Negotiation Strategy Analysis Essay

Negotiation strategies are used to make negotiations successful. Depending on the type of situation, the negotiations may differ in tactics. This essay will examine two articles different in strategies that use integrative tactics. One article will have a distributive strategy (win-lose), and the other article will have an integrative strategy (win-win). The tactics used in the articles will be related to a work setting involving prospective buyers and apartment companies to create a negotiation in a win-win outcome. Article I – Hostage Takeover Negotiation  This article is about the strategy and tactics used in a hostage takeover. Several tactics have been used in hostage takeovers throughout the years. The strategic strategies are about who holds the power. Some strategies show the hostage taker that the negotiator or the police have the power by taking items away from the hostage taker. Some items that can be taken away are the power to the building and the hostage taker’s ability to negotiate. This type of negotiation can create aggression in the hostage taker. This aggression can lead to an unsuccessful negotiation. In the following example, a different type of strategy is used in a hostage situation. According to Justin Borowsky (2011), a strategy that helps to build the relationship between the negotiator and the hostage taker can bring a favorable outcome. Instead of aggravating the hostage taker, a negotiator can gain the trust and support of the hostage taker. This type of negotiation is a distributive strategy (win-lose) using integrative tactics. The tactics used to gain this relationship is to build rapport by affirmation of the hostage taker’s power. This rapport and affirmation helps the hostage taker to believe he is in control. As the rapport is built, the hostage taker starts to look on the negotiator as his friend. The hostage taker starts to trust the negotiator and listens to alternatives and starts to plan for a good outcome. The negotiator displays a we-are-in-this-together scenario to the hostage taker. This scenario helps to form conversational flexibility creating the officer to obtain a role that has him working collaboratively with the hostage taker. As the officer builds the relationship with the hostage taker, the hostage taker starts to listen and works collectively with the officer to find alternatives to hurting the hostages and obtaining what he or she needs. The officer also is uncovering the needs of the hostage taker to assist in making a smooth transaction. These strategies and tactics have led to a positive outcome for the hostage and a successful negotiation with the hostage taker. The outcome is more of a distributing negotiation as the negotiator wins and the hostage taker loses. Article II – Disabled Individuals and Home Builders This article consists of the negotiation between house builders and the disabled buyers. In this negotiation, the builder has to understand the interests and the needs of the disabled buyer to have a successful outcome to the negotiations. The disabled population consists of 8. 5 million people. Builders are starting to realize that the disabled persons are also customers. The previous thought pattern on the disabled was that the state takes care of them. This is not true. Disabled individuals lead lives in the same manner as nondisabled persons. A disabled person has the ability and the need for home ownership. The disabled population has had tough negotiations with building houses to meet the needs of his or her disability. The builders will allow an individual to make changes to the initial house plan to suit his or her needs. However, many disabled buyers have a difficult time with builders who do not understand the needs of the disabled. The negotiation process is oftentimes a long process to fully uncover the buyer’s needs. This type of negotiation is an integrative bargaining strategy. An integrative bargaining strategy allows both parties to gain a beneficial outcome (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2006). With changes to the house design to fulfill the needs of the disability, a disabled person can appreciate the dream of owning a home. The changes that disable persons need in a house, most builders think are extras. The builders are willing to make the changes; however, the changes made do cost the disabled person extra money (Burns, 2004). Compare and Contract Strategies The two articles addressed in this essay are very different negotiation. However, both of the negotiations have the same tactics in relationship building to have a successful outcome. In the hostage takeover, the negotiator built a relationship on trust and we-can-do-this-together attitude. In the disabled house building, the disabled person built a relationship with the builder to gain the trust and respect needed to accomplish the goal. Another tactic used was interest based bargaining. In both articles the parties addressed the interest of the other party. This interest-based bargaining assisted in the success of the negotiations. The difference between these two articles in the negotiation was the distributive outcome versus the integrative outcome. In the hostage takeover article, the negotiator was gaining the relationship and trust of the hostage taker to gain ground to take the hostage taker out of commission before he killed or hurt a hostage. This trust and relationship building was essential but was also not a true picture of the negotiator. The negotiator had no intentions of continuing the relationship after the success of obtaining the hostage. The builder and the disabled person’s relationship was a true friendship. This relationship could continue throughout the years. Current Work Setting The above two articles relate to the negotiations of a buyer obtaining residential housing through relationship building. Both articles express the tactic of listening skills, relationship building, trust, and uncovering the needs of the other party. When a prospective renter is shopping for a place to live, his or her needs are the most important. However, the needs of the rental company are also important. By entering into an integrative negotiation, both parties can have a successful outcome. For example, a prospect may be looking for a two-bedroom apartment that has a washer and drying already in the unit. The prospect may also be looking to stay under $650 in rent. The apartment company may have apartments that have washer and dryer hookups but not washer and dryers in the unit. The apartment company can elect to listen to the need of the prospect and rent the washer and dryer for the unit. The apartment company can also offer the prospect an apartment that will be within the prospect’s budget. This type of negotiation will continue to build the rapport between the prospect and the apartment company during the prospect’s residency. Conclusion Some distributive negotiations can use the tactics of the integrative strategy in negotiations as shown in the hostage takeover. Good listening skills, uncovering needs of the other party, and gaining trust will lead to a successful negotiation. No matter which type of negotiation is to occur, preparation by uncovering the needs and wants of the other party will help a negotiator gain leverage and success in the negotiation.

Adoption Of ICT In The Tourism And Hospitality Industry Essay

Abstract Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have revolutionised the travel industry in the last decade. eTourism reflects the digitalisation of all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries. It emerges as a term describing the entire range of applications of ICTs on tourism and the implications for the tourism value chain. Major opportunities and challenges have emerged and need to be addressed by all industry players. However, the level of eTourism developments varies between regions, countries and continents. The tourism sector is experiencing an acceptance of ecommerce to the extend that the whole industry structure is changing .The web is used not only for information gathering but also for ordering services .A new type of user is emerging one who acts as his or her own travel agent and build a personalised travel package .This research focuses on evaluating the current status of Meikles Hotel Zimbabwe in order to study the adoption of ecommerce applications on the hospitality sector. 1. Introduction Mathieson and Wall (1982) created a good working definition of tourism as â€Å"the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs.† The tourism industry requires a diverse range of information and lends itself well to the support offered by developing multimedia, communication technologies and information systems .The internet provides an extra ordinary connectivity and the ability to communicate efficiently and effectively directly with customers at a reasonable cost .Its potential to generate more revenue is not questionable but is acknowledged as something the tourism industry in developing countries needs. According to the World Tourism Organization 2002, Tourism in many developing and least developed countries is the most viable and sustainable economic development option, and in some countries, the main so urce of foreign exchange earnings. Implications of the Internet and other growing interactive multimedia platforms for tourism promotion are far reaching and alter the structure of the industry. This research aimed to explore the impact of ICTs and the  Internet in particular for the future competitiveness of the tourism and hospitality industry. This paper explores the current state of eTourism development and examines the use of the Internet in the sector. The rapid development and commercialization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for the travel and tourism industry has prompted hotels and other enterprises in this sector to increasingly adopt these technologies. This is based on the expectation that the new ICT based technologies and processes would lead to an improvement in their operating efficiencies and customer service levels. Buhalis, D. (2003: 77). The ICT based products and processes help the hotels to enhance the operating efficiency, improve the service experience as well as provide a means to access markets on a global basis. Brussels, 2005. Says ‘The use of ICTs is a relevant opportunity for growing and strengthening a local tourism industry, and for the development of destinations economies overall. Specifically ICTs have the potential to increase destination incomes for financing economic and social development’. While ICTs were used in the hotel industry from the late seventies in the f orm of Computerized Reservation systems and Global distribution systems, it was only in the 90s that the ICTs began to make a difference in the hospitality sector. Nowadays the internet has turned into an informative channel providing both individuals and organisations with different types of information making them aware of new tourism and old travel opportunities and offers enabling them to compare the offers, have online purchases and provide feedback. It has also turned into a source for travel agencies and organisations to promote their services and products to their potential customers. As the internet is being used worldwide it was important for Meikles hotel to implement hence the creation of its web site www.meikles.com Meikles Hotel Meikles Hotel is situated in the heart of Harare and overlooks the historic landmark and colourful flower gardens of Africa Unity Square. According to Experience Zimbabwe, Meikles is consistently voted as one of the best hotels in Zimbabwe, Meikles Hotel is a proud member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a prestigious hospitality organisation which represents some of the world’s most acclaimed hotels, spas and resorts. Established in 1928, the organisation exists to meet the needs of discerning travellers and for a  hotel to be recognised by this body, it needs to exceed every expectation and achieve exacting standards of excellence. Executive chairman Mr Onias Makamba says ‘Meikles Hotel has won the prestigious Association of Zimbabwean Travel Agents (AZTA) award for Best City Hotel in Zimbabwe for an astonishing 15 consecutive years’. This award is voted on by AZTA members and is based on feedback given to travel agents by their many clients across the worl d. Problem Definition There have been a lot of changes in the rapid growing world of technology. Changes in the technological world have made organizations to change the way they conduct their day to day business in order to provide satisfactory services delivery. Effective delivery of service is defined by Martin (2004) as providing products and services that bring utility to users and customers. E-tourism is offering significant benefits for organizations that integrate the technology into their organizational information systems. This versatile technology improves information quality and accessibility, increases operational efficiency (service delivery) and enhances effective management (Maamar, 2006). Despite these highly perceived benefits of e-tourism its adoption has been relatively slow in Zimbabwe. Currently, there are no studies which have been carried out in Zimbabwe to identify the benefits and challenges of adopting ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry. Hence it is the ideal time to ca rry out an investigation on the adoption of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry. Objectives The key objective of this research has been to examine the Adoption of ICT in the tourism industry mainly looking at Meikles Hotel in Zimbabwe .In particular the research examines the level of ICT diffusion in tourism enterprises. Another objective is to Identify the factors affecting E-tourism in Zimbabwe The paper also assesses how eTourism concepts and techniques can contribute towards the improvement of the Zimbabwe tourism competitiveness. RESEARCH QUESTIONS I. At what rate is ICT being adopted in the tourism and hospitality industry in Zimbabwe? II. What factors are encouraging or discouraging the adoption of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry of Zimbabwe. 2. Literature  review Literature review is a â€Å"systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and interpreting the existing body of recorded work produced by other scholars† (Khan, 2008, p.41). The literature review focuses on the impacts of ICTs on tourism and the eCommerce developments in Zimbabwe. It also includes a brief section on Tourism in Zimbabwe which provides the contextual environment that determines the requirements for eTourism in the country. 2.1 ICT Developments and eCommerce in Zimbabwe There are various factors that have affected the adoption of ecommerce in Zimbabwe, these include : Software development tools are still evolving .It is difficult to integrate Internet and e-commerce software with some existing (especially legacy) applications and databases .Special web servers are needed in addition to the network servers, which add to the cost of ecommerce. The Standard June 5, 2011 says the adoption of the multiple currency system in 2009 presented a strong opportunity for the growth of e-commerce in Zimbabwe. It said Zimbabwe now had a chance to catch up with the rest of the world if the financial and retail sectors took the lead. Internet accessibility is still expensive and or inconvenient .Powertel Communications, a government owned internet provider, is one of the 12 POTRAZ licensed Internet Access Providers in Zimbabwe. In June 2014 Powertel mobile broadband price were $50/month .The price of the modem $45.Every Zimbabwean cannot afford these prices. The Fin ancial Gazette 3 Oct 2013 states Despite the growth of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in the country, which has seen internet penetration rising from five to 47 percent in the past five years, the cost of accessing the internet still remains high. The improved internet penetration is largely credited to the ICT Strategic Plan crafted by the then ministry of ICT under Nelson Chamisa. Customers’ attitudes towards online shopping remain skeptical, mainly because of worries about product quality, product delivery, and security and privacy issues (Ghazali et al., 2006; Scott & Scott, 2008). People do not yet  sufficiently trust paperless, faceless transactions .Payment security and privacy concerns are one of the major non technological barriers that prevent consumers from completing transactions online Lack of trust in e-commerce and in unknown sellers hinders buying. Online fraud is also increasing. Some customers like to feel and touch products. They are afraid that if they purchase without actually touching the products they might not get exactly what they ordered. Also, customers are resistant to the change from shopping at a brick-and-mortar store to a virtual store. The lack of stand ­ards in technology and its applications eventually increases the cost of system integration for effective and efficient management in distribution, operation and communication worldwide. Large hospitality corporations have invested to transform their systems into a total netware system; however, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs) struggle to integrate the systems due to a shortage of financial sources Factors Determining the Adoption of ICTs In Zimbabwean Hotels There are a number of factors that affect the adoption of ICT in hotels these will be discussed below. In the hotel industry, the geographic location of a hotel has a major impact on its operations and profitability. The geographical location of a hotel would greatly determine the profile of its visitors, the size of its market and the level of competition that it has to face. A hotel will therefore be more inclined to adopt ICTs if it expects the ICT based facilities to either provide greater competitive advantage or to blunt the advantage enjoyed by its competitors considering the characteristics of its customer profile, its market size and the intensity of competition that it has to face. Thus based on the profile of a hotel’s visitors, the size of the market, or the intensity of competition, hotels may differ in their levels of ICT adoption propensity. The market size, in terms of the number of tourists who visit the location, will also be a significant factor that affects ICT adoption , since hotels  in smaller underdeveloped destinations may need to use the internet and other ICT based technologies to a greater degree to reach out to the global population than hotels located in developed destinations. According to Bajaj and Nag (2005) a range of advanced ICT systems such as Decision Support System (DSS) can be applied to gain substantial benefits on practical levels not only by large organisations, but also by small and medium-sized business organisations as well. Bajaj and Nag (2005) argue that DSS integration by small and medium-sized organisations can assist management by generating a set of alternative solution options to management problems of various levels complexities The competition level among the hotels in a location, can also influence the adoption of ICTs. The general occupancy rate in the location is an indicator of the competitive intensity among the hotels in a location. High levels of occupancy rate at a location imply that the competition is low, and the hotels can expect to get their rooms filled with relative ease while low levels of occupancy point towards higher levels of competition to attract customers between the hotels in the location. High levels of competition may prompt the hotels to aggressively use ICT based technologies both for attracting customers as well as to increase the efficiency of its operations. The size of the hotel has an important effect on ICT adoption. Effective adoption of several ICT technologies requires a substantial investment of resources. Lack of resources may affect the inclination of small hotels to adopt costly ICTs and therefore large hotels can be expected to be more inclined to ICTs. Further the risky nature of investing in new technologies may prompt small hotels to wait till the technology has stabilized before investing in it. Another aspect of the hotel size that can influence adoption of ICTs is the inclination to change within the organization. Large hotels have been found to be more resistant to change than small firms. This fact tends to suggest that large hotels are less inclined to adopt ICTs than small hotels as long as the investment required is not a consideration. The scope of activities that the hotel is engaged in can also influence adoption of ICTs. Since ICTs enable an effective integration of activities of an organization, hotels with varied lines of activities would find more use in the adoption of ICTs than hotels with a relatively lesser span of activities. 2.2 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the Tourism sector The internet has become a key application in the tourism industry. Tourism providers have been using the internet to communicate, distribute and market their products to potential customers worldwide in a cost- and time-efficient way. In fact, the individual company website had become the most important platform for e-commerce, followed by electronic markets. The main focus of e-business processes in the tourism industry has been on customer facing activities and services, i.e. primarily e-marketing and e-sales. Online booking and reservation services were widely accepted among consumers and business travell ers already in 2005. Similarly, online purchasing had become a relatively well-used application in the tourism sector. Parsons and Oja (2013) mention online reservations systems as one of the greatest impacts of ICT on tourism and hospitality sector. Tourism has closely been connected to progress of ICTs for over 30 years. The establishments of the Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs) in the 1970s, Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) in the late 1980s and the Internet in the late 1990s have transformed operational and strate ­gic practices dramatically in tourism .The tourism indus ­try at first focused on utilizing computerized systems (e.g., CRS, GDS) to increase efficiency in processing of internal information and managing distribution. Nowadays, the Internet and ICTs are relevant on all operative, structural, strategic and marketing levels to facilitate global interaction among suppliers, intermediaries and consumers around the world. In this section, we will provide the concepts and definitions of the key terms related to the Internet and ICTs. 2.2.1 Electronic tourism (e-tourism) It is the application of ICTs on the tourism industry (Buhalis, 2003). Buhalis (2003) suggests that e-tourism reflects the digitisation of all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries. At the tactical level, it includes e-com ­merce and applies ICTs for maximising the efficiency and effectiveness of the tourism  organi ­sation. At the strategic level, e-tourism revolutionises all business processes, the entire value chain as well as the strategic relationships of tourism organisations with all their stakeholders. E-tourism determines the competitiveness of the organisation by taking advantage of intranets for reorganising internal processes, extranets for developing transactions with trusted partners and the Internet for interacting with all its stakeholders and customers. The e-tourism concept includes all business functions (i.e., e-commerce, e-marketing, e-finance and e-accounting, eHRM, e-procurement, e-production) as well as e-strategy, e-planning and e-management for all sectors of the tourism industry, including tourism, travel, transport, leisure, hospitality, principals, intermediaries and public sector organisations. Hence, e-tourism bundles together three distinctive disciplines: business management, information systems and management, and tourism. II.2.2 Computer reservation system (CRS) The 1989 CRS Regulation51 defined a ‘computerized reservation system’ as a system for reserving and booking seats on commercial flights electronically, as well as storage and retrieval of itineraries. Several airlines own and market such systems, which are used by travel agents. A few include: Sabre (produced by American Airlines), Amadeus, and Worldspan. It is a database which enables a tourism organisation to manage its inventory and make it accessible to its partners. Principals utilise CRSs to manage their inventory and distribute their capacity as well as to manage the drastic expansion of global tourism. CRSs often charge competitive commission rates while enabling flexible pricing and capacity alterations, to adjust supply to demand fluctuations. Airlines pioneered this technology, although hotel chains and tour operators followed by developing centralised reservation systems. CRSs can be characterised as the â€Å"circulation system† of the tourism product . II.2.3 Global distribution systems (GDSs) The business dictionary defines a global distribution system as a worldwide computerized reservation network used as a single point of access for reserving airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related  items by travel agents, online reservation sites, and large corporations. The premier global distribution systems are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan. They are owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, car rental companies, and hotel groups. Also called automated reservation system (ARS) or computerized reservation system (CRS).Since the mid 1980s, airline CRSs developed into GDSs by gradually expanding their geographical coverage as well as by integrating both horizontally, with other airline systems, and vertically by incorporating the entire range of principals, such as accommodation, car rentals, train and ferry ticketing, entertainment and other provisions. In the early 1990s, GDSs emerged as the major driver of ICTs, as well as the back bone of the tourism industry and the single most important facilitator of ICTs globalisation (Sheldon, 1993). In essence, GDSs matured from their original development as airline CRSs to travel supermar ­kets. Since the late 1990s GDSs have emerged as business in their own right, specialising in travel distribution. 2.2.4 Intermediaries Intermediaries (brokers) play an important role in commerce by providing value-added activities and services to buyers and sellers. The most well-known intermediaries in the physical world are wholesalers and retailers. Traditionally, intermediaries of the travel industry have been outbound and inbound travel agencies and tour operators. However, the Internet restructured the entire touristic value chain, forcing the existing intermediaries to take up the new medium and to develop corresponding business models. 2.2.5 e-Travel agencies ICTs are irreplaceable tools for travel agencies as they provide information and reservation facilities and support the intermediation between consumers and principals. Andreas Papatheodorou – (2006) Travel agencies operate various reservation systems, which mainly enable them to check availability and make reservations for tourism products. Until recently GDSs have been critical for business travel agencies to access information and make reservations on scheduled airlines, hotel chains, car rentals and a variety of ancillary services. GDSs help construct complicated itineraries, while  they provide up-to-date schedules, prices and availability information, as well as an effective reservation method. In addition, they offered internal management modules integrating the â€Å"back office† (accounting, commission monitor, personnel) and â€Å"front office† (customers’ history, itinerary construction, ticketing and communication with suppliers). Multiple tr avel agencies in particular experience more benefits by achieving better coordination and control between their remote branches and headquarters. Transactions can provide invaluable data for financial and operational control as well as for marketing research, which can analyze the market fluc ­tuations and improve tactical decisions Hotels use ICTs in order to improve their operations, manage their inventory and maximise their profitability. Their systems facilitate both in-house management and distribution through electronic media. ‘Property management systems (PMSs)’ coordinate front office, sales, planning and operational functions by administrating reservations and managing the hotel inventory. Moreover, PMSs integrate the â€Å"back† and â€Å"front† of the house management and improve general administration functions such as accounting and finance; marketing research and planning; forecasting and yield management; payroll and personnel; and purchasing. Understandably, hotel chains gain more benefits from PMSs, as they can introduce a unified system for planning, budgeting and controlling and coordinating their properties centrally. Hotels also utilise ICTs and the Internet extensively for their distribution and marketing func ­tions. Global presence is essential in order to enable both individual customers and the travel trade to access accurate information on availability and to provide easy, efficient, inexpensive and reliable ways of making and confirming reservations. Although Central Reservation Offices (CROs) introduced central reservations in the 1970s, it was not until the expansion of airline CRSs and the recent ICT developments that forced hotels to develop hotel CRSs in order to expand their distribution, improve efficiency, facilitate control, empower yield management, reduce labour costs and enable rapid response time to both customers and management re ­quests. Following the development of hotel CRSs by most chains, the issue of interconnectivity with other CRSs and the Internet emerged.This reduces both set-up and reservation costs, whilst facilitates res ­ervations through several distribution channels 2.3 Tourism in Zimbabwe In the past, tourism contributed significantly to the GDP of Zimbabwe, and created many employment and business opportunities for locals in the 1990s. But it has faced a great decline since 2000. A number of Zimbabwean tourist attractions are marketed online by South African companies and they have created an impression to some international tourists that they are located in South Africa. E-tourism has always seemed like a no-brainer for Zimbabwe, as money can be paid direct to hotels and suppliers. But obstacles like the lack of access to communication in remote areas, uncertain electricity availability, high cost of bandwidth, the lack of integrated, real-time reservation systems and local online payment gateways have thus far stymied progress. However, with the arrival of voice and data-oriented telecommunications in some remote tourist areas, there is more access to information via websites by foreign tourists looking for a good holiday resort. In other parts of Africa, arrival o f cheaper bandwidth has lessened the barriers to communication and the world’s Online Travel Agencies like Expedia are showing a real interest in the continent. Ten years ago no-one was talking about online tourism. The tourism trade tended to focus on going to big trade events like World Tourism Markets, with brochures and doing support advertising in key markets. The travel agents tended to suggest where people went and to some extent picked the destinations. As a result, a great deal of the revenues went to large, international hotel chains and not much of the money was retained locally. According to The Zimbabwean (22 June 2011) 56% of travel globally is booked online and the rise of the Online Travel Agents has been unstoppable. These OTAs, as they are known in the trade, include Expedia, Travelocity, Lastminute.com and Bookings.com – who have significant market share in Africa. Expedia has actually opened an office to focus on Africa. It goes on to say In 2005, less than 2% of tourism revenues in Africa came from online booking. In 2010, buoyed by the World Cup, that percentage rose to 5% and looks set to go to somewhere between 15-20% by 2016. The World Cup may have been a one-off boost but it accelerated the growth of online tourism in South Africa. 50% of Americans read an online review before booking internationally and that’s usually  either Trip Advisor or Facebook. (Trip Advisor is now owned by Expedia). Most in ternational travellers have credit cards and increasingly expect to be able to book online for anything from the smallest travel lodge to the largest hotel chain. So what are the barriers? The missing piece was e-commerce. There used to be no route for doing online transactions in other countries in Africa including Zimbabwe. Online distribution by the OTAs requires a reservation system that offers real-time availability. OTAs won’t do business with you unless you have that. In Zimbabwe there are few tourist resorts offering e-commerce reservation and booking services. Shearwater Adventures in Victoria Falls offer online booking and payment services, which have attracted a large number of tourists over the years. The second missing piece was the ability and tools to do online marketing. The companies needed marketing skills, especially with social media. Today’s tourist wants to hear from other travellers (through Facebook and Trip Advisor) and are not that interested in what the hotel has to say. For example, hotel chains Africa Sun and Cresta Hotels have invested in websites and Facebook groups where reviews are easily accessible to prospective tourists. Now that the data oriented communication and cheaper bandwidth is slowly becoming available throughout the country, telcos and ISPs need to focus specifically on those industry sectors that are most likely to make the online transition fastest. It must be possible in the near future for a herita ge site in Binga to be marketed online to the world and attract visitors. 3. Research Methodology To fulfil the objectives of this research a number of methods were used. Both primary and secondary data were therefore essential. Given the dynamic nature of the subject area, multiple primary research approaches were adopted, including both qualitative and quantitative methods (Phillip, 1998). Bryman (1998) explains that the two methods are complementary rather than competing, especially for exploratory research. The researcher made use of the internet and some library books to carry out the research and establish the solutions to the research objectives .First a qualitative approach was adopted in order to enable the appreciation of all aspects of the subject and to develop a set of the most critical variables  to be included afterwards into a questionnaire. The main objective was to objectively establish the level of eCommerce and the on-line representation of Zimbabwean tourism. The second stage involved semi-structured interviews aimed to elicit critical issues and to explore the key factors that determine the development of eTourism in Zimbabwe. In-depth interviews are considered as the most appropriate method to obtain information about perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. Judgmental sampling was employed and interviewees were selected as pioneers in eTourism in Zimbabwe, as determined by their online presence assessed in the previous phase of the research. Owners and marketing managers of organisations that run innovative web sites, as demonstrated by the methods used to interact with their clientele, were targeted and an interview was requested. The sample was chosen to include interviewees who would be informed, reflecting their particular experience and outlook on the research area. Twenty five telephone contacts were made and 28 interviews were finally conducted, which resulted in a 51% response rate .The reasearcher also made use of the questionnaires. The questionnaires designed by the researcher had both open ended questions thus allowing a respondent to fully express the answer and closed questions which only provided simple choice of answer such as yes or no. Questionnaires were used by the researcher because they saved time and they were an inexpensive way of surveying a cross section of people. Questionnaires allowed the researcher to guide the respondent along the lines regarding the topic under study and responses obtained from closed ended questions are easy to analyze. Questionnaires allowed the respondents to give freely the confidential information since the respondents were not required to disclose their identity. The researcher favoured the use of questionnaires because the analysis of data from close-ended question was easy. However data collection through the use of questionnaires required a significant commitment, expertise, time and material resources. The researcher also noted that questionnaires were highly inflexible as they gave no room to rephrase questions, furthermore, some questions remained unanswered and it affected the research findings. The researcher used simple wording in the questionnaires so that the respondents would not fail to understand the questions, that is, the researcher used simple wording to elaborate the meanings of what was being asked and required. The researcher also used face to face interviews. The researcher employed structured interviews to obtain detailed and specific information from the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Mr Mzembi. The questions presented to the Minister sought to determine the factors affecting adoption of ICTs in Zimbabwean hotel and also how far Zimbabwean hotels are in terms of adoption of ICTs. The interview also sought to discover challenges to implementing ICTs and compliance at different hotels. The interview process proved time consuming and required persistence since the honourable Minister was a busy person and he was not easily available. The actual interview session had a length of 15 minutes due to the Minister’s busy schedule. To avoid inconveniences, an appointment via e-mail and telephone call prior to interviewing visit was made. Goodman (2003) states that certain biases exist due to the tendency by the interviewer to ask wrong questions and be supplied with answers he expects to get. The researcher eliminated such errors by avoiding leading questions and taking a listener approach instead of providing suggestions. Probing was only applied as a means of seeking clarifications. This technique was used because interviews are highly flexible and the researcher was able to rephrase the questions to make the respondent understand better. Dennis (2003), states that an interview is whereby the researcher and the respondents discuss verbally with each other either face to face, over the phone or over the internet. Interviews allow probing on open ended questions, clarifications on ambiguous questions and sequencing of questions is easily changed. However, the researcher noted that interviews were costly to run in terms of money and they are time consuming because the interviewee was a busy person hence the need of an appointment and the need of a telephone call reminding the interviewee about the appointment before the  time. The researcher also noted that the interview failed to give anonymity to the respondent, hence, there was a greater chance of being given biased information. RESULTS Eight hotels participated in the survey Meikles hotel, Holiday inn (Bulawayo), Victoria falls, Regency Fairmile, Kadoma hotel, Midlands hotel. At the outset the author quotes from a number of previous reports, which indicate that ICT has not been implemented effectively in the hospitality industry Evidence from the literature review has shown that there are a number of factors, which affect technology adoption. These factors include organisational readiness, external pressure, internal expertise, support of owner or manager, user participation, efficient and effective use of any external expertise. The barriers which were uncovered by the research: IT management training, dependency on outside experts and size and scale of enterprise are all directly related to the ‘other’ factors which influence ICT adoption. The level of significance of these barriers varies between the tourism sub-sectors surveyed. This study has added new knowledge in terms of the significance of a n umber of further barriers to ICT adoption. They include peripheral or rural location, security concerns, cost issues, lack of capital, and personal background of the owner manager. A closer analysis of findings has revealed that although technology is available, some of it is obsolete or not necessarily functional. Hotels possessed various outdated versions of software packages which did not seem to serve them well. . The mode of Internet bookings is an important determinant of their success. A lot of Internet booking systems generates a booking in email format rather than integrating into the hotel’s reservation system online. This obviously limits the usefulness of these systems. DISCUSSION The adoption of ICTs at Meikles Hotel is proving to be growing fast; this was noted by the stakeholder preparedness to harness it. Meikles hotel being a  five star hotel recognised internationally, this pushes them to move along with technological changes. Meikles hotel is interested in improving in their service provision through the use of e-commerce, and the results of this study show that this is being done at a fast pace. The top management at Meikles hotel are quite literate hence the adoption of ICT is faster compared to other hotels .The C.E.O is a holder of an honours degree in Computer science .Although the use of ICTs has not yet revolutionalised Meikles Hotel’s service delivery; it has changed how some services such as bookings are being done. Meikles hotel has a website developed and maintained by an inhouse programmer .Their website is user friendly and they have all the information that one needs about the hotel. Meikles hotel started offering wireless network services to guest in 2006.They use Fidelio management system which integrates all the information from the reservations, banqueting, finance departments and the restaurants. They use point of sale systems. CONCLUSION It can be noted that the adoption of ICTs at Meikles Hotel is proving to be growing fast and it has been done to a very large extent. Although the use of ICTs has not yet revolutionalised Meikles Hotel’s service delivery; it has changed how some services such as bookings are being done. References Buhalis, D (1998), â€Å"Strategic Use of Information Technologies in the Tourism Industry†, Tourism Management, Vol.19, pp.409-421. Connolly D. J and Olsen M. D(2000) â€Å"An Environmental Assessment of How Technology is reshaping the Hospitality Sector†, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol.3 (1), pp.73 to93. Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Gilbert, D and Wanhill, S (1998) Tourism Principles and Practice, Pearson, Essex. Hoontrakul and Sahadev (2005*) â€Å"Determinants of E-commerce Usage in the Hotel Buhalis, D. (1997) Information technologies as a strategic tool for economic, cultural and environmental benefits enhancement of tourism at destination regions. Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3 (1), 71-93. Buhalis, D. (2003). eTourism: Information Technology for Strategic Tourism Management. London, UK: Pearson (Financial Times/Prentice Hall). Morrison, A., Taylor, S., Morrison, A., and Morrison, A. (1999) Marketing small hotels on the world web 2 (2), 97–113. O’Connor, P. (2000) Using Computers in Hospitality, 2nd edition. London: Cassell. Peacock, M. (1995) Information Technology in Hospitality. London: Cassell. O’Connor, P. and Frew, A. (2000) Evaluating electronic channels of distribution in the hotel sector: a Delphi study. Information Technology and Tourism, 3 (3/4), 177–193. O’Connor, P. and Horan, P. (1999) An analysis of web reservations facilities in the top 50 international hotel chains. International Journal of Hospitality Information Technology, 1 (1), 77–87.

Blue Shield Health Insurance Essay

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) serves independent local Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies as its trade association. The BCBSA is one of the nation’s oldest and biggest health benefits company, widely recognized in the health insurance industry, given its 800 strong employee strength, across 39 companies in Chicago and Washington D. C. BCBSA companies together cover about 98 million people or about every one in three Americans. The reach and spread of the BCBSA is really immense covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia, in contract with over 90% of the hospitals and 80% of physicians. The products serviced by BCBSA covers individuals to small and large employers, ensuring coverage to all citizens. Through its several unprecedented and innovative schemes, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association tries to bring healthcare insurance to all people providing hope and security to everyone. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is an insurance provider covering healthcare for more than 98 millions, nearly one in three Americans. Healthcare insurance is a must for everyone. It is necessary to keep the economy going and growing because once the people are covered under some healthcare insurance, their medical needs are adequately taken care of, which makes their productivity go up because better health obviously results in better work performance. If the concept of insurance were not Blue Cross and Blue Shield 3 there, then every individual would have had to save a huge amount of money as reserve to cover some unforeseen or unexpected calamities. Healthcare is one aspect which can never be compromised. With the mounting medical expenses, people without a healthcare insurance can just not afford to avail proper preventive and therapeutic treatment. With the cost of medical services growing by leaps and bounds, healthcare insurance is imperative for one and all. Healthcare insurance company also stands to benefit because when they are likely to pay more in claims than what they get in premiums, a hike in the premium is anticipated. Under the employer-sponsored healthcare insurance, the employer spends roughly five times more than what the employee contributes. But the increasing medical costs have a great impact on the employers who have to pay out huge sums as premiums for their employees. From 1998 to 2003, there was a national increase of 42% in individual premiums after adjustments made with regard to inflation. With the increase in medical costs, employees are forced to contribute a sizable amount towards their coverage, so they opt to stay away from the job-based health insurance plans. The employers depend more on part-time and contract workers who are often not eligible for coverage. So fewer people access employer-paid healthcare insurance. The job instability too contributes in the steady increase of the number of uninsured people. And then there are some firms, which do not provide health insurance to their employees. With the shooting medical expenses, it is difficult for people to go for healthcare coverage, as the premiums are high. This leaves them uninsured, which again has drastic effects affecting Blue Cross and Blue Shield 4 both the people and the company. So, healthcare insurance has now become something that people can neither do with nor do without it. To combat this scenario, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association brings various new schemes taking into consideration the needs of every individual. With no insurance and with the exorbitant medical expenses, the health care of the people is greatly compromised. They go in for lesser preventive care with the result diseases get out of hand before they are diagnosed, and even when diagnosed, the treatment costs are so huge that the therapeutic care is compromised. With no insurance, people are expected to pay up-front for the medical services and so they defer medical care except when it is life threatening. This also affects the government because it has to cater to the medical needs of the uninsured, which has a terrible impact on the economy because the expenses of the emergency department is much higher than in the outpatient clinics, and the conditions are often those that could have been averted or postponed with preventive care. Proper health insurance package is the icing on the cake. The medical expenses are so much that healthcare insurance acts as a major deciding factor when people seek jobs. With the ever-increasing medical expenses, every individual has to be insured medically so that they can avail the needed healthcare. But with the increased insurance premiums, the number of uninsured people is on the high. Furthermore, insurances have too many exclusions like certain drugs not being covered, certain Blue Cross and Blue Shield 5 procedures not being covered and the like, which again discourages people from being insured, which is detrimental to the citizens as well as the country at large. Even with insurance, the prospects of the people losing their jobs and thereby their insurances is there. There definitely have to be changes in the system so that every individual could be worked into the health insurance plan. The view of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association president and CEO Scott P Serota testifies this â€Å"With such divergent political ideologies, it is unprecedented for these groups to have a joint agreement. Helping the millions of Americans who do not have health insurance is an issue that needs to transcend politics and partisanship, and that is why we worked together to give Congress a starting point that we can all support. † The 2005 data shows that one in seven American was uninsured thus depriving them of basic healthcare. The Institute of Medicine has that approximately 18,000 die every year of diseases that could have either been treated or prevented had they had health coverage. Lack of insurance prevents people leading a quality life, and it also brings down their productivity because of their recurrent ailments. The first annual National Walk @ Lunch Day to be held on Wednesday, April 18, 2007, by BCBSA (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association) will definitely bring about an awareness among people about the need for an active lifestyle, which obviously would usher in better health. Unlike the usual health insurance companies, Blue cross and Blues Shield Association design innovative schemes to match the diversified requirement of the market. It does a Blue Cross Blue shield 6 lot of activity to keep the competition at bay. Even though profit making is the main objective in any organization, Blue cross and Blues Shield Association takes care that it does not become the sole objective. A paradigm shift in this regard is obvious by the mere existence of CareFirst, the non profit health care company which provides health insurance products and administrative services. In the current scenario where the number of uninsured people is on the rise, Blue cross and Blues Shield Association has to be applauded for its efforts in trying to bring the maximum people under the healthcare insurance cover. REFERENCES www. nchc. org www. bcbs. com www. money. cnn. com

Bay of Pigs

The interest of the United States in Cuba goes as far back as the pre-Civil War era when it wanted to annex Cuba as a slave state for its cotton. However, it was only in 1898 that Cuba was won from Spain following the Spanish-American war. While this lasted only until 1902, the U. S. was able to negotiate a long-term lease on the island at the Guantanamo Bay and turned it into a naval base. From that time until Castro took the helm, the second most powerful official in Cuba after the President was the U. S. Ambassador (Lafeber, 19 April 1986, p. 537).In 1947, open hostilities with communism have begun. President Truman recommended to the U. S. Congress to stop the Russian aggression in Europe. This was contained in the Truman Doctrine (Ismael, 1965, P. 3212). This was followed by a U. S. -led food airlift to the western sector which the Russians were starving out with its Berlin blockade. Then, there was the assistance provided to the communists, by the way, eventually won and the ac tive participation in the Korean War of 1950. While such actions were unpopular,, there was an apparent consensus that the U.S. should indeed show that it is not beyond having to use force to stop the expansionist plans of the communists. In 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President. The anti-communist sentiment was particularly rife at that time with Senator McCarthy charging practically everyone of being a communist, and succeeded in spreading fear and conflict throughout the country. In Asia, China was showing signs of aggression against Taiwan which then led to the US pledge of aid to any Southeast Asian Treaty Organization member who has to fight off communist advances.In Latin America, communist influence was equally spreading. In 1959, on January 1st, Fidel Castro and his guerillas managed to overthrow Fulgencio Batista and the former Prime Minister and newly-elected President Dr. Andres Rivero Aguero (Telzrow, 2006). The United States was one of the first countries to acknowledge Castro’s ascendancy through an official note declaring â€Å"the sincere goodwill of the government of the United States towards the new government† (Welch, 1982, p. 29). Shortly thereafter, Philip Bonsal was appointed as the new US Ambassador to Havana.Bonsal was the former ambassador to Bolivia where the Spanish-speaking career diplomat was able to establish a good relationship with the leftist administration. Four months later, in April 1959, Fidel Castro visited the United States where then Vice President Richard Nixon got to meet him. Nixon unilaterally proclaimed him to be a communist. Castro’s subsequent reforms were radical enough to align Cuba with communist party and collide with the Eisenhower Administration. There was the suspension of free elections, socialization of private business and the confiscation of U. S. property.This was followed by the nationalization of businesses which produced staple products such as milk and milk and by-p roducts, sugar, beer, toiletries, textiles and even banks (Blight & Kornbluh, 1999, p. 161). Given these internal developments in Cuba, the U. S. Department of State had started to draw up an agreement with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that would effect the downfall of Castro by using the Cuban faction opposed to him to make it look like an internal act. The situation was more alarming and an insult inasmuch as communism was practically taking root next door.In December 1959, an outline of operations both in covert and propaganda form for the overthrow of Castro was drawn up by the CIA head of Western Hemisphere, J. C. King. A more comprehensive plan was drawn up by Jacob Esterline, former chief of the Guatemala station. On March 17, President Eisenhower approved a paper penned by the CIA entitled â€Å"A Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime† and the plan to bring down Castro was underway. People were put in place. David Atlee Phillips was made propagan da chief.He was to run Radio Swan, the station that would be broadcasting propaganda against the Castro government. E. Howard Hunt was made chief of political action with the main task of organizing and preparing the members of the government that will replace Castro’s once it is overthrown. (Blight & Kornbluh, 1999, p. 159). By July 1960, Russia and the U. S. were exchanging barbs. The Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khruschev had declared its support for Castro to which Eisenhower adamantly replied that communism will not be allowed by the U. S.to grow in the Western Hemisphere (Sierra, 2007, par. 7). On October 28, the United States recalled Ambassador Bonsal permanently back to Washington and followed later by officially breaking off all diplomatic relations with Cuba. Cuba soon began to receive arms from the Soviet Union (Telzrow, 21 August 2006, 37+). The incumbent administration’s interest was not only directed on Cuba in 1960. Internally, there was a more immediat e concern on hand. It was campaign period for the Presidential elections. Vice President Richard Nixon was running against the popular Senator John F.Kennedy. He realized the sensitivity of the issue about Castro and communist Cuba and rode to the hilt the American voters’ anti-Castro sentiment and their restlessness towards its resolution. Earlier in the campaign, he was already briefed by CIA Director Allan Dulles on intelligence matters as required by law and this briefing included the confidential information about the training of exiles from Cuba who will be mobilized for an assault on the island. Then, on the eve of a candidate's debate, Kennedy attacked Eisenhower's Cuba policy. He openly called for U. S.support for the exiled anti-Castro forces and further exclaimed that thus far, these exiles had not received any support from the government. Kennedy knew that Nixon will not be able to counter this attack without compromising the secrecy of the plan. Nixon could only criticize Kennedy for the irresponsibility of his statements (Blight & Kornbluh, 1999, pp. 160-162). Meanwhile, the plan was steadily materializing. In May 1960, Radio Swan went on the air. Using a powerful transmitter, it broadcasted programs that were actually taped in Miami. The Cuban exiled forces were placed in Guatemala.The incumbent President and dictator of Guatemala, Gen. Miguel Ydigoras owed his position to the CIA for enforcing a covert operation in 1954 against then Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz. He thus allowed an airport to be built in his country. Nicaragua’s Anastacio Somoza also provided a training base in his country (LaFeber, 16 April 1966, 537+). The Cuban exiled forces were collectively called Brigade 2506. They were originally being trained off the coast of Florida. Eventually, the size of the brigade grew to about 1,500 soldiers. The Castro government was not turning a blind eye against all these things that were going on.Eventually, Castro had his chance and on September 26, 1960, he addressed the UN General Assembly where he charged the U. S. for setting up a broadcasting station in Swan Island which the U. S. lamely refuted by stating that it was a privately-owned station by a commercial broadcasting company. A month later, Cuba again went on the offensive again in the UN General Assembly this time with the Cuban Foreign Minister Raul Roa providing well-informed details on how the recruitment and training of these exiled forces were allegedly being conducted.In his address, however, he did not call them exiles but as mercenaries and counter-revolutionaries. He stated that they were recruited, paid and sustained by the CIA by providing for them and their families (Sierra, 2007, par. 19). Later, in 2000, during a historic meeting of the personalities involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion, these exiles were once again referred to as mercenaries at which point Fidel Castro corrected him, â€Å"They’re brigadistas† (Dinges, 23 April 2001, 6). It was Castro’s strategy to turn the tide of foreign opinion against the Americans and later we will see how this tactic by Castro proved to be effective.At the interim, a budget of USD13 million was approved by President Eisenhower. He also authorized the use of the Defense Department’s personnel and equipment but pointedly instructed that no American citizen must be used in combat. However, the CIA’s initial attempt at dropping weapons and supplies in Cuba failed miserably. The drop zone was missed and the ground agent was caught and shot (Blight & Kornbluh, 1999, 161). On January 1961, President John F. Kennedy took office. After campaigning heavily against lack of action on Cuba, he essentially trapped himself. In LaFeber’s (1986), Kennedyâ€Å"despised Castro and saw himself going head-to-head with Nikita Kruschev over which superpower would control the Third World. He was also passionately committed to a romantic view o f counter-revolutionary operations and feared being labeled as less of an anti-Communist than Eisenhower, whose policies he had blasted only months earlier. So the attack went ahead on the night of April 17† (537+). Before the actual invasion happened, the plan changed several times due to several factors. Kennedy’s Department of State was afraid of the consequential impact on the US relations with Latin America (Lafeber, 1986, 537+).White House adviser Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. remarked that while Kennedy was adamant about not using US soldiers directly, but the CIA acted on the conviction that he will change his mind (Dinges, 2001, 6). Everyone was of the assumption that the Cuban people would all rise spontaneously to get rid of Castro (Lafeber, 1986, 537+). Meanwhile, despite all the efforts to avoid having the US stamp on the exiled forces by having the training camps and airfield in Nicaragua and Guatemala, it was soon evident that the operation did not remain a sec ret for very long.It was even already being discussed within cliques in the UN. On Jan. 11th 1961, the Joint Chief of Staff were consulted for the first time on. From the combined minds of the Department of Defense, the CIA and the JCS, Operation Bumpy Road was born. On Jan. 28th, newly-elected President John F. Kennedy was briefed. The concept of the plan as outlined in the memorandum prepared by two senior CIA officials in charge of the brigade, Jacob Esterline and Jack Hawkins. A small area was to be seized and defended at the initial stage.There will be no more offensive tactics to be done until the expected uprising of the majority of the Cuban people begins or an overt operation by the US forces is (Blight & Kornbluh, 1999, p. 164). The landing was already plotted to be in Trinidad, which was in the southern coast of Cuba. This is located near Escambray Mountains. His would be an ideal site for Operation Bumpy Road because of the alternatives that it can offer. The expeditiona ry forces already have the goodwill of the population of Trinidad as the majority is anti-Castro.In case the defense of the landing is compromised, they could turn to Plan B and flee into the mountains. There, a guerilla warfare can be fought. Thus, with this plan in mind, Brigade 2506 trained throughout 1960 under this plan. Richard Bissell, CIA Director of Plans, assessed the plans. He believed that there is a possibility of success such that they might survive and gain support for as long as they hold their ground. If the support from the Cuban people comes, then the US can make overt action plans on the pretense of backing the revolutionaries (Bight & Kornbluh, 1999, p.164). Originally scheduled for Mach 5, 1961, the operation was put on hold until April after examination of all possible alternatives. This was due to the intervention of the State Department for diplomatic and political reasons. The U. S. still believes that it can get away with â€Å"plausible deniability† and Operation Bumpy Road can no way disguise U. S. complicity. Hence, despite argument from Bissel that postponement and possible plan revision will create undue tension and resentment among the brigade members, the March date did not materialize.In fact a revolt by the exiles who were training in Guatemala did occur in late January 1961 with 500 resigning (Blight & Kornbluh, 1999, p. 164). Bissell concluded that this plan may be the only one where a covert operation is still possible in bringing down Fidel Castro. National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy was not in accord and instead recommended a trade embargo instead and allow internal rif to reach a boling point before launching the brigade. So, it was a Bumpy Road indeed as the rinidad Plan was rejected.President Kennedy set down his conditions in preparing a new plan. First, it must be a silent landing and it is to be done at night. The CIA then presented three alternatives. There was a revision of the Trinidad Plan, there w as to be a new target for landing which would be the northeast coast and the third alternative would be at the Bay of Pigs codenamed â€Å"Operation Zapata†. The President chose the Zapata Plan liked but with certain changes particularly that it must have the appearance of being more of a guerilla-type of operation.Thus, it was modified to a night landing (instead of a dawn landing) with air drops at first light. Kennedy questions the necessity of the air strikes. A compromise was agreed to limit the air strikes to two days before d-day simultaneous with a diversionary landing of 160 men in Eastern Cuba. These strikes will give the impression that the air strikes are those by Cuban pilots defecting from the Cuban air force and thus further giving lie that its an internal uprising. Bissell also reassures Kennedy that the Cubans on the island will join in an uprising.The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations, Senator William Fullbright did not believe that such tactics will fool anyone. However, a vote from the advisers favored moving ahead (Blight & Kornbluh 1999, 165). Seven days before d-day, Esterline and Hawkins sent notice that they want to quit, that â€Å"the project was out of control† but Bissell prevailed upon them to stay. Three days before the invasion, Kennedy made a statement in a press conference that the US Armed Forces One day before the invasion, the number of plane were reduced from 16 to six planes as ordered by Kennedy to keep it minimal.On April 16, the landing plan was approved by Kennedy. However, fearing international condemnation, Kennedy cancels the dawn air strikes until the beachhead airfield is in the hands of the landing force and completely operational and capable of supporting the raids. Bissell argued unsuccessfully that the landings will be seriously endangered without it. The air strikes were cancelled. Aboard the Blagar, CIA agent Grayston Lynch receives intelligence report that the Cuba air force will strik e, it moves close to shore and delivers gunfire support to the landing troops.The Brigade troops landed at 1’o clock in the morning. Later that morning, the Houston comes under air attack and is hit. Blight and Kornbluh (1999) gives a detailed account: â€Å"It goes aground with about 180 men on the west side of the Bay of Pigs – about five miles from the landing beach. At 9:30 AM, the freighter Rio Escondido is sunk by a direct rocket hit from a Sea Furya â€Å"with ten day's reserves of ammunition on board, as well as food, hospital equipment, and gasoline.All crew members are rescued and transferred to the Blagar. Fighting rages throughout the day, with the brigade freighters withdrawing 50 miles out to sea. That evening, President Kennedy discusses the deteriorating situation with his advisers† (p. 168). On April 18, the Brigade Commander refused a call for evacuation. While at the UN on the same day, Ambassador Adlai Stevenson continued to deny that the Un ited States had intervened militarily in Cuba.Bissell, in direct violation of Kennedy's instructions, authorized American pilots to fly combat missions when a number of the Cuban pilots at Pueto Cabezos refused to fly. On April 19, two planes flown by U. S. pilots were shot down and the pilots killed. The invasion force were captured. About 130 were killed and 1,189 were taken prisoners. Cuba's casualties were about 157. Mass trials were held and the prisoners were each given a sentence of 30 years. Negotiations got underway and after 20 months, most were released in exchange for money, food and medical supplies (Sierra, 2007).In the aftermath, Lymann Kirkpatrick, the CIA Inspector General, issued a report that pointed to Bissell and his aide Tracy Barnes as not having firm plans for the invasion and failed to advise Kennedy that a covert action is not at all possible. Bissell rebutted by issuing a memorandum of his own and putting the blame on Kennedy's withdrawal of the air strike s. On June 13, 1961, General Taylor, head of the Taylor Committee composed on Gen. Maxwell taylor, Atty. General Robert Kennedy, Adm. Arleigh Burke and Dir. Gen.Of CIA Allen Dulles to investigate why the operation failed submits their report to President Kennedy that the operation was ill-considered and it was never ever possible that Zapatacan be run as a covert operation. If a reorientation of the operation had not been possible, the project should have been abandoned. (Blight & Kornbluh, 1999, p. 169). Apart from the reports of Kirkpatrick of the CIA and the Taylor Committee, and after more documents relating to the Bay of Pigs invasion surfaced and were declassified, the following can be concluded:– the CIA made decisions on mere assumptions that the people would spontaneously assist in overthrowing Castro (Lafeber, 1986). – they failed to see that the exiles and the supporters were the loud minority while the majority were straddling the fence in a wait-and-see at titude inasmuch as Castro's government was still at its inception and already seemed to have been serious about its reforms in distributing the wealth concentrated on the few during the previous regime which was openly supported by the U.S. – the United States could have lost sympathy from the locals since from 1898, they have exerted great influence over Cuba's internal affairs seemingly to the point of meddling in order to favor American businesses and the invasion was undeniably a US-backed operation the US did not trust its own invading force, not even telling the Cuban exiles the actual day of the invasion. One agent admitted that, â€Å"I don't trust any goddamn Cuban.† (Lafeber, 1986) – aside from being trapped by his own campaign statements, the ongoing cold war forced Kennedy to take immediate if indecisive action in battling Cuba's Castro and ultimately the USSR's Nikita Khrushchev for the Western hemisphere – there were tactical errors such as mistaking for seaweed the Bay of Pigs coral reef which caused the craft to run aground and made the easy marks. – the US underestimated the Castro's security and defenses.In a historic meeting in 2001 between the antagonists and the protagonists in the invasion which was held in Cuba, it was divulged that â€Å"a vast security network had been established and about 20,000 suspected dissidents were rounded up† which effectively squelched US expectations of a mass rebellion. Moreover, the Cuban air forces' better planes were camouflaged and the ones that were destroyed by the pre-d-day strike were decoys. (Dinges, 2001, p. 6).– the CIA strategy is rooted on another assumption that no president, Kennedy included despite his statements against overt operations, will allow the United States to â€Å"go down in ignominous defeat† and will send in the Marines (as related by White House adviser Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. In Dinges, 2001). – there were no CIA broadcasts to announce the invasion (Telzrow, 2006). – from Jack Hawkins himself, Kennedy made the fatal error of placing â€Å"plausible deniability ahead of military viability (Hawkins 1996, p. 36+).It would seem highly improbable that the world's greatest superpower would be defeated by a revolutionary government barely over a year in power. However, that is exactly what Cuba did under Fidel Castro's leadership. On April 19, 1961 Cuba was able to repulse an invasion led by 1,400 commandos of Brigade 2506 who arrived at Playa Giron (Giron Beach) from Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). Brigade 2506 was US-backed all the way. The planning and training was done by the CIA. They were armed and supplied by the US.It was not a failure of the men of the invasion force who fought valiantly and refused to be evacuated. Given the circumstances surrounding the invasion, it was a â€Å"perfect failure† as it has now been dubbed for the spectacular defeat of the US. Overall, this is mainly due to the arrogance displayed by America and has now been immortalized in the Bay of Pigs. Bibliography Blight, J. G. & Kornbluh, P. (Eds. ) (1999). Politics of illusion: The Bay of Pigs invasion re-examined. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.Dinges, J. (2001, April 23). Back to the Bay of Pigs. The Nation, 272, 6. Hawkins, J. (1996, December 31). The Bay of Pigs operation was doomed by presidential indecisiveness and lack of commitment. National Review, 48, 36+. Ismael, F. L. (1965). The United States as a world leader. The Book of Knowledge, vol. 9, pp. 3206-3224. New York: Grolier Incorporated. LaFeber, W. (1986, April 19). Lest we forget the Bay of Pigs; the unlearned lessons. The Nation, 242, 537-539. Sierra, J. A. (2007).History of Cuba. Retrieved August 15, 2007, from http://www. historyofcuba. com/cuba/htm. Telzrow, M. E. (2006, August 21). Bay of Pigs betrayal: The betrayal of the Cuba people by the CIA, State Department and staff members of the New York Times ranks as one of the America's darkest foreign-policy moments. The New American, 22, 37-39. Welch. R. E. (1985). Response to revolution: The United States and the Cuban revolution, 1959-1961. Chappel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Immunology HIV Concept Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Immunology HIV Concept Paper - Essay Example There were various things that were discovered in the experiment. The analysis was done on 1752 patients. The result from these patients indicated that more than half did not show CD4 count while a quarter of the patients record did not indicate WHO clinical stage on the first appointment form (Haskew et al. 3). Moreover, the analysis showed that 108 patients were from the IPC program while 1644 were from the VCT services (Haskew et al. 3). There was also additional information from the multivariable analysis. In the analysis, those patient that were found to be HIV positive through VCT services had more than twice chances of presenting to first clinical visit in the Worlds Health Organization(WHO) clinical stages 3 or 4 (Haskew et al. 3). This was as compared to those that were found to be HIV positive in the IPC. At the same time, the affected individuals that were tested through VCT services had more than twice higher odds of presenting to first clinical visit with CD$ of less or equal to 350 cells/ul (Haskew et al. 3). This was as compared to those that were tested positive in IPC. There was also some variation in the mean CD4 count at a first clinical visit. The number of individuals testing positive through VCT was somehow lesser as compared to those that tested positive through IPC. On the other hand, the gender and marriage status played a significant role in determining clinic visit. The male that were divorced or widowed were independently linked to stage 3 or 4 as per visit (Haskew et al. 4).

Work Based Learning in the Creative and Cultural Industries Assignment - 2

Work Based Learning in the Creative and Cultural Industries - Assignment Example The information that is being given to the public continues to be announced, specifically with a relation to updates about the flu, how it is spreading and what an individual can do for prevention and treatment (Flu.Gov). The main concepts that are associated with the swine flu, even though it is based on prevention and treatment, has led to further questions about the attitudes toward this epidemic. It has been found that the swine flu outbreak is one that is not only based on health and prevention. Instead, the media has created a further epidemic through the amount of knowledge that they have received as well as through the hype that has been created around the flu. The limited evidence, knowledge and the idea of the risk where millions will die has created a different culture and attitude surrounding the swine flu. The influence of the media is one that has altered the understanding and legitimacy of the flu and has created a different culture related to the vaccinations and seriousness surrounding this virus (Goldacre, 2009). To find the true beliefs of culture and society about the swine flu, as well as the impact of the media, I have interviewed a variety of individuals. The questions asked relate to the legitimacy of the flu as well as the information and understanding of what is a part of this epidemic. The results show that, there is a cultural and societal understanding of the flu, not only based on the facts about the swine flu, but also from the influence of the media and the hype that is surrounding this specific flu. From the work place to homes, is an epidemic that is not only based on the flu, but also is related to the culture and expectations that are surrounding

Google ratio analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Google ratio analysis - Coursework Example The company will experience more growth as there are indications that advertisers are allocating more budgets for internet advertising (S&P Capital IQ 1). The company will realize further growth as a result of making strategic moves to discontinue any projects that do not generate returns. Another reason to invest in Google is the expected growth that is expected to be spurred by it innovations. Google has initiated projects in healthcare such as the smart contact lenses that could help monitor blood sugar in diabetic patients. Goggle is also growing its market share by applying the growth by acquisition strategy as evident in its recent acquisition of Reedwood Robotics to help grow its portfolio in healthcare. With an operating cash flow of $18 billion in the year 2014, Google is one of the most stable companies in the world today. A combination of targeted as growth as well as stabilization of Google’s business growth in the internet business makes the stock worthy for investment (S&P Capital IQ