Student Athletes Should Not Be Paid Essay -- College Sports

Student Athletes Should Not Be Paid In the world of college athletics there are endless topics discussed daily and most pertain to money. An issue that falls under this category includes the heated debate involving whether or not student athletes should receive money. Many people say student athletes should receive compensation according to their specific needs because they spend so much time earning their scholarship and have no time to work. On the other hand, the stronger argument is student athletes should not be able to acquire additional funds in order to help aid them through college. An athlete knows what he or she is involving themselves in before any money issue is even brought up. Signing a letter of intent shows that they understand this. But people still feel the opportunity to work a job while competing in a sport is virtually non existent in a division one atmosphere, and therefore athletes need money. When looking at all angles, those that feel athletes should be paid usually have the same arguments. They think because athletes have minimal free time and a lot of the school’s revenue is produced by them, this qualifies athletes to a portion of money. For instance, football and men’s basketball have proven over the years to make the most money for most universities. In fact â€Å"Since 1965, the NCAA increased its revenue by 8000 percent and CBS signed a contract through the year, 2002, for $72 million to cover the NCAA tournament. (â€Å"For Years† par. 5) With these kinds of numbers produced by college athletes many suggest they need to receive a little back. It’s a reasonable thought since athletes are responsible for such an enormous amount of cash flow. The NCAA is often compared to a business and a bu... ...a university and playing a sport at the same time was supposed to be easy or profitable. If a law was to pass regarding college athletes receiving money many things would be different in the future. A major concern involves recruiting. Universities allowed to pay players would be able to buy recruits persuading them to attend the school offering the most money. It’s almost like a free agent in professional sports. Attending the school with the most to offer decreases the likelihood of a fair playing ground for all of college athletics. As a result certain schools would be major powerhouses and it would stay this way forever. Although there are some schools considered powerhouses now, the odds of a school with complete domination would be much more likely. Overall if student athletes begin to get paid, collegiate sports will become corrupted.

Kellie Castle

KELLIE’S CASTLE Malaysia is multi-ethnic country which has passed through a long history of colonisation by Europeans. Apart from its majestic beauty seen in the sprawling landscape, historical sightseeing also forms a main part of Malaysian tourism. One of the important historical sites in Malaysia was Kellie’s Castle. (Fairul Halim) Kellie’s Castle is the most important attraction in Batu Gajah, Perak. Located approximately 30 kilometers from Ipoh is the historical legacy of a great story behind its construction. The landlord, William Kellie Smith was born on 1 Mac 1870 at the Moray Firth, Dallas, Scotland.In the first Mac 1890 at the age 20, he arrived to Tanah Melayu . (Fazlina & Khatijah) Late William Kellie Smith ( 1870 – 1926) – Photo courtesy of Lamography. com He bounced around several business opportunities finding some success but it wasn't until he meets Alma Baker that he struck gold. Baker obtained several government projects to build roads in South Perak. Their partnership in these projects led to quite a bit of profits. Enough to purchase a 900 acre piece of land for his rubber tree plantation and homely estate named Kinta Kellas. (Fazlina)Kellie’s Castle is a symbol of love like the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. In 1903, he returned to Scotland to marry his sweetheart Agnes. He brought her back to his home in Tanah Melayu and later that year the couple was blessed with a daughter named Helen. William Smith desperately wanted a son and heir to take over his empire. In 1915 their second child, a boy named Anthony, was born and this may have been the impetus to start construction of a major extension to their stately home. (Hafizuddin & Khairi) Plans were drawn up and craftsmen imported from India to begin construction.Built with materials such as stone marble was imported from India, while ceramic tile imported from Italy. Bricks were used kind of apricot made in Tanah Melayu itself. The wall of the castle wa s built with a very unique method, using a mixture of white duck egg, sand, brown sugar and honey. It was to take 10 years to build Kellie's Castle. (Fairul Halim) However, it ran in to one major set back. Many of the workers contracted the Spanish Flu and died in the early 1920s. Killing many of the workers in the Kellas Estate . Another workers constructing Smith’s dream castle also became victims of the flu.World War I slowed the process even more. He had already spent a fortune on his house, lost a lot of money because of this. (Khairi) In 1926 William Kellie Smith and his daughter, visited Britain to see his wife and son and then proceeded to Lisbon, Portugal from where he was ordering a lift to install in the Castle, which would have been the first elevator in Tanah Melayu. Unfortunately while in Portugal, William was attacked pneumococcal disease are chronic, he eventually died in Lisbon on 11 December 1926 at the age of 56 years.He was buried there. (Khadijah) After t he death of her husband, Agnes later packed up and left Tanah Melayu with her children back to Scotland. She sold the castle to a British company called Harrisons and Crossfield. In the end, Kellie’s Castle was never completed. Fortunately the Malaysian Government, realising its tourism potential and heritage value, have since cleared the creepers and trees growing on the site and have opened it as a tourist attraction. (Hafizuddin) -548 words-

Christians Restoring the Environment

â€Å"Go Green,† the new slogan that promotes saving the environment is being heard everywhere. As I turn on my television or pass a billboard on the highway. The message is loud and clear that the earth is desperately crying out for us humans to start taking care of our domain. According to Green Living, â€Å"Going green is about conserving our resources, finding alternative energies, and innovative ways to keep our rivers and oceans cleaner and our landfills smaller. (Scheid, 2009) Christians can make a difference in the environment if all the churches in the United States rallied together to promote environmental restoration. I'm aware that our environmental issues are extreme; however, if you have a large organization such as the church pushing the cause to its congregants, I believe we will begin to see a difference in those who make conscious decisions that will attribute to the restoration of our environment. Targeting individuals and families through the media and ads are positive but I question how affective those streams of influence really are. I know that I have personally not given a lot of attention to, â€Å"Being Green. The reason for that is because I don't really understand the importance of individuals making small changes towards these environmental issues, especially when you look at the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. It makes me want to ask why we are being targeted. It appears our efforts are useless when big corporations make destructive decision that affect the environment way more than me and my family ever could. I also know that right now my family can't afford to go out and buy energy saving appliances which is a huge expense in this depressed economy. Also, most of the items you can buy that are â€Å"green† cost more. Cleaners, paints, materials can add up and really have negative affects on a person’s financial income if you are living on a budget. I have also heard so much controversy around the validity of global warming that I question if it is all a hoax or if there really is anything that can be done to help improve our environment. However, if churches began answering these questions to their attendees and began promoting environmental restoration, I believe we would see people become passionate to the point they start making more â€Å"go green† choices. According to the US Census Bureau, there are approximately, 310,470,820 people in the United States alone. (Census Bureau, 2010) Gallup poll states that 43. 1% of Americans reported going to church weekly. (Newport, 2010) If the churches would rally around the environmental restoration cause, they could be influential to their attendees about taking care of the environment. According to Star Tribune, â€Å"The faith community has become one of the major players in environmental issues. Coming from the standpoint of morals, religious groups are able to address green issues from a different perspective than the political or socioeconomic juggernaut. (Strickler, 2008) There are several things that churches can do on a Sunday morning to persuade their attendees. Many churches these days do video announcements that are very affective because they are visual. I think it would be an asset to incorporate visual examples of these individual churches making an effort to bring restoration to the environment. They could use these video announcements to educate their members, teach them the importance of conserving energy and lessening pollution and give their congregants specific tips on how they can save energy with updated appliances. The churches could also speak with some appliance stores that may offer discounts to their church members in hopes that they would switch over to these energy saving appliances. Churches could avoid using paper as much as possible by using their website or phone tree to contact their congregants. They could also dedicate a wall within the church which displays information about environmental restoration as well as giving information on their website. Ricky Nolan of Minneapolis attended an earth day service at his church and he stated, â€Å"The religious world, ‘brings a sense of responsibility' to the ecological debate. (Strickler, 2008) Unlike the secular world, the church can emphasize the importance of taking care of the earth because God made it. Pastors can use scripture to explain God’s intent of being good stewards over His creation. Christians can stand together by good simple Christian stewardship and work towards a cause that will benefit not only our generation but several generations to come. Most people will listen to their spiritual leader with an issue such as environmental restoration because it is a good cause and because they are very good at endorsing worthwhile causes. They know how to make their listeners take personal responsibility. Pastors already have a level of influence; why else would 43% of people in America take time out of their busy schedules to attend church. Pastors could use this influence to evoke passion; once these spiritual leaders have made their members zealous about the cause; I believe that excitement would automatically spill over into their individual communities. So you might ask why it is necessary for our churches to get involved since there is so much information already spreading about being environmentally conscious. I personally don't believe that most people really care enough to change their lifestyle. However, if a repetitious announcement is being made weekly in a place that people choose to be apart of, the probability is higher that people will catch on and begin to embrace the cause. I believe our Christian churches can make a difference because we represent a large number of Americans. Churches already have great influence; just imagine what we can do if we used that influence to remind God's children about the world He created and how it is crying out right now for some love and attention.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop Essay

1.Identify and describe Potbelly’s strategy in terms of product (present or new) and market (present or new). Potbelly’s strategy in terms of product is to offer all sandwiches at one price regardless of what comes on the sandwich. All of the meat is sliced fresh in the store, milkshakes are handmade, and cookies are freshly baked on site. The company hires nice people because they sell an experience, not just a sandwich. Potbelly is focused on selling good food, having a nice environment, and a friendly experience. The store does not necessarily have a marketing budget. The generate promotions based off of store openings or around local charities/programs. At one location they gave away a free sandwich to each person who gave a cash donation for a local organization. 2. How would you describe Potbelly’s positioning strategy? Potbelly has many different stores that range in many different sizes. Some stores are very small and based in airports, other stores are very large. Many stores have an outdoor patio area during warmer months. Potbelly selects mostly urban locations where there are not a lot of sandwich chains. The stores are homey and even provide real books for customers to read or borrow. The main market for Potbelly is young professionals under the age of 35. 3. What types of environmental opportunities and threats to you see in Potbelly’s external environment? How might they impact Potbelly’s current strategy? I personally feel that Potbelly has a great thing going for them. Compared to other sandwich chains they are not the same in any way. Locally, the main stores that come to my head are Subway, Jimmy Johns, and Hungry Hobo. These stores are all based on very fast service. You are more than welcome to sit down and eat, but nothing really keeps you there besides the food. Potbelly offers an experience with each meal. Some locations have live music that you can enjoy or books that you can sit and read. You are offered more than just a table to eat at when you are at Potbelly’s; you are offered a complete experience.

Online Hotel reservation Essay

INTRODUCTION Over the years, the internet has greatly changed the way people use computers and communicate today. Many Internet terms have become part of people’s everyday language and e-mail has added a whole new means through which people can communicate. By the turn of the century, information, including access to the Internet, will be the basis for personal, economic, and political advancement. The popular name for the Internet is the information superhighway. Whether you want to find the latest financial news, browse through library catalogs, exchange information with colleagues, or join in a lively political debate, the Internet is the tool that will take you beyond telephones, faxes, and isolated computers to a burgeoning networked information frontier. The pace of change brought about by new technologies has had a significant effect on the way people live and work worldwide. New and emerging technologies challenge the traditional process of teaching and learning, and the way education is managed. Information technology, while an important area of study in its own right, is having a major impact across all curriculum areas. As internet technology has improved, so have online reservation systems. Today, it is possible through online, to make a reservation for a hotel anywhere in the world. Hotels can create Web site and post new content on it every day. Technology has gone a long way, improving the lives of people. These technological breakthroughs have lots to offer, making great things in the easiest, fastest and efficient possible ways you can think of. Online hotel Reservation is very useful for the people especially for socials that they can now easily reserve a room in a hotel through online Internet. Easy worldwide communication provides instant access to a vast array of data. Project Overview Project Statement The hotel reservation system will provide service to on-line customers, travel agents, and an administrator. On-line customers and travel agents can make searches, reservations and cancel an existing reservation on the hotel reservation’s web site. Administrator can add/update the hotel and the room information approve/disapprove a new travel agent’s account application and  generate a monthly occupancy rate report for each hotel. Literature review The design of travel and tourism websites has received substantial attention by scholars (e.g.Schegg et al., 2002; Law and Leung, 2002; Law andWong, 2003; Scharl, Wà ¶ber and Bauer, 2003; Landvogt, 2004; So and Morrison, 2004; Essawy, 2005; Jeong et al., 2005; Law and Hsu,2006;Zafiropoulos and Vrana, 2006; Schmidt, Cantallops, and dos Santos, 2007).Landvogt (2004) evaluates several online booking engines over 23 differentcriteria, like overall user friendliness, payment method, instant confirmation,reliability, and invoicing function among others. These criteria present some ofsystem’s functions and design principles discussed furtherin current paper.In their study Jeong et al. (2005) find that only two characteristics ofhotel websites (information completeness and ease of use) are importantdeterminants of perceived website quality. These results are bewildering asmost studies identify more dimensions of perceived service quality to besignificant for website users. Law and Hsu (2006), for example, assess thedimensions of hotel websites (information regarding the reservation, hotelfacilities, contact details of the property, surrounding area and websitemanagement) and attributes in each dimension mostly valued by online users.Some of the most important website attributes are found to be the room rates,availability and security of payments (in the reservation informationdimension), the location maps, hotel and room amenities (in facilitiesinformation), telephone, address and e-mail of the hotel (for contactinformation), transportation to the hotel, airports and sights (for surroundingarea information), and up-to-date information, multilingual site and shortdownload time (for website management). So and Morrison (2004) applysimilar criteria for website evaluation as the preceding study but they groupthem into technical, marketing, consumer perspective and destinationinformation perspective criteria.Essawy (2005) focuses on website usability and shows that severeusability problems with interface quality, information quality, and servicequality affect negatively the purchase and revisit intentions of website users.The author identifies some of the practical tools/activities for increasing users’perceived satisfaction, purchase intention, and potential relationship building –exchanging links  with local points of interest, shorter/simpler pathways toleisure breaks, greater depth of information for room facilities and pricing,providing proactive interactions, and avoiding third-party reservation systems. In similar vein, Scharl, Wà ¶ber and Bauer (2003) assess the effectiveness ofhotel websites. Authors identify personal, system and media factors thatcontribute to hotel website adoption. In the system factors group, that is morecontrollable by the hotel management compared to personal and media factors,they identify the perceived utility of the product, speed of the system,intelligence, layout, services, languages, navigation, interactivity, reliability ofthe system.Research has also shown that trust is an important dimension of websitedevelopment (Fam, Foscht and Collins, 2004; Chen, 2006; Wu and Chang, 2006). If consumers do not trust the website they will not visit it, or will nottransform their visits into real purchases.Although much effort has been put towards evaluating the design oftourism websites and the identification of website attributes highly valued bycustomers, there is a gap in the research in the OHRS design and its specificproblems have not received enough attention in previous research with fewnotable exceptions. In series of reports Bainbridge (2002, 2003a, 2003b)discusses the practical aspects of the OHRS design (the search option in thesystems, the booking process and the date format), while Ivanov (2002, 2005)discusses the types and main characteristics of OHRSs and the major marketingdecisions to be taken by the marketing managers in their design. The review of available literature on the tourism / hotel website and OHRS design reveals the following conclusions:  · Website users are interested in easy navigation through the system.  · They want abundance of information for the services offered in textand pictures.  · Trust is vital for the usage of the system.  · Website design can significantly influence the online experience of theusers and their purchase intentions.  · Website design itself does not guarantee online purchases but it is theperceived utility of the product that attracts customers. Demographic characteristics and Internet Usage Behaviour Education level, age, income,and occupation have been found to be significantly different among Internet users. Bonn etal.(1998)[15] study showed that those who use the Internet as a travel information-gathering tool are likely to bemore educated, younger, with higher household incomes, use commercial lodging accommodations while traveling, tend to travel by air and spend more money on travel-related expenses. Weber and Roehl’s (1999)[16] study shows similar results. They found that online travel purchasers are more likely to be people who are aged 26-55, with higherincomes, with higher status occupations, and have more years of experience with the Internet than those who do not search or purchase online. The Asian demographic patterns of online purchasers tend to mirror their Western profiles. According tostudies carried out by Technowledge Asia in 1999 and 2000, cybershoppers in the four Asian regions (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia) were found to be mainly males, in the age group of 26 to 35 years and better educated. Hence, it has been shown that an individual’s educational level may affect their susceptibility to attitude change. Intelligent people understandcomplex messages better, and as a result, persuasion by complex messages is more likely. In addition, an individual’s educational level is alsopartially a measure of their socioeconomic status. Weber and Roehl (1999)[16] study found that Internet â€Å"bookers† were more likely to have used the Internet for 4 years. Other researchers confirmed that Internet bookers spend more time online per week than those booking offline (Weber and Roehl ,1999)[16]. Finally, the intention to shop online is also influenced by consumers’ Internet shopping history (Shim et al., 2001)[17]. It is demonstrated by pastresearch findings that prior online shoppingexperiences have a direct impact on Internet shopping intentions (Weber and Roehl, 1999)[16]. There have been other studies that have supported online experience or tenure as key determinant of onlinebuying behavior (Bellman, Lohse, and Johnson, 1999[18] and Beldona et al, 2004)[19]. Findings indicate that the greater the number of years the user spent online combined with higher frequency of Internet usage; the greater was the likelihood of buying (Bellman et al., 1999[18]; Weber and Roehl, 1999[16] and Beldona et al 2004)[19]. Alwitt and Hamer (2000)[20] posit that consumers increase  their control with more time spent on the Internet, and in turn develop finer expectations of their interactions with businesses in general. Hammond, McWilliam, and Diaz (1998)[21] of users’ attitudes towards the Web. Based from the literature review of the Internet users,it is noticeable that Internet users are better educated, higher incomes, higher status occupations, have more online experience, use commercial lodging accommodations while travelling and tend to travel by air. In Malaysia, one of the profiles that had an early exposure to the culture of using the Internetfor personal and professional reasons was university residents. These may consist of students, administrators and lecturers. However, university staffs are more likely to fit the profiles of the Internet users (in terms of purchasing) due to their financial capability and mobility. Consequently, this leads to: H1 : There is a relationship between the university   staffs’ demographic factors and the determinants of  online hotel reservation H2 : There is a relationship between the university   staffs’ Internet usage behavior and the determinants of online hotel reservation

What is Ford companys alignment and bargaining power of buyers Essay

What is Ford companys alignment and bargaining power of buyers - Essay Example What is Ford company’s alignment and bargaining power of buyers? The bargaining power of buyers’ for Ford can be examined as relatively low or moderate. Conceptually, the bargaining power of buyers is presumed to depend on various industrial factors ranging from the availability of substitute products to the pricing strategies undertaken by the company or the consumer purchasing power affecting the demand for the product/service on offer. As explained in Porter, the aggregate volume of buyers availed by the company also determines the degree of their bargaining power, apart from the facts that the products are undifferentiated in the market, a low switching cost prevails in the market With the aim to verify the same code of conduct in order to maintain better working conditions and protect the employees’ human rights throughout the chain, Ford provides training as required by the suppliers and inquires them to provide internal training to safeguard understanding of the codes. Ford also assists in developing the process of compliance to support the codes in its supply chain sustainability management as its â€Å"macro-management† strategy. The business framework also intends to inspire suppliers to accept and impose identical code of performance within Ford in the â€Å"encouraging† phase. To manage the performance in this phase, each supplier has been assigned with an executive to lead the expansion of the code and enable them to report the growth to Ford in response to the traditional metrics. During the stages of progression of the suppliers, the company also delivers considerable support, contacts and resources in order to assist the suppli er to improve its program. This commitment further proves to be highly significant for both the business and its stakeholders in reducing the operational risks, which could hamper the production to a substantial extent. Apparently, the alignment certifies accountable behavior throughout the ‘Automotive Supply Chain’ establishing interlinked and interdependent sustainability goals, through the three phase expansion process of â€Å"macro-managing†, â€Å"encouraging† and â€Å"expecting† (Business for Social Responsibility, â€Å"Internal Alignment: An Essential Step to Establishing Sustainable Supply Chains†). The final phase of â€Å"expecting† focuses to share the same sustainability goals to have greater expectancy throughout the supply chain. The company has therefore been applying a vigorous procedure to ensure the effectiveness of these stages. Through this procedure of Aligned business framework, almost 24% of Ford’s supp liers have been successful to meet the benchmark performances, which are to maintain the codes of conduct and the standard internationally throughout its supply chain. It is worth mentioning in this context that with the implementation of Aligned Business Framework business model, Ford has been able to increase its cost-effectiveness, simultaneously raising the quality features of its suppliers. The alignment also increases the innovation and reduces operational risks by way of improving the working conditions to a profitable extent (Corporate Ford, Creating a Sustainable Supply Chain: Strong Relationships, Shared Commitment, and Capacity Building†). Thus, it shall be rationally affirmed that the implementation of the aligned business model framework in Ford, aided it along with its suppliers to gain higher degree of sustainability and operational efficiency, not only in terms of costs and profitability but also in the form of legal coordination with the business partners thro ughout. WHAT IS FORD COMPANY’S BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS? The bargaining power of buyers’

Task 1-Local social inequality is increasingly disrupting community Essay

Task 1-Local social inequality is increasingly disrupting community life and destroying people's sense of belonging. Do you agree with this statement What evidence supports your view - Essay Example Different investors may also have different beta formulas as to how they will determine the activity of a certain stock (Dykstra, 2009), but to keep things simple and so as to not cause so much confusion, we will stick to this formula at hand. If you are planning to invest in Amazon’s stocks, using this simple beta formula will be a good starting place for you. Now in regards to whether or not a company’s earnings has a bearing on the stocks increase or decrease, it is important to understand that just because a company may announce that its earnings has increased, this does not necessarily mean that the stock in the company will increase. There have been many times when a company will announce that their earnings have increased: yet, their stocks have fallen. This is because the actual earnings did not turn out as the market thought that it would (AAI journal, 2010). Whether or not a company’s stocks rise is not based on the earnings of a company; rather, they are solely based on expectations. If the market expects that a company does well, then the company’s shares are going to rise. If the market thinks that the company is going to fall, then the shares are going to fall. Sometimes, the company can do unexpected things, proving the predictions of the market wrong. For instance, if the company earns more than what was expected, then the company will have proven the market wrong. Then there is the case when the company will expect that a particular company will have high earning; however, this is not the case. This happened with the Lehman Brothers investment firm. The Lehman Brothers investment firm was expected to have high earnings; however, this was not the case. The earnings were far lower than the market expected they would be (AAI Journal, 2010). AAI journal 2010, Great Expectations: Earnings and Their impact, Investing Minds, United States, viewed 21 January 2010,