Front Office Management Essay Example

Front Office Management Paper Front office manager is entirely responsible for evaluating the success of front office performance in meeting apartments objectives. Front office manager role Is to wisely use resources which are available to him/her for the Improvement of departments objectives. Front office manger responsibilities involve planning, organizing, coordinating, controlling, staffing, leading and evaluating to attain the objectives. Front office managers are currently facing many challenges in managing human resources, revenue management, and safety and security in hotels. This is because of changes in environment in which they work. There is a need for managers to identify these challenges and they should try to overcome them. Aims and Objectives Aims and objectives of this report is to identify the challenges faced by todays front office managers under the key areas that involves management of human resources, revenue management, and safety and security management. This report explains the role of front office manager and addresses on challenges faced by todays front office manager. It shows critical evaluation of the challenges faced and recommends how managers can consistently deal with these challenges. Methodology The research methodology used for this report is based on the information gathered neuron ten use AT secondary data I Nils Is done mainly Day ten use AT Dodos Ana Trot some internet sources related to front office operations. The material was carefully analyses and this report has been prepared which addresses challenges faced by front office managers in managing human resources, revenue management, and safety and security. We will write a custom essay sample on Front Office Management specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Front Office Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Front Office Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Introduction Traditional front office functions include reservations, registrations, room and rate assignment, guests services, room status, maintenance and settlement of guests accounts and creation of guest history records(Savanna and Brooks, 2005). The role of front office manager is challenging because they have to manage several priorities all together. Front office manager represents the image of the property and their Job in fact is a challenging. In order to provide and achieve higher levels of guest and employee satisfaction, the front office manager has to carefully design and plan the front office goals and strategies. Organizations success depends upon how effectively a front office manager manages various departments that are under him or her and how well they focus on their Job. The following challenges are faced by todays front office manager: The Management of Human Resources Human resource has always been a major issue for front office managers. The front office depends completely upon people and how they apply their knowledge, skills and attitudes. People management is a key matter for front office managers. Human resource planning is a very important aspect of creating and maintaining a successful organization. It involves ensuring that the organization has the right amount of staff with the right skills and qualifications at the right time(Connelly and Mining, 2006). Challenges faced in Recruiting: Recruiting the staff for front office position always involves the front office manager. Recruiting involves interviewing and evaluating applicants to decide the best person for the Job position. The biggest challenge for managers is to recruit the best candidate to fit in a position for an organization. There can be many negative consequences of employing wrong people in the organization. It is a challenge for managers to choose right applicant. A wrong decision can be risky for an organization as it may cause increase in labor turnover and thus an extra expenditure for organization. This can give manager an extra load of work as they will have to spend more time and money on further selection. Challenges faced during Staffing: The front office manager is responsible for making staff schedule. Managers have to forecast before they can make staffs schedule. Roaster of front office staff is based both on budgetary and forecasting of guest check-ins and check outs. It is all affected by the frequency of guests requests for information. This is a challenging job for the manager as all this has to be done after determining labor costs. Managers have to review salaries of their staff as per hourly wage rate basis to lactate labor costs. They have to effectively manage resources so as to save on labor cost. It is thus a challenging Job for managers to predict and to determine how things will be affected by their decision. Revenue Management Bard (2011) clearly identifies revenue management is the technique of planning to achieve maximum room rates and the most profitable guests. Revenue management plays an important role because it is all about maximizing the sales of rooms and generating profitable revenue Tort ten note. So Toronto Attlee manager snouts try Nils best to maximize profit by using his tactics. The front office managers have to build up reservation policies which would increase a profitable bottom line. Challenges faced in achieving high Occupancy Levels: All front office managers dream to achieve 100 percent occupancy levels for the organization success. A good level of occupancy can be achieved by managers only if they get successful in attracting new customers. It is also a challenge for managers, how to sell rooms and attract guests? They have to consider about number of factors to get a high occupancy percentage. They have to make sure that their front office personnel are competent in making sales. For this they have to train their staff and teach them skills for how to maximize sales. This all needs a lot of effort and time to train the front office staff and is a difficult Job to do. It is though a challenging aspect of their Job. Challenges faced in establishing Room Rates: One of the challenges for a front office manager is to establish room rates. Manager have to use information to forecast the number of reservations a hotel can expect based on availability, demand and other factors in order to fix room rate. The biggest challenge for the managers is to set the ideal selling price for rooms so that they can attract maximum number of customers and get a good margin on sale. Room rates must be set by managers to satisfy the purpose of return on investment. They have to constantly monitor their competitors in order to provide competitive rates to guests. It is thus a challenging Job for managers to look on market conditions while establishing room rates. This is a tricky part of their Job to determine a price and thus challenging. Safety and Security Management Front office managers have many responsibilities, one of which is safety and security of guests and employees. Front office is a hotels communication centre and acts as a ink between the hotel management and the guests. Managers should have a well- designed security program which should include evacuation plans in case of fire, bomb threats and some other emergencies. It is the duty of front office manager to respond whenever contacted by a guest call for assistance because of fire, theft, illness or any other emergencies. It is managers duty to protect guests from harm while they are on their property. Managers have to take care of guest room security, key control, locks, safe deposit boxes, credit and billing procedures, emergency reoccurred, safety procedures and more. It is their legal duty to provide reasonable care to protect guests and employees. Challenges faced regarding Fire Safety Plan: Front office manager has to communicate fire safety plan to its employees and guests. It is managers duty to take active measures and instruct employees and guests to handle a stressful situation. It is therefore a challenge for managers to take preventive steps as these emergencies sometimes cannot be handled appropriately. In situations like these consumers can even sue the organization for not maintain a ell-organized procedures for security. It is a difficult task for managers to plan and deliver fire safety training to all front office personnel and even to communicate it to guests all the time. Challenges faced in Room Key Security: It is the responsibility of front office manager to maintain a room key control system. Managers have to authorize certain personnel to have access to keys. It is duty of a manager to check the issuing of keys. They have to check for unregistered guests, unauthorized employees Ana any Tanta party trying to gal. access to a guests room. It is a challenge for managers to recognize these safety issues without any help from security director. Conclusion We cannot deny the fact that front office manager has many responsibilities. Their success depends on taking care of all such challenges with a smile. It is a challenging job for managers to manage diverse work force made up of different people varying in ages, ethnic backgrounds, cultures and values. Managers have to carefully recruit and plan for roasters so that they can control costs. They have to forecast before they make staff roaster so that they can safe on labor costs. Front office managers have to effectively use revenue management techniques in the reservations department. Managers can achieve their targets by organizing the most efficient pricing structure for rooms and providing the guest with right product which fit their needs. For this managers have to train their staff so that they sell rooms effectively rather than simply taking bookings. Hence front office managers should know how to use revenue management as an effective reservation tool. Traditionally, security has been the responsibility of the front office(Angelo and Vladimir, 2004).

How to fold a shirt Essay Example

How to fold a shirt Essay Example How to fold a shirt Essay How to fold a shirt Essay A young Chinese American woman, Jing-Mei June Woo, recalls, after her mothers death, her mothers sadness at having left her twin baby girls in China in 1949. June has used her mothers regret as a weapon in a battle of wills focusing on what her mother wants her to be and what she wants. June wins, leaving her mother, Suyuan, stunned when she says she wishes she were dead like the twins. Although this scene characterizes the common struggle for power between mother and daughter, the tory also illustrates the cultural division between an Asian immigrant and her Asian American daughter. These cultural clashes resonate throughout the short story, as does the discordant sound of Junes piano playing. See more at: http:// www. enotes. com/topics/two-kinds/summary#sthash. qCMJ6LtF. dpufA young Chinese American woman, Jing-Mei June Woo, recalls, after her mothers death, her mothers sadness at having left her twin baby girls in China in 1949. June has used her mothers regret as a weapon in a battle of wills focusing on what her mother wants er to be and what she wants. June wins, leaving her mother, Suyuan, stunned when she says she wishes she were dead like the twins. Although this scene characterizes the common struggle for power between mother and daughter, the story also illustrates the cultural division between an Asian immigrant and her Asian American daughter. These cultural clashes resonate throughout the short story, as does the discordant sound of Junes piano playing. See more at: enotes. com/ topics/two-kinds/summary#sthash. qCMJ6LtF. ufA young Chinese American woman, Jing-Mei June Woo, recalls, after her mothers death, her mothers sadness at having left her twin baby girls in China in 1949. June has used her mothers regret as a weapon in a battle of wills focusing on what her mother wants her to be and what she wants. June wins, leaving her mother, Suyuan, stunned when she says she wishes she were dead like the twins. Although this scene characterizes the common struggle for power between mother and daughter, the story also illustrate s the cultural ivision between an Asian immigrant and her Asian American daughter. These cultural clashes resonate throughout the short story, as does the discordant sound of Junes piano playing. See more at: enotes. com/topics/two-kinds/ summary#sthash. qCMJ6LtF. dpufA young Chinese American woman, Jing-Mei June Woo, recalls, after her mothers death, her mothers sadness at having left her twin baby girls in China in 1949. June has used her mothers regret as a weapon in a battle of wills focusing on what her mother wants her to be and what she wants. June wins, leaving her mother, Suyuan, stunned when she says she wishes she were dead like the twins. Although this scene characterizes the common struggle for power between mother and daughter, the story also illustrates the cultural division between an Asian immigrant and her Asian American daughter. These cultural clashes resonate throughout the short story, as does the discordant sound of Junes piano playing. See more at: enotes. com/topics/two-kinds/ summary#sthash. qCMJ6LtF. dpuf

E&J Gallo Winery study case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

E&J Gallo Winery - Case Study Example this brand, company puts its marketing position at stake as a manufacturer of premium wine, while discontinuance would cause substantial losses to the company. Losses will affect profitability that is the main concern of stockholders. Since the problem is customers’ perception that Thunderbird as a low-end fortified ( LEF) wine, is of poor quality, a marketing strategy that calls for image building is called for. The perception on the product that has been created is that as a low-end fortified wine is not always the best. Perception is influenced by what customers think or feel on the product but is not always correct. A perfect example of image building is changing the brand’s packaging so that it would look expensive. Changing the packaging would be an add-on cost to the company, but image repair-building will have its benefits in the long run. A complete advertising package should be arranged on this. Advertising using endorsements of sports and movie personalities would help create a classy image of the product. Customers would feel that even it is low end fortified wine, its taste is yielding to personalities. Thunderbird, according to company’s experience is easy to sell and distribute. Customers look for it when the company once tried to stop selling it. They should maintain that while it is an LEF wine, they should assure the public that their LEF wines possess the best quality that company is proud off. It is a matter of mind-setting that low priced drink is not always

Transformation of African culture in Midaq Alley and Death and The Research Paper

Transformation of African culture in Midaq Alley and Death and The King's Horseman - Research Paper Example The novel critically focuses on the presence of the British soldiers during WWII, and these represent the western forces that have been brought to Midaq valley and influence the lives of people in this area according to the western cultures. Likewise Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman deals with the questions of cultural identity, the themes and forms of the general audience as the author brings them out clearly. The book presents contrast between the life of Europeans and the lives of Africans in a contrast of cultures. To this, Soyinka attributes lives to the forms of lives that originally developed on African soil and in the civilized world to mean Africa and European respectively. The difference of what is perceived as local and what is imported through the white man presents a case of contrast and the play brings out these contrasts to indicate how the western culture has influenced people on the African soil. Therefore, the two books portray a case of cu ltural degradation where Africans are influenced by the western cultures through a process that is termed as civilization, to adopt new ways of lives and depart from their traditional ways of life. The negative influence of the western culture in Midaq valley is portrayed by Hamida. This is a lady who grows in middle class environment and has no attachment to her mother or to any other neighbor. Hamida knows that she is beautiful and wants to control men those who are powerful and those that are rich (Amyuni, 1). While her husband Abbas is away in the army making an honest living, she is attracted to the rich Salim who is lasting for her. Hamida later realizes that prostitution is her calling and she is a â€Å"whore by instinct† (Mahfouz, 205). This presents a case of immorality where the riches that are accumulated in Cairo as are breaking up families and African communal settings as well as values. Mahfouz (1) explains Midaq valley to be enclosed between 3 walls with darkn ess. The unity and communal life is portrayed by uncle Kalim where he says; â€Å"good evening everyone.† Come on its time for evening get together†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..† this is a setting that would portray a close connection between the people of Midaq Valley, which has been broken by the presence of the white man with women such as Hamida turning to prostitution with these rich men. Mahfouz further explains how Hamida realizes that her honor had been bought several times by the British soldiers; meaning that she has been prostituting with these soldiers. This case is portrayed by Alwan a family man with complete family but is not satisfied with his wife he is â€Å"unable to find the pleasures he yearned for in his wife† this makes him be attracted to Hamida (Mahfouz, 80). In addition the book presents the negative changes of religion though civilization. This is observed when Mr Kirsha claims that â€Å"public reciters still have an appeal which won’t disap pear. The radio won’t replace us† the cafe owner however replies that â€Å"this is you say and not what my customers say and you are not going to ruin my business† (Mahfouz, 5). Though Kirsha and other public reciters had been used to recite the Quaran in public places with no resistant, the radio that represents the western civilization has brought another element where people see beyond this, and are not any more interested in these reciters or too much of their religion . This might be attributed to civilization,

The Signifance of Susan King Taylor During The Civil War Research Paper

The Signifance of Susan King Taylor During The Civil War - Research Paper Example Notable among them was Susan King Taylor of Georgia, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. In April 1861, when Maj. Gen. David Hunter attacked Fort Pulaski, he freed all of the slaves in the area, including King. The new found freedom became a spring board through which King was to serve in the Civil War with profound effect3. Much of the reliable information on King’s roles and engagements before, during and after the Civil War are self written in her memoir, â€Å"A black woman’s Civil War memoirs: Reminiscences of my life in camp with the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, Late 1st South Carolina Volunteers†. Susan King Taylor was born in slavery on August 8, 1848, on Grest Farm, Isle of Wight in Georgia. As a seven year old, King moved to Savannah where she lived with her maternal grandmother, it is while here that she was first encouraged to enroll in school and she eventually attended clandestine school4. She continued with her education until she was 14 when she esca ped with her uncle’s family to the Union-controlled St. Catherine Island. The escape was enabled by the successful occupation of Fort Pulaski by the Union. Following the occupation, US Gen. David Hunter released all slaves and granted them freedom allowing Susie’s uncle to take the entire family to St Catherine’s island5. ... King married Sergeant Edward King of the South Carolina Volunteers, later known as the 33rd U.S. Colored Infantry. At around the same time, she was hired as the regiment’s laundress. This was her first opportunity to serve in the Civil War as she extensively travelled with the regiment a factor that provided her with great insight into the intricacies of the War7. This factor is especially brought out in her memoir where she describes activities and engagements during the War in great detail. Though initially a laundress, King was later to become a nurse as the number of injured soldiers soared and greater need for specialized care arose, she would also serve as a cook for the regiment8. The extent of her involvement in the Civil War is intense, at least this is the impression one gets on reading through her memoir. Apart from the first few pages of the close to a hundred page memoir, the rest of it focuses on military life. Her military life evolves through two parties, self and the work and engagements of her husband’s regiment, which she served in9. The first recount of her military involvement occurs in 1862 when she was relocated to Beaufort, South Carolina where she served as a laundress. It is here that she first witnessed the full extent of the War, she narrates of frequent battles and intersperses giving an account of both personal experience and the regiment’s activities. Although initially hired as a laundress, King did very little of this, this was majorly due to the immediate needs of the soldiers who required tutoring and medical care10. While serving in the War, she made use of every skill and knowledge she had gathered in her then tender life, she would spend time teaching the soldiers and

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Introducing Business Models

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Introducing Business Models A: Public Private Partnership is known worldwide as an important source of spurring clannish assets in stock building and improving public service delivery. As we move on with this business, it gets important to investigate objectives for PPP in visit to understand the risks and responsibilities the government would hit to adopt in visit to make PPPs growth. As we explore PPP we see two types of common reasons which are used to explain why a government pursues PPPs. The prototypal ordered of reasons are what we would adjudge as beneficial, reasons that are consistent with the outcome that PPPs actually achieve. The second ordered of reasons are what we adjudge Deceptive reasons-that is, reasons that are not really consistent with the outcomes that that PPPs can deliver. BENEFICIAL REASONS FOROF PURSUING PPP Risk transfer: Government getting rid of asset-based risks that is, risk directly associated with building or operating assets Whole-of-life costing: Through whole of life costing the government can achieve optimization between capital costs and operating and maintenance costs, a realistic projection of amount outlay of ownership, and a artefact of comparing competing designs on a like-with-like basis Innovation: Providing wider incentives for original solutions to assist delivery Asset utilization: Developing opportunities to generate income from utilization of the asset by third parties, which may reduce the outlay that the polity would otherwise have to pay as a sole user with the outcomes that that PPPs can deliver. DECEPTIVE RESONS FOR PURSUING PPP The main deceptive reason why some governments pursue PPPs is to access finance that would otherwise not be available. Accessing finance would not be doable ultimate by introducing a PPP. If an infrastructure source is not assured that, between user fees and government subsidies, it module be able to recover its costs, the government would unable to raise the top needed fund to build the project. The government module will not able to attract clannish finance simply by deciding to do PPP, cost recovery would need to be resolute before capital can be raised A government is an organization that has the power to make and enforce laws for a certain territory. There are several definitions on what exactly constitutes a government. In its broadest sense, govern means the power to administrate, whether over an area of land, a set group of people, or an association. A government is the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit. It is the system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed. Far more important to me is, that I should be loyal to what I regard as the law of my political life, which is this: a belief that that country is best governed, which is least governed George Hoadly Most people who have live in the Pakistan think of state provision when they think of public services. Consequently, when they think of public services being removed from state provision they think of privatization probably with the involvement of multi-national capital. However, for those who lived in from the period of the Industrial Revolution until the Second World war, and for million of people across the world who have lived since the war and up to the present day, the provision of services is not exclusively a matter for the state; it is a matter for the public. For people not living within our narrow cultural constraints, delivery of services is provided through co-operatives and mutuals. The democratic nature of co-operative structures gives people direct power over service delivery. The state, whether central or local, acts as a guarantor of peoples rights to services. The state must always be prepared to act as an enabler but should only be a provider in the last resort. Given our knowledge of this better way, we must continue to engage, not from any sense of ideological superiority, but because we know that this better way is more economically efficient and will provide better service delivery which meets people needs better than current provision. Let the people think they govern and they will be governed. William Penn It is worth acknowledging that there is some co-operative provision in Pakistan, for example there are a number of housing co-ops. It is equally worth acknowledging that there is a wider third sector which contains various social enterprises, charities and housing associations. Some of these are in a grant funded arrangement with the state while others take a more trading approach to procurement. Co-operative solutions, particularly when they are worker-led, require the support of trade unions. It is important to get the message across that co-operation is not privatization. Since trade unions are there to protect their members, perhaps co-operation should be promoted as a structure which can help protect their members. There is a need to make co-operative working the preferred option for workers in the service sector. Local Government Local government has played a leading role in Pakistans communities for many years and continues to have a key role to play. Support for co-operative values is not new to local government. Regional councils in particular funded and supported co-operative development. Pakistans local authorities have an important role to play in supporting co-operative businesses working in partnership with co-operative and mutual enterprises. A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity, but a weak one is odious in the former, and contemptible in the latter. George Greenville Local Authorities need to be partners in developing mutual solutions with communities. Pakistans local authorities should work in partnership with co-operative enterprises to improve social services, develop anti-poverty strategies and to provide environmental justice for communities. Procurement polices designed to achieve social aims and maximize the benefits for local communities will always assist successful co-operative enterprises. We should challenge the fear culture and encourage best practice. Procurement legislation needs to be looked at and all local services should be considered for co-op options. Moving to a co-operative model of service delivery would require a complete review of departmental structures within the local authorities existing political framework. We need to put in place now the support mechanism to underpin co-operative service development. There is widespread acknowledgement that the way local authorities deliver public services is changing. Privatization is happening but co-operative solutions can put people in ownership and control and enhance democracy. We should be pro-active in looking for services which are due to be externalized and have a co-operative model ready to promote. Public services should be delivered according to need and any profit should be paid back into the community. We need to develop across local government, through education, a knowledge base of councillors and policy makers across all parties together with officers with expertise ready to champion the co-op model. Planning Planning is an issue that cuts across policy areas. We should see this as an opportunity to develop a co-operative approach to some of the greatest challenges in 21st century Pakistan. Planning, above all else, is about co-ordination of provision and co-operative models, particularly secondary co-operative models, provide an ideal solution in this context. There are clear opportunities to develop co-op models to meet the needs of society to co-ordinate its approach to service delivery. For example, an industrial and provident society model could be used to create separate legal entities which would be responsible for linking up the shared responsibilities of the Health Service and local government and be democratically accountable to the communities they serve. This means extending co-operation beyond co-operation with a small c to creating structures which are fully accountable. It is important that co-operators take an active involvement in local planning and use it to engage with community groups. As a Movement which is heavily involved in retail and property, we are well placed to provide socially responsible solutions to the problem of town centre development in Pakistan. The co-operative model would provide an ideal structure for town centre partnerships. Not just co-operation with a small c between those involved in supporting town centre development but actual business models which could be used to develop town centers in a way that communities would want. We should seek to establish a consensus that co-operation is the default position. When planning new developments it is important to include play areas, community shops and centers where appropriate. Co-ops should seek to take advantage of community benefit clauses. The community benefit aspect should be seen as a way to develop new co-op businesses. Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair George Burns Health As co-operators, we view healthcare much in the same way we see every issue that confronts people, their families and communities we believe that power should lie with the people. Communities have to take responsibility for health provision and we believe co-operative and mutual models of healthcare provide them with the best opportunity to do this. The highly emotive campaigns which have arisen from proposals to re-design the delivery of acute and specialist services underlines the importance placed on the NHS by communities and the sensitivity with which politicians need to deal with the issue of health. The co-operative model could be applied to hospitals. With the aging population, social care was highlighted is the type of service where the caring, sharing Co-op model should be an obvious option. We believe that co-operative models would produce greater integration and would suggest that the evidence of co-operative healthcare provision overseas supports this contention. A key challenge for the provision of health services is to connect them with people the users, employees, patients and the wider community. It is essential to engender a type of ownership that enables stakeholders to feel that these services are run on their behalf and not for someone elses vested interests. We must address the issue of elections to Health Boards which would create an element of community involvement and accountability in health delivery. Consideration should be given to the increasingly challenging subject of care provision in Pakistan. This is an area which requires partnership between the NHS and local government. It is also an area which may have significant potential for co-operative development and is an area being prioritised by Co-operative Development Pakistan. We require action on pharmacy delivery and occupational health looking at co-operative rather than private solutions. One method of overcoming the difficult informational requirements of the allocation models described above is by enacting a requirement that anyone wanting to purchase cigarettes must first purchase a cigarette card. The card, which could be based on the same magnetic strip (or computer chip) technology used for credit cards and ATM cards, would be issued to any legal-aged smoker who wanted to buy cigarettes and would have to be presented by the smoker each time she purchased cigarettes. A reaction of many readers may well be that our proposal gives too much information to government agencies, therefore creating a Big Brother problem. We sympathize with that concern, but we believe the problem is not as significant as it may appear initially. First, it is not clear that the sort of information that the cigarette card system would generate is any different from the sort of information that the American public routinely provides to government and private agencies. In other words, it ma y be too late to worry about the sort of privacy concern that this proposal raises. Jon D. Hanson and Kyle D. Logue quotes Education Public services are more concerned about the delivery of education as a service rather than curricular issues. However, it is worth saying that the issues of educational structures and curriculum are connected. The Co-operative Movement has an excellent record in education. When, in the past, co-operatives have delivered education, delivery and content have supported each other. We hope that development regarding co-operative schools will lead to a return to this link. The work being done at present in Pakistan is to be highly commended and we hope this will achieve its objective of bringing co-operative ideas to every school in Pakistan. However, there is a long way to go. Co-operation offers solutions to many of the challenges of public service provision but co-operative solutions have been ignored because civil servants and politicians have no background knowledge in co-operation. Schooling system, almost without exception, completely ignores co-ops business models. Most teachers are still unaware of co-ops and therefore the ignorance perpetuates itself. We recognize that education sits quite firmly within local government and that most people in Pakistan would wish it to remain so. However, we would argue that in the longer term it is not just the curriculum which should become co-operative but also the structures. We need to continue to discuss how we can further develop co-operative education in schools and to develop the ownership of the curriculum so that it is owned and managed by the communities it serves. We should collate and build on best practice already in schools, such as the the work of unions, bringing new savings models into schools. It is essential to promote the co-operative model at school level and equally important to engage with the curricular drivers in Pakistan such as Learning and Teaching Pakistan. For centuries it was never discovered that education was a function of the State, and the State never attempted to educate. But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power.When the revolutionary theory of government began to prevail, and Church and State found that they were educating for opposite ends and in a contradictory spirit, it became necessary to remove children entirely from the influence of religion. Lord Acton Its time to admit that public education operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system in which everybodys role is spelled out in advance and there are few incentives for incentives for innovation and productivity. Its no surprise that our school system doesnt improve: It more resembles the communist economy than our own market economy. Albert Shanker PPP approaches should not be seen as a magic bullet and may be best suited to specific circumstances. As in all cases of public procurement, corruption remains a risk that must be carefully managed. As PPP projects are relatively new, lack of familiarity with the procedures may open up new corruption risks. On the other hand, greater emphasis on the delivery and measurement of outcomes in PPP procurement may introduce greater levels of transparency and accountability. The main advantages and disadvantages of PPP are summarized below: ADVANTAGES Makes use of private sector skills, modern technology, and efficiency Forces the public sector to focus on outputs and benefits (rather than inputs) from the start Brings in private capital and makes projects affordable Risks are shared by the different parties Budgetary certainty The public sector only pays when services are delivered Capital at risk is an effective incentive to make private companies perform. DISADVANTAGES PPP implies a loss of management control by the public sector and therefore may be politically unacceptable Ability, skills, and sufficient capacity of the public sector to adopt the PPP approach and create a good incentive and regulatory environment Lack of private sector expertise Does not achieve absolute risk transfer Procurement can be lengthy and costly Long-term relatively inflexible structures PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVRY PROCESS

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service :: essays research papers

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service For the past few months, I have been focusing on the events and the principles behind the founding of our nation. During these studies, I often wondered how some of the ideas we cling to became entrenched in our paradigms of perception. For instance, there are words that have become taboo because of the ways they have been used. They are so taboo, in fact, that it has become nearly impossible to use the words constructively, because using them either shuts off the mechanism in the brain that controls attention span, or their mentioning automatically invites a defensive posture. Two of the unwitting victims are the words "politics" and "discrimination." The demise of valid uses of these words is sadly apparent when we discuss the issue of "free trade" with China. First, since negotiations with foreign governments can only justly and efficiently be done through representation of our own government, the issue inherently involves politics. There is no way of getting around it. Second, the decision is really whether or not to discriminate against the Chinese government fundamentally on the basis that we do not agree with their methods of controlling internal civil affairs. Are we right to presume we have the authority to judge the actions of a foreign government when our own government has, in fact, from time to time, been guilty of many of the same things we accuse the Chinese government of doing? One might be inclined to profess that we have no authority to judge, lest we open up the possibility of allowing ourselves to be judged. However, if we are just and consistent, is that Dickens 2 such a terrible proposition? While America is proud of its diversity, that diversity should not be used to steal our attention from the common, unifying principles, which sets America apart from the rest of the world. They are the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Without those principles, we have no claim to freedom, so I'm not certain why there is an effort to categorically reject them. Retail establishments are apt to decide with whom they will do business based on criteria that is not necessarily relevant to a person's quality or depth of character. Patrons must be wearing certain articles of clothing, or they are not admitted. No shirt, no shoes, no service. Many of the more highly rated restaurants even require a coat and tie for their customers.