Organizational Behavior Apple vs Scania Essay

Organizational Behavior is a field of Study which investigates the impact that individuals groups and structure have on organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving organization effectiveness. (Huczynsky, 2010) The way people behave individually or collectively in order to reach a common goal. Organizational behavior includes in it such issues as organizational design, culture, Group decision making, teamwork and leadership. (Dictionary of Business and Management, 2009) In this report two companies Apple and Scania are compared to each other in terms of their organizational behavior such as: design, culture, structure leadership and etc. The report is written based on the two key studies provided in the assessment and via additional sources and researches. The report starts with brief information about the background of the companies. Further the companies are compared by applying theories such as: Continuum leadership theory of Tannenbaum and Schmidt, Abraham Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, Managerial grid Leadership theory of Blake and Mouton, and etc. The team-work approaches in both of the companies are highly focused, discussed and followed by recommendations. Companies’ background. ‘A truly magical and revolutionary product. What this device does is extraordinary. It is the best browsing experience you’ve ever had†¦ It is unbelievably great†¦ A way better than laptop, way better than a Smartphone.’ Steve Jobs 2010 We could not even imagine how our phones and computers would look like today. The bulky and considered luxury machines are now innovated and updated devices owned by every single person and even few by each. One of the major roles in evolution of IT technology during all these years has the multinational American company called Apple. Established in 1976, the company was initially named Apple computer, Inc, but later on in 2007 it was renamed into just Apple. The company’s products are known as iPad, iPod, iPhone and Macintosh Computers or simply Mac Books. Apple has a very strong global market position as it has penetrated world’s biggest markets. According to the data provided in 2011, Apple has 46,600 full time employees around the world and 2,800 temporary full time employees and company’s sales are getting higher seasonally. Meanwhile Apple is considered to be a very successful company with a very high performance quality of its employees. (M. A. Lusted, 2012) Another Successful company taken its origin in Sweden and founded in 1891 is Scania. Scania is one of the largest and best Swedish heavy truck and bus Manufacture Company with globally recognized reputation. Scania’s products are created just the way their customers wish including in it Maximum use and minimum harm to the environment. Scania’s products are designed to consume less energy, less raw materials and chemicals in order to have as lower impact on environment as possible. Along with its reputation Scania makes high profits operating in more than 100 countries worldwide and employing 35,000 people worldwide. (Scania web, 2012) Analysis based on theories. According to the case study provided by Robins S and Jude T.A, the hierarchy did not work in most of the companies, but it is effective in case of Apple. Was that because Steve Jobs was a unique leader who could manage the whole company by his consistent innovative ideas? At the very beginning, Apple had a relatively flat and informal structure, but later on when Jobs was back into company in 1997, it was totally changed. If before the employees and managers gathered on Friday for a beer to discuss some issues and express their ideas and even complain, after the market became more saturated with competitors, Apple was focused on changing its structure to be able to compete, keep brand and control costs. Since than company improved and became a major part of the digital world. As a result of all these, the company’s plans and strategy was no longer discussed through the entire company and Jobs was the only generator of ideas proving the complete hierarchy. (Debra L. Nelson, James Campbell Quick, PH.D, 2011) Unlike Apple, Scania tens to rely less on hierarchy having a more flat company structure based on independent groups performances with the high concern on human factors and environmental issues. For example, Scania successfully uses the Sociothechnical systems theory where manager controls the environmental factors that influence the company’s internal operations and coordinates the social and technical subsystems. (Ricky W. Griffin, Gregory Moorhead, 2010) According to the Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s continuum theory of leadership behavior (1958, 1973) leaders should evaluate the situation before the implementation of a particular leadership styles. The continuum leadership behavior’s model theory is based on earlier studies focusing on the distinction of task versus employee or human orientations and demonstrates two types of leadership styles across the continuum: boss-centered (task) and subordinate-centered (relationship).( Borkowski, 2011). In the Apple’s situation, the decision maker or the decision ‘seller’ was Steve Jobs. During the all time when Jobs was the CEO of Apple, he was often called ‘dictator’ or ‘despot’. Jobs never asked anyone for feedback. However he could always instruct and simplify the capabilities of the complicated devices understandable only by its creators, he thought going around and asking his employees about the confusing functions of his product is useless. Instead, jobs played the device by, took notes of his reactions and considered it as the only necessary feedback required. (Leander Kahney, 2009) Whereas in Scania the entire company relies on customer feedback and development of stuff ideas so, if Apple has the structure where every single employee is responsible only for his part of job and has no chance to play any important role in making decisions, Scania has the structure there employees split into the groups brainstorm together on a certain idea or problem and together pick the optimal solutions. (Scania web, 2012) Based on all this we can assume that Apple is Boss-centered structured company and Scania is a more Subordinate-centered structured company. Figure 1.1 below demonstrates the locations of both Apple and Scania on a sample Continuum leadership behavior’s graph. According to the graph, where Apple is closely fitted in the total boss-centered area and Scania is fitted closer to the subordinate-centered area, the two companies are totally different in their structure and leadership, but at the same time both companies are successful and globally recognized and are in their maturity state today. In another words, Apple has an Autocratic leader, where he dictates and forces his employees or even threatens them to get the result his way, unlike Scania that has democratic leader who encourages participation in decision making and considers other’s feelings and seeks to satisfy most of parties.(Hungeryager and Heekman, 1967) Here comes the question: Despite the hierarchy and autocratic leadership in Apple and flat structured and democratic system in Scania, how come they both being so different be able to achieve goals having high employee performance? The best answer for this question would probably be the motivation which is present in both companies but caused by different factors. Humanity would not reach any level of development without the motivation. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) introduced a theory focused on psychological need of employees divided into 5 levels forming a pyramid, and he believed that person needs all 5 to feel satisfied with his job. (Essentials of Management, 2009). Hierarchy: ‘Common, pyramid-like organization where one person is in charge of a functional area with one or more subordinates handling the sub-functions. In an hierarchical organization (whether business, military, political, or religious) higher levels imply greater superiority and domination than the lower ones, and the chain of command extends straight from the top to the bottom’. (Business Dictionary web, 2012) (Image extracted from googleimage.com) While applying the following theory on Apple, it is obvious that the employees in the company are approximately on the 4th level depending on their job position. But in general, with the reputation that Apple has worldwide everyone would be proud to be employed by such a company and motivated by the financial aspect. In fact, the way the pyramid narrows towards up, the same way, the number of people with those facilities narrows down. Even in case of Scania, though the employees might be satisfied with their job and status, they might be also distracted by family or any other personal issues which could make them feel de-motivated. Adam’s Equity theory states that, employees attempt to achieve some equity between input and output, and if there is a difference between input and output, such as output less than input, the employees performance quality tends to be lower due to his/her job dissatisfaction. In another words, all contributions should be fairly rewarded. Going back t o Apple can assume that there is a perfect balance between output and input. Having high salary makes the employees feel right about not taking any part in making decisions; in fact they might feel more relaxed for not having big responsibilities. But in Scania, while taking part in discussions and decision making, employees feel more important, motivated but on the other hand they feel more responsibility pressure because in negative outcomes they all will have to share the loses. Looking at it more general, the only fact that might motivate the employees in both companies is the money. Due to the economic downturn which caused high rate of unemployment, the fact that one has a job, already makes him/her feel satisfied, but not for long. Once people get used to their job and salary they start getting bored and de-motivated. According to Guardian 2012, ‘many of those who worked for Apple, feels cut off from the real world, suspended in a cultural vacuum inside the walls of the company’. The lack of communication with cooperatives, socializing and team-working leads to employees’ dissatisfaction. To avoid such errors, Scania depending on foreign labor, in order to keep high productivity level, created a humanization program which was to apply a new group assembly approach. The program was all about team-work and group decisions called Saab-Scania. The groups consisted of 5-12 people and were given the power to make decisions within the given limits. Along with production groups Scania formed development groups each composed of foreman, industrial engineers and representatives. Such groups were responsible for innovating and developing the new working methods favorable for the employees. As a result, such team-working approach saved productivity time, increased products’ quality and raised job satisfaction of the employees, so since this experiment Scania finds its success in team-working structure. (A.. Rashid, 1982) Coming back to apple, one could only add, that high productivity and quality with the lack of team-working, is being reached only by having continues innovations and strong brand position, simply strong marketing. Further analyzing the case of apple we can add that, a huge multinational company where everyone is responsible only for his bit of work, simply being a tiny replaceable detail of a mechanism, and where the main responsibility is on CEO, team-working is not that important as long as the company’s goals are being reached. The Managerial Grid or the grid theory now called as Leadership theory of Blake and Mouton states that there are two types of managers: concern for production and concern for people , and the perfect manager would be the who could exhibits both people and production concern. The leadership grid is graded from 1 to 9 from both axes identifying 5 main types of leaders: country club management, team management, middle-of-the-road management, impoverished management and authority management. (Miller, 2012) The grid looks as follow: Relying on the leadership grid, we can assume that Apple with the autocratic approach and higher concern on production and lower on people, is classified as a company with the Authority-Compliance Management leadership and Scania, deserving to be placed on the other side of the grid is a company with Team-management leadership, having high concern on people rather than on production. The modern team system of Scania is highly relied on cluster managers. The cluster manager is the manager who has overall responsibility for the team consisting of 20-25 employees. Each cluster consists of people with different experience and skills and trained before becoming fully operative. Often there are also small temporary teams. Thought the cluster has a manager, the employees have the sense of belonging to a team and having major role in it. A centered team-working structure helps the company to keep strong Company-oriented company culture. ‘No one must be able to say that is not my concern, I am not responsible for that’ said the senior manager of the company. Although Apple cannot boast with its tem-work management Leadership as Scania, it motivates the employees providing the opportunity to get promoted from an intern into a manager. The trainings provided free by Apple itself makes the process much easier for the employees. In addition, small competitions such as answering the most difficult question of the customers are followed by rewards. Another important fact is that, Apple provides large job opportunity to young students employing them, full-time, part-time or making them student representatives at their schools. (Apple Inc.’s Ethical Success and Challenges web, 2011) Conclusion While summing it all but, it is right to mention that, while comparing the companies and analyzing their organizational behaviors the total difference of the companies has been identified. Apple is a multinational autocratic company having high concern on production and lower concern on people, despite this it is able to motivate the employees by rewards, bonuses and promotion opportunities demonstrating itself as a creative company challenging for innovations with the strong belief in its successful bright future and seeking for the genus employees from young generation, to take part in those innovations. The case of Apple has proved that, the employees are not pressurized by dictator, as it is expected in an Authority-Manager company, but inspired to work with such unique leaders. Scania, along with its rich Swedish culture totally relays on the team-working manager Leadership with the ability to balance both concern for people and production and giving the employees the chance to feel themselves part of a whole mechanism. The management in Scania believes that, every employee in the company despite the job position should feel the responsibility and share it with the collogues and feel that he/she does not work for someone, but works together with everyone. Fortunately, for Scania being further from hierarchy unlike Apple, adds advantages in terms of organizational behavior, proving the democratic structure of the company, whereas Apple proves to be really a unique company for being able to success with deep hierarchy in it. Recommendations Thought Apple is satisfied with its production and the company in whole, it should also pay attention to its employees by providing them some other activities to make them feel as a team. For example, Apple could create groups or teams responsible not for the main operations of the organization, but side operations or project such as charity, where the employees could take part in decision making process without the involvement of CEO. Another option for Apple could be organizing research teams with team leaders, as employees feel more motivated when they are committed in the changes. Because the managers in Scania are very multinational, the company should pay attention to cultural difference of the employees. It would be very relevant to educate the cluster managers in terms of culture of the other members of the team and than sent them to the Angers plant. Obviously the expansion of company by creating more teams in Scania is advantageous on one hand, but on the other hand it makes the company’s structure too sophisticated and too massive and moreover, adding a new cluster may reduce the space of other clusters. That is why Clusters should be added within the limitations, or smaller groups should be created as smaller groups make better performance and make faster decisions. References Buchanon D. Huczynsky A. (2010) Organizational behavior, 7th ed. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall Oxford, 2009, Dictionary of Business and Management, Oxford University Press, 5th ed. New York Leander Kahney (2009). Inside Steve’s Brain. US: penguin Group Debra L. Nelson, James Campbell Quick (2011). Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World, and You. PhD Ricky W. Griffin, Gregory Moorhead (2010). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. 10th ed. US: South-western Nancy Borkowski (2011). Organizational Behavior in Health Care. 2nd ed. LLC: Jones and Barlett Publishers Andrew Durbin (2009). Essentials of Management. US: South-western. Anwar Rashid (1982). organizational Behavior. 2nd ed. Canada: Methuen. 76-78 Katherine Miller (2012). Organizational Communication and Approaches and Processes. 6th ed. US: Wadsworth. M. A. Lusted (2012). Apple: The Company and its Visionary Founder, Steve Jobs. USA: ABDO. 9-22 A. Preston (2012). The Apple Revolution: Steve Jobs, the Counter Culture, and How the Crazy Ones Took Over the World by Luke Dormehl – review. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/aug/10/apple-revolution-luke-dormehl-review. Last accessed 18th Dec 2012. Scania official web site. (2012). H istory. Available: http://www.scania.co.uk/about-scania/history/. Last accessed 22nd Dec 2012

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Physical symbols consists of designs, logos, dà ©cor, and material objects. Within the School of Human Sciences, we have certain symbols that express the culture house in our organization. The School of Human Sciences has a specific logo that we place on key chains, shirts, pens, and other items to market our department. Even our building, Lloyd Ricks-Watson, is a physical symbol that houses us all under one roof. The second type of symbol that can be seen within an organizational culture are behavioral symbols. Behavioral symbols are things such as ceremonies, rituals, or traditions that are specific to that organization. In the School of Human Sciences we have plenty of behavioral symbols that we continuously participate in. Every fall semester, there is a welcome back tailgate for students, faculty, and staff. In the spring, there is a chili supper welcoming students back for a new semester. And one Friday, every month, we have a faculty meeting where we discuss upcoming news within the School of Human Sciences. These reoccurring behaviors help to establish and identify the culture within the organization. Finally, the third type of symbol is verbal symbols. Verbal symbols include jokes, jargon, or stories that revolve around the organization. Within any type of organization, jokes and stories are going to be expressed through verbal communication. Furthermore, faculty calling each other by their first names when students are not around can be seen as a verbal symbol. As a graduate student, I catch my instructors calling other faculty members by their first names and then correcting themselves when they realize they are speaking to a student. By listening to stories, joke, or understanding the jargon, one can better understand the culture of the organization. Everyone within an organization is connected. A variety of members make up an organization, and each member contributes something unique to the culture of the organization. We find connections to the organization through shared ideas, rituals, and symbols. Through physical, behavioral, and verbal symbols, one can feel connection with the organization they are a part of. One way this particular theory does not coincide with my career, is that not everyone participates or actively uses all of the things that make up an organizational culture. In any organization or work environment, there are going to be those employees who choose not to participate. Even when they are required to immerse themselves within the organizational culture, resistance can still be seen. However, overall the theory was very applicable to my situation, and will be applicable to any organizational situation I encounter in the future. Structuration Theory Groups and organizations engage in certain behaviors in order to achieve their goals. Within an organization, structure is a necessity. Structure can include the rules and resources used to sustain the organization. Through structuration, organizations transform socially because of the rules and resources that dictate relationships. Rules and resources guide behaviors and decisions within an organization. Rules consists of guidelines for how a goal can be accomplished. Resources refer to the power that all individuals within the organization bring to the group. Therefore, structuration allows for members of an organization to better understand the social structure of their organization. Power structures are evident in any organizational setting and aid in guiding the decision making process. Power enables members of an organization to achieve goals. Every member within an organization has some form of power; superiors, subordinates, etc. Power allows for members of an organization to get what they want within the system. For an individual, power is an authoritative resource that helps the organization to function properly. In regards to this theory, there are five different types of power that an individual can exemplify; reward, coercive, referent, legitimate, and expert. Reward power refers the perception that another person within the organization has the ability to provide positive reinforcement. With reward power, the rewards can consist of praise or material rewards. As a student, I deal with reward power on a pretty frequent basis. My instructors are able to reward me for exceptional work by providing words of praise or encouragement. Additionally, as a student, there are ample opportunities for honors, awards and distinguishments. So at the same time, the university itself holds reward power too. Not to mention the greatest material reward a student can receive, a college degree. Because I know that my professors hold a majority of the reward power, I try my hardest to produce exceptional work. By producing that exceptional and receiving verbal rewards from professors, it provides a sense of incentive to seek out higher rewards, such as the material rewards previously mentioned. Coercive power refers to the perception that someone within the organization has the ability to provide punishment. Coercive power makes others feel as though they must comply with the requests of their superiors in order to avoid negative consequences. As a student, the same people who provide me with reward power can also provide me with coercive power, my professors. However, I do not do my work solely to avoid ridicule or punishment, I complete my work in order to maintain my credibility. If I were to not give all of my effort on assignments, did not respect my professors, and did not produce quality work, my credibility with my professors would decrease. Referent power refers to establishing a relationship between a superior in an organization and a member who has less power than them. A person who holds referent power is typically a friendly, well liked, well respected individual who may even serve as a role model for others within the organization. Again, I believe my professors have often exposed me to referent power. Sometimes it is very easy for me to form a meaningful relationship not only with my advisor, but also instructors within the department that I respect. I respect them so much mostly due to their personality and the way they choose to interact with me as a student. Though I know my professors are above me academically and within the work environment, they still treat me as an individual and pursue general interest in my goals and aspirations. Legitimate power refers to exerting power due to a particular position or title. In the academic community, there are many individuals who exert influence on others based on their titles. For example, I comply with the wishes of my major professor. Her position as my advisor allows her to influence and help structure the direction of my goals by providing her input and expertise when needed. Furthermore, my major professor has someone who exerts legitimate power on her as well. The director of our department within the School of Human Sciences holds legitimate power over all instructors within the department. By holding the power as being the director of the department, he has the right and the ability to exert influence over the department as a whole. Expert power refers to a person having a specific set of knowledge or expertise. Those with expert power are very valuable for any type of group or organization. Expert power allows those individuals to assist in decisions making processes and as a source knowledge when consulted. Yet again, my professors hold a sincere amount of expert power. All of my professors have completed a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and most have completed their PhD. Therefore, my professors are experts in their fields. It is such a benefit for an organization, more specifically outside of academia, to have employees that exhibit expert power. As a graduate assistant, I even experience possessing all five of these powers at some point. As an instructor in classes, I use reward and coercive power by being the person who is in charge of my students’ grades. Hopefully, through the reward and coercive power used, my students respect me and my assignments, knowing that I hold the power within the classroom. Additionally, I hope I possess some form of referent power with my students and my colleagues. I hope to establish a working relationship with those that I work with and encounter an on everyday basis. I possess legitimate power because of my title as a graduate assistant. That title provides me with the opportunities to serve as an instructor for certain classes, conduct research for myself and for others, and deciphers me from undergraduate students. Finally, I exert expert power because of my degree titles. I have already completed a bachelor’s degree in which gives me an extensive amount of knowledge in the field of agriculture. Currently, I am pursuing a master’s degree which will further enhance my expertise within the field. Social Penetration Theory Social penetration refers to a process of relationship bonding where individuals move from superficial communication to more intimate communication. Social penetration relates to more than just physical intimacy, it also incorporates intellectual and emotional intimacy. Social penetration suggests that relationships progress in a systematic way, are predictable, and dependent on our verbal, nonverbal, and environmentally oriented behaviors. All relationships form and follow a particular trajectory in which there are four stages. The four stages of the social penetration process include orientation, exploratory affective exchange, affective exchange, and stable exchange. The orientation stage begins by revealing small, ordinary facts about ourselves to others. This past January I moved from an office across campus where I was by myself, into an office which I would share with two other students. For my situation as a graduate assistant sharing an office with two other graduate assistants, the orientation stage was very important. At this stage, we divulged enough information for others to begin to find common ground with us, but not enough to be able to judge us. Though the information we tend to express in this stage is simple, and sometimes superficial, it is a necessity for any type of relationship to form. The exploratory affective exchange stage occurs when we begin to share aspects of our individual personality with others. Self-disclosure becomes a crucial part of this stage because it helps to transform superficial relationships into more intimate ones by revealing information about yourself. After a few weeks in the new office situation, I began to realize that I was learning more and more about my office mates. Without even realizing it, we would end up in short conversations about things unrelated to classes or work, which helped to better grasp each other’s personalities. The affective exchange stage is where the closeness of the friendship begins to blossom. At this stage, nonverbal communication can sometimes substitute for verbal communication. For instance, I can come into the office not say anything, but smile, and my office mates can substitute that as a â€Å"good morning†. Also, during this stage we begin to form our own jargon and inside jokes. For example, after about three months of sharing an office, we had inside jokes, we shared funny videos and pictures, and we also listened to music together. We share information about our families, significant others, and ask for advice on any problems we may be having. Through this stage we were not only able to form a more intimate friendship with one another, we were also able to create an office environment that was comfortable for everyone. The final stage is the stable exchange stage. At this stage, the relationship is more spontaneous than before. Communication and behavior are a lot more predictable, and those involved know a lot more about each other and how they react. After reaching this stage, I can say my office mates are more than just people I share a room with Monday through Friday, they are my friends. We know when to talk, when to not talk. We can tell when someone might need a pick me up. And we are not afraid to be ourselves. By working through the stages of the social penetration process, we were able to divulge information about ourselves at a progressive speed and form relationships with one another. The only way to understand other people is to engage in personal conversations with them and by sharing personal bits of information about yourself. Each personality will influence the direction a relationship will take. Though initial conversations may seem unimportant, they allow individuals to understand each other and provide early relational development. Through the social penetration process individuals achieve a way to balance their needs while also forming a relationship with another person. Overall, this theory was very applicable to my current situation. I have seen first-hand how relationships develop, and I agree that they are a linear process. I also agree that there a certain steps, or stages, one must go through when developing a relationship with another person. There is give and take with all individuals associated with a relationship, and relationships take time to develop. I will forever keep this theory in the back of my mind as I embark on my professional career where creating, developing, and maintaining relationships is so important. Groupthink Groups are sets of individuals whose goal is to work toward completing a task or solving a problem. Groups need a solid foundation and need to be able to remain unaffected by all other influences. In order for the members of a group to work together effectively, the group needs a certain level of cohesiveness, or culture, within the group. Group cohesion encourages greater satisfaction within the group, the group members are more enthusiastic, and the group experience is overall positive. As a student, I am required to work in groups on a pretty regular basis. For example, I am an ambassador for the Graduate Student Association on campus. As an ambassador I am required to attend planning meetings, assist when we host events, and serve as a liaison between the GSA and certain departments on campus. As a task oriented group, every group member has a specific job assigned to them, and when everyone does their job, our overall goal is more easily accomplished. Groupthink is a way of group negotiation that reduces conflict and emphasizes the need for unison. When working within a group, sometimes it is easy to have tunnel vision on the end result. We can succumb to pressures of needing to keep the group harmonious and not really address the problem that we need to solve. The need to form a homogeneous group often distracts away from the true purpose of the group. Furthermore, rather than face rejection, some members will even withhold their input if it differs from others’ within the group. The initial group meeting for any group is where groupthink is going to be most visible. Certain people choose not to speak up if their opinion slightly differs, some people do not want to offer up new ideas, and everyone looks to the group leader for direction. As meetings become more frequent and the group members get to know each other, I believe those barriers break down and people feel more open to express their opinions. On the other hand, there will always be group members who are never afraid to voice their opinions. It is easy for those people to have influence over the less vocal members in the group, so it is important to keep a happy balance. The only problem with this theory, as it relates to the group I am a part of, is that the theory seems to focus more on decision making groups. Though the GSA committee makes decisions that affect the graduate student body as a whole, it is not our primary role. This particular group, as originally stated, is more task oriented. Regardless, overcoming groupthink is a reoccurring challenge when working within a group. One of the ways we have actively addressed groupthink within the GSA committee is by allowing members to voice their doubts. We have created a very neutral environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing their thoughts, even if they differ from the majority of the group. When we cannot make a unanimous decision on an issue or task, we completely discuss both sides. Without interruption, without judgement, and without ridicule, we as group work together to find the solution that will be best for the group as a whole. References West, R., Turner, L. (2010). Groupthink. In Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application (5th Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. West, R., Turner, L. (2010). Organizational Culture. In Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. West, R., Turner, L. (2010). Social Penetration Theory. In Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. West, R., Turner, L. (2010). Structuration Theory. In Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Betrayed By God :: essays research papers

Betrayed By God   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To tell you the truth I have never really felt betrayed by God. It's most likely due to the fact that I haven't had many significant life experiences come up. Also when something goes wrong I don't look at God as a scapegoat. I feel you should blame whoever or whatever caused the tragedy. Blaming God is just the easy way out or just a quick answer to your problems. All this aside and even though I've never felt betrayed, I know others who have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I work at a deli in my town and it recently burnt down. If I were the owner, I would have felt betrayed or denied. I mean, it's his life. It's the way he supports his family. One day he woke up and it was gone. Even worse is the time of year it happened, Christmas. This is the time when you need every penny but the only thing he's getting now is lost-wages paid by his insurance company. It doesn't even close to what he would be making if the deli were still up and running. But it's better than nothing, I guess.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His business has been through a lot of hardships over the last 16 years. Another difficulty was the building of the Blue Route near his business. The construction blocked almost everyone from entering the building. I don't know if you could blame God for that sort of problem or maybe it was just fate. But with these dilemmas and problems, he didn't question why God allowed these things to happen. He looked insstead to the way he benefited from the experiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One benefit was it made him stronger mentally aand spiritually. To keep a business going for three years with minimal customers is hard. It takes dedication and will to show up every morning and basically prepare for nothing, but he did . He was much more grateful when people came in and developed a better business. Perhaps God knew what He was doing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even the fire was a blessing in disguise. Some of the equipment was getting old and things just weren't all in top condition. So now he will have new equipment, walls, ceiling and so on. He wouldn't have had the pocket money to do this alone. Now you might be thinking it was just an insurance scam, but he had many inspectors come in and checked the cause . It was faulty wiring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  God might have seen that things weren't exactly great and things needed to be done to help out in the future. Betrayed By God :: essays research papers Betrayed By God   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To tell you the truth I have never really felt betrayed by God. It's most likely due to the fact that I haven't had many significant life experiences come up. Also when something goes wrong I don't look at God as a scapegoat. I feel you should blame whoever or whatever caused the tragedy. Blaming God is just the easy way out or just a quick answer to your problems. All this aside and even though I've never felt betrayed, I know others who have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I work at a deli in my town and it recently burnt down. If I were the owner, I would have felt betrayed or denied. I mean, it's his life. It's the way he supports his family. One day he woke up and it was gone. Even worse is the time of year it happened, Christmas. This is the time when you need every penny but the only thing he's getting now is lost-wages paid by his insurance company. It doesn't even close to what he would be making if the deli were still up and running. But it's better than nothing, I guess.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His business has been through a lot of hardships over the last 16 years. Another difficulty was the building of the Blue Route near his business. The construction blocked almost everyone from entering the building. I don't know if you could blame God for that sort of problem or maybe it was just fate. But with these dilemmas and problems, he didn't question why God allowed these things to happen. He looked insstead to the way he benefited from the experiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One benefit was it made him stronger mentally aand spiritually. To keep a business going for three years with minimal customers is hard. It takes dedication and will to show up every morning and basically prepare for nothing, but he did . He was much more grateful when people came in and developed a better business. Perhaps God knew what He was doing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even the fire was a blessing in disguise. Some of the equipment was getting old and things just weren't all in top condition. So now he will have new equipment, walls, ceiling and so on. He wouldn't have had the pocket money to do this alone. Now you might be thinking it was just an insurance scam, but he had many inspectors come in and checked the cause . It was faulty wiring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  God might have seen that things weren't exactly great and things needed to be done to help out in the future.

Being An International Student in a Post 9/11 World :: Terrorism Terrorists Essays

Being An International Student in a Post 9/11 World "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free," just not your students. "I knew what was going to happen after 9/11. It was understood," said Tariq Halela, a 21-year-old student at Boston University. What he understood was simple: for an international student, living in the United States would never be the same. Halela, an Indian born Kuwaiti native, has been studying stateside for over two years. He is an accounting major and speaks four languages -- English, Arabic, Hindi and Gujarati -- fluently. "I love it here in the states," he said. "That is why I was so worried when I got a call from the ISO [international student's office] saying I could be deported." Confusion over the new immigration rules and regulations is what gave Halela his first deportation scare. With stricter visas guidelines, the culmination of new policies the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have undertaken is the Student Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS. Now, new international students can choose to study at any one of the over 7,000 SEVIS-certified universities in America. The schools, in turn, provide a plethora of information on the students ranging from the mundane - name, enrollment verification, date of birth - to the normally considered private information such as grades and field of study. Essentially, the SEVIS is a program designed to keep tabs on all the approximately one million international students studying here in the U.S. The SEVIS keeps a database housing all of a student's information to determine whether he or she can stay in the U.S. or can be allowed to come here in the first place. Although the program seems like a reaction to the 9/11 attacks, the birth of SEVIS dates back to the early '90s. One of the men convicted of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Eyad Ismoil, had gained access to the U.S. through a student visa. In an attempt to help regulate the student visas system, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which commissioned the government to create a system that manages information on all international students but Congress never pressed to make that system operational. When it was learned that two of the 9/11 highjackers, Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehi, also came tot he U.S. through student visas, Congress changed their tune.

Lack of Discipline in Children

Lack of Discipline in Children ENG 101 Evelyn Hill January 28, 2013 Walk into any public and look around; what do you see? Most people would say; products, people, families, and children. Next, watch some of the children for just a minute and listen to them. There are probably some children playing hide and seek from their parents in the racks of cloths, others are opening the packages of toys, and of course, there’s the one child who is screaming all through the store because his mom told him he couldn’t have something he wanted.Don’t worry, that will soon cease when mom gets tired of hearing the screaming and will give in. This is just an example of public places almost anywhere in the United States; children pitching a fit because they don’t get what they want. While all children pitch fits at some point in their young lives, they also need to be taught that it is not appropriate behavior. We need to discipline our children so they have the knowledge an d skills to act in accordance with the rules of society.While only a few years ago many families had the luxury to only need one income in a household, things have changed and it’s no longer feasible for only one parent to work. This change in the economy has led to an increase of children being left with a babysitter or put in a child care facility. I see many children in the center that I work at, who are at school for ten to twelve hours a day. This is leaving a parents job up to a teacher of six to twenty-five children, discipline included.I’m hoping that my paper will offer some insight to parents who are looking for ways to discipline their child without much of the screaming, fighting, frustration, and physical and mental issues that may attach with the use of corporal punishment. Discipline is the structure that helps a child fit into society happily and effectively; key words being structure. Children need structure whether they are at home or in day care, thi s enables children to know when and where it is appropriate to play and be loud. With this being said, there are several ways in which a parent can teach a child appropriate behavior.First of all, discipline should always be given by an adult in whom the child has a bond. Discipline should always be consistent as well. Allowing a child to get away with opening a toy in a store without purchasing the item first, after the child was disciplined for the same thing before, only confuses the child. Next, the child should think the discipline is fair and it should not be something that you as the parent cannot hold your word. For example, many children will not think that getting a spanking is fair, nor would they think be grounded for a month would be fair.Telling a child they are grounded for a month is not a reasonable punishment because parents forget or they get tired of hearing the child whine about being grounded and give up. Lastly, discipline should be close to the time of the un desired behavior, meaning, if a child was hitting another child on the playground, the parent should take care of it as soon as possible, not hours after because the child may remember the behavior or remember why they were hitting. In my experience, the best way to discipline a child is by simply talking to them.Children respond much better when an adult talks to them about misbehavior than they do if they are being yelled at. Yelling at a child causes resentment towards the adult which will later cause more undesired behavior. I usually ask the child what he was doing, if he thinks that behavior is appropriate, and what he can do to fix it. Children usually have pretty good ideas of their own as far as what they think is fair where discipline is concerned. If there is the situation in which the child is really upset or I can feel myself getting frustrated, I call for a five minute time out for both of us.I have the child sit down and I walk away, when we are both ready to talk aga in we do. Children need to know that rules are established so that they can learn to live cooperatively with others, so they can learn right from wrong, and to protect them from harm. Without rules and consequences to these rules children never learn how to act in accordance to the rules of society. It’s not easy disciplining a child nor is there a quick fix to behavior problems, but even two parents who work twelve hours a day can deter many behavioral issues by simply talking to their children.Children need structure at home just as much as they do at school, without it, children are lost; they are confused about when and where it is okay to play and be loud. Discipline needs to be given by an adult whom the child trusts and loves and it should be seen as â€Å"fair† by the child, discipline should be consistent and close to the time of the undesired behavior, and lastly, children need to understand that discipline is only to keep them safe. I am confident that any p arent who takes the time to talk to their children about the child’s mistakes will have a much better behaved child. Lack of Discipline in Children Lack of Discipline in Children ENG 101 Evelyn Hill January 28, 2013 Walk into any public and look around; what do you see? Most people would say; products, people, families, and children. Next, watch some of the children for just a minute and listen to them. There are probably some children playing hide and seek from their parents in the racks of cloths, others are opening the packages of toys, and of course, there’s the one child who is screaming all through the store because his mom told him he couldn’t have something he wanted.Don’t worry, that will soon cease when mom gets tired of hearing the screaming and will give in. This is just an example of public places almost anywhere in the United States; children pitching a fit because they don’t get what they want. While all children pitch fits at some point in their young lives, they also need to be taught that it is not appropriate behavior. We need to discipline our children so they have the knowledge an d skills to act in accordance with the rules of society.While only a few years ago many families had the luxury to only need one income in a household, things have changed and it’s no longer feasible for only one parent to work. This change in the economy has led to an increase of children being left with a babysitter or put in a child care facility. I see many children in the center that I work at, who are at school for ten to twelve hours a day. This is leaving a parents job up to a teacher of six to twenty-five children, discipline included.I’m hoping that my paper will offer some insight to parents who are looking for ways to discipline their child without much of the screaming, fighting, frustration, and physical and mental issues that may attach with the use of corporal punishment. Discipline is the structure that helps a child fit into society happily and effectively; key words being structure. Children need structure whether they are at home or in day care, thi s enables children to know when and where it is appropriate to play and be loud. With this being said, there are several ways in which a parent can teach a child appropriate behavior.First of all, discipline should always be given by an adult in whom the child has a bond. Discipline should always be consistent as well. Allowing a child to get away with opening a toy in a store without purchasing the item first, after the child was disciplined for the same thing before, only confuses the child. Next, the child should think the discipline is fair and it should not be something that you as the parent cannot hold your word. For example, many children will not think that getting a spanking is fair, nor would they think be grounded for a month would be fair.Telling a child they are grounded for a month is not a reasonable punishment because parents forget or they get tired of hearing the child whine about being grounded and give up. Lastly, discipline should be close to the time of the un desired behavior, meaning, if a child was hitting another child on the playground, the parent should take care of it as soon as possible, not hours after because the child may remember the behavior or remember why they were hitting. In my experience, the best way to discipline a child is by simply talking to them.Children respond much better when an adult talks to them about misbehavior than they do if they are being yelled at. Yelling at a child causes resentment towards the adult which will later cause more undesired behavior. I usually ask the child what he was doing, if he thinks that behavior is appropriate, and what he can do to fix it. Children usually have pretty good ideas of their own as far as what they think is fair where discipline is concerned. If there is the situation in which the child is really upset or I can feel myself getting frustrated, I call for a five minute time out for both of us.I have the child sit down and I walk away, when we are both ready to talk aga in we do. Children need to know that rules are established so that they can learn to live cooperatively with others, so they can learn right from wrong, and to protect them from harm. Without rules and consequences to these rules children never learn how to act in accordance to the rules of society. It’s not easy disciplining a child nor is there a quick fix to behavior problems, but even two parents who work twelve hours a day can deter many behavioral issues by simply talking to their children.Children need structure at home just as much as they do at school, without it, children are lost; they are confused about when and where it is okay to play and be loud. Discipline needs to be given by an adult whom the child trusts and loves and it should be seen as â€Å"fair† by the child, discipline should be consistent and close to the time of the undesired behavior, and lastly, children need to understand that discipline is only to keep them safe. I am confident that any p arent who takes the time to talk to their children about the child’s mistakes will have a much better behaved child.

Dark tourism: mediating between the dead and the living Essay

Dark tourism Introduction            In general, tourism covers several kinds of travel and a very broad destination ranges. One of the niches of tourism is what is known as Dark tourism that covers the visitation of places where tragedies or where ancient deaths in history have taken place and the institutions that deal with the human heritage (Stone, 2012). In the last decades, this type of tourism has received more attention and hence it has become very popular (stone, 2012). As Lennon and Foley (1999) states, tourism that is associated with the death sites and also tragedy places are registering a huge number of visits hence experiencing a rapid growth. Smith (1996), in her research shows that the warfare memoralia along with the allied products are probably forming the largest category of tourist attraction in the globe, in spite of the dissuasive and tragedies that have happened there( Stone, 2012). For instance, the Jailhouse in the United States has formed one of the earliest example of dark t ourism in the break of the 19th century has received a lot of attention due to its novel practices and architectural innovations( Stone, 2012).            In the meantime, visitation of the sites of death and tragedy has developed into a global phenomenon. However, the demand for the spots of dark tourism is becoming very versatile. Besides the death and tourism matters, culture interests or just the desire for entertainment are some of the other reasons why thousands of people are pilmigraging in the dark tourism sites day by day (Stone, 2006). In spite of the ever increasing number of research on this topic, the reasons why people are visiting these dark tourism sites and also identifying themselves with death matters, genocide and disaster is not clear (Foley and Lennon, 2000; sharply and Stone, 2009). Owing to the daily and rapid increase in the dark tourism niche, it is very vital for people to understand the reasons that motivate people to visit the places of genocides and disaster. Dark Tourism definition            As described by Foley and (Lennon, 1999), dark tourism is the type of tourism that encompasses the supply and consumption by the people who are the visitors, of real and commodities of disaster and death sites( Stone, 2012). One example of dark tourism in the in the ancient ages is the gladiatorial games of the area of the Romans or the execution during the medieval age as noted by (Stone, 2009). Boorstin (1964), shows that the first England tour which was organized and carried in the year 1838 was a trip by a train, where people had organized to go and witness the hanging of two murderers.            (Sharply, 2005) denotes that Dark tourism is not only becoming more popular but it also varies very much in their presentation of death. Dark tourism is reaching from the jocular houses of horror in the famous places of the well know individuals to the sites of mass murder especially the Holocaust death camps. (Seaton, 1996), demonstrates a lot of attraction sites which include th Waterloo Battle fields along with the buried city of Pompeii with the latter being cited as the largest and the most famous destination for the thanatoptic travel of the Romantic period (Seaton, 1996)            Mostly, the word Thonatourism is preferred to Dark tourism as it describes the travel to locations that are partially or wholly motivated by the actual or symbolic desire to the death encounters which is particularly and not exclusive to the violent death, to a varying degree that it is activated by the individual’s specific features of the ones that deaths is their focal objects. this shows that the main reasons for the people who visit these places are only active visiting there so as to experience the atmosphere of such places. Stone believes that thanatourism should only be defined by the motives of the consumer and also the motivation of the individuals in this kind of tourism plays a lot of roles. The other definition synched with Dark tourism is â€Å"the black spots† which are the commercial development sites of graves or the places where celebrities or famous people have been met with sudden or violent deaths (Rojek, 1993). Rojek quotes three different examples of these black spot sites; the site of the famous murder of John Kennedy murder in Dallas, Texas, the annual travel to the Californian highway where Dean James met his death in a sudden car crash and the annual candlelight vigil in the memory of the famous Presley Elvis (Stone, 2012).            In this paper, both thanatourism and Dark tourism will be used as they got the same meaning although they are interpreted differently. Dark tourism is based on the attraction and location based while thanatourism basis on the motivational aspect. Black spots are the places associated with Dark tourism in the sense that they are the sudden and violent death sites. Benefits of Dark tourism            Dark tourism creates an exotic experience to the travelers for the tourists who are seeking an unusual experience apart from their everyday lives (J Khang e etal, 2012). In most instances, it creates a dull vacation concept to the people who are more open minded and they usually want to explore the world (J Khang e etal, 2012). It is a general nature of human beings also to want to have a eyewitness of the suffering of others that is formed basically from the curiosity of the mind (J Khang e etal, 2012). Also, Dak tourism is a very interesting aspect of tourism where visiting of the battlefields, cemeteries and concentration camps give one a firsthand information experience of the hardship through their own eye witness. Dark tourism is a muti-dimensional feeling that could have a deep impact in life (Daams, 2007).            (J Khang e etal, 2012) notes, Dark tourism also generates income for the society that has or was affected by the said tragedy or disaster to rebuild itself. The tourist influx helps the local by bringing in money to them. Without these tourists coming in to witness the sites, it could be very hard for the community that is affected to rebuild itself and live to their original standards. For instance the Katrina hit places of Orleans saw the tourist figures drop by 35 percent of what was there before and hence a tourist surge would help this part rebuild itself (Dams, 2007).            Dark tourism also provides emotional benefit not only to the tourists but also to the community where they are situated (J Khang e etal, 2012). Also dark tourism site could be used for educational purposes to educate the young generations on the cause of the tragedy and how to evade such. For instance, the Auschwitz in the country of Poland was listed in the UNESCO world heritage site in the year 1979 and it became mandatory for every school child in German to visit it during their education9Kate N.d). By raising the soberness of the past horrific events it leads cooling of our minds in our endeavors of understanding the world that we live in (Daams, 2007). Also, dark tourism helps us to notice and pay tribute to the ones who fought for the betterment of the country (Kendle, n.d)            Dark tourism gives a positive impact both to the economy and to the emotional wellbeing of the community at hand along with the visiting tourists. It generates income to the economy, provides a new experience to the tourists and also provides emotional wellbeing of the affected residents. So the dark tourism revenues generated should be channeled to the right places so that it can help the affected people to rebuild their lives and also raise their living standards (J Khang e etal, 2012). Examples of Dark tourism sites The Buried village            One of the examples of Dark tourism site is the buried village in New Zealand. This happened when mount Tarawera started to erupt in the early hours of 10th June 1886 and it is termed as one of the greatest natural disasters. It was just after the midnight when Te Wairoa people were woken by a sequence of earthquakes (Chris Ryan and Rahul Kohli, 2006). About a period of two hour after this, a huge earthquake took the center stage which was followed by a big explosion and the for the following four hours, the peaceful village was bombarded by rocks, ashes and mud. This sadistic and unanticipated eruption buried the village of Te Wairoa along with other several neighboring villages in the area with hot mud, ash and mud (Chris Ryan and Rahul Kohli, 2006). The eruption destroyed the white and pink terraces, a silicon- stained natural formation, which formed the largest New Zealand’s tourist attractions changing the landscape dramatically. It led to loss of more than 150 people, and has since been a tourist attraction which is one of the dark tourism sites as coined by Croy and Smith (Chris Ryan and Rahul Kohli, 2006). The Jeju Massacre            The Jeju massacre is one of the forms of the dark tourism site where more than 30, 000 people were executed by the military (J. khang et al, 2012). . A peace park was constructed and every year people go there to commemorate theor loved ones. This is termed as one of the biggest dark tourist sites in the world, for instance the 3rd April peace park case (J. khang et al, 2012). Dark tourism Motivators            In accordance to Smitt(1996), the war sites attract basically people with strong interests in history and also the military strategists. The people who visit these sites are always keen to analyze the past event while they walk around the scene. This is to show that the battlefield visitors are not motivated by any interest on the deaths but by the interest in the history of the battlefields. These same results were also confirmed by Crompton (1979) and also Anderson (1995), who stipulated that Historical and cultural interest could also be a motivator for travel. Crompton (1979) formed this conclusion from interviewing 44 adults that novelty and education are also travel motivators. To sum up the topic on history motivation, it can be noted that history could be the major motivating factor that drives people to visit the battlefield and disaster sites. Owing to the little research that has been carried on the tourist motivation to the disaster sites, it can be con cluded based on the little research that the motive to learn more and more about history could be the main driving factor but not only or single reason why individuals visit these sites. Below are the other reasons why people visit the dark sites. Education            So as to understand the reasons behind battles and deaths and what were their aftermaths, dark tourism could be very helpful in opinion forming. Also, some people needs to know why their relatives and friends had to die. Travel education was introduced into learning in the break of industrialization back in the 17th century, when educational enhancements and also infrastructure increased 9Burkart and medlik 1981). In the year 1982, the first exhibitions on dark tourism with educational components were prompted in the city of New York, USA. Presently, Dark tourism sites are implementing educational aspects ni them so as to promote themselves. The tourists also get a chance of self learning through these educational travels. There are many institutes which are offering educational tours to the war sites and also delivering information sessions, for instance the Smithsonian associates in Washington a D.C educational department which was offering a tour that was tracin g the route of the murderer of president Abraham Lincoln. One of the main reasons for such tours and events is for the people to learn from the past and put mechanisms on how re-occurrence of such events could be prevented. In most of the learning places, like pearl Harbor in USA, people always believe that education could provide a more secure tomorrow. The people who visit such places are thought to know why these tragedies happened and hence they should realize that it should never happen anymore (Ryan, 2007). Remembrance            Lennon nad foley(1993) describe remembrance as an important human activity which connect people between the past and the future. They also declare that how humans remember defines us in the present. These sites are mostly constructed for remembrance and to commemorate the ones who died or the event which led to their deaths. Like for instance, there is a day in Christianity which is meant to remember all the saints that died and it is known as all saints day. It is a common practice where the Christians visit these cemeteries where loved ones were buried. It is meant also for the remembrance of the events that formed the identities of these individuals. Identity            People also visit these sites for indent purposes. Even if people have no direct connection to the people in these sites or event which lead them to it, they visit these sites for identity purposes. For example, people who visit the sites where famous people met their deaths, mostly they have the soul purpose of indentifying themselves with the dead character (Rojek, 1993).            According to a research by Ashworth (2004), many tourist visit the sites of disaster or battlefields because of their curiosity. Other researchers have it that people visit the atrocity sites so as to view the macabre exhibits (Yuill, 2003) and (cooper, 2003) as (Yuill, 2003) states, the tourists or visitors who come to the atrocity sites rarely have no connection to any of the person that fought in these wars or participated in the battlefield. The future of dark Tourism            Owing to the fact that Dark tourism has been increasing day by day, there has been a lot of incites on the future of this kind of tourism (H. Muzaini, 2007). One of the most exploited parts is in the educational part of it. Many Universities have launched courses that are basing their information from the dark tourism. For instance, the University of Central Lancashire launched a program where they will be examining the reasons why people visit these sites, what are their motivations and also offering trips to these sites (Reed Courtney, n.d).            Also, the business minds people are converting these sites into big hotels especially the prisons which were famous dark tourism sites are being converted into hotels and they attract a lot of tourist who want to feel the identified with these places (H. Muzaini, 2007). For instance the Oxford prison has been converted into a luxurious hotel that is attracting a lot of visitors. Most of these sites are being converted into luxurious sites (Reed Courtney, n.d).            In addition, we have the websites that are designed for visitor’s attractions to the museums in most cases employ images and narratives of the life in prison in the ancient times and also the more punitive incarnation elements (Reed Courtney, n.d). You will see some of the writings like, â€Å"Sit in a prison cell, hear the door slam shut and imagine the harsh conditions of Victorian prison regimes. Try on prison uniforms, imagine the horror of being set in the pillory, strapped in a restraint chair or hung in chains. Turn the crank, carry out shot drill or work the treadmill† (H. Muzaini, 2007). References A.V. Seaton (1996) Guided by the dark: From thanatopsis to thanatourism, International Journal of Heritage Studies, 2:4, 234-244, DOI: 10.1080/13527259608722178 Malcolm Foley & J. John Lennon (1996) JFK and dark tourism: A fascination with assassination, International Journal of Heritage Studies, 2:4, 198-211, DOI: Alcatraz and Robben Island. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 386–405. Elsevier Science Ltd. Chris Ryan & Rahul Kohli (2006) The Buried village, New Zealand – An example of dark tourism?, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 11:3, 211-226 Walter, T. (2009) Dark tourism: mediating between the dead and the living. In: The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism. Aspects of Tourism . Channel View Publications, Bristol, U. K., pp. 39-55. ISBN 9781845411152 Walter, T. (2009) Dark tourism: mediating between the dead and the living. In: The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practiceof Dark Tourism. Aspects of Tourism . Channel View Publications, Bristol, U. K., pp. 39-55. ISBN 9781845411152 Philip Stone and Richard Sharpley,(2012). CONSUMING DARK TOURISM: A Thanatological Perspective. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 574–595. Elsevier Ltd Daams, Eric (2007) ‘Dark Tourism: Bearing Witness or Crass Spectacle? http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2007/10/10/dark-tourism-more-than-a-spectacle/ [accessed 20 October 2009] Erik H. Cohen (2011) EDUCATIONAL DARK TOURISM AT AN IN POPULO SITE.The Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 193–209. Elsevier Ltd Griffiths, Kate (n.d) ‘Ground Zero & the Phenomena of Dark Tourism’ http://www.pilotguides.com/destination_guide/north-america/new-york/ground_zero.php [accessed 20 October 2009] Rasul A. Mowatt and Charles H. Chancellor. (2011) VISITING DEATH AND LIFE. Dark Tourism and Slave Castles. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 1410–1434. Elsevier Ltd Philip R. Stone, (2012)DARK TOURISM AND SIGNIFICANT OTHER DEATH. Towards a Model of Mortality Mediation. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 1565–1587 Elsevier Ltd. Park, Korea, Eun-Jung Kang, Noel Scott, Timothy Jeonglyeol Lee, Roy Ballantyne, (2012). Tourism Management. Beneï ¬ ts of visiting a ‘dark tourism’ site: The case of the Jeju April 3rd Peace. School of Tourism, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia Reed, Courtney (n.d) ‘Shedding Light on Dark Tourism’ http://www.gonomad.com/features/0704/dark-tourism.html [accessed 20 October 2009] Hamzah Muzaini , Peggy Teo & Brenda S. A. Yeoh (2007) Intimations of Postmodernity in Dark Tourism: The Fate of History at Fort Siloso, Singapore, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 5:1, 28-45, DOI: 10.2167/jtcc082.0 Source document

The Consumer Guarantees

The Consumer Guarantees Act is a cornerstone piece of legislation. Its role is to protect consumers. Under the Act, your consumer rights are expressed as a series of â€Å"guarantees† that a seller automatically makes to you when you buy any goods or services ordinarily purchased for personal use.In this guide, we explain what those rights are, and what to do if you think your rights have been breached. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 A Summary Introduction: The Act came into force on 1 April 1994 and does not apply to any contract for the supply of goods or services made before this date (Section 56). It is a significant piece of legislation and is aimed at imposing guarantees in contracts for the supply of goods and the performance of services for the consumers benefit. It provides a right of redress against suppliers and manufacturers in respect of any failure of the goods or services to comply with the guarantees. Definitions: Certain terms are defined in the Act itself (Section 2). These definitions are important in determining in what circumstances the Act will or will not apply. The Act defines â€Å"Goods†, â€Å"Service†, â€Å"Supplier†, â€Å"Manufacturer†, â€Å"trade†, and other terms. The key definition in the Act is â€Å"Consumer†. This is defined to mean a person who:- (a) Acquires from a supplier goods or services of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic, or household use or consumption; and (b) Does not acquire the goods or services, or hold himself or herself out as acquiring the goods or services, for the purpose of: (i) Re-supplying them in trade; or  (ii) Consuming them in the course of a process of production or manufacture; or (iii) In the case of goods, repairing or treating in trade other goods or fixtures on land.† The definition of â€Å"Consumer† is unusual and difficult. The focus is the ordinary use for which goods or services are acquired rather than the use intended by the acquiring purchaser. By way of example a contract for the supply of crockery to a company that owns a restaurant will be a contract of supply of goods subject to the Act because although intended for commercial use, crockery is ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use and consumption. As far as the services supplied by travel agents are concerned it would be best to proceed on the basis that virtually all of the services will be viewed as a kind ordinarily acquired for personal or domestic use or consumption with the consequence that the Act will apply to those services. Guarantees: The Act establishes one set of guarantees which apply in relation to the supply of goods and a different set of guarantees which apply in relation to the supply of services. This summary deals only with the guarantees which the Act imposes in relation to the supply of services. TAANZ also has a summary of the guarantees which are imposed by the Act in relation to the supply of goods and if a member has a problem involving the guarantees applicable to supply of goods the member can obtain a copy of that summary by contacting the TAANZ office. Guarantees in Respect of the Supply of Services Where services are supplied to a consumer there are four guarantees provided by Part IV of the Act. These are:- (i) Guarantee as to Reasonable Care and Skill (Section 28). A guarantee that services will be carried out with reasonable skill and care. This guarantee restates in statutory form the existing common law obligations on Travel Agents to exercise the skill and care of a reasonable competent professional travel agent in performing their services. The guarantee does not extend the existing legal obligations of a travel agent to act with reasonable skill and care in the performance of their function on behalf of their customers. Travel Agents had these obligations before the Act was passed. (ii) Guarantee as to Fitness for Particular Purpose (Section 29) A guarantee that the service, and any product resulting from the service, will be reasonably fit for any particular purpose, and of such a nature and quality that it can reasonably be expected to achieve any particular result that the consumer made known to the supplier. This, the second guarantee, is significant and establishes a new liability on travel agents in relation to the performance of services for customers. The Section (Section 29) requires the consumer to have made known his or her purpose to the travel agent at or before the time of making the contract for supply of services for the customer. The difficulty with this particular guarantee is that it is possible that travel agents may be liable for the actions or defaults of other suppliers of product where the other suppliers fail to perform at the levels expected of them. By way of example, if a customer makes known particular needs in terms of a holiday, for example, a resort which contains a golf course and tennis courts, and the travel agent recommends a particular resort as being able to provide those services and facilities, if the resort (for whatever reason) fails to provide those facilities then the travel agent may be liable. Accordingly, this particular guarantee has the capacity to extend the liability of the travel agent to include failures on the part of the suppliers of the actual facilities of travel accommodation. This particular guarantee is modified in part by Section 33 of the Act which states that there shall be no right of redress against a supplier under the Act in respect of a service or any product resulting from a service which fails to comply with that guarantee only as to fitness for particular purpose if it fails to comply with that guarantee only because of any act, or default, or omission of, or any representation made by any person other than the supplier or an agent or servant of the supplier. TAANZ members should nevertheless take special care when they are dealing with a customer who has specified a particular purpose or that the arrangements which are made for him are to have a particular nature or quality or to achieve a particular result. In such cases the travel agent should be aware that if the customer complains that the programme or plan prepared by the travel agent did not satisfy the particular purpose or provide the facilities of the nature and quality specified by the customer then there is considerable potential for the customer to take action against the travel agent pursuant to this particular guarantee. This guarantee will not apply where the circumstances show that the consumer does not rely on the suppliers’ skill or judgment, or, it is unreasonable for the consumer to rely on the suppliers’ skill or judgment. TAANZ members should also ensure that their professional indemnity policy will cover them for breaches of this guarantee in circumstances when they have not been negligent. A more detailed analysis of this section is contained in the case studies which appear at the end of this summary. (iii) Guarantee as to Time of Completion (Section 30) A guarantee that the service will be completed within a reasonable time in any case where the time is not fixed by the contract nor a method for calculating the time provided in the contract. This guarantee is not likely at a practical level to create problems for travel agents. Travel agents do not have problems completing their tasks with a reasonable time frame. Modern technology enables travel agents to carry out reservation and booking work virtually instantaneously and the consumer is frequently advised at the time of enquiry as to whether seats or accommodation are available at the relevant time. (iii) Guarantee as to Price (Section 31) A guarantee that the consumer is not liable to pay to the supplier more than a reasonable price for the service in any case where the price is not fixed in the contract nor a method for calculating the price provided in the contract. When there is failure to comply with this guarantee the consumers right of redress is to refuse to pay more than a reasonable price. Here again the nature of the services provided by travel agents and the basis on which they are remunerated mean that from a practical point of view this guarantee is not likely to be one which affects travel agents in any significant way. Rights of Redress Against Suppliers In Respect of Supply of Services Where the supplier of a service fails to comply with the guarantees a consumer may exercise certain remedies depending on whether the failure can be remedied or not (Section 32). Where a failure can be remedied the consumer may require the supplier to remedy it within a reasonable time. If the supplier neglects or refuses to do so within a reasonable time a consumer may have the failure remedied elsewhere at the suppliers’ cost, or, cancel the contract for the supply of service in accordance with the requirements of the Act. Where a failure cannot be remedied or is of a substantial character the consumer may cancel the contract in accordance with the requirements of the Act or obtain damages in compensation of any reduction in value of the product of a service below the charge paid or payable by the consumer. â€Å"substantial character† is defined in the Act (Section 36). In either situation (can be remedied; cannot be remedied) the consumer can claim damages for any loss reasonably foreseeable as liable to result from the failure. The exception is that no right of redress is available against a supplier in respect of a service or any product resulting from a service which fails to comply with the guarantee as to fitness for a particular purpose (Section 29) or the guarantee as to time for completion (Section 30) if the cause is independent of human control or caused by an act or default or representation made by any person other than the supplier or servant or agent of the supplier (Section 33). Right to Cancellation: Once the right of cancellation has arisen Section 37 of the Act sets out the rules applying to cancellation. Cancellation does not take effect until made known to the supplier, or where it is not reasonably practicable to communicate with the supplier, by means which are reasonable in the circumstances. Cancellation may be made known by words or conduct (Section 37). However, where there is a provision in the contract of supply requiring notice of cancellation in writing this provision will apply (Section 37(3)). Where a consumer cancels a contract for the supply of services the consumer is entitled to a refund of money or other consideration paid less any amount the Court or a Disputes Tribunal orders that the supplier may retain (Section 38). Contracting Out: Section 43 deals expressly with contracting out of the Act. The Act is to have effect notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any agreement (Section 43). To purport to contract out of the Act is deemed to be an offence under the Fair Trading Act 1986 (a false representation) and fines of up to $200,000 for corporations and $60,000 for individuals may be imposed. The principal exception to the prohibition against contracting out is where the supply of goods or services is to a consumer who acquires the goods or services for business purposes. Where this criteria is satisfied an agreement to contract out of the provisions of the Act must be in writing and record that the supply is for â€Å"business purposes’