Data Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Data Analysis - Assignment Example Using the Sharpe ratio, the mutual funds for FLCSX are still the best when comparing the risk and return for the investment. JFMAX is the stock that has been greatly diversified. This is because it sells in many countries in different countries. That will ensure that the risk of loss is reduced because it will be subject to a few issues and hence it will have a high probability of doing good as compared to the other investments. Beta is a measure of the volatility of an investment towards market forces. That measures the rate at which an investment is affected by changes in the market. An investment that has a beta greater than one is very volatile to market forces and it is affected highly by market forces. That ,means that they are relatively risky and usually associated with high risk and returns. For investments that have a bet lower than one, they are less risk and also associated with lower rates of returns. From the 1990’s, china has become a huge player in the industrial area. This is because the country has emerged as a super power in business. The country has been giving stiff competition to the prior year super powers that included the united states. That made the country a super power in businesses. The other thing that made china develop tremendously was its ability to come up with new products that could be sold in different countries at a lower cost. China also took advantage of FDI. FDI is a system whereby a country or business relocates to regions where there is availability of low cost goods or labor. That ensures that the cost to the company are low and the company is able to supply the products to the target market. That means that the availability of cheap labor and raw products will make the supply and production of goods relatively cheaper. China also takes advantage of the countries whereby there is a huge target market. In that case, the target market becomes l arge and it is able to make more profits as compared to

The Changing Definition of the American Dream Essay - 1

The Changing Definition of the American Dream - Essay Example The author's definition of the American Dream is one that is based on finding meaning in one’s life.   Richard Cory might have killed himself because he did not find his existence meaningful at all. The American Dream refers to material security, not necessarily prodigious wealth, and, more importantly, it concerns the meaningfulness that people find in their lives by having a fulfilling career and making the world a better place.  The American Dream is about material security. The traditional American Dream is home ownership and having enough material things for comfort. In the article â€Å"John Zogby: The American Dream Redefined,† John Zogby’s survey reveals that people who see the American Dream this way are called â€Å"Traditional Materialists.† Materialists believe that the American Dream â€Å"meant some form of financial success: the acquisition of goods, a bigger house, a home with a piece of land around it and so on† (Zogby). This Dr eam is about the attainment of material goods that affects perceptions about the quality of life.  The American Dream is not about being extremely wealthy, however, because people are already content with sufficient material security. Howard R. Gold, in â€Å"Price Tag for the American Dream: $130K a Year,† asserts that many people think that the American Dream is much simpler than being filthy rich. Thomas Hirschl, the co-author of the book Chasing the American Dream and a professor at Cornell University, emphasizes that, for some of the people they interviewed, the American Dream is â€Å"not about getting rich and making a lot of money. It's about security† (Gold). It is a dream of having enough to have a good life, not necessarily an extremely wealthy one. Finally, the American Dream represents the idea of finding meaningfulness in life by having a fulfilling career and making the world a better place. Some people think that the American Dream is about living the ir dreams that make them feel that life is meaningful.

The Agritourism Potential For Rural Development Tourism Essay

The Agritourism Potential For Rural Development Tourism Essay Development is critical and essential to the sustenance and growth of any nation. The main goal of each and every country is to reach overall development of the country. The term development encompasses the need and the means by which to provide better lives for people in a country. It includes not only economic growth, although that is crucial, but also human development providing health, nutrition, education, and a clean environment. However, in executing development is a complex issue and the basic perspective of it is equates development with economic growth. According to the United Nations Development Programme (2009) development is to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community. Gboyega (2003) captures development as an idea that embodies all attempts to improve the conditions of human existence in all ramifications. It implies improvement in material well being of all citizens, not the most powerful and rich alone, in a sustainable way such that todays consumption does not imperil the future, it also demands that poverty and inequality of access to the good things of life be removed or drastically reduced. It seeks to improve personal physical security and livelihoods and expansion of life chances.Thus, development aims at improving important aspects of peoples lives such as livelihood, security, environmental, physical and mental well being. Enhance in knowledge, experience and resources is helped people to build a better life. The goal of development is to expand the capabilities of people to live the lives they choose to lead (Amartya Sen 1999). It is most appropriately defined with their active participation. Development is different from growth. It has broader and deeper meanings. Economic growth is necessary but not sufficient condition for development and hence it can be viewed as a multi-dimensional phenomenon. The major dimensions of it include the level of economic growth, standards of education, quality of housing, level of health, distribution of goods and services, and access to communication (World Bank, 2005). Ingredients for development and economic growth are capital formation, human resources, natural resources, and technology/entrepreneurship. Capital formation is essential to invest in sectors with high economic output, saving capital, investing in infrastructure creates jobs directly and indirectly by attracting investors. Human resources are a key to development in any country. There is need to develop a mechanism to address lack of health facilities, lack of education, poverty, malnutrition, and disease. Human resource development is important if people are to make use of ICT for development. Natural resources are crucial in development. Development activities need to be harnessed more of their natural resources. It is imperative that they should improve farming techniques and develop better land ownership methods. Technology and entrepreneurship are important to developing countries to improve the know-how and know-what. Openness to ideas is important if any economy is to develop. The formation of regional and international blocks encourages technology and entrepreneurship. Development should be a sustainable long-term condition for humanitys multidimensional well-being. It has been clearly explained in the Rio Declaration, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil as; Human beings are at the center of concern for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. Sustainable development could probably be otherwise called equitable and balanced, meaning that, in order for development to continue indefinitely, it should balance the interests of different groups of people, within the same generation and among generations, and do so simultaneously in three major interrelated areas-economic, social, and environmental. Sustainable development is about equity, defined as equality of opportunities for well-being, as well as about comprehensiveness of objectives. Not all the countries in the world have same level of development. While developed countries have reached higher level of development or standard of living due to better standards in their societies, developing countries have faced several issues and challenges along their way towards development. Developed countries are countries whose lives are patterned industry and have some specific characteristics like higher level of average per capita income, level of education, life expectancy of the population and also low level of population growth rate and death rate. Life style is based on the market economy and economic activities are mostly related with industry sector as well as export oriented. Furthermore, majority of the population lives in cities and there is relatively higher level of health of the population. Countries that have Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.788 or over are in the category of developed countries. According to the IMF index of HDI released in 2011, there are 47 countries in the top quartile and classified as possessing a Very high human development. On the other hand several common negative characteristics can be seen among developing countries as well. These are preventing the development of those countries. Low levels of living are manifested qualitatively and quantitatively in form of low incomes, inadequate housing, poor health, limited or no education, high infant mortality, low life and work expectancy, and in many cases, a general sense of malaise and hopelessness are some of them. Moreover, low levels of productivity in many areas like labour productivity, agriculture or farm productivity. In addition, low level of industrial development, high unemployment, small domestic market, small amount of disposable income and uneven regional development, problems in institutional changes in land tenure, credit and banking structures, honest and efficient administrations and the restructuring of educational and training. Most of the developing countries possess high population growth potential characterized by high birth rate and high but declining death rate. Rural development in developing countries Rural development is an integral part of the national development of a country. Rural development actions are mainly and mostly to development aim for the social and economic development of the rural areas (Chigbu, 2012). Especially in developing countries, very high emphasis has been given to rural development, aiming to gain equitable and balance development throughout the country. Rural Development which is concerned with economic growth and social justice, improvement in the living standard of the rural people by providing adequate and quality social services and minimum basic needs becomes essential. The present strategy of rural development mainly focuses on poverty alleviation, better livelihood opportunities, provision of basic amenities and infrastructure facilities through innovative programs of wage and self-employment. Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of life and economic wellbeing of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas (Malcolm, 2003). Although rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources such as agriculture and forestry, due to changes in global production networks and increased urbanization have changed the character of rural areas. Increasingly tourism, niche manufacturers, and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant economic drivers (Neil and David, 2009). The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentive for agricultural or resource based businesses. Education, entrepreneurship, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure all play an important role in developing rural regions (Conn, 1996). Rural devel opment is also characterized by its emphasis on locally produced economic development strategies (Malcolm, 2003). Furthermore, rural development aims at finding the ways to improve the rural lives with participation of the rural people themselves so as to meet the required need of the rural area. As such, general people themselves have to participate in their sustainable rural development. When rural development is concerned, in one point of view it can be explained as the development consists of a wide variety of new activities such as the production of high quality and region specific products, nature conservation and landscape management, agritourism and the development of short supply chains (Knickel Renting, 2000). These new activities in rural areas mean new income sources to local people. Therefore it is believed that, doing diversification and utilizing multi-functionality of agriculture and formation of agritourism can be used as a strategy to enhance rural development. Rural Development and national development in developing countries In developing countries, the  rural development is one of the most important factors for the growth of the national economy. Desai (2009) has recorded Rural Development is an important segment of national development. Developing countries are primarily agriculture-based countries and majority of the population are in rural areas. Agriculture contributes for a significant share of the gross domestic product (GDP) of those countries. Agriculture, mining, forestry, handicrafts, fisheries, poultry, diary and rural tourism are the primary contributors to the rural business and economy of developing countries. However, in many developing countries sufficient amount of investment in rural sector doesnt take place (United nation, 2011). The rural sector is not able to contribute its full potential for the national development. For example, in the Asia-Pacific region in many cases governments implement national development strategies, including fiscal and trade policies, which are biased against agriculture and the rural sector in general. These policies are seriously affecting the livelihoods and entrepreneurial development of small agricultural producers, the landless and other producers in rural areas (United nation, 2011). As a consequence of the biased policies and budget allocations government institutions in most countries concerned have been unable to effectively promote agriculture and rural development through the provision of timely and adequate social and production services in rural areas making lesser contribution for the national development (FAO, 2008) Not only in Asia-Pacific this problem exists in other regions of the world as well. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean need to invest more and better in rural communities as their economic contribution to national development is twice as large as officially believed, according to a new World Bank report released recently. The report evaluates the effects of the rural sector on national growth, poverty reduction, and environmental degradation both in rural areas and the rest of the economy, as well as the public policies that can enhance its contribution to overall national development (Viveros and Morrison 2005). A study of Onyemelukwe (1981) on the assessment of the performances of the rural sector of the typical African country Nigeria in national development contexts has found out the critical role of the sector and the system effects of inadequate equipment of the sector for such role. The Nigerian situation is used to illustrate the prospects and the problems of th e rural sector in most African countries. Rural sector in Sri Lanka is mainly consisted of farming community. The agriculture sector is the cornerstone in Sri Lankas economy with more than 70% of the population living in rural areas depending on agriculture for their livelihoods. Currently this sector contributes to about 18% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 30% of the employment (Central bank of Sri Lanka, 2011).  Therefore, without taking into consideration agricultural development, we cant even imagine rural development in this country. What is Agritourism? In general, agriourism is the practice of attracting travelers or visitors to an area or areas used primarily for agricultural purposes. In particular, it refers to farm enterprises and community events that showcase the activities and produce of rural families and the agricultural heritage of farming regions to travelers. Agritourism provides rural experiences to travelers with the goal of generating revenues for farmers and surrounding communities. These experiences typically include a wide range of attractions and activities that take place in agricultural areas. Important ingredients of agritourisms rural experiences include open spaces, low levels of urban or industrial development, and opportunities for visitors to directly experience agricultural, pastoral, and natural environments. Moreover, agritourism is a type of rural tourism. It is a combination of two complex industries; agriculture and tourism, to open up alternative income sources for the farmers as well as surrounding community (Wicks and Merrett, 2003). Brscic (2006) has explained agritourism as a special form of tourism which takes place within the family farm that symbolizes a specific form of business, giving a number of benefits to the families involved, with multiple impacts on the socio-economic relations and the space in rural areas. It is a form of farm diversification aiming some benefits from exiting farm resources. Agritourism can be also explained as an activity, enterprise or business that combines primary elements and characteristics of agriculture and tourism and provides an experience for visitors that stimulates economic activity and impacts both farm and community income. Relationship between agritourism and rural development Several research findings in many developed countries have shown that agritourism as a possible rural development strategy. For example, Haghiri and Okech (2011) discovered role of the agritourism in developing the economy of rural areas in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. According to Demirbas Topcu (2009), agritourism is a new element for rural development in Turkey. Agritourism as an effective vehicle for rural development in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan (Dernoi, 2002; Weaver and Fennell, 1998). Study of Hightower (2011) recorded that Agritourism is being used as a catalyst for additional income and triggering economic growth in rural areas. Disez, (1999) revealed that agritourism represents and innovative activity taking place within the framework of rural development in Massif Central region in France. In Romania, agritourism is the best way for the preservation of traditions and customs in the rural areas, supplying a sustainable rural development (Mo rtan, 2006). In some countries like Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland and Norway it is a growing sector with the policies of the governments aiming to benefit from it as a regional development instrument (DemirtaÃ…Å ¸ Topcu, 2007; Frater, 1983). Rural tourism provides many benefits to local areas by bringing visitors to the region, increasing awareness for agricultural products and showcasing produce to the local and regional community. It can also provide incentives for local heritage and conservation groups to preserve unique heritage landscapes and built heritage. Most studies have highlighted the multiple benefits that agritourism brings to the farm, local communities, agriculture heritage and natural resources (Fleischer and Pizam, 1997; Busby and Rendle, 2000; Ventura and Milone, 2000; Sharpley, 2002; Wicks and Merrett, 2003; Hegarty and Przezbà ³rska, 2005; Fleischer and Tchetchik, 2005; Mitchell and De Waal, 2009). Agritourism Research conducted in developing countries A small number of researches have been conducted in some developing countries in Asia. Mayasia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and India are examples of such countries. When South Asian countries are concerned, the number of research is very few. India is the country leading in agritourism in this region. According to Tiraieyari and Hamzah (2011) in Malaysia, there are potential benefits of agritourism for farmers and local communities in general. It further indicated that  agritourism as an economic development instrument has great potential to contribute to rural development as Malaysia is one of the tourist countries with great potential to develop agritourism. As per the Council of Agriculture (COA) of Taiwan, after registering a decline of 1.9% of GDP in 2001, 173 Farms were established for tourism and this created huge impact in the development of rural areas of Taiwan such as chi-ching and Shwei-Li in Nantou County (Murangwa, 2010) A study on agritourism in Thailand notes that agritourism can utilize the agricultural holdings and products for the purpose of tourism such as scenery from paddy fields and vineyards, food and drink from agricultural products (vegetable, fruit, etc), souvenirs from local products (handicraft), and accommodations from redundant or vacated property to gain local development in area (Cynthiaord, 2012). As reported by the South East Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in Manila Philippines, agritourism could be a nichà © tourism product that would help improve farm incomes provided a well-planned program is put in place. It will consolidate initiatives in agriculture and tourism sectors nationwide that contributed to poverty reduction, natural resources management, and rural development. (Aguiba, 2012) A research in Chitwan District in Nepal found out the importance of agritourism for the rural development in Nepal. Agritourism is the concept of diverting the tourists to those rural areas, where there is range of agricultural activities, services and amenities provided by farmers and rural people attract both internal as well as international tourists in order to generate extra income for their business. The living standard of the farmers and rural poor can be raised by identifying high value-low volume crops, which have comparative advantages and by optimally utilizing the available resources for sustainable development (Maharjan, 2008). However, the available literature evidence that our neighboring country India has engaged in agritourism successfully. According to the research on Agritourism the potential for sustainable development and growth aiming to explore the scope for developing agritourism in India has been conducted by Raghunandan et al.,(2010). This research has conc luded that there is potential for Agritourism in India to grow into an important source of income for the rural population if the development is focused on integration and participation. Furthermore, Agritourism has been identified as a source of generation of alternative income for farmers and local community, employment opportunities, reduction of gender bias and accelerate growth rate by Chadda and Bhakare (2010) based on their research on Socio-Economic Implications of Agritourism in India. Agritourism in Sri Lanka Evidence on only one study related to agritourism and rural development of Sri Lanka was found as a result of the vigorous literature search during the study. One study is the research conducted by Senanayaka and Wimalaratna (2010) about agritourism and rural development in Sri Lanka with special reference to Nuwara Eliya District. They have found that the economic problems as well as development potentials remain in agricultural areas side by side in the country. Only a small fraction of the vast rural agritourism resource base is being utilized by the industry now with little or no benefits to rural people. Dedicated research work on agritourism will promote the sector with the participation of policy makers, rural communities and private investors on a sustainable manner while trickling down a reasonable fraction of the benefits to the rural people. This would diversify their agricultural livelihoods and improve their income and living standards. As per the literature review, agritourism in most of the countries has a short history and it is at the developing stage (Maumbe, 2012; Choo, 2012; Bernardo et al., 2007). Several countries have the research findings mainly based on preliminary research and pilot studies. Therefore, there is definitely a need for future research to verify the preliminary findings of these researches especially in developing countries. Moreover, several researchers have shown that agritourism has lots of strengths and opportunities for the improvement of rural areas and rural development. However, those researches have been conducted in specific condition which is unique to that particular country itself. Therefore, generalization of the findings to other countries is not so valid specially, for developing countries having lots of variations in geographical, political, socio-economical and environmental conditions. Not only the differences among the developing countries, there are several regional lev el differences even within a country. Furthermore, in a country, rural areas are different from each other. Thus, testing the level of contribution of agritourism for the rural development at provincial level is the best way to identify the real potential of it. Since a very few number of research have been conducted at provincial level in developing countries, there is a need for lots of research of this kind. Even though in Sri Lanka there may be a potential in this regard, no sufficient research have been conducted in this field. Therefore, this kind of research is highly important. Problem statement Sri Lanka is a developing country and there is a need to enhance the living condition of the people by developing the total economy of the country. There is a gradual, but comparatively slow increase in GDP in the country for several years (Figure1.1). Figure 1.1: Improvement of the GDP from 2002 to 2012 in Sri Lanka Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2012 Sri Lanka tourism has contributed to the growth of total economy for several years. However, due to exist civil war during 2008-2009, tourism had being faced a declining trend. Along with ending the war in 2009, tourism industry restated to flourish and contribute for the national economy significantly. As a result, by now it is one of the main contributors of the national income of the country and expects to have further growth in future. The direct contribution of Travel Tourism to GDP in 2011 was LKR219.7bn (3.4% of GDP). This is forecast to rise by 5.6% to LKR232.0bn in 2012.This primarily reflects the economic activity generated by industries such as hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). The direct contribution of travel tourism to GDP is expected to grow by 5.7% per annum to LKR402.4bn (3.4% of GDP) by 2022 (Figure 1.2). Figure 1.2: Contribution of travel and tourism to GDP from 2002 to 2022. Source: World Travel and Tourism council, 2012 Moreover, travel tourism generated 236,500 jobs directly in 2011 (3.0% of total employment) and this is forecast to grow by 0.2% in 2012 to 237,000 (3.0% of total employment). This includes employment by hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). It also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists. By 2022, travel tourism will account for 293,000 jobs directly, an increase of 2.2% per annum over the next ten years (Figure 1.3). Figure1.3: Travel and tourisms contribution to employment opportunities from 2011 to 2022 Source: World Travel and Tourism council, 2012 Rural sector performs a significant contribution for the national development in the country. About 70 percent of Sri Lankas population lives in its rural areas. In rural areas, main sectors that are helping for rural development are agriculture, forestry, fisheries, mining, art and craft and rural tourism. Among these sectors, the most important one is agriculture. A large number of people in the rural sector engaged mainly in agriculture and allied activities. Agriculture sector can generate regionally equitable economic growth, rural livelihood improvement, and food security through efficient production of commodities for consumption for agro-based industries. Since agriculture sector has multi-functionality, it can link with other sectors like tourism and form new opportunities for local and regional development. Considering the experience of other developing countries in Asia, it can be assumed that there will be a potential for agritourism for the rural development in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this study will answer the question does agritourism represent a significant and viable rural development tool in Sri Lanka? 1.3 Objectives of the study The broad objective of this research is to explore the potential of agritourism for rural development in Sri Lanka with special reference to demand and supply issues. Specific objectives of this research are: To find out the current supply of agritourism in the country. To study the government policy interventions in tourism and agritourism sector of the country. To identify and assess the visitors needs and satisfaction of agritourism of the country. To find out the local residents attitude towards impacts of agritourism economic and contribution of agritourism for rural development. To find out the government officials attitude towards impact of agritourism to the rural development in the country and also national and provincial level support to the development of agritourism as a sector of rural development. To recommend ways and strategies to development of agritourism in Sri Lanka as a sector of rural development. 1.4 Conceptual Framework The aim of this research is to study the agritourism and its contribution for the rural development in the country. The main stakeholders of agritourism are agritourism providers, visitors, local residents and the government. Figure1.4 shows the relationship of the stakeholder in agritourism and how agritourism links with rural development. Agritourism providers supply the agritourism. They can be farmers, private sector companies or organizations. Agritourism supply can be conducted by adding tourism activities to the existing farm and arranging facilities for the visitors to come to the farm, see those activities and get some knowledge about them, spend leisure time at the farm. In supply agritourism three things are important. Things to see (farm animals, fruits, vegetables, Herbal plants) activities to do (feeding animals, milking cows, harvesting crops, climbing trees, picking fruits, threshing paddy) and farm products to buy (yogurts, curds, fruits, vegetable, jam jelly). Visitors can be local or foreign people those who are ready to buy the agritourism services. They make demand for agritourism. They come to visit the farm to see things, get a rest, enjoy farm activities and sometimes study on farming, Farm stay for few days, visit surrounding villages, buy local art and craft items, see cultural shows perform by local people and pay for the farm goods and services they consumed. In this way agritourism provider can earn extra income and other returns from agritourism which is the main aim of providing agritourism. Improvement of the level of income and living standard of the agritourism providers (especially farmers) is the main aspects of agritourism business. Other important point regarding agritourism is the presence of other tourism attractions in the area. Other tourism attractions can act as a motivational factor for visiting the agritourism operation. Moreover, proper government interference through correct rules and regulations are essential to operate the agritourism industry smoothly. Also, on the way, visitors can buy local products of nearby local residents, can visit other interesting places in the village like religious places, cultural sites, national parks, forests, waterfalls, traditional festivals, folk games. In this way, visitors can interact with local residents of the area. These interactions create economic, social-cultural and environmental that impacts for the rural development of the area. Furthermore, local residents can sell their products and labour to agritourism operation and earn some money. Enhancement of the level of income and living standard of local residents are the other aim of agritourism along the way to rural development. The other important factor is the government attitude towards agritourism and intervention to rural areas where agritourism operations are available. Especially provincial and local level governments have responsibility to enhance the condition of the area up to a good stand making it suitable for conducting tourism activities. So that, provision of infrastructure facilities such as road system, transport facilities, water, electricity, telecommunication to the area have to be taken place. Not only that, banking facilities, safety and security, medical facilities for the area are also needed to be provided. In this way, provisions of infrastructure facilities directly help for the rural develop of the area. Other Tourism Attractions of the Area -Mass tourism -Ecotourism -Nature tourism Agritourism Rural Development Other Sectors of Rural Development -Forestry, -Fisheries, -Mining, -Art and craft etc. National Development Visitors Demand and Supply of Agritourism Local Residence Government Policy -National Level -Provincial Level -Local Level Impacts of Agritourism Agritourism providers -Economic -Socio-cultural -Environmental Local Residents -Economic -Socio-cultural -Environmental Agritourism Providers Private Sector Medium and Large Scale Companies Local Foreign Farmers Figure 1.4 Conceptual Framework of the Study 1. 5 Scope and Limitations of the Study This study has covered important aspects such as the supply of agritourism (number of destinations, scale of operation, available facilities, number of visitors, length of stay etc). Demand for agritourism (demographic information of visitors, nature of their demand, visitors satisfaction towards agritourism, demand function) information of local residents (impacts of agritourism on them, their attitudes towards agritourism development) and policies related to agritourism development in the country. Agritourism is a business process. However, aspects like establishment, management, development, improvement, marketing and promotion of the operations are beyond the scope of this study. There were few limitations in this research. This is a small-scale research conducted at local level with four types of stakeholder; operators, visitor, local residents and government officials within only few districts without the whole country. In terms of operators, some financial analysis like benefit cost ratio, IRR of agritourism etc., could not be done as they did not want to disclose financial information d

Leadership Styles: Relationship Between Emplyer and Employee :: essays research papers fc

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chris Harrison is a self employed contractor. He works out of Newfield New York. He was interviewed on two different occasions about a month apart with the aim of finding out how he felt about his work. During these two interviews a major sociological theme emerged. It was the theme of leadership styles and the relationship between Chris and his workers. Chris believes in treating the men that he has working for him as men. â€Å"The rest of them may only be eighteen or nineteen but they are all men in my eyes† (Harrison 2005A). Chris believes in his men very much. He says that they do not just work together but have a good friendship outside of work too. Chris knows that they all have fun while they are working. They laugh and joke around but he knows that when the deadline is getting close that his men will have the job done and done right. Chris believes that his leadership style reflects the relationship that he has with his workers and the productivity that they get done. According to Madzar 2001, there are two different types of leadership styles. There are transactional and transformational. Transactional leadership is an exchange-based and leader-controlled relationship. Transformational leadership is to arouse the needs of the subordinates in accordance with the leader’s own goals, the final result being performance beyond expectation. Chris believes that he is a transformational leader. He does not control the relationship he has with his workers. He sees them as equals. Chris knows that his workers know what the goals are that he needs accomplished at any given time. He helps them when they need it but most of the time just lets them work and do things at there own pace. Methodology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary research method used for this study consisted of two semi-structured, qualitative interviews conducted about a month apart. The interviewer asked five questions during the first interview. These questions were very general with the aim of finding out how Chris Harrison felt about his work. These questions included 1) what makes you get up and go to work everyday? ; 2) Describe your coworkers; 3) how did you enter this career? ; 4) How does your job affect other aspects of your life? ; 5) What is the most rewarding/challenging part of your job? This interview was fully transcribed (see appendix A). The researcher then used inductive reasoning to do a content analysis of the interview.

Business and administration Essay

Some sources of information may be found within an organisation (known as internal sources) while other sources are found outside the organisation (known as external sources). You can click on the icons below to see some examples. Internal External As you can see, there are many sources of high quality information out there. By taking time to explore this information, most people should be able to find out what they need to know. What a written statement must include A written statement can be made up of more than one document (if the employer gives employees different sections of their statement at different times). If this does happen, one of the documents (called the ‘principal statement’) must include at least: the business’s name the employee’s name, job title or a description of work and start date if a previous job counts towards a period of continuous employment, the date the period started how much and how often an employee will get paid hours of work (and if employees will have to work Sundays, nights or overtime holiday entitlement (and if that includes public holidays)Â  where an employee will be working and whether they might have to relocate if an employee works in different places, where these will be and what the employer’s address is As well as the principal statement, a written statement must also contain information about: how long a temporary job is expected to last the end date of a fixed-term contract notice periods collective agreements pensions who to go to with a grievance how to complain about how a grievance is handled how to complain about a disciplinary or dismissal decision What a written statement doesn’t need to include The written statement doesn’t need to cover the following (but it must say where the information can be found): sick pay and procedures disciplinary and dismissal procedures grievance procedures In Northern Ireland, a written statement must explain what the disciplinary rules and procedures are. Employers can download a template of a written statement of particulars to fill out. Working abroad If an employee has to work abroad for more than a month, their employer must state: how long they’ll be abroad what currency they’ll be paid in what additional pay or benefits they’ll get terms relating to their return to the UK This information can be given to the employee in a separate document. An employer may send an employee to another country in the European Economic Area (EEA). In this situation employees must get the terms and conditions that are the legal minimum in that country for: working hours and rest breaks holiday entitlement minimum pay (including overtime)

Overseas Employment Essay

Overseas employment refers to employment of a worker outside a country. Overseas employment has been part of Filipino households’ lives. It provides opportunities for developing responsibility, flexibility, and self-resilience. It can also prepare individuals for an international career change that can lead to a satisfying life working overseas. Approximately eight million Filipinos overseas are permanent residents, temporary workers, or irregular migrants. Majority are temporary workers known as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Although, there are some who leave the country for tourism and other purposes but they eventually overstay, seek employment, and become irregular workers overseas. There are different reasons for individuals to work abroad. To earn money, to meet new companions, to be more skilled, etc. The reasons for working overseas are unlimited – from a desire to travel, learn new ways of living, learn a new language, to developing a stronger career with international experience in your field. Overseas jobs can give you the chance to take on more responsibility and develop some new skills, particularly in the area of cross-cultural communications. The challenges you’ll meet will call on your creativity and resourcefulness. For us students, it helps to solidify our life purpose, or launches us in an exciting new direction with our career aspirations. Hence, this paper aims to answer the following questions: 1. What is Overseas Employment? 2. What are the purposes and effects of Overseas Employment? What is Overseas Employment? Overseas came from Middle English â€Å"overse† while employment came from Middle French â€Å"empleier†, from Latin â€Å"implicare† which means â€Å"to enfold, involve, be connected with†, itself from in- â€Å"in† + plicare â€Å"to fold†) + -ment. Overseas means pertaining to countries, associations, activities, etc., beyond the sea or abroad and employment means an occupation by which a person earns a living; work; business. Overseas employment is referred as the employment of a worker outside a country, including employment on board vessels plying international waters, covered by a valid employment contract. The nature of overseas employment is that for decades, the toil of solitary migrants has helped lift entire families and communities out of poverty. They have woven together the world by transmitting ideas and knowledge from country to country. The migrant workers have provided the dynamic human link between cultures, societies and economies. Will I need a work permit or visa? Yes. You can apply for it at the Philippine Embassy and don’t forget all of the documents that you need. How will I search for an appropriate job? Search for an appropriate job which fits and suits your personality. In that way, you will be comfortable and you can easily adapt your current situation when you are working abroad. How will I contact prospective employers? Contact the â€Å"legal recruiters†. Ask the government’s agencies if your employer has its permit to recruit and employ applicants like you. What are the purposes and effects of Overseas Employment? First, what agency is concern about the migration of the overseas workers here in the Philippines? P.O.E.A is the agency that handles the country’s overseas employment. It was created to promote and develop the overseas employment program and protect the rights of migrant workers. It goes hand in hand with Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration (OWWA). DID YOU KNOW? Philippine is one of the most labor-sending country. Because of this, migration management has always been grounded on the goal to make labor migration work for the benefit of the migrant workers themselves, their families and society as a whole. Reasons of working abroad To earn money on the road. Work equals money. Money is needed in traveling. Getting a job abroad is a great way to raise funds and keep your bank account happy; To learn new skills. Working abroad gives you the chance to do all sorts of crazy jobs you’d probably never even think of trying at home; To prove your independence. Generally speaking, jobs you land while on a working holiday won’t be the most challenging, career advancing in the world but many employers still look at time spent working abroad positively. Heading overseas, landing a job, sorting out a place to live and starting a new life takes some guts and clued up employers will take note; To meet the Locals. As you travel, you’ll meet locals. But chances are they will be in the tourist industry and will have a vested interest in being nice to you. If you really want to meet the locals and know their culture, you should fly abroad; To make lasting friendships. You will meet plenty of travelers, and mostly you’ll get along with people same as your nationality. Stopping to work will allow you the time to develop lasting, meaningful relationships with other travelers and co-workers; To get a feel for destination. As you hop from one country to another, it is normal to feel that you wanted to stay for that particular place for good, for everyday life; To experience real freedom. While you’re working abroad, you won’t exactly be free, but it is having or starting your new life. The whole world opens up to you. Having the confidence to head off anywhere in the world to make a living really gives a great sense of freedom. Once you feel as though you can go anywhere and still manage to support yourself, the world truly is your oyster; For Lots of energy. Majority of works and opportunities abroad requires people who if physically fit and have skills in physical activities that can work harder; Due to many options. Lots of companies hire young people that tend to work hard, don’t want to be concerned with the needing a job for the rest of their lives, and are willing to take part time work so that they can have a little bit fun; For activities galore. Different jobs in different place. You will discover that every place has its own culture and local attractions and way of life. You can spend free time in exploring; And for schedules to suit your taste. As you are working part-time, you will be able to spend extra time traveling, meeting new people and find out more about the world. Effects of working abroad Positive effects of working abroad are: The migrant workers earn more money, meet new people (foreigners and locals), and they get a chance to travel and explore. While the negative effects of working abroad are as follows: The migrant workers’ health were affected and the families’, discrimination, and no time for the family—with this, everyt hing follows. For overseas workers, yes you can have lots of money. It may be the quantity of money you could never imagine. Your salaries here in the Philippines may be doubled or tripled depending on the job you are fitted to and offered for. The salary that would help you and your family to build a house you’ve dreamed of, for your children to finish their studies, and for your own personal needs. Filipinos have the mentality of â€Å"Magtrabaho ka sa abroad. Mag-nurse ka. Malaki sweldo doon sa abroad† and so on an so forth. That’s why Philippines is one of the most labor-sending country. Being able to work abroad is passed on from generation to generation. The parent who is working abroad has the tendency to get his/her family to live in a particular country for good. Meet new people. Yes! You may have friends in your work or within the vicinity of the place you’re living at. Foreigners, particularly Americans, are friendly that they are defined as very approachable and helpful (based on researches and facts). You may also have friends same as your nationality. Like in Milan, OFWs in that place stated that they tend to have parties together to know who the Filipinos are living in the country same as them— to mingle and build friendship. One example of a positive effect of this is when a Filipino is heading off and flying back to the Philippines, other OFWs are asking him/her a favor. It may be giving money to the family left or packages. It’s very usual. Overseas workers can be called travelers. They build up their confidence and perseverance during their work in other countries. Usually, the Filipino heading off to a different country is alone. He/she get a chance to learn being independent, no one to count on, and he/she will be the one to count on by the family they left here in the Philippines. They serve as the bread winners and so they persevere for the benefits of their families. There may be positive effects but there are also negative effects—like broken families. It may not be literally broken that one of the parents divorces the other. But the thought that it’s not complete. It may be the mother, the father, or both are leaving. The effects are on both of them—the one who leaved and the people left. The one who leaved experience home sick. He/she misses his/her family but he/she has nothing to do knowing that being away from them will benefit them and give their family a more prosperous life. The people left experience hatred and of course missing the parent who leaved. Why hatred? Children who are left at an early age may grow with the thought of â€Å"Iniwan niya kami para magpakasaya doon kasi hindi nya kami mahal†. They will rebel against their family and especially the parent who left them. The movie â€Å"Anak† is a very good film to understand my point on this. Health. Being apart from your love ones will have an effect on your health, especially due to too much stressed, too much thinking, too much work, home-sick, sadness and other negative emotions. That’s why OFWs find time to meet people same with their nationality to reduce the emotions and stress. Discrimination. Why do I say so? Filipinos are known to be very patient, caring, clean, kind, and very hard working. By these, other foreigners tend to discriminate us, give us more work, less salary, and sometimes, for brutal foreigners, they hurt Filipinos. And worse, if you look for the word â€Å"Filipina† in a foreign dictionary, the meaning of it is â€Å"household or maid†Ã¢â‚¬â€(by Ms.Aquino). * As of today the Philippine state is pursuing its constitutional mandate to afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all. Filipinos work abroad. Why not work in the Philippines instead? Why leave your own country? Discussed from before, it’s because Filipino can’t sustain the needs of his/her family. So he/she needs to work abroad in order to earn more and give a better future for his/her family. So what are the disadvantage in the Philippines that Filipinos decide to work abroad instead? Unstable economic situation in the Philippines wherein the lack of confidence in the government to secure a better future for its citizens. Example of this is Corruption, right? People in high authority take the money from the people through Taxes and use them for their own leisure. High unemployment rate in the Philippines this has been a problem in the country that produces almost million college graduates on courses that are popular but whose demand is on decline. Example is the Fresh graduates who just join the labor force, this will the increase that competition for jobs available. Low salary offered by local companies this is the biggest reason why Filipinos are willing to work abroad because of the low salary offered by employers in the Philippines. Even nurses, engineers are paid poorly in spite of the skills they have through the 4 years course. Contractual employment arrangement this brings high unemployment rate due advantage to employers who simply hire people on contractual basis. Poor Benefits another disadvantage, examples of this is PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, which is a monthly contribution that can significantly reduce the low-paid workers. OFWs are now pampered, OFWs are now covered by better protection, they are offered advantages in addition to being the nation’s new breed of heroes. It’s not so lonely to go abroad anymore we have so many Filipino communities have travelled all over the world, Filipino entertainers brought the overseas Filipino workers close to home. We have the availability of the Web to communicate with loved ones. Discrimination in job hiring in the Philippines this is very degrading as a Filipino, some are willing to get paid lower salaries and not enjoy benefits and paid holidays. We came up with the conclusion that, yes, there are a lot of benefits we can get in working overseas. Yes, we earn more money. And yes, we will have a better future. But because of that, we lose all the skilled workers that instead of serving and making the country more progressive, they migrate to different countries. What will happen to the Philippines then? Example of this is the tourist, the foreigners. They visit the Philippines because of the beautiful sceneries. Now instead of their information became ours, the little information we have is becoming theirs. Instead of us giving benefits to them, they rather give us the benefits. Why is this so? Because all of our skilled workers, or all of our professionals are owned by them. Philippines is a rich country, we don’t need to work abroad. We have jobs here. Job opportunities shouldn’t be â€Å"Out there† but it must be â€Å"here†. References Henderson, K. (2007). 7 reasons why working abroad is your best career move. Retrieved from http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/7-reasons-why-working-abroad-is-your-best-career-move/ Tomson, B. (2011). 10 good reasons to work abroad. Retrieved from http://www.ideamarketers.com/?10_Good_Reasons_To_Work_Abroad&articleid=419109 Overseas employment: choosing an international career (2008). Retrieved from http://www.best-career-match.com/overseas-employment.html Fung, J. B., & Tan, F.A. (2010). Preliminary considerations, Handbook on Overseas employment and Pleadings, 1-9 Pinoy OFW (2009). Reasons why many Filipinos like to work abroad. Retrieved from http://www.pinoy-ofw.com/news/355-reasons-why-many-filipinos-like-to-work-abroad.html