Is there ‘Egalitarianism’ in this world? A few thoughts.
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Is equality the highest social value?
First of all, let’s give you the meaning of equality and egalitarianism. The dictionary says ‘equality’ is: The state or quality of being equal. Whereas, the dictionary says ‘of egalitarianism’: a social and political philosophy asserting the equality of all men, especially in their access to the rights and privileges of their society.
Question:
Can you think of any English premier league footballer and their salary?
Can you think of another occupation and their salary?
Who did you think of?
So, maybe you knew the first one and thought it was a high salary, but the second one not straight away and certainly not the same salary. The first footballer I thought of was Mohamad Salah. He is a premiership football player in England playing for Liverpool. My other thought was as a teacher. My first question to you would be about Salah’s salary? The second, how about a teacher?
How much do you think Salah earns?……
How much does a teacher earn?….
Salaries:
Well, it is reported Mohammad Salah’s salary is at 200,000 pounds a week. If I were to make a comparison with salaries, an example would be a starting salary of a teacher in England. This is between £25714 and £32157 a year. So, we see that Salah earns 7 or 8 times more a week than a new teacher in England does in a year. My question would be is this equality?
Teacher’s value:
So, what is a teacher’s value to society compared with a football player? Does the football player deserve to be put up in front of us as this idol and for kids to want to be like them? And, isn’t the teacher someone who bores us and keeps us from having fun all day? That may not be the case but I’m sure not many children enjoy going to school. Why do we not hold teachers up as idols?
Okay, another question for you.
What do you think of when I say the words Sydney, Australia?
Sun, beaches, sport, and shrimps on the barbies!
News Headline:
Now, if I said the newspaper headline “children found starving in Australia’” would you believe me? Many wouldn’t. The fact is there are children in remote indigenous communities who are starving.
Aborigines life:
Kathy Marks’ report in the Independent newspaper talks about rural Aborigines (the indigenous people) in Australia. The parents don’t work. Children hardly go to school. Children are left to wander at nighttime while their parents go and get drunk. In a situation so bad, a Red Cross style relief was needed. These are forgotten people. The Australian government spent more money on benefits, and so on, per aboriginal person than it did per non-aboriginal, but even so, there was still a huge amount of poverty and associated problems in aboriginal communities. A lot of aboriginal citizens still could not get the benefits they really need. Their trust in the Government and belief in getting out of their situation diminished leaving their children starving. We see the gap between Australians and the Aborigines as massive.
The point to these aspects of society I have just written about is to highlight inequality and the rights of people. Has the kind of society we live in now lost its values?
10 of each:
I could ask to you name 10 modern-day football players, pop stars, or movie stars. Then ask you to think of 10 well-known modern-day writers, world renowned teachers, or philosophers. I am sure the former question would be easier.
Value system:
It could be said that in most countries our value system these days sees aspects like wealth, power, and fame as number one, and real values like equal rights, peace, freedom and self-expression, and recognition of others pushed further down the ladder for progress.
So, will we all ever be considered equal?
Information Technology and Bookings through GDS
Global distribution and reservation systems (GDS) have revolutionized the travel industry over the years. The Four Major GDS Systems Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan help buyers search for the best deals for their holiday quicker and easier. On the plus side, these systems have helped consolidate the industry and make it easier for travel agents to give out prices to their customers. Travel agents use this system as a backbone for their industry. All this is well and good but with the economic downturn in the last few years plus the rise of other travel, the rise of the internet, also competition amongst GDS systems and other factors the success of global distribution of travel bookings has to be looked into. In this essay, I will discuss some of the issues relating to GDS.
To begin with, we live in times that have seen major banks and companies around the world collapse. Customers want better prices. Airlines, travel agents, hotels are also looking to cut costs while still wanting to maintain their customer base. This is the dilemma for all involved. So as times change within the industry, the advantages of GDS and competition amongst the companies involved should hopefully have the knock on effects to the customer with lower prices. There is also the case as the global slowdown happens that companies will look elsewhere by trying to get customers to book direct with them. This leaves a gap where GDS systems still need to make their money and additional costs may be added. On the other hand, these companies by avoiding using GDS systems risk losing trade with these global players. We are also faced with the concentration of power amongst these travel systems who can monopolize the market and see prices rise as a result of their control of the market through the four GDS systems.
Furthermore, the GDS players have now more to do as competition gets harder. The rise of the internet has to be the main competition for GDS. By avoiding extra cost through GDS companies can make more money. Many low-cost airlines in different countries offer seats at reduced fares by paying direct to their website. One has only got to do a search on the internet to see the array of companies offering booking information to see that competition amongst the smaller travel agents and airlines is there. The internet has also allowed people to go and make their own travel plans instead of leaving it all to a travel agent.
However, we still see that most travellers use travel agents to book their travel arrangements. Travel agents and travel destinations are now faced with what of the four GDS systems to use which highlights the future development of the major players in the GDS system as competition gets more intense to attract interest to their system. For example, travel agents are trying to reduce costs while still maintaining sales so each GDS system has to try and offer the best deals to these people. In reality, the future looks bright as GDS has to create better management and sales plan while becoming more professional to win these contracts. This also could impinge on the GDS industry as it tries to become more competitive by being more aggressive in the market. All this determined effort to be more successful may turn airline/travel agents away. We will have to wait and see
To conclude it is hard to say if any interested party will come up with a system to rival these GDS companies. Millions of dollars are now being pumped into Africa and the Arab region as contracts are signed as these GDS companies try to consolidate their interest in these regions. The only people that can stop their dominance for these distribution and reservation systems are the airline themselves. Companies like Emirates are major players in the world market for travel. Hopefully, the customers feel the benefit for the competition and not the pain as costs are pushed onto them.
Visitor Management
Visitor Management involves getting an idea of the customers that enter any tourist attraction. Management of any of these attractions has to be well thought about so people come all year round in constant numbers while wanting repeat customers. I would like, in his short essay, to highlight theme parks while giving an example in Thailand. I feel over the recent years these kinds of parks have become one the most wanted places to go to. So, with expansion, aspects such as management, marketing, and merchandising of these attractions have to be strategic in their development.
To begin with, I believe that any visit to a theme park has to be a complete experience. Any visitor has to have a range of attractions to ride and see and not only just the thrill-seeking rides. Within this the resort has to be scientific in this approach which may mean taking surveys to analyse customer’s likes and needs. What may work in America may not work in Europe or Asia. It can be easy for any Asian country to try and copy Disneyworld but only see the bigger picture and miss out on looking at the real experience for each individual who has their own idea of a good experience. This means a day where they flow around the park not being kept back and slowed down.
Of course, theme parks want to expand and make bigger rides and attractions. They advertise on the internet with polished marketing which gives the potential customer the idea of an amazing holiday. This can only sometimes show the attractions and miss the experience that the customer craves. Customer services have to be vital to the framework of the theme park. Inevitably the workforce are real people and they are doing a job but the customer does not really want to feel that. The theme park experience has to take the customers away from reality. This does not mean sanitising reality and sensitive issues. Customers still can be educated but overly done this can backfire. These decisions can not be made by a few people. It has to be a whole thought out process that involves customers, staff and management. Global issues have to be thought of too so a visit can be a learning and magical experience.
So, thinking about theme parks if I was to look at one park in Thailand and look with the eyes of a visitor manager I would choose Siam Park. This park can be pretty much empty during the week and crammed solid at the weekend and holiday time. The public can be faced with long queues kids running around everywhere and a general chaos. As a visitor manager you would want the public to flow around the site there seems to be the general idea that you pick and choose and you please. There was also the case of the staff, these were people just pressing buttons, not really forthcoming on highlighting the customer’s experience. In many cases, there would only be one person operating the ride so safety had to be thought about which does not expand the experience in a positive way. This is why visitor management has to be thought about.
Travel Agency Complaint
Situation: You are the owner of a small travel agency.
You receive a complaint about a holiday you booked for a client. The problem is that the number of stars of the hotel does not correspond. You promised the customers a four star hotel and when they arrived, they discover the hotel only had 3 stars.
Solution: Accepting the complaint
Usually, any situation of this occurrence has come about by a simple clerical mistake. Mistakes do and will always happen and as a company you have to deal with these kinds of incidents in a professional and positive manner. This means getting the problem resolved as fast as possible without exacerbating the situation. You have to realise that upsetting clients even one person may have a detrimental effect on your business. Any company does not want to be spoken of badly or feel they have let down any customer. So, in this situation with regard to a customer being put into a 3 star hotel instead of a 4 star which he booked, I feel there is only one real option and that is to move quickly to restore the situation to how it previously should have been.
First of all, I would offer our company’s sincere apologies for the mistake and assure the customer that we were holding the client’s problem as precedence. The next priority would be to get the guest to the right 4 star hotel. If this meant having to hire a van or taxi this would have to be the case. I would also send out one of our representatives to the hotel of the customer. The representative could offer the customer a day tour as an apology. This would show that our company has a commitment to upholding the integrity of the business and shows our willingness to get the situation resolved. We would not want the client to feel we have further aggravated the situation by slowing the process. Any claims by the customer and finger-pointing by the staff can be made at a later date. The first priority is to get the customers to the designated hotel that was paid for.
The consequence of the company’s action may result in the additional costs of paying for vans, taxis and reimbursing the client. The price of getting the client to the correct hotel can not really compare with the cost to the company’s image if we were to ignore the client’s obvious wishes.
Looking at various examples, please examine how letter writing
The purpose of this essay is to examine through examples how letter writing has changed over the past 20 years. This essay will start by highlighting letter writing and features about it which were common 20 years ago before the advent of the digital computer revolution. With the remarkable change of communication over the past 20 years comments will also be made on the distinctive features of what letter writing has arrived at which is digitally communicated electronic mail or abbreviated as ‘email’. Further mention of handwritten letters sent by post and emails electronically sent through computer networks will emphasize the differences. Within this transition from the almost archaic written form of letter writing to the innovative typed keyboard form, remarks will also be made to the positive and negative features of this letter writing transformation.
Handwritten letters take a while to write. It is not that common to just write a short note and go all the way to the post office to post it. Letters are not just quick messages. It is a time to collect thoughts on what is needed to be written. The writer has to understand clearly who the recipient is and the type of letter they are going to write. There has to be careful thought to the tone and content of the letter. People are concerned with what they are saying when they write their letters.
20 years ago telephone calls were expensive and for people with pen friends, relatives abroad, and business contacts while not forgetting those smitten lovers, this was one of their only ways to express their thoughts and keep in touch. These letters were often detailed and long. Letter writing was a product of school. Students learned certain formal structures for letters. For example, a common formal letter written in the past had the recipient’s address which was in the top left-hand corner of the letter, and the sender’s address in the top right-hand corner while not forgetting the date below. This was followed by a space and then the use of ‘Dear’ on the opposite side of the page with the receiver’s name. Then another line was left which then had the first paragraph which was indented. Salutations were imperative, the use of ‘Dear’ plus the recipient’s name usually with Mr, Miss, Mrs, or Ms was the norm while not forgetting the closing remarks such as ‘yours faithfully’ or ‘yours sincerely’. All these little details were imperative thus sending and receiving letters by post had a positive impact because you knew that that person had taken time out and used their narrative abilities.
Furthermore, in the business world managers would write their letters and have their secretary type them up, then they would re-edit them again. This was a process that could take 2-3 days to get the letter into the post. These business letters also followed a format and were often stilted and too formal with long introductions. Much of the letter was usually filled up with superfluous sentences. Like business letters and in many other cases of letter writing 20 years ago, this way of writing was a literary vehicle that arguments, thoughts, ideas, and plans were laid out cursively on a blank sheet of paper for direct communication.
Nowadays, keeping in touch is far easier. People do not write letters of great length they drop people e-mails which are just short messages. The quickness and urgency to send information is more of an important aspect these days. Emails are extensions in many respects of conversations already had face to face or ongoing started through email messages. Emails are concise and written impromptu without the need to be formally edited. These days, no one wants a lengthy email that takes a while to read, particularly at work. For example, it is actually a courtesy in a business email to get to the point even to the extent of using imperatives such as ‘please send details’ instead of the over-polite ‘would it be possible if you could send’. There is a lack of officialdom of an email message. The sender’s and receiver’s email addresses are already shown which cuts out formal headings. The message usually starts with the salutation ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’ and a closing of ‘Regards’ which nowadays actually suffices without repercussions. With the broad ignorance of formality, there is not really a chance that there will be a literary resurgence of writing because the swiftness of information through email is the essence. In this regard, a single email can be sent around the world to one or many people at the press of a button, and once on the computer of another person can be forwarded on to other people. The circulation of these letters can rapidly travel the world within the hour. It is no wonder the younger generation has taken to it while do they actually know what letter writing was like many years back?
Of course, major differences can be seen between the two forms of letter writing. Firstly is the instant gratification that email gives. Short messages are sent and received in minutes especially with the advent of the Blackberry mobile phone where handheld emailing can be done. This may well appeal to the younger generation who have no time to sit down and ponder their thoughts but in some cases, an email will not suffice as formal communication such as an official written apology or termination of employment which a handwritten letter is a correct format. There is certainly an emotion that can be taken from reading a handwritten letter. People can read between the lines that can be certainly lost on emails. In this respect, the handwritten letter writer has time to mull over what they have written. In addition, handwritten letters offer that private token that is written by someone to the individual and can be saved for future viewing or reference. Emails on the other hand zip off into cyberspace and are snippets of conversations or messages, that the next day, are pushed down the priority list to be forgotten memories. They can be sent round to many people where even their understanding can be misconstrued. For example, jokes written on emails can be taken the wrong way within the workplace. The older generation would agree both forms of writing are worthwhile but the younger generation would not agree.
So there are many positive and negative aspects with letter writing past and present. Speed has to be number one these days. It would seem odd for someone to take time out to sit down and write a cursively written letter and take it down to the post office for mailing. With respect to day-to-day correspondence people would not hesitate to quickly write an email, send it and get on with the rest of their day. The negative side of this though is that there can be a lack of development of ideas and quality which, in most if not all cases, is not commented on by the email receiver thus instant meaning takes precedence over quality. This was the positive aspect of letter writing that care was taken and events were usually clearly written about. The problem of quality and clear expression is not a real issue as emails are read, sent, and deleted regularly thus creating a very impersonal global communication system. Email writers will without worry send an email that drops punctuation and capitalization while using lots of ellipsis and incomplete sentences. It also seems the use of ‘Dear’ has been left behind by the informal email salutations ‘Hi’ and the more formal ‘Hello’. Often these concise email messages are returned within minutes of the receiver reading them. This of course is a great bonus that it speeds up correspondence where letters would take days and annoy someone if they were hesitantly expecting your reply. People these days are impatient for new information.
Furthermore, for example, if an email message is received and then sent back straight away by a person who got angry by it there can be repercussions because the availability of instant messaging the sender avoids time for contemplation. In addition, these un-proofed emails are sent over cyberspace. No one really knows where they end up. Another example is an employee sending an angry letter about their boss to their friends via internal company emails. This can end up having their message on the boss’ desk and all the staff reading it.
The fact people are sending emails has to be one of the major positive aspects of this generation of letter writers. On any given day any email user can come home and find their inbox full of messages. In most cases, people who usually would not have been one to send handwritten letters do not mind sitting behind a computer and writing an email to their friends. The vast amount of email messages written on the computer and mobile phones each day can not compare with the number of letters sent and received by post 20 years ago.
In the 21st century, an evolution of letter writing has been brought to the world of communication. It has been shown that email has taken over from letter writing. The world now strives for instant gratification from the information. Email writing may not be an example of perfect diction but the point is made by the sender. Have the computer generation got time to complain about someone’s lack of sending a perfect email? Nostalgia does not play a part and from this essay, it has been commented how email has taken precedence whatever style it is has ended up as. This essay’s little snippet of the recent history of letter writing has shown it to be fine art but unlike letter writing there will not be a museum full of famous emails sent. In a throwaway culture there will always be positives and negatives on how communication moves forward but can anyone stop progression?
