Environmental Impacts and the Hospitality Industry

Environmental Impacts and the Hospitality Industry ABSTRACT: The hospitality sector presents a variety of environmental aspects that, depending on the activity, may have a significant impact on the environment. Its users are consuming  resources such as energy and water on a daily basis and generating a great deal of solid waste and effluents. The hotel industry, banking sector and hospitals are examples of some of  the sectors that provide us with more information on this issue. This work discusses the  main environmental impacts generated by the hospitality sector and highlights the possible  environmental strategies that can lead to improvements in environmental management in  this particular activity. INTRODUCTION: Most people are aware that there is a need for all of us to take care of the environment, if we are not to threaten the ability of the earth to support future generation. Some aspects of the environment are very obvious from our day to day lives, such as increasing traffic levels, together with the associated air pollution and loss of green belt. Environmental issues, particularly the relationship between our actions and the environmental impacts in terms of primary, secondary and tertiary effects. ( Kirk 1996). Environmental impacts is a study of all the factors which a land development or construction project would have on the environment in the area, including population, traffic, schools, fire protection, endangered species, archaeological artefacts and community beauty. In another way possible adverse effect caused by a development, industrial, or infrastructural project or by the release of a substance in the environment. This also increases the need of sustainability development. It is a development that meets present needs without endangering the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development is contrasted with other modes of development that lead to social and ecological damage, at both the local and global levels (Harris et al 2002). According to Jan Peter Bergkvist, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Scandic xix. There are three prime reasons for putting effort into sustainability: first, it preserves our environment for future generations; s econd, it adds that extra dimension to guest satisfaction, which in turn makes us a more attractive company; and third, it saves costs and improves profitability. AIM: The aim of the position paper is to critically analyse and discuss the environmental impacts and its effects on the hospitality industry. This position paper will also explain the various positive and negative effects of environmental impacts of the hospitality industry and the methods, strategies adopted to control them. MAIN BODY: TOURISM, HOSPITALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT- To say, an environmental impact is the negative aspect of human activity on the biophysical environment. Increasingly consumer attitudes are favouring environmentally responsible businesses. This has extended to travelling where consumers are considering environmental issues when making travel plans and purchases. A reflection of this is seen in the growth of ecotourism, which has grown by 30% worldwide in recent years compared to 8% for traditional tourism. The Conference Board of Canadas long term forecast shows that the accommodation industry will experience an annual growth of approximately 3% between now and 2015 (Eco efficiency centre). This arises sustainability development in the hospitality industry also. The concept of sustainable development has been expanded to cover seven key aspects. They are futurity, inter-generation equality, participation, the balancing of economic and environmental factors, environmental capacities, emphasis on quality as well as quantity and compa tibility (David kirk). Environmental pressures have affected a much wider range of industries. Initially the concern was related only to the industries which caused direct pollution of the environment. But now it has become a wider issue and relates not only to the outputs but also to the whole operation. The hospitality industry also becomes a core industry to be discussed in this issue of environmental factors, as it exposes many of the conflicts which arise in implementing environmental policies. Many hotels and restaurants are situated in the areas of outstanding natural beauty, in historic cities and in regions with a delicate ecological balance. So there might be a question whether this addition of new facilities will destroy the uniqueness or its habitat which is already suffering from too much of development and tourism. But the hospitality industry is linked with various other industry which cooperates together to bring in a successful business which is mainly focused on pr ofit. The hospitality industry is also a major customer oriented industry. So we must also consider customers, many of whom seek as part of the hospitality experience to be pampered with lashing of hot water, high pressure showers, freshly laundered linen, an ample supply of towels, copious supplies of food and drink, the availability of swimming pools and saunas and the limousine to take them to the airport. Whatever we do to reduce the environmental impact of hotels can only be either with the consent of customers or taking the main consideration as customer satisfaction. Many hospitality organisations are situated on a location were that is suitable for the customer or according to the customer needs. And it is therefore not situated in a place where there will be minimal effects from traffic, cooking smells and the noise of the disco and other adverse outputs. This kind of local pollution is not considered to be a big issue, but it does affect peoples attitudes towards the indus try (David kirk). The hospitality industry does not cause gross environmental pollution nor it consume vast amounts of non-renewable resources and therefore it may not be in the front line of environmental concern. The industry is made of relatively large number of small operations, each of which consumes relatively small amounts of energy, water, food, paper and other resources, and which add only a small amount of pollution to the environment in terms of smoke, smell, noise and chemical pollutants. The industry employs 10% of the population and can have a major impact in developing awareness and good practice (David kirk). According to Goodno the push of legislation and the pull of consumer pressure groups, compounded by the cost savings which can result from reducing waste, many companies are now taking environmental management seriously. The main environmental impacts due to the hospitality industry are CO2 emissions, CFC emissions, noise, smoke, smells, health of staff, waste energy, waste water, waste food, waste disposal, agricultural ecology, purchasing policies, transportation policies, sale of souvenirs made from endangered species, location of hotels in fragile locations. According to the Annual report of the world travel and tourism environmental review there is a recognition that environmental issues will become much more prominent as a factor which influences consumers, regulators, pressure groups and destinations and that the tourism industry will need to show increasing concern for these issues. The WTTC have developed a strategy, known as the GREEN GLOBE, in order to promote environmental management among hotel and travel environment. These vary from waste management to the development of eco-hotels and the classification of hotels on the basis of environmental impact (David kirk). Environmental impacts of the hospitality industries- Positive impacts It sometimes educates the public about the local environment and the importance of protecting the environment, eg the Great Barrier Reef. The tourism and hospitality industries often create employment and business opportunities in an area, contributing to the local economy. Hospitality and tourism buildings and venues are being designed and/or redesigned so that their impact on the environment is reduced and they merge in with the local environment better. Many enterprises are now employing more sustainable practices in order to promote a green image that appeals to consumers, eg using organic products, recycling, using less toxic chemicals and using more energy and water efficient fittings. Negative impacts The presence of buildings and tourists may destroy the local environment and habitat of native animals. The hospitality industry contribute to waste issues, eg food scraps, oil and chemical disposal. Many hospitality venues are noisy. The hospitality and tourism industries consume a lot of energy and water, eg electricity for air conditioning, refrigeration (www.hsc.csu.edu.au). The environmental impact is broadly classified as: ASETHETIC IMPACT CULTURAL IMPACT ECOLOGICAL IMPACT SOCIAL IMPACT POLITICAL IMPACT Aesthetic impact means causing destructive image of a surrounding by various factors such as development etc. The image of a destination possesses importance from a practical marketing perspective for many reasons. Often hospitality industry fails to integrate its structures with the natural features and indigenous architectural of the destination. Large, dominating resorts of different design can look out of place in any natural environment and may clash with the indigenous structural design. A lack of land-use planning and building regulations in many destinations has facilitated sprawling developments along coastlines, valleys and scenic routes. The sprawl includes tourism facilities themselves and supporting infrastructure such as roads, employee housing, parking, service areas, and waste disposal (www.gdrc.org). Examples include lakes around Rotorua, New Zealand, that have suffered from blue-green algae and, on occasion, have been closed for recreational activities (Journal of sustainable tourism).

Anagene Inc.

Anagene is a biotechnology firm started by Mark Hansen and Harold Bergman in 1993. Hansen and Bergman planned to combine microelectronics and molecular biology to develop products that would have broad commercial applications in genomics and other fields. Anagene’s mission was to facilitate breakthrough genetic analysis. The company went public in the year 1998 and raised $42. 9 million. The company’s core product was a cartridge which had to be analyzed with a Anagene-designed workstation. Management anticipated a long string of cartridge sales following the sale of each Anagene workstation. Product Information WORKSTATION Anagene’s first major product was a proprietary platform technology – The Anagene Molecular Biology Workstation. This included a loader (which could load four cartridges at a time), a reader (which read and analyzed one cartridge at a time) and a disposable cartridge that contained the company’s proprietary microchip. The product was priced at $160,000 – each workstation shipped with four cartridges. CARTRIDGES Anagene also sold disposable cartridges – priced at $150 each. Each cartridge contained an electronic chip that held test sites laid out in a geometric grid called an array. Cartridges could perform up to 99 tests on any single sample. As the company sold more workstations, it expected the demand for its cartridges to increase rapidly. MANUFACTURING Anagene’s management decided to outsource the production of workstations to Hitachi. Hitachi and Anagene would work together to cut costs through value engineering thereby enabling the transfer price to continually decrease. Initially, the final testing would be performed at Anagene’s facilities. As the company grew, this activity would also be outsourced to Hitachi. Anagene built its own manufacturing facility for the cartridges in order to capture the profits from the very high forecasted sales of its product. STANDARD COSTING SYSTEM AT ANAGENE DURING 2000 Anagene’s cost system calculated standard costs once a year. The process started by estimating the budgeted variable costs per unit – materials, direct labor, outside processing (several manufacturing steps had been outsourced), and scrap. Plant level overhead costs were allocated among cartridge manufacturing, instrument manufacturing, and R&D. These assignments were determined by the manufacturing department. The cost driver that was used to obtain overhead cost per unit was â€Å"budgeted production volume†. Machines used in the production process were assigned to different manufacturing steps which allowed for easy allocation of depreciation as an overhead expense. The standard cost per cartridge was then calculated by adding up the direct material, direct labor and overhead costs. Some other costs associated with the sale of cartridges included the unit cost of royalties and estimated returns expense. These standard costs were used for financial reporting purposes, assessing product costs and profitability. ISSUES Because of the infancy of the company and the genomics market, it was difficult for Anagene’s management to correctly forecast the company’s future sales volumes and thereby their gross margins. This led to frequent revisions to previously submitted estimates. In one instance, the company revised its estimate for the FY2001 that showed standard costs increasing by 40% and gross margins dropping from 65% to 45%. One of the main reasons identified for this reduction in margins is the increase in overhead costs due to reduction in budgeted volume. In the early quarters, sales are difficult to forecast and the company has experienced fluctuating production volumes and unpredictable gross margins, which has upset the board of directors. The purpose of the case study is to determine a new costing approach based on capacity. With large amounts of unused capacity, the decision of how to apply capacity costs is critical to the company's management and its reporting strategy with analysts. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAPACITIES Essentially, there are four different kinds of capacity. Theoretical Capacity: -This is the volume of activity that could be attained under ideal operating conditions, with minimum allowance for inefficiency. It is the largest volume of output possible. Practical Capacity: – It is the highest activity level at which the factory can operate with an acceptable degree of efficiency, taking into consideration unavoidable losses of productive time (i. e. , vacations, holidays, and repairs to equipment). Normal Capacity:-It is the average level of operating activity that is sufficient to fill the demand for the company's products or services for a span of several years, taking into consideration seasonal and cyclical demands and increasing or decreasing trends in demand. Master-Budget Capacity :- It is similar to normal capacity, except it is a short-run level based on demand, it minimizes under- or over applied overhead but does not provide a consistent basis for assigning overhead cost. Per-unit overhead will fluctuate because of short-term changes in the expected level of output. Currently, Anagene is using this method. THE GAME PLAN Strategic cost management dictates the use of â€Å"practical capacity of resources rather than budgeted manufacturing volumes when calculating standard costs. If forecasted activity levels are used to calculate cost driver rates, a death spiral may launch in an organization. That is if the cost base (the overhead expense) is fixed, then any decrease in the activity level (the cost driver) will lead to a higher overhead cost per unit. This is a simple arithmetic response to a decrease in the denominator with an unchanged numerator. Using this new high cost driver rate to compute costs will lead to lower gross margins. This may lead the company to set higher prices. These high prices may cause product demand to lower leading to lower activity rates which are again fed into the system causing the cost driver to go up. This creates a vicious cycle. The cost driver rate should reflect the underlying efficiency of the process which is measured better by recognizing the capacity of resources being supplied. Anagene should use practical capacity which could be estimated by subtracting from the theoretical capacity the expected time required for normal maintenance, repairs, startups, and shutdowns. The case provides numbers on equipment depreciation, machine capacity, and manufacturing overhead to allow calculations for different overhead rates based on assumptions about how the plant's capacity costs should be assigned to production quantities.

The Lost Secret of Editorial Essay Topics

The Lost Secret of Editorial Essay Topics In the instance of any difficulties, you can also count on professional writing and editing support, which will help to come up with and continue the principal idea of your article. Many find writing an editorial tough since you will need to have excellent writing skills that are in a position to capture the readers' attention and permit them clearly recognize the points you're attempting to raise in the editorial. There are a number of ways to describe how to compose an editorial piece. These days, you will realize that a vast majority of people cannot compose a persuasive newspaper editorial piece. The prior paragraphs show the problem, and by now readers should understand what they're handling. To begin with, you have to understand the significance of the term editorial. An argument ought to be sensitive, debatable, and controversial to draw the readers. The Secret to Editorial Essay Topics Such papers mostly discuss the relevant topics along with offering essential facts along with solutions to the present troubles. Not most effective does this assist students broaden writing competencies, but in addition helps them expand their private perspective about the problem accessible. These forms of editorials appreciate organizations or those who have done beneficial and unique deeds. An editorial should describe the issue and give suitable solutions. If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Editorial Essay Topics You don't need to acquire super technical with legal argumentative essays, but make certain to do your homework on what the recent laws about your fav orite topic actually say. Write in such a fashion, that you'll be interested to read it. Writing editorials is quite a difficult endeavor. More important is to select an essay topic that you're going to be interested in writing with passion. Researching the topic permits you to find out more about what fascinates you, and should you pick something you really like, writing the essay will be more enjoyable. To compose a strong argumentative essay, students should start by familiarizing themselves with a number of the common, and frequently conflicting, positions on the research topic so they can write an educated paper. There is plenty of essay topics to select from when getting down to writing your educational essay. An education essay can arrive in form of a narrative regarding the experience of a single individual or may be an essay describing one's opinion about the field of education. It is basically a paper, which talks about various aspects of education. Sports betting and its negative effect on the society. A guy or woman writing a guide is likewise predicted to supply you with an opinion primarily dependent on the facts and its evaluation. You may be interested in pointing to negative and positive facets of the exact same matter. Figuring out how to compose an editorial isn't a joke. The best thing about opinion writing is the fact that it can be about literally anything, so long as you bring value to the topic. Advertising and the media are now nearly inseparable from society for a whole. Use transition words to create your text coherent and simple to read. Editorial Essay is about proving a point. At the start of each paragraph there ought to be a topic sentence. After you've gathered all the info you can about your subject, you must pick your side and produce a valid opinion. To choose which subject you're likely to discuss, it's vital to see the complete collection of good persuasive speech topics from the specific area of study. If your topic isn't currently relevant, nobody will read it. For instance, you can select a topic for elementary, middle, or higher school. Editorial Essay Topics Fundamentals Explained Luckily, here are a few crucial methods and extra advice from various writing experts. The practice of creating an editorial should wind up getting the conclusion. Thus, it's crucial to produce essential ideas while in the brainstorming process! Writing down all fantastic ideas after the practice of brainstorming is critical.

The Sociology Of Health And Mental Illness - 3181 Words

ï ¿ ¼John Goulder (13005053) MBBS SSC Year 2: Library Project Dissertation Supervisor: Professor Paul Higgs Submitted: Tuesday, 13 January 2015 A Tale of Two Asylums: Reviewing the context and influences of two theorists, Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman, on the sociology of health and mental illness. Word count: 3,132 John Goulder! 1 ï ¿ ¼Introduction: Mental Health as Disparate Social Object Antipsychiatry was as much a cultural phenomenon as an academic or institutional one. Whilst the work of Laing (1960) and Szasz (1960) can be rooted in the Fruedo-Marxist ‘methodological individualism’ of critical theory (Rogers Pilgrim, 2010: 14), or even a broader constructionist critique of medical truth, it just as easily lends itself to a more limited historicist Libertarian reading: mental illness as socio-political deviance within an encroaching state (Sumner, 1994). Within this interface must be located the panoply of ‘iconographic’ representation (Shorter, 1997: 273) within wider mass-culture: Sumner cites the example of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — as salacious and sensational as it may be — which became, for a generation, a precipitation of populist anti-sentiment towards psychiatric institutions and their operative physicians. It is clear then that the dialectic of mind and its healer transcends theor etical partitions, spans academic disciplines, and crosses the great divide to take up its place within the popular consciousness. Considering this, and alsoShow MoreRelatedSociology and Healthcare Essays1578 Words   |  7 PagesSociology and Healthcare Health-care is a sociological institution within the American Culture. Health-care has many different aspects that pertain to patients, care givers and governmental approach to supply healthcare to all citizens. Sociology is the â€Å"scientific study of social behavior and human groups.† (Schaefer, 2009) Sociology plays a large role in how Americans look at our health-care systems and approach health and illness in one’s own life. Health-care has many different definitionsRead MoreHealth And Illness Are Terms That Are Commonly Interlinked,1264 Words   |  6 Pages Health and illness are terms that are commonly interlinked, and offer a topic of discussion that involves different definitions and viewpoints. For example, health can refer to physical wellness or mental stability. On the other hand, it can be used in non-medical terms, including referring to the health of a country’s economy, or the health of the education system (Kirby, 1997). Due to the varying uses and complexity of the two words, multiple definitions have been established and criticizedRead MoreThe Psychology Of Mental Illness1177 Words   |  5 PagesWhen it comes to mental illness, I have the point of view of someone who is training to be a health care professional. During my past clinical experience as a nursing student at the Alberta Hospital Edmonton, I was immersed in an environment filled with individuals who were acutely m entally ill, and two of these individuals were my patients. While â€Å"The Sociology of Mental Illness† is an excellent source of information about mental illness in the context of sociology, based on my experience at AlbertaRead MoreThe Psychology Of Mental Illness1410 Words   |  6 Pagesusually goes hand in hand with mental illness, as people who are considered mentally ill will then be considered as deviant, since it is contemplated not a norm. Sociologists have paid close attention to different concepts of mental illness and how it fits in with sociology. The focus on women and the idea of mental illness is a fairly new phenomenon and a lot of research and models have taken place by sociologists throughout time to find out why women experience mental illness more than men. Social causesRead MoreThomas J. Dodd Research Study Sample746 Words   |  3 PagesThis study is centered around undergraduate and graduate students between the ages of 18 and 25 years old. The und ergraduate and graduate students from psychology and sociology classes at the University of Connecticut are recruited to participate in a self-report survey. A random sample of 240 students will be acquired, 120 males and 120 females. These students will range from different races, ethnicities, and socio-economic background. The participants will first be clustered based on gender, thenRead MoreSocial Stigma And Self Stigma Of Mental Illness1385 Words   |  6 Pagesfor the upcoming integrative project. This topic is the social stigma that is behind seeking-mental help among individuals in North America. Stigmatization can have a severe effect on the likelihood that an individual will seek services. The topic was selected due to an interest as to how public stigma and self-stigma may play a role or how they may interfere with one’s decision-making of seeking mental health services. Even though the consequences of not seeking the counselling may be severe. It isRead MoreMedic ine And Social Control, Barbara And John Ehrenreich918 Words   |  4 PagesIn the 1960s, consumers demonstrated their concerns for obtaining more social services, especially within the health system. In the essay Medicine and Social Control, Barbara and John Ehrenreich draws attention to the sociology of health and medicine. Ehrenreich claims that more mental health services there are, the more social control are given to these agencies (1, Ehrenreich, CC 2015 p. 185). Thus, individuals are giving up their autonomy and decisions to a higher authority. In this case, EhrenreichRead MoreAnalysis Of One Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest 1734 Words   |  7 Pageswhich our modern healthcare system has improved and grown in the last five decades. This includes the following areas of healthcare: the need for a healthcare reform, the lack of healthy doctor-patient relationships, and the murky definition of mental illness. Healthcare Reform Throughout history there has been a veil of mystery surrounding what truly goes on inside of asylums. This idea is illustrated clearly in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on multiple occasions. One example can be seen whenRead MoreBio-Medicine1004 Words   |  5 Pages Sociology is the study of human interaction and organisation of society; it is often areas which are problematized in need of provision. It can be explained that health and illness are simply biological descriptions of the state of our bodies. The structures of the body have been mapped out through genetics. This is ever closer inspection of the body or as Foucault 1977 would suggest through this ‘medical gaze’ which has brought considerable power to the medical profession. The sociology ofRead MoreBiomedical Model And Social Model Of Health1669 Words   |  7 Pagesbiomedical model and social model of health, and see how the two relate to Lay perspective on health and illness. AccordingHealth can be viewed as the state of being fit and well, as well as a state of mental sanity (WHO 2005). According to Blaxter (2004), if a person can perform daily functions such as going to work, taking care of the household, etc he/she is considered healthy. Many studies have found that lay people define health as the absence of illness, However being healthy means different