Planning and Managing for the Future - Inverleith Hotel - Edingburgh Assignment

Planning and Managing for the Future - Inverleith Hotel - Edingburgh - Assignment Example In addition, the managers and employees are identified to be focusing on the preferences of the customers facilitating in attracting more customers, which in turn aids towards the development of the hotel (Annual Report, 2014). One of the weaknesses of hotel is the limited sales volume and number of rooms, which is affecting the visibility of the brand name of the hotel. The major opportunity of the hotel is the competency of the employees based on which the hotel is able to perform its operations in a competitive manner. The entrance of new hotel can be one of the major threats for B&B. The owners and managers play a vital role towards the improvement of the performance of the hotel based on their good managerial skills. The owners and managers always support the employees in their work, so that the employees can perform their work effectively for meeting the satisfaction level of the customers (Annual Report, 2011). In the context, the assignment focuses on evaluating the plans as well as objectives of Inverleith Hotel (B&B) for having a better understanding of the performance of the company. Accordingly measures are needed to be adopted for implementing the changes effectively for enhanced growth as well as development of the hotel. The current business objectives and plans of Inverleith Hotel (B&B) are to increase exposure and expand market by using new and advanced technology. Other current business objective and plan is to increase the number of customers with the aim of increasing the profit as well as economic growth of the hotel. The hotel has planned to improve the quality of food products and also provide the best services to the customers based on the requirements of the customers (Annual Report, 2013). The business plans to hold a strong market position in the international market. The current business objectives and plans have been to enhance the performance of the hotel. To improve the current performance, the owners and

Atmospheric issues Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Atmospheric issues - Term Paper Example Global warming is connected to levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Other gasses, such as methane serve as greenhouse gasses as well, but carbon dioxide is by far the most abundant, so the following mitigation plan will focus on limiting and eventually stabilizing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as best we can. Addressing global climate change is important because a host of negative environmental and human maladies can be linked to a rapidly changing climate. Habitat loss, a greater range for human and animal disease, declining agricultural production and more severe storms are all possible outcomes from a warming global climate. But mitigating the amount of carbon dioxide being introduced into the atmosphere is a challenge. The complex nature of the atmosphere and earth’s systems makes some inputs, such as volcanic eruptions and solar radiation, beyond our control. Even inputs that are within our control are dif ficult to implement due to the global nature of the problem. Any realistic mitigation plan needs to have the cooperation of a host of governments and nongovernmental organizations. Though the challenges are daunting, the threats are even more so. This is why we need to address the rising amount of carbon dioxide in our environment. Carbon dioxide levels need to be mitigated because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is essential in our atmosphere because it traps heat in the atmosphere before it can be radiated back into space from the surface of the earth. It works very much like a blanket trapping body heat. If a blanket is too thick, the sleeper becomes uncomfortable. This is what many scientists believe is happening to earth. The build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is creating a thicker, more effective

Business Strategy Affecting Information Systems And Organizational Decisions Commerce Essay

Business Strategy Affecting Information Systems And Organizational Decisions Commerce Essay A strategy can be defined as a plan. A business strategy can be defined as an explicit description of the strategic destination of a business in terms of what it targets to achieve, as well as the road map of getting to that place or operational status quo. Such a strategy is the means through which an enterprise communicates its vision, mission statement and set objectives. In response to various market forces such as demand and supply, the managers of a company devise this business strategy. To achieve set organizational goals, managers make various decisions which are key to the optimization of processes and resources. Such decisions include financing decisions; investment decisions; operational decisions among others. Hence the need for any organizations information systems to offer the best decision making support to management. An information system is an organized combination of interrelated components which are people resources; computer software and hardware resources and in frastructure which operate within set boundaries to achieve a common goal. There is strong link between a business strategy and the IS (Information System) strategy as well as the organizational strategy of any business. Prosperous business entities come up with an overruling business strategy which dictates the complementary IS and organizational strategy to be employed. The relationship between these three strategies is called the Information Systems Strategy Triangle. According to the Information System Strategy Triangle, understanding business strategy means providing answers to the questions listed below: 1. What is the business goal or objective? 2. What is the plan for achieving it? What is the role of IS in this plan? 3. Who are the crucial competitors and co-operators, and what is required of a successful player in this value net? ( Adapted from Stephanie Overby, Found to Fail CIO Magazine, May 1, 2005, pp. 49-54). Managements decisions about the organizational structure, staffing issues and other elements of the organizational strategy and decisions regarding IS components such as hardware and software applications are all dependent on the type of strategy which a business adopts and pursues. There is therefore the need to balance these three strategies though organizational design which positions the IS and organizational strategies as complements of the business strategy. As such, the business strategy affects the information systems and organizational strategy of a company in that any changes in a firms business environment not only necessitate business process re-engineering or rethinking the business strategy of giants such as Roche, but revamping the IS infrastructure as well. Where a firm designs its business strategy to use IS to gain a competitive advantage, constant innovation in IS becomes necessary (Stephanie Overby, Found to Fail CIO Magazine, May 1, 2005, pp. 49-54) Resultantly, the three strategies must be constantly reassessed. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ QUESTION 2 : What generic strategy does Roche appear to be using based on this case? Provide a rationale for your response. Roche mainly employs the Innovation strategy through the use of IT, driving change in organizational culture and the consequent change in business processes. Firstly the innovation strategy is evident in that the organization has had to embrace and organizational revolution to accommodate the technological revolution. The shift in approach in Research and Development Roche moves towards a system which encourages a warmer style of teamwork as opposed to the ultra competitive culture in which scientists fought for scarce resources and did not encourage flow of information. In the new system, the preferred team members are young, ambitious researchers with the agility to handle change. Klaus Lindpaintner, Roches worldwide head of genetics research says A young researcher can be fully up to speed with the most modern stuff and be less distracted by all of the other things that 50 year-olds focus on. In addition, there is increased interaction between researcher from different background s or technical expertise for example biologists and statisticians collaborating on how to use data from a Genechip experiment. Secondly, as Roches business strategy has resulted in the generation of large amounts for data which need to be screened and processed, the innovation strategy is seen in the information technology that the company employs to deal with this flood of data, for example the Zeiss machine which is used to increase efficiency and speed in the screening of potential drugs, shortening the time it takes to get the product on the market. Innovation is also demonstrated in the way Roches computer services experts had to devise a way to use computer capacity effectively, for the storage of raw data and experiments. Roche has quite evidently begun a form of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) as a response to the new breakthroughs in medical research. The beginning of research cycle has changed and has more possibilities, as a result the processes that follow have to upgraded to handle the increased volume of information, as a result Roches business will be completely remodelled over time. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. QUESTION 3: Apply the hyper-competition model to Roche. Which of the 7 Ss are demonstrated in this case? The hyper-competition models chief proponent is Richard DAveni, the professor of business strategy at the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College. Mr. Daveni believes that business can no longer be business as usual due to shifting market rules which render it impossible, in an extended time frame, to sustain a companys competitive advantage. The world over, the business environment has slid into a status of hyper-competition where survival for any business goes beyond issues to do with maximizing profits. To ensure that a business continues and survives there is a need for business entities is to focus strategic energies on toppling the market leader by eliminating their present competitive advantage. This new paradigm comes in the wake of four main contributors to the new age of hyper-competition, which are adjusted consumer preferences and the resultant changes in product and service demand; constant upgrades; research and development in the field of information technology; world globalization which merge all nations into one global market thus nullifying geographical and industry divides, and deep pockets among competitors (Daveni). Due to the impact of the four forces listed above, there is need to devise new ways of upsetting the market. Mr. DAveni came up with a new set of rules key in this new era of hyper-competition, and labeled these simultaneous or sequential strategic thrusts , strategic soothsaying, surprise, speed signals, shifting the rules and stakeholder satisfaction. Ground breaking developments in human genomics as well as molecular biology in the Pharmaceuticals industry sparked the need for Roche to adopt Davenis new set of rules to stay afloat in the world of hyper-competition. The following are the Ss which are demonstrated in the case study for Roche Group. 3.1 SOOTHSAYING, i.e. Discontinuing the pursuance of obsolete business thrusts and ideas in favour of currently applicable methodologies of innovation and team collaboration. Ensuring a speedy and timely identification of peoples susceptibility to illness or infirmity. Roche hires new employees and leverages on existing employees to best prepare for efficient implementation of new ideas. 3.2 STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION Effective maneuvering of Roches value chain to maximize value addition to cancer drugs, thereby increasing their profitability and efficiency in treating cancer ailments. Ensuring a speedy detection of side effects caused by the use of certain drugs such as probable toxicity. Employing the Gene Chip to aid treatment and monitoring of patients, which translates to better health care insurance for Roches customers. Maximizing returns to shareholders by producing competitive pharmacy drugs which best meet customer expectations. 3.3 SPEED Critically evaluating and analyzing large volumes of data in a shorter period of time using the Zeiss machine. Achieving the rapid discovering of new and better pharmacy drugs and nipping in the bud toxicity risks through early identification. Team collaboration in favour of encouraging scientific team competition means that teams take lesser time to be productive due to the pool of intellectual capital, unlike where individual teams would be stuck with outdated ideas, trying to preserve their careers. 3.4 SIMULTANEOUS AND SEQUENTIAL THRUST. Researchers can now consider multiple ideas on a daily basis rather than to spend years focusing on one idea. Having different initiatives running at different times. 3.5 SURPRISE Investing in new technology 3.6 SIGNALLING Developing markers for cancer Media briefing showing the direction market will take. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ QUESTION 4 : How do information systems support Roches business strategy? Roches business strategy has resulted in the generation of large amounts of data which needs to be processed screened, analyzed then either discarded or stored. 4.1 Screening The head of clinical research believed that the best hope of finding new drugs fast would be to test as much compounds as possible and discarding as quickly as possible, those that had lower odds of succeeding. This resulted in the procurement the Carl Zeiss machine which has assisted Roche with efficient and faster testing of compounds per day.. 4.2 Processing / Experimenting- the Genechip has assisted Roche in reducing the time it takes to identify disease markers when conducting experiments on tissue samples. This contributes positively to the business strategy in that it increases the speed at which new products can be identified and developed. 4.3 Storage All the data generated as a result of Roches new strategy which is experiments that are either discarded or continuing with further investigation needs to be stored on the companys data systems. Roches computers services experts have had to devise an effective way of storage that ensures that all the employees are allocated sufficient storage in their respective areas of responsibility. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦

Attica State Prison Uprising September 13, 1971 Essay -- Research Hist

Attica State Prison Uprising September 13, 1971 George Jackson the most famous political prisoner in the 70's and leader of the Black Panther Party was incarcerated at San Quentin Prison in California. He was killed by the State on August 21, 1971. Because of this Attica inmates organized a hunger strike and wore black arm bands. George Jackson's revolutionary writings in his book he had written "Soledad Brother'; was passed from inmate to inmate inside Attica State Prison, which had an enormous impact on the prisoners awareness of their feelings. Mr. Jackson's death lead to the direct uprising of New York's Attica State Correctional facility which was approximately two weeks after George Jackson's death. The uprising of New York's Attica State Correctional Facility is known as the most notorious prison riot in American History. During this time New York's Governor Nelson Rockefeller ran the Attica State prison as forced labor camps as well as other state prisons. Attica State Prison during this time also had an all white correctional staff and eighty-five percent of Attica's prisoners were Black and Latino. Working conditions in Attica State Prison were unbearable, prisoners were political, poor and maltreated. Hygienic conditions were very bad and medical care was practically non-existent. Prisoners average pay was 40 cents a day for manufacturing mattresses, shoes and license plates, prisoners never saw a lawyer, were prevented from defending themselves, wer...

Bowling Alone

This essay deals with the correlation between a healthy, progressive society and one that is engaged civilly with sociological matters and ties. The statistics expressed in Putnam's essay show a rather rapid decline in our societies' civil engagement in the last quarter century. Putnam emphasizes the valiant importance of a strong and active society for growth and development in a democracy. Without further social development Americans could deteriorate their once strong, socially engaged society down to a individualistic democracy that would shatter our national image.Putnam's essay is titled, â€Å"Bowling Alone†, he gives emphasis, and depth to this title in several different ways throughout his article. Perhaps, the most interesting and whimsical piece of information that he shares though is a bowling statistic. More contemporary Americans are bowling than ever before in history, although, bowling in organized leagues has plummeted in the last decade. Between 1980 and 1993 the total number of bowlers in America increased by 10 percent, while league bowling decreased by 40 percent.This statistic, that shows the rise of solo bowling threatens the very, livelihood of bowling business proprietors because many of those people who bowl as members of leagues consume three times as much beer and pizza. Common knowledge then comes into play, the profit money in bowling does not derive from the balls and shoes but rather the other expenditures such as, beer and pizza. The broader social significance, in this matter though, however lies in the social communication and conversations that can derive from beer and pizza, as compared to solo bowlers.Putnam offers other information that supports his claim, besides bowling statistics. In some parts of the essay, he shares that organizational groups, as a whole have experienced a massive decline in new membership, over the last quarter century. Church-related groups are the most common type of organization joined by A mericans, women especially. Other examples of popular organizations frequently joined by Americans are, school service groups, sports groups, professional societies, literary groups, labor unions, fraternal groups, and veterans' groups. All of these organizational groups share one common trait, a decline in new membership.There are consequences that ensue after a society begins, to lose it civilly engaged citizens, for private, less trusting ones. In a survey done, over 35 countries, it shows that social trust and civic engagement are strongly correlated. The greater the amount of associational membership in a society, the more trusting its citizens, are likely to be. Trust and engagement are two components of the same underlying factor, social capital. America is still ranked relatively high by cross-national standards in both areas of social capital; and its citizens are more trusting and more engaged than people in most other parts of the world, still.What, these trends show in t he past quarter- century, however, have placed United States significantly lower in the international rankings of social capital. An alarming possibility that this information provides is in another quarter-century at this rate of change, America could be roughly equivalent to South Korea, Belgium, or Estonia today. Two generations' decline at the same rate would leave the United States at the level of today's Chile, Portugal, and Slovenia. Putnam does not offer any concrete solutions to these current trends, but he shares his advice and wisdom on such a complex problem.Giving more responsibility to the institutions that raise our children could be the answer. Perhaps finding new ways to reach younger generations at a more significant point in childhood could curve this trend. For example, instituting more programs and organizations rather than the typical sports or academic activities, offered. Reshaping the classroom and offering more social progressive classes could play a signif icant role in instilling a strong social reinforcing importance to a young person. Another possibility for a helpful change in this current trend could be given in a representative media source, for the people, by the people.There is no doubt that our current media today seems to be a giant circus that focuses only on irrelevant issues and seeks only high ratings. Perhaps, a media source that actually is not focused on getting ratings or pushing certain agendas on Americans could be the answer. Most news sources today seem to disinterest many Americans with blown up stories, and each stations political ideologies. Creating a station with no bias, giving direct information to the people about real issues in this country could generate more interest in our country's politics.Television has the ability to reach more people than any other source in the world, why not use it to reach the social outcry in America? and be a solution rather than the problem. In conclusion, Putnam's essay of fers a non-bias factual account of a growing problem that future generations may face. There is no clear solution to this debate, what is clear though, however, is the significance of this issue. To solve this, it will take many solutions and variables. Counter trends have shown what lies ahead, new social groups must take the supremacy and give it power.

Louisiana Coastal Wetlands: Restore or Retreat

Imagine returning to your Hometown 30 to 40 years from now to find it completely replaced by wetlands. This is the reality that many Louisiana natives living along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico will have to face if coastal erosion continues at the pace it is going. Costello proclaims, â€Å"Since 1932, when the Department of Natural Resources began keeping thorough, accurate records, Louisiana has lost over 1,900 square miles or 1. 2 million acres of coastal land due to coastal erosion. (19). Loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands is a problem that will impact a wide range of individuals, from those living in metropolitan areas far away to those living in smaller cities along the shoreline. The resources that this ecosystem supplies are utilized nationwide. The United States is expected to lose billions of dollars from the seafood industry, oil and gas revenue, and commercial shipping if Louisiana’s coast disappears (â€Å"Turning the Tide: the Fight to Keep Coastal Louisiana on the Map†, 1). While the state makes up forty percent of the United State’s wetlands, it regrettably accounts for eighty percent of land loss (Williams 1). Louisiana’s wetlands are home to fish, plants, and other wild life exclusive to the area. Sadly, their habitat is steadily shrinking and exactly half of Louisiana’s original wetlands have already been lost over the past 200 years (Williams 1). Southern Louisiana is also residence to a unique, lively, and diverse group of people that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. They have an amazing culture that can be depicted in movies like Princess and the Frog, which will hopefully stay in tact in the midst of all the land loss. According to S. Jeffress Williams and the U. S. Geological Survey, â€Å"The swamps and marshes of coastal Louisiana are among the Nation's most fragile and valuable wetlands, vital not only to recreational and agricultural interests but also the State's more than $1 billion per year seafood industry†(1). Louisiana’s wetlands are 3 million acres, reaching 130 kilometers inland and stretching 300 kilometers along the coast (W illiams 1). It is the low-lying, swampy region that acts as the drainage basin connecting the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico (Costello 19). The Lower Mississippi River drains more than 24 million acres from seven states (Costello 19). Inhabitants have always been attracted to the region due to the vast range of resources available around the basin. Not to mention, residents were drawn in by the trade route and transportation that the Mississippi River had to offer in the 1700s (Costello 19). The fishing and shipping industries also provided many job opportunities, which made South Louisiana a very popular place to live (Costello 19). Bibliography Costello, Gina R. â€Å"Louisina Coastal Wetlands and Louisiana Coastal Grey Literature: Vanishing Treasures. † Maping Gray Resources for Coastal and Equatic Enviroments. Springer Science & Business Media B. V. , 1 August 2007. Web. 15 March 2011. â€Å"Turning the tide: the fight to keep coastal Louisiana on the map. † LouisianaDept. of Natural Resources, 2004. Web. 15 March. 2011. Williams, S. Jeffress. â€Å"Louisiana Coastal Wetlands: A Resource at Risk. † US Geological Survey Facts Sheet, 3 November 1995. Web. 15 March. 2011.