Airline Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

Airline Industry - Essay Example (Step stone case study) Basically, Lufthansa is an airline founded and based in Germany based. The airline has been unwavering to be one of the international companies that will guide the business inside and also through the 21st century (Gardner, 1996). During 1996, that the corporation was observed up-and-coming from an interlude of enormous transformation. Widespread reformation along with its privatization has at the moment geared up the corporation for a bright and promising opportunity within the exceedingly aggressive airline industry. The lines of attacks that have been implemented by the team at Lufthansa to evolve it into a cost-effective association have been triumphant. It was during the year 1994 that Lufthansa marked as being one of the most beneficial period during its entire history and establishment (Gardner; 1996). It also marked the 5 year spin from an unsuccessful state owned corporation to a commercial key international competitor, linking the years 1991 until 1996; this also revealed the competitor abilities that are present within the organization. On the other hand, the association was still inundated by declining profits at the speed of an approximate 2 percent per anum. The dare for Lufthansa is to carry on the transformation procedure in order to place the association at the right point for its longer period continued existence.(Lufthansa .pdf ) Identifying at least two Strategy options Before we outline and evaluate the strategic options for Lufthansa, we need to be aware of the elements that Lufthansa needs to work on: The need to strategically plan, by way of a more planned technique. The corporation needs to be aware of what is it that the airline actually wants to accomplish Secondly, the corporation should be able to assess how they as a corporation will manage their resources that they have to achieve their above set goals. Furthermore, as an international competitor, Lufthansa will need to define their individual function regulations as well as limitations. Now moving onto Porters generic strategies: Competitive Advantage Lower Cost DifferentiationBroad Target Narrow Target Lufthansa's comparative location inside the international airline industry establishes if the corporation along with its productivity is over or else less than the airline business average. The essential foundation of the over average success within the long run is to be able to create a maintained competitive advantage. There exist two essential forms of competitive advantage that a corporation can have power over: the low expenditure otherwise differentiation. The two fundamental sorts of competitive advantage united with the possibility of actions for which Lufthansa seeks out to accomplish them, show the way to the three generic strategies for accomplishing the more than average performance within the international airline industry: the elements of cost leadership, the differentiation, in addition to the focus. The two suggested strategies that Lufthansa should opt for are the Cost as well as the differentiatio

BUS 401 MOD 5 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BUS 401 MOD 5 SLP - Essay Example à ¡ndez has been the head of the tax department over the past few years for the company and is now been recognized and appointed as the chief financial officer. As a part of the role of the main duties include overlooking various departments like the administration, management and planning, risks, financial management, control, and also taxes for all of the subsidiaries. As clearly has been expressed in the website, â€Å"According to Deputy Chairman Mr. Pablo Isla, â€Å"the goal of this structure is to generate the highest possible number of synergies and to ensure the integrated management of the Financial Area† (INDITEX). Ignacio Fernà ¡ndez is a graduate of Economy and Business from the Coruà ±a University, he joined the company in 2001 and he has been in the fashion industry for quite some time. He served as a manager for the financial team in other small Spanish business and with his hard work and dedication has moved on to become the chief financial officer of INDITEX. The Vice President, Pablo Isla of INDITEX has also declared that, â€Å"Ignacio Fernà ¡ndez is in a key post as he must oversee the management of the financial section and also generate as much synergy as possible between different services† (Fashion Magazine). INDITEX has been known to be one of the most exciting companies and is known for the global fashion retail. The company has a strong Global Risk team which is set up which helps the company to maintain risk transparency as well as deal with the complex international insurances and programs which are crucial for the long term business relationships. The company has a strong set of risk management policies which have been defined and set down for several years and has proven to work very effectively for the company. Felix Poza, the Chief Risk Manager at INDITEX explains very clearly that every step is taken with utmost caution and the company tries to develop its back up plans before taking any step (Allianz). Clearly the company has a strong

The Effects Of Abortion Philosophy Essay

The Effects Of Abortion Philosophy Essay Unwanted pregnancy represents a major cost of sexual activity. It is predicted that abortion legalization generated incentives leading to an increase in sexual activity, accompanied by an increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using Centers for Disease Control data on the incidence of gonorrhea and syphilis by state, we test the hypothesis that abortion legalization led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. We found that gonorrhea and syphilis incidences are signi ¬Ã‚ cantly and positively correlated with abortion legalization. In fact, the  stress experienced by women who get abortions may stem not from the procedure itself but from the simple fact that the  pregnancy  is unwanted. In addition, the researchers found that womens  religious  affiliation had no effect on whether they had abortions; devout Catholics were just as likely to abort as women belonging to religions more tolerant of the procedure. Nor did religion affect womens long-term well-being after abortion, once education  level, income, and initial self-esteem were taken into account. Effect of religion in abortion, By  Lisa Tolin, published on July 01, 1997 last reviewed on June 14, 2012 A significant number of patients suffer psychological complications as a consequence of abortion, and 10-20% experience severe depression. The risk factors for such psychological complications originate with abortions performed under pressure, eugenic abortions, or late abortions, and with cultural or religious hostility against abortion. The response to abortion consists of four phases: phase 1 is short and comprises the immediate reaction and alleviation that the pregnancy is over; phase 2 can last for several weeks or months, with anxiety and even guilt being experienced by 20% of women 2 years after the abortion; phase 3 corresponds to a pathological phase, that is, when anxiety is transformed into disease in 10-20% of women (symptoms of this depressive disease include insomnia, crying, inability to concentrate, anxiety, and panic attacks); phase 4 consists of reactivated mourning. Treatment depends on the phase: for anxiety, counseling is indicated; for depression, anti-depressi on drugs; however, these are contraindicated in the first trimester if the patient becomes pregnant. For breast-feeding mothers, tricyclic antidepressants are indicated and during such treatment counseling should be suspended. Although the effects of such treatment methods have not been adequately assessed, it could be concluded that they do not cause any harm. The efficacy of treatment choices needs to be studied. The effects of  abortion  could be either physical or emotional and they will range with each woman who experienced this procedure. It may be difficult to tell beforehand who is at greater or lesser risk for such effects, and the fact that  abortion  is legal in most places certainly reduces risk of physical complication. That being said, there can be complications to this procedure of a physical and emotional nature, and it is wise to understand any possible risk factors. EMOTIONAL EFFECTS OF ABORTION Right after an  abortion, women may feel some soreness and cramping. This, and possibly bleeding from the procedure, which is generally no heavier than menstrual bleeding, may last for several weeks. Some women also experience stomach upset that can take the form of vomiting or simply nausea. These tend to be normal after effects of  abortion, but if women feel concerned they should contact their doctor or the clinic where the procedure was performed. Sometimes complications do arise after an  abortion, though risk of this is low. Women should watch in the first few weeks for signs or very heavy bleeding, fever, severe pain in the pelvis or severe stomach pain. These signs might suggest dangerous infection or hemorrhage and need immediate medical care. In extremely rare instances, death does occur during or after an abortion, but risk of this is about on par with risk of death during childbirth. There are also emotional effects of  abortion, which do exist and need to be noted and looked for. Of these, the most significant is the development of postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a risk any time a pregnancy ends, at any stage and no matter how. The body can respond by becoming deeply depressed as pregnancy hormones rapidly fall. What this would suggest for most women seeking an  abortion  is that they have a strong support system; this could be the help of friends, group support, work with a counselor, or a supportive family. Isolation after an  abortion  tends to increase risk for serious depression, and the circumstances under which a woman gets an  abortion  may also make depression more or less likely. Those who feel conflicted about the decision or must keep it secretive may suffer more. Other emotional effects of  abortion  exist. Some people feel guilt, while others feel relief. Without full-blown post-partum depression, some women may still feel tearful, moody, or simply endure a difficult emotional ride during the first few weeks to several months after abortion. Again, not all women have this experience, but some do. Understanding the effects of  abortion  allows women to make informed choices. There are strong arguments for and against this procedure, and people on both sides of this issue may frequently hold up one or two of the effects as a reason for or against having an  abortion. What is most important is that effects be neither aggrandized nor minimized. It is important for anyone who faces this decision to understand effects clear of taint of a political position. PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF ABORTION When an abortion is performed on a woman, she becomes subject to many physical complications. Blood loss during the procedure causes diversion of blood flow to various organs and can result in shock. When the canal of the cervix is dilated, the insides of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and the abdominal cavity are exposed to invasion by bacteria. Abdominal infection can cause peritonitis and abscess formation. Severe hemorrhage often follows an abortion. Instruments can perforate the uterus causing injury, infection, and bleeding to internal organs. Deaths from abortions, although rare, are usually from heavy bleeding from complications with anesthesia. Women who have abortions increase their risk of breast cancer by fifty percent, according to a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Abortion of a first pregnancy interrupts the natural growth process of the breast, leaving millions of cells at a high risk. It has been found that future pregnancy failure is increased by forty-five percent with just one previous abortion. Other complications are a greater risk of premature births, tubal pregnancy, sterility, and damage to the cervix. As a result of abortion, women suffer many physical injuries. Not only do these women bear physical side effects, but they also suffer many emotional side effects. Among these are depression, long-term grief reactions, anger, sexual dysfunction, guilt, flashbacks, memory repression, suicidal ideas, and difficulty keeping close relationships. In a new study by post-abortion researcher David Reardon, who operates the Elliot Institute for Social Sciences Research in Springfield, Illinois, it was found that twenty-eight percent of women who had abortions later attempted suicide, and over half of these women did so more than once. Drug and alcohol abuse increased four times among women who aborted compared to those who carried to term. Ninety-eight percent of women regretted having had an abortion. Seventy-two percent of women said their abortion did not improve their life. Twenty percent of post-abortive women reported a nervous breakdown, and ten percent were hospitalized for psychiatric care. Of the two hundred and sixty women surveyed, over sixty percent said their abortion made their life worse. Written By:  Tricia Ellis-Christensen Edited By:  O. Wallace Last Modified Date:  31 October 2012 Copyright Protected:  2003-2012  Conjecture Corporation SPIRITUALL EFFECTS OF ABORTION In addition, abortion hurts women spiritually because it is not simply a process of evacuating the contents of a uterus, but the ending of a human life. God states in the sixth commandment, Thou shall not murder. Each baby is created by God and is part of His plan as stated in Psalms 139:13-14, You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mothers womb you saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe Human life does not begin when the baby breathes, or when its heart begins to beat, buts its life is continuous and inherited. Life is passed from family to family and recorded in the Bible back to the first human beings created by God, Adam and Eve. Professor Garret Hardin, Department of Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, stated Life ends often, but it never begins. It is just passed from one cell to another. All biologistsare in agreement with that When a women interrupts Gods plan of life through abortion, she may suffer spiritual void and separation from God. Not only do abortions end the life of a baby, but they also have harmful physical, emotional, and spiritual effects of the women involved. We need to protect and value all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. The future of America and our world rest on that. When people think about the role of men in abortion, it seems that they usually think about the stereotype of the man who forces the abortion or the male who abandons. However, there are many roles the man may have played in the experience. One man may have been involved in several abortions, each with a different scenario. The impact on fathers is mitigated by the role they play in the abortion. They fall into separate categories. National Library of Medicine (US); [updated 2006 Feb 24]. Abortion; [updated 2006 Feb 21; reviewed 2006 Feb 21; cited 2006 Feb 24]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/abortion.html EFFECT OF ABORTION ON MEN A man can come to recognize that an abortion experience touched him in many different ways. Each man has his own unique story but there seem to be some common elements. For men who opposed the abortion, the significance is immediate and impactful. He may think, contemplate or obsess about what happened. The experience is never far from his consciousness. The man who seems to agree, is neutral, supports the abortion or just abandons the partner may not have an active awareness of the significance of the experience until years later. Some trigger events for these men may be the birth of another child, seeing an ultrasound during a pregnancy, or a conversion experience of some kind that may bring it to the fore. It may be seeing an ad, reading an article or being aware of the Roe vs. Wade anniversary and the marchers around the country. It may be hearing someone elses abortion experience or suddenly being aware that the partner they had the abortion with is not doing well, if she is sti ll in his life. It may be that in seeking counseling for marriage problems, drug or alcohol abuse or sexual addiction, an astute counselor or pastor asks about past pregnancies and abortions. Something has opened the door to awareness that allows the man to begin considering the impact of an abortion experience in his life.   National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing  1-800-5WE-CARE   P.O. Box 070477, Milwaukee, WI 53207-0477 copyright 2007 NOPARH Conclusion Abortion is not the appropriate way to deal with any pregnancy, whether it is being intentional or non-intentional. This procedure should not be legal in any country. Children should be given the opportunity to live their lives. In my personal opinion, the procedure of partial birth abortion should be banned. This form of pregnancy abortion should be viewed by the pregnant women before they go through the procedure so that they can understand what they are about to do. I think all women contemplating an abortion should actually view an abortion procedure as well as understand what the negative psychological and physical effects they can have post abortion. I feel that women should be counseled before the procedure and have at least three days to consider the abortion facts, and health effects of abortion, as well as the implications of the procedure. The Lord said thou shall not kill, and having an abortion is like a legal life taking process.

Relational Database Model :: essays research papers

Comparing and Contrasting the Relational Database Model and OO Model The relational database model is based upon tables or relations. In this model, the physical implementation of the database is abstracted away from the user. Users query the database using a high-level query language, such as SQL. The relations are made up of columns, which have headings indicating the attribute represented by that column. Tables have key fields, which can be used to identify unique records. Keys relate tables to each other. The rows of the relation are also called tuples, and there is one tuple component for each attribute – or column – in that relation. A relation or table name, along with those relation’s attributes, make up the relational schema. Relational Database models are server-centric.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When designing a Relational Database, you must create a table for each entity type, choose or invent a primary key for each table; add foreign keys to represent one-to-many relationships; create new tables to represent many-to-many relationships; define referential integrity constraints; evaluate schema quality and make necessary improvements; and choose appropriate data types and value restrictions for each field (if necessary).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The real power of relational systems lies in the ability to perform complex queries over the data. Relational systems are well understood, and can be highly optimized in terms of queries, scalability, and storage. There is a uniqueness of table rows and primary keys, as well as ease of implementing future data model changes – flexibility and maintainability. To build an effective and efficient application in the relational model, the developer must have a comprehensive knowledge of the tables, and any relationships among them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Object oriented database management systems are viewed as an alternative approach to meeting the demands of more complex data types. The need to handle complex object-centric data as the main data element is the driving force behind Object Oriented database models. These systems attempt to extend Object Oriented programming languages, techniques, and tools to provide a means to support data management tasks. Object Oriented models are client centric. Object Oriented databases uses attributes containing object identifiers to find objects that are related to other objects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When designing an Object Oriented model, you must first determine which classes require persistent storage; define persistent classes; represent relationships among persistent classes; and choose appropriate data types and value restrictions for each field.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Object Oriented database models approach from the opposite direction (a programming language itself) to solve the problem of handling complex data types.

The Potential Role of Large Tour Operators for the Implementation

Table of contents Table of figures 2 List of abbreviations 2 Introduction and purpose statement 3 The potential role of large tour operators for the implementation of sustainable supply chain management in the tourism industry Conclusion 5 Bibliography 7 1 Table of figures Fig. 1: Exemplary tourism supply chain 5 List of abbreviations NGO Non-governmental organization SC supply chain SSCM sustainable supply chain management TOI Tour Operators Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development 2 Introduction and purpose statementWith an exponentially growing population, the travel industry is expected to grow significantly in the near future. At the same time, different stakeholder groups pose a lot of pressure on this industry. Tourist are gaining awareness of the negative impacts of mass tourism on the environment as well as socio-economically speaking. As a result the demand for „green tourismâ€Å"-solutions is increasing. Furthermore, the financial market, governments as well as NGOs increasingly exert leverage on the industry to practice more sustainable tourism by means of legislation.Moreover, an intact environment is the invaluable asset for the tourism industry, preserving it means serving the self-preservation of the tourism industry. 1 Indisputably, tourism has to transform in to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable business. The implementation of environmental management systems as well as the alignment of the whole supply chain are important tools to support this transformation. In this paper I chose the tour operator stage of the supply chain as the focal point, because it acts as a link between the supply and demand side of tourism.Hereafter, I present how the structural properties of large tour operators provide them with special responsibility to promote the implementation of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) systems in the tourism industry. The potential role of large tour operators for the implementation of sustainable supply chain management in the tourism industry Tourism, no different from other industries, is organized in supply chain (SC) structures since its products/services are composed of multiple elements as e. g. ransportation, entertainment, travel agencies and accommodation. 2 Aiming for sustainability therefore me ans to strive for a long-term improvement of the economic, social and environmental performance, not only of an isolated company or product but its whole SC. This concept is also known to literature as the â€Å"triple bottom line†-approach. 3 Suring and Muller define SSCM as â€Å"the management of material, information and capital flows as well as cooperation among companies along the supply chain while taking goals from all three dimensions of sustainable development, i. e. economic, environmental and social, into account which are derived from customer and stakeholder requirementsâ€Å". 4 Large tour operators resemble a key role in this constellation because they have the means to 1 2 Clarke (1997) Sigala (2008) 3 Kleindorfer, Singhal & Van Wassenhove (2005) 4 Seuring & Muller (2002), p. 1700 3 reverse logistics measurement mechanisms B management, transparency and stakeholder dialogue Worldwide environmental reporting of hotels, airlines, destinations, shareholdings a nd at every step of the value chain with a continuous improvement process ritically reviews thethe practicesidentifying the SCM tools and or importance of and induceis also highlighted in sustainable SCM influence literature for of the individual suppliers distributors information the implementation ? literature; Seuring and Muller [20] reported that insuf? cient or critical success factors for implementing the former. of al. [24] identi? ed three SC tools to regulate the missing SC communication a tourism flows, Cigolini etSSCM-practices as well asnamely information dissemination and volumeisof major barrier to sustainable SCM implementation. ools, coordination and control tools, and organisation tools. which indirectly influences the economic development of the travel control tools areIt is part of Coordination and destinations. utilized to monitor and inInformation tools (e. g. online connections, automated identi? cation ? uence the decision-making process, by measuring performa nces systems such as barcodes and shared databases) are utilized to their transmit to act as â€Å"gatekeepers† while linkingand setting rewards basedcustomers. Knowing the suppliers to the on the achievement of certain results. A gather, analyze, functionand share data, regarding customer data, SC performance metric system, including a set end-to-end inventory status and locations, order status, costs that it becomes obvious that tour operators may also significantly performancethe design bothof parameters that influence metrics of of the whole SC (as fully describe the the related data and performance status.Data sharing ensures that perceived by end are often bound actor of participating members will be products areuse of shared in- because supplierscustomers, and of each to this the chain), is components their able to make composed of a necessity for ensuring trustworthiness and accountability [25]. formation to help design and deliver products that ful? l customer Hence, instead of functional-cost-oriented metrics requirements more quickly and 6effectively.Visibility of position in the SC tour operators act also as nodes for that are often distribution channel. Due to their central perforachieved at the expense of another member, integrated metrics are mance metrics enables members to address production and quality communication between the different entities of required. However, research in SCM performance measurement has issues more quickly permitting more agile demand planning. The the SC, with communication being a critical factor for the successful implementation of SSCM-practices. Tourism Demand Providers of tourism infrastructure Hotels, resorts, golf courts, restaurants, museums and other tourism related suppliers such as water and power supply, road infrastructure airports etc Tour operators Travel Agents Other tourism intermediaries such as internet websites, destination organizations etc Leisure travelers Conference travelers etc Direct ion of money, documents, and information flows Fig. 1. Tourism supply chain. Fig. 1 Exemplary tourism supply chain (Sigala, 2008, p. 1591) Tour operators can draw profits from promoting SSCM-practices along their SC.Since any effort made to make the own product or service more environmental friendly is perceived well among customers (at least as long that does not drive up the price), the tour operators can turn this image-improvement into a unique selling point. For instance TUI uses a self-designed environment ranking to evaluate their products. 8 This resembles a logic response to the growing public awareness of environmental impact of mass tourism and acts as an incentive for the tour operators to evaluate the environmental performance of their suppliers (e. . trough ISO 14001, EMAS or similar certification concepts). 9 Even though the majority of the large tour operators do have some kind of sustainability policies in place, the real impact on their business is so far insuffici ent. Tour operators often try to justify this trough a lack of demand and state that the majority of customers shops for packages of the lowest price. But the nature of tourism-products has it, that the tourists themselves are co-producing the product, while it is being consumed, which makes them part 5 6Tepelus (2005), Budeanu (2009) Van Wijk & Persoon (2006) 7 Sigala (2008) 8 Clarke (1997) 9 Budeanu (2009) 4 of the supply chain. 10 In other words, implementing an SSCM in the tourism-industry also encompasses the education of the consumer. Tour operators are predestinated for this task, since their position in the SC allows them to exercise influence over the consumers choices. Still, this is asking a lot from operators, since the tour operating-business is a very competitive industry accompanied with relatively low profit margins of about 2% and customer-loyalty being not exactly widespread.This might well be part of the reason why a lot of tour operators pursue â€Å"green washi ng† without seriously engaging in long-term SSCM-changes. 11 Another one of the main issues clearly is the variety of certification schemes and the low participation of suppliers. It is doubtful that an individual label will reach a critical mass in national tourism, even though the establishment of an internationally recognized unified label could be a powerful tool: it could help to reduce consumer confusion and act as an indicator for quality for those tourists searching for green tourism services, increasing credibility.If tour operators feel compelled to search for suppliers carrying this specific label in order to meet their customers needs, also suppliers would have to comply with it in avoidance of risking their business relationship to the tour operator. This would provide the operators with a broader range of certified products to choose from. 12 In this case, it would have to be assured, that this accreditation cannot be obtained by devious means or through just an individual examination to avoid the allegation of â€Å"green washingâ€Å". Currently, most tour operators apply their own standards, tailored to their business activities. 3 This is partly due to the fact, that many certification schemes address small-scale tourism when it is really the mass tourism that needs to green the industry. Despite the fact that Europe is a forerunner in the sustainability discussion, there are hardly any regulations regarding the tour operator-business. Tour operators need to be provided with stronger incentives and effective tools to proactively enhance their own and their SC’s sustainability performance. 14 Conclusion Sustainable development in the tourism industry will take time. It requires a change of culture and governance.Tour operators are very well aware of their role and the responsibility they have in order to transform the tourism industry into a more sustainable one, acting as a hub for communication and collaboration. But since the re are no generally accepted frameworks or 10 11 Sigala (2008) Van Wijk & Persoon (2006) 12 Font (2002) 13 Budeanu (2009) 14 Van Wijk & Persoon (2006) 5 tools, many don’t see the necessity to fully comply. The most important step to take next is therefore the establishment of well-recognized standardized metrics for sustainable performance among tour operators and suppliers to set the stage for extensive SSCMimplementation.An initiative that was created to answer this purpose is the United Nations Environment Programme named â€Å"Tour Operators Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development† (TOI), which could not be discussed here, due to he brevity of this paper. Future research should also address to tour operator-networks respectively tourism-SCs outside Europe since SSCM-practices might be used by tour operators as a tool to raise the awareness of suppliers in the destinations. 6 Bibliography Budeanu, A. (2009). Environmental supply chain management in tourism: T he case of large tour operators.Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(16), 1385-1392. Clarke, J. (1997). A Framework of Approaches to Sustainable Tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 5(3), 224-233. Font, X. (2002). Environmental certification in tourism and hospitality: progress, process and prospects, Tourism Management, 23(3), 197-205. Kleindorfer, P. R. , Singhal, K. & Van Wassenhove, L. (2005). Sustainable Operations Management. Production and Operations Management, 14(4), 482–492. Seuring, S. & Muller, M. (2008). From a literature review to a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain management.Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(15), 1699– 1710. Sigala, M. (2008). A supply chain management approach for investigating the role of tour operators on sustainable tourism: the case of TUI. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(15), 1589-1599. Tepelus, C. M. (2005). Aiming for sustainability in the tour operating business. Journal of Cleaner Production, 13(2), 99-107. Van Wijk, J. & Persoon, W. (2006) A Long-haul Destination: Sustainability Reporting Among Tour Operators. European Management Journal, 24(6), 381-395. 7

National Health Care Spending Essay

Introduction Health care in the United States is provided by many distinct organizations. Accordingly, the US Census Bureau (2010) reported that health care facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses. While sixty-two percent of hospitals are non-profit, 20% are government owned, and 18% are for-profit. Furthermore, 60–65% of healthcare provision and spending comes from programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration. Most of the population under 67 is either insured by themselves or a family member’s employer, buy health insurance on their own, and the remainder are uninsured. Health insurance for public sector employees is primarily provided by the government. Still, the United States has a life expectancy of 78.4 years at birth, up from 75.2 years in 1990, and is ranked 50th among 221 nations, and 27th out of the 34 industrialized countries, down from 20th in 1990. Of 17 high-income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health in 2013, the United States had the highest or near-highest prevalence of infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, homicides, and disability. Together, such issues place the U.S. at the bottom of the list for life expectancy. On average, a U.S. male can be expected to live almost four fewer years than those in the top-ranked country (NIH, 2013). Thesis Statement As dismal as the statistics are, in recent years, policy makers as well as leading economists have focused a considerable amount of attention on  aggregate spending increases in health care and how health care spending impacts the United States economy. Thereby, specific emphasis has been given to identifying and examining distinctive factors that have contributed to spending growth, and proposing solutions for reduction. Seemingly, factors that have contributed to spending growth encompass changes in health care utilization, population demographics, price inflation, and advances in medical technology. Thus, as more and more advanced scientific technology is developed the costs associated with providing quality health care increases. With that said, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States spent more on health care per capita ($8,608), and more on health care as percentage of its GDP (17.2%), than any other nation in 2011. Yet, the United States ranked last in the quality of health care among similar countries, and notes United States care costs the most. Similarly, in a 2013 Bloomberg ranking of nations with the most efficient health care systems, the United States ranks 46th among the 48 countries included in the study. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 49.9 million residents, 16.3% of the population, were uninsured in 2010 (up from 49.0 million residents, 16.1% of the population, in 2009). In addition, a 2004 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report said: â€Å"The United States is among the few industrialized nations in the world that does not guarantee access to health care for its population.† Further, â€Å"with the exception of Mexico, Turkey, and the United States, all of the other countries had achieved universal or near-universal (at least 98.4% insured) coverage of their populations by 1990;† and recent evidence demonstrates that lack of health insurance causes some 45,000 to 48,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States. In 2007, 62.1% of filers for bankruptcies claimed high medical expenses, and 25% of all senior citizens declare bankruptcy due to medical expenses, and 43% are forced to mortgage or sell their primary residence. On March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) became law, providing for major changes in health insurance. The medical system has been forced to change normal procedures to meet federal regulations. The law includes a large number of health-related provisions  to take effect over the next four years, including expanding Medicaid eligibility for people making up to 133% of FPL, subsidizing insurance premiums for peoples making up to 400% of FPL ($88,000 for family of 4) so their maximum â€Å"out-of-pocket† pay will be from 2% to 9.8% of income for annual premium, providing incentives for businesses to provide health care benefits, prohibiting denial of coverage and denial of claims based on pre-existing conditions, establishing health insurance exchanges, prohibiting insurers from establishing annual spending caps and support for medical research. The costs of these provisions are offset by a variety of taxes, fees, and cost-saving measures, such as new Medicare taxes for high-income brackets, taxes on indoor tanning, cuts to the Medicare Advantage program in favor of traditional Medicare, and fees on medical devices and pharmaceutical companies; there is also a tax penalty for citizens who do not obtain health insurance (unless they are exempt due to low income or other reasons). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the net effect (including the reconciliation act) will be a reduction in the federal deficit by $143 billion over the first decade. Conclusion In conclusion, in contrast to the argument that rising health care spending at the Federal and State level decreases economic growth, and employee health care costs decreases job growth, a reasonable argument, could also be made that rising health care spending has important benefits, often outweighing the increased costs. I submit that improvements in quality may produce a cause and effect whereby, the cost of medical care is decreased. Subsequently, increased health care spending improves increases in access to new technologies, providing both new options of treatment and treatment for a greater number of individuals; which provides for healthier employees. Moreover, health care spending growth is more likely to create health care jobs, increases wages for health care workers, expands local tax revenues, and increases demand for related goods and services. We, as Americans, profess to be the richest, strongest, and greatest country, yet we stand by and watch homeless citizens sleeping on the streets, children going to bed at night hungry, and citizens dying because they lack health insurance. The Affordable Care Act is a good start, however we must keep legislators who oppose the bill from chipping away at it. Health care should be a human  right, not a privilege. For example, in May 2011, the state of Vermont became the first state to pass legislation establishing a Single-Payer health care system. The legislation, known as Act 48, establishes health care in the state as a â€Å"human right† and lays the responsibility on the state to provide a health care system which best meets the needs of the citizens of Vermont. The state is currently in the studying phase of how best to implement this system. Of the 26.2 million foreign immigrants living in the US in 1998, 62.9% were non-U.S. citizens. In 1997, 34.3% of non-U.S. citizens living in America did not have health insurance coverage as opposed to the 14.2% of native-born Americans who do not have health insurance coverage. Among those immigrants who became citizens, 18.5% were uninsured, as opposed to noncitizens, who are 43.6% uninsured. In each age and income group, immigrants are less likely to have health insurance. With the recent healthcare changes, many legal immigrants with various immigration statuses now are able to qualify for affordable health insurance. We need to push for more. The cost for individuals that use emergency rooms as port of entry to medical care far exceeds obtaining a primary care provider. References Institute of Medicine (2004). Retrieved from http://.www.institutesofmedicine, May 09, 2014. National Institute of Health (2013). Retrieved from http://.www.nationalinstituteofhealth, May 10, 2014. U. S. Census Bureau (2010). Retrieved from http://.www.uscensusbureau, May 10, 2014. World Health Organization (2014). Retrieved from http://.www.worldhealthorganization, May 10, 2014. www.healthcare.gov (2014). Retrieved from http://.www.healthcare.gov. May 10, 2014