Aman Resorts Essay

Aman Resorts operates at 26 unique locations all over the world, portraying â€Å"peace, uniqueness and family†. It targets high net worth individuals who like to be out of their normal lifestyle and enjoy their family time relaxed and differently, away from the pressures of work. Aman Resorts are located in select tranquil locations and provide a very unique and localized experience. Such uniqueness is the key competitive advantage against other resorts, which helps it to retain a lot of its loyal repeat customers. In addition to the above uniqueness, Aman Resorts does an excellent job at creating value just by listening to its clients. Customers like to be treated as individuals and enjoy how they are looked after, whether it’s the driver taking them to locations that would most interest them or to stocking the fridge with the customers preferred drinks. While this seems like common sense, customers will prefer to go to Aman Resorts, and pay the premium for going there, even though their rooms are simpler and more expensive than other resorts such as the Four Seasons. The personalized service further reinforces the leading position in its competition against other resorts. Aman doesn’t have more than 40 rooms on average at each location and no two resorts are alike, even if they are in the same country, which helps Aman command a premium price and helps position itself as a premium brand. Meanwhile, Aman Resorts sustains its brand power and relies heavily on word of mouth and online marketing to its loyal clientele, aversive to traditional means of advertising and providing discounts. However, learning more about the customer could theoretically be done by any hotel based on what data is being gathered. If a hotel chain notices that you always drink Diet Coke out of the mini fridge, for example, they can make sure that when you stay the fridge is stocked. While this would be impractical for motels and low to middle end hotels, this would certainly be beneficial for hotels and resorts in the same category as Aman such as the Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton, which could provide personalized service in addition to modern amenities. We have listed two possible challenges to the Aman model. The first challenge is from potential customers in emerging markets. China is a huge market for Aman. In China, people used to live in a very simple and natural life.  However, as the economy has exponentially grown in the last thirty years, many people have acquired an increasing amount of disposable income and are in greater need of special places for their vacation and leisure. Aman is undoubtedly a great place for them. However, the idea of simplified lifestyle may not be attractive to customers from emerging markets like China and others in the rest of Asia. That’s why some customers even complained that there wasn’t even a TV in the room or wireless internet at some Aman locations, when all the other luxury hotels in the area offer those as standard amenities for much lower room rates. We suggest that Aman provide luxury amenities, fine dining, and technological equipment and services to Chinese customers. Currently, Aman has only one resort in Beijing, China. Aman can find more great places in the west of China, where there are great and unique views. Generally speaking, Aman can improve on some of the spartan offerings in some of its locations by providing television, internet services and other modern amenities to customers who prefer having them while staying at their resorts. It could also standardize some of the essential offerings that a majority of its customers have requested across all its resorts, to maximize loyalty and appreciation among them. The second challenge Aman faces is from competing resorts in the area. An independant company or an existing resort can always create a new resort chain that offers similar services to Aman with regards to beautiful locations and attention to customer service and undercut Aman on price. While it may take them a while to catch up to Aman’s status, they could theoretically offer the same services in different locations.

Argyles Communication Cycle

This assignment will discuss two well known theories of effective communication. Firstly it will look at Michael Argyle (1972), the cycle of communication and then it will discuss Bruce Tuckman (1965) stages of communication. Michael Argyle (1972) looks at the cycle of communication which involves six stages this is about sending receiving and the decoding of messages between individual and also groups.An ideas occurs – when one has thought of an idea that they want to express with another person/sMessage coded – when the idea has been thought through, there is a thought process of how this idea is going to then be communicated. There is a thought as to how this message is going to express it, as it could be through language, writing, sign or symbols or whatever it may be.Message sent – articulate the message, may it be verbal, written, sign or use what would be most appropriate in order to communicate effectively.Message received – when the message has be en heard or seen, depending on how the message was sent in the first place.Message decoded – this is where the person who had received the message is starting to make sense of the message. As one tries to decode the message is received is at this point where they can miss interpret the message.Message understood – providing that all goes well the initial idea is then understood but sometimes this doesn’t always happen.Once there is understanding then Bruce Tuckman’s (1965), stages of communication looks at how a group of people have to develop their behaviour in order to become an effective group, all to reach a common goal.His sequential theory has four stages of communication. Forming – has been considered to be the introduction stage, where it is not clear to the group what their purpose is. At the same time they put one another under scrutiny as they are not too familiar with each other, so there in not much in the way of trust either.So as a result of this some may not be happy with the idea. Some may be feeling frustrated where as others may just have some issues about working with particular people. There could be a lack of values and some prejudices may possibly be expressed initially to some members of the group.Storming – when putting certain characters together that usually don’t work with one another, it at this stage where the competition is rife as there is a power struggle within the group as some may try to change the team’s mission. This could result in arguments about how the group is going work and what roles each member will be having. Eventually the team itself could splint. As a result of putting different pe ople together, the group begins to form relationships with each other and can sometimes for smaller group. This causes the lack of motivation, anxiety and frustration resulting in the groups failure to complete the mission.Norming – during this stage the trust and respect is developing amongst the members of the group, since it becomes clear that each member has a role and they are aware of what their role will be. As a result of them coming together with a common goal they all have a shared expectation of each other, which is known as norm. They have fully established norm, a set of common beliefs and values. Individuals become more motivated and commitment is demonstrated with each member of the group, whilst the team is being creative.The group now have a fully defined purpose and so success begins to flow within the group.Performing – the group now demonstrates that actually they are able to perform the task effectively as members feel comfortable, at ease and have a sense of belonging to the group as a whole. There is a high sense of morale as the group experience high levels of trust, pride and support from each other and so now this group begin to feel that their performance has been of better-quality. More often than not I believe that the patterns of behaviour do actually arise in some individuals.There are those that are more extreme than others, whereas some are less extreme but none the less this does not suggest that people cannot work well together. According to Tuckman’s theory these stages can be very effective in breaking down the barriers of communication within a group of individuals that have a common goal. With Argyle’s theory it is agreed that this very process does actually taken place when communication but at the same time it could easily breakdown when the message has been misunderstood of misheard.

Old habits die hard Essay

When I heard that one of the quotes for today’s essay was â€Å"old habits die hard † some of Mick Jagger’s lyrics came to mind â€Å"I’m not an addict ,it’s just a habit†. It takes a long time to develop a bad habit and as much or longer to stay away from it . We start developing bad habits at an early age because of inexperience .We reinforce those habits day by day and step by step in our everyday life by repetition. Old habits die hard because us as people allow ourselves to get into bad habits sometimes socially and sometimes unintentionally. One of the bad habits that people in general have is nail biting . I see people biting their nails all the time .I would love to say that I am not one of those people but I would be lying .If I am waiting on line at a store for a long time ,I start to get frustrated and I bite my nails. Another reason I fall into the habit of biting my nails is nervousness. Once I was waiting for a job interview , I noticed that my nails where getting shorter and shorter without my intention. In general as people we are programmed from young age to do things .We do not realize that some of those things can be bad until they have happened repetitiously. I have worked on ways to stop biting my nails ,and it is working for now .I noticed that I can break this old habit by painting my nails with a base coat nail polish that taste very bad if I bite my nails . In this essay I would like to bring to the reader’s attention two bad habits that influence our health such smoking ,drinking. When someone smokes he/she is inhaling approximately 7000 chemicals inside their lungs , 250 of which are poisonous and 70 carcinogenic. These chemicals are not only damaging the lungs, but also traveling through the body and causing several diseases . Smoking increases the chance of COPD, Coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer (www.about.com).Alchol is very present in today’s society .Having class of wine once in a while is acceptable and healthy some might say ,but too many glasses can affect your judgment and direct you to bad decision making . Alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholism ,or alcohol addiction ,to a point which a person becomes physically and  psychologically dependent to it so much that people cannot function without it .Alcohol abuse can lead to disruptive behavior such as driving under the influence and domestic violence . Both smoking and drinking are addictive but also habits that could be broken . Gambling is also a habit that is very hard to overcome .It is a compulsion and the end result can be very devastating for the gambler and also for their family. Gambling can have a big impact on someone’s economical state . For example a gambler can lose all their saving in one night .They borrow money to play more hoping to win back what they lost. The person who is the gambler is not the only person that suffer from this situation ,their families are too. Often times the family has to deal with threading phone calls from creditors and bill collectors. Most of the time relationships and marriages fail do to gambling .When disgusting about gambling it is important to realize the affect it can have on people economically ,socially ,physically and psychologically. Gambling can lead to loss of job ,depression ,anti-social personality disorder, and direction towards alcohol and drug use. Gambling is one of the worst habits to break but it can be accomplished with determination and support by the their families. I would like to conclude this essay with another verse in the from Mick Jaggers’ lyrics † You walk through my walls like a ghost â€Å".It is true that we all have bad habits ,for some it is easy to stay from them because of the way their lifestyle is .But for other’s bad habits are always on the back of their mind as they struggle to stay away from the ghost on their wall.

Ancient Egyptian Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ancient Egyptian Religion - Essay Example During ancient history of Egypt, most religious practices centered on the pharaoh, who used to be the king of Egypt. This pharaoh was believed by ordinary Egyptians to be descended from the gods, as Egyptians, during this old time in history, believed in many deities, not just one God. In that sense, the pharaoh acted as the intermediary person between people and the gods. Another important aspect of the ancient Egyptian religion was the sincere belief in the afterlife and this belief shaped their funerary practices. As such, ancient Egyptians made great efforts to ensure the survival of their bodies and souls after death, providing tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased. After believing in a number of deities for long periods of time, a new religious trend started to emerge, depending on monotheism and belief in one God. The birth of Moses represented the climax of this religious trend in old Egypt. Moses lived during the 13th or the 14t h century B.C. The story of the name as mentioned in the second chapter of the Exodus answers the question. The story says that the Egyptian princess who saved the child from the Nile gave him his name: â€Å"because I picked him up from the water†, so he will be called Moshe. But it is obvious that this is not the appropriate explanation (Freud, "Translation and study by Dr. Abdel Moniem El Hefny". 1991, 26) In another version of the story, an author says in Jadishness Lexicon magazine the interpretation of the name in the Torah is â€Å"the one who was picked up from the water† (the name of Moshe only means â€Å"the one who was picked up†). This opinion may be supported by two other arguments; the first one is that it is absurd to say that an Egyptian princess knows the Hebrew language, and the second one is that it is most probable that the water from which the child was picked up is not the Nile ("A History of Christianity in Egypt"). Many people suggested a long time ago that Moses’ name is derived from the Egyptian language because of a newly published book written by the chronicler Peristide, â€Å"Egypt’s history†: â€Å"It is important to notice that the name of Moses is an Egyptian name. It is not other than the word mose that means â€Å"a child†, which is an abbreviation of the compound name, for example â€Å"Amon Mose† that means â€Å"the child Amon† or â€Å"Betah Mose† that means â€Å"the child Betah†. But this divine name has been gradually omitted by use, and was limited to the boy’s name of Moses. However, when Peristide mentioned unrelated names, he reviewed the list of the names of the Egyptian kings which are similar in terms of the religious connotations, for example â€Å"Ah-Moses† (Ahmos), â€Å"Tut-Moses† (Tuhutmos) and â€Å"Ra-Moses† (Ramses). (Soliman, 1988, 25) Many authors who discovered that the name Moses is an Egyptian name, to conclude that the one who bears an Egyptian name must be Egyptian himself, or at least to say that this is possible (Freud, "Translation and study by Dr. Abdel Moniem El Hefny", 1991, 26). The first family where he was born is usually a special family according to legends. But it is here a very modest Jewish family. And the second family where the child was raised is, as usual, a modest one. But here, it is the Egyptian royal house as the princess has raised him by her side. This discrepancy from the traditional type of legends seemed really odd to many researchers, to the extent that Eduardo Myer and others said that the original form of the legend was different; as Pharaoh had a dream warning him of his grandson who will be dangerous to him and to his kingdom. Therefore, this resulted into delivering the child to the Nile waters

Common sense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Common sense - Essay Example Common Sense was published after the eruption of open hostilities between Great Britain and the American colonies but before the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was written at a time when the American colonists were still undecided and debating the idea of independence from British rule. Paine provided them with an argument. Many historians are of the opinion that it influenced American colonists to formally break away from Britain and inspired America during the Revolutionary War. Paine begins the pamphlet by suggesting that his readers have the right to question the King of England since his policies are affecting them. He emphasizes that one should question ideas even if they are being accepted as the truth for a long time. He also suggests that the concerns of the colonies such as tyranny, oppression and freedom will one day turn out to be universal concerns He ascertains in the end that his interests rely on a reasonable argument and have not been compromised by any political party. The pamphlet focuses on the difference between society and government. Paine wrote in a style that could be the understood by the common people. Paine wrote it like a sermon and made many Biblical references to put forh his argument and case. The importance of the pamphlet lies n the fact that it precipitated the move for independence. Even before Paine a number of people had advocated independence. But it was not until 1776, the year Common Sense was published, that a vast majority of people in the colonies actually understood the reasons for independence or a revolution. The colonies in a quandary and were debating whether they should stay loyal to England or should they press for independence. Paine’s theories of Enlightenment and independence inspired the American nation. His work fired the imagination of the people and sparked a movement by the colonists to

What is your assessment of the progressives What contradictions do you Essay

What is your assessment of the progressives What contradictions do you see in the progressive movement. Had you lived between 1900 and 1920, would you have s - Essay Example These changes have to be done to civilize the cities without attracting America’s economy. This was the main aim of progressive movement. Another class of the society that was affected by the progressive movement was the working class. The working class women and the middle were brought together under one organization to solve social problems in legislative way. The progressive movement was started from the local government and then moved to the upper level government. The work efficiency was also boosted up during this era. A young expert named Fredrick W Taylor introduced new ideas of efficiency at working place which improved the productivity by speeding up the labor activity. In this progressive era, a young man with great political experience became the president of United States named Theodore Roosevelt. At the age of forty he became the youngest president of United States. The main cause that made him popular was his policies that reflected his personality as an activist and moralist. His main concern was railroad regulation which ended up with a compromise between the two positions. His greatest achievement was to conserve America’s natural resource. He won a noble peace prize for negotiating an end to Russo-Japanese war and preserving open door policy in China. Woodrow Wilson was the governor of New Jersey and became the president of United States in 1912. He started the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. This act provided the control of government over banking. He also introduced Federal Trade Commission Act that regulated the trade by taking commission from these trade corporations. He appointed commissioner to

Process Analysis on how to cook a specific item ( author's Choice) Essay

Process Analysis on how to cook a specific item ( author's Choice) - Essay Example Pasta can be used with almost every meal but the taste would be seemingly different in accordance to the type of sauce, cream and associating dishes added to it (Woodruff, 2001). The Al Dente term is defined as ‘to the tooth’ which translates to that pasta strand with the outer lying soft texture but still firm on the inside. In other words, the pasts is not overcooked and is much firmer that most commonly cooked pasta. Al dente pasta is more of a cooking technique rather than an actual type of pasta. Cooking pasta the al dente way means it attains a particular texture. Al dente pasta has its health benefits as it helps lower the glycemic index which translates to our bodies having less blood sugar thus avoiding blood sugar spikes. Overcooked pasta on the contrary, has high Glycemic Index rating which cause a spike in the sugar level in the blood (Woodruff, 2001). Pasta is a starch-based filling just like bread, rice and potatoes which makes for a healthy diet. People ar e encouraged to eat at least 6 servings of starch daily. People can be creative and make the pasta more interesting by making different kinds of pasta. One has the option of using vegetables, chicken and shrimp. Other options include simmering pasta with sauces, spices and herbs like in the Mediterranean dishes. Americans prefer the plain old macaroni and cheese or mixing pasta with casserole dishes (Woodruff, 2001). Ingredients Some of the requirements include several sprigs of fresh rosemary, bread pieces, mustard, quality beef or pork which should be minced for the meat balls. In addition, oregano, salt, pepper, basil, garlic, chili and cheese for spicing up the meat ball sauce. Not forgetting the egg which is used for making the spaghetti meat balls and vinegar, onions, tomatoes and of course s The Pasta One thing that someone must have in mind before starting the cooking of the ‘Al dente’ pasta is that it must be soft enough but also have some sort of rigidity and maintain shape. This means that it must not be sticky but instead be starchy at just the right amount so that the meat ball sauce may stick on it. Method The first step is to put water in a large cooking container and let it boil. The amount of water should be about four to five times the amount of pasta which is being cooked. The amount of pasta also depends on the number of people to be served. So for 250gms of spaghetti, it is advisable for one to use about a liter full of water to prepare it. Salt is added to the water at this point not so much and not too little; just the right amount. Then the pasta is added into the pot or cooking container once the water has boiled. This is done by slowly dropping in the pasta into the boiling water. Once the pasta and water are now boiling in together, the heat at this point should be monitored and kept as a medium. One can simmer down until the pasta is well-cooked or put the heat high enough to stir up the pasta so that the strands remain separated. During the first few minutes, one can stir the pasta with a fork and the stirring can be reduced or completely stopped once the water is becoming used up. By keeping the pasta at the right temperature, and ensuring that the water does not all dry up, then the pasta is less likely to stick onto the sides of the pot. Depending on the instructions on the spaghetti packet, one should not cook for a time longer than what indicated there. About a

Inspection of Canoe Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Inspection of Canoe - Assignment Example My inspection of the dry storage unit seemed more gratifying as everything was in order and followed the county ordinance rules. When I made to leave after spending approximately four hours I observed that the food that had been taken out to defrost four hours earlier still stood in the kitchen which was again a violation of the county ordinance which states that frozen food can be thawed for up to two hours only. However, as you know, it has only been one week since we hired the new manager at Canoe and since he is not a local here, he is not entirely familiar with the Los Angeles County’s Restaurant Grading Ordinance. According to what I have observed, he has made the best efforts to keep things under proper hygienic and sanitary conditions to the best of his knowledge with the use of common sense. Given a few more days, he would become accustomed to the local rules and regulations. I checked his resume to see that he has got an excellent track record at his previous employment. I feel pretty confident in assuring you that he will get things back on track within a few days as soon as he gets his bearings and becomes familiar with the Los Angeles County Ordinance. From my inspection of Canoe, I have concluded that the new management is facing the problem of ignorance and lack of knowledge. The new manager is not familiar with the proper protocols and codes of conduct. He is not entirely familiar with the county ordinance. I recommend that he be immediately brought up-to-date on the local rules and regulations and be provided with a copy of the Los Angeles County Ordinance. I also recommend that he should be provided with a local assistant who is familiar with the Los Angeles County Ordinance who can help him settle through his initial days at the job and ensure that the ordinance is being followed.

Sexual harassmen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sexual harassmen - Essay Example The most common means of reprimanding employees found to be complicit in sexual harassment in the workplace are termination of employment, a verbal/written reprimand and a mandated apology. It has been found that employees of a company or organization that tend to lean towards harsher punishments for sexual harassment feel the company takes the problem seriously. This establishes a relationship of trust between employees and management that can create an atmosphere that discourages sexual harassment (Nelson, 2007). Organizations that avoid firing, reprimanding and mandating apologies risk alienating employees. Sexual harassment claims will be less likely to be made because of the perception that nothing will be done or it will be swept under the carpet by some sort of secret deal. Perceptions among employees that sexual harassment is tolerated as a result of the established organizational culture, combined with a that witnesses the harassment’s political beliefs can discourage reporting of observed sexual harassment (Benavides, 2010). Considering that the NRA is a pro-business lobbying group, the current president needs to take the probable political affiliations of employees as a consideration when considering changes to the sexual harassment policy at the NRA. Also of importance in this incident is how the current president of the NRA reviews the existing sexual harassment policy. This is important because individuals outside of the organization tend to judge the organization being accused of providing an unsafe work environment more harshly if they are not playing by their own rules. If there is a sexual harassment policy that had been violated, or if there is no sexual harassment policy at all, jurors tend to award the plaintiff more monetary damages (Cass, 2010). The lesson that needs to be learned from this finding that can be applied to the current situation is this: the public and

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT - Essay Example He stated every company should concentrate on External marketing directed towards the customers and Internal marketing directed towards the employees (Kotler, 13). While external marketing takes care of processes like advertising and selling internal marketing takes care of "hiring, training and motivating able employees who want to serve customers well" says Kotler. Internal marketing should precede external marketing to give hundred percent satisfactions to the customers. It is up to the human resource development team to make the internal marketing successful. The concept of Marketing as management gained more popularity after the "Introduction to Market-based management" booklet was released. The booklet highlights instilling ethics, self-dedication and incentive based motivation to employees is important for smooth operation of any organization. The HR department should act like a friend, philosopher and guide in creating an open, friendly atmosphere for the employees. Every emp loyee should be motivated to work towards a common mission individually and as a team. An accountant in a firm should have a feeling that his accurate and fast billing capacities plays a key role in customer satisfaction, while the domestic worker should believe a cleaner environment helps employees works better and improves the image of the company. An "invisible hand" should drive every person in the company towards selling the product or creating the best product, not the marketing department personnel alone. Marketing and Stakeholders Analyzing from a Human resource point of view, stakeholder is any person who can exert control over the HR department and alter their activities. It can be the boss or the employee union or the customer who forces HR to train the employees better. The stakeholders outside the organization are the buyers while the ones inside the company are the value creators for the stake holder’s money (Reed, 1983). Some stakeholders act as barriers while others support productive activities. Integrated marketing concept helps an organization to identify the needs of all classes of stakeholders quite easily and efficiently. Deloitte – a major Consulting Firm Deloitte Consulting is a major auditing firm transacting over $31.3 billion annually. Their Human Resource system is studied by every management student in the world. It manages over 193000 employees and is spread over 150 countries (Khurana, 2010). The auditing firm has a versatile client list. They train each of their employees with utmost concern to serve the best clients, their marketing department lures in with much effort. Deloitte’s future plan Deloitte is next to Pricewaterhousecoopers in terms of money transaction. Their aim is to reach the number one position in the market within a short period of time. They already have the largest client list in the world. They provide auditing and taxation assistance services to several huge companies in the world. They look forward to expand their companies consulting services in several growing eastern economies like China, Korea and southern countries like Brazil. Traditional companies operated in a pyramid model with the CEO on top. The modern companies use an inverted pyramid marketing strategy, where the customer is at the top, the front end sellers dealing with them directly is next, the middle managers are placed third and the CEO is placed last whose job is to give the necessary resources and