Apartheid in Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Apartheid in Africa - Essay Example Therefore, apartheid system of governance referred to legal racial segregation which although was used by many colonizers in various colonies in Africa, was majorly dominant in South Africa. This paper examines apartheid system of leadership, its effects and the way in which Africans rose to oppose it with specific attribution to South Africa. Substantial amount of empirical studies point it out that racial discrimination and separations existed before the NP became took over power (Beger pp1; Welsh pp 146 & Hemmel pp 4). The system only utilized racial discrimination as tool to oppress Africans and other non whites during those periods. South Africa was colonized both by the Dutch and the English from seventeenth century (Hummel pp. 4). In fact, the racial separation was introduced by the Europeans who by late 15th century were already combing various parts of the world in search of new sources power and wealth. These quests led to enslavement, racial inequalities and oppression of the natives of the lands they conquered. They also ruled by extensively exploiting the natural resources grabbing lands they felt were good for their settlement and forced the original occupants to dwell in certain area. The racial segregation and white dominance employed by NP party mimicked the aforementioned aspects. Foremost, the Dutch descendants also referred to as the Boers or the Afrikaners established colonies in areas of Transvaal and Orange Free States. Later on, the discovery of diamond on these areas around 1900 century caused English invasion. This pointed out their thirsts for economic resources and the extent at which they are willing to go grab them. Secondly, the government at this time, which was a coalition between the two powerful Europeans, passed the Native Land Act of 1913. The legislation saw many Africans being forced to live in reserves and banned from accessing certain public areas or

Which Had A Greater Impact On Civil Rights, The Introduction Of Jackie Essay

Which Had A Greater Impact On Civil Rights, The Introduction Of Jackie Robinson Into The Baseball League Or Brown Vs. Board Of Education Decision - Essay Example One particular event that happened in the late 1940s to change the attitudes towards the equality status of African Americans was the introduction of Jackie Robinson into the baseball league. The attitudes towards Jackie Robinson were mixed and not all baseball fans, the baseball hierarchy and America were enthralled that a black man was found to be a better player of the national sport than many white red-blooded Americans. The result to Jackie Robinson of these views were in many ways devastating because he was subjected to racist comments and attacks over his color. Jackie Robinson when asked to play for a Canadian sister team in Montreal was overjoyed and taken aback by the welcoming views of the people and the city.1 He was recognized because of his color, but his talent as one of America's most talented baseball players. This helped Jackie Brown in his return to America in persevering as a baseball player, regardless of his heritage and color.

Cognitive therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cognitive therapy - Essay Example For instance, a depressed client hearing "please stop talking in class" might think "everything I do is wrong; there is no point in even trying". The same client might hear "you've received top marks on your essay" and think "that was a fluke; I won't ever get a mark like that again", or he might hear "you've really improved over the last term" and think "I was really abysmal at the start of term". Any of these thoughts could lead to feelings of hopelessness or reduced self esteem, maintaining or worsening the individual's depression. Usually cognitive therapeutic work is informed by an awareness of the role of the client's behaviour as well (thus the term 'cognitive behavioural therapy', or CBT). The task of cognitive therapy or CBT is partly to understand how the three components of emotions, behaviours and thoughts interrelate, and how they may be influenced by external stimuli -- including events which may have occurred early in the client's life. (http://counsellingresource.com/types/cognitive-therapy) Therefore, in order for me (as a behavioural therapist) to help the child, I should, first of all, know what experience/s or specific event has caused the child to develop this reaction to mealtimes and eating. It would take a lot of effort on the therapist's side, but it is still the client's prerogative to share his/her reason. In some cases, the client is not comfortable talking about their phobia, so it will also be helpful to have someone (especially an immediate relative) with them during the initial interview or interrogation. It is important to know whether the client is comfortable with the whole process of the therapy, since he/she will play a major part in order for the therapy to be successful. Besides, it is the client's behaviour that really matters; all we can do as therapists is to help them overcome the anxiety, depression, indifference, etc. or sometimes, help them to distinguish whether their beliefs are in tune with reality. In addition, still according from Dr. Mulhauser, clients who are comfortable with introspection, who readily adopt the scientific method for exploring their own psychology, and who place credence in the basic theoretical approach of cognitive therapy, may find this approach a good match. Clients who are less comfortable with any of these, or whose distress is of a more general interpersonal nature -- such that it cannot easily be framed in terms of interplay between thoughts, emotions and behaviours within a given environment -- may be less well served by cognitive therapy. Cognitive and cognitive-behavioural therapies have often proved especially helpful to clients suffering from depression, anxiety, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorder. CBT works by addressing the way the client thinks and behaves in response to similar situations and by developing more flexible ways to think and respond, including reducing the avoidance of activities. If, as a result, the client escapes the negative thought patterns and dysfunctio nal behaviors, the feelings of depression may, over time, be relieved. The client may then become more active, succeed and respond more adaptively more often, and further reduce or cope with his negative feelings. It is also important to establish the "we-will-work-on-this" relationship between the therapist and the child. Assuring the client that this therapy is not a one-way thing and that

Nuclear tension between the US and North korea ( past, and present) Essay

Nuclear tension between the US and North korea ( past, and present) - Essay Example Having a background of unhappy interactions dating as early as the mid-nineteenth century, when the first diplomatic expeditions from America venturing to Korea and Japan for the sake of trade ended up killing 200 Korean troops, the history of negotiations between the two countries has been colored by high levels of distrust on either side. So far the course of events has made it evident what the policies of either country is aimed at. America, with friends in the neighborhood is seeking to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and North Korea seems to be using Nuclear weapons as both ‘military deterrents’ and as a source of ‘diplomatic leverage’ to get what it wants from the international community. With the successful nuclear tests of 2010 and the undeterminable intentions of satellite launch in 2012, North Korea’s doctrine on the nuclear program is gradually coming out into the open, striving for the same status as New Dehli i.e. the international acknowledgement of North Korea as a Nuclear Power along with the normalization of relations with the U.S. This may not exactly be acceptable to the U.S with its own concerns. However the cooperation of North Korea can only be achieved if its concerns regarding security are adequately addressed. Although this process may require patience and time, it is far better than the imposition of sanctions which further deters any developments.

Paintings of Paul klee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Paintings of Paul klee - Essay Example There are two major conspicuous colours used in this painting; to begin with, there is the use of red colour and grey colour. In addition, it is evident that there is a picture of a lady who is probably surrounded by some birds and some flying images, which can be interpreted as spirits. On the other hand, there is a red colour at the bottom of the painting indicating direction. It is quite challenging to have a conclusive idea of the information expressed by other red colours in the painting. This is another great piece of art work painted by Paul Glee in 1921; it is quite obvious that the information expressed in this painting. In relation to the spatial analysis of the painting, the images appear to occupy the central part of the frame which measures 305mm by 454mm. There is also two major colours that are conspicuous in the painting; white and grey. Moreover, there seem to be only one painting of a man surrounded by what appears to be animals. Additionally, there is no conflict o f colours, they properly match the intentions of the artist and expresses a scenario that attempts to depict a man on a theatrical stage. That is, there is proper use of colours hence indicating a proper colour harmony. In relation to the intention of the painter of the information expressed by the painter, there seem to a series of comic actions occurring in the scenario expressed; to begin with, the man in the painting is surrounded by what appears to be birds, dressed in skirts. Moreover, the man is the painting does not have arms.

Producers Reaction to Raw Material Price Changes Essay Example for Free

Producers Reaction to Raw Material Price Changes Essay These days all over the world people use products of crude oil. Most of people cannot imagine their life without products such as diesel or gasoline. However, these are only the finished products, which go through specific stages of production. They are made out of crude oil, which sometimes is called „black goldâ€Å". Fuel; however is not the only production made out of crude oil. Lubricants, asphalt, paraffin wax, tar – all these are product made out of crude oil. As stated by US Energy Information Administration (EIA): estimated consumption of oil in the world in 2011 will be 87. 421 million barrels of oil each day. Obviously, crude oil is an important material in the modern world. It has an important role in economy as well. The cost of crude oil affects economy both directly and indirectly. Nowadays, debates about rising prices of fuel or heating are almost an everyday topic. The price changes of fuel are always mentioned on financial news on TV. Naturally, it is interesting what influences the cost of crude oil. How the rise or fall of price affects the price of fuel, and how businesses deal with the fluctuating prices. 1. Crude Oil as a Raw Material When talking about product price changes it is important to understand how the price of raw material is calculated and how it is affected. The perception of how the price is set for the raw materials gives an opportunity to better understand the price of the final product, and all the fluctuations related to the final products’ prices. Also, it helps to recognize how various political decisions or world-wide events, including disasters or new innovations, affect various markets. As for crude oil prices, the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy called Energy Information Administration (EIA) has defined seven key factors which have an influence on and each contribute to the price of crude oil. 1. Production. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) consortium provides about 60 percent of all the oil production traded on international markets and 40 percent of the world’s oil production. All actions and statements of this organization can and do affect world oil prices, because of the dominant crude supply market share. Changes of the amounts of crude oil production lead to changes in price. If OPEC cuts the production, it generally means a rise in price of oil. 2. Supply. The other oil suppliers still represent 60 percent of the world’s oil supply. Even though non-OPEC suppliers as a group are 50 percent larger than OPEC, they have almost no spare capacity. Non-OPEC suppliers are considered to be â€Å"Price Takers†, rather than â€Å"Price Setters†. They respond to market prices, not like OPEC, who manipulate them. Consequently, non-OPEC suppliers practically produce near to full or at full capacity. Any fault in production has the effect on increasing oil supplies. As well, it gives OPEC the capability to further manipulate world supplies. 3. Global oil inventories. The supply and demand is balanced by global oil inventories. For example, if more oil is produced than demanded, the excess supplies can be stored. This principle also works in reverse order. If consumption exceeds demand, inventories can be used to meet the growing demand. The bond between oil inventories and oil prices makes corrections possible in either direction. If oil futures rise in comparison with the current spot price for oil, the need and urge to store oil will increase. As well, spot oil prices will drop, if market makers notice an inventory build. That is the response to balance demand with supply. 4. Financial markets. Oil is not only sold by its physical form, but also there are trade contracts for future delivery. This type of sales is called â€Å"futures†. In order to avoid future oil price increases, some major customers, like airline companies, purchase futures. That is because oil price changes have a significant impact on their ability to operate profitably. Also, often oil futures contracts are sold to lock in a price for a specific period of time. 5. Demand. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of U.S., Japan, most of European countries, and other advanced countries. The organization is responsible for 53 percent of the world’s demand for oil. Even though OECD countries consume more than non-OECD countries, the rate of growth in OECD countries is considerably slower. OECD demand went down during the period from the year 2000 to 2010. However, non-OECD countries’ demand went up by 40 percent during the same period of time. 6. Non-OECD demand. For the last decade China together with Saudi Arabia and India had the largest growth in crude consumption among non-OECD countries. There is a direct relationship between the rate at which oil consumption rises and the rate of economic growth. It is not surprising that for China and India, the use of crude oil is increasing at a very fast pace compared to the United States’. Besides that, developing countries also usually have more manufacturing-related industries, which have a tendency to consume higher amounts of crude oil. 7. Spot market. Crude oil is sold all over the world. There are many different â€Å"streams† of crude oil, however they are likely to move in lockstep with one another regarding the prices. All these streams are put in a certain process of production to make product which are used, such as: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricant and other various petroleum products. All of the financial channels on TV are talking about crude oil prices. However the essential point here is the price of the final products. Any events that have the power to disrupt the flow of crude oil and end products have a significant effect on the price of those goods. Geopolitical events, massive oil leaks, natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, terrorist acts, etc. all are included to the list of event which can and do influence the price. Both supply and demand are rather inelastic, this means that any of the above events, or perceived risk of the happening, usually leads to higher prices, espe cially in the futures market. All these factors clearly show how easily the system of oil trading can be shocked, leading to huge swings in the price of crude oil. Also, it has to be pointed out, that most of the world’s oil supply is located in countries or parts of the world that are politically instable. All this explains why the price we pay for oil product is so volatile. Example how natural tragedies affect the price of crude oil: In 2010 April 20th in the Gulf of Mexico a huge oil spill took place. It was one of the biggest oil spills in history. Without a doubt it had a significant impact on the oil prices. Figure 1. History of oil prices. Clearly, the chart shows that the price of oil rose when the clearing begun. This proves, that certain events have influence on oil prices. 2. Gasoline usage Gasoline is the most popular Transportation Fuel in the U. S. Gasoline is one of the most popular fuels consumed in the United States and the main product made from oil. Usage of petrol in 2010 was approximately 132 billion gallons, which means about 360 million gallons a day. Gasoline used as energy for transportation stands for more than 64%, 48% of all petrol consumption and more than 18 % of all consumed energy in U.S. Petrol is mostly used in cars and light trucks. It is also consumed by owners of boats, recreational vehicles ran by fuel and landscaping, farm, construction equipment. Benzine is made year-round, however, the highest demand and the biggest imported quantity is seen in the summer. The graph shows the amount of gasoline consumed in U.S. 1950-2010: Over 260 million vehicles on the streets Nowadays, in the United States, gasoline is the fuel used by most passenger engines. There are more than 260 million vehicles that use gasoline, the amount of them increases each day and they manage to travel over 12,164 miles per year. There are around 170,000 fueling stations that ensure comfortable refueling for users. Above two-thirds of fuel consumed for moving is in the form of petrol. Each benzine station usually sells three types of petrol: * Regular * Midgrade * Premium 3. Determining gasoline prices The changes of gasoline prices affect all the countries and their economies. Each person that owns a vehicle run by petrol is affected individually. Every day the retail price of gasoline changes, but only few people know what exactly makes the prices fluctuate. There are several different factors that has sway on fuel prices. The first and also the biggest reason that influences the price of petrol is the cost of crude oil from which it is obtained. In 2000, average retail price of gasoline was only 2.37$ per gallon and the total price included only 55% of crude oil. After more than 10 years the costs of it grew and the percentage of crude oil now seeks over huge 66%. In the last few years the consumption of petrol fuel grew so rapidly that the producers of these had many difficulties succeeding to fulfill their cutomers needs. The growth of demand of fuel is another huge factor that has affected the cost of petrol. The demand isntantly grew up and the supplies went down. This made a huge influence on petrol price. In addition, another great reason of gasoline price growth is refining costs and profits. In 2000, it made approximately 15% of total price of fuel. After 10 years, the percentage of those costs consisted over 12%. The percentage reduced, but it still remains high and definately makes a huge impact on retail fuel price. Crude oil price change influence on producing gasoline The price of crude oil is one of the main factors that influences the cost of retail gasoline. The cost of crude oil changes each day. The price depends on many different factors. The change of the crude oil price hugely affect the retail price of gasoline. When the price of crude oil grows, eventually the cost of petrol also rises. The growth of crude oils price reduces the production of gasoline, diesel, gas. Producers lowers the production of petrol and fuel and also increases the retail prices of them. When the price reach highest point, the demand of fuel, gas and gasoline reduces. After the price and demand stabilizes, price starts to reduce and demand begins to grow. Conclusion First of all we can say that prices of oil production generally are set by OPEC. They provide crude oil all over the world, so generally they can control prices of oil. Moreover, other suppliers still represent 60 percent of the world‘s oil supply, however they don‘t set prices, they are more like „price takersâ€Å". So OPEC certainly manipulates the power they have. Global oil inventories help to balance supply and demand; the excess supplies are more likely to be stored, when growth of the prices is forecasted. OECD is mainly responsible for the demand of oil. Even though OECD countries consume more than non-OECD countries, the rate of growth in OECD countries is considerably slower. Crude oil is the main material which is used to make gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and other various petroleum products, but it doesn’t set the total price of fuel, the main thing is the final product. Moreover, the price of crude oil can be affected if the system is disturbed, because of natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, terrorist acts, etc. Talking about gasoline, it is the most popular fuel consumed in the U.S. and the main product made from oil. Petrol is used in almost all cars, light trucks and boats. Usage of petrol in 2010 was approximately 132 billion gallons, which means about 360 million gallons a day. Gasoline used as energy for transportation stands for more than 64%, over 48% of all petrol consumption and more than 18 % of all consumed energy in the United States. Furthermore, there are around 260 million vehicles that use gasoline, the amount of them increases each day and they manage to travel over 12,164 miles per year. To sum up, the main things which fluctuate prices of fuel are: the fluency of crude oil supply system and the actions and statements made by OPEC. All in all, raw materials’ prices change and influence producers’ behavior. In the case of crude oil production, prices tend to go up, because of relatively inelastic supply and demand. Yet, more efficient technologies are created to minimize or replace use of crude oil products.

Factors That Has Helped Four Seasons Hotel Tourism Essay

Factors That Has Helped Four Seasons Hotel Tourism Essay The main reason behind the preparation of this assignment is to analyse the case study about the factors that has helped Four Seasons hotel to succeed initially and understanding and appreciating the different growth strategies that are adopted and implemented by Four Seasons in order to be one of the successful operating company in hospitality industry. This assignment also discusses the various downturns that the hospitality industry has faced over the years and how Four Seasons dealt with the situation in order to survive in the business. Moreover, in the assignment, the unique business model of Four Seasons hotel is compared and relate to different theories such as value chain analysis which shows how Four Seasons hotel is able to manage their stakeholders expectations. In addition, I have given some recommendations for Four Seasons hotel, to sustain in the hotel business. Company Profile: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the worlds leading operator of luxury hotels with a history spanning four decades and a portfolio that extended worldwide. It is one of the worlds biggest and finest chains of luxury hotels which have developed from one motel started by Isadore sharp 1961 in downtown Toronto Canada, to 82 luxury hotel properties in 34 countries worldwide. Four Seasons owns its own hotels, principally under the Four Seasons and Regent names, as well as some others, including the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago and the Pierre in New York. About half the companys earnings come from management fees, and half of it from properties it owns directly. Their highly admired service quality helped them to become benchmark in luxury hotel market. The basic operational policy of Four Seasons hotel is Treat others as you would like to be treated. Highest quality of service to the customers is acquired by Four Seasons by maintaining and improving their service standards also with an innovative approach and continuous development and an eye for detail every single time of service. The company shifted from hotel owner to hotel operator in 1990s the companys 95% of the shares are owned by Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft and Al-Waleed Bin Talal (Prince of Saudi Arabia equally). Rest of the shares are owned by Isadore sharp CEO and company founder. Establishment of Four Seasons: Four Seasons Hotel Chain was founded in 1961, by visionary Isadore sharp with the opening of 126 rooms Inn on the Park in downtown Canada. Sharp was a degree holder in architecture and not from a hotel management background thus Sharp was totally new to the Hotel Business. Sharp describes himself a builder who joined his fathers business after graduation. Joining a hotel industry business was not at all in his mind or his intention till he was working on a project to build a motel. He got an exposure with the motel project and he realised about the upcoming market of luxury hotels. The need of personalised service round the clock with the booming economy made him take a decision to get into Hotel business. The hotel he opened is named as The Four Seasons motor hotel which he opened with the help from his brother in law. The hotel became famous amongst the business travellers and celebrities as it had a innovative design it was different from other hotels as he built all rooms facing inwards giving a view of inner courtyard and swimming pool instead of the outside neighbourhood. Growth and expansion: With the initial success of his first hotel, the big break through which Isadore Sharp was waiting for came in 1970 by opening first Four Seasons Hotel in Hyde Park area of London. Comparatively the room rates were higher than the competitors in the 270 room hotel but then also Four Seasons enjoyed 95% occupancy through out the year. The success came with an innovative idea of hotel equipped with latest amenities unlike old traditional hotels in London. In 1972, Sharp opened a massive 1600 room hotel convention centre in Toronto, Canada in partnership with Sheraton. It took a long time to complete the project, almost 10 years. In 1980 the economy was booming and the demand for luxury hotels increased , and thus Sharp started building hotels across the North America, later in almost every major US city, also to take an advantage of real estate deals. In three decades by 1990, Four Seasons already opened 23 hotels in three countries with net earnings of $15 million. Four Seasons became Global leader in 1992 with acquisition of Regent International hotels. further strong financial base to build and buy hotel properties worldwide came in 1994 when Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal bought 25% of companys shares. They also signed a contract with Carlson Hospitality to develop and expand regent brand worldwide through establishing management contracts and franchising agreements. Initial Success Factors of Four Seasons: To combine best of small hotels with the best of large hotels Isadore Sharp He came up with the idea of opening the medium sized hotels which was enough to give a touch of personalised service providing with a range of luxury amenities and services. Running business from Customers Perspective: The most effective initial strategy for Sharp was to look at the business from customers point of view. He was a innovative thinker to fulfil customers needs in terms of luxury. Example When Four Seasons came into existence the trend was to use flimsy towels in bathroom, he replaced that we 100% cotton towels which worked really well. With experience of opening the first hotel, Sharp realised customers are ready to spend for one thing thats service. And as Four seasons most guest were business travellers and with the experience he came to a conclusion that for them Service means luxury. Luxury Redefined: Maintaining high quality service can also be a brand if delivered constantly according to Sharp. This idea provided him with the initial success in medium sized luxury hotels which gives commitment of providing homelike comforts and personalised service. Thus luxury was redefined as Service and not as decor and architecture. Quality of service comes before the hotel decor and architecture for the customers. As most of the customers for Four Seasons were business travellers Sharp commented They are mostly executives, often under pressure fighting jet lag, stress and the clock. We decided to redefine luxury as service. Thus the key towards Customer satisfaction was achieved by Sharp and he knew what the customers wanted unmatched service quality will give them competitive edge. Although Four Seasons charge 20% extra room rate than the closest competitors but still they were successful of maintaining high occupancy rates. Further Sharp wanted the highest personalised service quality for the guest which was possible only if employees are motivated and happy they will deliver it. Thus employee motivation, mutual respect and empowerment played a vital role in achieving customer satisfaction. And thus he introduced the golden rule. Golden rule: Sharp refer to his first business rule as Golden rule treat your customers as you want to be treated. This became the operational policy for Four Seasons. Every employee is a member of customer service and in charge of it. And he believed employees are the most important part of Four Seasons hotel because there is very limited time in which service encounter takes place unlike other industries. And the employee has to give his best to maintain proper service standards thus lot of screening and interviews are done to ensure the right candidate is selected for right job. Innovation: Innovation contributed a lot in the initial success of Four Seasons. Most of the luxurious amenities and services like Shampoo in the shower, bathrobes, 24 hour room service, two- line phone in guest room, pressing iron, 24 hour secretarial service, big well lit desk were the First to be introduced by Sharp and Four Seasons. The Custom made mattresses is now became the standard of luxury hotels which was Sharps favourite. Vision of Isadore Sharp: Provide each and every thing in the guest room that will make the customer happy. Growth Strategies adopted by four seasons: Initial success for Four Seasons did built a platform for them to grow world wide. It created a network of mid sized luxury hotel in almost all key financial cities all over the world. During this process Four Seasons adopted many different growth strategies as follows: Brand name is competitive advantage: The biggest asset for Four Seasons group was their brand name which was not responsible for their initial success but also a part of their global expansion strategy. The core business strategy for four seasons was to continuously improve their market position and profitability to ensure the competitive advantage while obtaining new management contracts worldwide. Strategic relationship with investors: With the help of strategic relationships with many small private institutions earlier helped them to expand their opportunities worldwide. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bought 25% of company shares and with his major investments in Four Seasons which helped them to enter in new markets as well the ownership was not of Four seasons so it served their primary objective of being a management company. From Hotel owner to Hotel operators: Their unique business development model stated they wanted to be a hotel chain operator than hotel chain owner. It has ownership of only three hotels out of their sixty three hotels. Under this unique business model Four seasons hotel doesnt have a burden of ownership, the major capital is brought by the partners with whom Four Seasons developed strategic relationships. There is wide range of management fees (base fee, incentive fee, sales and marketing charge and reservation charge) for providing these services to the owner. How Four Seasons responded to economic downturns? Four Seasons faced economic downturns in different years in four decades 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 in the following years 74, 81, 91, 2001. And all of them made a significant impact on Four seasons strategy. The hotel business during the time of recession were mainly affected by Increased interest rates and Decrease in market prices With the increased airfares and the increased occupancy rates the tourism was badly affected. Executives of the company were travelling less and the leisure facilities were decreased for the executives which affected the hotel and tourism market. Furthermore increased terrorism affected hotel and tourism market. There were drastic steps taken by different hotel operators by cutting labour cost, lowering prices buy Four seasons believed that the industry is going to return to normal soon and Isadore Sharp adopted exactly the other way. He took the challenge during the time of recession and saw the opportunity to develop the hotels. He told his executives about his thoughts that when our competitors are lowering standards we will raise ours The different actions taken by Four Seasons as an answer to economic downturns are: Four Seasons followed their words to look after their employees: During the time of recession most of the hotel operators cut down their labour cost but Four Seasons tackled the situation the other way, they responded by cutting the overhead costs but not the labour costs. They aimed for maximizing labours value instead of lowering labour cost. Sharp explained this strategy to his executives, And we also know that what we must do to meet that goal, is to lower costs and raise service and product quality. But cutting costs and raise service and product quality. But cutting costs by cutting labour, if carried too far, lowers quality. The only way these seemingly conflicting aims can be reconciled is by responsible employees committed to working smarter. Instead of minimizing labours cost we should maximize labours value: by convincing our employees that our purpose merits commitment. Four seasons offered Flexible Contracts to the employees rather than job cut, in which employees will be called on duty as per the demand of the business which replaced working four days a week instead of five days a week. It was in the agreement of the employees and all the employees were in favour of the decision furthermore the salaries and the bonuses of the managers was also affected. This all resulted in sharing a common policy in heading towards companys goals. Improving the products: Most of the hotel operators paused the construction or running of a hotel for a temporary period but the property business is really high during the time of recession because the properties are sold out on lower rates thus Four Seasons tackled the situation by renovation and refurbishment to improve the products. Isadore Sharp believed that providing quality service to the guest are a necessity and not a service by itself. And if the hotel wants to sustain in the market the new trends in the hotel industries should be followed to keep up with the market. Thus to accommodate these changes and provide customers with quality service. During recession the room occupancy is the lowest thus the inconvenience caused to the guests are very less and thus the guests get a royal out of the world service. They followed this strategy during recession period which gave them a steady growth over the decade. Advertising costs: Most of the competitors of Four Seasons hotel kept cutting their advertising and marketing costs, but Four Seasons didnt cut their advertising and marketing budget to maintain the brand recognition as they had a very good recognition in the Hospitality industry. It is easy to maintain the momentum rather than restart it. This strategy helped them to gain a competitive edge over their competitors in maintaining their brand recognition. Property market: During recession the supply in the market for the land was than the demand on low prices. Four seasons took the advantage of low prices of the land and they picked the premium locations which would have been difficult to buy them in normal times. Thus this strategy paid off to Four Seasons during the time of recession and they came with the finest of the hotels in top locations after recession. How four seasons managed various stakeholder expectations? Stakeholder: Person, group, or organization that has direct or indirect stake in organization because it can affect or be affected by the organizations actions, objectives, and policies. (www. businessdictionary.com) There are three most important aspects of managing stakeholder expectations: Know your stakeholders Know what exactly they except from you Make them accountable for realities of project by making them aware of risks and consequences. (According to Dr. James Brown, president of the project management company Seba Solutions). Different stake holders of Four Seasons hotel are Stakeholders play a vital role for a company to survive thus the company or organisation needs to implement a strategy for managing their stakeholder expectations. Thus Four seasons implemented following strategy for managing their stakeholder expectations: STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT Managing the stakeholders expectation is a step by step process: After identification of stakeholders, the second step is to identify their needs. Needs and expectations of the stakeholders of Four seasons can be described as follows: Owners: Returns on investment by profit Management: Management fees on the basis of gross revenue. Employees: Empowerment, Career opportunities and job security. Customers: High quality service and luxury. Society: Corporate social responsibility. Their strategy to manage stakeholder expectations can be summarised with relation to value chain analysis as well value_chain_analysis Value chain analysis is a concept to create competitive advantage and sustaining superior performance. Owner: Expectation of the owners are really high on returns in terms of profit because they are the one who made the capital investment in the projects. The different aspects of value chain used by four season hotels are like Infrastructure of the hotel, the most innovative idea of the initial strategy was to come up with medium sized hotels, and it worked really well. It was made possible and successful by Isadore Sharp who was the degree holder in architecture and he knew the latest designs of buildings and hotels like building rooms facing inwards to avoid view of neighbourhood made significant contribution to it. These innovative designs really helped Four Seasons to come up with the highest occupancy among the travellers. Thus they were successful in managing owners expectations by giving returns on their investments in less time. Management: To ensure a good gross revenue it is vital to get higher occupancy with good average room rate throughout the year. Sales and Marketing and technology come into picture from Value chain analysis. The marketing strategy for Four season hotel is to target the luxury segment of the market. 69% of their business comes from business travellers and groups. So almost all of their advertising and marketing programmes were designed to enhance the awareness of luxury service provided by Four seasons hotel. Technology played a vital part in achieving their goal by newly designed website and superior reservation system. They gained an advantage over other hotels by Global reservation system which gave an option to the guests to be comfortable with their own local language in North America, Asia and European Network. Example: There are so many hotels in Hyde Park area but over 30 years Four Seasons has gained and enjoyed the highest occupancy in the area with their strategy. Employees: Employees expect Mutual respect and Empowerment from Four season hotel. Employees are the most important stakeholders of the organisation, if they are happy to work for the organisation the whole business cycle can run smoothly, If Employees are happy then the customers are happy with their service it leads to word of mouth publicity and the organisation gets a repeat business. Employees deserve a mutual respect from the management. Human Resource Management from value chain ensures that employees should get what they deserve and expect. And most importantly the Golden Rule of Four Seasons is treat others as you would like to be treated also they believe that if employees are happy then only they can make customers happy. Four Seasons has maintained empowering their employees, and the best outcome and results can be obtained from their employees by empowering them. Im sure weve all read reports on the productivity gains achieved by empowering employees. And we all know the workplace has to change to attain this. And in a survey of 264 big company chairman, 62 percent agreed that one of the most important business issues facing them was building and keeping a qualified workforce. -Isadore Sharp d.) Customers: The expectation of the customers is very high as Four Seasons targets luxury segment of market. Service factor from Value Chain is wisely utilized by Four Seasons to manage expectations of luxury for the customers. They redefined luxury as service. Four Seasons gained a competitive edge by provided high standard of service with personalised touch. Customers got what they expected from Four Seasons. And they are very successful in making customers happy. E.) Society: As Society expects some corporate social responsibility(CRS) from all the hotels and organisation, their expectation for four seasons towards society is really high as well. CSR includes encouraging activities for development of society and avoiding practices which causes harm to the environment. Four Seasons explain how they help and take initiative towards community by various training and mentoring programmes for young people and helping whoever in need in their website www.fourseasons.com . Example: They donate organic food to local farmers to feed their animals (Costa Rica) and also providing shelter camps to Urban Elephants(Golden Triangle, Thailand), Raising significant funds for cancer research and awareness programmes. Recommendation: Four Seasons has a strong portfolio in the Hotel Industry but to sustain they should focus on few things which are as follows: Four Seasons should concentrate on building more brands and focus on all the categories like upper-scale, middle and budget hotels. Unlike Accor group of hotel they have segmented their hotels and created a brand focusing the needs of its customers such as Etap, Ibis, Novotel, Sofitel etc. To compete with other leading brands Four Seasons should come up with more hotels all over the world for more brand recognition and for customers to have a taste of their service. Furthermore Four Seasons should continue the effective management of the hotel the way they are doing it to sustain in the market. CONCLUSION With the base of the case study and research on Four seasons hotel, Canadian based business has an excellent brand recognition all over the world. The company is moving ahead with excellence along with strong financial and operational management. Different innovative ideas of Four Seasons hotel helped them grow in this hospitality business over the years furthermore during the time of recession Four Seasons hotel did really well, thus it says Fours Seasons Hotel has turned economic down turn to a competitive advantage over their competitors by coming up with different properties with prime location after recession (they responded very well to economic downturn). They took the down turn as an opportunity to expand and thus they are achieving excellence in their business.