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Gatsbys Corruptive Nature Essay Example For Students

Gatsbys Corruptive Nature Essay The Great Gatsby , composed by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a depiction of the shrinking of the American Dream....

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Celtic Music An Important Influence Influential Part Of...

For centuries, music has been an important and influential part of people’s lives. Music can evoke so many emotions, ranging all the way from fear to surprise (Mohana). As a style, Celtic music seems to be the most well-known music â€Å"genre† worldwide. Between the instruments used, the different styles, and the most famous musicians Celtic, music is an iconic art-form that is used and heard around the world, but in many different styles and instrumentations. Celtic music has been around for a long time, but the way that it came about is nothing short of unique. Many music styles have a particularly clear beginning, but the same cannot be said for Celtic music. â€Å"Irish traditional music began as an oral tradition, passed on from†¦show more content†¦A few examples of this would be how in Scotland, they are known for the Great Highland Bagpipe. In Ireland and Wales, they are known for the fiddle (violin) in the instrumentation of their music . For Celtic music as a whole, however, the most popular or commonly used instruments are the fiddle, bagpipe and uilleann pipes, flute, pennywhistle, guitar, and smaller stringed instruments like the mandolin, banjo, and bazuki. Though not each of these instruments are used for all Celtic music, without the use of at least one of them, the sound does not come close to its best as when the common instrumentations are used. Bands made up entirely of bagpipes are very common in Ireland and Scotland, and when played in unison, can be heard from over a mile away. Another popular combination of Celtic bands is a band entirely comprised of snare drums, a few tenor drums, and one or two bass drums. This type of ensemble, though popular, is predominantly seen as a military ensemble. Both types of bands are very commonly played in Highland Games, funerals, and even weddings. Many pipe bands will compete against each other, and if good enough, will compete internationally. The most well-known pipe band in the world (among those who are knowledgeable and interested in Celtic music) is the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, a pipe band originally founded in 1946 within the British Army (The British Army).Show MoreRelatedWhat Is The Types Of Music?1587 Words   |  7 Pages What is the types of music? Music became an important thing since i was really young.It grew up with me together and it brings me a lot of things that other things can’t give me.Now,let me tell you all about what i learned from music,and my feeling with music.I found there are many different types of music.And every type of music brings listener different feelings.Types makes music totally different. If i am a narrator,then music is like a main character in my life.ActuallyRead MoreResearch Paper in Society and Culture2764 Words   |  12 Pagesbecause without them maybe I didn’t finish this research paper. 1 History Belgium According to its history, the name Belgium is derived from  Gallia Belgica, a  Roman province  in the northern most part of  Gaul  that before Roman invasion in 100  BC, was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of  Celtic  and  people.A  gradual immigration  by Germanic  Frankish  tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the  Merovingian  kings. A gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdomRead More Discontent Expressed through Blues, Jazz, Reggae, and Hip-hop5489 Words   |  22 PagesDiscontent Expressed through Blues, Jazz, Reggae, and Hip-hop In cultures all over the world, music can be seen encompassing many aspects of life for many individuals. It is a form of mass communication thatspeaks directly to society as a cultural form, and often reflects a collection and pattern of personal experiences (King 19). Music is so influential because it communicates on three different levels: the physical, emotional, and cognitive. Not only does it operate in a nondiscursive way, byRead MoreComparative Lexicology8448 Words   |  34 PagesInternational nouns (computer, nuclear) 7. Celtic borrowings When the Anglo-Saxons took control of Britain, the original Celts moved to the northern and western fringes of the island which is why the only places where Celtic languages are spoken in Britain today are in the west (Welsh in Wales) and north (Scottish Gaelic in the Scottish Highlands). Celtic speakers seem to have been kept separate from the Anglo-Saxon speakers. Those who remained in other parts of Britain must have merged in with theRead MoreCulture of India9032 Words   |  37 Pagessearch Bharatanatyam, one of eight designated classical dance forms of India. The culture of India refers to the religions, beliefs, customs, traditions, languages, ceremonies, arts, values and the way of life in India and its people. Indias languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the country. Its culture often labeled as an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures is spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are severalRead MoreGlobalization Strategy Of The Korean Pop Music9775 Words   |  40 Pageshas been applied by Korean music labels in marketing their music products overseas. This has been viewed by many marketers and scholars as one of the key reasons that promotes overseas popularity of Korean pop music (K-pop). Inspired by the hybridisation strategy of cultural products and successful applications of CT in K-pop, this paper looks into hybridisation in music products in a value chain approach. This would be the first attempt to discuss hybridisation in music products al ong value chainRead MoreAmerican Popular Culture and Its Impact in a Globalized World8501 Words   |  35 Pagesthan unlikely to walk up to an adoles-cent, mention the names Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Eminem or Bruce Willis and be confronted with a questioning face of ignorance. Performers and actors such as these have become increasingly omnipresent in peoples lives all around the globe. American popular culture with its above-mentioned icons and its lifestyle of fast food and consumer goods tends to be received by foreign societies in a variety of differing ways. Terms such as Americanization, WesternizationRead MoreEssay about Summary of History of Graphic Design by Meggs14945 Words   |  60 PagesChampollion. - As hieroglyphics presented more opportunities than cuneiform, the language was used for commercial documents, poetry, myths, etc†¦ - Papyrus paper was a major step forward in Egyptian visual communication. - The Egyptians were the first people to produce illustrated manuscripts in which words and pictures were combined to communicate information. - Eventually, Papyrus was used for funerary purposes. - The majestic Egyptian culture survived for over 3000 years. Hieroglyphics, papyriRead MoreA Picatrix Miscellany52019 Words   |  209 Pagesal-Hakà ®m fi’l-sihr, or Picatrix, as it is known in the West, is an important Arabic magical text. It is perhaps the largest and most comprehensive of the grimoires, or handbooks of magic. The attribution to the Andalusian mathematician al-Majriti (or al-Madjriti) (d. ca. 1004-7) is considered pseudo-epigraphic. The Latin translation dates to 1256 and the court of Alphonso the Wise, king of Castille, and exerted a considerable influence on Western magic thereafter. It is said that much of Ficino’s astrologicalRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pagesrecycled paper. Management http://www.mhhe.com/primis/online/ Copyright  ©2005 by The McGraw−Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher. This McGraw−Hill Primis text may include materials submitted to McGraw−Hill

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

The Prince Essay - 1043 Words

The Prince nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Governing countries and states properly has been a difficult task from the beginning of time. In every country there will be people to who are unhappy and will disagree with your rule, causing your system to fail. So, century after century, people have tried new ways to make their politics suffice everyone’s needs. However, the art of politics is a complicated and challenging issue that will always be needed to be dealt with. There have been many ways in which people have preached their ideas on politics, but none were better than those of Niccolo Machiavelli. Born in 1469, Niccolo was adamant in creating a master plan for seizing and controlling power. He voiced these themes on what it takes to†¦show more content†¦He feels that in life no matter how much intelligence and strength you have, there is a part of life in which you have little or no control over. Virtue being a powerful quality, Machiavelli saw its potential to build a defense against fortune. However, fortune is inconsistent and variable so, you must treat it like a woman. Machiavelli states, and I quote, â€Å"fortune is woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to conquer her by force†. His point is that when you encounter fortune, you must approach it aggressively. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Machiavelli said that the ruler must be able to imitate both the lion and the fox. He is saying that the qualities of a ruler must show the bravery and strength of a lion, but also, the slyness of the fox. These characteristics are imperative for a new ruler especially. That way he can get the respect from the people right away. An example of one ruler who showed both the qualities of a lion and a fox was Septimus Serverus, a Roman emperor from 193-211 A.D. Another quality of a ruler should be that he is both loved and feared. In actuality, it is almost impossible to be both those, so it is better to be feared. Love can lose effectiveness because of human nature. When something conflicts, love can easily be overcome for one’s own private interests. And fear on the other hand is maintained by the dread ofShow MoreRelatedThe Prince Of Machiavelli s Prince1186 Words   |  5 Pagesleader that wields his power the most like Niccolo Machiavelli’s Pr ince, from his book The Prince, that leader is President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation. Although, Putin does not hold the title of Prince, he has held influential positions throughout the years, i.e. Prime Minister and Acting President, that hold power similar to the Prince. Every position that Putin has held in Russia he has acted as if he were a Prince. Putin has held such all-consuming control and influence over RussiaRead MoreTotalitarianism In The Prince By Niccol Machiavellis The Prince934 Words   |  4 PagesIn our world, most societies support governments that work in a righteous way, but how can acting righteously be effective in a chaotic world full of crime and war?   In the novel The Prince by Niccolà ³ Machiavelli, a dystopian society is defined as an illusion of a perfect government which is maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, and totalitarian control. This illusion fades however, once one recognizes how these actions beneficially impact a socie ty by uniting and protecting the country. ThroughoutRead More The Prince Essay1200 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"All the states, all the dominions, under whose authority men have lived in the past and live now have been and are either republics or principalities.† In Machiavelli’s, The Prince, timeless keys to a successful principality are examined. The keys are understanding human nature, respecting that nature, and reaffirming that successful leadership can exist in the same fashion yesterday, today, and tomorrow. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Machiavelli’s perspective of human nature is foundedRead More The prince Essay1526 Words   |  7 Pages Niccolo Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince† attempts to explain the necessary tactics and required knowledge a ruler must attain in order to gain and maintain a successful reign. The novel serves as an abstract manual, addressing the definition of a good/bad ruler by placing emphasis on the required military organization, the character a ruler must posses, and the success that could be attained if a ruler should follow the guide. The scope in which the book is written is that of a scholarly observant. MachiavelliRead MoreThe Prince, By Machiavelli1517 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Prince, Machiavelli doesn’t hesitate to recommend that a ruler employ conventionally immoral methods against his own subjects to maintain authority over them, but he does imply that whatever a ruler does should ultimately benefit the community. A Princeâ⠂¬â„¢s actions may be cruel, manipulative, or otherwise immoral, but they put him in the position to govern. On occasion, Machiavelli even suggests that gaining power through immoral acts is the best way to improve a community because immoralityRead More Prince Hamlet Versus Machiavellis Prince Essay1003 Words   |  5 PagesPrince Hamlet Versus Machiavellis Prince  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         The Prince is a celebrated and highly controversial piece of work by the Italian aristocrat Niccolo Machiavelli. His work is a summation of all the qualities a prince must have in order to remain in his position. Machiavelli supports the idea that a prince use his power for the ultimate benefit of all, but he also does not condemn the use of any unpleasant means in order for the prince to maintain his power. His ideas both compare and contrastRead MoreThe Prince Machiavelli Analysis1490 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout The Prince, Machiavelli advocates for the use of force to achieve the Prince’s goals. However, these acts are justified because they are done to benefit the state. Moreover, Machiavelli’s political philosophy repetitively stresses the fact that the Prince should not act in a way as to cause hatred. In this, constant cruelty is inappropriate and unjustifiable because it provokes contempt towards the ruler. In The Prince, Machiavelli discerns that good acts of cruelties â€Å"are carried outRead MoreNiccolo Machiavellis The Prince810 Words   |  3 Pages Niccolo Machiavelli’s most famous book, The Prince, contains the most valid information for a prince, a president, and even a king, to keep hold of their own power. Machiavelli tells about the importance and power of political action, his opinions, and most of all philosophy at it’s finest. Throughout the twenty-six chapters of this book he describes the bold, brave, practical, and powerful prince and how the prince’s life should be lived. Machiavelli’s view of human nature is used as justificationRead MoreMachiavelli And The Apology Of The Prince1718 Words   |  7 Pages Machiavelli writes The Prince centuries after Plato documents Socrates in Crito and The Apology. Despite the different time periods, both Machiavelli and Socrates experience times of turmoil where the concept of democracy was questioned. However, the different time periods cause the views and purposes of Machiavelli’s writing to largely differ from Socrates. Machiavelli w rites in a time of turmoil where Italy was a bunch of small, fragmented states and when the Medici’s struggled to regainRead MoreThe Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli885 Words   |  4 Pageslived. He was leader of the Catholic Church, controlled his own territory, and had more influence than any prince of any of the other city-states in Italy. Machiavelli was suspected of being an enemy of Medici and was thrown into prison until he was able to prove his innocence. These were the circumstances which inspired him to write The Prince. In The Prince by Niccolo Machiaveli, the prince in which it was so aptly named, securities were entirely dependent on his reputation among his citizens.

Monday, December 9, 2019

Advertising and Sexual Content free essay sample

Sexual Content in Advertisements in Women’s and Adolescent Girls’ Magazines 3/2230 California State University San Marcos Abstract A content analysis was conducted to examine sexual content in women’s and adolescent girls’ magazines. Sexuality was classified under three dimensions: facial expression, body language, and revealing clothing. Four popular female fashion magazines that publish adult and adolescent counterparts were selected. Coders analyzed 40 full paged advertisements for sexually explicit material and recorded ads as either â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† as sexual. It was hypothesized that there would be more ads with sexual content in women’s magazines than in adolescent girls’ magazines. A Chi-Square test of independence yielded that there was not a significant difference between the two. The implications of these findings are discussed. Sexual Content in Advertisements in Women’s and Adolescent Girls’ Magazines Advertising is not only the bearer of messages, it is the message. Many present day advertisements allure to the philosophy that an ideal woman is submissive, extremely beautiful, and subsists to fulfill men’s sexual desires (Baker, 2005). Studies have revealed that across a variety of magazines, advertisements use many stereotypes to portray women in an assortment of roles such as housewives, sex objects, and even as decorative elements (Baker, 2005; Stankiewicz amp; Rosselli, 2008; Zimmerman amp; Dahlberg, 2008). Sexual content in advertising has become more evident. Between 1964 and 1984 alone, the amount of ads sexual in nature tripled (Soley, 1986). At present, this trend continues to increase and intensify (e. g. , Archer, Iritani, Kimes, amp; Barrios, 1983; Courtney amp; Whipple, 1983; Goffman, 1979, as cited in Baker, 2005). The fact that advertising has become so pervasive and ubiquitous suggests it has a substantial and objectionable impact on society. The enormity of the impact of sexually explicit ads has remained indistinct. However, it has been strongly suggested that observation leads to modeling. Albert Bandura (1977, as cited in â€Å"Social Learning,† n. d. ) stated that â€Å"from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors [italics added] are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action (p22). On that account, it is not surprising that recent evidence shows young women to be increasingly less offended by the portrayal of women as sex objects (Zimmerman amp; Dahlberg, 2008) or that adult and adolescent women appear to be becoming more and more representative of the images portrayed in today’s media (Baker, 2005). The themes of sexually explicit ads, and the models depicted within them, set an example for women to emulate. Bandura’s research demonstrates that individuals are more likely to imitate or model after people who are in a position of authority, who are well liked, or of a higher status (Bandura, 1977, as cited in â€Å"Social Learning,† n. d. ). Of equal importance, according to Bandura’s theory, individuals are likely to model after behaviors that result in outcomes they personally value (â€Å"Social Learning,† n. d. ). These principles are important to note and directly relate to what is seen in the magazine advertisements of today, specifically those targeted toward women. It is estimated that the average American views approximately 37,000 advertisements from television alone, per year (Bretl amp; Cantor, 1988, as cited in Stankiewicz amp; Rosselli, 2008). Just as surely, people are exposed to a great number of advertisements every time they open a magazine. The women depicted there are examples of â€Å"ideal† women in â€Å"ideal† situations—a very powerful and highly observable influence indeed. Women and teen magazines are rife with sexual content. Numerous studies have recorded high amounts of sexualization across an assortment of magazine categories (e. g. , Baker, 2005; Stankiewicz amp; Rosselli, 2008; Zimmerman amp; Dahlberg, 2008). One study reports that on average 51. 8% of magazine ads feature women and portray them as sex objects (Stankiewicz amp; Rosselli, 2008). This is a sizeable increase from the numbers reported in a 1984 study that found 22. 8% of ads portrayed women as sex objects (Soley, 1984). Stankiewicz and Rosselli (2008) also reports that 63. % of advertisements in the women’s fashion category portrayed women as such. This was higher than the overall average of all magazine categories. Therefore, we hypothesized there would be more ads with sexual content in women’s magazines than in the adolescent girls’ magazines. To study this hypothesis, we identified and selected magazine brands that publish both adult and adolescent versions. The sample was narrowed to two major brands: Cosmopolitan and Vogue; and were chosen because they are widely circulated and the most popular among the fashion category. Advertisements that were of at least one full page in length and contained any part of female were numbered and marked for possible examination. Sexuality was operationally defined through three dimensions: facial expression, body language and revealing clothing. The numbered ads were then randomly assigned and distributed amongst coders. By aid of a coding sheet and directions operationalizing the variables (e. g. body language), coders recorded each advertisement as either sexual or non-sexual. The aim of the procedure was to objectively examine sexual content within the widely popular and therefore influential magazines selected for our study. Advertising is a highly visible and therefore observable entity. Again, advertising is the message. In truth, Bandura’s Social Learning Theory would suggest that whatever messages put across by highly visible advertisements are likely to be received and imitated by their viewers. Women and especially teens are regularly subjected to unfavorable influences and heavy pressures to conform to images depicted by the â€Å"ideal† women portrayed in today’s magazines. Accordingly, it has become important to measure and compare sexual content in ads out in the open to the public. Similar research has illustrated that content (sexual) traditionally reserved for adult audiences continues to grow more rapidly within adult (women’s) categories, and that adolescent magazines do not experience the same growth of this type of content, despite an increase in their category as well (Stankiewicz amp; Rosselli, 2008). The purpose of this study was to explore the sexually explicit material that women of modern society observe day to day. Such a central source of persuasion has not been adequately scrutinized. Method Sample The content analysis sample consisted of 40 advertisements purposively selected from four popular women’s fashion magazines issued during October, 2008: Cosmopolitan, Cosmo Girl, Vogue, and Teen Vogue. Magazines were selected only if they had both an adult and adolescent counterpart. Advertisements were randomly selected from all full-page advertisements containing any part of a female’s body. Ten advertisements were collected from each magazine, 20 from the women’s magazines and 20 from the adolescent magazines. Measures and Procedure In this content analysis, each advertisement was coded for sexual content. The nominal data was coded as either yes (1) or no (2); similarly, magazines were coded by target audience as either women’s (1) or adolescents’ (2) magazines. Three sub-groups were created to evaluate the content of each advertisement (for coding directions see Appendix A): facial expression, body language, and revealing clothing. Facial expression was described as sexually suggestive looks and/or expressing sexual desire. Body language was described by posture (spread legs, leaning or bending over in a sexual manner), camera angle (focus on an intimate area, emphasis on breasts, buttocks, thighs, and hips), and sexual activity (hugging, kissing, in bed, sexual acts). Revealing clothing was defined as the model wearing short skirts/shorts (above mid thigh) and showing of the midriff, cleavage, and/or shoulders. If any of the above criteria were met, the advertisement was coded as sexual. Cohen’s kappa was used to measure inter-rater reliability among the three coders. Scores ranged from . 75 to 1. 00 (M = . 83, SD = . 14). Each coder analyzed approximately 13 advertisements for a total of 40. The coding sheet in its entirety is located in Appendix B. Results The study was designed to determine if advertisements with sexual content were more frequent in magazines targeted towards adult women rather than magazines targeted toward adolescent girls. A Chi-Square test of independence revealed that the number of sexually explicit advertisements in adult magazines was similar to that of the amount shown in adolescent magazines, therefore, the hypothesis was not supported; ? 2 (1, N = 40)= 1. 62, p = . 20. As seen in Figure 1, in the sample of women’s magazines, only 35% of advertisements contained sexual content whereas in teen magazines, 55% contained sexual content. Figure 1. Percentage of advertisements displaying sexual content across magazines targeted for women and adolescent girls. Discussion The aim of this study was to examine sexual content within advertisements in women’s and adolescent girls’ magazines. Based on interpretations of previous findings, we hypothesized that adult women’s magazines would contain more sexually overt ads than their adolescent equivalent. In fact, statistical analysis yielded that there was not a significant difference between the two. Adolescent girls’ magazines embodied a comparable occurrence of sexuality to the adult women’s magazines they are meant to grow into. Given our small sample size, it is feasible to presume that a power analysis would be appropriately suited to determine a more adequate sample size, therein increasing the validity of our results. Nevertheless, Stankiewicz and Rosselli (2008) reports that women are more likely to be depicted as sex objects in men’s, women’s fashion, and adolescent girls’ magazines; where three out of every four advertisements portray them as such. The oversight here is that sexual ads appear to be equally represented within adult and teen magazines. Zimmerman and Dahlberg’s (2008) research insists that shifting ideologies in feminism might help to explain how this change has gone relatively unnoticed. The interest of examining the portrayal of women in advertising was initially provoked by the women’s movement of the 1960s (Zimmerman amp; Dahlberg, 2008) and â€Å"in the past, young, educated women were the strongest critics of advertisements† (p. 71). However, attitudes of today’s younger generations have changed. Mittal and Lassar (2000, as cited in Zimmerman amp; Dahlberg, 2008) found that sexual liberalism had an effect on the perception of advertising. Although present studies show an agreement between respondents in terms of seeing advertising as highly sexualized, people less often think of such portrayals as offensive, irritating, or unethical (Zimmerman amp; Dahlberg, 2008). As far back as the 1980s, Coltrane and Messineo (2000, as cited in Baker, 2005) uncovered evidence that advertisers believe women accept objectified and passive views of themselves. In summary, it appears that adolescents have become increasingly exposed to sexual content in magazines without disconcerted notice because of societies increased tolerance and culturally acceptable views toward sex. Sexuality is a muddled concept. Further, advertising’s affect on sexuality is even more so. The American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007, as cited in Stankiewicz amp; Rosselli, 2008) proposes that it is important to distinguish sexualization from healthy sexuality. This is a limitation of our study as it affects the degree of the implications we may infer from the findings. We made no attempt to identify or measure positive sexuality—only sexually explicit material in the broadest sense. Another limitation lies in gender. We only examined ads that contained women. Our literature review indicated that approximately one-half of ads in magazines are of women and that 63. 4% are sexually overt (Stankiewicz amp; Rosselli, 2008). If we had broadened our specification within the sample to include men, we might have seen different results. Thus we failed to account for any possible additional measures of sexual content in our magazine sample. In addition to removing biases and allowing the full examination of each magazine, using nominal scales of measurement appeared to limit our gauge of sexual content and left us little direction. Converting the coding system into a continuous scale would not only increase validity but would likely offer an overall clearer picture. For this reason, future research would do well to follow the aforementioned improvements in addition to exploring a way to distinguish, as well as measure, sexualization versus healthy sexuality. Despite the findings of this content analysis, it remains to be debated whether as Zimmerman and Dahlberg (2008) say, â€Å"society should find it surprising, alarming, or empowering that†¦[women] now casually accept the sexual objectification of their gender† (p. 78). The fact that our analysis yielded non-significance warns that adolescents are receiving advertising messages in many of the same forms as adults. English (2003, as cited in Zimmerman amp; Dahlberg, 2008) finds that â€Å"girls exposed to these images become more sexually aggressive, and [that] sexual experimentation is beginning earlier [italics added]† (p. 73). Observational behaviors occurring at earlier stages of life have always raised uncertainties as to their implications, and the case should not be different here.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Park Place Hotels Mis Project - Feasibility Study Essays

Park Place Hotels Mis Project - Feasibility Study Running Head: Feasibility Study. Park Place Hotels MIS Project MBA 2000 - Cohort Team Three Mark Carey, Tim Swanson, Sherri Nelson, Sherri Thomas City University, Tacoma WA March 20, 1999 STRATEGIC NETWORKING, INC. Park Place Hotels, Ltd. - Installation of a Hotel Management Information System March 20, 1999 Internal Feasibility Report Number SNI-FS-990320 STRATEGIC NETWORK, INC. Park Place Hotels, Ltd. - Installation of a Management Information System March 20, 1999 Research Team Mark Carey Sherri Nelson Tim Swanson Sherri Thomas Internal Feasibility Report Number SNI-FS-990320 Read and Approved: _____________________________________________ _________________ Jonathan Edwards, CEO Date EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SNI has been sought out to implement a Management Information System for Park Place Hotels in South Korea. The MIS project, part of a hotel management system, will be an integral part of positioning Park Place Hotels as a world class facility appealing to affluent business travelers. We have researched the project with respect to technical requirements and cultural risks of conducting business in South Korea. SNI has successful, relevant experience in developing and installing a similar system for Comfort Suites in Texas eighteen months ago. Based on this experience and the close parallel in system requirements, we believe SNI possesses the technical expertise to be successful. The project is expected to generate $1.28 million in revenue. Doing business in a foreign country will be new to SNI. South Korea is an excellent place for this expansion of our market. Korea, with its abundant skilled workforce, well-developed social infrastructure, and large domestic marketwill create an environment in which business can prosper (American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, 1998). We have explored the extensive research available on Korean culture and protocol and believe that with proper preparation our technicians and managers will succeed in building successful working relationships. We believe this project presents a unique opportunity for SNI to expand its market and will likely result in additional opportunities in Korea and potentially other countries. We recommend a team be assigned to negotiate an agreement with Park Place Hotels for the development, installation, training, and maintenance of their Hotel Management System. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. Introduction 6 II. Method and Criteria 6 Sources of information 6 Project elements 6 Technical 6 Cultural 6 III. Evaluation and Analysis 7 About SNI 7 Mission Statement and Vision 7 Organizational Chart 7 Strategic Business Plan 8 Management Strategy 8 Project Description and Purpose (Goal) 8 Overview 8 Current Situation and Project Objective 9 Proposed System 10 Software Hardware, Manpower Resources Required 10 Financial Breakdown and Implications 11 Critical Success Factors 12 Design, Training, and Implementation 12 Anticipated Difficulties in Development and Implementation 12 Cultural Success Factors 13 Overview 13 Language, Education, and Work Ethic 14 Legal and Financial Issues 15 Social and Ethical Issues 16 Korean Business Practices 17 Customs and Protocols 18 IV. Conclusions and Recommendations 20 V. Annotated Bibliography 22 VI. Appendix A. Capabilities of LMS PRO 1.4 24 B. Financial Breakdown of Park Place Hotel Project 26 C. Gantt Chart 27 I. INTRODUCTION Strategic Networking, Inc. (SNI) is an innovative information services and business solutions company. This feasibility study explores the advantages, disadvantages, and critical success factors in expanding our reach beyond the borders of the United States into the global marketplace. Specifically, SNI was approached to implement a Management Information System for a hotel chain in South Korea. Remarkably, the project is nearly identical to the Comfort Suites Project SNI completed eighteen months ago in Dallas, TX. Our success and reputation resulting from that project came to the attention of our potential Korean partners. Does SNI have the capability and available resources to implement this project? Absolutely! This paper explores the financial benefits and risks associated with conducting business in Korea. Extensive research was conducted concerning the cultural, political, and social environment in Korea. It is our belief that the financial rewards of this project outweigh the numerous challenges we will face. II. METHOD AND CRITERIA Sources of Information Information in this paper should be considered extremely reliable. It is based on extensive research on American/Korean business practices conducted through the U. S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy, Seoul, Korea, U.S. Department of Commerce, Korea-U.S. Committee on Business Cooperation (CBC), Korean American Chamber of Commerce, Central Intelligence Agency, area Korean business leaders, as well as traditional library and internet sources. Project Elements There are two elements to this feasibility study: 1. Technical Does SNI have the software, hardware, manpower, and training assets available to successfully implement the project? 2. Cultural The cultural risks associated with this project are immense. We will assess political,