Cadbury World Essay Example for Free

Cadbury World Essay Overview This case study explains the history and product development of Cadbury World; aspects of its operational and marketing functions, as well as providing some key numerical data. It is intended to provide students and other interested parties with a snapshot view of and insight into one of the UK’s leading leisure attractions. It is strongly recommended that the case study is used in association with a visit to the attraction. Cadbury World in Context Seen as a new venture into the leisure industry when it opened in 1990, Cadbury World began its life principally as a public relations tool, but quickly became a popular half-day venue for people of all ages looking for quality leisure time. The original attraction was very educational and historical-based, with mainly static displays. Over time, Cadbury World has grown to be a family attraction of much bigger dimensions. It has maintained visitor numbers comfortably in excess of half a million annually, and returns a healthy paper profit back into Cadbury UK as well as bringing value to the company in terms of public interface and direct communication to the consumer. The original vision for Cadbury World was to provide a tourist attraction experience and provide an alternative to the demands from the general public denied access to the Bournville factory tour, which ceased due to health and safety practicalities around the time of the merger between Cadbury and Schweppes in 1969. In setting up Cadbury World, in the face of strict health and safety and hygiene legislation, the vision was to underpin the central message of â€Å"Cadbury means chocolate means fun† with the interpretation of cocoa and Cadbury’s chocolate both past and present. Responding to these principles, Cadbury World was conceived as a continuation of the message â€Å"Cadbury means chocolate, means fun,† through the interpretation of cocoa and Cadbury chocolate both past and present.. The original vision for Cadbury World developed as follows: To significantly enhance consumers’ perceptions of Cadbury and develop long term brand loyalty by: †¢ Giving the visitor a memorable enjoyable, and unique Cadbury chocolate experience †¢ Offering high quality and good value for money †¢ Delivering Cadbury values of fun and quality, whilst achieving a break-even cost target for Cadbury Limited (at the time the UK chocolate operation of Cadbury Schweppes plc). The Early Years Opened on 14 August 1990, Cadbury World’s first weeks proved to be successful beyond initial projections and led to a number of operation concerns and issues. Huge queues built up at the start of each day and most visitors came with the expectation of taking part in the resumption of the Bournville factory tour (although it was thought by Cadbury World management that this perception had been overcome in its launch publicity and literature). Free samples were not deemed to be as freely available as the public expected, and prices in the retail shop were more ‘gift shop’ than ‘factory shop’. The team’s response to these initial problems were quick and comprehensive: including the immediate introduction of a timed-ticketing system (later a formal pre-booking system), and a greater access gained to a small part of the factory. Free samples gradually became more plentiful and – as today – are distributed to visitors at intervals throu ghout the tour. The prices in Cadbury World took longer to resolve as the Cadbury World ‘gift shop’ strategy needed to be aligned to serious and real business concerns relating to the threat to some serious and well-established commercial relationships. The belief from retailers in the Birmingham area was that unlike the Cadbury staff shop, the Cadbury World offering was open to the general public and would prove so successful that the it would represent serious competition to those local traders if prices and offers were misaligned with those available from other retailers. A policy was developed whereby there would be no more than a token reduction in the prices the Cadbury World gift shop charged, compared with prices in normal retail outlets. In reality, where the major retail organisations exerted substantial buying power, they were able to charge well below Cadbury World rates. Eventually, a ‘bargain corner’ (now called the factory area) was established, the ‘gift shop’. The retail offer developed and Cadbury World now has two retail outlets: ‘The World’s Largest Cadbury Shop’ and the ‘Essence Emporium’ offering themed gifts and merchandise, standard retail offerings from the Cadbury brand portfolio and exclusive chocolate novelties hand-crafted in Cadbury World’s ‘Demonstration Area’. In its early years, due to both visitor comfort and also health and safety provisions, Cadbury World’s limited capacity required a robust control on the numbers of visitors allowed inside at any one time, as well as their flow and passage through the exhibition. Initially, a system of timed ticket entry was introduced based on a first come first served approach and enabled visitors to have a known time when they would go into the main exhibition. As popularity for the attraction grew, even this measure proved to be inadequate to the increasing visitor numbers, and queues began to trail outside the main building once more. In March 1993, a reservations system was introduced, whereby visitors could prebook the date and time of their entry into Cadbury World, and eliminated much of the need to queue. From 1993 onwards, all publicity material for Cadbury World emphasised the reservations service and still strongly recommends that the visitor pre-book via the booking office telephone number or via the internet in order to avoid disappointment. Whilst the reservations system had an immediate benefit, around 30% of admissions on a busy day would consist of visitors ‘rolling-up’ (as awareness of the need to pre-book increased, the number of ‘roll-ups’ has fallen to a more manageable of no more than 20% during peak periods). Indeed, during school holidays and bank holidays, it is not unknown for a visitor arriving at 10am without reservation to sometimes have to wait four hours before being admitted into the main exhibition. Essence Launch, 2005 During these peak times, this allows the visitor to ‘reverse their visit’ and visit the Essence and Bournville Experience zones (accessed separately from the main building), enjoy any complimentary entertainments, utilize the outdoor play area for those visitors with children, or pick up a map from reception and take a walking tour of places of interest in the Bournville area. Within the main exhibition itself, the ‘smoothing’ of the visitor flow has been a key consideration in the development of Cadbury World’s features and shows with the introduction of new or updated sets in a process of continuous improvement to meet demands. Visitors are admitted to the exhibition at a maximum rate of 80 individuals at intervals of every 10 minutes. Thus, certain presentations such as The Cadbury Story and the following set: Making Chocolate, will accommodate up to 80 people seated, and last no longer than ten minutes including the audience’s entry to, and exit from, each set. The Cadabra ride is also carefully timed, to allow for an average of three passengers in each of the 12 cars (plus wheelchair-adapted car), and a circuit taking in the region of 5.5 minutes. All of this is careful orchestrated to ensure a steady and constant flow through the exhibition. On busy days, the delay from the slightest technical hitch on Cadabra is very difficult to recover, and this, with the queue of ticket holders in reception, is the main source of queuing nowadays in Cadbury World. Ongoing Development Continuous Improvement Early improvements to Cadbury World were more reactive, addressing the issues raised by a new product from a company whose traditional expertise was not in the leisure industry. As time progressed, and as would be expected from a business unit whose parent company is a leading consumer brand, improvements became more proactive as the needs of the visitor changed and were driven more by a desire to offer the same service any visitor or leisure attraction would adopt. The first significant development occurred in 1993 when parts of the exhibition were moved up onto the ground floor of the East Cocoa Block, and renamed The Cadbury Collection. Finally, some Cadbury-sponsored outdoor play equipment was recovered from the now defunct National Garden Festival of Wales in Ebbw Vale and used to expand the play facility. Early feedback indicated that Cadbury World was surprisingly adult in appeal, and, during 1993, plans were laid to create the first exhibition feature aimed specifically at younger children, up to age 10. â€Å"The Fantasy Factory† was opened in March 1994, to provide a child’s eye view of the production of liquid chocolate, from bean to bar, using interactive techniques, and, with the mirror room, to provide a grand finale. The Fantasy Factory, circa 1995 (removed 2000) In 1995, the child appeal was further increased by the installation of the Astros Set from the TV commercial that launched the brand in the UK, and then in 1997 with the opening of Cadabra, a Magical Cadbury Journey on specially constructed beanmobiles through various lands and scenes populated by the Cadbury World mascot – the Chucklebean With the launch of Cadbury Land in July 2000, in a separate building to the rear of the site, and the complete replacement of the play area with a state-of-the-art themed play area, Cadbury World had achieved a shift in appeal to encompass the entire age range â€Å"from 090 and beyond†. Feedback from visitors in 2001 indicated that the attraction had shifted from a very adult profile, to a strong child profile. The improvements made to the attraction since 2001 have been of more adult interest in order to re-address this balance, whilst more recent additions and improvements have attempted to be cross-generational. Attraction Structure – Spring 2009 Cadbury World is now divided into 14 distinct and separate zones each dealing with a unique aspect of the history of cocoa and chocolate, the origins of the Cadbury business and the vision of its founding fathers, the production of chocolate and popular Cadbury brands, or just fully immersing the visitor in a truly ‘chocolatey’ experience. Each zone broadly follows on from the previous one to give a logical and consistent story for the visitor’s self-guided journey. On entry to the main exhibition, the story of cocoa begins, in the jungles of Central America, in the area now known as Mexico. The Aztec Jungle zone was ‘re-laid’ in January 2005, to incorporate water features and a more detailed explanation of the culture and beliefs of the various peoples who lived there up to the time of the Spanish conquest. Moving on, the visitor goes into the Journey to Europe Zone describing the way that the taste for cocoa and chocolate eventually made its way to high society in England in Cromwellian times. This zone leads into the last remaining set from 1990, now known as Bull Street Zone, covering regency London and the earliest days of John Cadbury’s business in Birmingham in the 1820’s in a re-creation of Victorian Birmingham. Since 2001, the Cadbury Story Zone and Making Chocolate Zone, have controlled the visitorflow within the exhibition with automatic doors. Updated to include subtitles, these visually compelling Zones tell the story of the origins of the Cadbury business, the Factory in a Garden and the Quaker principles important to the development of the company, and the manufacturing processes involved in producing Cadbury chocolate. The Making Chocolate Zone is multi-sensory experience and was one of the first of its kind in the UK leisure industry. Exiting Making Chocolate, the visitor moves into the Manufacturing Zone (originally created in 2000) where they can select from a series of consoles’ various stories relating to the manufacturing of seven popular brands within the Cadbury product portfolio. Walking up stairs (or accessing via the lift provided), the visitor stops off for their first souvenir photograph opportunity next to an over-sized version of the Cadbury World Chucklebean mascot before moving through a time tunnel (constructed 2005) to commemorate the 100 years of Cadbury Dairy Milk. Moving onto the Packaging Plant Zone, subject to scheduling, the visitor gets to see a snapshot of the real Bournville factory in operation as various Cadbury Dairy Milk products move their way along the conveyor belt on their journey to the outside world. The visitor then makes their way to the Cadbara Zone (updated in 2008) – consistently voted as being one of the most popular Zones – and a second souvenir photograph opportunity Downstairs, the visitor has the chance to purchase their first two photographs before seeing a replica of a water well and learning more about Cadbury’s Ghana Well programme. Visitors often toss spare change into the replica well and to date, have helped Cadbury World to construct 15 wells to help improve the lives of the Ghanaian cocoa farming community (for more details on the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, Cadbury Corporate Social Responsibility, Fair-trade and a case study on the Ghana Wells Programme, please visit www.cadbury.com) Since mid-2004, the Demonstration Area Zone has allowed visitors to see how chocolate was made before mass-manufacturing methods were introduced. Here, the visitor can write their name in liquid chocolate and watch as skilled Cadbury World Chocolatiers hand-craft novelties which can be purchased later in the tour. As part of the programme of continuous improvement, in the summer of 2009, the next three sets comprising of the Happiness Room (2005), Coronation Street (built in 1996 and showcasing Cadbury’s ten-year sponsorship of ITV’s flagship drama), and the Advertising Room (constructed in 2001) will be replaced by the Advertising Avenue Zone. Advertising Avenue will give the visitor the opportunity to walk through a chronologically-themed lifesized street of chocolate houses, lampposts and trees as they enjoy the history of Cadbury’s advertising past from posters through to interactively-selected television commercials. In 2006, the Purple Planet Zone gave visitors the opportunity to participate in a uniquely interactive chocolate environment. Purple Planet allows the opportunity to play in chocolate rain, grow and care for a cocoa bean tree, and chase a Cadbury Creme Egg. Recent 2009 updates to Purple Planet see the inclusion of ‘Magic Planet’ – a touch-screen information terminal with content projected through an illuminated globe which provides an overview of Cadbury operations around the world and ‘Mould Me’, a capture of the visitor’s image digitally transformed to give the appearance of the visitor sculptured in chocolate. This provides the visitor with their third souv enir photograph opportunity which can be purchased at a later stage. Exiting the main exhibition into the World’s Biggest Cadbury Shop Zone, the visitor is presented with various retail offerings, merchandise and exclusive Cadbury World merchandise. In Spring 2009, various aspects of the shop were updated with specialised display units relating to Cadbury UK’s ‘Power Brands’ including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel, Cadbury Milk Tray, and Bassett’s Liquorice Allsorts and Jelly Babies. Upon leaving the World’s Biggest Cadbury Shop, the visitor has the choice of either purchasing refreshments from Cafà © Cadbury (a 240-seat visitor restaurant offering a selection of both hot and cold meals and snacks) or walking outside of the main building and following the yellow painted footsteps to the final two zones. The Essence Zone (constructed in 2005 and replacing Cadburyland) tells the story of the magical creation of Cadbury Dairy Milk before allowing the visitor to create their own confectionery concoction in a tub of liquid chocolate. Opened in 2007, The Bournville Experience Zone replaced the Cadbury Collection Museum and presents the unique creation of Bournville village through a series of models, multi-media view ports and videos as well as memorabilia from Cadbury’s past including John Cadbury’s original pestle and mortar used in his shop to create cocoa based concoctions in the early nineteenth century. With ample free parking space, an outdoor catering kiosk, the children’s play area, the Cadbury No. 14 train and a picnic area – the grounds of Cadbury World offer the visitor plenty to see and do (with easy access to Bournville village) whilst they wait for their entry into the main exhibition or enjoy any complimentary entertainments. Opening Schedule Cadbury World is generally open between 315 and 325 days each year which tends to be every day from early February through to early November, and four or five days a week outside that time. It is necessary for there to be complete closure to the visitor from New Year’s Eve through to the third week in January, in which time major installations, refurbishment and renovations take place. Originally, Cadbury World opened every day except Christmas Day, for the same length of time each day. However, experience of the natural patterns of business, and the waste of opening on a day when variable costs are likely to outweigh the marginal revenue from visitor attendance, has led to a distinctive schedule of opening times. At the quietest (offpeak) times, Cadbury World opens at 10.a.m. and ceases admissions at 3 p.m., or often 4 p.m., allowing the final visitors the opportunity to view the exhibition at their leisure, and browse the shop. Generally, closing time will be about 2 hours after the last admission. Average dwell time on site at Cadbury World is 3.5 hours currently. On busier days, particularly during the school holidays, opening hours are extended up to a maximum admission span of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The visitors are admitted at the maximum rate of 80 every ten minutes, which allows in excess of 3000 visitors. (For up-to-date information on Cadbury World’s opening times please visit www.cadburyworld.co.uk) Cadbury World Education Cadbury World is a company committed to education. Tracing back to 1879 and the move to Bournville, George Cadbury introduced the first employee and community education programme. Cadbury World has maintained this same enthusiasm and commitment to education to the present day. Whilst touring Cadbury World you will discover the history and heritage of the company and learn how it developed from a small Birmingham based business into a global company. Cadbury World feels that it is important to teach the young people of today about business and the way in which we operate. With the information we provide through visuals and exhibitions, we hope that it will give them a good understanding, which will then prepare them for the readily awaiting world of work. One of the first attractions to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge from the Council of Learning (www.lotcqualitybadge.org.uk), Cadbury World’s Education offers have gone from strength to strength. Cadbury World is committed to the education of young people and has tailor-made packages to support the education needs from Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 5 and beyond. Educators can bring their students for a standard visit around the exhibition – complimenting this with downloadable workbooks, or can attend one of a series of talks from Aztecs to Victorians aimed at a Primary-level audience through to talks supporting various GCSE subject’s national curriculum. Indeed, education talks have proved so successful over recent years that a second purpose-built education room was opening in January 2009 to accommodate growing demand. 9 Awards Over the years, Cadbury World has won a number of industry-recognised awards from its offers, its services, through to its marketing and advertising campaigns. Recent awards and nominations include: 2008 (Finalist Highly Commended) Access for All Category, Excellence in Tourism Awards 2008 (Bronze Winner) ‘Gordon’ Radio Campaign, created by BIG, Cream Awards 2008 (Winner) â€Å"You Can’t Eat the Exhibits in a Zoo† print campaign, created by Big, Roses Award 2008 (Runner Up) Recognition of Disability Facilities, Group Travel Awards 2007 (Finalist) Group Leisure Awards Marketing Cadbury World â€Å"In the early 1960s, Professor Neil Borden at Harvard Business School identified a number of company performance actions that can influence the consumer decision to purchase goods or services. Borden suggested that all those actions of the company represented a â€Å"Marketing Mix†. Professor E. Jerome McCarthy, also at the Harvard Business School in the early 1960s, suggested that the Marketing Mix contained 4 elements: product, price, place and promotion,† (Wikipedia). The â€Å"4 p’s† are good place to start when looking at any marketing strategy and its effectiveness. Overtime, the main concept of the â€Å"4 p’s† has developed to become the â€Å"7’ps† (with the inclusion of ‘Process’, ‘Physical Evidence,’ and ‘People’). As techniques and technology develops, even these ‘†7 p’s† have been deemed too restrictive in terms of marketing analysis and now some commentators have even point to a recently devised â€Å"Web 4.2 (the new 4 P’s)† including ‘Personalisation’, ‘Participation’, ‘Peer-to-Peer’, and ‘Predictive Modelling’. Whilst not giving a comprehensive overview into Cadbury World’s marketing strategy, broadly in-line with the relevant ‘P’s’ of the marketing mix, the below gives an insight into the way Cadbury World goes about talking to visitors, potential visitors and generating awareness for its products and services. Product As a leading tourist attraction, Cadbury World operates in a service industry and is almost unique in being owned by a major manufacturer. The product that Cadbury World delivers is â€Å"a memorable, exciting and great day out†; whereas for the main Cadbury business, the product delivered is chocolate, candy, gum brands and drinking chocolate products. The actual product Cadbury World delivers has been built up over nearly 20 years. As discussed in previous sections, it has changed, developed and evolved overtime. Whilst being intrinsically-linked to the main Cadbury business; Cadbury World as a profit-making business unit would not survive if it wasn’t for the desire to offer a quality day out.

Types of tourism

Types of tourism P1–Describe the travel and tourism component industries and provide examples of domestic, inbound and outbound organisations within them. Inbound Tourism: Tourists (non-residents) coming into a country e.g. The French coming into the UK. Outbound Tourism: People leaving their country for another country e.g. Russians going over to China. Domestic Tourism: Residents of one country travelling within it e.g. New Yorker travels to Los Angeles. Accommodation: Its the place you stay at for your holiday or tour; accommodations can be both serviced and non-serviced, serviced is when the room or place youre going to stay at is fully furnished and provided with cooking facilities, fresh meals, modern technology such as a flat screen TV and internet (Wi-Fi). For instance the Hilton hotels has its network in 78 countries across 6 continents[1]. The Hilton hotels are highly branded, stylish with excellent services, having over 92 years of experience proving their professionalism. Even the guest room itself has an original design which is well organised and undoubtedly accommodating. Thus inbound and outbound tourism would use serviced accommodation. On the other hand, non-serviced means only the accommodation itself is provided; the Sykes cottages organisation has over 5,000 cottages across the UK and Ireland. Nearly three decades of experience[2] indicates the companys efficiency and credibility. Therefore non-serviced accommodation would be use d for domestic tourism. Transport Provision: Irrespective of your destination, transport will be essential to get there; regardless of its form whether its by air, rail, road or sea. To get to and from your destination and around to explore the area coach or car travel is recommended. Coach travel are offering low cost prices if the tickets are booked in advance. Megabus offers prices as low as  £1. National Express is one of the largest coach companies that travel to more than 900 destinations across the UK[3]. Over the last 50 years, car travel has grown rapidly and it is by far the most popular type of transport used by the tourists in Britain. There are a variety of different worldwide companies, such as Avis that specialise in private car hire. Therefore both coach and car travel is suitable for domestic tourism. Rail travel is a more environmentally friendly mode of travelling. Virgin trains is a very popular train company that is popular with the tourists. Virgin trains have been around for over 15 years[4] therefore t hey are one of the most experienced train companies around Britain. Virgin trains travel all over the country. Thus rail travel being used for domestic tourism too. When travelling by sea, its usually by ferries or cruising. Ferry companies operate services between the UK and Ireland, France, Belgium and a few other destinations. For example PO Ferries, Irish Ferries and Stenaline. Since the Channel Tunnel was opened in 1994, ferry services have fallen dramatically[5]. However, cruising is also a type of travel using the sea and it is growing steadily and it is attracting lots off different types of tourists. In the past, cruising was seen more for the rich, famous and the elderly but cruising today, it is attracting families, young people and groups of people. Royal Caribbean Cruises is an example of a cruise service. This company holds the largest cruise ship ever built[6]. Sea travel would be used for all three types of tourism; inbound, outbound and domestic. Air travel is the most popular type of travel used all over the world. This includes; scheduled–planes that operate to a published timetable. These planes have to follow routes and they are under government licence e.g. British Airways or the low-costs such as Ryanair. Tickets purchased from the companys website, operating year round[7]. Charter–an airline ticket for a charter flight will be purchased from a tour operator. In this way, charter flights differ from scheduled flights, generally operate only during the summer months (May to October) or November to April for ski flights. Tour operators who put holiday packages together will charter or lease an aircraft from an airline such as Monarch or Thompson. Air travel is to be considered mostly for inbound and outbound tourism. Ancillary Services: Ancillary services are all the extras that come along side a holiday that tourists may need. These are things such as; travel insurance, foreign exchange, airport parking, car hire, luggage check-in, tour guiding, equipment hire, passport and visa services. Without Ancillary Services the holiday wouldnt be complete. Many Travel Agents offer ancillaries to their clients and they make good commission on these products and services. Eurochange is the foreign exchange expert within the UK, which will allow tourists to exchange their currency with outstanding rates, one of the best foreign exchange companies in the UK such as The Money Shop. Therefore making their holiday alot cheaper; suits the inbound and outbound tourism. Tour Operators: A Mass Market tour operator are companies such as Thomas Cook and Thomson who deal with any type of holiday and they are able to arrange packages that suit the customers. A mass market tour operator also supplies their customers with accommodation, transfers, transport and extra services. Specialist operators are businesses such as Cox and Kings. These type of tour operators are a lot more personal to the customer. This is because these tour operators are able to cater and specialise to what the tourists interest are for example, someone wants to go on a cycling holiday, they can tell the operator what they want in their holiday and the operators can do their best to satisfy the customers needs. Attractions: The tourist boards have estimated that there are around 6,400 tourist attractions in the UK. In the travel and tourism sector, attractions are vital as they are what attracts all the tourists from around the world. The Lake District is one of the popular natural attractions in the UK[8], a natural attraction is an attraction that has been created by nature. Many of these areas have been given a status to protect their environment and provide facilities so that the public can enjoy the sights. There are attractions such as caves, waterfalls, seashores and any other scenic view interest that havent been created by mankind. Attractions that are old and have been in place for many years and are now historical–heritage attractions. These are attractions such as canals, railways, battlefields. These attractions are in place so that people can gain an appreciation of the past. The Stone Henge is a popular hertiage attraction owned by English Heritage and is Located in Wiltshire. Purpose-built attractions–attractions that have been built purposely to attract tourist into that area. When people hear the term tourist attraction it makes people think automatically about the purpose-built attractions that are fun and enjoyable and designed for many different reasons. In the UK there are many purpose-built tourist attractions like Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Buckingham Palace and Alton Towers. Events–attractions that attracts tourists to the area. These are small events like the Blackpool Illuminations or huge events like the Olympics and the Paralympics. Events play a significant part in the tourist attractions because in different parts of the country, some places cant offer a large amount of natural or purpose-built attractions therefore the events may be the only reason people visit that certain area. Also Events bring in a lot of income which creates jobs and wealth in the area. Tourism development and Promotion: Tourist boards play an important role by helping destinations and co-ordinating the work of tourism businesses. Tourist boards get their money from the government (National and Local) and it is said to operate in the public sector. Public sector bodies play an important role in Travel and Tourism the UK, because they promote tourism and attract domestic and inbound tourists to the UK this in return will create income and jobs for local business and have a positive effect on the GDP. Tourist boards are websites such as Visit Bolton, Visit England etc. These websites show people who are visiting that area what is happening during the period of time they are there and when and where the events and occasions are taking place. These websites give you information locally, nationally and regionally. National–either a day trip of for a short break away. For example, the Visit Scotland website has information about the events that are taking place in Scotland and it also has their time and place that it is taking place. The national websites are usually available in a variety of different languages which means they are accessible for visitors from overseas who want to find out information about the UK. Local–local destinations such as the Visit Bolton website. This website provides information such as train and bus times, events, accommodation around Bolton and also in Bolton there would be a Tourist Information Centre that would help out the tourists. Finally, Regional–websites such as Visit Englands North West. This would be helpful for people who are overseas and they want to come and visit an area like the North West of England, it would give them information about what happens around this area and what type of activities and events are held in the Lake District. Trade associations and Regulatory bodies: A trade association is an organisation which works in the shared interests for either a particular industry or the customers in general; the difference between ATOL and ABTA is that they both exist for different kinds of operators. ATOL stands for Air Tour Operators Licence. ATOL is managed by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and it is for the tour operators selling flights. ABTA stands for Association of British Travel Agents. ABTA is for the tour operators who aren’t involved with selling flights[9]. AITO is another association. This stands for Association of Independent Tour Operators. AITO was set up for the smaller travel companies[10]. These companies are in place just in case anything goes wrong whilst you are on holiday, all your money is protected. Also if any of the companies go bust whilst you are away, you will be refunded and brought home by the relevant organisation. If a tourist books a holiday through a company which is a member of AITO or bonded by ABTA they can be sure that the company is reliable and if the company should suffer from financial problems they will be protected. The traveller would be brought home from their holiday if the company failed whilst they were away. Travel Agents: Retail travel agent–advise people when they are travelling, about different hotels around the area they are travelling to and about the weather conditions and the different currency exchange. Business travel agent–travel services for companies, they focus mostly on short notice trips where the timing of the flight is alot more important than the price of the flight for the tourist. Call Centre travel agent–sells products over the phone and every day they have to reach a certain number of sales they make per day. Web Based travel agent–sells holidays over the internet. An example of these websites would be Expedia. This website allows you to create your own holiday trip and also looks at hotels and other extras that you might want with your holiday. [1] Hilton Hotels | http://www3.hilton.com/en/about/locations/index.html [2] Sykes Cottages | http://www.sykescottages.co.uk/history-of-sykes-cottages.html [3] National Express | http://www.nationalexpress.com/wherewego/index.aspx [4] Virgin trains | http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/ [5] Opening of Channel Tunnel causes ferry services to drop | http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21602261-why-sea-passenger-market-may-finally-collapse-set-adrift [6] Allure of the Seas largest cruise ship | http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=530 [7] Ryanair operating year round | http://corporate.ryanair.com/ [8] Natural Attractions | http://www.you2uk.com/natural-attractions.html | [9] ABTA | http://www.abta.com/ [10] AITO | http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=27

The Legalization of Marijuana :: Legal Illegal Marijuana Pot Law

The debate over the legalization of marijuana is active in the United States. The problem is, most people aren’t fully educated on the good things that marijuana can bring forth. For thousands of years marijuana was not only legal, it was a common crop. It is only in the past ninety years or so that marijuana has been found to be not only unusable, buy also harmful and extremely illegal in the United States. With all the information I have received and statistics I have discovered, I am a strong advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana in the United States. It is very understandable if people believe that the use of marijuana is morally wrong. This is an argument that many people have against the legalization of the drug. My belief is that, there are many things that people find morally wrong and would never do themselves, but are still legal. Just because marijuana is legal does not mean it is being forced upon you. Everyone should be able to make that decision on his or her own. Marijuana use is known as a â€Å"victimless crime,† which means it can only harm the user, therefore shouldn’t the user make that decision on their own? I believe that one of the main reasons marijuana should be legal is because of the way it was criminalized in the first place. In the years before the depression there was a significant growth of Mexican-Americans in the Western part of the United States as a result of the revolution in Mexico in 1910. As the depression hit, larger farms started using the Mexicans as cheaper labor, which in turn put many smaller farmers out of business and caused much tension. These Mexican laborers were known to use the marijuana plant as a recreational drug by smoking the leaves of the plant. Sprouting from the many Mexicans working on farms, many farms harvesting the hemp plant popped up in Mexico itself. Around the same time many Mormons from the Salt Lake City area were traveling to Mexico. In their return they would bring back marijuana for the sole purpose of recreational use. The Mormon Church did not approve of this behavior and ruled against it, which in turn prompted the very religious state of Utah to pass the first known law against marijuana in 1915. Many other Western states followed in years to come. But, it was not until the state of Montana outlawed the drug in 1927 that the truth behind the outlaw came out.

Marranos: A Lost People :: essays research papers

Marranos: A Lost People Some people might call them New Jews, some New Christians, and others call them Marranos. The majority of the world population has no idea who the Marranos are. To begin to explain these secret people, one must first receive a lesson in World History. We will begin in the 1492. In school, we are brainwashed to connect the year 1492 with the year that Columbus discovered the New World. Yet, if we look at the year 1492, there are other occurrences which are noteworthy. For instance, in the year 1492, Spain, the country which sent Columbus to America, decided to officially expel the Jews from Spain. The Jews were forced to either leave Spain, convert to Catholicism, or be put to death. This was not a surprise to the Jews of Spain. Since 1931, there had been anti-Jewish riots throughout Spain. For years, the Jews had been converting to Christianity to escape religious persecution. These Jews were called conversos. The twist to this tale is that these conversos actually were only putting on a front. They still considered themselves Jews. They practiced in secret.1 The Spanish made every attempt to search out and punish these conversos. Some Jews chose not to convert and they moved to Portugal. . Unfortunately, Portugal, in 1497, expelled the Jews from its borders as well. Anti-semitism was growing in Western Europe and the Jews needed to escape. The prime choice seemed to be so obvious. The Jews went to the New World. The immigration of the Marranos to the new world might have begun with none other than Christopher Columbus. This, of course, is not definite, but there has been research which has shown that Columbus was indeed a Marrano. Apparently his parents were Marranos.2 Even though there are some disagreements about this fact, there is strong evidence to support the claim that Columbus was Jewish. As the Marranos arrived in the New World, they were not able to reveal their secret identities and practice as Jews. This was because the Spanish government established inquisition offices in the New World. These office's sole responsibility was to hunt down Marranos and bring them to justice. The inquisitors had to visit every town once a year and gather evidence of "non- believers" of the church. They would reward anyone who came forth with information. The information could be days old or forty years old, it made no difference to the Inquisitors. The punishments for being caught were varied, never merciful. The mildest form of punishment was Scourging. This was when the victim was forced to strip to the waist in public and receive hundreds of lashes.

Depiction of Africa in Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Depiction of Africa in Heart of Darkness Chinua Achebe believes that Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness is racist based on Conrad's descriptions of Africa and it's people. Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, stresses Conrad's depiction of Africa as the antithesis of Europe and civilization, and the animal imagery present throughout the novella. Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 during the period of British Imperialism, concerns a British trading company and their expedition into the Congo for ivory. The African natives are treated brutally by the Europeans, and despite Conrad's casual condescension towards the Africans, one cannot help feeling resentment at the unnecessary cruelty they must endure. The novella stands as a document against the imperialist practices -- Conrad was quite liberal for the time. The natives are referred to as "savages" several times throughout the story, but Conrad is not using any particularly strong words for the time. The European audiences who would be reading would not find anything racist about it. By today's more sensitive standards, such deference is more serious, but turn-of-the-century England was sure to expect far harsher. Educated people reading Conrad's novel should understand the differences between the past and the present, and be forgiving of his language. The deeper the expedition progressed into the center of the continent, the more isolation was felt by the crew. In a sense, Central Africa IS the antithesis of Western Europe -- it lacks not only the hectic urban structures but also the Social Darwinist attitudes of the time. It is in this remote environment that man must face his true self without any illusions, and the darkness of the human soul is apparent. The uncivilized environment may mock western civilization's refinement, but this is not derogatory towards the jungle, but rather an eye-opener to the European audience. By exhibiting the deeds of the Europeans, their portrayal becomes so negative that they become the savages. Conrad clearly is sympathetic to the plight of the Africans, and any racial epithets, if not accepted by progressives of the time, are not meant as attacks directed at the natives. It should be obvious that Conrad is on their side -- or is this "undermined by the mindlessness of its context and the pretty explicit

Reseach on Performance Work Systems in Local Councils the Case of Harare City Council in Zimbabwe Essay

1.0 Introduction This chapter forms the basis of the study on the assessment on the role of high performance work systems have on Harare city council workers for effective and efficiency service delivery. This paper is going to provide a background of the study stating the problem, purpose and importance of the study. To add to the above, the objective, anticipated constraints and research questions, including literature review and research methodology are going to be highlighted. 1.1 Background of the study Performance has been a widely researched subject by most social scientist and industrial psychologist in an attempt to establish what motivates people to do what they do, and why they do it. An organisational performance has always been an issue for managers, as it is believed that satisfied workers tend to be more productive, creative and committed to their jobs. There is therefore need to establish whether high performance work systems are what bring satisfactory performance or there are other factors. High performance work systems is a complex and multifaceted concept, which can mean different things to different people. However, the researcher in this study attempted to establish the role of high performance systems, whether it brings positive or negative results with particular attention at Harare City Council. 1.2 Statement of the problem The dilemma at hand is that the Harare city council workers are said to be hindering the performance circles of which are of particular appeal to affect the residents. The council provide services to the residents which are not helpful but only distract them from developing their communities in the proper manner they desire. This is happening due to the failure by the council to carry out good research on its performance since today employees are expected to work in teams rather than solely on their own. They are expected to keep learning new skills and to assume broader roles through the employment security, selective hiring of new personnel, self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making as the basic principles of organizational design, comparatively high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduced status distinctions and barriers including dress, language office arrangements, and wage differences across levels, extensive sharing o f financial and performance information throughout the organisation. 1.3 Objectives of the study 1 To investigate and establish the role of high performance work systems in relation to organisational performance as this affects the service delivery. 2 To establish what causes poor performance and service delivery in the organisation. 3 To find out ways of maintaining and improving staff loyalty, motivation and performance. 4 To recommend on changes to improve council performance and staff welfare policy. 1.4 Significance of the study As a researcher it is of paramount importance to conduct a study on the role of high performance work systems by the local authority. One can easily notice that it is important to carry out this research as it: The research findings of this research were also intended to assist management in addressing concerns and expectations of staff in order to harness their full contribution and effort to the benefit of the organization. The organization would then use the research findings to redesign its human resources policies towards the workers welfare and provide the answers to the questions presented on the sub problems of the research problem. Employees could use the research as a platform to express their concerns and desires to management, which they would not probably get, and also use it as a reference point to those who would intend to do their own researches. 1.5 Literature review Review of related literature is the most important part of research. It refers to the systematic exploration of issues related to the one’s research which has been treated to date by various authors and authorities. According to the high performance work systems Assessment, â€Å"by social impacts we mean the consequences to human populations of any public or private actions that alter the ways in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organise to meet their needs and generally cope as members of society.† The concept of high performance work systems and organisational performance High performance work systems have been defined as a distinctive managerial approach that enables high performance through people. (1987). High performance work systems are somewhat not quite the same as motivation, but the two are closely linked. Many thoughts and views have been developed to define performance at work but much of it explains one’s reaction, feelings and emotions towards the accomplishment of organisational goals. Many research studies were however founded to explain how people react in the manner they do in their jobs. Various factors have been associated with one’s performance. These factors include: * The level of pay and benefits, * The perceived fairness of the promotion system within a company, * The quality of the working conditions, * Leadership and social relationships * The job itself. Different models were developed to account for the attitudes that people develop at various situations. The following models of job satisfaction shall be discussed to aid the understanding of high performance work systems at work. Classical theories of Maslow (1943), Herzberg (1968) and Vroom in relation to high performance work systems have been the basis of the modern day studies. Abram Maslow proposed a hierarchical theory of five needs, which gained popularity over the years and formed a basis for management studies to human motivation at work. Having been simplified by Clayton Alderfer made a fine-tuning to the hierarchical explanations of human needs to that of three levels. Abbreviated to ERG, (Existence, Relatedness and Growth), Existence needs constituted Maslow’s physiological and safety needs, and Relatedness included internal esteem and social needs and lastly, the Growth stage was made up of self actualisation and external esteem needs. The Wikipedia encyclopaedia cited various models of which can help to explain high performance work systems that were written to by different authors as follows: * The two-factor theory * The job characteristics model * The fulfilment theory * The equity theory These models shall be discussed below to aid the research to find the basis of high performance work systems in the workplace. Theories of Employee Motivation for performance The two-factor theory This theory also known as the motivator-hygiene theory is the work of Fredrick Herzberg (1968). The theory is on the premise that employee satisfaction has two dimensions namely â€Å"hygiene† and â€Å"motivation†. (Agarwal.1983). According to Herzberg, Hygiene factors include those aspects such as company policies, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. Motivators include those aspects that satisfy people such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility and advancement. The model was criticised by researchers who failed to empirically measure of satisfaction as being a methodological artefact. (Wikipedia encyclopaedia). High performance work systems characteristics Model The model was proposed by Hackman and Oldham (1976), which states that there are five core job characteristics, which impact three critical psychological states. The five core job characteristics include: * Skill variety: employees use a variety of skills to complete their jobs, skills that have been acquired by long years of study and/ or experience and are the primary reason for their employment and work allocation in a business organisation * Task identity: involvement of the employee in all steps of the job, thus providing identification with the task. * Task significance: The significance of the job being properly executed to the well being of the organisation. * Autonomy: The freedom to do the job with responsibility and by oneself. * Feedback: The provision of feedback providing information about the excellence of performance of the job. The three psychological states include: * Experienced meaningfulness, * Experienced responsibility for outcomes, and * Knowledge of the actual results. The Fulfilment theory According to Agarwal (1983), fulfilment theory regard satisfaction as resulting from outcomes (rewards) a person receives or the extents to which a person’s needs are satisfied. The difficulty with the fulfilment approach is that satisfaction is a function of not only what a person receives but also what he feels he should receive and/or wants to receive. People have different expectations and what satisfies one may dissatisfy another. Equity Theory According to literature by Agarwal (1983), a person’s satisfaction is determined by his perceived equity. Received equity is, in turn, determined by his input-output balance as compared to his comparison others’ input-output balance. Input-output balance is a perceived ratio of what a person receives from his job relative to what he put in the job. According to the equity theory, either under reward or over reward can lead to dissatisfaction although the feeling associated with them are different. As illustrated by the following diagram the comparison may result in one feeling unfairly treated when outcome received appears lower than others or feels guilty when received more than others. The equity theory A Perceived outcomes actually received A = B Satisfaction A < B Dissatisfaction A > B Guilty and discomfort Perceived personal input B Perceived personal outcome that should be received Perceived outcome of comparison others Perceived input of comparison others Fig 1.Equity Theory (Agarwal 1983) Determinants of high performance work systems Agarwal (1983) says that there are various factors that determine performance. These are discussed below. Employee Supervision As with Herzberg hygiene factors, supervision is critical to provide leadership to employees’ performance. A good leader is one who establishes trust from his followers and promotes feedback. He knows how to treat employees at different situations. Research has shown that low performance and low productivity occurs when a supervisor is a laissez faire type of leader. Agarwal (1983). Research has also discovered that those people’s reason to seek employment is to get paid (money) though not a motivator but they desire to be paid fairly. Management must always ensure consult for salaries and benefits to see whether their employees match the market. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) The work group in relation to employee performance Employees need to socialise with others to create an environment of belongingness, develop a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. Social interaction creates organisational performance though depending on their affiliation. Inappropriate behaviour should not be encouraged though because of influences, but strong reprimands should be exercised. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) Job content in relation to high performance work systems Employees need to feel that the work or task they are doing is of great importance to the company. Their contributions result in positive outcomes. It is therefore essential for management to recognise as an important a task to the overall achievement of the organizational goals. Agarwal cited Herzberg, Mauner and Suyderman as holding a view that job content factors such as achievement, recognition, advancement, responsibility and the work itself tend to provide satisfaction but their absence such as supervision, working condition, company policies and salary tend to produce dissatisfaction but their presence does not produce satisfaction. Age in relation to performance According to Agarwal (1983), some research works have reported a positive correlation between age and performance. Older workers tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than their younger counterparts because older workers are said to have adjusted to their jobs while young workers still have ambitions and need for advancement. Job Satisfaction and performance The analysis of results from the work of Herzberg et al, on twenty-six studies focusing on the relationship between job satisfaction and performance, fourteen of these showed that workers with positive job attitudes had higher performance than those with negative attitudes. Nine studies have shown that job attitudes and performance were not related, and in three studies, workers with positive attitudes had poorer performance records than those with negative attitudes. Lawler, 1977 and Porter, 1961, hold the view that it is productivity that leads to satisfaction and not the vice versa. Performance leads to rewards and if these rewards are considered to be equitable in relation to the perception of the worker of the rewards of his referent others and his perceptions of what he should receive, he will experience satisfaction. The following is the illustrative diagram. Model of performance leading to satisfaction Perceived equity of rewards in relation to referent others Performance Reward intrinsic & extrinsic Satisfaction Perception of how much he should receive Fig 2.Source: Agarwal 1983: Model of performance leading to satisfaction Adapted from Lawler III & Porter â€Å"The effect of Performance on job satisfaction†, Human relations, October, 1967 P23 1.5 Justification of the study The area of discussion is worth studying because it aims at alerting the management of the Harare City Council how their service provision are being hindered by the employee performance, thus organisational performance is affected as well. As such the research is vital as it will help in gathering or adding information on the importance of high performance work systems being as well as its importance to the Ministry of local government urban and rural development. The Minister will be able to see if there are any amendments which need to be done and if there are any gaps left which need to be filled. Furthermore the research will see the researcher attain the ultimate goal for a Bachelor of science Honours degree in Local Governance Studies 1.6 Research Methodology Various techniques will be exploited to achieve the proposed objectives of the study. Haralambos (1995:36) asserts that: Any academic subject requires methodology to reach its Conclusions, it must have ways of producing and analysing Data so that theories can be tested, accepted or rejected without a systematic way of producing knowledge the findings can be dismissed. The researcher is going to use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to come up with conclusions as both techniques can be used to complement each other as well as questionnaires. According to wordiq.com (2011), quantitative research is the numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect. It is bent on developing and employing mathematical models. On the other hand, Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in any different disciplines. It means a non numerical data collection or explanation based on the attributes of the source of data. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people’s behaviour, attitudes, value systems, motivations concerns, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. Christensen (1994) expressed that a sample makes a better study. Leedy (1993) agreed with the same idea saying that, â€Å"the larger the sample the better.† I wil l select the people that are going to give relevant information to this study for example the most affected people and the possible problem solvers. 1.7 Research Tools (a) Interviews (Group The researcher intends to use interviews as a research technique. Gray et al (2007) allude that the best data gathering technique for survey research is the interview. These interviews will be done in groups so as to save time. (b) Observation The researcher will use observation in tackling the research problem. The rationale for using this technique is that the researcher intends to learn about the sensitive issues that participants might be unwilling to disclose or talk about with regards to the research. (c) Analysis of secondary sources The researcher will make use of other researchers that have been studied in relation to the field under study. This will be done in order to weigh the impacts that the previous researchers have had. Target Population The study will be focussing on the Harare City Council employees. Anticipated constrains Wikipedia (2011:4) notes that any limit or restriction given for the design process is called a constraint. The study is likely to encounter a number of challenges which may compromise the quality of research results and these include: (a)Access to information The information is mostly confidential in the Harare City Council thus releasing information might be problematic. Some may be reluctant to disclose such information as such the respondents will be guaranteed that their information will be treated with utmost privacy and confidentiality. (b)Resources Resources such as time and finance may compromise the quality of the research as the researcher is a student with other university commitments RESEARCH REFERENCE LIST Argawal R.D.(1983) Organisation and Management, Mcgraw-Hill, Tata Boxall P., Macky K. & Rasmussen E., (2003)‘Labour turnover and retention in New Zealand; the causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers’ Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Vol 41 (2)., Cascio, W.F. (2003) Managing Human Resources: Productivity, quality of work Life profits (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin. French, W.L. (1998) Human Resources Management. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company Ivancevich et al (1989):Foundations of Personnel ,Human Resources Management Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2001) Organisational behaviour (5th ed.). Irwin McGraw-Hill. Milkovich, G.T., & Boudreau, J.W. (1994) Human Resource Management (7th ed.). IRWIN Publishers, USA. Morrell W. H., Loan-Clarke J. & Wilkinson J (2004), ‘Organisational change and employee turnover’, Personnel Review, vol 33 (2) Morris W.T. (1972). Management for Action: Psycho Technical Decision making. Reston. Mowday, R., Porter, L., & Steers, R. (1982) Employee-organizations linkages – The Psychology of commitment, absenteeism and turnover: Academic Press, .London Rhodes, S.R., & Steers, R.M. (1990)., Managing employee absenteeism Addison: Wesley Publishing Company, USA Spector, P.E. (1997)., Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and Consequences: SAGE Publications, USA Van der Merwe, R., & Miller, S.(1988),. Measuring absence and labour turnover: A Practical guide to recording and control. Lexicon Publishers., J

Global cities show a particularly high degree of social polarization Essay

Social polarization is a relatively new urban phenomenon that identifies the existence of a widening gap between the rich and poor within a social group or entity. This gap has developed in country’s societies as a result of ‘income equalities, real estate fluctuations and economic displacement’ (Moulaert 2003). The effects can be damaging to society and can include ‘a loss of resources, investment and young people to the core’ (Bradford and Kent 1995). I aim to discuss and explain social polarization in terms of the causes and effects on society, as well as the main catalysts of polarization. Many geographers believe that globalization is a process that ‘has enabled nation-states, TNCs, as well as individuals, to extend their reach across the globe’ (Daniels et al 2008). Globalization has meant that ‘national economies have become integrated into the international economy’ (Croucher 2004) as a result of trade, capital flows, foreign direct investment, migration and the spread of technology; leading to the growth of many sectors, especially the financial sector, where information is easily accessible via a technologically strong communications network. Some are of the belief that ‘Globalization leads directly to social polarization’ (Sassen 1991) The rapid growth in the financial sector has led to the formation of very well paid positions within financial institutes dominated by managers, executives and stockbrokers. However, it has also created large numbers of low-paying jobs, often filled by women and the minorities in unskilled positions. As a result of this, income inequality is common in global cities with salaries ranging greatly. The United Nations quoted that ‘between 1960 and 1990 country differentials between the wealthiest and poorest 20% increased from 30 to more than 60 (UNDP 1993)(Thrift et al 2002). This can lead to a number of problems, with the lower paid workers easily replaced by an abundant supply of workers moving to the area from abroad, known as the ‘urban immigrant population’ (Chao-Lin 2002). The replacement of low-income workers has become a problem in many global cities, for example in Beijing, the open door immigration policy as led to an influx of urban immigrants. Many social problems are caused as a result of this, such as stress at home and at work etc. This, in turn, widens the gap between the richer and poorer people in society; thus increasing social polarization. The ‘transnationals’ have, of course, greatly changed the economic environment. At the global scale their location of production in developing countries has contributed to what has been called a global shift’ (Bradford and Kent 1995). In the first half of the twentieth century the majority of manufacturing and production plants was concentrated in the core: Western Europe and North America. However, a ‘global shift’ (Bradford and Kent 1995) did occur and by the 1980s a third of TNCs had moved to global production in Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) at the periphery. As these TNCs made more money and became financially stronger, there was a shift of power from the governments to the transnationals’. The TNCs have great control over some sectors of the economy, as government revenue from taxes is recycled (through wages) back into the large corporations. TNCs can cause a variety of problems by locating in developing countries, ‘the concentration of many transnationals’ activities in one area, often the core, may exacerbate inter-regional differences’ (Bradford and Kent 1995). Again, this will cause social polarization as different areas in a country, or town will show differences in amenities etc. due to a greater investment in infrastructure. However, this investment in the core regions is needed to service the large corporations. Investment will attract people, jobs and activity into the core regions, thus emphasizing the strength of the pull factors created by TNCs: more well paid jobs are created, better living conditions, more amenities etc. However, ‘this is often at the expense of peripheral regions which lose resources, investment and young people to the core – the so called backwash or polarization effects’ (Bradford and Kent 1995). Friedmann’s Core Periphery Model is relevant here as over time people are drawn from the periphery areas into the core, (See Figure 1). Transnationals’ can also cause problems if similar corporations locate in the same countries, thus leading to ‘segmentation of markets’ (classifying markets into distinct subsets with the same needs).   (Todd 1977). (Classifying markets into distinct subsets with the same needs). This can lead to social differences being accentuated, again relating back to differences in income inequality and quality of life at the core and periphery. Furthermore, particular cultures in countries have changed as a result of ‘acquisition of material goods’ (Bradford and Kent 1995). This has lead to people’s position in society being determined by possession or consumption of particular goods, causing anger and stress, which causes societies to began more polarized. To conclude; in my opinion social polarization, can only have a negative effect on societies and countries as stress and anger is caused as a result of concentrations of investment in core areas, leaving peripheral areas without amenities and jobs. As TNCs continue to increase in size the effects of polarization can only increase with the gap between different social groups increasing, as a result of income inequality and economic displacement. With increased control and power, soon TNCs will have even more control than some governments, and this can already be seen in some areas of the world with governments in India etc. being unable to stop sweatshop labour e.g. Nike in Bangladesh. Polarization shows gaps in society have begun to develop as local markets develop in global markets as a result of globalization and the growth of large corporations. References Bradford, M. and Kent, A. 1993 Understanding Human Geography: People and their   Ã‚  Ã‚   Changing Environments, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Chao-Lin, G.U. 2001 Social Polarization and Segregation in Beijing, Beijing, Science  Ã‚  Ã‚   Press, http://www.springerlink.com/content/h3w8112rj24l8468/fulltext.pdf, 29th  Ã‚  Ã‚   November Johnston, R.J., Taylor, P.J and Watts, M.J. 1995 The Reconfiguration of Late   Ã‚  Ã‚   Twentieth-Century Capitalism. In Johnston, R.J., Taylor, P.J and Watts, M.J.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (eds) Geographies of Global Change: Remapping the World, Blackwell   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Publishers Ltd., United Kingdom, 19-29. Moulaert, F., Swyndedouw, E. and Rodriguez, A. 2003 The Globalized City:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economic Restructuring and Social Polarization in European Cities, Oxford   Ã‚   University Press, Oxford. Sassen, S. 2001 The Global City, Princeton University Press, USA Todd, D. 1977 Polarization and the Regional Problem: Manufacturing in Nova Scotia,    The University of Manitoba Geography Department, Canada. Figure 1. Rodrigue, Dr. J. P. Department of Economics and Geography, 1998 Bradshaw, M., Daniels, P., Shaw, D. and Sidway, J. 2008 An Introduction to Human  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Geography, Pearson Education Limited, England.