Economic Social Cultural Environmental And Political Impacts Tourism Essay

Economic Social Cultural Environmental And Political Impacts Tourism Essay Undeniably, events are significant motivators of tourism and their impacts play a crucial part for destination competitiveness, especially when having to deal with unique planned events (Getz, 2008). It must be said that tourism is one of the most prosperous industries, which evolved especially over the last 50 years. It can be defined as a human activity that includes human behaviour, use of resources, communication with other people, economies and environments. It also includes physical movement of tourists to locations, which are not their permanent living houses (Bull, 1995). There are a lot of components of the tourism industry that can add to a countrys value and mega events are one of them. An exact explanation of the term mega event does not exist, however they can be defined as short-term tourism events of a large scale aiming to create new or even renew investment in host cities, thus projecting a positive image of the city (Greene, 2003). Furthermore, mega events can be described as global events and the requirement for a specific city to host such an event is to bid to win it (Getz, 2008). They are usually managed by national governments and international non-governmental institutions and can be classified as significant components in reports of cultural behaviour (Roche, 2000). There are a lot of aspects of impacts resulting from mega events and some of them can be economic, social, environmental, cultural and political. All these can emerge prior to the event, during the event or even after the event, and they can be either or both positive and negative impacts, operating both in the short-run and long-run, that will be beneficial to a tourism destination or act as a threat to it. Additionally, they can bring relatively positive economic effects as well as boost tourism from the time that the bid to host the event by a city has been won, until long time after the event (Williams and Shaw, 1998). The magnitude of th ese impacts depends mainly on the host citys management methods, especially by the government, in its effort to impose successful strategies to strengthen the positive impacts, while trying to keep the negative impacts to a minimum. Hosts mostly expect to create strong legacies that will last a lifetime, and job creation, increase in tourism figures, improvements in infrastructure, rise in the level of GDP and increased demand for commodities are included in their main expectations. Investing in sports venues, various tourism services and improving transportation might trigger economic growth, higher employment levels and renewal of the host city (Sakai, 2006). They also consider mega events as projects that give them the chance to built up a superior reputation, validated by measuring the tangible benefits and deducting the tangible costs from them(Kearney, 2005). It must be highlighted that mega events play a crucial role in promoting a tourism destination and the Olympic Games are one of the best examples of such events. Their history dates back to 776 B.C. in ancient Olympia Greece and during that short time of the event sacred truce was taking place, wars were stopped, and roads were becoming toll free, exemplifying their importance (Holloway and Taylor, 2009). I will be using Olympic Games throughout my essay to demonstrate what such an event can bring to a destination and specifically analyse the economic impacts of the Olympics on tourism destinations.http://www.twip.org/photo/europe/greece/photo-5255-08-03-06-14-31-05.jpghttp://www.flutetunes.com/img/posts/olympic-truce-emblem.jpg The Olympic Truce Emblem The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece A closer look will be taken to the case of Sydney Summer Olympic Games 2000, where the government used a unique until then strategy undertaken by a host with a free market economy. All of these were done in its effort to enhance the positive economic impacts and reduce the negative impacts. Its initial strategy was to attract as many as possible tourists to the event and induce them to travel in other places in Australia, thus enhancing its tourism industry. The second strategy was to generate strong bonds in order to increase its ability to create tourist business and the third strategy was to make Australia a more attractive destination where three types of visitors were of high importance. These were leisure tourists, business visitors and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) visitors. It must be highlighted, that MICE visitors can bring the more money into a country while business visitors establish new business into the local economy and leisure visitors cont ribute towards the local economy by travelling around and using the local commodities. The returns from spending in business benefits were more tangible and persuasive resulting to greater planning in favour and in funding of economic effects by both federal and NSW governments as well as the Australian Tourist Commission (Cashman,2006). It is important for each Olympic Games to create something new and leave a great legacy behind them. For the case of Australia the main legacy that authorities wanted to create, was more tourists visiting the country, not only during the event but especially after it (Chalip, 2000). A huge crowd is attracted by the Olympic Games which consist of groups of people such as spectators, media representatives, members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sponsors and athletes. Through the extensive media coverage, a host citys image may be reinforced or even altered affecting tourists image about the city (Hall, 1989) and an encouraging image of a host city might be a reason to attract both national and international tourists (McManus, 1999). About 1.6 million people were estimated to visit Australia between 1997-2004 by the Tourism Forecasting Council (Chalip, 2000) and all these tourists were expected to inject a huge amount of money for circulation into the host countrys econom y in both short-run and long-run, where most of the money would be coming from television rights, ticket sales and general use of commodities. It was also predicted that 150,000 jobs would be created through the money spent by tourists and other visitors. What is more is that people involved in the Olympics can later use their skills to enter the workforce if there are jobs places available to them, but all these depend upon the success of the event and if peoples skills are in a certain manner that can be used in the future without additional training cost needed to incur. There is evidence to prove that during Sydney 2000 Olympics US$3billion was generated in the local business sector (Kearney, 2005). It must be added that Australia was expected to gain AUS$6.5billion from the games during the period of 1994-2004. The opportunity of attracting more tourists prior, during and post the event, like in the case of Barcelona Olympic Games 1992, where tourist figures increased a lot especially after hosting the Olympics and making it an established tourist resort, enables tour operators to create more and better holiday packages that can be offered to national and especially international potential visitors and thus improving their economic wellbeing, as well as bringing more money into the local economy. Added to these, the city government of Sydney in a combination with private investment invested a huge amount of money in their effort to expand the Sydney airport, improve the citys roads and expand hotel room capacity by 25% (Chalip,2000). It can be deduced that these investments were aiming to attract more tourists, event visitors and business visitors contributing positively towards the local economy.http://www.mapsofworld.com/olympic-trivia/images/olympic-emblem/sydney2000.gifhttp://dvice.com/ pics/sydney_stadium.jpg Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Stadium Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Logo Moreover, Sydney had won 202 bids MICE by the end of 1999 and they included 251,280 delegates contributing AUS$919,649,010 to the Australian economy and thus increasing the level of its GDP. Also, sponsors use the Olympics to promote their brands thus improving their reputation while injecting money into the local economy. Most of the times the large amounts of money injected to the host countrys economy from foreign investment have impacts of millions of dollars and governments should use this money in the best way possible to benefit the economy. For example Visa spend over AUS$30million to include Sydney and pictures from the country into its advertisement campaign. Of course there are huge costs involved in order for a country to host Olympic Games and sometimes countries plan ahead before even winning the bid to host such an event. The total investment in Australia represented 0.6% of its GDP, which was a large amount of money spent for a short-term event. Even though most expenses are covered by the government and domestic as well as foreign institutions, it is inevitable that taxpayer money would be needed in order to host a costly event like the Olympics and satisfying the standards required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (Matheson, 2006).Costs related to infrastructure, constructing stadiums and carrying out sports events are the biggest and although they are classified as costs some argue that they contribute positively towards the local economy such as by constructing stadiums jobs are created, lowering the unemployment levels, and stadiums can be used after the Olympics to host other sports or leisure events triggering som e economic growth. In the case of Barcelona 1992 Olympics significant infrastructure improvements have taken place in just 8 years time, in order to be ready at the time of the event, whereas 50 years were normally needed for sea front, sewage, telecommunication improvements and new airport construction to take place. These changes have helped Barcelona to develop and look as a more attractive tourism destination. Also, in the case of Athens 2004 Games transportation improvements to roads, metro and trains helped towards making the city more contemporary (Kearney,2005). This aspect, infrastructure, add ups to the living standards of locals as well as making the city more accessible to future tourists since they will have the chance to use pleasing transportation methods. In Australia however, some venues had to go through maintenance in order to be able to host other types of events as well which required further costs than benefits to the Australian economy and also made the venues to loose from their original identity and history. An example of such an action is the Olympic Park 2000 which has been transformed in order to host sports events and several types of fairs. Similarly, the Olympic Stadium of Beijing 2008 Olympics has been transformed in order to be more profitable. Ex-post studies have proven that there is not enough evidence that economic benefits arise from sports events to neither sports teams, nor facilities and according to Humphreys (2003, p.6) in US constructing new sports facilities failed to increase income per capita or total employment level (Owen, 2005). Even though a $5.1billion increase in NSWs GDP resulted from the Olympics, where two fifths would go towards household income Sydney turned out to face expenses. Added to these, the crowding out effect can be considered as a negative aspect of the Olympic Games that affects the local economy, including its GDP figures. The Australian government was worried that people and business would prefer other tourism and business locations and thus created the campaigns Fun and Games, meet Australia and the open for business campaign. Local people sometimes prefer to go away from their cities while events are taking place since they think that too much traffic is going to be present and it would be better for them to be away at that time thus lowering spending figures and injections of local people in the economy especially if they go on holidays to another destination. What is more is that, Olympic Games can attract more visitors to the event, like spectators of the games, people who want to explore the host country, and people who want to make business at the host city during that time but it can also prevent tourists from visiting the certain destin ation. This is due to the fact that a lot of people are going to be present at that period and they might prefer to visit if after the Olympic Games have finished, since they will have the chance to explore and enjoy more places when less people are going to be present. Sometimes these tourists never go to the country, making it loose money from the tourism industry. Additionally, hotel room prices during the Olympics tend to be higher than usual, with no major changes in their appearance and facilities that offer and reinforce the crowding out effect, this reducing spending coming from tourism, since usual customers tend to avoid visiting them during that time and reduce the net spending in the host city (Owen, 2005). The process of planning and hosting the Olympics requires a high risk and local authorities should be careful since both short-run and long-run are important. Examples such as Montreal, which hosted the 1976 Summer Olympic Games and 30 years later the initial cost of US$1.5billion has not yet been recovered, show how adverse can mega events turn out to be for a countrys economy, since that debt has to be paid off and it cuts back from investment in other sectors of the economy, such as education, healthcare and creating new venues that would attract tourists, thus creating an opportunity cost. This debt in turn affects improvements that could be made, which affect negatively the tourism industry. Another example is Greece that was the host for 2004 Summer Olympic Games and is still facing a 6% budget deficit due to the games. Also, Greece is facing the problem that sports facilities cannot be permanently used and might have to shut down and lead to no benefits towards the local commu nity (Kearney, 2005). Greece can be an example to future host countries to avoid constructing stadiums and facilities that will have no permanent use in the future as well as cannot recover their initial cost soon or even in the long-run and thus bring no financial benefits to the country. An important outcome of money injected and continuously being circulating in economies is the multiplier effect, which estimates the impact of tourism on an economy through direct, indirect and induced spending but doesnt show the income figures generated through tourism in each sector of the economy. It can create problems sometimes, since multipliers calculated using wrong methodology are of a too large scale. This arises mainly from the ignorance of opportunity costs and treatment of costs as benefits, as proven by ex-post studies mentioned before. We have gone through the emerging impacts from mega events that affect a tourism destination but what will be the impacts on London 2012 Olympic Games which have not taken place yet? It must be noted that London is one of the most successful and established business centres and hosting the Olympics will bring even more business to operate in the UK economy. Firstly, all the funding of the Olympic Games is done by both private and public organisations aiming the development of East London. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) generates most of its  £2billion budget from private sector and receives income from sales, commodities, sponsors and the IOC whereas the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) generates its income from the public sector. All the funding will be contributing positively towards building infrastructure and stadiums in the Olympic Park that can be used in the long-run for the UK communitys benefit. What is more, is that the Greater London Authority (GLA) works at its best attainable levels to bring benefits to the locals and gives  £925million to the ODA. http://www.sightseeingtours.co.uk/london-tourist-uk/london-images/london-olympics-2012.jpghttp://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/images/2007/06/04/2012_logo_white_385x450.jpg London 2012 Olympic Games Advertisement Official London 2012 Olympic Games Logo Furthermore, the London Development Agency (LDA), controls the sustainable economic growth and makes sure that locals will benefit as much as they can from the Olympics as well as it invests  £250million towards covering the infrastructure costs and  £220million towards cleaning the Park that is managed by the ODA. Another  £2.2billion are generated by the National Lottery Funds that contribute towards the construction of the Olympic facilities, that add up to the countrys value and create strong legacies that people can benefit from even in the long-run. The entire infrastructure such as the energy centre, new roads, new bridges and the pumping station will be brand new and aim to cover the needs of the locals even in the long-run again. Since the London Olympics follow a sustainable pattern they aim to construct venues that will be used post the games as well as trying to use existing venues to make a better use of them and if venues are not going to be used after the Olympics they will be made temporary so that no unnecessary costs will incur like in previous Olympics hosts like Barcelona and Greece. The Olympic Village will be turned into homes after the Games and even more houses will be built as well as shops, cafes, restaurants to provide more services to the locals and thus creating more jobs. London has another solution to the problem of under qualified workers since it will offer job training to the locals (London 2012, 2010). To conclude, I have explained the economic impact of mega events on tourism using mainly the example of Sydney 2000 Games and showed that it is of high importance that governments should take the most beneficial strategies while hosting such events, having in mind not only the short-run but the long-run effects of their policies. Sydney 2000 Games can act as a benchmark, since they were the first hosts to take that particular approach and emphasise on business and economic benefits leaving behind them strong legacies even though not all investment was done wisely. Also, the example of London shows that previous patterns are being corrected and followed and the legacy left behind investments in infrastructure can be judged upon their success. However, it is argued that no Olympics have shown enough evidence that there are important impacts such as increases in household impact (Owen, 2005). Moreover, it would be fair to mention that social, cultural, political and environmental impacts play a crucial role on a tourism destination since by showing to tourists the legacies and unique cultures that mega events create as well as caring about the environment while carrying out such event attracts other categories of tourists as well as it creates a better place for people to visit. Word Count: 2998

Mb0038 †Management Process and Organization Behavior

Explain the process of negotiation. Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution. Negotiation occurs in business, non-profit organizations, government branches, legal proceedings, among nations and in personal situations such as marriage, divorce, parenting, and everyday life. The study of the subject is called negotiation theory.Professional negotiators are often specialized, such as union negotiators, leverage buyout negotiators, peace negotiators, hostage negotiators, or may work under other titles, such as diplomats, legislators or brokers. Negotiation typically manifests itself with a trained negotiator acting on behalf of a particular organization or position. It can be compared to mediation where a disinterested third party listens to each sides' arguments and attempts to help craft an agreement between the parties.It is also related to arbitration which, as with a legal proceeding, both sides make an argument as to the merits of their â€Å"case† and then the arbitrator decides the outcome for both parties. There are many different ways to segment negotiation to gain a greater understanding of the essential parts. One view of negotiation involves three basic elements: process, behavior and substance. The process refers to how the parties negotiate: the context of the negotiations, the parties to the negotiations, the tactics used by the parties, and the sequence and stages in which all of these play out.Behavior refers to the relationships among these parties, the communication between them and the styles they adopt. The substance refers to what the parties negotiate over: the agenda, the issues (positions and – more helpfully – interests), the options, and the agreement(s) reached at the end. Another view of negotia tion comprises 4 elements: strategy, process and tools, and tactics. Strategy comprises the top level goals – typically including relationship and the final outcome. Processes and tools include the steps that will be followed and the roles taken in both preparing for and negotiating with the other parties.Tactics include more detailed statements and actions and responses to others' statements and actions. Some add to this persuasion and influence, asserting that these have become integral to modern day negotiation success, and so should not be omitted. Skilled negotiators may use a variety of tactics ranging from negotiation hypnosis, to a straight forward presentation of demands or setting of preconditions to more deceptive approaches such as cherry picking. Intimidation and salami tactics may also play a part in swaying the outcome of negotiations.Another negotiation tactic is bad guy/good guy. Bad guy/good guy tactic is when one negotiator acts as a bad guy by using anger and threats. The other negotiator acts as a good guy by being considerate and understanding. The good guy blames the bad guy for all the difficulties while trying to get concessions and agreement from the opponent This is a unique combination framework that puts together the best of many other approaches to negotiation. It is particularly suited to more complex, higher-value and slower negotiations. Prepare: Know what you want.Understand them. Open: Put your case. Hear theirs. Argue: Support your case. Expose theirs. Explore: Seek understanding and possibility. Signal: Indicate your readiness to work together. Package: Assemble potential trades. Close: Reach final agreement. Sustain: Make sure what is agreed happens. There are deliberately a larger number of stages in this process as it is designed to break down important activities during negotiation, particularly towards the end. It is an easy trap to try to jump to the end with a solution that is inadequate and unacceptable.Note also that in practice, you may find variations on these, for example there may be loops back to previous stages, stages overlapping, stages running parallel and even out of order. The bottom line is to use what works. This process is intended to help you negotiate, but do not use it blindly. It is not magic and is not a substitute for thinking. If something does not seem to be working, try to figure out why and either fix the problem or try something else. Although there are commonalities across negotiations, each one is different and the greatest skill is to be able to read the situation in the moment and adapt as appropriate.

Saudi Arabia in the 19th Century: Customs, Culture, and Traditions

The development of Saudi Arabia as a state revolves around different historical, cultural, and societal changes that transpired in the 19th century. The period is considered important in the nation’s history because it establishes the political, economic and social sphere. That is why to better understand Saudi Arabia’s history one must look at these areas to appreciate the role of history and people in the development of a nation. Given these aspects, Saudi Arabia in the 19th century caters to the developments that shaped the country to become a modern state and includes areas related to religion, culture, and lifestyle. Political and Economic History To better identify Saudi Arabia in the 19th century, one must look at its political and economic history. Through this process, it can be seen how the country evolved into a modern state and what factors remained important in shaping what Saudi Arabia is now. Tracing its political structure, Saudi Arabia was influenced by the Ottoman Empire and the Al Saud Wahhabi emirate particularly in the area of Najd (Al-Rasheed, 2002, p. 14). The process here then revolves around the different campaigns of Saud as he sought to expand the territory conquering different areas. Among successful campaigns during the 19th century were Mecca, Medina, Egypt and Syria (Weston, 2008, p. 103). The second influential aspect of change in Saudi politics takes into account the development of the second Saudi State. From the period of 1824-1887 there were military campaigns that have sought to legitimize expansion and influence of the al-Saud family and promote the Wahhabi legacy among communities in the Middle East. Though these political campaigns were not as wide, it provided stability among territories that each family/group controls. In particular, Weston (2008) provides that â€Å"it kept the Wahhabi movement alive, ready to influence Muslims again in the twentieth century – and in the twenty first† (p. 107). On the other hand, the economic developments during the 19th century revolved around conventional trading patterns and barter. Prior to the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia, the 19th century featured trade involving caravans’ transportation of agricultural goods among different areas. Specifically, spices are traveled into specific trade routes and create opportunities among different merchants to sell items (Saudi Embassy, 2010). Also, there are also various goods that are most sought after by different communities especially the rich ones. Saudi Embassy (2010) points out that â€Å"these items included almonds from Taif, dates from the many oases, and aromatics such as frankincense and myrrh from the Tihama plain† (p. 1). Lifestyle, Trends, and Community Development Looking at the lifestyle and trends of the Arab people in the 19th century, it can be seen that people determine their identity according to the factions they belong to. Since specific boundaries and determination of the state at that time has not yet been established, groups and communities continue to be a way to differentiate one from another (Federal Research Division, 2004). This then enables better ways for people to communicate and interact with one another. Also, this is used to create associations and relationships with different tribes and pattern lifestyle according to this idea. Similarly, since the inhabitants of the Saudi Arabia live in the desert, they had to equally adjust to the weather and climate. Due to this, their clothing and manner of travel among communities remain to be the same. Specifically, people wear long piece of clothing both in the body and head to protect them from the harsh winds, hot sunlight, and cold weather at night (Long, 2005). At the same time, they also wear sandals to keep them cool and comfortable during travels and their daily work. Moreover, groups also take care of camels because it serves as an instrument for travel and trade (Long, 2005). With regards to community development, it can be seen that settlement continued to occur along the oases present in the Saudi Arabia’s desert. Here communities are sustained by the availability of drinking water and also serve as protection against other tribes who may pose as a threat to the security of its inhabitants (Al-Rasheed, 2002). Likewise, the place is used to develop food supplies and sustain community growth. Under this process, this provided stability among communities and helped them develop a specific customs, traditions, and culture. Specifically, Saudi Embassy (2010) argues that â€Å"settlements became more permanent, leading to the foundations of what we call civilization – language, writing, political systems, art and architecture. Religion and Culture It can be argued that the spread of Islam in the Middle East particularly in Saudi Arabia served as an important process that shape the culture of communities and groups within the region. Specifically, customs, traditions, and how people behave is rooted in the rules provided by the Koran and the Muslim faith (Federal Research Division, 2004). These Islamic rules and expectations provided believers a guide on how to live their life and determine establish relationships with other people. Seeing this, it can be argued that Islam provided a huge mark in the Middle East and shaped how people interact and relate ideals with one another. In particular, religious customs revolved around the five pillars of Islam. These five pillars symbolized how people should interact with one another and become good followers of Allah (Long, 2005). One concrete example of this is the practice of Hajj. This involves an obligation for any Moslem to visit the holy city of Mecca and renew their religious commitment to their faith (Al-Rasheed, 2002). Other expectations also include the manner of worship, observance of fasting and abstinence during Ramadan. Lastly, Moslem culture can also be seen in Muslim art and architecture. Their influence help shaped the depiction of the arts which includes poetry, dance, literature, and language. Specifically, the development of a universal language in the Middle East (Arabic) created opportunities to unify and create communities of faith. In essence, these common elements shaped the further development of Saudi Arabia’s culture in the 19th century and strengthened how people identify themselves (Long, 2005). Important Personalities One important personality who was essential in the development of Saudi Arabia as a modern nation state was Shaikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab. It can be seen that he both a leader and scholar of the Wahhabi faction. During his leadership, he sought to promote the restoration of the traditions and customs of the original principles of Islam (Weston, 2008). His influence provided the necessary means to create unification among different communities and sought to establish order on how Muslims view the teachings of the Koran and applying it in their religious life and other affairs such as politics. Another important figure during this era was Muhammad bin Saud. He was the emirate of Diryah. His contributions to Saudi Arabia’s history was that he founded the first Saudi state and coordinated his efforts in protecting and pursuing the restoration of the Islam among the Muslim communities in the Arabian peninsula (Saudi Embassy, 2010). Through his effort he was able to stabilize the region until his defeat in 1818 with the invasion of the Ottoman Turks. The last relevant figure that shaped Saudi Arabia’s political history in the 19th century was Turki bins Abdullah Al-Saud. He was the one responsible for creating the Second Saudi State and legitimized the formulation of specific laws and mandates that are still applied today (Weston, 2008). Through his leadership, he transferred the capital city from Diryah to Riyadh and sought to re-establish the control of territories lost during the fall of the first Saudi State (Saudi Embassy, 2010). His efforts remain to be crucial because he started the transformation of Saudi Arabia into becoming prosperous and successful on various aspects related to economic growth and political stability. Conclusion To conclude, the 19th century proved to be an important period for Saudi Arabia politically and socially. This is because it is in this time that the nation state was created. Similarly, this era shaped the ability to shift and develop new political ideals and the birth of a nation state. This also was an important time for redefining the tenets of Islam as it applies to Saudi’s culture and beliefs. Lastly, the leadership of key political figures served as important channel in establishing balance and control in areas of politics, economy and society, shaping the region during the period. All these elements in turn are all beneficial to what Saudi Arabia is today in both the Middle East and the World.

The Importance of Size Constancy Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Means that the perception of an object is not so much a process of perception but rather it is a cognitive process that depends on the memory of past experience. Haber and Levin (2001) set up an experiment to test how big a role memory plays in the perception of size. They realized that familiarity with an object was a key factor in its perception and so they devised categories for measuring this, including prototypic size which applies to all similar versions of an object. Assessing participants estimation of objects which were in view, and those which were not, data can be gathered that sheds light on the difference between seeing an object, and just thinking about it from memory. College students are able to estimate the size of common objects quite easily and accurately even when the objects are not visible. When they view objects which are unfamiliar to them, accuracy falls, suggesting that people rely more on the memory of an object they are already familiar with, or of simila r objects they have encountered in the past, than on perception of an actual object in the present. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Size Constancy or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page