Economic Geography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Economic Geography - Essay Example hat resurfaced between the US and Europe was among the significant initiatives directed at fostering the success of trade between US and the EU countries. The United States trades with a number of countries in diverse regions, top among them being China and EU countries. The extent of trade between the US and China, for instance, is notably expansive. The trade between America and EU countries is much higher than that involving America and China. It is notable that in the elimination of trade barriers, there is a likelihood that trade would increase between any two or more partners in the exchange network. Uplifting tariffs and drawbacks that may deter trade among partners in any trade relationship promotes imports and exports. According to Ewing, the free-trade agreement between the two regions has a past record but never achieved success for nearly a decade (Ewing 1). The deal, if implemented, would create massive and appreciated economic effect in Europe and the United States. The two, Europe and the United States, are strong partners in trade. According to leaders from the European Union, the pact would cause a serious economic growth in the two regions and encourage President Obama to channel for the agreement. Besides the pressure from European Union leaders, corporations and other businesses in Europe are bargaining to have the pact operational. By November 2012, there were low charges, in the form of tariffs, for trade between the US and EU countries. However, signing a free-trade deal by the two parties would be beneficial for businesses and companies dealing in large amount of goods in the trans-Atlantic business region. According to Karan Bhatia, who served as a trade representative for the US, the free-trade deal would create a substantial contribution to trade in the history of trade between EU and the US. In addition, the pact would not be costly for the taxpayers, according to Bhatia. Despite the predicted low opposition towards the coming into

Samsung and the Theme Park Essay Example for Free

Samsung and the Theme Park Essay Charles Dhanaraj and Young Soo Kim prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Paul Beamish solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. SAMSUNG has the right to reproduce and use this case for its educational purposes. Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. This material is not covered under authorization from CanCopy or any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail [emailprotected] uwo. ca. Copyright  © 1996, Ivey Management Services and Samsung HRDC Version: (A) 2002-11-22. In October 1994, Her Tae-Hak, President of Samsung’s Joong-Ang Development Company was driving to his office, past the â€Å"Yongin Farmland† (Farmland), an amusement complex sprawling over 3,700 acres in the Yongin valley. Her was spearheading a major drive within the company to position the theme park as one of the world’s leading vacation resort towns. His master plan called for an investment of about US$300 million over the next five years, to be internally funded by the Samsung Group. Despite the booming Korean economy and the increasing demands for leisure attractions, the global competitive environment of the theme park industry raised several concerns. Should Samsung invest in such an aggressive expansion plan for Farmland? Was this an attractive industry for investment? Her was scheduled for a meeting with the Chairman of the Samsung Group for a formal presentation of the proposal at the end of the month. THE GLOBAL THEME PARK INDUSTRY The early 1990s saw the emergence of theme parks as a major source of family entertainment, not just in the United States but around the world. The earliest evidence of a business where people â€Å"paid money to be terrified† was in the early 1600s when several Russians operated a sled ride with a 70-foot vertical drop. In the late 1800s, several theme parks were set up in Coney Island (New York) in the United States. The first roller coaster was set up in 1884, followed by an indoor Page 2 amusement park, Sealion Park. In the 1930s, the amusement industry had to contend with alternative entertainment offered by the movie houses as well as setbacks due to economic depression. However, with the Disneyland Park opening in 1955 in California, the industry was revived and Walt Disney was credited with raising the profile, as well as the profitability, of the industry to a new height. There was a variety of parks and attractions, each with a different approach to drawing crowds and showing them a good time: Cultural and Education Parks were a remnant of the old-fashioned type of European park. Such parks featured formal greens, gardens, and fountains. Generally they incorporated historical and educational exhibits. Outdoor Amusement Parks were small parks that served a metropolitan or regional market. These parks featured traditional thrill rides, carnival midways, and some entertainment. Most amusement parks did not have a theme to the architecture, rides, and entertainment. Theme Parks were generally family-oriented entertainment complexes that were built around a theme. Theme parks were larger and had a greater variety of rides and attractions than amusement parks. Water Theme Parks were a recent phenomenon, a special type of theme parks centered on water activities. Large water parks featured wave action pools, river rides, steep vertical drop slides, and a variety of twisting flume slides. Most of the theme parks were members of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, which tracked the attendance at various theme parks. In 1993, North American parks accounted for 48 per cent of the worldwide attendance, Asian parks 33 per cent, European parks 14 per cent, and Central and South American parks four per cent (see Table 1). North America The Walt Disney Company was the largest park chain in the world with three major theme parks in the United States. Time Warner’s Six Flags Corporation was the second largest with seven parks spread out in the United States. Paramount, Anheuser Busch and Cedar Fair were some of the other conglomerates who owned theme parks. In mid-1993, Paramount bought Canada’s Wonderland theme park originally developed by Taft Broadcasting Company in 1981. Despite the mature nature of the industry in the United States, a number of theme parks were investing heavily in upgrading their facilities, and extending the theme parks’ services. 9A96M006 Page 3 Europe In 1980, Alton Towers, a 60-year old park in North Staffordshire (England), comprised primarily of historic gardens, repositioned itself as a theme park by adding a roller coaster and some other attractions. The park was extremely successful within a very short span of time. The success of Alton Towers led to a number of new theme parks in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, including Blackpool Pleasure Beach (England) that featured the world’s tallest roller coaster. In France alone, three major theme parks emerged in the early 1990s: Walt Disney’s $3 billion Euro Disney, the $150 million Parc Asterix located northeast of Paris, and the $110 million Big Bang Schtroumpf (Smurfs) theme park just north of Metz. Six Flags Corporation and Anheuser-Busch both recently opened new theme parks in Spain coinciding with the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Asia Tokyo Disneyland was opened in 1983 by Walt Disney as a joint venture with the Oriental Land Company (OLC). The success of Tokyo Disneyland set off a wave of theme park developments in Asia. OLC and Disney had agreed to open a second theme park, â€Å"Tokyo Disney Sea† in 2001. Ocean Park in Hong Kong, started in 1977, was the largest water park in Asia with an annual attendance of 3. 2 million. Jaya Ancol Dreamland, located in North Jakarta, Indonesia, was one of the largest recreation complexes in south east Asia. Dreamland had a theme park (Dunia Fantasi), a waterpark complex, an oceanarium, a golf course, a beach and several hotels. China was a major growth market. Beijing Amusement park, started in 1981, reported that between 1990 and 1993 revenues increased over 2,000 per cent and earnings before interest and taxes were up 200 per cent. Over the next five years, six regional theme parks were to be developed with a total investment of over $100 million. FINANCIAL ISSUES. The theme park business required a large-scale initial investment, typically ranging from $50 million to $3 billion. Depending on the real-estate markets, the cost of the land value itself could be very high. Theme parks required over 50 acres of land for a full scale development, with some of the theme parks utilizing 10,000 to 30,000 acres. Since accessibility of the park location was a key success factor in the industry, theme park developers chose land sites in a central area which was relatively expensive. Alternatively, they could choose a remote area at a low cost and develop the transportation network. In either case, the land development costs constituted nearly 50 per cent of the overall investment. The amusement machinery constituted 20 to 30 per cent of the total investment, and the working capital requirements took up the remaining 20 to 30 per cent of the investment. The amusement equipment required for the park was also expensive, most of it 9A96M006 Page 4 9A96M006 going from $1 million to $50 million. Businesses which had an in-house land development expertise or equipment technology had better control of these costs. Many parks periodically added new attractions or renovated existing ones to draw repeat customers. The parks typically reinvested much of their revenue for expansion or upgrading purposes. The economies of scale and scope were significant in the industry. Increasingly, parks got larger and larger to generate more operating revenues. Also, companies had multiple parks to take advantage of the learning curve effects in the management of theme parks and the increased economies of scope. Most of the operating expenses for theme parks (about 75 per cent) were for personnel. Admission fees1constituted over 60 per cent of the total revenues of a theme park, while the rest came primarily from food, beverage, and merchandise sales. To handle the admissions revenue a centralized ticket system was generally preferred. An all-inclusive admission price entitled customers to as many rides and shows as they desired. This approach led to longer stays at parks resulting in increased food and beverage sales. Another centralized admission method was to sell ride/show tickets in sets or coupon books (i. e. , five coupons for $5, but 12 coupons for $10). Both approaches to centralized ticket sales minimized the number of employees handling money throughout the park resulting in improved efficiency and control. Walt Disney Company’s financial profile was generally used to assess the return on investment within the industry. The revenues for the theme parks segment of the Walt Disney Company were at US$2. 042 billion in 1988 and grew to US$3. 4 billion in 1993. Operating income was pegged at US$565 million in 1988 and US$747 million in 1993. The return on equity for the Walt Disney Company was pegged at 17 to 25 per cent. One of the analysts remarked on the theme parks segment of Walt Disney: Theme parks are going to become increasingly stable and annuitylike, with the ability to generate $700 to $750 million in cash flow a year. There were signs of declining profitability in the U. S. operations, since the market was maturing and the competition was getting more intense. Tokyo Disneyland, the Japanese operation, was growing and profitable. However, EuroDisney, the European theme park, was a disaster for the company with huge losses since operations began in 1992. The company was expecting a break-even in 1995. 1. Admission fees varied from $5 to $25 depending on the location and reputation of the park. Page 5 9A96M006 MARKETING AND SOCIAL ISSUES The traditional appeal of theme/amusement parks was to preteens, teens, and young adults. Changing demographics were causing most parks to think in terms of a broader market, particularly families, corporate groups, and even senior citizens. There were five major market segments for theme parks: Local Families — people within a day’s drive who visited mostly on weekends. Most parks focused exclusively on this segment, which generally constituted 60 to 75 per cent of the attendance. Children’s Groups — schools, churches, recreation agencies, scouts, and other groups who traveled in buses on summer weekdays. The Evening Market — teens and young adults who came for entertainment, concerts, and romancing at night. Corporate Groups — included consignment sales and group parties. Tourists — a substantial market for large theme parks in destination areas such as Florida. Customer satisfaction was a critical issue in theme parks management. Successful park managers used extensive marketing research to understand their customers and also spent a lot of effort in promoting the park. To reach the diverse groups, parks emphasized increased beautification and the range of entertainment and food services offered. Theme park managers were working with tour operators and government tourist promotion boards to draw the tourist crowds to their parks. Theme parks spent about 10 per cent of their annual revenues for advertising. Radio, newspaper, yellow page (telephone book) advertisements, family and group discounts, and direct mail were the most common promotional methods. Among large theme parks, television advertising was an excellent visual medium to capture the excitement. Some parks expended a major portion of their advertising budget for television promotion. An issue for the theme parks industry was the seasonal and intermittent nature of the business. Theme parks’ attendance peaked in the spring/summer and in the school holidays. Even in the holiday season, bad weather could adversely affect the attendance. The seasonal fluctuations put a lot of strain on the theme parks’ management. During the peak season, the requirement for employees shot up; quite often the management had to find employees beyond the domestic territory and provide housing for out-of-town employees. The sudden surge in demand often choked the service systems such as transportation, building management, etc. It was the availability of leisure time and a high discretionary income that drove the commercial recreation industry. Economic downturns had a severe impact on industry revenues. Also, consumers could substitute a visit to theme parks with other modes of entertainment. Consumers substituted products/services in order to try something new, different, cheaper, safer, better, or more convenient. Free Page 6 admission parks and beaches, camping trips, or even video-movies at home were competing options for leisure time. REGULATORY ISSUES Government regulations were quite strict because of the extensive land use, and the potential for serious accidents. Licensing requirements and methods of ascertaining operational expertise to ensure visitors’ safety varied from country to country. In some countries, where land was scarce, governments limited the area of the land that the developers could take up for theme parks. Park administration was dependent on the government for utilities such as power, gas and water. A typical period required for arranging government approval for a theme park could be as high as two to five years, depending on the country. A related issue was insurance premiums. Given the likelihood of accidents in the amusement parks and the possibility of serious injury, 100 per cent insurance coverage was a must in the industry. Although safety records in the industry were very good, the insurance premiums were extremely high in some parts of the world, particularly in the United States. However, the large premiums often drove the small players in the industry out of business. Countries in Asia did not have this handicap. TECHNOLOGY ISSUES The theme park industry had three classes of inputs: the building and construction services that provided landscaping and architectural support; the hardware providers that supplied amusement machinery; and the software providers that supplied management know-how. The amusement machinery industry had grown over the years. Most of the large drives, such as the Hurricane or the Giant Wheel, were manufactured in Japan, Europe or the United States. There were fewer than 10 suppliers who were capable of developing quality machinery, such as DOGO of Japan, HUSS of Germany, and ARROW of the United States. Most of these suppliers worked globally, and the machinery were custom designed and made to order to fit the particular market and environment conditions. There were a large number of suppliers for the smaller machines, and quite often, they could be manufactured domestically. Special simulators for amusement purposes using proprietary technology were being developed by technology-intensive companies such as Sega Japan and Simex Canada. The park management expertise commonly referred to as the â€Å"software† in the industry was not easily available. Leading theme park companies, such as Walt 9A96M006 Page 7 9A96M006. Disney Company, charged huge licensing fees which were over 10 per cent of the revenues. Also, they were very selective in choosing joint ventures in other countries. Disney went through an extensive market analysis and partner profile analysis for over three years in Europe before finalizing the venue in France with the joint venture partner. Mr. Yu, director-in-charge of the Farmland project, commented: We wanted to go for a joint venture with Walt Disney Corporation. But they somehow were not interested in Korea. So we had to go it alone. It takes a long time for theme park managers to develop service delivery of world class quality. Although Walt Disney offered a number of educational programs to train other managers in the â€Å"Disney Management† style, the know-how seemed to be too sophisticated for the competitors to emulate. Virtual reality (VR) was increasingly becoming a highly lucrative mass-market entertainment phenomenon. A new entry that was due to open in July 1994 was Joypolis, a $70 million interactive theme park owned by Sega Enterprises, with projected revenues of $37 million per annum. Sega had plans to open 50 such parks in Japan, and was negotiating with Universal Studios, California, for its first U. S. installation of a VR theme park. YONGIN FARMLAND Yongin Farmland (Farmland), opened in 1976, was the first amusement park in Korea. It was managed by Joong-Ang Development Company, one of the wholly owned subsidiaries of Samsung with a mission to provide a better quality of life through healthy open-air leisure activities. In addition to the Farmland management, Joong-Ang was responsible for the building maintenance at all Samsung’s offices, as well as maintaining two golf courses. Farmland was located about an hour south of Seoul, and was owned by the Korean conglomerate, the Samsung Group (see Exhibit 1). The 3,700-acre attraction began as an agricultural center to demonstrate how mountainous land could be used productively for growing food products. Mr. Lee of Joong-Ang said, At that time, we had trouble raising enough food for our country. We created a model farm of how to work with an abandoned mountain by building a pig farm and planting fruit orchards. We changed the land use gradually through the years as we added entertainment elements. The Wild Safari was opened in 1980, and the Rose Festival, an impressive rose garden filled with 6,000 rose bushes of 160 different varieties arranged according. Page 8 9A96M006 to various themes, opened in 1985. To provide for winter entertainment, the Sled Slope was opened in 1988. A drastic departure from the traditional theme parks was taken when Yongin Farmland opened a Motor-Park in late 1993. The motor park operations incurred a loss in the first year of operations (see Table 2 for the profit and loss statement). In November 1993, Her took over as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Joong-Ang Development Company. Prior to his assignment to Joong-Ang, Her was the CEO of Cheju Shilla, a luxury hotel on Cheju Island in Korea. Her was credited with developing a world-class sea resort at Cheju Shilla which surpassed in customer service established hotel chains such as Hotel Hilton. Since taking over the reins of the company, Her had focused on improving the customer satisfaction level at Farmland, and had also been developing the plans for Farmland’s expansion. One of the major challenges was to see how the expansion plans for Farmland would match with the corporate strengths of the Samsung group. Her was aware that earlier attempts by previous management to expand Farmland had not met with the approval of the group’s Chairman. There were concerns in many quarters that the theme park industry did not fit well with the â€Å"high-tech† and the â€Å"global† image of the Samsung Group, and also that the profitability might be very low. The theme park industry was still in its early stages in Korea, and had a history of less than two decades. However, indications were that the industry was growing globally, with more players entering. Nevertheless, some of the managers did not see profitable growth opportunity in the theme park industry. One of the managers in Joong-Ang said: Theme parks may be a growing industry worldwide. That does not mean that it should be so in Korea. In Korea, we work five and a half days a week and we have annual vacation of only four to five days a year. Where do Korean people have time for theme parks? FARMLAND CUSTOMERS Traditionally, Farmland focused on the local customers. Most of its customers came from surrounding areas within two hours’ drive (see Table 3). The economic growth in Korea had been a major driving force in industry growth (see Exhibit 2). Despite the early stage of growth in the Korean leisure industry, there were six theme parks in the Seoul area including Farmland. Most notable among these were Lotte World and Seoul Land. Lotte World, started in 1989, prided itself on having the world’s largest indoor theme park with adjoining hotel, department store, shopping mall, folk village and sports centre. Commenting on Lotte’s strategy, one of the managers at Lotte World said: Page 9 9A96M006 We focus on a segment different from Farmland. Since we are located downtown, we cater to a clientele who want to drop by for a shorter period. Typically, we get office people who want to relax after a hard day’s work or couples who would like to spend some time in a romantic environment. Seoul Land, located near Seoul at Kyungkido, was also a key competitor to Farmland. With attendance at 3. 37 million, Seoul Land ranked 23rd in the â€Å"Top 50 theme parks worldwide. † Mr. Woon, one of the managers at Seoul Land, remarked: The park has a good reputation for quality special events and the people enjoy coming to the park because of its fresh air, beautiful scenery, and easy access. Despite the competition from other parks, Farmland had the highest growth rate within the Korean industry (Table 4). The seasonal nature of the theme park industry affected all the competitors, not necessarily in the same pattern (Table 5). PRICING Farmland was also going through a major change in its pricing structure. The pricing strategy in place (Table 6) was a combination of â€Å"pay-as-you-go† and â€Å"pay-one-price† system. Users had the option of paying the admission fees and buying separate tickets for rides (pay-as-you-go), that were available as coupons (Big 5 for five rides). Membership in the park was available for a price, which provided free admission for a year. The other option was to buy a â€Å"passport† (termed as â€Å"pay-one-price†) that provided admission as well as unlimited rides for one full day. The passport users were estimated at 17. 4 per cent of the attendance in 1993, and the membership holders were estimated at 75 per cent. Farmland wanted to switch gradually to the pay-one-price scheme, which was the most common pricing scheme in the leading markets. The prices across the major competitors were comparable. In 1993, average admissions and ride fee per person was 6,667 Won in Farmland, 7,279 Won in Lotte World, and 6,494 Won in Seoul Land. Theme parks also monitored the amount a visitor spent on food, beverages, and souvenirs. In 1993, average percapita expenditure on food and beverage in the three parks was 2,874 Won in Farmland, 2,017 Won in Lotte World and 1,804 Won in Seoul Land and merchandise sales per capita were 996, 1,319, and 722 Won, respectively. Page 10 9A96M006 OPERATIONAL ISSUES While there was some indication that the Samsung Group would be willing to consider a proposal for expansion of the Farmland, Her had to contend with a number of operational issues at Farmland. Based on discussions with a number of managers and customers, Her had some idea of the various issues involved in the operation of Farmland. Transportation One major issue was accessibility to the park. Yongin was 60 kilometres south of Seoul, and during peak hours, it took as long as two hours to drive from Seoul to Farmland due to traffic jams. One resident who lived very close to the Yongin area said: Actually, it should take only 15 minutes to drive from my home to Farmland. But the traffic jam is so intense that if I go to Farmland, it may take almost an hour of crawling in the traffic. That’s one main reason why I have not visited it so far. One of the managers in the marketing group commented on the critical nature of this problem: In Korea, we work five and a half days a week. Most of the time on the working days the travel time is long. All the house chores have to be done only on the weekends. Given this fact, it is only to be expected that Korean customers would not be so keen to travel on a Sunday or on a holiday if the traffic is heavy. However, many managers in Joong-Ang believed that the accessibility problem was only a temporary issue. Mr. Yu, Director of Personnel at Joong-Ang, commented: Travel difficulties are part of our life in Korea, given the small land and the large number of people. The government has plans to bring the subway up to Yongin, in which case Farmland would have a subway terminal, which will provide a lot of convenience to our people. This was echoed by one of the visitors to Farmland, who commented: I hate sitting inside my house all day. I have to get out somewhere. Seoul is too crowded and I would like to go to some place to breathe some clean air. Beaches are closed most of the season, and Page 11 9A96M006 if I want to go for some mountains or Pusan, it is too far away. So, I don’t mind driving down to Yongin to spend a relaxed day. I will skip the rush hour by leaving early from the park. Parking Another related issue was parking. Farmland had ample parking space for about 8,000 cars at one time around the four sides of the park. One of the managers who conducted an extensive analysis of the parking space said: What we have now is more or less enough for the time being. We have enough space for about 8,000 cars and at four people per car we can accommodate about 32,000 people. If we assume the lot turning over at 1. 7 times a day (at an average stay of six to eight hours), we can handle a peak attendance of 52,000. But the real problem is the seasonality. On peak days, we may get more visitors and quite often people may spend more time. If we are going to expand, this will be a major bottleneck. Part of the expansion plan included augmenting the parking spaces and also providing a â€Å"Park and Ride† scheme for visitors so that they could travel comfortably from the various car parks to the entrance. Environmental Issues Expanding Farmland meant taking over more of the land mass available in the Yongin valley. A farmer living in the Yongin valley, who was vehemently opposed to the expansion ideas, said: They (Samsung) just want to expand their business. But they don’t realize that one of the problems with cutting down the trees and leveling the ground will cause potential flooding in the surrounding region. This will damage all our crops. How will they compensate us? Organizational Inertia It was also a challenge to introduce a dynamic environment within the Farmland organization. In order to succeed in the industry, Farmland had to go through a major reorientation in its organizational style. Farmland had initiated customer satisfaction surveys recently and it was brought to the attention of the management that the customer satisfaction levels were lagging behind the key competitor, Lotte World. As one of the marketing managers noted: Page 12 9A96M006. Repeat business is very important to our survival. If we don’t satisfy our customers, they won’t come back and we won’t have any business left. But, it is not in our Korean nature to smile at strangers. We are very serious people. So it becomes all the more difficult to get the type of service you can see at Disneyland. Mr. Yu, who had pioneered a number of changes within the organization, recalled one event which demonstrated the type of organizational inertia the management had to deal with: Previously we had the head office at Seoul and we were managing the Farmland by ‘remote control. ’ We were faxing information and directives up and down. But I somehow did not see that this would be the best way to work. I insisted that the head office had to be located where our products are and only after much persuasion could we move to this place. Among other things, management was also considering a change in the recruitment process. Traditionally, Farmland had gone after the â€Å"academically best† graduates and students, which was the standard practice at Samsung. The management felt that they needed more service oriented people. The management wanted to recruit more female workers, the level of which at that time was below 25 per cent, but anticipated problems since most Korean women stopped working after marriage. Mr. Yu said: I think times are changing. For that matter, even if we have a high turnover, it may be good for us since fresh blood always brings in fresh ideas and we would be able to preserve some dynamism in our organization. THE MASTER PLAN Based on a detailed survey (Table 8) and tentative analysis, the management had put together a master plan to invest about $300 million in revamping Farmland. There were also suggestions of changing the name to provide a better image of the company. A master plan, for a phased investment of about $300 million dollars over the next two years, was being developed. Everland, Green Country, and Nature Land were some of the names proposed for the new â€Å"mountain resort. † Included in the master plan were: A waterpark to be built adjacent to the existing theme park, at an estimated cost of US$140 million, with a Caribbean theme. A Global Fair, a fun-fair indicative of the major countries in the world, at an estimated cost of $85 million. Page 13 9A96M006 Expansion of existing zoo, and parks including a night time laser show and a fable fantasy garden at an estimated cost of $50 million. The funding would come mainly from the parent, Samsung Group, and also through corporate sponsorship of the other companies within the Samsung Group. The master plan also indicated that if the first phase was successful, a second phase of developing a resort town in Yongin, with luxury hotels, golf courses, and resort accommodations would occur. (Exact budget for the second phase was not available at that stage.) A number of managers within the company who were closely involved in developing the master plan felt strongly that the theme park expansion was not only a priority but also would be a profitable venture. The General Manager of the planning group commented: What we want to create is a destination resort town and a residential community where people can come, relax and enjoy themselves in a low-stress environment. Samsung employs more than 180,000 people here in Korea. This will give them a place to come and be proud of. There will be plenty here for all members of the family as they grow. We feel it is time to change from a farm-oriented name to a name which represents our new mission, which is to create a zeal for long-lasting life that is combined with the harmony of nature. If this plan is approved, we will become the prototype destination resort town in the entire world. We have visited them all, and when we’re finished, there won’t be any better! Her wanted a comprehensive analysis of the theme park industry to ascertain the profitability of the industry. He wanted to present to the chairman of the Samsung Group a clear rationale why Samsung should invest in this industry. The Richard Ivey School of Business gratefully acknowledges the generous support of The Richard and Jean Ivey Fund in the development of this case as part of the RICHARD AND JEAN IVEY FUND ASIAN CASE SERIES. Page 14 9A96M006 Table 1 TOP 50 AMUSEMENT/THEME PARKS WORLDWIDE (1994) Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Park Location Tokyo (Japan) DISNEYLAND MAGIC KINGDOM of Walt Disney World, Florida, United States DISNEYLAND, Anaheim, California, United States JAYA ANCOL DREAMLAND, Jakarta, Indonesia. EPCOT at Walt Disney World, Florida, United States EURO DISNEYLAND, Morne La Voltee, France YOKOHAMA (Japan) HAKKEIJIMA SEA PARADISE, Japan DISNEY-MGM STUDIOS, Walt Disney World, Florida, United States UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA, Orlando, Florida, United States BLACKPOOL (England) PLEASURE BEACH, England YONGIN FARMLAND, Kyonggi-Do, South Korea UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD, California, United States SEA WORLD OF FLORIDA, Florida, United States LOTTE WORLD, Seoul, South Korea CHAPULTEPEC, Mexico City, Mexico HUIS TEN BOSCH, Sosebo, Japan TOSHIMAEN AMUSEMENT PARK, Tokyo, Japan KNOTT’S BERRY FARM, Fuona Park, California, United States SEA W.

Effects Of Culture Shock Education Essay

Effects Of Culture Shock Education Essay With the development of global strategy these decades, joint-venture enterprises has an obvious growth all over the world, meanwhile a large number of Chinese enterprises were built up in foreign countries and vise versa. At the same time, lots of senior managers will work or study techniques in foreign country, even their family members need to go abroad to live together with them. At the beginning of changing the work environment and colleague, most of managers can not adapt to it to some extent. Moreover, an increasing of number students choose to complete their study in a foreign country, it acclimatized international students to the strange environment.. The culture shock can bring positive effects, but at the same time, it also can affect people in a negative way. Purpose This article investigates how overseas students encounter the culture shock when they first time to go abroad and how to minimize or prevent culture shock. It will examine the causes and effects of culture shock from the following aspects, one is different lifestyle: food and timetable; another is education system Definition of culture shock According to Oberg the world famous cultural anthropologist, the culture shock maybe defined as a state that people who are the first time come to a new country because of psychological lost, language barrier, unfamiliar environment, different culture background or other aspects they can not adapt to this atmosphere immediately then caused confusion, helplessness, homesick and anxiety (Eschbach et al, 2001) Main body Different food caused culture shock Lots of students make a decision to study in foreign countries after the graduate from Senior High School or undergraduate, the first time that they come to a new strange country, the language barrier limit their communication with local people, so it will be posed many problems for them, one of them is the different lifestyle, the diet habits is very different from their native country, so they will exclude all things this country brings to them. Therefore, it is essential for students to do everything with their interest, curiosity and willingness, in contrast, if they live with exclusive emotional, it will lead to many psychological discomfort (Phillips, 2003). First of all, the most obvious aspect present is the daily diet, especially on food, Changes in weight may indicate that a person is experiencing culture shock. So can an obsessive increase in washing or cleaning. Avoiding social contact, sleeping too much and homesickness are all additional symptoms of culture shock.(Barker, 2012) at the beginning of their new life, they will not eat anything or eat less than before and then they will think these sorts of food do not suit their taste. after one week or month, it is obvious that they get thinner, for example, a lot of international students the first time to go abroad, they do not like the western food, not only expensive but also not healthy, in Asia countries, people preferred to eat rice, noodles, dumplings as their staple food, then they will cook some various of vegetables or soup eating with rice, this is their diet habit. Because they can not get their ideal diet, they will extremely feel homesick. At the beginning of entering a new environment, they can not find their native countries stores to purchase their domestic food, the price of food maybe higher than their country, so they eat less and usually feel hungry and eager to come back to home to enjoy a great fancy dinner with their family members. The first thing they do is to go everywhere to find their countries restaurant, at this time is the most difficult stage for overseas students, they will miss their domestic friends, their parents or all of the things and food of their own countries. For example, when students encounter some obstacles like culture shock, the friend is their first choice to ask for help, friends can give them some advices and problem-solving methods to them, helping them out and tide them through difficult times.(Aronson et al, 2005). Maybe it is common that people eat some pieces of bread with delicious cheese, kinds of sweet jam and a cup of coffee or milk, sometimes we can see children eat great sandwiches or hot dog with a cup of juice in their breakfast time, in lunch or dinner time, the table we see more is the potato with ketchup, bacon, steak chicken wings and different types of pasta, this is their daily diet habit, they eat much of meat. So, a lot of international students can not adapt to t his kind of lifestyle. Most of students in china, they eat various of gruel, soup with an egg, it is usually for Chinese to eat noodles, rice, dumplings with soya-bean milk. Maybe they think it is healthy than others and can suit Chinese students taste, but coming to a new country, perhaps international students will change their own diet habit in order to adapt to this new country quickly. Different timetable caused culture shock Another lifestyle that international students maybe face is the timetable, every country has their own timetable, so many students can not adapt the time this country plan to , a typical example is that in UK, most of shopping malls or stores will be closed before 17:30, you can see few persons walked in the city central, a lot of overseas students think it is boring and very different from their own country, in other countries people are crazy about shopping in the evening and they had adapted to the night life of their native-born country, furthermore, the class time is also have some differences compared with other countries, in some countries ,they may start their first class after eight oclock or later and finish it so earlier. By contrast, in china, students begin class from 7:30 in the morning till to 6:00 in the evening, after 6:00 pm students will have self-study time , it also can be called homework time, plenty of homework for students to finish by themselves, after the first time they left home to a new start of their life, they may not like this atmosphere of this country gave them, at this time, a lot of international students will feel so boring and lonely  ¼Ã…’even much of helpless, maybe they will cry at their accommodation at night and want to return back to home and give up studying in abroad. Moreover, they will keep in touch with their friends or parents, talking on the phone everyday with their parents, this method can reduced their helplessness, homesick and help them to develop the sense of security, and also help them to got encouragement from family members (Scheyvens, 2003). Different education system caused culture shock The following aspect is the different education systemmost of international students can not adapt to the different style of teaching immediately, in some countries, teachers pay more attention to the students self-study and practice, it can be take the British education into an example, in UK, maybe the teachers think in the process of searching the sources, students can gain more knowledge than they taught to them, teachers told students the task ,topic and the method to find information, then students need to find some resources and finish it by themselves. Sometimes, tutor will discuss with students to provide some suggestions for them. The final exam maybe several subjects not all of subjects need to sit down to write 2 long hours test, it is important for students to guarantee the attendance and participate part, the final essay students will complete it by themselves, maybe it accounts for the largest proportion, so, a lot of international students come to a different country can not adapt to this kind of educational system, generating heavy stress for their professional learning. If overseas students can adapt to this education system in the shortest possible time it can bring much benefits to these students, pupils with high self-efficiency general have faith in their capability to complete their own tasks well. They work harder and experience less anxiety when they have something in trouble, due to they believe that they can succeed with much confidence However, people often not full confidence with low self-efficacy that they usually think they cannot perform works well, so they usually tend to give up easily and experience more anxiety when facing troubles. Lack of confidence is the most important reason for their failure (Aronson et al, 2005). So, it is important for international students to overcome troubles with self-confidence. They can learn more useful knowledge and continue to enhance their ability step by step. However ,in other countries especially in some Asian countries , maybe teachers lay emphasis on theory  ¼Ã…’tutors told the answers to students and forced them to recite all of them, this cramming systems caused many of students can not adapt to that kind of self-study system when they study in UK or other countries, this kind of students do not know how to start their first step and lots of students continue to study learn by rote ,it is difficult for them to change the method at once, meanwhile, they feel so depressed and lack of confidence, after this circumstance it will result in the negative effects to international students, large number of students will not catch up with lessons and also are not available to catch teachers point, a long time later ,it will caused a lot of students make no attempt to make progress , get lost in his own way and give themselves up as hopeless replaced. Even more serious effect arouse to is the plagiarism phenomenon, due to the academic knowl edge capability and language level limited, many students copy others result and caused plagiarism problems. The possible adverse impact is to fail their course and come back to home. This phenomenon often happened in university. How to overcome culture shock According to Ferraro (2006), the better method for students to know about the culture shock completely is from the psychological field to analyze the culture shock and improve the successful rate of living in overseas, trying to make more international friends and sharing your happiness and frustration with them, encouraging each other and spend the difficult time together. Conclusion According to the introduction, it can be see that food, timetable and education can result in culture shock ¼Ã…’culture is defined as the every side of life, large number of international students can not adapt to the change of a new environment and need time to change their mind and accept new things ,during this orientation time, with optimism attitudes to accept different learning style and with full self-confidence to overcome all obstacles ,accommodate to various food taste, set goal orientation for themselves, avoid the negative effect that culture shock bring to them.

Rules and Exceptions Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Rules and Exceptions One of the factors which have led many philosophers to adopt a more or less sceptical attitude in moral philosophy has been the recognition that most rules have exceptions. This has commonly been regarded as a threat to the entire moral enterprise. How can a philosopher even attempt to find an account of the moral relations that obtain among things which will weave them into the unity of a stable system if every principle, every rule, every judgment has to be qualified by who knows how many exceptions? Plato was acutely aware of how devastating the admission of an exception might be. In the Republic Socrates completely invalidates Cephalus' thesis that justice is simply a matter of returning to others what is due to them by pointing out that if a friend deposited a weapon with us for safekeeping and then asked for it when he was not in his right mind, there would be justice in not returning it to him. Ordinarily we should return what does not belong to us, but this case would seem to be a legitimate exception. Socrates mentions another. It would be right in such circumstances he says to lie to a person who was out of his mind. On the other hand Plato also realised that by no means all alleged exceptions are justified. In the Euthyphro Socrates upon being informed that Euthyphro intends to prosecute his own father for murder suggests that perhaps it would be right to prosecute his father if he killed a relative but not if he murdered a stranger. Euthyphro rebukes Socrates for sugges ting such an exception. Socrates offers no defence except to express amazement at the certainty with which Euthyphro claims to know what is right. There are several ways to resolve the problem of uncertainty which the ex... ...speak both universally and correctly. That is to say rules inevitably fail to take account of all the relevant peculiarities of some cases and situations but in saying that rules are deficient by virtue of their universality. On the contrary many are perfectly good rules. It's just that rules are rules. Aristotle does not mean to suggest that all rules are bad or useless. Therefore unless we are to become rule worshippers and so fail to do the right thing in individual cases just to preserve the integrity and universal application of rules we must appeal in certain cases to another method in order to decide those cases. Fortunately there is such a method: the appeal to intuition. References Immanuel Kant Fundamental Principles and The Metaphysical Principles Of Virtue Kurt Baier Ethics and Society (1966) Kurt Baier The Moral Point Of View (1965)

How Goths Contributed to the Breakup of the Roman Empire

Today our group will discuss how the Goths contributed to the breakup of the Roman Empire. We will do this by raising some questions and providing the answers for our theory. The Goths were an ancient Germanic Tribe that conquered Europe’s Roman Empire. Each of the Germanic tribes divided into several branches, the Saxons, the Vandals, the Franks and the Goths, The Goths consisted of two branches that contributed to the fall of Europe’s Roman Empire, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths. Geographic descriptions were often used to distinguish people living north of the Roman Empire, so the Goths were known as the forest people. The Goths originated from Sweden. The Western Gothic tribe, The Visigoths, first emerged as a distinct people, during the fourth century. The Eastern tribe, The Ostrogoths, migrated to Poland and developed as a distinct people over the following 300 years. There names are geographical and were used by each tribe to describe each other. They were however, multi ethnic and cannot lay claimed to an exclusive heritage. The Goths were banished from their homeland after an attack from the Hun, and were desperate enough to camp on the Danube River, from which they crossed into the Roman Empire. They then sheltered from further attacks from the Hunnic invaders, and were offered farmland by the Valens the Emperor of Rome. Famine began to take its toll and in order to get food the Goths plundered the Roman farmlands to survive. Initially, the Ostrogoths were close allies of the Hun. During the fourth and fifth century, the Ostrogoths emerged as serious rivals to Rome for control of the Danube River, but this became untenable after the arrival of the Hun Barbarians. This is a conflict all about the competition for space, the Hunnic had very defined roles for subordinate ethnic groups, and the Ostrogoths escaped the brutal Hunnic occupation and were received as settlers on Roman soil in Yugoslavia. It was a common belief that the Roman Empire would last forever, but in the third century barbarian invasions became severe which made the Empire weaken its western and northern frontiers. The combination of other factors such as imperial It was a common belief that the Roman Empire would last forever, but in the third century barbarian invasions became severe which made the Empire weaken its western and northern frontiers. The combination of other factors such as imperial incompetence, the size of the Empire, the uncontrollable abundance of slaves, the fall of the army, corruption within the senate, poorly equipped technology, Christianity, the rise of Islam along with the barbaric attacks deposed the last Roman emperor. Rome’s fall lead to the dark ages. The Roman rulers had no practical experience in engaging with the barbarians, in a peaceful manner. By offering to settle the Ostrogoth tribes the Romans could not assimilate new soldiers into the army as easily as they had planned. Since the people stopped participating in government and didn’t join the army, the Roman army became a club for barbarians from Germany, who lead disorganised attacks so the army was no longer the super power it was before. Many of the lands that Rome had conquered, claimed independence and broke free of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire fell because it was too widespread, leaving it exposed to constant attack from external groups. Perhaps the territories could have been given greater independence and autonomy allowing the occupiers a greater level of input into government and revenue collection. The Roman Empire in the end was eventually overrun by millions of barbarians from the north and east of Europe. It is believed to have happened two or three times in history that mass migrations of Barbarians took place across Europe, where tribes moved to settle in new territories. The great migration proved too much for the Romans to stem. Their armies were designed to defeat other armies, not entire folks and people flooding toward them. The collapse of the Western European Empire in Rome was completed when Rome itself was conquered by the Visigoth Odoacer and his men in the year 476 AD. But what is generally referred to as â€Å"the fall of the Rome† doesn’t include the Eastern Europe Empire. This, with its centre Constantinople, managed to cling on for almost another thousand years until it was eventually conquered by the Turks under their leader Mohammed II in the year 1453 AD. The roman emperor Valens allowed to settle with his people on the south bank of the Danube. Here, they hoped to find refuge from the Huns. Valens permitted this, as he saw in them â€Å"a splendid recruiting opportunity for his army†. However, a famine broke out and Rome was unwilling to supply them with food they were promised nor the land; open revolt ensued leading 6 years of plundering and destruction of an entire Roman army. The Battle at Adrianople in 378AD was the decisive moment of the war. The Roman forces were slaughtered and the emperor Valens was killed during the fighting. Adrianople shocked the Roman world and eventually forced the Romans to negotiate with and settle the barbarians within the Empire’s boundaries, a development with far reaching consequences for the eventual fall of Rome. After a big battle at Vouill? , the Franks, similar to the Hunnic tribes, took over most of southern France, forcing the Visigoths to move to Spain, where they founded a new capital city, the Visigothic kingdom of Toledo. As a Roman outpost and during their long reign in Spain the Visigoths are responsible for the only new cities founded in Western Europe between the fifth and eighth centuries. They founded five new cities; Reccopolis, Victoriacum Luceo and Olite. All six of these cities were founded for military purposes and three of them in celebration of victory. By 600AD the Visigoths were the only Arians left in the Mediterranean area or anywhere else. Prolonged contact with the Roman population of the former empire ultimately led to conversion to Catholicism, in the late 6th century translating the bible into the Gothic language. In Spain the central kingdom of Visigotha still survives, but the ancient kingdom of the Visigoths continued for well over 1,400 years and has finally passed because, like the Romans the Visigoths simply did not have the resources to maintain there colonies. There were five different tribes that may have merged into one dominant group that finally brought Rome down. They were all attacking various pieces of the Western and Roman Empire. It is clear there is a common destiny, which links the rise and fall of both the Roman and VisiGothic Empires. Throughout history all human endeavour is defined by a beginning, middle and an end. In conclusion there were many factors that led to the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire, however, because of the reasons discussed previously and, because the Goths developed different types of military strategies the Romans had not previously encountered, which led to the defeat of the Empires Army, and eventually contributed to the ultimate collapse of Roman civilisation. Therefore our group strongly believes that the Goths were a major factor which finally caused the breakup of the Roman Empire. Sources: www. howstuffworks. com http://edhelper. com/ReadingComprehension_35_607. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Theodosius_I http://authorama. com/story-of-mankind-27. html

The Seven Wonders Essays - Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World

The Seven Wonders Essays - Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World The Seven Wonders As time goes on, we age, just as the magnificent things we make. To often do we forget how far we have come over the ages. The purpose of this paper is to identify the seven ancient wonders of the ancient world, and how they have played a vital role in the evolution of man. A long time ago there was a man that went by the name of Philo of Byzantium (Encarta 97 I). Around 146 bc. he wrote a book that went by the name of Perition hepta. This was the first book concerning the seven wonders. There is another book named Antipater of Sidan. This book came a little after and listed the Walls of Babylon instead of the Pharos of Alexandria. (Britannica I) These books both listed different wonders with different names to them. Many people wonder why there is only seven. Because there was also things such as The Great Wall of China and the ancient American civilizations. They seemed to only list things within the Roman Empire (Encarta 97 I) The name ?the seven wonders of the ancient world? is also known as the ?seven prominent sights of the ancient world? (Britannica I) the Byzantium culture was originated from what is now Constantinople. Their culture was originated by their location by the Black Sea. And that area was a big port so they had to trade a lot there. This is probably where and how the book was traded and the ideas of Philo got to the other parts the world then. When people think about the seven wonders they usually think first about the pyramids. The most likely reason for this is because they are, in fact, the only surviving wonder still in existence. And another cool thing about it is, the pyramids of Giza are the oldest, and most impressive wonders of all. The Great Pyramid of Giza?s schematics is overwhelmingly precise. The walls of the King Kufu?s chamber door were cut with such accuracy, that the error rates in the corners were at 0.01 of an inch. It took about 100,000 workers 20 years to construct the Great Pyramid, and only during the Nile flood season (History of Giza I). The Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Walls of Babylon (depending on what book you look at) was in fact, not really hanging gardens at all. Because water transportation was so difficult of a job, the distance of the water had to be short. So they found a high up source of water, and used primitive forms of aqueducts and brought it to the Babylon Palace and the palace was built for the reason for king Nebuchadnezzar to make his queen feel more confortable. Because she was from the country and being in a big city of Babylon then was a big change, so she was homesick. And so the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was created. (Grolier 2) The Statue of Zeus was a third ancient wonder. It got it?s position by it?s ?Doric-Style temple? by having a really large statue covered with precious stones and special materials to remember the ?God of Gods?. It was built in what was the city of Olympia and is now located about 150 km west of present-day Athens (Statue of Zeus 1). Another temple that became one of the wonders was the Temple of Artemis. It of course was built to honor the Greek god Artemis. It was built around the sixth century BC. And the architect was a guy named Chesiphron. But it was mainly a joint effort of twelve Ionian cities. (Grolier Encyclopedia 1) Around 292-280 BC. The proud Rhode citizens built a one hundred and twenty foot tall statue that stood on the side of the Rhode Harbor. The statue was made of bronze and its figure was the patron Helios. It took Rhodesians 12 years to construct the statue. And Chares of Lindus designed it (Grolier Enc. 2). Another Egyptian wonder, but constructed many years after the pyramids, was the Pharos of Alexandria. It was the first lighthouse ever constructed. It?s purpose was to light the shores and light a path to land for sailors during the Roman age. It served as a prototype for lots