitions in the industry, many hotel chains are actually affiliated with real estate companies such as Hilton Worldwide, La Quita Inn and Motel 6 being acquired by Blackstone group with active real estate businesses (Wikipedia, 2012) eliminating the need of suppliers. However, power of a particular supplier would be high if hotels are searching for unique locations. Another main input of a hotel would be the employees. With the development of hotel schools and relevant courses, many qualified personnel are available for management trainee programmes and further contribute to the hotels. Hotels are often given credit to the ability to reduce unemployment rate of an area, proving that the ratio of supplier to firm is higher (Hassan, 2000). However hotels face the issue of shortage in manpower during peak seasons due to the employment strategies of hotel establishments to have a core of full time employees and employ casual and part-time labour to meet fluctuation of demand (Lufferty, 1998). The nature of part-time employment results in high turnover rates and high training resources. A centralised supply management system and is often integrated across brands of major hotel chains, giving strong negotiation power to the hotel, making business from hotels indispensable to suppliers (Cox, 1999). With the vast growth of the information technology sector, there are many property management systems without significant product differentiation for hotel chains to choose from, thus giving hotels high buying powers. Another plus point for hotel groups is the practice of vertical integrations and the opportunity of backward integration (Lafferty and van Fossen, 2001) by owning own real estate agencies, manufacturing plants and hotel schools such as the Accor training academy. Summing up the relevant facts shows that the power of suppliers in the hospitality industry is low. 2.4 Power of buyers The hospitality industry has many buyers including corporate companies, travel agencies and individual travellers or the user itself. Price sensitivity of buyers depends on the hotel segmentation (Go and Pine, 1995). Buyers of budget hotel segments are generally more price sensitive than those of the luxury segment who appreciates higher quality of services rather than affordability. Switching cost of buyers could be increased through loyalty programmes which provide more value and benefit to buyers as a reward of repetitive patronisation (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). Corporate and travel agent discounts are also given reduce the power of buyers to switch their suppliers (Jones et al, 2007). Buyer power has increase through distribution channels of hotels in the internet. It gives buyers access to information and reviews of different hotels available and compare them instantly (Law and Hsu, 2005). Gu and Canoon (1998) suggest that buyer power could be subject to seasonality depending on the availability of disposable income and leisure time or the geographical factors of the location such as weather, and hotels implement yield management to gain maximum profitability with considerations of these factors (Burgess and Bryant, 2001). During peak seasons when there is an undersupply of rooms and lower price elasticity, hotel products would be sold at rack rates, decreasing buyer power of price negotiating. In contrast with low season and periods of slow economy growth where hotels strive to fill up occupancy to achieve minimum profit to breakeven, buyer power will increase significantly with attractive packages of value and choice of accommodation in the available hotel chains (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). In summary, the power of buyers in is moderate depending on different circumstances. 2.5 Rivalry among firms The level of competition within existing firms in the hospitality industry also affects the profitability of firms (Porter, 1980). Despite the uncertainty in economy, the tourism sector is showing steady growth and remains strong across the globe. It is forecasted that at the end of year 2012, there would be 1 billion international tourist arrivals globally. Growth is shown in every region, with comparison with the previous year, Asia Pacific showed the highest growth of 8%, Africa with 7%, America with 5%, and Europe with 4%, Middle East only showed growth of 0.7% as the region is still recovering from the effect of the Arab Spring (UNWTO, 2012).The growth in tourism increases the demand in the lodging industry therefore encouraging international hotel chains to develop strategic planning to accommodate the tourist by the expansion of their brands in potential markets (Lafferty and van Fossen, 2001). Expansions can be done rapidly with the trend of franchise licensing and management contracts (Chen and Dimou, 2005). The hospitality industry involves many firms including international and domestic hotel chains ranging from luxury, full service, mid-scale, boutique and budget hotels to accommodate needs of different customer segments. Main international chains found around the globe would be The Intercontinental group, Wyndham Hotel Group, Marriot International, Hilton Worldwide, Accor group, Choice hotels, Best Western, Starwood, Carlson and Global Hyatt with growing numbers of room each year. The hotel industry performance outlook of 2012 provided by tripadvisor shows that 58% of global hotels believe that their firm can gain more profitability in future. Survey done by Travelocity shows that 76% of consumer are planning to spend more on travelling and 53% of consumers are planning to travel more compared to year 2011. This implies a positive growth in the hospitality industry (Marketing chart, 2012). The nature of the hotel business shows the need of international expansion to meet demands with wide dispersion of geographical spectrum (Matthews, 1997) as the carrying capacity is fixed and the services provided by hotels can only meet the demand of consumer if it is present in the location. Firms such as international hotel chains operating in the same location have market similarities as they share the same sets of market (Chen, 1996). They compete for the same resources or customers and face the same constraints affected by the external environment. Location is the key determinant of ones rival as the role of a hotel is to satisfy the guest need to get accommodation at that specific area. The strategic decision in deciding the geographical location of a hotel is very crucial as it is the attribute of a hotel that is fixed the fixed cost incurred is very high and (Matovic, 2002). Hotel chains develop in the same location to justify the attractiveness of the area thus reducing the perceived risk of investment by managers (Markussen, 1990). Go and Pine (1995) argues that product segmentation which includes pricing and level of facilities should be considered while determining primary rivals but pricing is highly variable and the change in pricing could cause the hotel to meet new competitors and increase the number of competitors (Roginsky, 1995) therefore damaging the profitability potential of the industry. Rivalry is often high with firms existing in the same strategic group. Pearce and Robinson (2009) stated that a strategic group would consist of hotels with similar competitive strategies and market positioning; while Hatten and Schendel, (1977) propose that members of an industry can be classified into groups of similar strategy and structure. They have the same distribution channel, features of products and services provided, target market, and identical technology advancement. Strategic groups can be identified by comparing the competitive characteristics of firms by using almost a hundred possible variables (Ketchen et al. 1993) such as the quality range, geographic coverage, degree of service offered and degree of vertical integration. Firms that are present in the same strategic group are identified as a close rivals, assisting managers in constructing competitive strategies and allocate resources efficiently to be ahead of rivals (Matthews, 2000). Structural similarities of fi rms in the same strategic group cause them to be affected in the same way by external environmental changes and competitive strategies within the group. Imitation of strategies can be easily done within the same group which is supported by the institutional theory that shows the occurrence of similar competence between firms (Selznick, 1996) under the same internal and external environment causing isomorphism (Oliver, 1988). Isomorphism is the condition when firms competing in the same population share same characteristics. The environmental forces have mimetic influences on hotels (DiMaggio Powell, 1983), where the successful chain is often imitated by the rest to reduce uncertainty the need of investment in their own market research. Obligatory action also causes imitation, March (1981) quoted that obligatory action happens when enough firms do things in a particular fashion, it becomes the norm and from that point on, things are done that way without conscious thought. Caves and Porter (1980) suggest that the existence of strategic groups gives an advantage to members of a strategic group by creating a high entry barrier to new e ntrants because of the saturation of competition within. Besides the factors mentioned above, rivalry among firms are intensified due to the high exit barriers (Dess et al, 2004) associated with significant capital investment as well as the high exit cost such as the depreciation cost of fixed assets, severance pay for employees and compensation cost for breach of contracts with suppliers and buyers. Exit barriers are especially high for large hotel chain with multiple locations, extensive interconnection with different suppliers and buyers, and large pool of employees. The high amount of sunk and exit cost pressures the exit- prospective hotel to keep its market share and continue running the business along with the implementation of new strategies in hope to revive the performance of the hotel and maintain the employment of the large labour force involved. Perishable products offered by hotels create the urgency in selling the product as soon as possible to capture revenue, elevating the competition especially during off-peak season with oversupply of rooms (Matthews, 1997). For leisure travellers who do not travel frequently and has no brand preferences, the switching cost is very low or almost nothing as they would be attracted to any hotel chain which gives more perceived value or has lower price without considering the brand of the hotel chain, making them a potential customer for any hotel chain (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). Hotel products have very limited potential of differentiation because the basic need of accommodation and shelter for tourist could easily be met and strategies of one hotel could be easily imitated by the other because of the lacking in patented knowledge and technology (Dunning McQueen, 1982). Weighing the factors and reasoning contributing to the rivalry among firms, the author suggest that this is t he strongest force in Porters five forces affecting level of competition in the hospitality industry. 3.1 Conclusion Given the analysis in the many competitive forces found between rivals, the author suggests that the intensity of rivalry among firm is strong but not to the brutal stage yet. Although growth in mature industries such as the hospitality industry is generally slower, the emergence of complement products such as cheap flights and additional frequent routes has facilitated tourism growth therefore benefiting the hotel businesses (Rey et al., 2011). Development of outbound tourism in emerging BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, Africa) countries and other Asia Pacific region which is expected to capture 29% of total international tourist arrival in 2030 (UNWTO, 2012) encourages the growth of hotel pipelines, giving the hotel business a very good prospect of the future. The hotel industry is also a multi-billion dollar industry with signs of rebound due to the healing economy (Hotel News Now, 2012) with large hotel chains co-existing enjoying great amount of profitability especially with the increase growth in the tourism and motivation in travelling. Furthermore, although many hotel chains exist in the industry, different hotels define competitors with different criteria such as segmentation, price and proximity (Whitla et al, 2007) depending on its strategic group. Word count: 3289

Definition of Command Economy :: essays research papers

THE COMMAND ECONOMY A command economy is one in which a central authority has control of the resources of the economy and makes most of the economic decisions. TODAY : DICTATORSHIPS OR CUBA OR CHINA IN THE PAST: NEW FRANCE & THE WARTIME ECONOMY OF THE 1940'S NEW FRANCE New France was discovered by accident while explorers were searching for shorter trade routes to India and China, where they hoped to find rich sources of gold and spices. By accidentally discovering central and South America they did discover gold and silver produced by the Aztec civilization. In Canada the first resources to be exploited were - FISH & FURS. New France, as a colony, was to serve 2 purposes. 1. a source of NATURAL RESOURCES for the people of France. 2. A place where the FINISHED MANUFACTURED GOODS could be sold. The King had ABSOLUTE POWER until 1663, then he appointed officials. The main one was the INTENDANT, who ran the economy of the colony the way the King wanted it. The industry was AGRICULTURE & FUR TRADING. Furs, fish and other raw materials were sent back to France. In New France, LAND = WEALTH. Land was given to the Lords (Seigneurs) of the King in return for Taxes and a promise to settle the land. The Lords got farmers (habitants) who paid the Lord taxes and if the farmer didn't pay the taxes the Lord would take his land. GOODS PRODUCED = WHEAT, TOBACCO, OATS, HEMP (a plant used for making sails). THE BRITISH COLONIES OF THE TIME WERE RUN IN MUCH THE SAME MANNER. WHAT WAS THIS TYPE OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CALLED? CANADA'S WARTIME ECONOMY OF THE 1940's. The entire economy of Canada was involved in the WAR EFFORT. North America became a very important resource area for the Allies. 1941 - The WARTIME PRICES AND TRADE BOARD set maximum prices that goods could be sold for in Canada. 1942 - Goods were rationed such as food and fuel. THE GOVERNMENT HAD ABSOLUTE POWER There was an increased demand for resources to supply the war effort such as materials for PLANES, SHIPS, TANKS, BOMBS. The war was destroying economic resources in Europe. 1. soldiers, as well as others were killed 2. factories, roads and rail lines were being destroyed 3. dams and oil tanks were bombed 4. bridges were destroyed 5. land and crops were burnt or otherwise destroyed

Brain Drain in Puerto Rico

PUERTO RICO BRAIN DRAIN CRISIS DANIEL VILLAFANE BUSN 5000 WEBSTER UNIVERSITY Abstract Brain drain refers to the large-scale emigration of a large group of talented, skilled and knowledgeable individuals. This situation is also commonly referred to as â€Å"human capital flight. † Globally, some generals factors contribute to this situation. Puerto Rico has his own distinctive factors. Puerto Rico has a special relation, and a unique political status with United States that make it easier for islanders to find an opportunity in the greatest country of the world.A concise timeline will show how and when â€Å"Puerto Rico became an asset to United States. † Remember, in financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset. While Puerto Rico suffer a â€Å"brain drain† of human capital emigrating the hos t country enjoy a â€Å"brain gain. † Timeline of Puerto Rico and United States Relationship since the Spanish-American War 1898 -The Spanish–American War whereby Spain relinquished its sovereignty over Puerto Rico. 1900. The Foraker Act established the governing structure for the island of Puerto Rico. | 1917-The Jones Act granted U. S. citizenship to all residents of Puerto Rico. | 1947- Operation Bootstraps â€Å"Operacion Manos a la Obra† based on an exemption for federal taxes, section 931 of the U. S. Internal Revenue Code. Provided for exemptions of federal taxes for corporation operating in P. R. Puerto Rico entered a period of rapid industrialization and strong economic growth. (Carrion, 2009)| 1952- Proclaimed the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. | 963-Industrial Incentive Act, Section 931, increased the period of exemptions for 17 years. Puerto Rico became an important Center for the petro-chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. (Carrion, 2009)| 1976- Se ction 931 changes to a more financially attractive Section 936. In 1991 corporations accounted for 72 percent of manufacturing jobs in Puerto Rico. (Barbosa, 2010)| 1993-2000 Governor Pedro Rosello and Resident Commissioner Romero Barcelo lobbying in Washington against the Section 936 because they consider it as an obstacle to change the political status for the island and become the 51st State. 1993-President Bill Clinton proposed to eliminate Section 936 periodically during the next ten years. Economy start to decline and corporations stopped investing and start preparing to leave the island. Thousands of employees lost their jobs during this period. | 1994-North America Free Trade Agreement NAFTA makes Mexico and Canada more attractive to corporations. | 2005- Sections 936 and 30A expiration of the tax incentives. | 2006- The commonwealth's population had a steeper loss than any of the 50 states since 2006, according to the Census Bureau. Nasser, 2012)| General factors contributi ng to a brain drain situation globally There are some common denominators that provoke a large group of talented, skilled and knowledgeable individuals to emigrate. Some of these situations are well known as causes of Brain Drain. Many times high scholastic scores are recruited to study abroad. Upon concluding their studies, these individuals stay in the countries where they were educated. In several occasions individuals emigrate because the income is substantially higher.Countries like United States and others well developed nations offer a great diversity of careers and major possibilities of advancement. Last but not least, there is another driving factor know as the standards of living. Factors contributing to a brain drain in Puerto Rico Several factors identify causes of this emigration in Puerto Rico. First, the University of Puerto Rico’s excellent programs of engineering, science and nursing. Recruiters for companies such as Boeing and Disney, NASA and other U. S. g overnment agencies, school districts and hospitals from Texas to Florida flock to career fairs. Add that these students are bilingual; do not need a passport, visa or government permission to work stateside, and it's clear why they're a hot commodity, even in a down economy† (Nasser, 2012). Second, unemployment is still above 14%, compared with 8. 3% nationally (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , 2013). Third, more than 20% of Hispanics in Puerto Rico have a bachelor's degree. â€Å"When you go to a job fair (in Puerto Rico), there are thousands of candidates† (Nasser, 2012). Finally, it is a reality that young people and families are leaving primarily for jobs, but also and sadly to get away from a spike in crime.Negative effects This crisis is bringing some negatives effects in the short run as well as in the long run. Puerto Rico’s median age will much older, as young people are leaving. This human capital flying situation also means that the best and brightes t of your country are building someone else's society. Confusion and skepticism are created when political leaders doubt the reliability of their own citizens and become frightened when valuable workers and capital fleas their country in huge numbers.Eventually this country, Puerto Rico in this case, could lose all of its inner strength due to scarcity of skilled domestic workforce. An a multiplier effect Multi National companies probably will avoid coming to Puerto Rico due to lack of capable workforce. It also put detrimental impact on the development of basic infrastructure. People in the affected country suffer due to unavailability of doctors and engineers. â€Å"Basically, brain drain makes a county hollow from inside and it is curse for developing nations† (The Gemini Geek, 2013). Brain gainThe brain drain that can causes damages to the economy ad future of one country could be the gold opportunity to another host country to flourish. This phenomenon is known as brain gain and is considered for many as a key time for a few cities to get ahead (Dimick, 2012). According to an article in the Smart City Web Newspaper one of the city with more benefits for this brain gain is San Antonio, Texas. Unlike much of the rest of the country, San Antonio is rapidly gaining 25-plus-year-olds with college educations and it is happening fast.The change began in 2008; prior to then, when looking at top metros for attracting college-educated talent, San Antonio was nowhere to be found. Of the top 100 metros in the U. S. , San Antonio ranks as number six in brain gain – those over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree or advanced degree who have moved to the city. To realize the full potential of a talent economy, as Pittsburgh has done, San Antonio will need to produce talent. It shows you how important our universities are and how the decades ahead are so important to rise to even greater promise. SCM, RSS 2013) These â€Å"stolen† minds have flourished and become some of the most successful people in America: 1. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina to sit on the United States Supreme Court. 2. Dr. Antonia Coello Novello is a pediatrician who served as the 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. 3. Dr. Edwin Muniz M. D. , Ph. D. and Ed. D. , was the first person of Hispanic heritage to be named Aerospace Physiologist in the United States Air Force and NASA. 4. Angel Rivero Mendez (1856–1930) was a soldier and businessman who is credited with inventing the â€Å"Kola Champagne† a soft drink. . Joseph Michael â€Å"Joe† Acaba is a teacher, hydrogeologist, and the first Puerto Rican NASA astronaut. 6. Pierre Omidyar of France founded Ebay 7. Sergey Brin of Russia co-founded Google. 8. Jerry Yang of Taiwan co-founded Yahoo. FACTS From 2005-2012 more than 400,000 people from Puerto Rico left for the U. S. During the same time, just over 160,000 people came to Puerto Rico from th e U. S. Finally, the people who left Puerto Rico had higher levels of education than the people who came back = brain drain.The completely opposite is happening in San Antonio according to the following extract from the report The Brain Gain: The Rise of San Antonio’s Talent Economy, Smart City Memphis (2013). the same situation in San Antonio. The trend of return migration began in the suburban rings around cities. As parents did well in their two-degree households, they sent their children away to the best college they could get into. Once they finished school, the children left for big cities like Chicago and New York and these children of educated homes didn’t just go to big cities, they excelled. At some point, perhaps for family issues or a desire to start a family, these people came home,† observed Russell. â€Å"I’m seeing this trend explode across the United States and there’s a major migration shift going on. † When they move back, they don’t move back to the suburbs, they have acquired a taste while away for urban neighborhoods. When they come back to San Antonio, shared Russell, they seek out the neighborhoods that remind them of D. C. or Brooklyn. (SCM, RSS 2013) Achieving equality through a higher education should be the goal of every vanguardist government.References Barbosa, P. M. (2010, 06 15). Pedro M. Rosario Barbosa's Blog. Retrieved from Quien Asesino la Seccion 936? â€Å"Who Killed Section 936? : http://pmrb. net/blog Carrion, M. E. (2009, 01 07). Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Retrieved from Operation Bootstrap: http://www. enciclopediapr. org Dimick, I. (2012, 11 16). UTSA Alumni Association. Retrieved from The Key to Continued Brain Gain: Specialized Higher Education: http://therivardreport. com Nasser, H. E. (2012, 3 11). Puerto Rico's population exodus is all about jobs. Retrieved from USA TODAY/News: http://usatoday30. satoday. com Smith, C. (2013). Brain Drain Crisis. San Juan, Puerto Ri co: El Nuevo Dia. Staff, C. O. (2012, March 12). caribbeanbusinesspr. com. Retrieved from Caribbean Business: http://www. caribbeanbusinesspr. com The Gemini Geek. (2013). What are effects of Brain Drain for a country? Retrieved from The Gemini Geek. Geek redefined: http://www. thegeminigeek. com U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . (2013). States Unemployment Rates. Retrieved from Puerto Rico Unemployment Rates: http://www. unemployment-rate. org/states/unemployment_rate/Puerto_Rico

Brain Drain in Puerto Rico

PUERTO RICO BRAIN DRAIN CRISIS DANIEL VILLAFANE BUSN 5000 WEBSTER UNIVERSITY Abstract Brain drain refers to the large-scale emigration of a large group of talented, skilled and knowledgeable individuals. This situation is also commonly referred to as â€Å"human capital flight. † Globally, some generals factors contribute to this situation. Puerto Rico has his own distinctive factors. Puerto Rico has a special relation, and a unique political status with United States that make it easier for islanders to find an opportunity in the greatest country of the world.A concise timeline will show how and when â€Å"Puerto Rico became an asset to United States. † Remember, in financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset. While Puerto Rico suffer a â€Å"brain drain† of human capital emigrating the hos t country enjoy a â€Å"brain gain. † Timeline of Puerto Rico and United States Relationship since the Spanish-American War 1898 -The Spanish–American War whereby Spain relinquished its sovereignty over Puerto Rico. 1900. The Foraker Act established the governing structure for the island of Puerto Rico. | 1917-The Jones Act granted U. S. citizenship to all residents of Puerto Rico. | 1947- Operation Bootstraps â€Å"Operacion Manos a la Obra† based on an exemption for federal taxes, section 931 of the U. S. Internal Revenue Code. Provided for exemptions of federal taxes for corporation operating in P. R. Puerto Rico entered a period of rapid industrialization and strong economic growth. (Carrion, 2009)| 1952- Proclaimed the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. | 963-Industrial Incentive Act, Section 931, increased the period of exemptions for 17 years. Puerto Rico became an important Center for the petro-chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. (Carrion, 2009)| 1976- Se ction 931 changes to a more financially attractive Section 936. In 1991 corporations accounted for 72 percent of manufacturing jobs in Puerto Rico. (Barbosa, 2010)| 1993-2000 Governor Pedro Rosello and Resident Commissioner Romero Barcelo lobbying in Washington against the Section 936 because they consider it as an obstacle to change the political status for the island and become the 51st State. 1993-President Bill Clinton proposed to eliminate Section 936 periodically during the next ten years. Economy start to decline and corporations stopped investing and start preparing to leave the island. Thousands of employees lost their jobs during this period. | 1994-North America Free Trade Agreement NAFTA makes Mexico and Canada more attractive to corporations. | 2005- Sections 936 and 30A expiration of the tax incentives. | 2006- The commonwealth's population had a steeper loss than any of the 50 states since 2006, according to the Census Bureau. Nasser, 2012)| General factors contributi ng to a brain drain situation globally There are some common denominators that provoke a large group of talented, skilled and knowledgeable individuals to emigrate. Some of these situations are well known as causes of Brain Drain. Many times high scholastic scores are recruited to study abroad. Upon concluding their studies, these individuals stay in the countries where they were educated. In several occasions individuals emigrate because the income is substantially higher.Countries like United States and others well developed nations offer a great diversity of careers and major possibilities of advancement. Last but not least, there is another driving factor know as the standards of living. Factors contributing to a brain drain in Puerto Rico Several factors identify causes of this emigration in Puerto Rico. First, the University of Puerto Rico’s excellent programs of engineering, science and nursing. Recruiters for companies such as Boeing and Disney, NASA and other U. S. g overnment agencies, school districts and hospitals from Texas to Florida flock to career fairs. Add that these students are bilingual; do not need a passport, visa or government permission to work stateside, and it's clear why they're a hot commodity, even in a down economy† (Nasser, 2012). Second, unemployment is still above 14%, compared with 8. 3% nationally (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , 2013). Third, more than 20% of Hispanics in Puerto Rico have a bachelor's degree. â€Å"When you go to a job fair (in Puerto Rico), there are thousands of candidates† (Nasser, 2012). Finally, it is a reality that young people and families are leaving primarily for jobs, but also and sadly to get away from a spike in crime.Negative effects This crisis is bringing some negatives effects in the short run as well as in the long run. Puerto Rico’s median age will much older, as young people are leaving. This human capital flying situation also means that the best and brightes t of your country are building someone else's society. Confusion and skepticism are created when political leaders doubt the reliability of their own citizens and become frightened when valuable workers and capital fleas their country in huge numbers.Eventually this country, Puerto Rico in this case, could lose all of its inner strength due to scarcity of skilled domestic workforce. An a multiplier effect Multi National companies probably will avoid coming to Puerto Rico due to lack of capable workforce. It also put detrimental impact on the development of basic infrastructure. People in the affected country suffer due to unavailability of doctors and engineers. â€Å"Basically, brain drain makes a county hollow from inside and it is curse for developing nations† (The Gemini Geek, 2013). Brain gainThe brain drain that can causes damages to the economy ad future of one country could be the gold opportunity to another host country to flourish. This phenomenon is known as brain gain and is considered for many as a key time for a few cities to get ahead (Dimick, 2012). According to an article in the Smart City Web Newspaper one of the city with more benefits for this brain gain is San Antonio, Texas. Unlike much of the rest of the country, San Antonio is rapidly gaining 25-plus-year-olds with college educations and it is happening fast.The change began in 2008; prior to then, when looking at top metros for attracting college-educated talent, San Antonio was nowhere to be found. Of the top 100 metros in the U. S. , San Antonio ranks as number six in brain gain – those over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree or advanced degree who have moved to the city. To realize the full potential of a talent economy, as Pittsburgh has done, San Antonio will need to produce talent. It shows you how important our universities are and how the decades ahead are so important to rise to even greater promise. SCM, RSS 2013) These â€Å"stolen† minds have flourished and become some of the most successful people in America: 1. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina to sit on the United States Supreme Court. 2. Dr. Antonia Coello Novello is a pediatrician who served as the 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. 3. Dr. Edwin Muniz M. D. , Ph. D. and Ed. D. , was the first person of Hispanic heritage to be named Aerospace Physiologist in the United States Air Force and NASA. 4. Angel Rivero Mendez (1856–1930) was a soldier and businessman who is credited with inventing the â€Å"Kola Champagne† a soft drink. . Joseph Michael â€Å"Joe† Acaba is a teacher, hydrogeologist, and the first Puerto Rican NASA astronaut. 6. Pierre Omidyar of France founded Ebay 7. Sergey Brin of Russia co-founded Google. 8. Jerry Yang of Taiwan co-founded Yahoo. FACTS From 2005-2012 more than 400,000 people from Puerto Rico left for the U. S. During the same time, just over 160,000 people came to Puerto Rico from th e U. S. Finally, the people who left Puerto Rico had higher levels of education than the people who came back = brain drain.The completely opposite is happening in San Antonio according to the following extract from the report The Brain Gain: The Rise of San Antonio’s Talent Economy, Smart City Memphis (2013). the same situation in San Antonio. The trend of return migration began in the suburban rings around cities. As parents did well in their two-degree households, they sent their children away to the best college they could get into. Once they finished school, the children left for big cities like Chicago and New York and these children of educated homes didn’t just go to big cities, they excelled. At some point, perhaps for family issues or a desire to start a family, these people came home,† observed Russell. â€Å"I’m seeing this trend explode across the United States and there’s a major migration shift going on. † When they move back, they don’t move back to the suburbs, they have acquired a taste while away for urban neighborhoods. When they come back to San Antonio, shared Russell, they seek out the neighborhoods that remind them of D. C. or Brooklyn. (SCM, RSS 2013) Achieving equality through a higher education should be the goal of every vanguardist government.References Barbosa, P. M. (2010, 06 15). Pedro M. Rosario Barbosa's Blog. Retrieved from Quien Asesino la Seccion 936? â€Å"Who Killed Section 936? : http://pmrb. net/blog Carrion, M. E. (2009, 01 07). Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Retrieved from Operation Bootstrap: http://www. enciclopediapr. org Dimick, I. (2012, 11 16). UTSA Alumni Association. Retrieved from The Key to Continued Brain Gain: Specialized Higher Education: http://therivardreport. com Nasser, H. E. (2012, 3 11). Puerto Rico's population exodus is all about jobs. Retrieved from USA TODAY/News: http://usatoday30. satoday. com Smith, C. (2013). Brain Drain Crisis. San Juan, Puerto Ri co: El Nuevo Dia. Staff, C. O. (2012, March 12). caribbeanbusinesspr. com. Retrieved from Caribbean Business: http://www. caribbeanbusinesspr. com The Gemini Geek. (2013). What are effects of Brain Drain for a country? Retrieved from The Gemini Geek. Geek redefined: http://www. thegeminigeek. com U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . (2013). States Unemployment Rates. Retrieved from Puerto Rico Unemployment Rates: http://www. unemployment-rate. org/states/unemployment_rate/Puerto_Rico

Stifle, already!

Stifle, already! Stifle, already! Stifle, already! By Maeve Maddox Reader Brad Kruse came across this comment from the reader of a rabidly anti-health insurance reform site: die eisernen Stiefel (the iron jackboots) of Obamistas are methodically and systematicly [sic] destroying the very core of our country. Brad’s question has to do with the German word Stiefel, not politics: What I noticed was Steifel.   As in the old Archie Bunker, â€Å"Stifle yourself, Edith!†Ã‚  Does stifle come from boot, as in â€Å"put a boot in it?† No, there’s no connection between German Stiefel and English stifle. The boot-in-the-mouth image, however, certainly suits Archie’s personality. The word stifle has been in English with the sense of â€Å"to choke, suffocate, drown† since 1387. It may have entered English by way of Old French estouffer, â€Å"to stifle, smother.† The French word in turn may derive from a Germanic source: Old High German stopfen, â€Å"to plug up, stuff.† Archie’s metaphorical sense of the word has been around since 1577. The expression eisernen Stiefel, literally â€Å"iron boot† is usually translated into English as jackboot. A jackboot is a type of strong high boot without laces worn by farmers, motorcycle riders and soldiers. Because such boots were part of the Nazi uniforms in WW II, jackboot has taken on metaphorical associations with totalitarian government. Speaking figuratively, â€Å"jackboot tactics† are brutal and oppressive methods of control exercised by totalitarian dictators. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be)Predicate Complements