Messages

16

Tourism & Hospitality Management (THM) / Re: Defining TOURISM

« on: December 24, 2015, 09:08:58 AM »

"Tourism is a collection of activities, services and industries which deliver a travel experience comprising transportation, accommodation, eating and drinking establishments, retail shops, entertainment businesses and othe hospitality services provided for individuals or groups traveling away from home"

17

Tourism & Hospitality Management (THM) / Re: Economic Effect of Tourism in Bangladesh

« on: December 24, 2015, 09:06:10 AM »

Tourism can bring many economic, social and environmental benefits, particularly in rural areas and developing countries, yet mass tourism is also associated with negative effects. Tourism can only be sustainable if it is carefully managed so that probable negative effects on the host community and the environment are not permitted to outweigh the financial benefits.

There are economic, socio-cultural and environmental key benefits of tourism.

i) Economic benefit: Tourism can provide direct jobs to the community, such as tour guides and hotel housekeeping. Indirect employment is generated through other industries like agriculture, food production and retail. Infrastructure development and visitors’ expenditure generates income for the local community and can lead to the alleviation of poverty.

ii) Social benefit: In addition to the revenue, tourism can bring about a real sense of pride and identity to communities. It allows them to look at their history, and community identity. This helps the local residents to maintain their tradition and culture.

iii) Environmental benefit: Tourism provides financial support for the conservation of ecosystems and natural resource management, making the destination more authentic and desirable to visitors.

18

Humanities & Social Science / Re: Difference between Morality and Ethics

« on: December 22, 2015, 11:46:32 AM »

Ethics vs. morals

Morals are the principles on which one’s judgments of right and wrong are based. Ethics are principles of right conduct. So the two nouns are closely related and are often interchangeable. The main difference is that morals are more abstract, subjective, and often personal or religion-based, while ethics are more practical, conceived as shared principles promoting fairness in social and business interactions. For example, a politician’s sex scandal may involve a moral lapse (a subjective judgment), while a politician taking money from a company he is supposed to regulate is an ethical problem. But of course, both ethics and morals may have a part in both situations.

Ethics (the word takes a plural form but is treated as singular) is also a field of philosophical study. There aren’t many college courses on morals (though ethics courses inevitably involve discussions of morals), whereas classes in ethics are required for many degrees, especially in law, business, and medicine.

Meanwhile, the difference between ethics and morals is often formulated this way: that ethics are the science of morals, and morals are the practice of ethics. But that’s a little too neat and doesn’t cover all the ways in which the words are used.

19

Humanities & Social Science / Re: Overcoming Fear

« on: December 22, 2015, 11:41:00 AM »

It's important to realize that in everything we do, there's always a chance that we'll fail. Facing that chance, and embracing it, is not only courageous – it also gives us a fuller, more rewarding life.

However, here are a few ways to reduce the fear of failing:

    Analyze all potential outcomes – Many people experience fear of failure because they fear the unknown. Remove that fear by considering all of the potential outcomes of your decision. Our article Decision Trees [Add to My Personal Learning Plan] will teach you how to map possible outcomes visually.
    Learn to think more positively – Positive thinking is an incredibly powerful way to build self-confidence and neutralize self-sabotage. Our article Thought Awareness, Rational Thinking, and Positive Thinking [Add to My Personal Learning Plan] is a comprehensive resource for learning how to change your thoughts.
    Look at the worse-case scenario – In some cases, the worst case scenario may be genuinely disastrous, and it may be perfectly rational to fear failure. In other cases, however, this worst case may actually not be that bad, and recognizing this can help.
    Have a contingency plan [Add to My Personal Learning Plan] – If you're afraid of failing at something, having a "Plan B" in place can help you feel more confident about moving forward.

20

Business Administration / What is the difference between Primary and Secondary Data?

« on: December 06, 2015, 01:06:27 PM »

Primary Data:

1. Primary data are always original as it is collected by the investigator.

2. Suitability of the primary data will be positive because it has been systematically collected.

3. Primary data are expensive and time consuming.

4. Extra precautions are not required.

5. Primary data are in the shape of raw material.

6. Possibility of personal prejudice.

Secondary Data:

1. Secondary data lacks originality. The investigator makes use of the data collected by other agencies.

2. Secondary data may or may not suit the objects of enquiry.

3. Secondary data are relatively cheaper.

4. It is used with great care and caution.

5. Secondary data are usually in the shape of readymade products.

6. Possibility of lesser degree of personal prejudice.

21

Business Administration / Re: Different Models of OB

« on: November 30, 2015, 03:12:23 PM »

Keith Davis recognizes four different models of OB. These models show evolution of the thinking and behaviour on the part of management and managers alike. The four major models or frameworks that organizations operate out of:

Autocratic - The basis of this model is power with a managerial orientation of authority. The employees in turn are oriented towards obedience and dependence on the boss. The employee need that is met is subsistence. The performance result is minimal.

Custodial - The basis of this model is economic resources with a managerial orientation of money. The employees in turn are oriented towards security and benefits and dependence on the organization. The employee need that is met is security. The performance result is passive cooperation.

Supportive - The basis of this model is leadership with a managerial orientation of support. The employees in turn are oriented towards job performance and participation. The employee need that is met is status and recognition. The performance result is awakened drives.

Collegial - The basis of this model is partnership with a managerial orientation of teamwork. The employees in turn are oriented towards responsible behavior and self-discipline. The employee need that is met is self-actualization. The performance result is moderate enthusiasm.

22

Business Administration / Employee motivation theories

« on: November 05, 2015, 04:17:25 PM »

Employee motivation theories

There are different theories about what constitutes and creates workplace motivation in employees. We've selected the most well-known ones and summarized them here.

Needs motivation theories

According to needs theories of motivation, motivation is 'the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort's ability to satisfy some individual need'.

A need in this context is an internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. An unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within the individual. These drives then generate a search behavior to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to the reduction of the tension.

Needs are physiological or psychological deficiencies that arouse behavior. These vary over time and place, as the can be strong or weak and influenced by environmental factors.

Needs theories are the basis of most workplace motivation theories, and that's why we'll start with them here. We'll go chronological order, which also happens to be the order of their complexity. Starting with Maslow, we'll cover the ERG model as well as McClelland's model.

Equity theory

John Stacey Adams' equity theory helps explain why pay and conditions alone don't determine motivation. It also explains why giving one person a promotion or pay rise can have a demotivating effect on others.

When people feel fairly or advantageously treated they are more likely to be motivated; when they feel unfairly treated they are highly prone to feelings of disaffection and demotivation.

Employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others. The belief in equity theory is that people value fair treatment which causes them to be motivated to keep the fairness maintained within the relationships of their co-workers and the organization.

Motivator-Hygiene factors – Herzberg's motivation theory

Herzberg's hygiene factors vs. motivators workplace motivation theory is one of the most empirical and compelling theories about motivation. It's the only motivational theory that splits out demotivating factors from true motivators; it introduces the concept of movement vs. motivation. And it's produced more replications than any other research in the history of industrial and organizational psychology.

Herzberg researched hundreds of employees and companies and determined that most companies use what he unceremoniously refers to as KITA, under the erroneous belief that it will motivate their employees. A Kick In The Ass, he explains, comes in different forms.

Expectancy theory of motivation

Expectancy theory of motivation emphasizes the mental processes regarding choice, or choosing. It looks at self -interest in the alignment of rewards with people's wants and the connections among expected behaviors, rewards and organizational goals.

For organizations, it helps them to relate rewards directly to performance and to ensure that the rewards provided are those rewards deserved and wanted by the recipients.

Job characteristics model – Hackman and Oldham

The job characteristics model, designed by Hackman and Oldham, is based on the idea that the task itself is key to employee motivation. Job enrichment and job rotation are the two ways of adding variety and challenge to a job and encourage workplace motivation.

It states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) which impact three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of the actual results), in turn influencing work outcomes (job satisfaction, absenteeism, workplace motivation, etc.). The five core job characteristics can be combined to form a motivating potential score (MPS) for a job, which can be used as an index of how likely a job is to affect an employee's attitudes and behaviors.

Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics motivation theory proposes that high workplace motivation is related to experiencing three psychological states whilst working:
    Meaningfulness of work
    Responsibility
    Knowledge of outcomes

23

Business Administration / Re: Native advertising

« on: October 20, 2015, 09:26:19 AM »

Native advertising is a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed.https://www.sharethrough.com/nativeadvertising/

24

Business Administration / Re: What is Affiliate Marketing?

« on: October 17, 2015, 09:00:30 AM »

Affiliate Marketing:

Affiliate Marketing is an internet marketing channel in which advertisers (or companies who offer a product or service) pay publishers on a pay-for-performance basis. So unlike Google AdSense you don’t earn anything for clicks. You’re only paid for results which could be a sale or a lead (user fill a form and complete registration). In Affiliate Marketing as advertisers pays only for results its a win-win situation as they don’t have to shell out large amount of money in Banner Advertising or Pay-Per-Click Networks like Google AdWords, Microsoft adCenter or Yahoo! Search Marketing where the results are not guaranteed.
http://www.minterest.org/what-is-affiliate-marketing-and-how-does-it-work/

25

Business Administration / Differences between system software and application software

« on: August 24, 2015, 10:58:01 AM »

System software:

System software is a set of one or more programs, designed to control the operation and extend the processing capability of a computer system. In general, a computer's system software performs one or more of the following functions:

1. Supports the development of other application s/w.
2.supports the execution of other application software (s/w).
3.Monitors the effective use of various hardware (h/w) resources, such as CPU, memory, peripherals, etc.
4.Communicates with and controls the operation of peripheral devices, such as printer, disk, tape, etc.
Hence, system software makes the operation of a computer system more effective and efficient. It helps the h/w components work together, and provides support for the development and execution of application software( programs). the program included in a system s/w package are called system programs, and the programmers who prepare system software are referred as system programmer.
some of the most commonly known types of the system software are:

1. Operating Systems: An operating system (often referred to as OS )is an integrated set of programs that controls the resources (the CPU, memory, I/O devices,etc.) of a computer system and provides its users with an interface or virtual machine that is more convenient to use than the bare machine. According this definition, the two primary objectives of an OS are: (i) Making a computer system convenient to use. (ii) Managing the resources of a computer system.

2. Programming language translator: Programming language translators are system s/w, which transform the instructions prepared by the programmers in a programming language, into a form, which has been interpreted or executed by a computer system.

3. Communication S/W: In a network environment where multiple computers are interconnected together by communications network, communication s/w enables transfer of data programs from one system to another.

4.Utility Programs: Utility programs (also known as utilities) are a set programs, which help users in system maintenance tasks, and in performing tasks of routine nature. some of the tasks commonly performed by utility programs include formatting of hard disks or floppy disks, taking backup of files stored on hard disk on to a tape or floppy disk, sorting of the records stored in a file in a particular order based on some keyfield(s), etc. 


Application Software:

Application s/w is a set of one or more programs, designed to solve a specific problem, or do a specific task. For example, an application s/w for payroll processing produces pay slips as the major output, and an application s/w for processing examination results produces mark sheets as the major output along with some other statistical reports. The program included in the application s/w package is called application programs and the programmers who prepare application s/w are called application programmers.

Some of the most commonly known application s/w are:

(i) Word processing s/w

(ii) spreadsheet s/w

(iii) Database s/w

(iv) Graphics s/w

(v) personal assistance s/w

(vi) Education s/w

(vii) Entertainment s/w

26

Business Administration / Just-In-Time (JIT):

« on: August 24, 2015, 10:49:32 AM »

Just-In-Time (JIT):

Just In Time (JIT) systems focus on reducing inefficiency and unproductive time in the production process and improve continuously the quality of the product and service. JIT is also based on the logic that nothing will be produced until it is needed. Employee involving and inventory reduction are essential to JIT operation.

Benefits of JIT:

•   Inventory levels are drastically reduced

•   Product quality is improved and the cost of scrap is reduced. Product quality improves because the worker solves the causes of production problem.

•   Less space is taken up with inventory and materials handling equipment

•   Because it focus on manufacturing and correcting the courses of production problems, manufacturing operation are problem free.

•   The time it takes products to get through the factory is greatly reduced.

27

Business & Entrepreneurship / Re: Advantage of using historical cost

« on: August 24, 2015, 10:43:21 AM »

Advantages of historical cost accounting:

In spite of several restrictions and defects in the model of historical cost accounting, yet it has been picked and preferred time and again. Better than most available alternatives, historical cost accounting model/method is still the standard form of accounting because of its unique features and conventions. Even though there are lots of flaws in the model of traditional accounting yet forms the basis for accounting for one reason that the accountants hesitate to value the assets at the current market price. This is because many accountants and accounting firms have been exposed for malpractice and creative accounting over past few years since considering current market values are seen to have a direct impact on the price value of the shares. It is the duty of the accountant to safe guard the integrity of the data against any sort of modifications and considering the current market value would change the facts and the figures. The management can use alternative measures to evaluate assets with great caution to influence the value of the assets. Manipulation do exist and critics do assert this fact however they are of opine that how the current values are integrated can be defined with certain set of rules. Another advantage of this model is that managers have a choice of alternate resources in measurement, recognition and reporting economic information which based on past data, they can forecast the future operational costs.

28

Business Administration / Re: Social Media Marketing

« on: August 05, 2015, 10:19:50 AM »

Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of Internet marketing that utilizes social networking websites as a marketing tool. The goal of SMM is to produce content that users will share with their social network to help a company increase brand exposure and broaden customer reach.

One of the key components of SMM is social media optimization (SMO). Like search engine optimization (SEO), SMO is a strategy for drawing new and unique visitors to a website. SMO can be done two ways: adding social media links to content, such as RSS feeds and sharing buttons -- or promoting activity through social media by updating statuses or tweets, or blog posts.

SMM helps a company get direct feedback from customers (and potential customers) while making the company seem more personable. The interactive parts of social media give customers the opportunity to ask questions or voice complaints and feel they are being heard. This aspect of SMM is called social customer relationship management  (social CRM).

SMM became more common with the increased popularity of websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and YouTube. In response, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has updated its rules to include SMM. If a company or its advertising agency provides a blogger or other online commenter with free products or other incentives to generate positive buzz for a product, the online comments will be treated legally as endorsements. Both the blogger and the company will be held responsible for ensuring that the incentives are clearly and conspicuously disclosed, and that the blogger's posts contain no misleading or unsubstantiated statements and otherwise complies with the FTC's rules concerning unfair or deceptive advertising.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/social-media-marketing-SMM

29

Business Administration / Work Measurement Techniques

« on: July 26, 2015, 10:02:13 AM »

Although several techniques have been used for developing time standards, the following methods are the most important:

1.   Stopwatch time study
2.   Work Sampling
3.   Predetermined Data

Stopwatch time study:
Stopwatch time study is the most common time study approach in work measurement. In this technique, the time and rates of working for the job elements carried out under specified conditions for carrying out the job at a defined level of performance.

The Stopwatch time study consists of the following steps:
•   Defined the task to be studied
•   Break the job down into elements
•   Determine the number of observations to make
•   Rate the workers performance
•   Determine the standard time

Defined the Task:
The time study analyst should be thoroughly familiar with the job. He ensures that the job is being performed efficiently before setting the time standard.

Determining Job Elements:
After defining the task the analyst break the job down into elements. There are several reasons  for this phase of elements. First some elements do not have occur in every cycle. Second, the workers proficiency may not be the same and third, elemental breakdown helps in preparing  manual.

Timing of Elements:
Once the job is broken down into different elements, the analyst proceeds with actual measurement.   The timing is usually done with a standard decimal minute stopwatch.

Determine the number of observations:
The number of cycle must be timed depends on three things.
•   Variability
•   Desired accuracy
•   Desired confidence level

Rating:
Rating is the process in which the time study analyst accesses the rate of working of the worker.

Determine the Standard Time:
Normal time refers the amount of time that a worker takes to perform a job if there are no delays. Factors such as personal delays (getting water to drink, going to rest room), unavoidable delays (like machine breakdown, no power, material non-availability etc) must be considered.

Work Sampling:
Work sampling is a technique for estimating the proportion of time spent by workers or machines on various activities. Work sampling is also used work measurement technique.

Predetermined Data:
When a large number of accurate time studies are required for work, developing them by individual time studies would be very expensive and time consuming.
There are two types of predetermined data:

1.   Macro data
2.   Micro data

Macro data is applied to much more aggregated work activities such as packing a box, loading a machine etc.
Micro data is expressed in terms of elemental body movements like, reach, move turn, release etc.

30

Business & Entrepreneurship / Concept And Meaning Of Reducing Balance Method Of Depreciation

« on: July 22, 2015, 10:00:17 AM »

Reducing balance method is also termed as diminishing balance method or written down value method or declining value method or book value method. Under the reducing balance method, depreciation is charged at fixed rate on the reducing balance of asset derived after deducting depreciation of every year out of the cost of the fixed assets. The balance in the asset account will go on decreasing but will never become zero. The remaining balance in the asset account is taken as scrap value. The following points should be considered while calculating the amount of depreciation on asset.
* The annual amount of depreciation will not remain fixed or equal. It decreases gradually since the current value of the asset deceased every year.
* The amount of depreciation is calculated by using the given rate of depreciation on the diminishing value(written down value) of an asset.
Written down value = Cost - depreciation
* If the rate of depreciation is not given in the question, the rate is determined by using the following formula

Rate of depreciation = 1-(s/c) 1/n
Where,
n= Estimated useful life of the asset

http://accountlearning.blogspot.com/2010/07/reducing-balance-method-of-depreciation.html
s = Scrap value
c= Cost of assets