Category: Success

Introduction

A startup is a newly established business seeking to grow into a large enterprise or conglomerate. In this case, startups may either fail or succeed depending on the circumstances within which they operate. Some factors that make startup businesses fail include lack of good mentorship skills, mixing friendships with companies, lacking focus, lack of business knowledge such as marketing, operations, and finance, and being advised by the wrong people. Other factors include too much pride in the business, lack of passion, commitment, motivation, and unwillingness to listen to advice. In addition, the new firm may collapse or fail because of raising too much finance within a short time and expanding too fast. However, there are also chances that a new business (startup) will succeed because of good governance or business practices where the owner(s) have commitment and passion. Although some people may think that startups have a high probability of succeeding, there are many instances where new businesses fail because of poor business practices.

Themes to Pull Out on the Road to Failure

Many issues lead many entrepreneurs to get on the road to failure. In a business environment, approximately two-thirds of startups never manage to succeed (Eisenmann). Therefore, most startups happen to fail because of poor business practices, such as the lack of commitment and passion for the business (Startup Graveyard). According to startup case studies, most new businesses fail because of shaky business models. In addition, some other startups fail because of pivoting unsuccessfully. Although pivoting ensures that a new business that has a probability of failing can breathe a new life, it also means that the enterprise has to start afresh and lose the investments used in the business when it got started (Cantamessa et al. 1). For example, Fab (a social networking site) failed because of the risks associated with pivoting (Schnapf). Therefore, there is a need for individuals to be cautious when their startups are looking for a new perspective by pivoting.

Startups also fail because of being too ambitious and hoping to grow extremely fast. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious from a business perspective. However, there is a problem with being overly ambitious, particularly when the business is still new as a startup. In this scenario, the business chews more than it can swallow (Chan). Too much expansion within a short period of time is risky and leads to many businesses collapsing. When a business expands abnormally quickly, it also raises many finances within a short duration, which is a recipe for failure. A business has to take time to grow and expand to be stable and withstand any turbulence that may threaten it. Many small companies file for bankruptcy because of expanding too fast into other territories, even before demonstrating success in the original marketplace.

Themes to Pull Out on the Road to Success

Although a startup has a higher probability of failing, there are also chances for success for such a new business. Failure is defined as the greatest teacher, and most businesses have chances of bouncing back to stardom because of excellent business practices (Cantamessa et al. 11). A good entrepreneur is used to failing so that they may have better initiatives to succeed shortly. Failing is inevitable in a business environment but can eventually lead to success if policies and practices are revised and enhanced. If a startup is experiencing some turbulent times, it is necessary to embrace the situation and see what comes out of it. Therefore, the problems in a new business bring lessons to learn and offer solutions leading to success. A startup has to be wary of pivoting to succeed.

Pivoting is not a bad business idea but has the potential to cripple a new business if improperly applied. A startup must constantly evaluate its available data to avoid failure and succeed (Startup Graveyard). Pivoting ensures that a startup has a new lease of life that makes it have momentum and avoids cases of being stagnant. Some of the new businesss success elements include testing new services and products, incorporating new business strategies, and measuring the market. All the mentioned parameters provide the startup with the required business knowledge to know whether pivoting will be necessary or not (Chan). Pivoting should be treated with caution because it may lead to the collapse of the business. Most successful businesses ensure that they take preventive measures in pivoting. One of the benefits of this step is that it makes the firm diversify and have new products appealing to customers. As a result, such a startup will have the ability to generate more sales and profitability.

Integrating New Knowledge into My Business Idea

Business Overview

My startup idea is to offer help in constructing a well-defined resume and guide our clients to their desired jobs and positions. For this business to succeed, we need to be passionate, committed, and careful about potential issues (Chan). Assisting people in getting their dream jobs is a unique initiative, and product development should be at the heart of the business model. The target audience includes individuals seeking entry-level positions and current and recent college graduates who need excellent products and services that suit todays competitive job market. In this case, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities will enable the students and college graduates to have various assistance mechanisms in the cover letter and resume writing (Cantamessa et al. 3).

Potential Issue to be Addressed

A potential issue to be solved is the rising cases of unemployment and lack of knowledge for career development. Current and recent college graduates find it challenging to get a job because contemporary employers do not recognize their value (Startup Graveyard). Therefore, having a startup that addresses the graduates concerns is a step in the right direction. The job market is quite competitive and requires a robust approach to searching for employment opportunities. Therefore, having consultancy services for cover letters and resume writing is essential and will help cure the problem.

What to Integrate into My Business

The information I learned through this research will allow me to make my business more successful. First of all, I now recognize the necessity of keeping the startup innovating and having a robust product development mechanism in place. Persistence and patience will also give my business energy to succeed. I will test the new services and options that I would like to implement, always consider the risk of failing, analyze market trends, and seek advice from specialists. Finally, I now find it vital to think through several backup plans to use in case any of the areas of my startup fail.

In order to avoid the latter, I will ask an experienced entrepreneur to critically evaluate what to do and what not to do. If I ever decide to pivot my business, I will implement this process with extra caution, find substantial investments, make sure that the timing is beneficial, and check whether pivoting will lead to customer satisfaction. What is more, nowadays, over 95% of the college-age market uses the Internet and over 91% of that group completes online purchases, which is beneficial for my business (Lester et al. 123). In order not to fail unexpectedly due to the decrease in the aforementioned numbers, I will need to monitor the statistics and think of alternative options.

Conclusion

To draw a conclusion, it is possible to say that starting ones own business is a risky and rarely successful process. As mentioned above, a new startup has a higher probability of failure, which is a worrying trend. Although the lack of success is difficult to comprehend, it is known as the best teacher that allows businesspersons to reconsider their ideas and perceptions and focus on other concepts that are more likely to be efficient. Consequently, notwithstanding the chances of nonsuccess, the bottom line is to try, get back, and forge ahead to eventually win.

Adequate preparation for a startup is relevant to ensure future success. Most mistakes that lead to failure could have been rectified because they were quite evident and discussed by professionals. However, some startup owners consider irrelevant recommendations and options instead of searching for solutions to the problems that can lead to failure. It is crucial to have adequate preparation and patience in a new business, which will lead to eventual success. Some of the issues that lead to startup failure include pivoting, growing too fast, and being overly ambitious. On the other hand, a startup could succeed because of various reasons such as persistence, patience, commitment, passion, and great leadership.

Works Cited

Cantamessa, Marco, et al. Startups Road to Failure. Sustainability, vol. 10, no. 7, 2018, pp. 1-19.

Chan, Jonathan. What These 4 Startup Case Studies Can Teach You About Failure. Foundr Magazine, 2020.

Eisenmann, Tom. Why Start-ups Fail. Harvard Business Review, 2021.

Lester, Deborah H., et al. Internet Shopping and Buying Behavior of College Students. Services Marketing Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 2, 2008, pp. 123-138.

Schnapf, Michael. Pivots Dont Always Succeed. Heres How You Can Make Sure Yours Does. Ceoworld Magazine, 2019.

Startup Graveyard. Welcome to Startup Graveyard. 2022.

Have you ever wondered what true success really is? Back in the days when I was a little kid, I was also asking myself the same question; I thought that possessing material things was the way to go. I believed that focusing on money, having luxury homes, or buying expensive vehicles was the best way to be successful in life. I still remember sitting down on my couch and daydreaming about having all these things. Not that long ago, I came to a certain point of maturity in which I realized that all these “stuff” were temporary pleasures; nobody would really care. Honestly, the real definition of success was right in front of my eyes, and I never saw it. True success comes from having a content and enjoyable life with the ones you love, and also by doing what makes you really happy.

Then, what can you do to reach true success? First of all, you want to put yourself a goal and do something more rewarding than possessions and wealth. Remember that, living a materialistic lifestyle won’t guarantee satisfaction at all. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s being said that the general population whose primary motivations are financial ones are much more likely to be on a state of depression or anxiousness. You also want to find something that makes you really happy, and certainly, money cannot buy this happiness. In addition, a way to be successful at something is if you’re good at it and most of being good at something comes from putting your best effort and persistence. Keep in mind that many things in life come together to produce real happiness. These include work, play, time with family and friends, and most importantly, spiritual activities.

At the same time, you want to be a good example for your children. Give them the necessary tools that will guide them through the right path in reaching true success. “Even when a person has an abundance,” Jesus said, “his

Have you ever wondered what true success really is? Back in the days when I was a little kid, I was also asking myself the same question; I thought that possessing material things was the way to go. I believed that focusing on money, having luxury homes, or buying expensive vehicles was the best way to be successful in life. I still remember sitting down on my couch and daydreaming about having all these things. Not that long ago, I came to a certain point of maturity in which I realized that all these “stuff” were temporary pleasures; nobody would really care. Honestly, the real definition of success was right in front of my eyes, and I never saw it. True success comes from having a content and enjoyable life with the ones you love, and also by doing what makes you really happy.

Then, what can you do to reach true success? First of all, you want to put yourself a goal and do something more rewarding than possessions and wealth. Remember that, living a materialistic lifestyle won’t guarantee satisfaction at all. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s being said that the general population whose primary motivations are financial ones are much more likely to be on a state of depression or anxiousness. You also want to find something that makes you really happy, and certainly, money cannot buy this happiness. In addition, a way to be successful at something is if you’re good at it and most of being good at something comes from putting your best effort and persistence. Keep in mind that many things in life come together to produce real happiness. These include work, play, time with family and friends, and most importantly, spiritual activities.

At the same time, you want to be a good example for your children. Give them the necessary tools that will guide them through the right path in reaching true success. “Even when a person has an abundance,” Jesus said, “his life does not result from the things he possesses.” Teach your kids that their true value as a person has nothing to do with the amount of money they have. As mentioned earlier, the pursuit of wealth often adds anxieties, it leads to more worries in your life. Furthermore, instead of being self-centered, happy people tend to be generous and interested in others. Have you ever heard the phrase: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”? Let us not only help our children understand the true meaning of success but help other people get it as well; that will truly make us happy.

In short, let’s not take this life for granted. Don’t waste it looking forward to materialistic things. All these things are only temporary pleasures that will fly away sooner or later. A positive and happy state of mind is what we need. Look forward to what really makes you happy. Don’t forget to keep your spiritual side strong, build an everlasting bond with the ones you truly love, and work really hard on what you’re good at. As a result, you’ll certainly reach true success.

The title of ‘The Fifth Beatle’ has been given to various people affiliated with the band over time, but nobody is quite deserving of the title than Sir George Martin. He was the composer, arranger and producer for the majority of the Beatle’s career and his inputs are a direct link to some of the band’s greatest influential contributions in music history. His relationship with the band started early, in 1962 he heard one of their demo tapes and arranged a meeting with the band. Though he thought they were ‘rather unpromising’, Martin took a flyer with the band. After signing them martin actually convinced the band mates to fire Pete Best in favor of Ringo Starr, making him directly responsible for one of the most iconic line-ups in music history. His close connection with the Beatles made him an internationally recognized producer, but his numerous skills were a result of his own making. Martin had previous experience producing many different kinds of music when he started working with the Beatles, but he wouldn’t have been anyone’s first choice as a pop producer. This ended up serving the Beatles well, as Martin had an ear for experimentation that helped to bring some of the bands more ambitious ideas to life. Along the way, a handful of specific production techniques not only became Martin signatures, but they appeared on record among the first times ever, proving that the Fifth Beatle’s technical, critical and professional skills were a necessity in aiding the creation of the Beatle’s finest works.

While Martin’s production and arrangement aided in the Beatles success of their early works reach soaring heights, his influence became more pronounced in 1965, when the Beatles released ‘Yesterday’, a song that Paul McCartney had been workshopping for several years. While McCartney did the heavy lifting on the song, it was Martin who pushed McCartney to include a string quartet much too his protest, resulting in the songs elevation to an iconic status thanks to his professional skills as a producer and set the precedent for the Beatles to explore the use of strings further, which they did again just a year later in ‘Eleanor Rigby’ with another string quartet piece scored by Martin. The score inspired by Bernard Herrmann’s ‘Psycho’ film score, quickly joined yesterday as one of the most famous uses of strings in rock and pop. But what was also striking is the way the string octet was recorded: on eight different microphones, rather than a single one, each put up close to the instruments. “So close”, Emerick later said. “The musicians hated it, because you could see them sort of keep slipping back on their chairs to get away from the mic in case they made any errors” (Emerick). In their next album, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, the final climactic finish would be lacking without Martin’s contributions as well. Originally a day in the life was two different half completed songs. The band was only able to smash them together with the help of Martin’s studio experimentation and orchestration he created the surreal swells that bridge the song from Lennon’s section to McCartney’s then back again. As the Beatles experimentation got more extreme, Martin became more and more pronounced, as he later created the psychedelic soundscapes on ‘I Am the Walrus’ the year after. Though Martin wasn’t particularly in the song it says to spend weeks creating the stunning orchestral accompaniment that was featured in the final version of the song. When the Beatles began to fight more during the creation of ‘White Album’, Martin took a step back in studio contributions, but return triumphantly on the Abbey Road album. He had a large collection of contributions on the album, but one of the clearest is his orchestration and arrangement of ‘The Medley’. Alongside McCartney, Martin took half a dozen small songs and smashed them together seamlessly into some of the greatest moments ever recorded.

Multi-track recording technology, that permits multiple sound sources to be recorded individually and at separate times, was still in its infancy once Martin started working with the Beatles. Martin as a producer was a pioneer in his area, going further than the limited number of tracks available by ‘bouncing down’ combining multiple tracks into one, clearing up a previously occupied track for a fresh recording. On 1963’s ‘Please Please Me’, he was working with two tracks, and even on ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, EMI’s Abbey Road Studios used only four-track technology, instead of the eight-track recorders then available to the world. In ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, the LSD-influenced, drone filled finale from the album Revolver in 1966, is notable for many production techniques, not to mention the use of Paul McCartney’s tape loops that brought the French originated musique concrete into the world of pop. It was in this piece that Martin implemented a large mix of effects to Lennon’s vocal, including sending it through a Leslie speaker as Lennon wanted to sound, “as though I am the Dalai Lama singing from the highest mountain top” (Lennon). A creative use of production skills to achieve John’s vision to say the least. Altogether, ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ is a noteworthy example for the way Martin’s critical listening and technical skills assisted the Beatles combine numerous experimental techniques with separate recordings into a sonically stunning result. By ‘The White Album’ in 1968, the Beatles then recorded their songs onto the larger eight-track machines.

Though Martin was very much a technical and professional worker by the nature of his role, he had a few notable moments actually playing on Beatles songs, for example, his honky-tonk piano solo in ‘Lovely Rita’. His most notable appearance was the Bach-like piano part on the ‘In My Life’ bridge. Initially, Lennon wasn’t sure what to put there, but putting his musical background to use, Martin constructed his own piano line that sounded baroque. He recorded the piano part at half speed, which meant that it sounded twice as fast and an octave higher (and just with a generally shifted tonal quality) on playback. Being the product of Martin’s experimentation with tape speeds, many people have mistaken it for a harpsichord over the years. Another critical example of Martin’s experimentation with tape vari-speed was in the B – side to ‘Paperback Writer’ titled ‘Rain’. To create a slow and smoky effect, Martin recorded on to the instrumental track faster than the intended speed, then slowing it back down for playback; Lennon’s vocals were recorded slower as well. This however, being the Beatles and Martin’s experimentation, makes the modulated speed only the start of the list of techniques featured in on the song, further experimenting with tape effects, though Martin and Lennon argued about who’s idea it was to playback the vocals in reverse during the recording sessions of ‘Rain’, the ending verse at the end of the song marked one of the first recorded examples of such a technique. After that moment they became obsessed with doing everything backwards: “They wanted guitars backwards and drums backwards, and everything backwards, and it became a bore” (George Martin). Soon enough, the Beatles used the reverse tape effect through to the end of their career, most times with vocals at the finale of songs, similar to ‘Rain’. For the long-term, the reverse tape effect applied to the band’s instruments, as opposed to vocals, proved to be more stimulating to the band and Martin. Harrison recorded a complex two-part guitar part on Revolver’s ‘I’m Only Sleeping’, that he envisioned taking on a dreamy quality when played backwards and in ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, Ringo’s cymbals were played backwards, adding another layer of confusion to the song’s foggy trip down memory lane. In the song Lennon wanted the producer to combine two different takes, though they weren’t in the same tempo or even the same key. Martin and go-to Beatle engineer Geoff Emerick made it happen, blending the two versions and changing their speeds to bring them into a matching tempo. As Ian MacDonald noted in his book ‘Revolution in the Head’, “Only a slight background change at the fifty-nine-second mark gives away their editing efforts”. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ also gained a lot from its fifty-five hours of time recording and editing in the studio, which speaks to Martin’s forward-thinking approach to the recording studio as a lab for experimenting, rather than for just recording.

To conclude, it is evident through the discography of the Beatles works that George Martin played a large part in both the band’s musical success and technological experimentation as a result of his excellent skills as a producer providing a precedent of creativity that can be achieved through pushing through boundaries using already existing production tools creatively like tape machines, multi-track recording and orchestration as a result of Martin’s technical, critical listening and professional skills.

Events Leading to the Attack

The Pulse nightclub gun attack that occurred on 12 June, 2016 was the worst terror attack after the September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda attack. The attack was planned and executed by a 29-year old Omar Mateen. The events leading to the attack gave indications that Omar was planning an attack on United States soil either as an individual or in group. In May 2013, Omar made inflammatory remarks at his workplace that indicated that he was a Sympathizer of Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah terror groups. He was entered into the FBI list of possible terror sympathizers currently residing in the United States (Solnit, 2016).

An investigation into his activities was launched and it was established that he had no links with the terror groups at that time. He was subsequently struck off that list, which meant that he was no longer under tight watch. Two weeks prior to the attack, he started making purchases of heavy weapons that should have raised alarm. He purchased SIG MCX rifle and a Glock 17 handgun. According to Bergen (2016), it is not abnormal for a person to purchase such heavy semi-automatic rifles, but sometimes their background check may be necessary to ensure that they are not radicalized individuals. In this case, very heavy weapons were sold to a person who had been on the FBI list as a sympathizer of terror groups.

Within that same week of the attack, he tried to purchase body armor, another red flag that authorities should have detected given that he had just purchased heavy weapons. He also tried to purchase 1,000 rounds of bulk ammunition but the store attendants got suspicious and failed to sell the ammunition to him (Solnit, 2016). It is reported that the salesman at the store contacted the FBI to report the issue. However, no immediate action was taken. It is reported that Omar started visiting public places that were often popular, taking special interest with places that had limited security. The strongest indication of the intent of Omar to attack innocent Americans came on early morning on the day of the attack when Omar made a Facebook post account stating that the United States will taste the vengeance of ISIL. This left no doubt about the intention of Omar. It was clear, from the posts on his Facebook account, that he was either planning an attack or knew about people planning to attack the country.

The Success of the Attack

At about 2 in the morning of June 12, 2016, Omar walked into Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and began shooting indiscriminately at the patrons. The club, which is often frequented by LGBT people, had a considerably high number of patrons that particular night. About 20 minutes later, he called 911 and pledged allegiance to Islamic State and praised a number of terrorists who had died in the past either through suicide bombing or murdered because of their terror activities. It was apparent that the attack found the authorities completely unaware. As he was shooting, he made two other calls demanding that the United States troops should leave Afghanistan.

He also called The Washington Post and News 13, identifying himself as a Mujahedeen fighting for the liberation of the Islamic nations from the control of the United States. A gun battle between Omar and the police ensued almost two hours after the attack. In the attack, it was clear that he had no intention of surrendering to the police. He was ready to die in the process and was keen on ensuring that he kills as many people during the attack as possible. The gun battle went on for about one hour, and at about 5 in the morning, he was brought down by the law-enforcement forces. 49 people died during the gun battle, and another 53 people sustained varying degrees of injury.

It was the deadliest attack on the United States soil that primarily targeted LGBT people. The investigation that followed indicated that although the Omar was heavily influenced by the activities of ISIL and other terror organizations such as Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, he never made direct contact with these groups and was never assisted in any way to plan and execute his attack. He had organized this attack as an individual and executed it without any form of assistance.

Law Enforcement and Intelligence Roles in Preventing Such Attacks

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the primary role in preventing terror attacks before they can claim the lives of innocent citizens. According to Bergen (2016), identifying the footprint of a terrorist is the primary responsibility of the intelligence agencies. It was great that the FBI was able to single Omar out as a possible sympathizer to such terror groups as Al-Qaeda. Warrick (2015) says that for one to be a sympathizer of a terror group there must be a strong personal conviction within that individual that makes him or her believe that actions of such terrorists are justified.

Such sympathizers never change their mind easily as long as the terror groups they support remain focused on their original vision. Once a person is classified as having links to terror groups or being their sympathizer, it should be important for the intelligence agencies to share the information with law enforcement agencies, especially the local Sheriffs who are capable of monitoring the moves of such individuals. It took only one year for the FBI to take Omar off its list of terror suspects. Simms (2015) advises that once the intelligence agencies are convinced about the possible involvement of an individual in terror activities, it should take a minimum of about ten years for him or her to be taken off such a list based on the past incidences that have been witnessed.

According to Bergen (2016), fighting terror can never be the responsibility of the intelligence agencies alone. When these forces work independently, they may fail to concentrate their effort, and that maybe the advantage needed by these terror suspects to commit their crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency must share intelligence, especially on issues of terrorism. These agencies should then find ways of sharing such sensitive information with local law enforcement agencies. For instance, if an individual is suspected to be having links with terror groups or is a sympathizer, the local Sheriffs should be informed so that their actions can be closely monitored at all times.

The intelligence agencies should make an effort and ensure that the online activities of such individuals are closely monitored. Preston (2013) says that sometimes people would try to justify their actions in case they are planning to commit an offence that may raise public attention. This is specifically the case when they are aware that they may not make it alive, as is always the case with suicide bombers. These terrorists know they have to make their case before acting because they may not have any other opportunity to do so (Sherman & Wedge, 2015). This was the case with Omar and the intelligence agencies failed to detect the threat as posted on the Facebook account of this individual.

Lessons from the Attack

The attack left a number of lessons that intelligence agencies and law enforcement authorities should learn from to ensure that future attacks are thwarted before innocent lives are lost. The first lesson is that once an individual is taken into the records of intelligence agencies as a terror suspect, he or she should remain under surveillance for as long as possible. Even if it is determined that such an individual does not have direct links with terror groups, authorities should monitor the activities of that individual for about eight to ten years.

It is clear from this case that intelligence agencies and law enforcement authorities should coordinate their operations when handling cases of terror activities. Once the intelligence has been gathered, the law enforcement agencies should be informed about the threat so that appropriate action can be taken to avert the threat. The law enforcement officers should always monitor both online and physical activities of terror suspects. If the authorities were monitoring the online activities of Omar, his dangerous posts on Facebook account would have been read and an arrest would have been made before the attack. When the intelligence agencies and law enforcement authorities coordinate their activities, acts of terrorism in the country will be uncommon.

References

Bergen, P. L. (2016). United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s homegrown terrorists. Hoboken, NJ: Springer.

Preston, K. (2013). Attack the system: A new anarchist perspective for the 21st century. New York, NY: Black House Publishing Lt.

Sherman, C., & Wedge, D. (2015). Boston strong: A city’s triumph over tragedy. Beirut, Lebanon: ForeEdge.

Simms, B. (2015). The Longest Afternoon: The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Solnit, R. (2016). Hope in the dark: Untold histories, wild possibilities. New York, NY: Cengage.

Warrick, J. (2015). Black flags: The rise of ISIS. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Publishers.

Introduction

The south of America became prevalent with the employment of slaves in the early 19^th Century. The Underground Railroad was built with a mechanism of hidden ways and hiding places across the continent aptly named for which slaves can run away from their masters and head north to Canada or to Mexico. The establishment of this clandestine movement was not initiated only by the slaves themselves but also through the help of sympathizers and other citizens who have the capacity to help.

Other hidden pathways led to North American nations. At its emergence during the early 19^th century, approximately more than 200,000 individuals became free from bondage because of the Underground Railroad, through survey statistics only tallied less than 10 000 (Edwards 4). The Underground Railroad has caught the appreciation of all people as a symbol of independence, and it is widely regarded in African culture and society. The system was at its peak between the years 1810 through 1850 and even expanded after the release of the Fugitive Slave Act (“Underground Railroad,” 2007). The name of the system should not be taken literally as a railroad escape route since the slaves often traveled on boats and other transport vehicles too.

The hidden pathway was “underground” in the idea of it being a secret and illegal group but was not always below the ground as its name says. In their travels, they used railroad language like ‘conductors’ and ‘stations.’ The Underground Railroad was composed of hidden pathways, travel routes, meeting areas, and hiding places supported by anti-slavery advocates and even commoners willing to help. These people were classified into the minute, free organizations which, for the objective of managing the hidden identity of the Underground Railroad, had the knowledge of linking meeting places along the way but small information of their existing locations. Many independent connections were established through familial connections. African slaves would go from one area to the other, consistently trekking their way upwards (Levine, p. 6). The various guides on the pathways involved independent Negro and American anti-slavery advocates, escaped slaves, and even ordinary citizens. Various religious organizations took huge responsibilities in the maintenance of the secrecy of the Underground Railroad. Quakers, for instance, believed in abolishing slavery in America (Stubbs, 1995). They are a group belonging to the Society of Religious Friends who started helping runaway slaves by guiding them through the Underground Railroad towards the free states in the north.

Most individuals connected with the Underground Railroad only had small details concerning their roles of a certain process and not of the entire escape route. Though this may look like a very unstable pathway for the slaves to get their independence, thousands of slaves got their independence by moving upwards annually. The Underground Railroad’s extent is still a debatable issue to historians because none were certain of the exact routes the slaves took. What is known is that it extended from the south to the north of the continent, close to Canada and a little to the east coast.

The rest areas where the slaves get the chance to stop for the meantime and feed themselves were managed by the station managers. There were also ‘stockholders’ who supplied financial assistance or goods for support. There were ‘conductors’ who significantly guided the slaves from area to area. The conductor would frequently disguise themself as a runaway and go to a field. Once he enters the field, the conductor would lead the slaves to pathways upward. During the night, the fugitives would go, trekking for about 30 kilometers every day. Their movement would decline a little at the stop-over during the day, and they can relax for a while. While relaxing at the stop-over, information was transferred to the succeeding stop-over to enable the controller to be aware of that slaves would become. Oftentimes the road and sea would be utilized for movement. Financial assistance was provided by concerned persons to aid in purchasing tickets and give out clothes for the slaves so they would be not be recognized (March, p. 6).

Southern citizens — obviously, people who approve of slavery — were not pleased by this entire procedure. Leading from many initiatives to provide solutions to this grave dilemma, a legislative policy was enacted that enabled people who controlled slaves to contract individuals to recover their slaves and imprison them known as the Fugitive Slave Act. The slave legislations transformed into a dilemma since most independent slaves, according to the law, were still being imprisoned, including the runaways. This then motivated many individuals of the North to become involved in the management of the hidden pathways.

Famous People

A. William Still

William Still, often regarded as “The Father of the Underground Railroad,” aided thousands of slaves to flee, and there were circumstances that he used his own house to hide slaves. He managed documents, which involve individual profiles of the slaves that also had secret pathway information. He communicated with all of these slaves, often taking the role of a mediator in interactions between the fugitives and those still being kept in bondage. He then wrote these stories in his book in the late 19^th century.

Based on the specifics provided by Still, information was most of the time hidden in order that only those people who had sufficient knowledge in the hidden pathways would completely comprehend their purpose. As a result, the government was often misled regarding the correct location of the slaves, while Still was always able to guide them at the appropriate places and bring them to secured locations, usually to North American borders (Stein, p. 3).

B. Charles Wheaton

During the early 19^th century, Charles Wheaton’s home was a stop-over on the hidden pathway, enabling fugitives to go to northern borders. During this time, a fugitive named Harriet Powell was linked to Charles Wheaton because of information that leaked and leading him as the person hiding Powell. This allegation was never proven anyway, and Powell was able to escape to northern borders (Tobin, p. 6).

C. Thomas Garrett

While he labored all his life to become a major stakeholder of the metal industry in his native state, Thomas Garrett also had responsibilities as an area manager on the final stages of the hidden pathways in their area. At his home, slaves who fled would stop over in secret rooms to let the night pass prior to moving over and going north. The government was knowledgeable of his initiatives, and he was jailed most of the time. In spite of this, however, his efforts as part of the Underground Railroad area managers remain firm (Monjo, p. 6).

Harriet Tubman’s Role in the Underground Railroad

As a fugitive herself, she enabled more than ten operations to free almost a hundred relatives to North American borders utilizing the hidden pathways. Over the course of her life, she labored tirelessly, often taking various odd occupations. As an anti-slavery advocate, she aided the freedom of slaves and motivated many others to join her advocacy by their own initiatives. During wars, she took on the duties of information collector, caretaker of slaves, medical officer, and provider of financial resources. She is considered the first female in the US to organize and empower an assault (Mcmullan, p. 4).

Even though the slaves seldom trekked on authentic railways, the major way of traveling was barefoot or by carts. The pathways where the slaves traveled under the leadership of Tubman were not obvious to mislead the hunters. Most routes were done by her initiatives or minute organizations; sometimes, just like what happened to the Pearl Rescue, there were plenty of people who fled. Most of the slaves are perceived to have been men who work in plantations and are below the age of 50. The travel was most of the time too tiring and misleading for females and the young people to finish triumphantly. It was always ordinary, however, for slaves who had fled through the hidden pathways and founded various ways of living as independent people to buy their loved ones and relatives out of bondage in succession and then make moves to be bonded with them. In this way, the denomination of past fugitives who gained their independence because of the bravery and heroic efforts of people who managed the hidden pathways was larger than the hundreds who practically trekked the Underground Railroad (Smedley, p. 3).

Because of the potential dangers of discovery, Tubman devised messages regarding pathways, and secured places were transferred through verbal messages. Southern media during those times were most of the time loaded with information collecting and pleading for data regarding the fugitives and providing monetary prizes in exchange for the information regarding these fugitives. Police agents and other people authorized to hunt slaves went up as high as the North American territories in their desire to locate these slaves.

Tubman’s work on helping free other slaves put herself in grave danger since she instantly became a fugitive and assured a bounty was placed on her head. Her unwavering efforts to free slaves paid off later in life as she lived a long peaceful life in New York until her death in 1913 (“Harriet Tubman”)

The Fugitive Slave Act

The potential dangers of being caught were not applicable to real slaves only. Since powerful, sturdy black people in the best years of their lives were really important assets, it was not uncommon for independent black people — both past fugitives and those who been free their whole life— to be caught and turned into slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act—authenticated documents that validate the independent status of black people — could readily be rubbished and therefore enabled their managers’ feeble protection (Hansen 7). Also, under the powers of the slavery legislations, when runaway slaves were captured and made to face a specific court handled by a judge, they possessed no power to a fair investigation and could not even issue their plea to represent themselves; the people who pursue the fugitives only had to make an oath to possess a document that will give them the power or control of their escaped slaves.

Nonetheless, the US government believed that the Fugitive Slave Act was needed due to the loss of solidarity by the law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and the citizens that are not residents of the South. States enacted legislation that delays or disprove the government’s slave catching mechanism, which government officials from the South took as absolutely inappropriate, and this transformed into a major drive for its downfall. In some areas of the North, the people who pursued the fugitives had to have protection from the law enforcers to implement their government-given power. Even in places that denied compliance with the Fugitive Slave Act, though, black people were often not appreciated well; some states even enacted legislation that disallowed black people from roaming in that place (Switala, p. 5).

Consequences of the Underground Railroad

Approximations differ significantly, but less than 50 000 captives fled to North American borders through hidden pathways. This established a significant impact on the North American communities. Cultural diversity in the North American societies as a result of the Underground Railroad phenomenon is a typical dilemma among its industries and another workplace. Many research studies specifically put into the spotlight the correlation between the Underground Railroad phenomenon and cultural diversity to this issue. However, cultural diversity in North American societies may also be identified through misinterpretations in occupation, sexual orientation, or place of birth (Burke 5). These diverse elements in the composition of the North American societies transform the issue as unique and famous among experts. In many situations, this problem is already branded as a normal phenomenon that has to be managed; if not, this problem can cause differences among the members of the population and could result in failure for the North American societies concerned.

Apart from being male or female, the variance of cultures in North America as a consequence of the Underground Railroad escape by slaves is another essential element that results in diversity dilemmas. In accordance with past studies, this typical phenomenon can be linked to the issue that other North American people have the possibilities to treat their colleagues in a fair manner as opposed to fugitive slaves whom they cannot relate with culturally (Pirtle, p. 7). This phenomenon is a result of numerous elements, including hindrances to the interaction that cause conflict and quarreling. In the situations of these conflicts, individual shortcomings are often given too much emphasis.

One of the primary dilemmas concerning this topic is the lack of information that North American individuals possess for the appreciation of other races and ethnicity. The lack of information regarding varied races and ethnicities that the Underground Railroad gave birth then establishes a selfish perspective regarding the people of the minority. Sad to say, instead of making initiatives of understanding the races, ethnicities, and lovable aspects of the minority communities, individuals choose to behave inappropriately and abuse these people as an obvious sign of ignorance for these people. For instance, some North American workers believe that the existence of various fugitive slaves in their working environment illicit bad impacts which hinder their proper functioning; these workers claimed that dilemmas that emerge from this topic are also connected to interaction, and human factors as the differences among workers become obvious in their communication (Williams, p. 3).

References

1. Burke, Henry Robert. Washington County Underground Railroad (OH) (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing: 2004
2. Edwards, Pamela Duncan. Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad. Harper Trophy; Reprint edition 1999
3. Hansen, Joyce. Freedom Roads: Searching for the Underground Railroad. Cricket Books/Marcato; 1^st edition 2003
4. “Harriet Tubman”. Web.
5. Levine, Ellen. If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad. Scholastic Paperbacks; Reissue edition 1993
6. Marsh, Carole. The Mystery on the Underground Railroad. Gallopade International: 2003
7. Mcmullan, Kate. The Story of Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad (Dell Yearling Biography). Yearling; Reissue edition 1990
8. Monjo, F. N. The Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad (I Can Read Book 3). Harper Trophy; Reissue edition 1992
9. Pirtle, Carol. Escape Betwixt Two Suns: A True Tale of the Underground Railroads in Illinois (Shawnee Books). Southern Illinois University: 2000
10. Smedley, R. C. History Of The Underground Railroad in Chester and The Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania. Stackpole Books; 1st edition, 2005
11. Stein, R. Conrad. The Underground Railroad (Cornerstones of Freedom). Children’s Press (CT) 1997
12. Stubbs, D.P. The Underground Railroad. 1995.
13. Switala, William J. Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. Stackpole Books; 1st edition 2001
14. Tobin, Jacqueline L. Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad. Anchor; 1st Anchor Books edition 2000
15. “Underground Railroad”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Web.
16. Williams, James. Life and adventures of James Williams, a fugitive slave, with a full description of the Underground railroad. Cornell University Library: 1873

The idea behind the establishment of any business organization is to make profits and eventually achieve business success. This implies that managers are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that their businesses succeed.

Although all business ventures are challenging, the hospitality industry has more challenges that require a manager to work hard failure to which losses occur.

A hotel manager should be able to measure the success of the business and if success cannot be measured, then this implies that it is difficult to manage the business. There are several success indicators that a hotel manager should look out for.

The first success indicator that a hotel manager should look out for is the profit made by the hotel. Making profit is the ultimate business goal and any business organization that does not make profit stands little chances of success.

The manager should identify whether the hotel makes enough profit to meet its expenses and other costs. If the hotel generates income that caters for all expenses and leaves reasonable profit, this is a good indicator of success.

On the other hand, if the hotel is left with a small profit after meeting the expenses, then this implies that its performance is not satisfactory.

The second success indicator that a hotel manager should look out for is customer service. Customer service forms an important part of the hotel business. Front desk workers in hotels function as the gatekeepers of the specific hotels.

They are the employees who sale the image of the hotel by creating the first and last impressions to customers. A hotel manager is interested in knowing whether the staff is courteous, well informed and able to solve any crisis that may arise in the hotel.

Quality service also comprises of the ability to remember the names of regular customers. Customer service is therefore a key success indicator that a hotel manager should look out for.

The third success indicator that a hotel manager should look out for is cost control. Cost management is an important success indicator in the hotel industry. Hotels vary the rates they charge depending on whether it is the high or the low season.

Hotels usually have forecasting programs that help them determine their demands. Successful hotels should be able to balance the cost of foods and beverages, employee wages and electricity with the profits raised. Good management of the costs incurred by a hotel is a crucial success indicator.

The fourth success indicator that a hotel manager should look out for is product differentiation. The success of a hotel lies in offering special services to its customers.

The location of the hotel determines the types of services offered to the customers since customers from different locations have varying preferences.

A hotel should therefore strife towards offering services that inform its theme for the customers to identify with it. This is a success indicator that a hotel manager should look out for.

The fifth success indicator that a hotel manager should look out for is advertising. Advertising is a very important activity for hotels since it is a major way of attracting customers who generate profits.

A hotel manager can measure advertising as a success factor by keeping records of the number of customers visiting the hotel. This enables the manager to determine whether the advertising methods are effective towards achieving the set goals.

Reference List

Kasavana, M., & Brooks, R. (2009). Managing front office operations. New York: American Hotel & Lodging Association, Educational Institute.

Introduction

All organizations experience a myriad of challenges during the process of implementing projects and programs. After almost two years of implementation, my organization has encountered different challenges that have led to the emergence of propaganda amongst the stakeholders. While it is agreeable that the project has achieved some significant goals, it is important to highlight various sources of failures. The organization’s stakeholders have doubted the project’s ability to achieve its goals (Treadway et al., 2005). This, in turn, has led to propaganda that the project has failed. This essay explains the ways to inspire the stakeholders and ensure that the project begins to benefit the organization and all investors.

Enhancing Short-term Gains and Changing Hoopla into Success

Before inspiring the stakeholders and minimizing their doubts, it is imperative to ensure that the project team has substantial inspiration to spearhead short-term gains. For the large-scale project to achieve short-term gains, the team leader must cultivate a sense of openness, honesty, and consistency amongst the members of the team. This will not only lead to the development of trust but also improved inspiration. Treadway et al. (2005) argue that team members ought to trust the team leader to work together during the planning and implementation phases of a project. Indeed, consistency involves objectivity, selflessness and being predictable. Cultivation of trust in the organization will eventually lead to improved productivity, minimized turnover as well as optimized profits (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). As such, building trust amongst stakeholders (both internal and external) will be the first step in inspiring investors and enhancing short-term gains. As elucidated by Gershon & Straub (2009), a team of trustworthy employees is a major ingredient of improved performance both at planning and at implementing stages of project management.

As the leader of the project implementation team, it is important to enhance effective communication. Instead of the fact the leaders have the responsibility of generating, storing and disseminating information, the leader should comprehend that the followers have no direct contact with the organization’s information (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). To that end, the team leader needs to provide all essential information without undue delays and hiccups. This will not only enhance the top-down flow of information but also provoke the team members to suggest available alternatives. In this scenario, the new team leader should communicate with the project team members and express the dissatisfaction of the stakeholders on the project. Besides, the team leader will also ensure that the members and employees propose alternative ways of achieving short-term gains for the stakeholders. According to Treadway et al. (2005), communication is an aspect of organizations that may enhance its ability to achieve myriads of objectives. As such, the leaders and managers ought to enhance the bottom-up approach to communication. This will lead to the active participation of the employees and constant performance appraisal.

According to Gershon & Straub (2009), team leaders bear the responsibility of ensuring that they prepare and set stakeholders for the impending success. The rationale is that the major role of a team leader is to assist others to succeed. Therefore, the leader ought to ensure that employees adopt appropriate behavioral changes to be ready for success. Other aspects of an organization such as performance appraisal ought to shape the goal attainment processes of the project. This is possible through the creation of a context where members of the team can engage in conversations and discussions that explore all opportunities for performance improvement. Gershon & Straub (2009) assert that many organizations fail to recognize the psychological aspect of preparing people for success. Consequently, they are unable to adopt the appropriate organizational cultures and behaviors that are related to success.

To reduce the ambiguity associated with short-term goals, the leader needs to embark on a process of planning and defining short-term goals that can inspire the stakeholders (Bolman & Deal, 2008). For instance, the team leader should analyze the overdue projects and ensure that the team prioritizes their completion. The rationale is that the majority of the stakeholders are probably disappointed because of sluggishness and incompletion of certain aspects of the project. This will not only lead to a substantial reduction in the number of incomplete projects but also reduce the workload and the number of goals to achieve. Bolman & Deal (2008) point out that the failure by the organization to achieve its set goals emanates from poor planning and prioritization of insignificant objectives. By introducing new goals and objectives into the project, the team leader will be unrealistic. The reason is that the project has already failed to achieve its previously set goals (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). As such, prioritizing on the completion of the delayed aspects of the project will inspire the stakeholders in addition to demystifying the hoopla that has emerged in the organization.

The ability of a team leader to reduce anxiety associated with the sluggishness of the project should play an important role in goal attainment. Currently, many stakeholders have lost faith in the ability of the organization to complete the project. As such, they feel that the project has failed to reap benefits and profits. It is therefore critical for the team leader to demystify the widespread notion that the project has failed to achieve its objectives. This will be dependent on the ability of the team leader to be candid and explain the challenges that have acted as impediments to the anticipated success (Bolman & Deal, 2008). This way, the stakeholders and investors will be able to have an objective examination of the project. This will not only enhance the reduction of the anxiety amongst the stakeholders but also ensure that the project regains the goodwill of all key stakeholders. Other than quelling the growing anxiety, the leader ought to get the desired results and maintain the relationships. The leader should establish a link between the desired outcomes (objectives) and organizational values, culture, and mission (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Also, the team leader should ensure that every member of the project team has access to all required resources to accomplish the task. To that end, the team leader will have inspired the stakeholders and changed the hoopla into an organization’s success.

Conclusion

In essence, the new team leader should take various measures to enhance short-term gains and change the growing dissent among the stakeholder into success. The team leader should build trust, prepare the employees for success, enhance effective communication and set short-term goals. Also, the leader should drive change in the organization by managing relationships and achieving goals. This way, the organization will become successful.

References

Bolman, L. & Deal, T. (2008). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gershon, D. & Straub, G. (2009). The Empowering Organization: Changing Behavior and Developing Talent in Organizations. Empowerment Institute, 25(3), 421–439.

Kotter, J. & Cohen, S. (2002). The Heart of Change: Real-life Stories of How People Change their Organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Treadway, D. et al. (2005). The Formation of Political Sub-climates: Predictions from Social Identity, Structuration, and Symbolic Interaction. Journal of Business and Psychology, 20(2), 201-219.

Abstract

The current trends within the hospitality industry indicate that modern technological innovations have become an overriding competitive edge within the globalised market arena. The increasing awareness and demand by consumers for better services have made technology the most viable medium of communication.

Consequently, emerging themes like interactive social media, mobile phones and shifting travel patterns have challenged the hotel industry players to integrate these forums within their strategic plans.

The hospitality industry though adversely affected by the current global recession and turbulence within the EU countries has nevertheless recorded growth from the emerging markets of Asia/Pacific and Latin America, particularly the Middle East, India, China and the South East regions.

This paper therefore critically examines the influence of social media as viable tool for the hospitality industry for interacting with hotel clients and other stakeholders as well as marketing products or getting feedbacks from customers.

An analysis of the prevailing major themes is studied from the hotel industry foremost website ehotelier.com, in addition to other current writings on the subject from the European Travel Commission, World Travel Trends Report, plus other topical reports and writings on the hotel industry.

The results suggest the following:

1. Technology has emerged as a critical tool to promote and enhance service within the industry,
2. Interactive social media is the most viable tool for marketing and enhancing service to the clientele,
3. Bloggers are the major definitive influence within the social media,
4. There is a need to incorporate organization employees in the hotel’s internal social media to generate workplace improvement ideas,
5. Shifts in the global travel patterns require fresh strategies to meet these challenges.

Introduction

Contemporary hotel industry administrators have realized the significance of technological advances especially the internet where social media has emerged as a veritable tool for commerce and customer service. Although other industries have embraced the technology proactively, the hospitality industry that often relies on travel agents and personalized service has not been versatile or quick enough to integrate online forums effectively.

Similarly, outlooks indicate declining returns and number of visitors to the US but vast prospects in the emerging markets. This study therefore attempts to explore the future trends within the industry as regards to social media and the emerging travel destinations of Asia and Latin America.

The Impact of Bloggers

The power of social media on contemporary hospitality industry is typified by the impact of bloggers. They are able to affect a brand through positive or negative blogs. A “State of the Blogosphere 2011″ report from the website tracking directory Technorati, indicates that 38 percent of these blogs are commentaries concerning brands that are either loved or loathed, while 34 percent post concerned goods or service analysis.

This is principally evident amongst the career bloggers keenly analyzing brands for diverse industries. Amongst them, 68 percent of the bloggers were influenced by fellow online bloggers (ehotelier.com, 2011).

As firms acknowledge the blogger’s influence, they have wisely chosen not to ignore them and instead proactively engaged them on their blogs or via the target company’s own interactive blogs (Terrero, 2009).

Subsequently, most bloggers have evolved an amicable relationship with the designated organizations’ representative eager to respond to issues raised particularly those concerning quality and service within their outlets or products retailed (Figure 1).

The bloggers are updated on their posts or any other shortcoming on a product thus limiting the damage the continued attack on the product or service effect sales. In addition, the responsiveness of the organization to customer complaints is addressed. Professional bloggers are thus acknowledged by the mainstream businesses particularly if they focus on appraising specific products.

Some bloggers concentrate on specific market segments of which they consider themselves authority on thereby gaining a sizable following online.

Opinions by the bloggers are thus likely to influence consumers of a firm’s merchandise especially if they highlight persistent service failures and commentaries from “followers” give abysmal performance of the product or service. On the contrary, if the comments are positive, consumers are likely to demand more sales hence driving up sales.

Social Media Within Organizations

Subsequently, ehotelier.com (2011), a website that streams hospitality news and topics, has proposed a raft of measures hotels should embrace in future to utilize the social media more effectively.

The first proposal encourages the hospitality industry leaders to engage their own staff proactively through social media by having them post “expert views” on the areas they work on as the way of generating viable ideas to enhance their workstations and service.

Staff ideas through the internal online network can be more effective especially if they are candid since they have more experience within their specific workstation.

As the post circulate through the social media, more ideas and suggestions will stream in thus leading to a creative discourse which can then be translated into practical ideas by the management after incorporating other diverse ‘experts’ comments on the thoughts generated.

Social as a Marketing Tool

Another technique is launching product offers and other rebates through the social media to fans in the corporations’ website. These discounted offers will generate a positive attitude towards the firm as they display gratitude for their being your consumers.

Similarly, through the social media, users who book or purchase orders through the forum can be offered a chance to compete for great prizes. The hotel must advertise this social media in its offline and online articles to engage more people interactively. Lastly, the posts in the social media must be more lively and all-inclusive devoid of the usual marketing cliché one-liners (ehotelier.com, 2011).

Mobile Phone Applications

With the surge in the influence of interactive social media in recent years, the new frontier has now shifted from the conventional laptops to smart phones and tablets like iPhone and iPad. Subsequently marketers have tapped this media by advertising their products and services online, which has accessible applications displaying veritable products like hotel rooms and their environment within their smart phones.

Fresh applications like HotelTonight and Room 77 are able to depict the ambience of the hotel rooms and other services while the established brands like Travelocity and Hotwire have been also selling services successfully.

Creating Better Links between Academic and Practical Hospitality

For the modern hotelier, there is need to educate or train themselves on new models of management in addition to evolving IT. There is often a discord amongst the top management of the hotels and line staff especially those trained at higher levels.

Subsequently, Gehrels (2007) argues that there is a greater need within the modern hospitality management curricula to create better links between academic and practical hospitality reflective modes that are being loosened through the abstract view of the traditional warmth towards clients and employees. This is particularly critical in higher education that unlike vocational training is detached from the industry.

Nevertheless, the author emphasis that top management and directors individual characteristics have much greater impact on the industry than those of line staff in influencing the direction the industry takes particularly amongst the luxury hotel segment.

Shifts in Global Visitors Patterns

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), there is a gradual shifts in global visitors travels as declines in the Americas will generate corresponding rise in the Asia/ Pacific region while Europe maintains it s top position by 2020.

The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are projected to have significant growth in travel numbers with China expected to register a 22 percent growth rate, Russia at 26 percent rise and Brazil a staggering 54 percent. The hospitality industry is thus confronted by great challenges though industry players are poised to deal with the emerging volatile climate (Raleigh, 2007).

The gradual shift in travel patterns mean that hotels in the west should seek partnership from the emerging markets to capitalize on the growth there. This would subsidize the decline and soaring expenditures in Europe and North America. Thus, Sinha (2011) has advocated the use of franchising in future to boost customer numbers particularly for those in the emerging markets still enjoying visitors’ boom.

This will translate to lower penetration costs for starters and global exposure, less expenses in infrastructure and training for the local entrepreneurs. This integrated approach can translate to better returns for the joint ventures as the established international hotels introduce higher standards and marketing experience as well as their royal clientele (Schneider, 2008).

Penetration of Social Media

There is also a need to set up specialized hotels like those catering for recuperating persons in locations like India, which is fast becoming the world’s most preferred medical retreat center for alternative low-priced and proficient treatments (Boehret, 2011).

However, the penetration of social media in these countries offers the chance for those hotels that erect futuristic contemporary structures opportunities to display ultramodern facilities that attract international visitors.

According to an international study by Frommer Unlimited, the ‘social media, web content, mobile applications, and standard search engine optimization’ will have the highest budget allocations by tour companies in 2012.

However, another study amongst customers in the US, the UK, France, and Germany by Pitney Bowes established that social media was the least effective marketing tool with only 18 percent displaying positive inclination to be swayed in electing to purchases items after interaction.

However, with studies indicating that there are over 1 billion users worldwide and a 98 percent awareness rate in Europe and 73 percent membership, not many businesses can dare ignore the potential impact of the social media (European Travel Commission, 2011).

Likewise, a JD Power research study found greater awareness amongst international travelers with 65 percent admitting to using social media at some point during their travel arrangements. The emerging markets led by the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China revealed far greater penetration and approval of the social media and usage for travel purposes than the western nations.

Conversely, in the US, social media usage is rapidly waning especially among the youth according to a GlobalWebIndex “Wave 5 Trends” report with Facebook registering less activity while Twitter is only used for linkage to diverse news sites. However, with 710 million global users, Facebook is still the most visited site even in the US and with half of mobile internet traffic in Britain (ehotelier.com, 2011).

Promoting Lifestyle Hotels in Social Media

Using social media, hotels can consequently promote their facilities using blog sites and engaging travel agents who have greater capability to market them. High-class guests who customarily favor deluxe lodgings are booked in lifestyle hotels, an elite niche of high-class accommodation with the finest service available.

These hotels normally partner with renowned fashion houses to promote their brand thus have also being termed “boutique hotels” for their penchant for the ‘jet set’ groups of high spenders also called ‘heavy rollers’. In India, Armani fashion house has enjoined the hospitality industry with plans to construct lifestyle hotels (Schneider, 2008).

According to an Ernst & Young report, the lifestyle hotels enjoy average growth rates of upward 22 percent even as other brands are declining. These hotels are attractive in Asia, the new growth market with its unique architectural buildings thus various lifestyle hotels have emerged in China and India despite the huge outlay especially on property within the region.

In the Middle East, despite much restraint occasioned by cultural and religious traditions, the sector is still growing fast. The construction of lifestyle hotels in this region can be augmented by the use of new technology, which offers opportunity for marketing like social media, automated rooms, and video conferencing among others (Boehret, 2011).

However, growth in Latin America the other growth market has been rather slow though opportunity exists for the established brands to enter the market (Schneider, 2008).

Nonetheless, the World Travel Trends Report 2010/2011 indicates a brighter future for the industry after a strong recovery in world tourism, boom in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America with the UNWTO reporting a 4.5 percent upsurge in international arrivals (IPK International, 2011).

Technology will thus have a major impact on the industry with the likelihood hotel lobbies being manned by robots, and automated ‘smart rooms’ plus interactive media. Other trends entail specialized hotels for diverse categories including luxury, cultural, health, and family retreats (IPK International, 2011).

Conclusion

Contemporary technological innovations have become the driving force in the current globalised markets for business enterprises. The hotel industry though not at the forefront in embracing the inventions has nevertheless integrated the advances in the modern infrastructures, service delivery, and marketing tools.

Subsequently, Social media is thus the most viable marketing tool for the hospitality industry, being faster and inexpensive than other traditional formats. More firms will thus augment its usage for competitions, reviews and ratings, as search engines collate around it hence giving higher it high potential.

The hotel industry is thus obliged to embrace social media for marketing and customer service. The development of fresh destinations in the emergent markets of Asia and South America plus the unique popular lifestyle hotels erected there will in future replace the declining travel patterns in the US thus offering further opportunities for the aspiring and leading industry players.

References

Boehret, K. (2011). Hotel Booking for Procrastinators or the Picky. Web.

ehotelier.com. (2011). How Blogs Influence Purchases and Recommendations. Web.

European Travel Commission. (2011). Social Networking and UGC. Web.

IPK International. (2011). World Travel Trends Report 2010/2011. Munich: Messe Berlin GmbH.

Raleigh, L. (2007). Top Ten Issues in the Hospitality Industry for 2007. Web.

Schneider, J. W. (2008). Lifestyle hotel trends around the world. Building Design & Construction, 49(13), 28-n/a. Web.

Sinha, H. (2011). Cashing in on Sizzling Hotel Industry. Web.

Terrero, R. (2009). Social Revolution: Travel Execs Share Thoughts on Industry Trends and the Impact of Social Networking. Travel Agent, July 6: 9-11.

Introduction

The safest types of businesses are the most relevant ones. Their dynamic development does not depend on variations in demand and supply. One such type of business in tourism. The tourism business is one of the fast-developing fields of the world economy. International tourism is one of the three biggest export fields, being inferior only to the oil-producing industry and motorcar construction. The role of tourism in the world economy is constantly growing. The impact of tourism on the economy of a particular country is also increasing (Cortes-Jimenez & Pulina, 2010, p. 61).

The tourism business is attractive for several reasons. They include relatively small initial investments, growing demand for tourism services, a high level of profitability, and minimal term needed to compensate for the expenses. How to organize a successful tourism business – is one of the main questions needed to be answered by people eager to succeed in this field. Opening a tourism business does not require big investments. However, the company should put much effort to remain competitive in the tourism market. The person willing to start a tourism business needs to investigate the main specifics of this field and be aware of training programs needed to be accomplished and other requirements needed to be met by everyone involved in providing tourism services.

Operation Organizational Chart

The creation of a successful tourism business requires writing an effective business plan that describes how the company will be structured. The creation of operation organizational chart can contribute to a better understanding of the perspective of the company’s development and help to organize it most effectively.

Here is an example of an organizational operation chart suitable for a company aimed at creating a good tourism business.

The way of organizing the tourism business presented in this chart corresponds to the main specifics of the company interested in becoming a competitive participant in the tourism market. The chart includes all the main elements of structure, which are vital for providing efficacious functioning of the company and can be further developed by new necessities and challenges.

Job Description

Main forms and sectors of tourism

Tourism is defined as temporary trips to other countries or places that are different from permanent places of residence. Its primary goals include entertaining, health-improving, sporting, cognitive, religious, and other purposes.

As there are many forms of tourism, the person willing to create a good tourism business should be aware of this diversity and define the type of tourism he/she would like to choose as the basis of the business. The most popular form of tourism refers to trips inside the country of residence. It includes nearly 80-90% of all trips in the world. International tourism is known for its contribution to providing the arrival of currency to the budget of the receiving country.

While considering this type of tourism as a fundament for the tourism business, the person should pay attention to the most popular places for visiting. European countries deal with 65% of all tourist trips, United States present tourist destinations for 20% of trips, and all other regions receive only 15% of trips. Other forms of tourism include recreational tourism, health-improving tourism, business tourism, shopping tourism. Before starting a tourism business, the company should explore all specifics of the above-mentioned types and choose the one that corresponds to the goals of the business and its initial capacities.

There are also different sectors of tourism, which should be considered while choosing the one you want your company to be specialized in. Tourism sectors include transportation services, accommodation services, guided tour services, food services, etc. Travel agencies and tour operators deal with all of the sectors of tourism and provide the services united to create the best trip experience. Travel agencies and tour operators appear to be the most effective choice to be considered while deciding on the way of organizing a new tourism business.

Tour operators and travel agencies

The person willing to create a tourism business is most likely to be interested in starting a Tour Operator or Travel Agency. Both options have their advantages and present numerous opportunities. The choice between them depends on the type of tourism the company wants to sell.

Tour operators’ main aim is to create tourism products. Tour operators are corporations that form tourist packages of services, usually including tickets, hotel reservations, and sightseeing services. They are the key elements in providing sustainable tourism (Khariat & Maher, 2012, p. 214). Tour operators deal with determining prices for tours and develop the system of discounts. Besides, they work on advertising and advancing tours and tourist directions. They participate in various trade fairs, exhibitions, and other types of tourism gatherings. The tours designed by tour operators can be implemented through mediators. Travel agencies play the role of mediators.

Travel agencies deal with the selling of tourist services. They search for clients and present available tourist offers designed by tour operators. In such a way, travel agencies receive their profit. They usually deal with various tour operators to provide a wide range of services for their clients. As the competitiveness of the tourism sector is constantly growing, travel agencies have an urgent need to manage the productivity and the efficiency of their business (Sellers-Rubio & Nicolau-Gonza´lbez, 2009, p. 654).

The main difference between tour operators and travel agencies lies in their sources of income. Tour operators buy tourist products, and their profit is determined by the difference between the price of purchasing and the price of selling. Often tour operators buy separate services and then compose comprehensive tourist products with their price setting. Travel agencies act as retail sellers, and their profit is earned by commission charges received for selling the tourist services. Besides, tour operators always have a supply of tourist services for selling, while travel agencies request about particular services if the client demonstrates purchase interest.

Law regulation of the activity of tour operators and travel agencies differ in every country. There is no difference between the legal responsibilities of a tour operator and a travel agency in the USA while European Union law differentiates their responsibilities (Pestronk, 2013, par. 2).

Tour operator job description

An organization that provides services for tourists and the representative of this company can be called tour operator. Tour operator is supposed to establish contacts with transport companies, hotels, restaurants, and sightseeing companies to satisfy the needs of the clients. The whole complex of these services is called a tourism product.

Tour operator plans and arranges tour programs, estimating the future cost of the tour. He/she reserves tickets and numbers in the hotel, compose the sightseeing and entertaining programs. The duties of the tour operator also include registration of tourist documentation and visa provision. Tour operator deals with advertising programs and communicates with travel agencies.

For becoming a tour operator, only a secondary school diploma is required. A university degree or college diploma in leisure, travel, tourism, management, or hotel business can become beneficial. Relevant professional or vocational qualifications can also be an advantage. However, the most important factors that define the person’s ability to get the job of the tour operator to include the previous experience of work in fields related to tourism and personal skills.

To investigate the distinctive qualities vital for tour operators, I created a questionnaire and used it while discussing the topic with specialists occupying this position (See Appendix). The results of the research have shown that the tour operator needs to possess such qualities as responsibility, politeness, interpersonal skills, and competency. These features are necessary for successful communication with clients. Besides interacting with clients, tour operator duties include carrying on business negotiations with different organizations offering tourist services. Therefore, knowledge of business etiquette, enterprise, and entrepreneurial skills are also of vital importance. The ability to concentrate and scrupulousness will also be useful while drawing up tourist documentation.

Travel agent job description

Travel agents or travel agency managers contribute to the creation of a successful tourism business. They deal with sales development and staff management. Their job is aimed at promoting business and providing effective marketing. They monitor the consumer demand and preferences and develop tourism business strategy based on the gathered information.

Their duties include consulting the clients about tourist products, searching for the tour that suits the preferences of the client, preparing and drawing up documents for a trip, reserving tours, and assisting the client until the arrival from the trip. Travel agents also ensure efficient cooperation with hotels, airlines, and other travel partners.

To become a travel agent or a travel agency manager the person does not need special education, though a degree in fields related to tourism can contribute to better performance of the specialist. Basic knowledge of foreign languages, personal tourism experience, and the ability to work with the system reserving tour operators are also great advantages.

To investigate the distinctive qualities vital for travel agents/ travel agency managers, I used the same questionnaire while discussing the topic with specialists occupying these positions. The qualities, which were mentioned most often as essential for people occupying these positions, include the ability to overcome stressful situations, the ability to work in the team and quickly solve problems, and good communicative skills.

Training program

Creating a tourism business requires some professional skills obtained by the people involved in the functioning of the company. The professional skills are closely related to the amount of training received by the person working in this field. Tour operators and travel agents usually have a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management or other fields related to this area of business. Besides, there are numerous training programs organized by educational institutions and aimed at training people specializing in different areas of tourism business. The training programs vary in their length from one week to several semesters. The programs can focus on either general or distinctive skills and knowledge.

Training programs are considered helpful while becoming a specialist in the tourism industry. However, the research, conducted with the help of usage of the questionnaire, has shown skeptical attitude to training programs among specialists working in tourism companies. Most of them indicated previous work experience and personal skills as more important requirements for providing successful performance. Educational background and participation in training programs seem to be a bonus while searching for a job in the tourism business but are not of the greatest importance.

Department area researched

Tour operator organizations consist of several departments working on different aspects contributing to the successful functioning of the company. The department of sales provides effective sales and discount systems. The department of product contractors works on driving new product initiatives, negotiating commercially profitable contracts, and managing the designated product. The travel-consulting department interacts with clients and adjusts the tours to their preferences. The service and product department deals with companies providing tourist products for the tour operator. The marketing department provides effective advertising and marketing strategy.

Travel agencies have a similar structure. The main difference lies in their orientation toward selling tour operators’ products instead of creating their products. That makes the department of product contractors unnecessary. The tour operators’ communication department deals with tour operators providing tourist services.

The research conducted using the questionnaire has demonstrated that specialists working as tour operators/ travel agents/ travel agency managers consider each of the departments of their companies to be of vital importance for providing a good performance of the organization.

Creating a good tourism business requires obtaining some knowledge about the specifics of work in this field. Proper investigation of this topic can contribute to the person’s better understanding of all requirements and features related to launching a tourist company. The investigation conducted with the help of discussions and usage of questionnaires allowed us to discover the main peculiarities of the topic and analyze the opinions of people working in this field.

Overall results of the investigation confirm that it is of vital importance for the person eager to start a tourism business to investigate the main specifics of this field. Being aware of the requirements needed to be met by everyone involved in providing tourism services will help to create a successful business strategy and hire people able to develop the company that works in the tourism business field.

Appendix

The questionnaire used while discussing topic of my paper with specialists working in the researched tourism area:

1. What were the main reasons for you to choose working as tour operator/ travel agency manager/ travel agent?
2. Does your educational background contribute to the successful fulfillment of your duties at work?
3. Do you have the degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management?
4. Do you have degree or college diploma in any other field related to tourism?
5. Have you participated in the training aimed at developing the skills and knowledge required while working in the tourism industry?
6. How does your previous experience contribute to the successful fulfillment of your duties at work?
7. In your opinion, is the educational background of vital importance for the employees working in the tourism industry?
8. List the personal qualities, which are of vital importance for people working as tour operators or travel agents.
9. What do you consider more important for efficacious work in tourism business: educational background, previous work experience or personal qualities?
10. Which departments contribute to the effective performance of tour operator organization/ travel agency?
11. In your opinion, what is the key to the success of the company in tourism?

References

Cortes-Jimenez, I., & Pulina, M. (2010). Inbound tourism and long-run economic growth. Current Issues in Tourism, 13(1), 61-74.

Khariat, G., & Maher, A. (2012). Integrating sustainability into tour operator business: An innovative approach in sustainable tourism. Tourismos, 7(1), 213-233.

Pestronk, M. (2013). In U.S., responsibilities of tour operator vs. agent no different. Web.

Sellers-Rubio, R., & Nicolau-Gonza´lbez, J. L. (2009). Assessing performance in services: The travel agency industry. The Service Industries Journal, 29(5), 653-667.

Taglit-Birthright Israel program has been a success since its inception in the year 1999. The program is a half-billion-dollar joint plan of individual contributors, the State of Israel and the Diaspora Jewish organizations. The program gives a free ten-day pilgrimage tour of Israel to Jew youths in Diaspora. These youths are mainly from North America with a small number from other continents. Taglit-Birthright Israel supports, finances, and licenses the operation of tours through different groups. The program runs tours twice a year in winter and summer sessions.

The progress of the program tracks issues concerning characteristics of the Diaspora participants, formation of alumni community, religious behaviour, return visits, local community involvement, insights after the trips, and attitudes of the Diaspora youth towards their Judaism orientations and Israel. Taglit-Birthright Israel program has fundamental features the organizers use to improve on future trips. Organizers conduct surveys with control groups who have not joined the tour. The post-trip follow-up surveys help the organizers to determine the long-term effects on attitudes of the Diaspora youths towards Israel and Judaism.

Israel travel education

Israel travel is an emerging field for Jewish education tours. This is an attempt to exposure Jewish students in other countries to vital experiences of their educations in relation to their traditions and community. Taglit-Birthright plays a fundamental role in organizing educational travels to Diaspora youths. In this sense, the tours aim to promote inter-relationships among youths, community and Israel. The educations system, through tours attempts to offer individuals means to increase contact with the cultural and community practices.

Tours to Israel exposes students to real Jewish experiences. Taglit-Birthright Israel tours focus on the experiences of the Diaspora youth visits and their Israeli peers. Studies are primarily now focusing on this encounter (mifgash) so as to enrich future experiences. Scholars such as Saxe, Chazan, Sasson and Hecht are carrying out studies on pre and post tours to establish the experience of Diaspora youths during and after their tours to Israel. They mainly draw their subjects from North America (Saxe 20).

The encounters of participants challenge the cultural identity of Diaspora youths and enhance their sense of belonging to the wide Jewish world community. The groups share common backgrounds and practices, which serve as sense of identity among them. The groups review issues concerning religion, people, culture and nationality. The common framework helps the participants to understand themselves and their hosts. Therefore, they build a sense of identity and belonging.

The impact of Taglit-Birthright on Israel-Diaspora relations

Taglit-Birthright transforms the identity of Jewish. However, these impacts are not automatic. Studies show that visits to Israel strength Jewish identity and the participants feel that their Jewish identity must include a high level of commitment to the State of Israel. Participants have developed the habit of returning to the same camp every year throughout their life time to strengthen their Jewish identity and impact of the program. Taglit-Birthright Israel emphasizes the necessity of visiting Israel even if only for a short time (Rosenak 54).

Participants admitted that the tours have sharpened their Jewish identity and have created the strongest experience in their lives in relations to their identities. Organizers observe the behaviour and declared attitudes among the participants so as to measure the impacts of the visits on participants’ Jewish identity. The surveys strive to establish the communication links, participations, interests in Israeli and local community events. They also seek to establish plans to return to Israel, and whether participants are planning to become Israeli citizens.

There is a sense of importance among the Diaspora youths who participate in the local Jewish community program. The program aims to transform, and strengthen the lives of Jewish in the Diaspora. Another vital impact of Taglit-Birthright relates to its effects on the attitudes of the Diaspora youths towards Israel. The critical aim of this Taglit-Birthright program is to embed a sense of connection and commitment to Israel among Diaspora youths. However, the challenge of impacts on the attitude of participants towards Israel is ambiguous in relation to Jewish identity. Participants derive a sense of pride in visiting Israel.

Possible future visits to Israel are declining among the participants. We can attribute this to negative encounters they had with Israelis. Several participants were not ready to admit that they like Israel. The organizers need to prepare for the cross-cultural exchanges and mediated encounters in order to avoid the trips negative impacts in future visits.

Several participants identified with the term “aliya” (immigration to Israel). The program strives to instil the notion of aliya among young visitors to Israel. In this regard, Diaspora youths who had visited Israel had less negative perception of the country in reference to internal wars, fundamentalist and militaristic tendencies. These groups derived a sense of pride in Israel and are most likely to consider Israel as a future home (Miller 493).

In addition to impacting on the Jewish identity of the participants, the program has also affected personal development of the participants. The program has inculcated a sense of responsibility among the participants. Organizers feel that Tag-Birthright program is nurturing Jewish leadership of the next generation. At the same time, most youth participants feel that the program is enhancing their sense of personal independence.

The program summer trips to Israel have positive impacts on self-esteem of Jewish youths. This is particularly vital since most of the participants have leadership responsibility within the Jewish community.

Long-term impacts of Taglit-Birthright Israel

The Taglit-Birthright Israel program has long-term influences on the participants. However, the impacts had different levels of influence among the participants. Some researchers found out that the visits did not produce greater impacts in behaviour change, and attitudes in relation to those who never made such tours. Studies concluded that the difference existed due to self selection i.e. those who made the visits had strong Jewish affiliation. Conversely, some studies showed that even after a period of one year, alumni who internalized the program’s content and attitudes incorporated it into an integral part of their beliefs. These studies confirm long-term influences of the program on the Diaspora youths.

The studies identified mixed reactions in relation to Jewish identity. Other participants believed that the program had strengthened their Jewish identity. However, there was a sense of weakening among the participants in relations to awareness of the needs of their local community. This is necessary because the program is in the realm of community involvement. After a period of one year, some participants believed that the program had influenced and enhanced their relationships to Israel.

The number of alumni who considered moving to Israel reduced drastically after returning to North America. A small number showed interests in returning, living and working in Israel. In this regard, there is a long-term effect of the tours among the alumni. This group had a strong sense of recommending the Taglit-Birthright program to their peers.

In summary, the long-term influences of the tour had mixed outcome among the surveys carried out. Participants’ reactions to the program demonstrated that feelings of connection to the Jewish people and to Israel were still strong after a year and dwindled after more than two years. However, the idea of instilling a sense of identity through raising children increases with the time among parents.

A strongest conversion effect of the Taglit-Birthright program lies in the feelings of ethnic connection to Jewish people, Israel and Jewish history. On the other hand, a marginal number of Diaspora youths showed little effects of change on the religious practices and community participation. The results of these studies indicate that the continued impacts of the trips, and the gradual declines in the influence of the Jewish identity are structural features of the long-term effects of the Taglit-Birthright Israel program on the Diaspora youths (Cohen 92).

Integration of Diaspora youth and Israel in their home country

The Taglit-Birthright Israel program uses tour programs to the Jewish homeland in order to create a sense of encouragement among youths of Diaspora. These enhance their feelings and attachments to their historical identity. However, tour programs come with a force that creates distance and estrangements among the Diaspora youths. The main purpose of tour programs is to break the social and symbolic barriers that inhibit the Diaspora youths from identifying with the State of Israel as their personal homeland. However, tours present difficulties associated with the cultural divides between the Diaspora tourists and the people in their homeland. Tourists feel like foreign nationalists when in Israel.

The first force of estrangement occurs at the border post. The process of identity verifications asserts not the Jewish homecoming tour but his alienation. Passports identify Jewish tourists as members of a different state. The entry visa restricts time, what an individual can do, and no paid works while in Israel imply that Jewish tourists cannot have the same rights as those of citizens (Kelner 109).

Many Jewish tourists find language barrier and cultural incompetency as limiting factors. They have to depend on mediating infrastructure of the tourists’ border zone. This is the only way Jewish tourists can navigate and explore Israeli spaces. The support systems only provide basics on how tourists can make brief tours on their own.

In an attempt to integrate the Jewish tourists with the locals, tour organizers plan for central positions where tourists can experience themselves. This is a strategy to reduce the cultural barrier that tourists encounters while visiting Israel. Organizers deploy several strategies to integrate the Diaspora youths with Israel in their homeland. The strategies of discourse of homeland belonging and the Diaspora otherness work well to integrate tourists with the locals.

Other strategies such as role modelling, group discussion circles, site-specific rituals, tangible experience, and the cross-cultural peer-to-peer encounters integrate visitors by counteracting distance experienced. However, internal contradictions prevent the methods from achieving effectiveness. However, they form a part of powerful set of tools the organizers of Israeli visits are increasingly using to integrate the Diaspora youths with people in their homeland.

Works Cited

Cohen, Erik H. Youth Tourism to Israel: Educational Experiences of the Diaspora. Clevedon: Channel View Publications, 2008. Print.

Kelner, Shaul. Tours That Bind: Diaspora, Pilgrimage, and Israeli Birthright Tourism. New York: New York University Press, 2010. Print.

Miller, Helena. International Handbook of Jewish Education. London: Springer, 2011. Print.

Rosenak, Michael. Philosophy of Jewish Education: Some Thoughts. New York: Springer, 2010. Print.

Saxe, Leonard. Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity. London: Springer, 2008. Print.