Sample MBA Application Essay - How to Write a Successful MBA Application Essay

Sample MBA Application Essay - How to Write a Successful MBA Application EssayYou don't have to be a graduate to take a sample MBA application essay. So many students these days are taking up the opportunity to apply for graduate programs, and MBA application essays are certainly important in getting accepted. Here are some things to keep in mind if you're planning to do an MBA application essay.You can find a lot of sample essays online. But keep in mind that not all websites or publishing houses provide you with the same sample. Keep in mind that your writing skills are important for successful application essays.You need to write a successful MBA application essay based on facts. Don't use wordy sentences or big words in your essay. For example, don't use 'My dissertation research led me to find...' and instead use 'I did my PhD in...''My dissertation research led me to find...' would not be the right thing to use. Instead, use something like 'After reviewing the data and statisti cs, I found that...'. This would show that you're putting in details of the study and it would be a good demonstration of why you are a good candidate for the program.Remember that you don't have to be all these credentials to get accepted. There are plenty of employers out there who look at a few different attributes in the applicant rather than looking at one and ranking him or her highly. Many MBA programs also look for what employers think of applicants before they let them in.So, when it comes to writing a sample MBA application essay, keep in mind these points. Writing about your PhD dissertation is a great way to demonstrate your strong knowledge in areas like statistical analysis, finance, and business ethics. It shows that you've done your research and that you understand the nuances of these topics.Finally, remember that there are many places where you can find a sample MBA application essay for free. It's just a matter of finding one that will work for you'll be on your w ay to getting into your dream school. It won't take long to find one and just make sure that it includes the points above.

Assignment Final Paper Topic Thesis free essay sample

Confirm your topic, and identify how this selection relates to your academic and professional pursuits. Review the feedback from your topic choice presented in the Week One discussion. How did your argument stand up to the examination of your peers? Thesis : Write a direct and concise thesis statement, which will become the point or perspective you will argue or prove in the Final Research paper. Refer to the Gifford Online Writing Center for information on how to develop a solid thesis statement.PAP Reference Page For this paper, you will conduct research in peer-reviewed journals or other sources that are considered to have academic information. You will need a minimum of five professional scholarly sources, at least one of which is a multimedia source. For each source, you are responsible for summarizing the source and examining how it will support you in defending your argument. Keep in mind the Academic Research standards for all Gifford University Papers. We will write a custom essay sample on Assignment Final Paper Topic Thesis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Academic Research Academic research and papers must meet certain standards of quality recognized by the academic community.What constitutes quality, academic research? Primary sources, which are documents from the time period being discussed Secondary sources supported by research in primary sources Credible sources (experts in the area of study) Relevant research (materials are For downloading more course tutorials visit ; HTTPS://bitty. Com/l rubout If you are returning to college with a kid or more, you might assume that on- campus living is not an option. This is not always true. A lot of colleges provide a place for children to live as well.Colleges and universities have accepted the act that some students are older and already have families. Be sure to ask early about housing options for families, because it tends to fill up very fast. Education General Education Research Paper link. The Final Research Paper is due in Week Five. To help in the Final Research Paper. Refer to the Gifford Online Writing Center for Relevant research (materials are pertinent to the area of study) In graduate work, the use of peer-reviewed journal articles (journal articles reviewed by recognized experts in the relevant field of study) is required. Educational and Governs

Definition and Examples of Symbolism in Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of Symbolism in Rhetoric Symbolism  (pronounced SIM-buh-liz-em)  is the use of one object or action (a symbol) to represent or suggest something else. German writer  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe famously defined true symbolism as that in which the particular represents the general. Broadly, the term symbolism may refer to the symbolic meaning or the practice of investing things with a symbolic meaning. Though often associated with religion and literature, symbolism is prevalent in everyday life. The use of  symbolism  and language, says Leonard Shengold, makes our minds flexible enough to grasp, master, and communicate thoughts and feelings (Delusions of Everyday Life, 1995). In Dictionary of Word Origins (1990), John Ayto points out that etymologically a  symbol  is something thrown together. The words ultimate source is Greek  sumballein  . . .. The notion of throwing or putting things together led on to the notion of contrast, and so  sumballein  came to be used for compare. From it was derived  sumbolon, which denoted an identifying token- because such tokens were compared with a counterpart to make sure they were genuineand hence an outward sign of something. Examples and Observations [T]he symbolic elements in life have a tendency to run wild, like the vegetation in a tropical forest. The life of humanity can easily be overwhelmed by its symbolic accessories. . . . Symbolism is no mere idle fancy or corrupt degeneration; it is inherent in the very texture of human life. Language itself is a symbolism.(Alfred North Whitehead, Symbolism: Its Meaning and Effect. Barbour-Page Lectures, 1927) The Rose as a Symbol Pick the rose. It used to symbolise the Virgin Mary and, before her, Venus, the pricking of its barbs being likened to the wounds of love. The association still survives in the common meaning of a bunch of roses (I love you). Flowers might be delicate and short-lived but they have acquired a vast range of unpredictably durable meanings, a whole bouquet of significances: affection, virtue, chastity, wantonness, religious steadfastness, transience. The modern multiplication of floral emblems and trademarks has, however, taken its toll. When the red rose can stand for the Labour Party, a box of chocolates and Blackburn Rovers FC, it seems fair to say that its symbolic potency has been somewhat diluted by over-use. (Andrew Graham-Dixon, Say It With Flowers. The Independent, September 1, 1992)The rose . . . has collected around itself many layers of meanings, some of which contradict or challenge each other. As associated with the Virgin Mary, the rose symbolizes chastity and purity, whil e as associated with sexuality in medieval romance literature, it symbolizes carnality and sexual bliss, its tightly furled bud a favorite symbol of female virginity, its full-blown blossom a symbol of sexual passion.Multiple meanings may jostle for dominance around a symbol, or, in contrast, a symbol may over time, come to possess a single, fixed sense. Symbols, therefore, can enrich language by bringing it an array of different possible meanings, or they can reinforce a single meaning, as with images that constantly dehumanize. (Erin Steuter and Deborah Wills, At War With Metaphor: Media, Propaganda, and Racism in the War on Terror. Lexington Books, 2008) Jung on the Range of Potential Symbols The history of symbolism shows that everything can assume symbolic significance: natural objects (like stones, plants, animals, men, mountains and valleys, sun and moon, wind, water, and fire), or man-made things (like houses, boats, or cars), or even abstract forms (like numbers, or the triangle, the square, and the circle). In fact, the whole cosmos is a potential symbol. (Carl Gustav Jung, Man and His Symbols, 1964) Real and Symbolic Suns Once when I was analyzing the symbolism of sun and moon in Coleridges poem, The Ancient Mariner, a student raised this objection: Im tired of hearing about the symbolic sun in poems, I want a poem that has the real sun in it.Answer: If anybody ever turns up with a poem that has the real sun in it, youd better be about ninety-three million miles away. We were having a hot summer as it was and I certainly didnt want anyone bringing the real sun into the classroom.True, a distinction could be made here corresponding to the difference between concept and idea in the Kantian terminology. The notion of sun qua sun, as the sheerly physical object that we grow our crops by, would be a concept. And the notion of the sun as avenger . . . would carry us into the realm of ideas. The student was correct in feeling that a stress upon symbolism can blunt our concern with the sheerly literal meaning of a term (as when critics become so involved with the symbolism of a story that they ignore its natu re simply as a story). (Kenneth Burke, The Rhetoric of Religion: Studies in Logology. University of California Press, 1970) The Symbolism of the Filibuster The filibuster has at times symbolized, justifiably or not, the courageous stand of principled individuals against a corrupt or compromised majority. That symbolism was captured in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the classic Frank Capra film in which James Stewart plays a naà ¯ve newcomer who holds the Senate hostage for longer even than Strom Thurmond did, before collapsing in fatigue and triumph. (Scott Shane, Henry Clay Hated It. So Does Bill Frist. The New York Times, November  21, 2004) The Symbolism of Book-Burning As an act of wanton barbarism, there is little to rival the symbolism of setting fire to a book. It is, therefore, genuinely shocking to learn that book-burning is taking place in south Wales. Pensioners in Swansea are reportedly buying books from charity shops for just a few pence each and taking them home for fuel. (Leo Hickman, Why Are They Burning Books in South Wales? The Guardian, January  6, 2010) The Dumber Side of Symbolism Butt-head: Look, this video has symbols. Huh-huh-huh.Beavis: Yeah, is that what it means when they say videos have symbolism?Butt-head: Huh-huh-huh. You said ism. Huh-huh-huh-ha-huh.(Customers Suck. Beavis and Butt-Head, 1993)

Islamic Banking case Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Islamic Banking case - Term Paper Example Moreover, the fact that the owner of the bank plays a huge role in managing the bank is strength, which makes it possible to analyze the bank’s current position in the market and make management decisions in a quick way. The biggest weakness in the bank regards the vulnerability posed by the lack of knowledge on other products in the market, and especially by competing products. In this regard, it is evident that Sultan does not know the principles and concepts of Islamic Banking, which is a major weakness since the bank is losing customers to other banks that offered products based on these concepts and principles. ABB’s major opportunity for development and growth lies within the bank’s niche market amongst the local community. With proper restructuring of the bank’s policy in banking, the bank can maintain this segment of clientele since locals have been the target market since the bank’s inception. In addition, the CEO, who is also the owner, has a â€Å"substantial inherited personal wealth† that he wishes to reinvest in the bank. In effect, this potential source of capital is essential as the bank seeks to position itself in the competitive banking industry due to the increasing role of Islamic Banking principles and concepts. Finally, the major threat that the bank faces is the increasing role of Islamic Banking, which has made some of ABBs customers switch to banks that offered services based on Islamic Banking principles and concepts. In line with this, the threat posed by Islamic Banking concepts and principles requires a rethinking since the bank is losing existing and potential customers due to its failure to establish Islamic Banking principles and concepts. Hence, this market trend is a threat to the long-term objectives of the bank and the bank can only restructure to accommodate this market trend. Sultan can restructure ABB’s banking structures and systems to accommodate

Is Hydropower Really Environmentally Friendly Essay

Is Hydropower Really Environmentally Friendly - Essay Example Hydropower’s negative impacts on the environment are almost equal to its positive impacts, thus making its impacts on the environment a heated topic for debate. The positive and negative impacts of Three Gorges Dam on the environment will also be explored in this paper (Draper  7, 11; Honningsvag et al. 183; Moog 1; Gunkel 1). There is a possibility that fossil fuels are gradually decreasing and because the global warming is increasing due to their use, water is apparently a much cleaner source of energy. Moreover, unlike fossil fuels, water cannot be depleted. This is because when water evaporates from oceans and lakes, it is pulled back down to earth by gravity and back into these water bodies. There are many measures that make hydropower an environmentally friendly source of energy. These include changes that are made either to the hydropower plant or the area surrounding it. Trees can be planted on the land along the banks of the water nearest to the hydropower plant, in order to prevent erosion of the soil there. Fluctuations in the level of the water can be minimized by making sure they take place within the regulation height normally used instead of taking place between the whole maximum and minimum regulation height. This measure avoids many fishes from remaining stranded in the reservoir when the rest of them migrate to rivers or deeper water (Draper  7, 11; Honningsvag et al. 183, 204, 206). However, according to a quantitative study of several Austrian rivers, artificial fluctuations in water can have an adverse effect on the fish fauna and benthic invertebrates living in those waters. In the investigation, the breakdown of benthic invertebrates and fish fauna was calculated throughout the length of the rivers. The results showed that between 75 and 95 percent of benthic invertebrates’ biomass was found in the first few kilometers of river length. On the other hand, a decrease of between 40 and 60 percent of benthic invertebratesâ⠂¬â„¢ biomass, compared with areas undisturbed by fluctuations, was found within the following 20 to 40 kilometers. When the biomass of fish fauna was detected in the same length of river, the results were similar to the ones mentioned previously. This proves that hydropower plants can reduce the biomass of fish fauna and benthic invertebrates in the rivers that precede them (Moog 1). Another negative effect of hydropower plants, according to some new investigations, is that they do contribute to the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, which are greenhouse gases. When reservoirs, which are part of hydropower plants, are in a eutrophic state, and trophic levels are high, anaerobic conditions are bound to occur with the emission of methane. The pathways for the production of methane include diffuse emission through the water-air interface, foaming, and degassing in the hydropower plant’s turbines and downstream in the reservoir spillway and the initial river length. High e mission rates of both carbon dioxide and methane are found particularly in shallow and tropical reservoirs. By calculating the energy density, hydropower capacity and ratio of the reservoir surface, it has been found that some reservoirs have a global warming potential that is more than that of coal use for production of energy. This investigation questions the labeling of water as a

Strategic Analysis Of Carnival Corporation And Plc Tourism Essay

Strategic Analysis Of Carnival Corporation And Plc Tourism Essay Humans have since time immemorial been fascinated with ships, seas and oceans. Whilst ships have in the past been used mainly for transportation of goods and people and of course for war, seafaring has always been associated with travel to new and strange destinations, excitement and romance. With the contemporary day and age being firmly focused on new alternatives for leisure, excitement and life experiences, the western tourism industry has astutely used this human fascination with the seas to develop an extremely desirable tourism option; namely sea and ocean cruises. Such cruises offer exciting and pleasurable vacation options for people. They are offered by specialised cruise liners and provide customers the experience of travelling on the high seas in large, well appointed and luxurious ocean going vessels. Cruise holidays provide customers with luxury experiences and opportunities to engage in numerous leisure activities like (a) sun bathing on expansive ocean liner decks, (b) use of large swimming pools, (c) a range of body comfort activities through the use of spas, gyms and Jacuzzis, (d) various types of eating and dining options, and (e) a range of on ship holiday activities like games, contests, singing and dancing. The modern day cruise industry emerged in the 1970s in North America (Dowling, 2006). Whilst cruises originally aimed to provide customers with luxurious trans-ocean transportation options, the industry has since then transformed into a vacation alternative for people to travel to land based destinations or to sightseeing locations in the oceans (Dowling, 2006). A cruise now stands for a complete start-to-finish experience in luxury, comfort and the good life, rather than an option for travelling from point A to point B (Dowling, 2006). Whilst cruise vacationers still form a very small segment (just about 2%) of the global tourism industry, their volumes grew from 500,000 passengers in 1970 to 6.6 million passengers in 2000 (Gisnas et al, 2008). Such volumes have continued to grow during the last decade and are estimated to be 17 million annual passengers today (Gisnas et al, 2008). The industry experienced significant growth in the 1970s, when it first emerged, and has been growing at between 8 and 9% since then (Gisnas et al, 2008). Sectoral growth in the cruise sector has also not been cyclical like other shipping segments (Gisnas et al, 2008). Carnival Corporation and plc (Carnival Corporation) is the worlds largest operator of cruise ships. With 11 individual brands and a total fleet of 96 vessels, the organisation operates cruises in North America, Europe and Australia (Carnival, 2010). Whilst the global recession affected the travel and tourism industry significantly and also affected the revenues of the company to some extent, Carnival Corporation expects to grow significantly in the coming years, as recessionary forces weaken and individual and business spending starts moving upwards once again (Carnival, 2010). This specific analysis attempts to (a) examine the operations and mechanisms of the cruise industry, (b) analyse the strategies and operations of Carnival Corporation, and (c) recommend suitable future growth strategies for the company. 2. Overview of Cruise Industry 2.1. Brief history of Cruise Industry The first cruise route, historical records reveal, was established by British PO in 1882 with the introduction of S/Y Ceylon for pleasure cruising (Cartwright Baird, 1999). The ship operated on the western coast of Norway and was well known to wealthy UK citizens (Cartwright Baird, 1999). The most famous example of a cruise liner of those days is that of the Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, in April 1912, after a collision with an iceberg (Cartwright Baird, 1999). Whilst trans-ocean services between North America and Europe expanded greatly between the two great wars, the emergence of commercial aircraft after the closure of the Second World War led to the elimination of human transportation through ships (Cartwright Baird, 1999). The years that followed the closure of human transportation through ships however saw the emergence and the steady growth of pleasure and tourism oriented cruises (Cartwright Baird, 1999). The cruise market is currently dominated by three important organisations namely, Carnival Corporation (the subject of this study), Royal Caribbean International and Star Cruises. Whilst the industry was home to a number of players in the 1970s and 1980s, progressive mergers and alliances have led to the formation of oligopolistic market situation that is dominated by three strong entities (Gisnas et al, 2008). Carnival Corporation leads the business with a 45% market share, followed by Royal Caribbean (21%) and Star Cruises (10%) (Gisnas et al, 2008). Appendix 1 provides details of the capacities of the major cruise liners. The cruise market is divided into two main geographic segments, (a) the US market and (b) the European market. The US market, which includes North America and the Caribbean, forms 62% of the total market, whereas Europe accounts for 24% of cruise users (Kamery, 2004). The European market, whilst smaller than the US market, is growing swiftly and is expected to increase by more than 9% per annum in the coming years (Kamery, 2004). The UK market has until now been the dominant European market, even as the German, Scandinavian, Benelux, Austrian and Swiss markets are showing strong growth (Kamery, 2004). Cruises can be segmented into five main categories, namely contemporary cruises, budget cruises, premium cruises, luxury cruises and special cruises. Appendix 2 provides details of the different types of cruises. The industry can otherwise be segmented by languages, which surprisingly is an important point of differentiation (Gisnas et al, 2008). Individuals prefer to go on cruises with people who speak the same language (Gisnas et al, 2008). Important market segments are (a) American families, (b) senior citizens from the EU, (c) conferences and incentives, (d) themes and (e) adventure (Gisnas et al, 2008). In North America the target population for cruises companies comprises of adults, who are more than 25 years in age and earn more than 40,000 USD per annum (Gisnas et al, 2008). The target market includes (a) people who have cruised before, (b) vacationers who have not previously engaged in cruises and (c) non vacationers as well (Gisnas et al, 2008). The segment makes up practically 44% of the US population (Gisnas et al, 2008). Whilst the average age of passengers has come down to just below 45 in the US, The average age of passengers in the UK is also coming down significantly (Gisnas et al, 2008). The potential of the market is high because the existing penetration rate at 3% for North America, 1% for Europe and 2% for UK is very low. The main markets continue to be North America and Europe. The Asian market is however growing very slowly. Appendix 3 Provides details of passengers both by nationality and by origin. 3. Analysis of Carnival Corporation 3.1. Company Overview Carnival Corporation plc is the market leader of the cruise industry. Carnival Corporation was founded in 1972 by Ted Arison (Carnival, 2010). Both Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc have grown organically, as well as through mergers that have led to significant increases in organisational operations (Carnival, 2010). The present organisation came about from a merger between Carnival Corporation and PO Princess Cruises plc, wherein it was agreed that PO would be listed on the London Stock Exchange (Carnival, 2010). The organisation is thus dually listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges and has head offices at Miami, USA, and at Southampton, UK (Carnival, 2010). The company has 11 cruise line brands, each of which controls a geographical location. To elaborate, AIDA cruises controls the German business, Carnival Cruise lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and the Seaborne Cruise Line operate in the United States, Cunard Line, Ocean Village, and PO Cruises service the UK market, Costa Cruises controls the Italian business, Iberio Cruises controls the Spanish business, and PO Cruises Australia controls the Australian business (Carnival, 2010). The organisation earned revenues of 13.1 billion USD in 2009 compared to 14.65 billion USD in 2008. It owns 93 ships, has a passenger capacity of 180,746, and employs 85,000 people. Carnival Corporation carried 8500 passengers in 2009 (Carnival, 2010). 3.2. Operational Performance The operations and financial performance of the company suffered significantly in 2009 compared to 2008. The sales and net income figures for these two years are provided below. Year 2009 2008 Sales Million USD 5912 6550 Percentage Movement (10%) Net Profits Million USD 885 1090 (19%) Net Profit Ratio 0.15 0.16 Whilst the company management states that they have been able to cushion the impact of the recession effectively, the financial analysis of key performance indicators reveals a different picture. Both sales and profits have come down sharply (Carnival, 2010). It also needs to be noticed that the sales of the organisation have come down by 10 %, even as the cruise industry overall contracted only by 3 % in 2009 (Carnival, 2010). Other operational and profitability ratios like ROI and have also come down in the wake of reduction in sales and profitability. 3.3. PESTEL Analysis The PESTEL frame works helps analysts to examine environmental factors in a methodical manner (Porter, 1980). The specific examination of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors assist in understanding key change drivers and external influences on the working of organisations (Porter, 1980). A PESTEL analysis helps organisational managements in aligning organisational strategies with environmental realities and work towards ensuring that organisations do not purposely follow strategic rules that are at variance or in opposition to environmental forces (Porter, 1980). With cruise lines essentially being international in the nature of their operations, their working can be significantly affected by terrorism related conditions (Porter, 1980). Increase in terrorism activities invariably leads to stricter immigration laws and to reduction in tourism enthusiasm (Porter, 1980). Apart from terrorism, cruise activity can also be affected by political instability in geographical locations that are part of the cruise network, as well as by tourism related taxation policies in different countries (Porter, 1980). Tourism, being an essentially discretionary activity is strongly influenced by changes in global economic conditions (Porter, 1980). The last two years have seen reduction in tourism business and cruise activity. Apart from the economic environment, the movement of exchange rates can also affect tourism and consequently cruise activity. Whilst tourism is currently going through a difficult phase, (having reduced by 4% in 2008 and 2009, and expected to grow by 0.3% in 2010) a post recession boom is likely considering that tourism contributes approximately 10.6% of global GBP. Social and cultural features play important roles in the cruise industry (Porter, 1980). The majority of cruise customers come from affluent and western social segments and place great stress on lifestyle quality (Porter, 1980). The market for cruises has until now been dominated by customers from the advanced western nations. Cruise liners are constantly investing in technology to make their ships more customers friendly as well as easier to operate. Internet sales enable customers to reduce costs through elimination of intermediaries (Porter, 1980). The tourism industry, because of the associated travel costs, is strongly associated with emission of green house gases. Any sort of rationing of petroleum products can as such lead to significantly adverse effects upon the tourism and cruise sector. The cruise business can also be influenced to some extent by trade laws and customs procedures and regulation. The existing global visa regime is tremendously skewed in favour of the inhabitants of rich countries and this can affect the growth of cruise customers from the emerging nations. 3.4. Critical Success Factors Analysis of available information leads to the conclusion that success in the shipping industry will depend essentially upon economies of scale and degree of differentiation (Gisnas et al, 2008). Extending this concept to the cruise industry, the critical success factors in the industry can be narrowed down to the four following factors (Gisnas et al, 2008). Exploitation of scale economies: Economies of scale can be achieved in different operational areas like vessel size, maintenance programmes, and economies of hotel operations Product Differentiation: This can be achieved through the conceptualisation and implementation of different types of cruises. Generation of Customer Loyalty: This will enable companies to obtain higher shares of repeat customer business Management of Strategic Investments: This will enable an organisation to get infrastructural advantage through optimisation of investments, both in terms of money and costs. 4. Strategic Recommendation Carnival Corporation is currently experiencing difficult environmental conditions because of the global recession that was triggered off by the housing collapse and the subprime crises in the USA (Porter, 1980). With the economies of affluent North American and European countries, wherein the brunt of the crises, global tourism was significantly affected during the past two years (Porter, 1980). The bulk of the cruise industry services the citizens of the United States, the UK and other affluent European nations and a sharp economic downturn in these nations will expectedly have significantly adverse on the sales and operational performance of the members of this sector (Porter, 1980). The strategic growth plans for carnival Corporation must accordingly incorporate the impact of the extra ordinarily difficult current environment (Porter, 1980). Whilst the current economic environment is challenging the companys operational and financial capabilities, it is also providing significant opportunities to strong existing players (Porter, 1980). The growth recommendations for Carnival Corporation have been based upon the information obtained from the PESTEL analysis, the utilisation of strategic theories like Porters generic growth strategy and Ansoffs growth matrix, the critical success factors for members of the industry and the opportunities and threats that exists in the current environment (Porter, 1980). Michael Porter, in his seminal contribution towards corporate strategy forwarded the theory that companies can achieve competitive advantage only through the adoption of specific strategies, namely cost leadership, differentiation, or niche occupation (Porter, 1980). Porter went on to state that whilst many organisations feel the need to adopt more than one of such strategies, such an attitude was essentially faulty, and the desire by company managements to adopt essentially distinct operational strategies could lead to loss of focus, confusion in growth objectives and engagement in contradictory and self destructive actions (Porter, 1980). Carnival Corporation has constantly followed a strategy of differentiating of products from that of its competitors. Whilst the organisations growth is also due to its origin and operations in the extremely strong US and British markets, the company has constantly differentiated its offerings through innovation in the types and lengths of cruises to its customers. The company is otherwise strongly focused on sustainability and is taking action to reduce its carbon footprint through the lowering of energy use on its ships, preserving clean air, and reducing operational waste. The PESTEL analysis reveals that whilst the industry is vulnerable to global terrorism actions and the political instability of countries that form part of the operational area of the industry (Porter, 1980). Apart from such political factors, the industry is vulnerable to economic downturns. It is however becoming obvious that the downturn has possibly bottomed out and that western economies are moving towards recovery (Porter, 1980). Whilst recent economic developments in Greece and Spain are disquieting, broad economic indicators show the possibility of some economic improvement in 2010 and firm upward economic movement in 2011. This situation provides abundant opportunities to the companys growth plans. Whilst 2009 has seen a dip in the companys sales and profitability, financial reports reveal that the company has a very strong cash position and comfortable leverage ratios. With its considerable financial ability and its experience in growth through buyouts and acquisitions, the current economic circumstances should provide significant opportunities for the company to acquire smaller and financially weaker organisations, who would be finding it difficult to survive in the present circumstances. Igor Ansoffs model of growth stipulates that companies move in their growth curve from selling currently available services in existing markets through various phases to selling new products in new markets (Tutor2u.net, 2009). Ansoffs growth model is provided in appendix 4. Carnival Corporation should clearly follow a carefully formulated strategy of external and internal growth. External growth should be targeted through the search and acquisition of attractive cruiser lines whose operations and viability has suffered because of the crises. The corporate management should aggressively scout for acquisition and use its strong financial resources to good effect. Such a strategy will also lead to better scale economies and will of course need efficient management of strategic investments (Tutor2u.net, 2009). The company, in accordance with Ansoffs model should steadily pursue strategies for differentiating their services through the conceptualisation and implementation of different cruise themes. It is also opportune for the company to seriously look at the emerging Asian tourism sector, preferably through the acquisition of a local cruise operator. The Asian economy is fairing much better than the European economy and significant accretion is occurring in the upper middle class segments of China and India. Such population segments are totally unexposed to cruise vacations and provide fertile ground for Carnival Corporation to thrust their Asian operations. Carefully conceived strategic plan of organic and acquisitive growth will enable the company to consolidate its leadership position and exploit current environmental opportunities (Tutor2u.net, 2009). 5. Conclusions

The Underrepresentation of Women in Academic Leadership in the United S

The literature review for this study examines various researches imperative to understanding the context, nature, and extent of the problem of underrepresentation of women in academic leadership in the United States. Gender inequality still exists in leadership positions in U.S academia; â€Å"women are still struggling to be at the leadership table despite the progress the U.S. has made in recent times through the process of eliminating discrimination in the workplace† (Lapovsky & Slaner, 2009). The review also pulls resources from literatures dealing with assessing the root causes of underrepresentation of female Leaders in the United States, with regards to employment discrimination, societal roles etc. From this review, some notable topics emerged that pulls an in depth analysis of the various factors that influence the underrepresentation of women as leaders in the United States academia. Consequently, research has shown that the number of female presidents have not chang ed in the last 10 years (Lapovsky & Slaner, 2009). Keywords: women and leadership, Academic Leaders, US Academia, Leadership Characteristics. Are women underrepresented in leadership role in the U.S Academia? A Literature Review A report written in the American Association of University Professors, states that as women pursue academic leadership advancement, the lower the percentage of women in higher leadership roles become. For instance, the representation of woman in leadership roles are as follows: Fifty percent of women are lecturers and instructors, forty six percent are represented in Assistant professor positions, thirty eight percent and twenty three percent are college presidents (ACE, 2007). Furth... ...rative literature review: Guidlines and examples. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356-367. doi: 10.1177/1534484305278283 Kiamba, J. M. (2008). Women’s activism for gender equity in Africa, women and leadership positions. Social and cultural barriers Due Billing, Y., & Alvesson, M. (1989). Four ways of looking at women and leadership. Scandinavian journal of management, 5(1), 63-80. doi.10.1300/J111v32n03_08 Fernandez, J. Race, (1998). Gender and rhetoric: The true state of race and gender relations in corporate America. New York: McGraw Hill. Recruitment, retention, and professional development of women faculty a report from the academic issues subcommittee of the provost's committee on the status of women. Informally published manuscript, John Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. Retrieved from http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/reports/womenfac/report.html