The Role Of Franchising Tourism Essay

The Role Of Franchising Tourism Essay What is a franchise according to the American heritage dictionary franchising means using one that is granted to use a business model in a certain area for a fee. Well it does not matter how the transaction or agreements are done whether it includes license, joint venture, consulting and supply agreement, and dealership when these terms are included in the contract, its a franchise (Grueneberg Solish, 2010). Legally franchising is viewed as contractual arrangement between the two legally independent parties where the franchisee pays the franchisor for the right to sell the franchisors product or the right to use his trademarks in a given location for a specified time period (Francine  Lafontaine Kathryn  L.  Shaw, 1999). As franchising sector is growing at rapid pace franchisor should look for expansion in international market as the home market specifically developed countries like us Canada, Europe is becoming saturated. It is vital import for a firm to have a strategic pla n to successfully establish in global economy (Richard John, 2004). The global franchising prospect seems great as said by Hoffman and Preble (1993) after their global survey of global franchise association around the world. The survey came out true as according to the United States census bureau revels that in US total franchise business accounted for 1.3 trillion and total work force of 59 million the report also showed that Limited-service restaurants, sometimes called fast food restaurants, had the highest number of franchise establishments with paid employees (124,898), followed by gas stations with convenience stores (33,991), and full-service restaurants (30,130). Thus the data revels franchise in hospitality industry is observing massive growth (U.S.CensusBureau, 2010). The massive upward growth in information and technology and simple long distance travel has made the world a small and well interconnected. Organizations should and are taking advantage of these developments and trends to pursue a global expansion. As the global market around the world are opening up and the market in developed countries are at the point of saturation companies are trying to tap into these newly opened markets for example China with one quarter of world population and high number of mid income group is considered as most under-retailed country in the world (Richard John, 2004). The concept of franchise is flexible and basically suits service sector. Given that franchise relation are influenced to an extent to which the system can be transfer and sustain in local market in terms of product acceptance, local support and service (John, 1999). Thus due to consistent economic importance of franchise we can find lots of research and literature to help us understand the concept. Franchising is a major expansion strategy for hospitality firms into a global market, especially hotels and restaurants to name a few Marriotts, Hyatt, Hilton Accor, IHG, McDonalds, KFC are a very few examples. In global markets franchising add value to the chain by enhancing and understanding the local values culture and customs. Franchising is one of the two main types of operations of which the other one owning. Franchising provides restaurants and hotels with stable franchising revenue through royalties and fees regularly according to the agreement and the time frame of the period (Koh, Lee, Boo, 2009). Unlike most other service sectors, the hotel industry is generally capital-intensive and its logistics and supply chain can be as complex and difficult to manage as those in manufacturing operations. Thus for hospitality related organization, this can be a huge complication to an equity-based expansion model in various markets, particularly in the international market. Thus, it r aises the issue of the importance of the internationalization process through franchising as a non-equity-based expansion strategy(Alon, Ni, Wang, 2012). But as a matter of fact franchising in international market delivers a scope for rapid expansion and global presence and hotels do have potential to overcome the hurdles like cultural, linguistic, technical, legal, and employment problems commonly associated with franchising internationally. Hotel industry in particular is different among another service franchisee as it requires big financial investment to establish facilities to start the business. To give a rough idea the total investment required by Choice Hotels International ranges from $2.3 to 14.6 million, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) $2-20 million, Motel 6, $1.9-2.3 million, and Hilton 53.4-90.1 million due to such huge capital requirement makes acquiring and setup a franchise hotel a complex process (Alon et al., 2012). Franchising in Australia originated in a significant way in the early 1970s under the influence of the franchised US fast food systems KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds which commenced operations here at the time. Increased intensity in business competition during the 1970s and early 1980s resulted in the failure of many small and medium sized businesses and encouraged growth in franchising. Franchising continued to grow at an accelerated rate during the 1980s. This was attributed to an increase in interest from the financial and public sectors (Frazer, 2000). Over the last two decades franchising in Australia saw a rapid growth and has developed into a highly significant and dynamic business activity The Australian franchise sector with 71000 units and 1,100 business format contributes AUD $ 61 billion to Australian economy in year 2007 thus these sector is of vital important top Australian economy (Scott, Lorelle, Jeff, 2010). Comparing the franchising sector in Australia and New Zealand is not new for years there has been a friendly rival among the two countries for title of most franchised country in the world. When the survey carried out New Zealand was more franchised than Australia with 450 franchise system and around 24000 franchise system which was 17% higher than Australia on per individual basis (Lord, 2011). Franchising in New Zealand is not taken seriously enough compared to other business due to lack of legislation and treating franchise as just a business deal. The franchise sector is substantially larger than many people realize, says Graham Billings, GM of the Franchise Association of New Zealand (FANZ). Current estimates suggest turnover of between $15 billion and $20 billion, representing between eight percent and ten percent of GDP (Moore, 2009). Taking into consideration the various hotel franchises across New Zealand and Australia gives a clear picture about the franchise investments in the market. Australia has the following well Known International hotel franchise: Swissotel * Hilton Accor * Radisson Four Seasons * Best western Hotel Sheraton * Marriott IHG * Shangri- La Hyatt * Starwoods * Choice hotels (expedia.com, 2012). These are the some of the many brands which have presence in Australian market when compared to the brands present in New Zealand which are: *IHG *Accor *Marriot *Hilton (expedia.com, 2012). Thus when compared the hotel franchise sector in both the countries Australia definitely has much mature market for franchising then New Zealand as many big hotel organization are yet to tap the New Zealand market like Hyatt, four-season, Shangri-La, Starwoods. To get a better picture of comparison between role of franchising in hotel industry in Australia and New Zealand lets compare two cities in both the countries. Instead of comparing between the cities like Sydney and Auckland will not give fair information as Sydney is far bigger Metro than Auckland. Hence we will compare the role of franchising between Auckland and Brisbane as they are equal in many aspects and also they are known as sister cities. With parks and botany gardens and population, urban area and economy almost similar to each other helps to compare the role of franchising easier and comparable to each other. Thus when searching for hotels on www.expeidia.com for hotels in Brisbane there are 145 hotels listed on web site the result for hotels in Auckland are 149, the search result shows the hospitality sector are very similar in both the cities. But when we see the ratio of number of five star category hotels the difference is more than double as Auckland has around 20 five star hotels as compared Brisbane has only 7. After comparing the brands owned by franchise as mentioned above the number shows a slight difference of Auckland having more number(9) of franchised hotels as compared to Brisbane(7). Hence if we consider the various factors like Number of visitors, density of the hospitality market and economy franchise sector in New Zealand is much denser and bigger than compared to Australia. This shows despite size and regulatory environment franchising has much in common on both the sides. Also when consider the basic hospitality franchising and various local franchised restaurants franchising in New Zealand has much denser network of franchising. It also concludes that the franchising process is market-sensitive and as a result market characteristics play an important role in affecting franchising operations. These factors may include, among others, the market segment, the degree of control, either by the hotel industry sector or by government policy, the risks and costs of entry, and similarities of cultural norms and business. In addition, other situational factors which that affect how hotel franchising is carried out in a market such as Australia and New Zealand which ar e mature and stable in both the countries, the level of technology infrastructure development in the market, and the overall economic and financial conditions in the financial market of Australia and New Zealand (Alon et al., 2012).

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers fc

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Crime is a part of our lives, it is everywhere! Controlling or eliminating crime and criminals is no easy task but it can not be ignored. Making sure those that are rightly accused to a just punishment is very important. There are many reasons why people commit crimes; some do it for the shear of enjoyment others do it to be able to survive. The death penalty should not be used for every crime, although I strongly believe it should be used for those who commit very violent crimes, such as murder. Deterrence is the means to punish those who commit crimes as an example and to create fear in others who might want to commit a crime. The death penalty is one way we use to create fear! Most people fear death one way or another. Ernest van den Hagg, in his article â€Å"On Deterrence and the Death Penalty† mentions, â€Å"One abstains from dangerous acts because of vague, inchoate, habitual and, above all preconscious fears† (193). Without this type of deterrence what would stop criminals that already in prisons for life keep from killing another inmate or a staff that works there? There are those that are against the death penalty called anti-death penalty advocates, they say that imprisonment by it self is enough to deter criminals, killing criminals is not needed! Hugo Bedau argues in his article, â€Å"Capital Punishment and Social defense† says, â€Å"Crimes can be deterred only by making would-be criminals frightened of being arrested, convicted, and puni shed for crimes† (301). According to Richard Seiter in his book â€Å"An Introduction Corrections† states that â€Å"From 1986 to 1997 the number of males that went to prison increased 70% while the number of females increased 118%† (210). It seems that just going to prison isn’t enough for some people. Without the death penalty insane people would kill others thinking they could get away with it and if not what’s the worst going to happened to them â€Å"Prison for life†! One could argue that the death penalty probably has saved someone’s life because it deterred someone from committing that act! Still anti-death penalty advocates believe that the death penalty is irreversible and that some people who really weren’t guilty are sentenced to death. Yes the death penalty is irreversible but the chance that an innocent person gets sentenced to death is extremely low. The judicial system goes threw extreme measures to insure this doesn’t happened! They do this by making sure that only when guilt is determined by clear and convincing evidenced be punished.

Bringing Home Adam Essay

Adam Walsh in his book â€Å"Bringing Adam Home† conveys different important information concerning people and the society they dwell. This book is based on Mathew Joe’s experience in his investigation for the murder and abduction. The book suddenly reveals the cases of abduction and murder that the world at large gets to be no longer innocent wit. Bring Adam Home is a definitive story about a six year old Adam Walsh who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered in 1981. It explains how Adam stopped by the local store to get some new lamps. He was captivated by a video game at the entrance of the store and begged his mother, Reve, to allow him try it out while she shopped. However, his mother never found him when she returned a few minutes later. His body was later found mutilated in a drainage canal. The book details the botched investigations conducted by the police that prevented discovery of the killer for nearly twenty seven years. The book is one of the finest true-crime stories that can be related to Thomas Thompson’s Blood and Money of 1976. Les Standiford is the author of the story that exposes notoriety of the case. He has authored other nonfiction books and novels such as The Man Who Invented Christmas that was released in 2008. Bring Adam Home tells the story of the young boy’s abduction with the help of detective Joe Matthews, who eventually solved the case. The detective was working for John Walsh’s TV show, America’s Most Wanted, while investigating the case. The book gives a meticulous recount of the events leading up to the kidnapping of Adam from a Sears store at the Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Florida. It illustrates the unsuccessful search for the missing boy leading to the subsequent location of his severed head bobbing in a canal miles away. The shock of Adam’s abduction and murder, as well as failure by the police to find the killer, was the most consequential in American history. Efforts of the parents of the young boy, John and Reve Walsh, revolutionized the justice system on crimes involving missing and murdered children. It influenced the way local, state and federal authorities investigate such cases. During the time of Adam’s abduction and murder, there were no Amber Alerts and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was nonexistent. In addition, the federal government did not have the pedophile registry or a database for crimes against children. It was a time when children received little attention as they played outside all day. Before his abduction, Adam was playing video game in a departmental store. The report of Adam’s abduction and eventual death led to investigations conducted by detectives from Hollywood Police Department. Detective Matthews joined the investigation team from Miami Beach Police department. Two years after the death of the boy, an illiterate arsonist, Ottis Toole, admitted to kidnapping and killing Adam. The police got this revelation during questioning about several unresolved murders. Toole was later convicted as a serial killer, but Adam’s case was not included among the crimes he had committed. There was a time Toole recanted his confession. However, he admitted to committing the crime several times later. In his confession, Toole explained that he took Adam to raise him as his own child. He only killed him when he found out that Adam could identify him. There are several reasons that resulted in failure by the police to issue charges against Ottis Toole. More prominently, the police failed in their work in correctly documenting the findings. This led to their eventual failure in the gathering of the physical evidence. Therefore, a warrant of arrest was never issued against Ottis Toole leading to dismissal of his confession. Several other facts clearly demonstrated that Toole was the culprit. Firstly, he was the only person who gave twenty five independent confessions connecting him to the crime. Secondly, Toole had detailed information concerning the crime scene that would only be known by the killer. Thirdly, scores of eyewitnesses identified Toole as the killer. The book outlines the tireless work done by the bereaved parents in search for justice on behalf of other missing children. The main attraction of the book is the investigation of the Hollywood Police Department that exposes the bulging of the investigators that had previously worked on the case. Standiford and Matthews carefully builds the case against the police. They provide details that contain numerous leads that were disregarded during the initial investigation. These included some obvious questions that were never asked, a number of crucial witnesses that were ignored, and details concerning incomplete or falsified reports. In addition, the fresh investigation of the investigators exposed evidence that was never examined and a number of vital evidence that got lost. The book exposes the most damning revelation concerning ignorance of the Hollywood police on repeated confessions by a serial killer. The killer had detailed information concerning the crime that was never made public. However, he was never tried for the crime despite confessing to the boy’s murder. The author does not bend facts to show his artistic skills. He details factual information and is not self-consciously literary. The spilling of the narrative follows a matter-of-fact style. This is an excellent choice for a narrative laced with so much mistrust, heartbreak, perversion, and gore. The authors also exposed names of several people that were never mentioned in the initial investigation. The authors recount how detective Matthews was, on numerous occasions, stonewalled by other detectives and superiors from the Hollywood police department. This occurred when he was on loan from Miami Beach Police department as a detective to assist in investigating the case. He was further frustrated when he accepted to assist the desperate parents in investigating the case afresh. It seems the Hollywood detectives and their superiors had ulterior motives of frustrating the cause of justice for the case. Moreover, the disappearance of the boy had attracted national attention with the media being at the fore front. Joe Matthews was a topnotch homicide detective who was entrusted the responsibility of unraveling who had killed the boy. However, his concerns on disorganization witnessed at the station handling the case went ignored. There was a time he was excused from the case after suffering a nasty road accident. The case was further groped by new revelations on shotgun accusations and lack of any tangible leads. This was until Ottis Toole, a convicted serial killer admitted to the murder. The investigations dragged for two decades before Matthews got access to all information on the case files. On scrutinizing the information, the detective found out what he had long suspected. The case files showed that there had been sufficient evidence to prosecute the killer of the young boy. Unfortunately, the said killer, Ottis Toole, had died in prison in 1996. He died of liver failure at the age of forty nine. He had confessed earlier to the killings and other grisly crimes. It was hurting for a country that has arguably the best justice system to allow the grieving parents of a murdered child to lead investigations that would culminate to the deserved justice. One may wonder why the case took that long without finding justice. There are several reasons that may have jeopardized the quality of investigations into convicting the actual culprit. During the time period when the crime occurred, DNA forensic technology was still rudimental. This could have been the reason why Toole was not charged for the murder despite loads of evidence linking him to the crime scene. The Hollywood Police Department was highly respected at the time of the crime. Failure by the department to effectively solve Adam’s case may have been caused by assigning wrong detectives to work on the case. The lead investigator failed to perform his duty as the investigation was marred with claims of laxity and lack of proper supervision. The assigned leader of the investigation team was very territorial. This is evidenced by his refusal to consider inputs made by other detectives, especially Joe Matthews. The case would have been closed twenty five years earlier had he put into consideration all the findings. Though nothing could have been done to prevent the abduction, the lead investigator should have solved the Adam Walsh case at the time it occurred. Adam’s father, John, later became a steadfast advocate for missing and exploited children. He was the host of America’s Most Wanted. Through his program, he championed for the transformation of law enforcement on matters pertaining to handling similar cases. The activism of the Adam’s father influenced Congress to pass the Missing Children Act in 1982. Two years later, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was launched. John reunited with Joe Matthews, the decorated Miami Beach homicide detective, after twenty five years of Adam’s death. It was in February, 2006, when the parents requested the detective to re-investigate the case involving their son. The investigator, armed with an arsenal of forensic tools and heartfelt intent, reopened the case and went through all the case files that contained all information pertaining to the initial investigation. After two years and nine months, Joe Matthews emerged with a 10,000 page report that exposed evidence that was never recorded or looked at by the original investigators. The findings had enough evidence to indict Ottis Toole with the abduction and murder. Bring Adam Home is an account of a crime that captured public attention. It is a story of dedication, tragedy, love, and faith. The author reveals the pain and persistence of a family determined to find justice. It reveals how police failed in their work and allowed a criminal remain without being indicted. The story shows how a determined police officer was capable of accomplishing what an entire legal system failed to achieve. It is a testimony of love shown by distraught parents who took up the cause of finding justice over twenty five years after the death of their son. Their struggle and that of detective Matthews has helped the nation develop programs dealing with the exploitation of missing children. Moreover, Adam’s abduction and death has had an impact on how mothers watch over their children. The themes in the book is much convincing in that, it has a lot of elements of brutality in the form of thriller. But it gets concern most on the unsympathetic characters as the lead officer could term. Also, it was portrayed as bumbling brute which was much discouraging. However, the book is made more attractive when Matthews’s works of detectives get started almost in the middle of the book. This also makes the author to recount in great details. For instance Toole confesses for the various ways of killings he made in his life and the tough readings of parents. The book is much unique in to the fact that, it confronts the readers through various horrifying natures of the world relating to the crime situations that comes to pass. However, with the clear and thorough understanding of the book, it reveals why the investigations took long in solving the crime and also where the investigation horribly went off target. Readers also come to admire the determinations of Walshe’s and Mathews for not giving up at an early stage until when the book comes to an end. The book is not so much perfect to some extend. This is evident when the police officer reports of the author’s quotes and even some of the information found in it, seem nauseam. After clearing the book, well, the tone is better placed. However since that period; 1981, there have been many rumors and doubts about the murder of Adam Walsh. The book leaves the reader in full world of doubt about the perpetration of the investigated crime. The book also puts the reader in a bad mood in that it disturbs the mind set of a person. The book is much graphic in its illustrations on what befallen the poor Adam. It imposes too much information on the person who was suspected to be behind the murder which is much uncalled for. For instance, if the story was about how the US handles cases of child abduction, it would stick on the issue other than giving more details of different murder, rape and other horrified acts which happened long time ago.   

Milton Friedm An Expert On Economic Theory - 2112 Words

Although Milton Friedman might be an expert on economic theory, his libertarian views on capitalism, the role of government, and discrimination would leave victims of religious, color, and race discrimination (particularly black Americans) struggling for individual freedom and to escape poverty and isolation. In his book Capitalism and Freedom, Milton Friedman states that â€Å"there is an intimate connection between economics and politics† and that â€Å"economic freedom is also an indispensable means toward the achievement of political freedom.† Central to his thesis is that individual political and economic freedom is essential, and this freedom is achieved through limiting the scope of government involvement. Friedman’s theory regarding discrimination (using his discriminators of race, religion, color) is fundamentally flawed because he ignores the costs to society and individuals resulting from discrimination, the loss of individual freedom of the person b eing discriminated against, and he believes that government involvement is not necessary to ensure individual freedom for the victims of discrimination. Friedman states that it is an â€Å"historical fact† that the movement toward capitalism has reduced the amount of religious, racial, or social discrimination against groups of people. He provides examples of this â€Å"historical fact† by crediting economic factors as the basis for the freedoms given to serfs in the Middle Ages, the permitted existence of Jews during the Middle Ages,