Mexico to USA Migration Case Study

Migration is the movement of people from one area to another, be it across the road, or to the other side of the earth. Everyday over 2000 Mexicans try and cross the 2000km border that spans between Mexico and the USA. The immigrants walk for miles to try and illegally enter the country and for many it is a wasted journey as they are returned shortly after by the US border patrol police. The immigrants usually travel in groups of 10 and up, friends and families together as a large group. To try and make the journey easier they will often travel lightly, meaning they carry no heavy, but vital, supplies such as food and water. This often leads to things such as dehydration and death as they cross the hot and dry border. Another way the immigrants will try and gain access is through human smugglers, whereby the immigrants will pay the smugglers large sums of money to smuggle them across the border. Once across the border it's now a game of ‘hide and seek' with the immigration officers. After crossing the border without being caught they will usually meet in some form of safe house, usually provided by the human smugglers. Once they are settled they will often rent houses in large groups so that can cut the costs dramatically and easily afford it. They can't stay for long though as eventually they would be caught, so to keep their trail clean they move from house to house as not to alert the police. WHY MIGRATE? People migrate places for many different reasons be it for family or money ect. These reasons can be classified as 4 different categories; economic, social, political or environmental: * Economic migration – moving to find work or to follow a particular career path only available in such place * Social Migration – moving for a better quality of life or to live with or closer to family or friends * Political Migration – moving to escape/avoid political disputes, persecution or war. * Environmental Migration – moving to escape natural disasters such as flooding For the reasons above many people choose to migrate. For example migrants who move country to find work for money and food. Other migrants are forced during times of war and natural disaster. MAP Below is a map of the USA and Mexico. The map shows the movement of migrants as the cross the USA/Mexico border. The highest rates of migrants are found to be from the bordering states living in the USA's bordering states. The arrows on the map point from where most Mexican migrants come from, and where they usually end up. They want the journey to be as quick as possible; they don't travel far and often stay in the neighboring states. Migrant Movement Border between Mexico and the USA PUSH AND PULL FACTORS Just like everything in life there is always something that makes you want do something else. The same applies to the Mexican migrants and there are many ‘push and pull' factors for why the Mexican migrants would want to migrate. Push Factors Push factors are the reasons why people are pushed away from and what to leave an area. There are many push factors for why migrants would want to leave their country and I have listed the most common below. They are all traits of an LEDC, where most migrants come for. * Lack of services – often a problem in LEDC's where most migrants are from. Poor countries cannot afford to provide good quality services as MEDC's do. * Lack of safety – often a problem in LEDC's, people cannot afford to pay for repairs and safety equipment ect and things go to ruin. * High crime – often a problem in poorer countries as people cannot find work or don't earn enough money to make ends meet, many people turn to crime. * Crop failure – this isn't just something you seen in poor countries but for a poor country it is a big loss and could be the final push someone needs to just get out of their old life. * Drought – this often leads to crop failure and as I mentioned above this can be a big problem for someone relying on it to feed their family. * Flooding – flooding is serious business and can cause masses of damage even destroying houses, losing your house could make you want to migrate to a better life. * Poverty – nobody likes having no money, well imagine spending everyday barely making ends meet, you'd want change and quick. * War – refuges often migrate to escape the terror and dangers of war as civilian casualties are often high in LEDC wars. Pull Factors Pull factors are the reasons why people want to and are pulled towards an area. There are many factors for why migrants would want to live in another country and I have listed the most common below. They are all traits of an MEDC, where most migrants migrate to. * Higher employment – as is often the case in MEDC's there is much more jobs available with much higher wages. * More wealth – In MEDC's people on average tend to have more money, due to the higher paid jobs. * Better services – More money means better services, things such as emergency personnel, education ect. * Safer, less crime – Places with more money tend to have less crime as people can afford to pay their way. * Political stability – Less chance of a political breakdown and wars breaking out. * More fertile land – less chance of losing crops and crops will be stronger and better than ever earring the farmer more money for his work. * Lower risk of natural hazards – natural disasters destroy just about everything from your home to your family. Moving away from them would be the best option. IMPACTS OF MIGRATION Immigration has both positive and its negative effects on the countries. The major problem that Mexico has with the immigration of its people to the USA is that the majority of migrants are young, without families. This means that old people are left behind in Mexico and this has no good effects on Mexico's population. The older people cannot look after themselves or even boost the population for that matter. This is truer as in Mexico it's usually the men who migrate leaving the women behind to look after their family whilst the men bring money in from a job in the USA. There is also the big problem with Mexico's economy. The country is already very poor and with most people immigrating to America to find work there is no way money is every going to get back into Mexico's economy. For this reason many people turn to the drugs business producing and exporting drugs to distribute across the USA. Although this brings money into the country its accounts for m any deaths across the country and is not taxed and therefore the government looses out again. In the USA, Immigrants cost the country millions of us dollars a year. The money is spent on enforcing the border patrols and the migrants being held for deportation. The problem the USA have is that the Mexican's take all of the low paid, labor intensive jobs and are very happy and grateful of the opportunity. Americans on the other hand are less for the idea and as the Mexicans become more popular racial attacks are often a big problem. For the USA though the Mexicans doing the low paid jobs is perfectly good for the economy, the work gets done at a low price, and the workers are enthusiastic, very great full of the opportunity they have gotten, what more could you ask for? Problems arise in America when immigrants start to gain sate benefits. With the migrants being illegal they're not on record and hence are not accounted for the distribution of benefits, America could lose lots of money through benefit fraud. WHAT IS THE USA DOING TO STOP ILLIGAL IMMIGRARTION? One of the most important methods of stopping illegal immigration America uses is border patrol security. This method involves the border between Mexico and the USA being patrolled by security officers in order to try and stop any immigrants from illegally entering the country. The officers use many methods of enforcement and even have drones that can fly the border and spot any intruders. The officers are armed and will take down anybody trying to breach security, sounds harsh but essentially what the immigrants are doing is putting the countries security at risk by crossing the border as they cannot keep tabs on who is entering. MY OPINION My opinion on Mexico-America immigration is slightly mixed. On one hand for America's sake I think that more of an effort should be made to control immigration so as not ruin both Mexico's and America's economy. This will also stop Mexico's population for dropping, which if it did drop would result in the economy of Mexico being even worse. As long as the immigration is controlled and not stopped then I am sure that the relationship will work and that America would benefit economically from it. On the other hand though it doesn't feel right not allowing the Mexicans access to America, because they're immigrants. At the end of the day the USA was originally founded by immigrants from Europe, not to mention the fact that during the Mexico-US war, the USA ‘stole' (some argue it was paid for) ; Texas, Arizona, new Mexico and California from Mexico. In my opinion they have every right to enter America as they will.

Communication and Professional Relationships with Children, Young People and Adults

Effective communication is important in developing positive relationships with children, young people and adultsEffective communication creates positive relationships. You have to model excellent communication skills with the children and adults you work with on a daily basis. You should always think about how you approach people and how you respond back, doing so in a positive manner will help you achieve more information and communication in the long run because you are beginning to build a positive relationship with that child/person and this benefits them.We must always think about how we communicate and always make sure it is for the good of the pupil and the school. Always set a good example by behaving the way you would expect your pupil to. If you do not communicate effectively it can break down and that’s where misunderstandings occur and this can lead to negative feeling.When you use effective communication this creates a strong and positive relationship and your pup ils will benefit fully from that given situation.Explain the principles of relationship building with children, young people and adultsThe main principle of relationship building is to make others feel comfortable and at ease, if they are, they are more likely to communicate effectively. It is very important to be respectful and courteous and to listen to what they have to say. Always respect the views of others, especially if they have different cultural beliefs or values.Take the time to listen to others, this is not always easy when you are so busy but it is extremely important to build a positive relationship, always show that you are interested in what they have to say, they may need to confide in you.Have a good sense of humour, when appropriate this lightens peoples perception of you and can help people who are feeling stressed, laughter is a good way of relaxing.Always be clear on the reason you are communicating, giving people mixed messages does not create a good working r elationship, a good way of making sure people have received clear information is by asking them to repeat what is expected of them.Being considerate is a must as you may be working with a child or adult who is under strain due to work or home matters. If you are being considerate in that situation this will help you understand if they respond out of character and you may be able to help.Explain how different social, professional and cultural contexts may affect relationships and the way people communicateIt is important that you adapt your communication in different situations and always consider the context in which you are working. It is extremely important how we dress and present ourselves to others, if you are going into a formal meeting with managers and parents wearing jeans and trainers for example, this would not give a professional image of you or the school you work for.It is important if you say to either a child or an adult that you are going to get back to them with an answer, you do so as efficiently as you can, this also applies to how we respond to letters and messages and always make sure you check your spelling and grammar.Try to increase your knowledge of different cultures, as the way they behave or respond maybe different to you for example it is not polite to look another person in the eye when speaking to them in some cultures.Explain the skills needed to communicate with children and young peopleThere are certain skills needed and these skills must be used everyday in order to communicate effectively and to make the child/adult feel valued.Always make eye contact when a child is speaking to you, if you say you are listening but continue to write or look at something else it shows you are not really interested in what they have to say, giving your full attention shows that you are engaged and listening.Bring yourself to the level of the child this is less intimidating than towering over them. Always smile and react positively, use posit ive body language, don’t sit there with your arms tightly folded or your shoulders tense this can create tension, express your face when responding to what they have said this shows you are listening.A good way of showing that you are listening is to repeat what they have said and this can extend their communication by telling you more or you may need to comment on incorrect use of words to help them for next time.Always give a child an opportunity to speak this will help with their confidence and their need to express themselves and encourage them to ask questions, this will help them build conversation skills.Explain how to adapt communication with children and young peopleThe age of the child or young personDifferent ages require different levels of attention. You may need to use more physical contact to reassure very young children then as the children become older you can help talk through their concerns, you will always listen and react positively choosing correct vocab ulary.The context of the communicationDepending on the situation you need to be aware that you may need to change your verbal communication accordingly, always make sure the children are focused and pre-empt any distractions and get ready to deal with them with as little interruption as possible or if you are having general chit chat in the playground, use humour to respond to difficult questions such as Where do you live, What is your first name etc..Communication differencesMake yourself aware of the children with communication issues and always be sensitive to them by giving them more time so they do not feel pressured when speaking or signing. Some children can be very anxious so it is important to make them feel comfortable in the setting. It is important if a child has a stammer or speech impediment you do not speak for them, you cannot guess or assume you know what they wanted to say and this can create anger and stress. Do not be afraid of asking for additional training if y ou are working alongside children who use signing to communicate, for example – Makaton.Explain the main differences between communicating with adults and communicating with children and young peopleAlways remember that certain things stay the same such as being courteous and respectful and showing that you are interested, however, you must remember that if you are in a school setting and you are dealing with a child or young person you maintain that carer/child relationship and responsibility. You should not offer physical contact with children. Always be clear in what you say and what is expected of them and adapt your vocabulary accordingly.Explain how to adapt communication to meet different communication needs of adults.You must be sensitive when communicating with other adults, try and find out as much as you can beforehand, you may find they have communication difficulties, they maybe hearing impaired so always make sure you are facing them and speak clearly so they ca n lip read or the person may speak another language or very little English, make sure you have plans in place if required.Explain how to manage disagreements with children, young people and adultsA lot of the time disagreements are due to a lack of communication in the first instance and the best thing to do is to sort things out very carefully so the bad feelings do not persist. You must always respond with a positive attitude and polite manner and be sensitive to the other person’s feelings, if you feel the disagreement is spiralling out of control you may need to call in a mediator this being another member of staff who can maybe help sort things out, but hopefully if you are using the correct communication this should not be required unless you were somehow in a disagreement with a child, always seek advice from your line manager if this is the case.The best way to resolve disagreements is to find the cause and then decide on a course of action together. Offer encourageme nt and support.Summarise the main points of legislation and procedures covering confidentiality, data protection and the disclosure of informationData protection act 1998 – To provide a safe environment for our children we as a school are able to obtain certain information which is relevant such as, health and medical information, records from previous schools, records for children who have special educational needs. All this information is confidential. Parental consent would be required if this information was requested by another source.Every child matters (England 2003) – stresses the importance of sharing information between professionals, communication between us, is the key to help prevent tragic cases.You should not pass on information about the school or the children without being 110% certain you can, do not feel pressured to do so, always seek advice from your line manager if you are unsure.Explain the importance of reassuring children, young people and adul ts of the confidentiality of shared information and the limits of thisIt is extremely important that you communicate and explain fully your reasons for requiring the confidential information, you would make sure that you followed correct procedures and ask for consent if required, you also need to promote a professional image so people trust you to deal with the confidential information with the utmost respect that is needed. By doing this the children, young people and adults feel reassured their confidential information is handled appropriately and used effectively.Justify the kinds of situation when confidentiality protocols must be breached.If a child, young person or adult confides in you and you suspect child abuse or they are at risk or danger of someone or something never promise to keep it a secret you would have to tell the child, young person or adult that you are unable to keep it confidential for this reason and then you must tell and seek advice from your safeguarding point of contact.

Company/ individual report on roles and responsibilities Essay

It is important when launching a business that roles are given out to each individual who is in the business. This can be done for any ownership weather it is a public limited, private limited, partnership, sole trader or a franchise. Looking at our business we also decided to give out roles and responsibilities to our members of the business. There are a few roles that should be in a business or are vital to be in a business. So we gave Nirozen the role of the human resources, I was elected the role of the chairman; Thomas was the vice chairman and Harsimran as finance/accounts. The role of the marketing was given to Eugene. Human resource Looking at each role the human resources are responsible for employing suitable employees. Human resources management are interested in the welfare, personnel management, industrial relations and employee relations and training and also the recruitment of staff in a business. The human resources would pursue with the following tasks: Recruitment Training and Development Termination Selection Retention Redundancy Induction Transfers At the point of recruitment, selection and induction the human resources will choose and interview the right applicant for the business. This will be a advantage because the human resources department will be experts in how and who to employ. They will then help the employee in the induction. The employee might then need extra training and development skills the human resources will train the employee and if the employee becomes a very skilled worker the department must sort out the needs and the requirements of the employee to retain him/her in the business. At the point when the employee has to exit the business or if he/she gets redundant the human resources department has to ensure that the processes are carried out in a satisfactory manner and that everything is done according to what the law states. Looking at the role of the human resources, the human resources centre should draw and design the job descriptions and job specification and also the job adverts. The human resources centre should know who are the best people to employ in the business therefore I think that Nirozen should and did design suitable job descriptions and job adverts, taking into account what the business does and sells. However I think that Nirozen works a bit slow in the role of the human resources I think that if he started to work a bit faster we could get the human resources part of the company to produce even more work. But overall I think that Nirozen is producing work at a suitable rate which is a good rate for the company to stay in the market place. Read more:  Essay on Individual Report on Roles and Responsibilities Marketing Manager The marketing of a company should be done in the best way possible as this could be the success of a business. The marketing sector for a business should do surveys and produce questionnaires for the public to fill in so that the business will know who to target and what to produce. Also a small amount of advertising should also be done in order for people to know about the business. I think that Eugene is doing the job well by doing the marketing side of the business. However if Eugene could produce more work it would be good for the business. However I think that the marketing side of the business is being well handled, and the work that is being produced is affecting the business in a good way. Also I think that census data should also be looked at in the market section as this will tell the business how many people are in the area and how many of them are our target market. Finance Manager Looking at the finance side of the business which is Harsimran , he thinks that the finance side of the business is going well however if he looks at more financial ways it will make a good affect to the business. However he thinks that the financial side of the business should look at the following: Cash flow forecast Balance sheet Profit/loss account Breakeven Bank account By looking at the above he thinks that the business will do well in the market place and will also survive in the market. Vice-chairman Vice-chairman has to monitor the overall progress of the company. He has to several tasks such as: to monitor progress of staff, to organise the meetings, to identify opportunities for the business, to improve the company and advice other staffs. The vice chairman will run some of the meetings and also assist the chairman with any doubts or problems. This will take some of the burden of my shoulder. Chairman A chairman/chairperson is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. Generally, there are two types of chairpersons: non-executive and executive. A non-executive chairperson will sit on and chair the main board of a company and be a part-time officer who usually provides support and advice to a chief executive officer (CEO). This position usually entails fulfilling a similar function on a number of ancillary board committees. An executive chairperson is a full-time position who typically not only leads the board but will also take a hands-on role in the companies day to day running. An executive chairperson frequently sits on the management executive board of the company, though this board may still be led by the CEO. As I am the chairman, I have to organise and run the meetings. I also have to set them tasks to do on regular basis and also monitor their progress. I also have to help them when there are in need of assistance. There were other roles we could have looked at and gave out to each member of the group e.g. supplier, however through the first meeting we had we looked at the most important roles/departments a company should have and gave out the roles according to the five important roles that we thought the company should have. Evaluation of the roles and responsibilities Human resource management – Nirozen was chosen as a Human resource management because of his communication skills with the employees. One advantage of choosing Nirozen as the HRM is that he is exceptional in selecting the right employees. However, disadvantage of choosing him is that he does not necessarily have lots of experience in working as the manager of HRM. Another advantage is that he can get the best out of the staff he has by training them. Another disadvantage of choosing him is that he can be sometimes lazy or forgetful in looking at all the CVs for example when recruiting. Overall, I believe we have made a right decision in appointing Nirozen as the HRM as he as all the necessary skills to do the job. He can, for example, be more cautious when looking at the CVs. Financial accountant – Harsmiran was elected as the financial accountant because of his exceptional maths skills and also mainly he is reliable with things. One advantage of choosing Harsimran as the finance manager is that he has had past experience in doing things like the cash flow, break-even, etc. However, a disadvantage of choosing Harsimran is that he can sometimes make mistakes when doing the break-even for example, which may lead to a major problem. Another advantage of choosing Harsimran is that he is very reliable so I can count on him to finish the task which was set. However, a disadvantage is that he can sometimes be forgetful in bringing the tasks which might be set for the meetings, so he might have done the work but he might not necessarily bring the work to meetings. Overall, I believe appointing Harsimran is a good choice because he is the most experienced in doing the financial things in our group and he is very reliable. However, he can try to make fewer m istakes because that will be a major help to our business, for example. Marketing Director – Eugene was appointed a marketing director because of his excellent managerial skills and his organisation. One advantage of choosing Eugene is that he is very good at promoting things, which will be big help to us when we promote our business. However, a disadvantage of choosing Eugene is that he does not regularly turn up to the meetings or tell us so we would not now whether he has done the work or not. Another advantage of choosing Eugene is that he knows what he is doing and he has the most knowledge in our group to take up this role as he has past experiences. However, another disadvantage is that he is not very organised so he might loose or forget the work which is set for example. Overall, I’m not extremely pleased with the appointment of Eugene in this role because he is unreliable and this role is a key role to our success as a company. However, I do believe if he, for example, improves his punctuality and doing the work set he will be the ideal person to this role. Vice Chairman – He was elected as vice chairman because he has the abilities to assist and manager staff. He can also attend meetings if the chairman is unable to attend. One advantage of choosing Thomas is that he has knowledge is most areas of the company so he is able anyone when they are in need, so for example, he can help them instead of me helping them. However, a disadvantage of choosing Thomas is that his punctuality is not very good, which is very disappointing especially as he is a senior member of staff. Another advantage of Thomas is that he is very good leader so if I could not make it for any meetings then he can lead the meetings instead of me. On the other hand another, a disadvantage of Thomas is that he is very reluctant to do the work set, so we have to keep on nagging him to do the work set. Overall, I am satisfied with the chose of Thomas as he has the ideal skills and knowledge for this role; however he could; for example, improve on his punctuality to be more efficient. Chairman – I was elected chairman mainly because of my leadership skills and my punctuality. One advantage of choosing me as the chairman is that I believe I am a good leader, so I can organise how the company is run. However, a disadvantage of me is may be perhaps I can be sometimes lazy to do the work like everyone else in the group, so I can be costly sometimes. Another advantage of choosing me is that I have knowledge of all the areas of this company so I can help others, so for example help the marketing manager in ways of promoting the business. Overall, my personal view of me is that I am suited to my role; however, I do believe that I can improve on my eagerness to do extra work for example, for the company to run more efficiently. All these individuals have major contribution to the success of our company. We know that team-work is the key to success of the company; one of the ways to improve teamwork is to motivate our staff. Ways of motivating our staff * Bonuses – give everyone certain % of the profit if they continue to work hard. This helps them motivated and to work harder to achieve the bonuses. I personally believe this is a good strategy of motivating the staff as bonuses acts like an incentive for them to work harder, however, when we give bonuses we have to keep in mind the side-effects. This could be that it might de-motivate them as they may just pretend to work hard just to get the bonuses. * Good condition at work – the staff can have flexible hours, reduced hours at work, etc. This could motivate them as they may believe that we are looking after them properly. However, we have to keep in mind that some staff might take this good condition at work as an advantage and not work properly. * Give praise – give praises if they have done a good job. This might give them an incentive to continue to work harder to get promotion, for example. However, giving praises might also de-motivate them as they may take the praise for granted and fell they know every thing and not do the job properly. * Give staff responsibility – we can give staff responsibility of making decisions about certain things. This might motivate them as they feel they are responsible so they work harder to keep up the pressure and responsibility. However, giving them responsibility might over pressurise them as they have extra work to do so they might not even do the original work which was set properly. * Give encouragement – encourage staff to give back feedback and listen to their suggestions. This could motivate the staff as they feel that I trust them and value their opinion so they could work harder. However, by giving them encouragement they could for example take this for granted and not do they work as efficiently as before. Team-work We can use several strategies to improve our team working. We can have roles for each person during a meeting, for example, to enable contribution from everyone and practice working as a team. For example Compromiser (Eugene) – Tries to maintain harmony among the team members. He has to change his own views to get a group decision. Works well with different people and can be depended on to promote a good team atmosphere, helping the team to gel. Pulls people and tasks together. A tolerant individual. A good listener who will listen carefully to the views of other group members. Good judge of people. Diplomatic and sensitive to the feelings of others, not seen as a threat. Able to recognise and resolve the development of conflict and other difficulties. Enables â€Å"difficult† team-members to contribute positively. We decided to choose Eugene as a Compromiser because he is very good at working with different people and mainly he has the respect of everyone so they are likely to listen to him. Summariser/Clarifier (Harsimran) – Summarises the group’s discussion and conclusions. Clarifies group objectives and elaborates on the ideas of others. Goes into detail about how group plans would work. We decided to choose Harsimran as the summariser because he has good listening skills and have the ability to summarise accurate what has been said in meeting, for example. Ideas person (Nirozen)- The ideas person suggests new ideas to solve group problem or new ways for the group to organize the task. He dislikes orthodoxy and not too concerned with practicalities. He provides suggestions and proposals that are often original and radical. He is more concerned with the big picture than with details. May get bored after the initial impetus wears off. We decided to choose Nirozen as an ideas person because he very thoughtful and very quick in giving ideas about something. Encourager (Thomas) – Energises groups when motivation is low through humour or being enthusiastic. They are positive individuals who support and praise other group members. They may use humour to break tensions in the group. We decided to choose Thomas because he is the ability to motivate people by using humour, for example. Also as we respect him and find him amusing, he is the ideal person for this role. Leader (me) – Good leaders direct the sequence of steps the group take and keeps the group â€Å"on-track.† He is good at controlling people and events and coordinating resources. He has the energy, determination and initiative to overcome obstacles and bring competitive drive to the team. He gives shape to the team effort. He recognises the skills of the individuals and how they can be used. Leaders are outgoing individuals who have to be careful not to be domineering. They can sometimes steamroller the team but get results. He may become impatient with complacency and lack of progress and may sometimes overreact. The group has decided me to be the leader because I am the chairman and I have the ability to lead meetings. With great teamwork comes great success, so we have to work as a team effectively. If we want to work as a team we need the following: TEAMWORK T is for Talent It is of course quite necessary for a member of a team to be knowledgeable about the work that his team is going to do. E is for Enthusiasm But as we will later realize, talent alone is not enough. A knowledgeable team member must also be enthusiastic. A is for Accountability Every member is accountable not only to his team but to all his other work mates. We are not responsible only of ourselves. M is for Management Every member must know his specialization relative to what his other team-mates can do best. W is for Work-able When a person has all the talents and the enthusiasm in the world and yet he doesn’t have free time to work, it all turns out useless. O is for Openness Understanding among team members is a necessity in every team for every member to be able to work in the best of his abilities. R is for Respect Every team member must be able to practice respect so that he can expect to be respected in return. K is for Keenness Keenness is the final key in working as a part of a team. It is more than enthusiasm. Enthusiasm comes before doing the actual work. Communication among each individual is very important if we want to be successful. So when we communicate we could exchange ideas and discuss major decisions thoroughly. We communicate to each other in the meetings, where we discuss any issues or problems we have. There are other ways we can communicate with each other, through: e-mail, face to face, letter, telephone, etc. If we communicate with each other we know how well we are doing and what to do and also we know who is doing what so that no mistakes happen. If we communicate effectively we would succeed as a business as we have great understanding among us.

Quiz for modern europe class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Quiz for modern europe class - Essay Example Apart from this, Italy had one of the world’s oldest universities in Modena, and had lost it to the Austrian control. With this seat of knowledge under Austrian auspices, the Italian rulers were aware that a university would be one of the most deadly weapons for Austria to remain a European superpower and maintain its control Italy on Italy. Hence, to restore its pride as the birth place of the renaissance, Sardinia believed engaging Austria in a war was a reasonable way to regain Modena and unify knowledge. In my opinion, to build a nation not every ‘justified’ means should be used. The concrete terms, the means I am against here is war. This is because it has repeatedly been proven that wars have actually created more problems than it actually intended to redress. One of the most recent of such happenings is the war in Iraq. On the contrary, using bilateral negotiations in nation building should be the best solution, as seen recently between the two African states of Cameroon and Nigeria over the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula. The allies placed moral responsibility on Germany for causing the war because under the directives of the William II, it engineered the first attack on Serbia in retaliation to the sudden assassination of Archduke Frank Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. This reaction was to crush the Black Hand, the secret organization that was believed to be behind the assassination. The decision to attack Serbia was deeply rooted in William II’s staunch support for a union between Austria and Hungary. As a personal friend to Frank Ferdinand, William II (fondly called the Kaiser), was sure that should Frank Ferdinand come to power, then the synergy created between Austria, Hungary and Germany would be a European and world superpower. So, in effect the allied placed moral responsibility on Germany for inciting the war because Germany lost the war, and the biggest blow to

Interpersonal Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Interpersonal Skills - Essay Example (Haar, Retaining Experienced, Qualified Teachers: the Principal’s Role). These effective teachers can help the students to adopt their skills and learn many things from them; things that are not taught by them verbally. Among these skills, teachers can teach the students to develop their interpersonal skills, so that the students can interact or deal with others in a better way. Teachers should educate the students to build their interpersonal skills so that these skills can help them to build their confidence and improve their relationship with each other. To embed positive interpersonal skills in the students, teachers can use number of role plays that can help the students to polish their skills to this extent that it becomes part of their life. My strengths as a communicator Anything that is done by a person affects another person emotionally, mentally, physically or spiritually is called communication. Communicating with one another is the main skill on which the entire l iving thing relies, to fill their special and daily needs. Since communication is a two way process therefore I understand that if one is a good speaker as well as a good listener only then the person can prove himself as a good communicator. As a communicator few of my strengths include; my willingness to listen to other people. As a person I prefer to listen to others so that I can understand them better and make them comfortable. I am also careful about other’s emotions; my sensitivity has also helped me become a good communicator. Other than this, my friendly personality also helps me to become more approachable for others and they feel free to talk to me in any regard. These were my strengths that I possess as a listener. As a speaker few of my strengths include; effective speaking, I am very comfortable in talking to others. At one time I can listen to others, while at the same time I can also make them understand my stance very easily. Moreover, I am also a confident i ndividual who is able to communicate with others and can adjust with them in no time. Other than this, I am also a quick thinker who can comprehend the situation comfortably, thus can act accordingly. However, though I possess all these strengths but unfortunately, I am only able to perform these tasks effortlessly when I am communicating in my first language, Arabic. When it comes to express myself or communicate with others in any other language, or in English for that matter, the problem arises as I do not have enough command on it. What do I yet need to develop in myself? The area that I find I need to develop as a communicator is my body language. Since the body language helps one improve their communication skills, the way one holds oneself also has an impact on how others perceive them and treat them. This shows that the body language helps others make decision on how to treat people in public and in person. As a communicator a major problem that I faced was poor eye contact with others. I understand the importance of having an eye contact while talking to anyone in order to prove your words and let others have interest in your conversation. Even though, I can contentedly make eye contact with the other person when I am talking in my native language, however, in second language the same task seemed difficult to me. In addition to this, I had weak listening skills for a foreign

Outsourcing in healthcare facilities Assignment

Outsourcing in healthcare facilities - Assignment Example For effective operation and achieving of the outsourcing objectives, healthcare facilities have to find reliable business associates who will offer cost-effective and quality services that meet patient expectations. Prevalence and trends of outsourcing in the healthcare industry The prevalence of outsourcing in the healthcare industry is low as compared to other industries though it is picking up at a fast rate due to increasing financial pressures and demand for better services by patients. The trends of outsourcing in healthcare are increasing as evidenced by the decreasing restrictions on the types of services being outsourced by healthcare facilities. Many outsourcing relationships now are like long-term strategic partnerships instead of arrangements that are tactical and single-purpose in nature. This indicates increasing interest in outsourcing by healthcare facilities. Hospitals are the main types of organizations in healthcare which utilize outsourcing to a greater extend. Ho wever, there is a difference in the trends and prevalence rates among the for-profit hospital settings and the not-for-profit hospital settings. More of the profit-oriented hospitals are outsourcing as compared to the non-profit hospitals. Currently, profit-oriented hospital settings outsource up to 25% of their services and their non-profit oriented counterparts are expected to reach this level in the near future (Harris, 2001). One of the areas in which outsourcing is utilized in healthcare is medical transcriptions. This is done as a strategy for dealing with the increasing need to document medical records hence it is a more-cost effective way of adding to back offices. Outsourcing in this area is growing at a significant rate of 15% annually. The third most commonly outsourced service in healthcare facilities is linen/laundry services. This is driven by factors like increasing costs of operating a laundry and upgrading efficient laundry equipment. There is also increasing laundr y volumes due to the increasing number of patients (Harris, 2001). Ambulance services, gift stores, and security services enjoy a moderate level of outsourcing in the healthcare sector. The most recent service to be outsourced services is IT services. EHRS outsourcing is picking up even as physicians are being encouraged to adopt and use EHRS. The complexity and urgency of implementing and maintaining EHRS is the driving factor behind its outsourcing. The healthcare industry has also begun contracting for software applications. These services are offered by 3rd party application service providers (ASP's) (Kirchheimer, 2005. Other services that experience varied levels of outsourcing include management of facilities, feeding of patients, transportation, health information management (HIM) and clinical services. One of the companies offering medical transcription services is Chromolume Transcription, a company located in Santa Monica, California. Hospital TeamCare provides physician o utsourcing whereas Precyse Solutions provides HIM outsourcing. Experience of healthcare organizations that have tried outsourcing Some of the healthcare organisations that have tried outsourcing include Launceston General Hospital and Westbury Community Health Centre. These hospitals outsource their linen services to Northern Tasmanian Linen Service

Quantitative Analysis for Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quantitative Analysis for Finance - Essay Example b) The variable TOTREVFRAN has been computed according to its definition specified and being included in the adjoining .sav file. The scatter diagram associated with the trend that the variable takes over time has been depicted in the graph below. c) Financial data computed at current time implies those which are not corrected for the rate of inflation, in contrast to real data which indeed are corrected for inflation, prevailing at a certain base year. The real variable REALREVFRAN has been computed by correcting TOTREVFRAN for inflation with the base year 2005 (= 100). The formula being used is, d) The variable TRADEUKFRAN, aiming to figure out openness to trade of UK towards France, has been computed in the adjoining .sav file by means of the method being specified. Hence, the method of calculation involved is, e) The Harmonised Index of Consumer Price is a method of figuring out the extent of inflation and prevailing in an economy. It is commonly used by the European Central Bank to calculate the degree of price stability of the entire European Union. The method of computation is through estimating the weighted averages of the price indices of all nations underlying EU and who have adopted the Euro, at any given point of time (OECD, 2003, p. 77). f) Stepwise method of regression separates the factors which turn out to be insignificant from those that are significant in explaining a predictor, so as to yield the most effective regression model ultimately. Regressing REALREVFRAN against TRADEUKFRAN, STERPEREURO, HICPTRANSPORT, HICPRECCULT, HICPHOTELREST, HICPALL and REALGDPFRAN, in a stepwise method, yielded the following regression model – The values in parentheses are the estimated levels of significance of the parameters. Though the slopes corresponding to HICPTRAN and REALGDPFRAN are found to be significant even at a 99% confidence interval, the same is not true for the other

Online Retailing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Online Retailing - Case Study Example The online marketing is inspired by the development and the increased of technology. Brick and mortar business is a description of the business that is entirely based on the internet differentiating from that which operates in the practical environment. Of all the methods and strategies of marketing, there are advantages of each of the models (Anderson 1996). Dell Inc has adopted the online marketing and it is also working on mass customization where there is mass production of individually modified products and services to meet the diverse customer needs. This is a more refined means of customer satisfaction where the prices are also comparable to those of standard products. Online retailing is generally adopted by traditional retailers who have widespread logistical and supply stores (Brown 2001). The most important aspect that enables success in online marketing is the fact that, traditional companies are better placed to establish an online presence than starting up a new marketing strategy from scratch. Online marketing is advantageous in existing companies which are already established and have good reputation hence customer confidence (Anderson1996). In such cases, the company retains contact with the physical enterprise and work out to leverage other tasks. Dell has core competencies against other companies that provide computer products and accessories. By the use of online marketing the company is able to explore these competencies more expansively and intensively (Tampa et al 2000). Since Dell is already an established company, it's able to use the trust it has established with its suppliers and hence leverage the supplier networks already in place. For these reason, there will be easy delivery of products to the clients and assured supply (Brown 2001). All these smooth operations come with advantages; discounts and other favoured handling. Existing distribution channels allows for trouble free delivery of services and products, price discounts to the company. These will have an advantage of cutting down the cost of distribution and therefore these benefits will trickle down to the customers in terms of reduced costs. Dell Inc has a well recognized brand name in the computer industry. For this reason, leveraging the brand equity is of great advantage over other companies that use the dot com marketing strategies, Anderson (1996). Having been in operation for quite sometime, Dell Inc is stable company that can operate online especially for financial services as many people already trusts them. This also implies the company has an already established customer foundation and sales and this brings in the benefits of economies of scale in marketing, making purchases, production (Fingar et al 2000). Established companies operating online will get a chance to leverage a lower cost of capital, as bond issues will be availed to established companies (Tampa et al 2000). The underwriting cost creating a new cop-any from the beginning as in initial public offer is very costly than the online equity offering in marketing. Every company has a set of advantages over others (competitors) and good operation practices (Fingar et al 2000). This gives established firm an advantage in online operations (online

Swot Analysis of Car Company SAAB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Swot Analysis of Car Company SAAB - Essay Example The company is currently operating in narrow market and therefore has small and limited target market. Another weakness of the company is that, it is offering limited number of vehicles as compared to other large automobile companies in the industry. From the start the company has been owned and overtaken by different organizations (Reuters; Saab Automobile Press Office), therefore there is no stable organizational culture or practices in the company. This shifting have also resulted in negatively affecting the brand image of the company as the company has not been able to build a consistent brand image.  There is high opportunity for the car company if it expands its product portfolio and comes up with fuel efficient and environment friendly vehicles. The company can expand its market share with the help of new ideas and innovative vehicles.There are increasing political and government regulations in the automotive industry. Almost all automobile companies are facing the issue of increase regulations on part of the government. These legal and political regulations are being affecting the status of the automotive industry from the year 1960. Most of the recent regulations and rules have been influenced from the increasing concerns about the environment. Apart from this there are increasing taxes and duties from the government. There are also considerable amount of subsidies offered by the government for the companies operating in automotive industry (Plunkett Research). Like any other industry, the automotive industry is also affected by the recent economic crisis. The economic recession has resulted in decreasing the demand of the vehicles leading to the issue of excessive capacity. The companies are looking for different methods in order to achieve economies of scales. For this purpose, most of the automobile companies are either diversifying into other related businesses or are going for mergers and strategic alliances (Global Foresight). The social and cu ltural preferences are changing rapidly. Car or vehicle is perceived to be the status symbol in the society. Apart from this the consumers are reluctant to spend more money due to the recent economic crisis and are looking for economical cars and vehicles.

Choose a productbusiness (my productbusiness is Turkish Airlines) Essay

Choose a productbusiness (my productbusiness is Turkish Airlines) - Essay Example This paper also provides the example of services that the company offers. In meeting its objective, this paper will identify a relevant marketing theory, and justify the marketing strategies of Turkish airline using the marketing theory under consideration. One of the strategies in which Turkish Airline markets its products is through the use of the internet. The organization uses the social media such as facebook, and twitter to market its services and products. The evolution of the social media has made it possible for large multi-national companies to have an access to millions of people through their social media accounts Rosenbloom, 2013, p.27). The Turkish airline has taken advantage of this new technology by placing adverts concerning their services and products (Brennan, 2008, p.34). The organization does not only use the social media to advertise its services and products. The organization also uses Google, the search engine giant, and email marketing to advertise its services and products. Google runs an advertisement scheme referred to as Adsense, which is a pay per click advertisement strategy, whereby the company will only pay for the advertisement when a user has clicked on a link that takes him to the web pages operated by the company (Rosenbloom, 2013). Turkish airline takes advantage of this technology and occasionally pays advertisement fees to Google so that the company might create these links, and direct potential customers to its website for further information. The use of email is also another online strategy adopted by Turkish Airline (Brennan, 2008, p.22). The company, on most occasion emails its prospective customers on the available offers and services that the organization offers. The organization also runs a website, referred to as www.turkishairlines.com. This website provides virtually all the information concerning the organization, the services it offers, its strategies for growth,

Olson’s collection of short stories Essay Example for Free

Olson’s collection of short stories Essay One important aspect of the plot is the mother and her ironing of the dress. The narrator is a middle aged mother of five Olson makes her out to be the type of woman that was rare for that time in American History: a mother who works and cares for her children at the same time. This is a matter of necessity since the father left when she was one. This is a circumstance which mirrored Olson’s real life as well as a young mother in the early 1960’s when opportunities were starting to open up for women but were as they are today. In that spirit, the book serves as a portrayal as an example of the unfairness of women’s lives. In the book, the narrator who is left unnamed, reflects on her distant relationship with her eldest daughter named Emily. The book is an expansion on the story about mother and daughter and their need to identify themselves despite living in a broken home during the Great Depression and trying to make ends meet. Gradually, the mother reveals that she was only nineteen herself when Emily, the daughter was born and due to the fact that there was no welfare system in place at the time, she was forced to leave Emily with the family of the father who left her. The narrator recalls how different Emily was from her siblings; she did not smile or laugh easily. The narrator has loved her as much as the others but was unable to learn how to show this most important human affection. The narrator ties into this circumstance, the fact that Emily is very different from her siblings and does not laugh or show emotion easily. To make matter worse, Emily develops a severe case of the measles and she is quarantined from her mother and siblings again. The measles becomes too severe that Emily is sent to a convalescent home in the country. By the time she is allowed to come home, she is a skeleton of herself, both physically and emotionally as it is now impossible to give or receive any amount of physical affection. Later in Emily’s development, she is still finding her past as a major impediment to her personal growth. Emily has no concern for the future and for her schooling and exams as well. Despite all of the attempts by Emily’s family, no effort proves fruitful and the narrator informs the reader that the family has come to the consensus that they will let her be and will leave her alone. There is an unmistakable boundary between the identities of the mother and daughter despite the fact that they both have very similar pasts. But the asking for help is what the narrator finds difficult when it comes to the assistance needed to help her daughter. â€Å"You think that because I am her mother I have a key or that in some way you could use me as a key. She has lived for nineteen years. There is all that life that has happened outside of me, beyond me. † The story and the narrator present the development of both mother and daughter as incomplete. The daughter is still trying to find herself and her level of independence and the mother is struggling with her guilt that she feels by abandoning her daughter and the consequences Emily has suffered because of it. A deep sense of deprivation pervades I Stand Here Ironing. The mother describes numerous limitations she has had to confront: poverty, abandonment by her first husband, housework, and motherhood itself. The limited resources of the mother limit the daughter as well. The mother feels helpless to encourage her daughters budding talent as an actress. Both the daughter and mother appear to be apathetic about their circumstances and the future by the end of the story. The daughter decides to sleep late and miss her exams because she says that at atom bomb is going to hit and everybody is going to be dead anyways. It is a sad story and a story of two individuals, important to each other, never being able to connect as a family should because of their inability to rise above their circumstances which served as an impediment too great for them to overcome. WORKS CITED Byrne, Marie. The Essence of Tillie Olson. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press. 1999 I chose this book because I found the person of Tillie Olson, a person that I had never heard before, as a fascinating one. Her life and the decades of struggle for women’s rights was one that needed to be addressed and studied. In the situation that she came up in and the impediments that she faced by not only her time in American History but as a single mother as well was a story that I needed to first understand, as well as a third party could before I was to write on any of her works. Olson, Tillie. I Stand Here Ironing. New York: Dell Publishing, 1994 This book was chosen since it serves as the text for the book. This was read also to obtain direct quotes from the book and to reread a number of passages that I, at first, did not understand its importance in relation to the flow of the story. The book gives a brief summary of the biographical information of Tillie Olsen and the other accomplishments that she had other than her writing career. Revere, John. Charleston’s Times Courier: Tillie Olson: January 3, 2007. I was surprised to discover that the death of Tillie Olsen had only occurred last month. When this was discovered, I looked at some newspapers for the day in order to find any obituaries on this person. And to my surprise, an extensive version was found and I was able to put a name to a face; something that I have always found helpful when trying to understand a person. The article detailed the accomplishments of Tillie Olsen and what her peers and readers alike had to say about her in a contemporary context.

Illegal music downloading at the University of Maryland Essay Example for Free

Illegal music downloading at the University of Maryland Essay To the University of Maryland, the reported contained herein should serve as an effective investigation into the patterns of illegal downloading of music on the campus. As this is a serious legal issue for which the recorded music industry has levied considerable pressure over universities, it is clear that there is a necessity to adopt a strategy which promotes legal downloading. Currently, the University’s strategy problematically mirrors that of much of the music industry itself. Such is to say that it remains convolutedly uncertain as to how best to diminish the appeal of free or illegal downloading which has been so dominant in the campus culture of the last decade. Contained herein is a strategy which is ironically novel in its approach, insofar as it projects its interest in the student which is at the core of this issue. Such is to say that for far too long, industry and universities have consulted one another and legal scholars in order to determine what actions might be taken against said student. Indeed, a perusal of the University of Maryland’s Play Fair website, which is intended to serve as an educational forum on the subject of illegal downloading and which is subject to greater consideration further along in this study, is demonstrative of the combative stance that has been so counter-constructive. Therefore, the research examination here is centered on the survey-collected input of university students, whom are at direct issue and who are most directly impacted by the issue at hand. By considering the insights of University of Maryland students on the issues of illegal downloading, pay-service downloading and the declining conditions in the music industry at large, the research will be intended to propose some direct and actionable recommendations which should lend to a long-term resolution of this situation for the University. Inherently, this discussion and the research yielded will demonstrate a core set of philosophical and economic issues requisite and illuminating to the discussion that are nonetheless fairly complex and, therefore, not easily addressed in a broader social, political and educational scheme, regardless of the recommendations approached here..

Ecommerce in Tourism Industry

Ecommerce in Tourism Industry 2.1. Introduction to e-Commerce ‘Electronic commerce (e-Commerce) is such a service offering people the opportunity to do their shopping via modern information and communication technologies at home’ (Schultz, 2007). It enables everyone to conduct business via the Internet. The only precondition is a computer and a connection to the Internet. The term e-Commerce is becoming increasingly important in the dictionary of today’s tourism managers all around the world. This is reflected in the development of the overall online travel market turnover in Europe reaching a total of EUR 70 billion in the year 2008 (V-I-R, Verband Internet Reisevertrieb, 2009). The introduction of the internet represented both, major opportunities as well as threats, for the tourism industry. The internet erased physical borders and enables everyone to participate in a global marketplace. The only requisite is a computer and an internet access. This section explores the current dynamics within the broader area of e-Commerce and provides definitions for the incorporating aspects of business transactions via the Internet. The worldwide proliferation of the internet led to the birth of electronic transfer of transactional information. ‘E-Commerce flourished because of the openness, speed, anonymity, digitization, and global accessibility characteristics of the internet, which facilitated real-time business’ (Yu et al., 2002). One can of course argue, whether the anonymity of the Internet is still valid today. Maya Gadzheva (2008) for example, suggests that the ‘achievement of unobservability and anonymity in the Internet is going to be much more difficult in the future, due to the possibility of unlimited collection of data’. Through the aide of the internet tourism companies are able to market and sell their products to a far greater mass which represents substantial growth opportunities for them. According to Porter (2001), the ‘Internet technology provides better opportunities for companies to establish distinctive, strategic positioning than did previous generations of information technology’. However, those opportunities can also represent burdens for companies participating in transactions via the Internet. Those companies are now more than ever forced to keep their web sites up-to-date and to provide reliable information. Since the Internet is a very fast changing medium, it requires their participants, in this case the e-merchants, to keep up with this pace. In case the companies cannot fulfil these requirements, they will probably face a shift of customers to the competition. Especially the area of tourism, being labelled as largely information driven (Morgan et al., 2001) requires constantly updated and reliable information. Customers need to find every information they require on the web. They need to know where to search and they need to be convinced of the trustworthiness and reliability of this information. The ability to inform clients and to sell and market products in the virtual marketplace is a critical success factor for economic triumph of tourism companies nowadays and in the future. The website is thus a digital business card of tourism companies and one of their most effective sales persons at the same time. ‘Internet technology provides buyers with easier access to information about products and suppliers, thus bolstering buyer bargaining power’ (Porter, 2001). This will also decrease the costs of switching suppliers (or tourism companies). That is the downturn of the Internet. Competitors are only a few mouse clicks away (Porter, 2001) and the whole industry becomes more transparent. Just about every company participating in e-Commerce is obviously forced to list prices of their holiday components. This facilitates the comparability of tourism services. Customers do now have access to all kinds of information that facilitate as well as influence their holiday choice. Since tourism companies can no longer differentiate themselves from the competition by pricing means, the corporate website, and the online booking process of a holiday becomes progressively more important. This involves the appearance of the website, including usability and content related features, but also everything concerning the actual booking process and transaction handling. The tourism company (the seller) and the customer (the buyer) conducting business over the internet have usually never seen each other face-to-face, nor do they exchange currency or hard copies of documents hand-to-hand. When payments are to be made over a telecommunications network such as the internet, accuracy and security become critical (Yu et al., 2002). In other words this would mean that customers need to transfer extremely private information like credit card details to a complete stranger. Summarizing this section it can be said that Internet and e-Commerce present various advantages for tourism customers, since companies and offers are more transparent and easier to compare. Furthermore, improvements in IT technology will enhance the search for relevant information and facilitate the navigation in the World Wide Web. However, there are also threatening factors for tourism companies. Competition will become stronger, since competitors are only a few mouse clicks away, switching costs for customers are much longer and due to their access to nearly unlimited information the customers’ bargaining power will increase. Nonetheless, tourism companies who can keep up with the fast pace of the Internet and who are able to convince customers of the reliability, trustworthiness and timeliness of their displayed offers and information will benefit from the Internet. 2.2. Online Trust or eTrust What is (online) trust? A first step towards the answer of this question can be made by looking at various definitions of the term trust. Trust is defined as ‘the trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of others’ (Wordnet, Princeton University, 2006). According to this definition, buyers conducting transactions via the Internet will have to rely on a person or institution they may have never seen or even heard of. This would certainly be not sufficient as an assurance for most of us. Another definition defines trust as ‘to hope or wish’ (Wordnet, Princeton University, 2006). Summarizing this would mean that we need to rely on the goodwill of the other party and hope or wish that it will act as it was promised. Those definitions might be a good starting point in explaining the meaning of trust, but they certainly do not seem to be convenient for most of us. Bà ¶hle et al. (2000) argue that trust is a precondition for flourishing e-Commerce. Shankar et al. (2002) advance a different view, although they classify ‘(online) trust as being important in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-business’. Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa (2004) pursue a similar way of argumentation. They suggest that ‘lack of trust in online companies is a primary reason why many users do not shop online’. Another author, Peter Landrock (2002), founder and managing director of Cryptomathic UK Ltd., one of the world’s leading providers of security solutions to businesses, points out that ‘without such trust, neither businesses nor consumers will conduct transactions or sensitive communications across this medium (the Internet)’. This argument is being supported by a recently conducted study by Ernst Young and the Information Technology Association of America who concluded ‘that trust represents one of the most fundamental issues impacting the growth of e-Commerce’ (Talwatte, 2000). Strader and Shaw (Chadwick, 2001) point out that ‘consumers are more likely to buy from an online company they trust, when price differences are small’. Thos would in turn imply that whenever price differences are significant, customers are willing to accept a higher level of uncertainty and perceived risk in transactions with companies they do not know or trust. According to those argumentations one can say that trust is the major precondition for both, businesses as well as consumers to conduct transactions via the Internet. ‘Trust is a key challenge to the customer acceptance of e-Commerce: the lack of trust is an important reason for the hesitant growth in e-Commerce and for the reluctance of consumers to engage in online buying transactions’ (Schultz, 2007). A Forrester Survey from 2000 stated that ‘51% of companies would not do business with parties they do not trust over the web’ (Shankar et al., 2002). However, this would also mean that 49% of companies would do business with companies they do not trust. Trust needs to be strongly combined with uncertainty and ambiguity. The more information a buyer has about the seller, the better can he or she estimates whether the seller will act as it was promised. Thus, the better the information about a seller the better can he or she be trusted. Good examples for this assumption are online marketplaces like eBay or Amazon. Those two providers offer nearly everyone the possibility to participate in e-Business. Since they recognized the increased need from customers for information about sellers, they introduced up-to-date ratings. Every seller can be rated after transactions whether buyers have been satisfied with the transaction process or not. The higher and better the rating, the more trustworthy is the seller (in a simplified way). These ratings are good indications for (unexperienced) buyers, since they equip them with information about the seller’s past performance in transactions. Other ways in creating trustworthiness are so-called trust seals. ‘Those seals are issued by third parties to verify the commitment of an e-vendor’ (Cook and Luo, 2003; Hu et al., 2003; Kaplan and Nieschwitz, 2003; Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa, 2004; Loebbecke, 2003; Patton and Jà ¸sang, 2004; Urban et al., 2000; Yang et al., 2006; in Schultz, 2007). Trust seals are generally indicated via symbols on the web site of the seller. Those seals are a sign that the seller conducts business according to the standards of the third party, the trust seal provider, and/or that the seller conducts business as promised by the statements and policies on the web site (Schultz, 2007). ‘Further measures to increase trust are security features, the availability of alternative payment methods, privacy, security and return policies and feedback mechanisms and consumer communities’ (Schultz, 2007). ‘Security is the main concern of consumers before engaging in e-business with a seller’ (Schultz, 2007; Hinde 1998). ‘Sellers need to incorporate certain security features into the design of their web sites in order to ensure the safety of the whole transaction process’ (see Credit Card) (Schultz, 2007). Offering alternative methods of payment is another approach of the seller to signal the willingness to adapt to the customers’ needs. Being able to choose a method of payment equips the customer with the perceived power over a part of the transaction process. It is essential to display the ‘rules of the game’. Privacy, security and return policies need to present on every seller’s web site in order to inform the customer properly. This will not only increase trust but will also facilitate processes in case of complaints or other problems. The provision of customer feedback mechanism (ratings, reply forms, forums, etc.) is another way for customers to increase knowledge and gather information about a seller. The advantage is that customers can exchange with previous customers of the seller. This way they can obtain an objective evaluation of the seller. However, sellers can also manipulate those forums by uploading faked ratings or deleting negative ratings or feedbacks. Again, the customer needs to develop trust in these kinds of information. Furthermore, customers do also need to develop trust in the IT infrastructure they are using, since this will be the mean of communicating the transactional data between the seller and the buyer. In other words, consumers not trusting the technology they are using for an intended transaction via the Internet will not participate in any e-Business transaction unless they feel confident with the security. When considering security issues, a public key infrastructure (PKI) that can provide secure authentication on the Internet is an important step towards secure Internet transactions. It can help to build trust, reduce the potential for fraud, ensure privacy and provide merchants with non-repudiation (Bà ¶hle et al., 2000). It is essential for the merchant that the customer can trust him, his connection and Website and the payment system used. Otherwise there will not be any transactions between the two parties. Summarizing this section it can be said that information is the key to (nearly) everything. A higher level of information about the other transactional party will increase the level of trust, since uncertainty and ambiguity can be erased at least to a certain extent. Furthermore, it is essential to create awareness for technologies and tools needed for security improvements and the development of trust. These tools and technologies can involve ‘soft’ components like trust seals and customer feedback forums. The ‘harder’ components are embedded in the aspect of IT infrastructure. This includes improvements in the encryption and network and database security. 2.3. Electronic Payment Systems Monetary transactions via the Internet do always involve risks and uncertainty. In most of the cases, there is no personal interaction involved. That means that the customer has to put a considerable amount of trust in the seller’s promise to fulfil everything that has been agreed upon during the confirmation of the purchase (e.g. the delivery of the ordered products or services on time, in the right quality and that the agreed amount of money is charged) (Schultz, 2007; Chadwick, 2001). According to Lammer (2006) ‘Electronic Payment Systems or e-Payment Systems may be defined as all payments that are initiated, processed and received electronically’. The main concern with electronic payment systems is the level of security in each step of the transaction, because money and merchandise are transferred while there is no direct contact between the two sides involved in the transaction. If there is even the slightest possibility that the payment system may not be secure, trust and confidence in this system will begin to erode, destroying the infrastructure needed for electronic commerce (Yu et al., 2002). The customer is concerned right from the point he is connected to the website of the seller. The risk of losing private information like contact details, credit card or bank account information is a primary concern of the customer. Therefore, it is necessary that both, the seller as well as the customer take care for the security of their own network as well as with the data exchanged during the transaction. In Germany, there are currently up to ten different electronic payment methods used with varying frequency and success. The author will only refer to those payment systems which are applicable for intangible goods, such as holidays. The definitions below are based on the work of Stroborn et al. (2004), who were arguing that one way to ‘classify different payment instruments is by the point of time when the liquidity effect sets in from the payer’s point of view that means the exact point in time when the customer’s account is charged with the payment’. ‘Following this premise, one can distinguish between â€Å"prepaid†, â€Å"pay-now† and â€Å"pay-later† systems’ (Stroborn et.al, 2004). Other authors (Yu et al., 2002, Dannenberg Ulrich, 2004) categorized payment systems with regard to the following variables. ‘The first variable is the ‘size or the amount of the payment’ (e.g. micro-payments). The second variable depends on the ‘type of transaction’, e.g. credit card, paying via e-mail (PayPal)’, etc. It can be argued which of these two different approaches in classifying e-payment systems is the most appropriate. However, the author decides to use the classification of Stroborn et al. (2004) for the reason that this type of classification can be best applied to the underlying topic of this work, due to the following facts. The ability to differentiate e-Payment systems by the time, the liquidity effect sets in is important within the industry of tourism. Holiday components, especially cruises are oftentimes financed using prepayments of customers. Therefore, it is particularly important for cruise lines to know which of the offered payment systems allow them to use prepayments as financing means. On the other hand, customers do always want a certain level of security, especially when they purchase a holiday, which is certainly not an everyday expense with regard to the amount charged. Therefore, equipping customers with the perceived power of determining the point of time when the actual payment will be processed will result in a beneficial feeling on the side of the customer. This equipment of perceived power is another way of demonstrating willingness to adapt to customer needs. Customers seem to have all under control, since they receive the product before they have to pay for it. So the seller has already delivered the agreed upon product or service. 2.3.1 Pre-Paid-payment systems The different Pre-Paid-payment systems currently in use in Germany will not be further explained. Systems like GeldKarte, MicroMoney or WEB.Cent are being used to settle small-or micro-payments up to usually â‚ ¬ 100. In this respect an application within the tourism industry is of no relevance. According to the DRV (Deutscher Reiseverband, 2008), the majority of holidays booked via the Internet was between â‚ ¬ 500 -â‚ ¬ 1.500 (55, 1% of all holidays). 2.3.2 Pay-Now-payment systems ‘So called pay-now systems debit the account of the customer at the exact time the customer purchases something. Cash-on-Delivery (COD) and debit entry are well established examples today’ (Stroborn et al., 2004). Online Transfer: According to Monika E. Hartmann (Lammer, 2006) online transfer can be defined as follows: These services are embedded in the online shopping process, e.g. via an automatic popup window connecting to the service provider and already containing all necessary transaction details. The customer is invited to choose a payment option and provide his account details. The completed transaction data set will be routed to the relevant payment service provider for authorization. After successful payment authorization the bank (or the payment service provider) confirms the payment to the merchant so that the purchase transaction can be completed (Lammer, 2006). COD (Cash-on-Delivery) COD is usually used for the settlement of amounts for physical goods. Customers order their desired articles over the website of an online merchant. The goods are then delivered by a mail service. In addition to the price of the delivered goods, the customer pays also COD charges to the delivery service. The mail delivery service then mails a money order to the internet merchant. Due to the simultaneous exchange of physical goods and money, COD is said to protect consumer and merchant at the same time. Nevertheless, it is considered not to be cost-effective and awkward for the consumer, who needs to be present for the delivery. Additionally, this payment method cannot be used for goods delivered electronically (Stroborn et al., 2004). M-Payments (Mobile Payments) M-Payment is such a service, where the mobile phone of the customer in combination with a PIN number deals as authentication device. Whenever the customer wants to purchase goods or transfer money, he or she is called by a third party, e.g. Paybox (www.paybox.net), on his or her mobile phone. He needs to confirm the transaction with a PIN. The sum of the transaction is then debited from the customer’s bank account (Stroborn et al., 2004). According to a recent study conducted by the Verband Internet Reisevertrieb, v-i-r (2007), only two percent of all holiday purchases have been settled using mpayments. However, this payment method is expected to grow tremendously in the future. This is already indicated by the awareness level of m-payments. Although only two percent had used m-payments to settle their online purchases, more than 23% of all respondents are aware of the possibility of using mobile payments. Debit Entry ‘The process of a debit entry requires the receiver of the payment, the seller, to inform his banking institution to charge the account of the buyer with a certain amount. This amount is in turn booked on the account of the seller’ (www.wikipedia.org). PayPal With over 150 million registered accounts worldwide (PayPal, 2009), PayPal is one of the most successful internet-based payment schemes. Authentication is done via the personal e-mail address of the customer in addition to the entry of a password. The amount is then debited from the customer’s PayPal account. Customers using PayPal will benefit since they will no longer have to reveal their debit or credit card number. Furthermore, the whole transaction process is speeded up due to the fact that customers no longer need to enter their address details. PayPal also promotes its product as being more secure in comparison with other e-payment schemes. 2.3.3 Pay-Later-payment systems ‘In terms of pay-later-systems (e.g. credit cards), the customer actually receives the goods before being debited’ (Stroborn et al., 2004). However, this depends upon the point in time when the customers’ bank account is being debited. It is also possible, particularly within the area of tourism that the bank account is debited before the holiday is ‘consumed’. Within the tourism industry it is a common practice to book and purchase holidays long time in advance. Especially in terms of family holidays, customers like to book in advance, since they do only have a small time frame (namely the school holidays) where they can go on holiday. So, holidays in these periods are strongly demanded. Thus there is an incentive for customers to book as early in advance as possible. In this case, the classification of Stroborn et al. (2004) is not valid anymore. The holiday is purchased long before it is consumed and thus the bank account will also be debited before the consumption. Credit Card ‘Settling payments via the use of the credit card is the most commonly used payment method worldwide. Nearly 90 % of all items and goods purchased via the Internet are paid by credit card’ (Dannenberg Ulrich, 2004). Stroborn et al. differentiate between three basic ways of credit card payments via the Internet: An unsecured transaction ‘A transaction via Secure Socket Layer (SSL), which is a sort of digital envelope. SSL is the de facto standard for secure online transactions, preventing eavesdroppers from learning customers’ account details’ (Ashrafi Ng, 2009). The SSL technology establishes a secure communication channel between the participants of an online transaction. ‘a transaction employing Secure Electronic Transaction Protocol (SET), which is currently considered as the safest credit-card-based payment systems on the Internet’ (Stroborn et al., 2004). Recapitulating this section again highlights the importance of awareness. According to Monika Hartmann (Lammer, 2006) ‘many payment solutions did not succeed in reaching a critical mass of users’. This can be seen in within the example of Mpayments. Payment methods may be very useful, however if they do not manage to reach a critical mass of users, they will not succeed in the market. So customers need to be enlightened about the different payment methods available and the advantages and disadvantages involved. In addition the aspect of trust reappears in this section. Customers need to trust the security of their Internet connection in the first place before they are conducting any business transactions. 3.1 Factors favouring the growth of e-Commerce in tourism The introduction of the internet as well as the ability to pay for goods and services via electronic payment systems created potential advantages for customers as well as for tourism companies. ‘The marketing of an intangible product such as tourism largely depends upon visual presentation’ (Morgan et al., 2001). With the Internet, marketers finally found the perfect tool. The capability of combining the presentation of facts and figures, emotional pictures and the whole booking process is a huge asset for tourism companies. Buhalis (Morgan et al., 2001) stated that ‘organizations and destinations which need to compete will be forced to compute’. Thereby, he assigns companies participating in e-Commerce a significant competitive advantage. According to a recent study of the VIR (Verband Internet Reisevertrieb, 2007) customers value the easy and fast way of booking trips via the internet. Furthermore, they appreciate the possibility to customize their trips, to see if their desired holiday is still available and the extensive range of offerings. The possibility to pay per credit card and the savings in terms of time they need to invest are also big advantages for German customers booking their trips and holidays via the Internet. Cheyne et al. (2006) suggested that ‘the Internet is providing the means for suppliers and consumers to bypass the travel agent and interact directly’. Furthermore, many writers propose that ‘the Internet furnishes travel consumers with more information, quicker responses and often lower prices than they can achieve when making travel arrangements through a traditional travel agent’ (Cheyne et al., 2006). Tania Lang, a senior consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst Young, stated in her work in 2000 that ‘there are a variety of factors providing advantages and benefits for the users of the Internet’. Amongst those factors is the access for availability enquiries and bookings when consumers want to research and purchase travel. Customers are no longer restricted to the opening times of their local travel agency. According to Buhalis (Lang, 2000), ‘the ability to access information which is detailed and up to date assists the travel consumer by making the product more tangible in their mind’. Another important advantage of e-Commerce in tourism is the bypass of travel agent fees and the access to online discounts. Lang (2000) stated that there is a ‘cost advantage in purchasing travel online as a result of the market becoming more competitive. These cost advantages can also be explained by decreasing distribution costs’. Concluding this section it can be suggested that customers will benefit tremendously from e-Commerce in the tourism industry. They will be faced with lower prices, since no intermediaries are involved any more so that potential cost savings can be achieved. In addition to this, the authors cited above implied that the visual representation of holidays will improve due the recent and upcoming developments in technology. According to this, there should not be any disadvantages for customers and conducting bookings via the Internet are the best solution for the future. However customers will also have to sacrifice in certain aspects as well as they will have to experience that bookings holidays via the Internet might not be that advantageous as the following section will point out. 3.2 Factors for the hesitant growth of e-Commerce in tourism In 2009, Prashant Palvia argues that ‘the Internet is far from achieving its potential due to the reluctance of consumers to engage in its use’. Palvia (2009) stresses this assumption by a recent study, indicating that sales of online retailers were only 2, 2% of total goods sold in the U.S. in 2005. Moreover, analysts have predicted that even by 2011, e-Commerce sales would only account for only 7%. According to Tania Lang (2000), there are certain barriers or disadvantages of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) for consumers. Amongst those factors, the ‘lacks of a human interface and of confidence in the technology as well as security issues have a high relevance’. There are a lot of situations, where a customer has built a strong relationship to his travel agent. For some travellers, the actual booking process (whether via a travel agency or the Internet) is already part of the holiday itself. The booking process might even be some kind of ritual which is carried out in exactly the same manner every time the customer goes on holiday. Those loyalty or relational factors are hard to be erased or replaced by the Internet which is in fact a major threat to electronic commerce in the tourism industry. A number of authors maintain that ‘travel agents provide better services, especially when more complex products are to be purchased’ (Cheyne et al., 2006). ‘Those complex travel arrangements are more information intensive and therefore needs consultation of travel agents compared to less complex holiday components such as flights or rail tickets’. Other authors, including Inkpen, Lyle and Paulson (Cheyne et al., 2006) argue that ‘travel agents can offer a more personalized service and provide unbiased advices that add value for the customer’. Concerning the latter assumption one can argue that this is true for inexperienced or first-time users. Customers, who are familiar with the Internet and know where to find the information they are looking for, will not need the advice of the travel agent no more. First of all, the travel agent might provide them with information they already know or find by themselves. Secondly, travel agents are biased too, regarding the amount of commissions they receive for the sale of products. Another case where customers do not need the advice of the travel agent are repeated holidays, meaning customers who always travel to the same hotel. Those customers will not benefit from a travel agent’s consultancy. Summarizing this, one can say that ‘the service offered by travel agents is value adding for customers, who are inexperienced with the process of online booking and for customers who want to travel to a variety of different destinations’ (comparing Cheyne et al., 2006). The lack of confidence in the technology as well as the mistrust in security are the two other major disadvantages of the Internet that Tania Lang has determined. She points out that the ‘main barrier stopping consumers from booking travel via the Internet is the perceived lack of a secure payment method’ (Lang, 2000). ‘The main concern with electronic payment is the level of security in each step of the transaction, because money and merchandise are transferred while there is no direct contact between the two sides involved in the transaction’ (Yu et al., 2002). ‘If there is even the slightest possibility that the payment system may not be secure, trust and confidence in this system will begin to erode, destroying the infrastructure needed for electronic commerce’ (Yu et al., 2002). Putting this in other words, tourism companies may have the perfect product in terms of price quality ratio. However, the company will not be able to sell its products to a greater mass if their payment system is lacking security. This will not only erode trust in the payment system itself, but may also affect the customers’ acceptance of the company, thus affecting the company’s reputation, image and profits. In 1998, Haas surveyed that even though ‘many Internet users go online to find product information, most users prefer to log off and buy their goods through traditional sales channels’. Of course, this trend has increasingly changed over the last years; however, still today customers inform themselves over the Internet without performing t Ecommerce in Tourism Industry Ecommerce in Tourism Industry 2.1. Introduction to e-Commerce ‘Electronic commerce (e-Commerce) is such a service offering people the opportunity to do their shopping via modern information and communication technologies at home’ (Schultz, 2007). It enables everyone to conduct business via the Internet. The only precondition is a computer and a connection to the Internet. The term e-Commerce is becoming increasingly important in the dictionary of today’s tourism managers all around the world. This is reflected in the development of the overall online travel market turnover in Europe reaching a total of EUR 70 billion in the year 2008 (V-I-R, Verband Internet Reisevertrieb, 2009). The introduction of the internet represented both, major opportunities as well as threats, for the tourism industry. The internet erased physical borders and enables everyone to participate in a global marketplace. The only requisite is a computer and an internet access. This section explores the current dynamics within the broader area of e-Commerce and provides definitions for the incorporating aspects of business transactions via the Internet. The worldwide proliferation of the internet led to the birth of electronic transfer of transactional information. ‘E-Commerce flourished because of the openness, speed, anonymity, digitization, and global accessibility characteristics of the internet, which facilitated real-time business’ (Yu et al., 2002). One can of course argue, whether the anonymity of the Internet is still valid today. Maya Gadzheva (2008) for example, suggests that the ‘achievement of unobservability and anonymity in the Internet is going to be much more difficult in the future, due to the possibility of unlimited collection of data’. Through the aide of the internet tourism companies are able to market and sell their products to a far greater mass which represents substantial growth opportunities for them. According to Porter (2001), the ‘Internet technology provides better opportunities for companies to establish distinctive, strategic positioning than did previous generations of information technology’. However, those opportunities can also represent burdens for companies participating in transactions via the Internet. Those companies are now more than ever forced to keep their web sites up-to-date and to provide reliable information. Since the Internet is a very fast changing medium, it requires their participants, in this case the e-merchants, to keep up with this pace. In case the companies cannot fulfil these requirements, they will probably face a shift of customers to the competition. Especially the area of tourism, being labelled as largely information driven (Morgan et al., 2001) requires constantly updated and reliable information. Customers need to find every information they require on the web. They need to know where to search and they need to be convinced of the trustworthiness and reliability of this information. The ability to inform clients and to sell and market products in the virtual marketplace is a critical success factor for economic triumph of tourism companies nowadays and in the future. The website is thus a digital business card of tourism companies and one of their most effective sales persons at the same time. ‘Internet technology provides buyers with easier access to information about products and suppliers, thus bolstering buyer bargaining power’ (Porter, 2001). This will also decrease the costs of switching suppliers (or tourism companies). That is the downturn of the Internet. Competitors are only a few mouse clicks away (Porter, 2001) and the whole industry becomes more transparent. Just about every company participating in e-Commerce is obviously forced to list prices of their holiday components. This facilitates the comparability of tourism services. Customers do now have access to all kinds of information that facilitate as well as influence their holiday choice. Since tourism companies can no longer differentiate themselves from the competition by pricing means, the corporate website, and the online booking process of a holiday becomes progressively more important. This involves the appearance of the website, including usability and content related features, but also everything concerning the actual booking process and transaction handling. The tourism company (the seller) and the customer (the buyer) conducting business over the internet have usually never seen each other face-to-face, nor do they exchange currency or hard copies of documents hand-to-hand. When payments are to be made over a telecommunications network such as the internet, accuracy and security become critical (Yu et al., 2002). In other words this would mean that customers need to transfer extremely private information like credit card details to a complete stranger. Summarizing this section it can be said that Internet and e-Commerce present various advantages for tourism customers, since companies and offers are more transparent and easier to compare. Furthermore, improvements in IT technology will enhance the search for relevant information and facilitate the navigation in the World Wide Web. However, there are also threatening factors for tourism companies. Competition will become stronger, since competitors are only a few mouse clicks away, switching costs for customers are much longer and due to their access to nearly unlimited information the customers’ bargaining power will increase. Nonetheless, tourism companies who can keep up with the fast pace of the Internet and who are able to convince customers of the reliability, trustworthiness and timeliness of their displayed offers and information will benefit from the Internet. 2.2. Online Trust or eTrust What is (online) trust? A first step towards the answer of this question can be made by looking at various definitions of the term trust. Trust is defined as ‘the trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of others’ (Wordnet, Princeton University, 2006). According to this definition, buyers conducting transactions via the Internet will have to rely on a person or institution they may have never seen or even heard of. This would certainly be not sufficient as an assurance for most of us. Another definition defines trust as ‘to hope or wish’ (Wordnet, Princeton University, 2006). Summarizing this would mean that we need to rely on the goodwill of the other party and hope or wish that it will act as it was promised. Those definitions might be a good starting point in explaining the meaning of trust, but they certainly do not seem to be convenient for most of us. Bà ¶hle et al. (2000) argue that trust is a precondition for flourishing e-Commerce. Shankar et al. (2002) advance a different view, although they classify ‘(online) trust as being important in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-business’. Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa (2004) pursue a similar way of argumentation. They suggest that ‘lack of trust in online companies is a primary reason why many users do not shop online’. Another author, Peter Landrock (2002), founder and managing director of Cryptomathic UK Ltd., one of the world’s leading providers of security solutions to businesses, points out that ‘without such trust, neither businesses nor consumers will conduct transactions or sensitive communications across this medium (the Internet)’. This argument is being supported by a recently conducted study by Ernst Young and the Information Technology Association of America who concluded ‘that trust represents one of the most fundamental issues impacting the growth of e-Commerce’ (Talwatte, 2000). Strader and Shaw (Chadwick, 2001) point out that ‘consumers are more likely to buy from an online company they trust, when price differences are small’. Thos would in turn imply that whenever price differences are significant, customers are willing to accept a higher level of uncertainty and perceived risk in transactions with companies they do not know or trust. According to those argumentations one can say that trust is the major precondition for both, businesses as well as consumers to conduct transactions via the Internet. ‘Trust is a key challenge to the customer acceptance of e-Commerce: the lack of trust is an important reason for the hesitant growth in e-Commerce and for the reluctance of consumers to engage in online buying transactions’ (Schultz, 2007). A Forrester Survey from 2000 stated that ‘51% of companies would not do business with parties they do not trust over the web’ (Shankar et al., 2002). However, this would also mean that 49% of companies would do business with companies they do not trust. Trust needs to be strongly combined with uncertainty and ambiguity. The more information a buyer has about the seller, the better can he or she estimates whether the seller will act as it was promised. Thus, the better the information about a seller the better can he or she be trusted. Good examples for this assumption are online marketplaces like eBay or Amazon. Those two providers offer nearly everyone the possibility to participate in e-Business. Since they recognized the increased need from customers for information about sellers, they introduced up-to-date ratings. Every seller can be rated after transactions whether buyers have been satisfied with the transaction process or not. The higher and better the rating, the more trustworthy is the seller (in a simplified way). These ratings are good indications for (unexperienced) buyers, since they equip them with information about the seller’s past performance in transactions. Other ways in creating trustworthiness are so-called trust seals. ‘Those seals are issued by third parties to verify the commitment of an e-vendor’ (Cook and Luo, 2003; Hu et al., 2003; Kaplan and Nieschwitz, 2003; Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa, 2004; Loebbecke, 2003; Patton and Jà ¸sang, 2004; Urban et al., 2000; Yang et al., 2006; in Schultz, 2007). Trust seals are generally indicated via symbols on the web site of the seller. Those seals are a sign that the seller conducts business according to the standards of the third party, the trust seal provider, and/or that the seller conducts business as promised by the statements and policies on the web site (Schultz, 2007). ‘Further measures to increase trust are security features, the availability of alternative payment methods, privacy, security and return policies and feedback mechanisms and consumer communities’ (Schultz, 2007). ‘Security is the main concern of consumers before engaging in e-business with a seller’ (Schultz, 2007; Hinde 1998). ‘Sellers need to incorporate certain security features into the design of their web sites in order to ensure the safety of the whole transaction process’ (see Credit Card) (Schultz, 2007). Offering alternative methods of payment is another approach of the seller to signal the willingness to adapt to the customers’ needs. Being able to choose a method of payment equips the customer with the perceived power over a part of the transaction process. It is essential to display the ‘rules of the game’. Privacy, security and return policies need to present on every seller’s web site in order to inform the customer properly. This will not only increase trust but will also facilitate processes in case of complaints or other problems. The provision of customer feedback mechanism (ratings, reply forms, forums, etc.) is another way for customers to increase knowledge and gather information about a seller. The advantage is that customers can exchange with previous customers of the seller. This way they can obtain an objective evaluation of the seller. However, sellers can also manipulate those forums by uploading faked ratings or deleting negative ratings or feedbacks. Again, the customer needs to develop trust in these kinds of information. Furthermore, customers do also need to develop trust in the IT infrastructure they are using, since this will be the mean of communicating the transactional data between the seller and the buyer. In other words, consumers not trusting the technology they are using for an intended transaction via the Internet will not participate in any e-Business transaction unless they feel confident with the security. When considering security issues, a public key infrastructure (PKI) that can provide secure authentication on the Internet is an important step towards secure Internet transactions. It can help to build trust, reduce the potential for fraud, ensure privacy and provide merchants with non-repudiation (Bà ¶hle et al., 2000). It is essential for the merchant that the customer can trust him, his connection and Website and the payment system used. Otherwise there will not be any transactions between the two parties. Summarizing this section it can be said that information is the key to (nearly) everything. A higher level of information about the other transactional party will increase the level of trust, since uncertainty and ambiguity can be erased at least to a certain extent. Furthermore, it is essential to create awareness for technologies and tools needed for security improvements and the development of trust. These tools and technologies can involve ‘soft’ components like trust seals and customer feedback forums. The ‘harder’ components are embedded in the aspect of IT infrastructure. This includes improvements in the encryption and network and database security. 2.3. Electronic Payment Systems Monetary transactions via the Internet do always involve risks and uncertainty. In most of the cases, there is no personal interaction involved. That means that the customer has to put a considerable amount of trust in the seller’s promise to fulfil everything that has been agreed upon during the confirmation of the purchase (e.g. the delivery of the ordered products or services on time, in the right quality and that the agreed amount of money is charged) (Schultz, 2007; Chadwick, 2001). According to Lammer (2006) ‘Electronic Payment Systems or e-Payment Systems may be defined as all payments that are initiated, processed and received electronically’. The main concern with electronic payment systems is the level of security in each step of the transaction, because money and merchandise are transferred while there is no direct contact between the two sides involved in the transaction. If there is even the slightest possibility that the payment system may not be secure, trust and confidence in this system will begin to erode, destroying the infrastructure needed for electronic commerce (Yu et al., 2002). The customer is concerned right from the point he is connected to the website of the seller. The risk of losing private information like contact details, credit card or bank account information is a primary concern of the customer. Therefore, it is necessary that both, the seller as well as the customer take care for the security of their own network as well as with the data exchanged during the transaction. In Germany, there are currently up to ten different electronic payment methods used with varying frequency and success. The author will only refer to those payment systems which are applicable for intangible goods, such as holidays. The definitions below are based on the work of Stroborn et al. (2004), who were arguing that one way to ‘classify different payment instruments is by the point of time when the liquidity effect sets in from the payer’s point of view that means the exact point in time when the customer’s account is charged with the payment’. ‘Following this premise, one can distinguish between â€Å"prepaid†, â€Å"pay-now† and â€Å"pay-later† systems’ (Stroborn et.al, 2004). Other authors (Yu et al., 2002, Dannenberg Ulrich, 2004) categorized payment systems with regard to the following variables. ‘The first variable is the ‘size or the amount of the payment’ (e.g. micro-payments). The second variable depends on the ‘type of transaction’, e.g. credit card, paying via e-mail (PayPal)’, etc. It can be argued which of these two different approaches in classifying e-payment systems is the most appropriate. However, the author decides to use the classification of Stroborn et al. (2004) for the reason that this type of classification can be best applied to the underlying topic of this work, due to the following facts. The ability to differentiate e-Payment systems by the time, the liquidity effect sets in is important within the industry of tourism. Holiday components, especially cruises are oftentimes financed using prepayments of customers. Therefore, it is particularly important for cruise lines to know which of the offered payment systems allow them to use prepayments as financing means. On the other hand, customers do always want a certain level of security, especially when they purchase a holiday, which is certainly not an everyday expense with regard to the amount charged. Therefore, equipping customers with the perceived power of determining the point of time when the actual payment will be processed will result in a beneficial feeling on the side of the customer. This equipment of perceived power is another way of demonstrating willingness to adapt to customer needs. Customers seem to have all under control, since they receive the product before they have to pay for it. So the seller has already delivered the agreed upon product or service. 2.3.1 Pre-Paid-payment systems The different Pre-Paid-payment systems currently in use in Germany will not be further explained. Systems like GeldKarte, MicroMoney or WEB.Cent are being used to settle small-or micro-payments up to usually â‚ ¬ 100. In this respect an application within the tourism industry is of no relevance. According to the DRV (Deutscher Reiseverband, 2008), the majority of holidays booked via the Internet was between â‚ ¬ 500 -â‚ ¬ 1.500 (55, 1% of all holidays). 2.3.2 Pay-Now-payment systems ‘So called pay-now systems debit the account of the customer at the exact time the customer purchases something. Cash-on-Delivery (COD) and debit entry are well established examples today’ (Stroborn et al., 2004). Online Transfer: According to Monika E. Hartmann (Lammer, 2006) online transfer can be defined as follows: These services are embedded in the online shopping process, e.g. via an automatic popup window connecting to the service provider and already containing all necessary transaction details. The customer is invited to choose a payment option and provide his account details. The completed transaction data set will be routed to the relevant payment service provider for authorization. After successful payment authorization the bank (or the payment service provider) confirms the payment to the merchant so that the purchase transaction can be completed (Lammer, 2006). COD (Cash-on-Delivery) COD is usually used for the settlement of amounts for physical goods. Customers order their desired articles over the website of an online merchant. The goods are then delivered by a mail service. In addition to the price of the delivered goods, the customer pays also COD charges to the delivery service. The mail delivery service then mails a money order to the internet merchant. Due to the simultaneous exchange of physical goods and money, COD is said to protect consumer and merchant at the same time. Nevertheless, it is considered not to be cost-effective and awkward for the consumer, who needs to be present for the delivery. Additionally, this payment method cannot be used for goods delivered electronically (Stroborn et al., 2004). M-Payments (Mobile Payments) M-Payment is such a service, where the mobile phone of the customer in combination with a PIN number deals as authentication device. Whenever the customer wants to purchase goods or transfer money, he or she is called by a third party, e.g. Paybox (www.paybox.net), on his or her mobile phone. He needs to confirm the transaction with a PIN. The sum of the transaction is then debited from the customer’s bank account (Stroborn et al., 2004). According to a recent study conducted by the Verband Internet Reisevertrieb, v-i-r (2007), only two percent of all holiday purchases have been settled using mpayments. However, this payment method is expected to grow tremendously in the future. This is already indicated by the awareness level of m-payments. Although only two percent had used m-payments to settle their online purchases, more than 23% of all respondents are aware of the possibility of using mobile payments. Debit Entry ‘The process of a debit entry requires the receiver of the payment, the seller, to inform his banking institution to charge the account of the buyer with a certain amount. This amount is in turn booked on the account of the seller’ (www.wikipedia.org). PayPal With over 150 million registered accounts worldwide (PayPal, 2009), PayPal is one of the most successful internet-based payment schemes. Authentication is done via the personal e-mail address of the customer in addition to the entry of a password. The amount is then debited from the customer’s PayPal account. Customers using PayPal will benefit since they will no longer have to reveal their debit or credit card number. Furthermore, the whole transaction process is speeded up due to the fact that customers no longer need to enter their address details. PayPal also promotes its product as being more secure in comparison with other e-payment schemes. 2.3.3 Pay-Later-payment systems ‘In terms of pay-later-systems (e.g. credit cards), the customer actually receives the goods before being debited’ (Stroborn et al., 2004). However, this depends upon the point in time when the customers’ bank account is being debited. It is also possible, particularly within the area of tourism that the bank account is debited before the holiday is ‘consumed’. Within the tourism industry it is a common practice to book and purchase holidays long time in advance. Especially in terms of family holidays, customers like to book in advance, since they do only have a small time frame (namely the school holidays) where they can go on holiday. So, holidays in these periods are strongly demanded. Thus there is an incentive for customers to book as early in advance as possible. In this case, the classification of Stroborn et al. (2004) is not valid anymore. The holiday is purchased long before it is consumed and thus the bank account will also be debited before the consumption. Credit Card ‘Settling payments via the use of the credit card is the most commonly used payment method worldwide. Nearly 90 % of all items and goods purchased via the Internet are paid by credit card’ (Dannenberg Ulrich, 2004). Stroborn et al. differentiate between three basic ways of credit card payments via the Internet: An unsecured transaction ‘A transaction via Secure Socket Layer (SSL), which is a sort of digital envelope. SSL is the de facto standard for secure online transactions, preventing eavesdroppers from learning customers’ account details’ (Ashrafi Ng, 2009). The SSL technology establishes a secure communication channel between the participants of an online transaction. ‘a transaction employing Secure Electronic Transaction Protocol (SET), which is currently considered as the safest credit-card-based payment systems on the Internet’ (Stroborn et al., 2004). Recapitulating this section again highlights the importance of awareness. According to Monika Hartmann (Lammer, 2006) ‘many payment solutions did not succeed in reaching a critical mass of users’. This can be seen in within the example of Mpayments. Payment methods may be very useful, however if they do not manage to reach a critical mass of users, they will not succeed in the market. So customers need to be enlightened about the different payment methods available and the advantages and disadvantages involved. In addition the aspect of trust reappears in this section. Customers need to trust the security of their Internet connection in the first place before they are conducting any business transactions. 3.1 Factors favouring the growth of e-Commerce in tourism The introduction of the internet as well as the ability to pay for goods and services via electronic payment systems created potential advantages for customers as well as for tourism companies. ‘The marketing of an intangible product such as tourism largely depends upon visual presentation’ (Morgan et al., 2001). With the Internet, marketers finally found the perfect tool. The capability of combining the presentation of facts and figures, emotional pictures and the whole booking process is a huge asset for tourism companies. Buhalis (Morgan et al., 2001) stated that ‘organizations and destinations which need to compete will be forced to compute’. Thereby, he assigns companies participating in e-Commerce a significant competitive advantage. According to a recent study of the VIR (Verband Internet Reisevertrieb, 2007) customers value the easy and fast way of booking trips via the internet. Furthermore, they appreciate the possibility to customize their trips, to see if their desired holiday is still available and the extensive range of offerings. The possibility to pay per credit card and the savings in terms of time they need to invest are also big advantages for German customers booking their trips and holidays via the Internet. Cheyne et al. (2006) suggested that ‘the Internet is providing the means for suppliers and consumers to bypass the travel agent and interact directly’. Furthermore, many writers propose that ‘the Internet furnishes travel consumers with more information, quicker responses and often lower prices than they can achieve when making travel arrangements through a traditional travel agent’ (Cheyne et al., 2006). Tania Lang, a senior consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst Young, stated in her work in 2000 that ‘there are a variety of factors providing advantages and benefits for the users of the Internet’. Amongst those factors is the access for availability enquiries and bookings when consumers want to research and purchase travel. Customers are no longer restricted to the opening times of their local travel agency. According to Buhalis (Lang, 2000), ‘the ability to access information which is detailed and up to date assists the travel consumer by making the product more tangible in their mind’. Another important advantage of e-Commerce in tourism is the bypass of travel agent fees and the access to online discounts. Lang (2000) stated that there is a ‘cost advantage in purchasing travel online as a result of the market becoming more competitive. These cost advantages can also be explained by decreasing distribution costs’. Concluding this section it can be suggested that customers will benefit tremendously from e-Commerce in the tourism industry. They will be faced with lower prices, since no intermediaries are involved any more so that potential cost savings can be achieved. In addition to this, the authors cited above implied that the visual representation of holidays will improve due the recent and upcoming developments in technology. According to this, there should not be any disadvantages for customers and conducting bookings via the Internet are the best solution for the future. However customers will also have to sacrifice in certain aspects as well as they will have to experience that bookings holidays via the Internet might not be that advantageous as the following section will point out. 3.2 Factors for the hesitant growth of e-Commerce in tourism In 2009, Prashant Palvia argues that ‘the Internet is far from achieving its potential due to the reluctance of consumers to engage in its use’. Palvia (2009) stresses this assumption by a recent study, indicating that sales of online retailers were only 2, 2% of total goods sold in the U.S. in 2005. Moreover, analysts have predicted that even by 2011, e-Commerce sales would only account for only 7%. According to Tania Lang (2000), there are certain barriers or disadvantages of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) for consumers. Amongst those factors, the ‘lacks of a human interface and of confidence in the technology as well as security issues have a high relevance’. There are a lot of situations, where a customer has built a strong relationship to his travel agent. For some travellers, the actual booking process (whether via a travel agency or the Internet) is already part of the holiday itself. The booking process might even be some kind of ritual which is carried out in exactly the same manner every time the customer goes on holiday. Those loyalty or relational factors are hard to be erased or replaced by the Internet which is in fact a major threat to electronic commerce in the tourism industry. A number of authors maintain that ‘travel agents provide better services, especially when more complex products are to be purchased’ (Cheyne et al., 2006). ‘Those complex travel arrangements are more information intensive and therefore needs consultation of travel agents compared to less complex holiday components such as flights or rail tickets’. Other authors, including Inkpen, Lyle and Paulson (Cheyne et al., 2006) argue that ‘travel agents can offer a more personalized service and provide unbiased advices that add value for the customer’. Concerning the latter assumption one can argue that this is true for inexperienced or first-time users. Customers, who are familiar with the Internet and know where to find the information they are looking for, will not need the advice of the travel agent no more. First of all, the travel agent might provide them with information they already know or find by themselves. Secondly, travel agents are biased too, regarding the amount of commissions they receive for the sale of products. Another case where customers do not need the advice of the travel agent are repeated holidays, meaning customers who always travel to the same hotel. Those customers will not benefit from a travel agent’s consultancy. Summarizing this, one can say that ‘the service offered by travel agents is value adding for customers, who are inexperienced with the process of online booking and for customers who want to travel to a variety of different destinations’ (comparing Cheyne et al., 2006). The lack of confidence in the technology as well as the mistrust in security are the two other major disadvantages of the Internet that Tania Lang has determined. She points out that the ‘main barrier stopping consumers from booking travel via the Internet is the perceived lack of a secure payment method’ (Lang, 2000). ‘The main concern with electronic payment is the level of security in each step of the transaction, because money and merchandise are transferred while there is no direct contact between the two sides involved in the transaction’ (Yu et al., 2002). ‘If there is even the slightest possibility that the payment system may not be secure, trust and confidence in this system will begin to erode, destroying the infrastructure needed for electronic commerce’ (Yu et al., 2002). Putting this in other words, tourism companies may have the perfect product in terms of price quality ratio. However, the company will not be able to sell its products to a greater mass if their payment system is lacking security. This will not only erode trust in the payment system itself, but may also affect the customers’ acceptance of the company, thus affecting the company’s reputation, image and profits. In 1998, Haas surveyed that even though ‘many Internet users go online to find product information, most users prefer to log off and buy their goods through traditional sales channels’. Of course, this trend has increasingly changed over the last years; however, still today customers inform themselves over the Internet without performing t