Computer info Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Computer info - Essay Example an operating system you can modify easily, it is designed to work in a particular way with a certain user interface as designated by Microsoft software engineers. UNIX is a multi-user, multitasking operating system. It has some 20 years of history and is very established in terms of performance, reliability, scalability and security. UNIX has undergone thirty years of continuous research and development with contributions from quite a number of volunteers, which resulted in an operating system which has powerful multiprocessing capabilities and whose performance is still unmatched. It not only meets the demands of todays computing needs, but in many cases exceeds them. Microsofts Windows NT server is well known this also is a multi-user and multitasking operating system. It is much younger compared to UNIX, but Windows operating system is well established in the PC market and users are reasonably comfortable with it. The PC market is huge and it is well-known that products that are friendly to the user alone can win the market. Windows NT server is way ahead in this area. UNIX is portable to numerous hardware platforms, you can use it from small networks to supercomputers. UNIX has administrative functions that can make server and user management very easy. UNIXs strong preemptive multitasking and protected memory support make it well designed as an application server. Windows NT applications are multithreaded and have multi-platform support. Its graphic user interface is well known, it is very user-friendly even a user without much knowledge of computer can start using the system using Windows NT on the PC. Windows supports almost all the application software’s, but performs better if its Microsoft based application software. The scripting technology used in both the operating systems is different in terms of their complexity. Microsofts server scripting technologies like VBScripts and ASP are becoming more popular because it is easy to develop web

Detecting the Cylindrospermopsin using HPLC-PDA and NMR Assignment

Detecting the Cylindrospermopsin using HPLC-PDA and NMR - Assignment Example Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) on the other hand is an analytical technique that uses magnetic nuclei which absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiations at a specific resonance frequency. This frequency is however dependent on the strength of the magnetic field. The resonance obtained in a magnetic field for any particular compound analyzed is always directly proportional to the strength of the magnetic field. Detection and analysis of cylindrospermopsin using HPLCCylindrospermopsins have few methods of detection compared to the well-known microcystins and saxitoxins. High-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array (HPLC-PDA) has been shown to be a good method for the detection of cylindrospermopsins and its analogs because of their characteristic UV spectra (ÃŽ »max at 262 nm). The only limitation of this method is that sample purification is necessary because it is normally co-eluted with other contaminants (Welker et al. 2002). Purification of cylindrospermopsin is norm ally performed using HP-20 resin, which removes most of the ionic components from the fraction.Before the detection of cylindrospermopsins by HPLC, they have to be extracted. Water samples containing the cyanobacterial cells are filtered by glass fiber filters.Extraction procedure The air-dried frozen filter samples should be placed on the borosilicate glass tubes and freeze-thawed twice to obtain maximum recover after which 1.2ml of methanol is added and mixed in the bath ultrasonicator for 15 minutes. The samples should further be ultrasonicated individually for 1 minute and the aliquots of the extracts centrifuged at 10,000 ? g for 10 min after which 500 Â µl of the supernatants are transferred to borosilicate vials and evaporated to dryness at 40Â °C under argon. The dried extracts can then be reconstituted in 100 Â µl of 75% methanol and centrifuged in vials at 10,000 ? g for 10 min or filtered through the HPLC grade filter. Before running the HPLC, the HPLC system should be set up as described in the manufacturer’s instructions including degassing, priming and changing columns. The column oven should be set at 40?C and the HPLC changed gradually to starting conditions. The chromatogram samples and standards should be set as per the recommended HPLC gradients using 10

International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Marketing - Essay Example This was actually a result of proper planning which was influenced by the previous experience that the company had in Japanese market. In 2002 eBay had to withdraw its operation from Japan and it was a result of lack of proper planning. Cultural and social environment is one of the most important factors especially when business is done in the international market. However it is more important while a traditional product or service is marketed as compared to any online product or brand like eBay. In order to achieve success it is very important for the companies to modify their products and offerings according to the needs and demands of the customers. Like any other successful company, eBay has also modified its offerings. In 1998 the company launched an online automobile website where customers can buy or sell real cars. Before launching this site company realized the increasing demand of such a site where people can deal with real cars. Moreover PayPal was purchased by eBay with the objective of providing better payment options to the customers. Pricing is another crucial factor in order to stay ahead in the competition in the international market. eBay, when started did not charge any money for any auction, but with the increasing popularity they also started to charge a small amount as fee. eBay designed its pricing policy considering the demand of its customers throughout the world. It is very important to reach the target customers properly; as a result organizations always try to form an effective distribution channel. An online company like eBay do not has traditional distribution channel. It reaches it’s customers through the internet. People can purchase or sell various products by accessing internet from any where in the world. So, it can be said that internet is the main distribution channel for eBay to reach to its global customers. Promotion is another crucial factor for increasing awareness about the

Response to The Omnivore's Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response to The Omnivore's Dilemma - Essay Example Because of these extensive choices, dilemmas are arising in the human’s minds regarding how food items are produced, whether naturally or artificially, whether unethical practices are followed, in total dilemma of what food to eat. â€Å"When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety† (Pollan 3). So, the main intent of the author, Michael Pollan is to provide the readers with an overview of the production process of various food choices, so the readers can select the apt foods, they want to consume. To learn for himself, and also to inform the readers about the production processes and thereby about food choices, Pollan follows the food chains of the three major food categories, which provide us the food– industrial food, organic food, and foraging food. That is, he examines the food chains of these three food categories from the initial till it reaches the humans stage (factory production and s upermarkets in the case of Industrial food, agricultural farms, small scale producers and vendors in the case of organic food and finally hunting expedition in case of foraging). â€Å"To this end, he embarks on four separate eating adventures, each of which starts at the very beginning — in the soil from which the raw materials of his dinners will emerge — and ends with a cooked, finished meal.† (Kamp 2006). The other main intent of Pollan is bring into focus how corn plant has came to dominate majority of the food choices in the American diet, and so allocates sizable portion of the book (close to 7 chapters) discussing about it. Although, corn is a benign plant, which is grown in large numbers throughout America and consumed directly in minimal quantities, it is actively used in the production of various food items, food additives, preservatives, etc. That is, after corn is produced, it is milled or refined or recompounded, and then it could â€Å"become any number of things, from ethanol for the gas tank to dozens of edible, if not nutritious, products, like the thickener in a milkshake, the hydrogenated oil in margarine, the modified cornstarch,†¦the ubiquitous sweetener known as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).† (Kamp 2006). With such extensive ‘applications’, Corn plant production is crucial to the survival and functioning of the various food industries. Because of which, the industrial food industry is implementing various dubious and unethical production practices to produce corn in a large scale manner. With heightened production, the corn has become cheap and plentiful, with Pollan even stating that it has become a â€Å"remarkably inexpensive industrial raw material.† (Kamp 2006). As a result, Pollan argues, food is much cheaper and more plentiful than it used to be, but unfortunately the health of the humans and that of the environment has deteriorated. Pollan also had the intent to bring out th e negatives of the organic food industry as well. Although, the organic industry mainly produces environment friendly and healthy foods for the people to consume, the production process in that industry also has started bordering on commercialization. That is, producers are adopting many of the methods of the industrial fo

Time for a Change Essay Example for Free

Time for a Change Essay Part of running a major business involves periodically examining what’s working and what can get better (Hogg, 2010). As everyone knows, just as every other company needs to work to remain relevant, we have to keep up with our primary competitors including Allstate, Farmers, Geico and Progressive. We need to do work better to perform processes uniformly across the state and the only way to do so is go from four regional offices in California, to one regional office. We first will need to create a transition committee that will have supervisors from each offices, section and division managers as well communication with other zones that have gone through similar transitional change. With this transition, we will also need to take into consideration how much this will cost the company and also how much will be saved as a result in the conclusion of the process. Which office will be the first to close, which will come second which will close last and finally which will remain open? There will also need to be a plan for the increase of work load when we close the offices and how we will keep the work load down and manageable by adding specialty teams that focus on certain areas of the work instead of handling it all. Additionally, we will also need to review how this will affect the potential impacted communities, and how we will handle the internal and external communication plans. When creating a transitional committee we need to select the right members for this committee. We understand that some may not be making the move but their assistants will be beneficial to everyone. Within this committee we need to select who will handle what roles each person will be in charge of. We will have groups in charge of different areas. Such as people count, communication, timelines, training and expenses. For the people count, this group will be in charge of finding out how many people will be moving and how many will be leaving. With this information they ill be required to determine the amount of new associates that need to be hired and how many hiring waves. The group that will handle communication will be the ones who will communicate to associates the time line of transition as well as information on the specialty teams that will be formed. This group of individuals will be required to travel to all offices to a job fair for associates so that they can see how their department is changing and what the new roles will look like. It will give them an opportunity to find out if they would be interested in a certain specialty team. For the training group, their job is to determine how many trainers will be needed and if temporary trainers will need to be pulled to help train new associates as well as set up refresher courses for existing associates. The expense committee will not only be covering the transition expenses, but also travel expenses and hiring expenses. Why is it necessary to transition from 4 regional offices to one? First, with the recent move of our payment plan department and our Life/Health department to other states all four regional offices now have less than 60 percent occupancy. One of our offices is even at 40 percent and the building itself needs some costly upgrades to minimally keep it as a viable work location. Another reason why we need to close these offices is due to the fact that each office seems to do work their own way in lieu of processing work items in the same manner as intended and designed by the corporate office. By combining everything into one singular location, we can ensure that processing consistency is achieved while also aiming to treat every policyholder in the state exactly the same way with consistent high quality service. Doing so would enable our Zone to achieve and retain the Remarkable expectations set forth by policyholders. Another reason why it would be highly beneficial to transition from 4 regional offices to 1 is the day to day expense. The current cost per average month to simply cover electrical utility expenses is one hundred thousand dollars in a single office with gas expenses around fifteen thousand and forty thousand in public water fees. Since we are not a company regulated by stakeholders but a company literally managed by our policyholders also referred to as a mutual company, it is our policyholders who are paying for all the utilities on 4 offices that are not being used at full capacity. In transitioning to a single office we will be saving our policyholders an estimated 5. 6 million ollars annually which can be reinvested into the organization by way of rate reductions and directly benefit customers. We need to determine which office will remain open. Since a separate entity of the company manages facilities and all are owned the decision really comes down to a few details. Which facility can house a majority of the associates, can new talent be recruited in that community to sustain the growth, which facility is the most energy efficient, which facility needs the least amount of necessary upgrades, and where would a majority of our associates be willing to relocate to? This decision was relatively simple as the Central California office location was the newest facility and the only that was not a single level structure, is in a growing city that has an established university and the ability to add much more housing that will be required. An added benefit is that water expenses are minimized as the grounds are all hydrated with reclaimed well water. As a result of that decision the next decision is determining which office to close first. We will first close our West Lake and Costa Mesa offices as each is very costly to keep open and sit on prime freeway real-estate. When any transition involving associates is being planned, one must realize that there are numerous impacts both positive and negative. While the realization is there that we will lose very loyal, experienced, tenured associates we must also realize that we will also shed a significant expense. Employee compensation is our largest investment in the organization. With the loss of those associates and backfill with newer associates there will naturally be a savings component in conjunctions with that realization and change. Newer associates will have a lower base salary, fewer vacation benefits resulting in increased days producing at the office, and potentially an improved work ethic as they are very happy, not for a new job but the potential for a new career. Combined occupancy of the southern office locations were at a total of 70 percent capacity. For those associates there will be a few options. We will offer early retirement packages for those who are at retirement age. We will offer a relocation package to all employees who are willing to relocate and we will provide them with a weekend tour of the new facility and community to assist them with their decision. This package also includes a bonus if they were able to sale their house prior to the move. If not, State Farm will buy their house and sell it for them. The last office that will close will be our Northern California office. That will not happen for at least 3 years after the first two offices close in an effort to minimize work flow disruption and well as mitigate the loss of tenured employee capital. With the closing of the two offices, we will need to learn the number of employees that will be part of the transition and how many employees that will take the early retirement package and how many will quit State Farm all together. We will need to determine the work flow as well as how many new associates that need to be hired in the final location. Also being incorporated into the transition process is a new workflow distribution system along with a new specialized team concept approach to facilitate with training new associates to make each job responsibility less than what it currently is. Different associates are strong in certain areas and weaker in others so the thought is to capitalize on each of the strengths. The teams that we need to create should be the following. For example in our Auto Department, they will be going to the following. New business application issuance team consisting of both underwriters and assistants, added car application issuance teams, three processing/production teams, one rating/accounting team, three call center teams finally one training team and one quality review/improvement team. Our Personal Lines Fire team will be doing something very similar as well as our Business Lines Department. Our claims department will also go into smaller specialized teams. With these specialty teams in place it will help with the work flow as well as ensure that the work gets processed correctly an efficiently. Additionally, since our current underwriting assistant training program last a surprising three years due to the complexity of the job. With the specialty teams that will be in place the training will not need to be as long as the focus of each role will evolve to its new state. The new training program will last up to 15 to 18 months to get fully proficient with continuing development to refine complex skill sets in their respective specialty areas. The first year training will be focused on the basics and once the trainers get a feel for what the trainees strengths are after that year, the next 8 months will be focused on their area of specialization. By doing this, we will provide better and more accurate service to our policyholders and more time will be spent doing the work. When we get to the point of communicating to our employees we will be earing different remarks from them such as why us, why not the other office, what am I going to do and so on and so on. They’ll need information to make decisions about their and their family’s future (Van Camp, 2012). When we determine when we are going to tell them employees there are five key concepts that we need to remember when we are communicating to all employees. The news we will be providin g will be life changing for numerous amount of people and we will need to be prepared to handle a large amount of questions and backlash and personal feelings. What we need to do and focus on is providing regular, weekly e-mail blasts from leadership describing the changing events. Let employees know when major decisions are expected to be made; for example, communicate when benefit and personnel information will be released. Encourage dialogue between managers and their teams. If needed, have leadership step in and directly communicate with employees through town hall-style meetings and discussions. Create a channel for two-way open communication. For example, create a virtual suggestion box or a forum for discussion between employees and leadership. Posts can remain anonymous for employees at every level through the organization. If there is no information available or something has yet to be decided, let employees know that, but don’t keep them guessing. Employees who have to wonder about their futures are not engages in their jobs, and productivity and loyalty will be affected (Van Camp, 2012). When we go to the public with this information we will need to provide our plans in writing so that the media does not misconstrue any of our information. We do not want false information being provided and pushed out to the public. We already know that we are changing the lives of our employees but we will also be changing the communities. We also need to be prepared for questions such as what will this do to smaller area’s that depend on the business from State Farm associates, impact to the local housing market and loss of existing talent. For associates not wanting to continue with the company we will assist them with their resumes and interviewing skills in an effort to minimize their personal impacts of the transition. There will be numerous classes to assist with resumes and interviews as well as letter of recommendation from their supervisor to help them get another job. Finally we will have our operations managers from each office deliver the message of the closing of the offices. No one looks forward to addressing an angry audience, but you do have one major factor working in your favor: People definitely care about your message. As with an apprehensive audience, treat their emotions with respect and avoid humor. Prepare thoroughly so you can provide complete information in a calm, rational manner. Consider using the indirect approach to build support for your message while addressing points of concern along the way. Remain calm and don’t engage in emotional exchanges with the audience (Bovee Thill, 2012, p. 477). Our operations managers would be the perfect candidates that will be able to deliver this message so that they will be able to hear the compassion in their voice and to understand that this is not an easy move on anyone. We want to remain ahead of our competitors. We want to ensure that we are not one of those companies that will start having massive layoffs due to the decline of the business. State Farm has been around for 90 years and we want to be around for even more. By having a transitional committee, we will be able to affectively shut down 3 offices and move the work load and employees to one. We will be able to have specialized teams within all of the departments. We will drastically reduce cost which will allow our policyholders to have more rate decreases on their auto and homeowners policies. We will show compassion when delivering speaking to our associates and to the media. Last but not least we will keep everyone in the loop through emails and meetings with management so no one is left in the dark.

Implementing And Leading Change Management Essay

Implementing And Leading Change Management Essay Organizational Change is an important issue and within organization. Changes can due to many ways such change in management system, change in accounting system, change in market demand and change in competitors in the market. Organizational is an action or set of an action for the reason of changing the direction or process of the Companys work. In addition, change is a fact of companys life. Due to survive of the organization it has to change the way it works. Change in organization may affect the business strategy of the organization, and the process companies carry out to accomplish that strategy and the workforce engage. Generally, some change are small does not affect organizations main strategy but some change is the reason of organization transformation. However, well panned and implemented change ensures organizational survival in modern days competitive market. Change can produce many benefits for the organization such improved and better competitiveness, better financial performance, satisfied employees and higher level of customer. Benefit may take long time to achieve and period of transition is time of disturbance uncertainty. Thought, change is not always positive but it can be handle such a way that strength than weaken the commitment of the people to an organization. Therefore, change process of the organization must be managed in order to keep the company moving towards its new vision and its stated objective. Also, organizational change actually is about people changing. So the change must be began with concern fo its impact on the workforce of the organization. However, change is the part of organizational development process; it is an ongoing and bring strength to the company for future success. I addition, organization generally bring change for response to external environment such social, legal, economic, political and technological factors. 3.2. Change Management: Change management is structural approach to transitioning person, teams and organization from a existing state to needed future level to achieve or execute a vision or strategy. Change is an organizational procedure aimed to employees to acknowledge and clinch change in their current environment. However, Change management can be define in three ways firstly, Change management as a systematic process; is the formal process for the organizational change, consist a systematic approach and knowledge. Second, Change management as means transitioning people; it is a critical part of a project that leads, manage and enable people to accept new process, system, technologies and value and it is a set of activities what transit people from their current way of working to the desired way of working. Finally, Change Management as Competitive Tactic; it is a continuous process of aligning an organization with its marketplace and doing so more responsively and effectively than competitors (Lisa et. al., 1997). 3.3. Common Obstacles to Chang and Reason of Change Fail: A 2006 Harvard Business review found out that 66% of change scheme does not achieve their desired company outcomes. They have identified five most common reason or obstacles to change such as Employees resistance, communication breakdown, insufficient time devoted to training, staff turnover during transition process and cost exceeded the budget. From five only three (red circle in Figure 2) can be improve by the change leader; Employees resistance, communication breakdown and staff turnover during transition. Table 1 presented the overview of the leadership role in terms of obstacles. Figure2: Obstacles Experience during Major Organizational Change Change Obstacles Leaders Role Employee Resistance †¢ Leverage relationship with team to address employee concerns on a personal level. †¢ Ask for employees feedback and react to their concerns honestly and openly. †¢ Review the section on Managing Change in this guide. Communication breakdown †¢ Communicate main information to employees on an on-going and regular basis. †¢ Review the section on Communication in this guide. Staff turnover †¢ Connect team by involving them in the initiative. †¢ Coach, Mentor and enrich their roles. Table 1: Overview of Leader Role in Change Obstacles Kotter (1995) states following Eight Errors common to organizational Change Efforts and the consequences three consequences; Error 1: Allowing too much contentment or complacency Error 2: Failing to gain leadership support Error 3: Underestimate the supremacy of vision Error 4: Under communicating with the vision Error 5: Allowing obstacles to block the vision Error 6: Failing to build short term win Error 7: Declining victory too soon Error 8: Neglectiong to anchor change firmly in the culture Consequences 1: New business strategy not implement well Consequences 2: Reengineering takes too long time Consequences 3: Quality program do not bring hope for result 3.4. Change Management Model: There are many models available to help lead change. The main common and used model of change management is Kotters Eight Steps of change management. This model of change management given below (Kottes, 2006): Step 1: Establishing a Sense of Urgency First step of the change management is help other to understand the need for change and act immediately, Do SOWT analysis to identify competitive realities and then identify and discuses possible dangers. (Kottes, 2006). Step 2: Creating the Guiding Coalition Second step of Ktters model is to make sure there is powerful group leading the change, individual with leadership skill, credibility, bias for action, authority and analytical skill, then build a team and forming influential guiding union and getting the team to work together for a common goal (Kottes, 2006). Step 3: Developing a Vision and Strategy The third step is to explain how the future will be unlike from the past, and how you will build the future realism, creating a vision to help direct the change effort, getting the vision and strategy right and developing strategies to accomplish the vision (Kottes, 2006). . Step 4: Communicating the Change and Vision To make sure that the as many as employees understand and accept the vision and strategy arise from change, a sound communication is needed between leadership and workforce to communicate vision and strategy (Kottes, 2006). . Step 5: Empowering Broad-based action: The fifth stage is to remove as manay as barriers possible than it is easy to make a vision into reality. This step help to allow to act getting rid of obstacles and encourage risk taking and modify structure or system that undermine thee change vision. (Kottes, 2006). Step 6: Generation Sort-term wins Sit step is to create visible unambiguous success and plan for generate short term achievements and achieved them then recognise and reward those employees (Kottes, 2006). Step 7: Consolidating gain and Produce more Change Seventh stage is to press faster and harder after the short term achievements, adjust improvements and sustain the momentum for change. Also, Use increasing integrity to change all systems, structures and policies that dont go well together and dont fit the transformation attempt, Hiring, promoting and developing individual who can realize the change vision, reinvigorating the procedure with new change agents, thems and project (Kottes, 2006). Step 8: Anchoring new Approaches in the Culture The final step of change management mode, is anchoring new approaches in the culture by grasp on to the new customs of behaving, and make sure they be successful until they become a part of the culture of the group, building better performance through productivity and consumer oriented behaviour, additional and better leadership, and better effective management , communicative the connections between new behaviours and organisational success and developing means to make sure leadership improvement and (Kottes, 2006). 3.5. Managing the Emotion in Change: There are many models to guide thinking on how people cope with the emotion cycle of change. Bridges (2003), has provide a model showing how people react in the time of change. He has divided Transition time in three phases (Figure 4); letting go/losing/ending of the present position, a disorienting or neutral zone and a new beginning. Figure 4: Bridges Three Phases of Transition (Bridges, 2003) This model transition mode reviews the emotional impact over time and the leaders role in change management. He distinguished difference between change and transition. Transition deals with oly psychological impact of the individual but one the other hand change is situational and may happen without the people (Bridges, 2003). Phase 1: Ending/Losing/Letting Go In the first phase (ending/losing/letting go), workforce of the company must come to a point where they can let go of the past situation because until they let go they will not able to move on towards future. Possible reaction from employees might be; fear, resentment, apathy, loss and sense of shock. In this phase leader must identify what individual will losing and accept individuals reaction and find a way to compensate (Bridges, 2003). Phase 2: The Neutral Zone Second phase is the Neutral zone, where employees are in gap between past and new. In this position old system does not work and new yet to launch. Possible reaction from individual might be anxiety; motivation level comes to low; confusion; but have some hope for future (Bridges, 2003). Phase 3: The New Beginning Final phase is the New Beginning phase; here employees start to show emotional commitment for the new state. Possible reaction might be; new identity, new energy and sense of purpose. In this phase leader must explain the new beginning, continuous communication the vision, develop a new training plan and give opportunity to the employees to play a part in transition process (Bridges, 2003). 3.6. Leadership Role in Change Management Process: Successful organizational change depends on leaders of the change project who have direct authority with employees going through the change. The following are some of the major roles leaders may play as they drive change in the company; Leader must be the role model of the team working for the change transition. Leader must be willing to go first and lead the fellow workers in the process. Leader must be self aware and deliberate. Leader is a decision maker. Leader control resources such as, workforce, budget, equipment available for transition period of change and have full authority to make decision how to handle them. During change, leaders must control their decision-making authority and choose the preference that will support the project. The Decision-Maker is influential and gives priorities that support change. Leader is a motivator to the employees. Leader gives motivation for the change to happen. Leaders create an image importance about change and show commitment and passion to get things done. Leader is an enforcer in change management. Leader hold individual accountable for the change with authority. Perfect leader understand that change will not happen if they do not fulfil the roles the authority can do.

Methodology And Benefits Of Ecotel Hotels Tourism Essay

Methodology And Benefits Of Ecotel Hotels Tourism Essay ECOTEL ®? ECOTEL ® is an environmental certification that enables hotels to be truly green, socially responsible, and sustainable over the long term by involving the entire value chain of owners, architects, operators, employees, suppliers and hotel guests. What is the ECOTEL ® Methodology? The ECOTEL ® methodology evaluates a hotels systems, processes and practices for environment friendliness through a stringent assessment of its range, scope and results across five crucial parameters, known as The Five Globes. These are: Environment Commitment, Solid Waste Management, Energy Management, Water Management, and Employee Education and Community Involvement. To be certified as an ECOTEL, a hotel must score the minimum qualifying percentage on each of the globes. What are the benefits for ECOTEL ® Hotels? †¢ Lower operating costs, greater profits through a focused effort on reducing waste generation and increasing operational efficiencies. †¢ Enhanced visibility for members through the ECOTEL ® website who also gain access to the reservation engine and other marketing features. †¢ Publicly recognized branding for hotels that may have/not have partnered with international chains. †¢ Value for money, as the cost of certification is comparatively lower than others to enable hotels to truly benefit from the transfer of knowledge. HISTORY of ECOTEL ECOTEL ® was developed by HVS in association with the Rocky Mountain Institute, USA with the help of engineering and hospitality experts. Conceptualized in 1994 by HVS the worlds leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries ECOTEL was a pioneering program specific to hospitalityWhy should you choose to be an ECOTEL ®? Rigorous standards used for the certification methodology that are regularly updated to keep current with scientific advances and international thinking. Specific to hospitality as ECOTEL ® is managed by HVS, a global consulting giant in hospitality. Recognition of hotelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ specific green operations with hotels demonstrating substantial such evidence encouraged to seek certification, instead of just those who could build in the features. Broader in scope than other certifications as it enables a hotel to function responsibly while positively impacting the local community. Handholding throughout certification period, as clients are updated and assisted to improve their performance through consultation, training and identification of operational areas where they can improve efficiencies and cut back consumption. Spans the positioning spectrum, recognizing high levels of environment commitment and environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ friendly operations in hotels irrespective of size, positioning, or profile. How to be an ECOTEL ®? Hotels seeking the ECOTEL ® Certification are assessed for their environmental readiness through a property walkthrough, which entails inspection of different departments and random interviews with hotel staff. As per their status, they are either awarded the specific certification or enabled through a customized blueprint to achieve a specific level. In case of the later, the hotel is finally audited after the intervention and awarded the certification The Five Globes The methodology for the ECOTEL Certification is centered upon the idea of the Five Globes or five areas of certification, which together encompass the processes, systems and practices that ensure an environmentally responsible hotel operation. An audit is undertaken in each of these globes based on an audit checklist. The audit checklist for each of the globes is very well researched and based on scientific and technological advances and international charters and treaties specific to saving the environment. Environment Commitment A hotel demonstrates its environmental commitment through wide ranging programs and best practices that minimise its impact on the environment throughout its value chain while lowering overall business costs. Solid Waste Management For the hospitality industry, the waste created by daily operations is an ongoing challenge. In addition to incurring the costs of waste disposal, hotels need to also allocate valuable back-of-the house space for waste to be stored and sorted. For hotels, a good waste management strategy results in greater operational efficiencies, keeping waste out of the landfill, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Management Energy is among the fastest-growing cost items for the lodging industry worldwide. In India, it approximates 8-15% of a hotels gross revenue. While design and operating system-improvements provide the framework for conservation of resources, large energy savings and thereby economic efficiency results through the switch to low-cost, easy-to-implement alternatives and a regular maintenance schedule. Water Management The rampant overusing and wasting of water along with global warming has led to a water-scarcity challenge that has serious implications for the global community and economy. A good water management strategy includes conservation of water through Efficient technology and programs, recycling through measures like grey water treatment, as well as earth-friendly practices like ground water recharge and rainwater harvesting. Employee Education and Community Involvement Motivating employees to understand the need for a change to environment-friendly practices, believing in them, and adapting them is a necessity for environmental initiatives to be both successful and sustainable. A well-thought out and well-executed education and training effort enables this. ECOTEL hotels also raise eco-consciousness in the community through either awareness campaigns or practices that can be built into the community, thus truly facilitating a change for a better environment. The graphic on the right shows the ECOTEL logo represented by the Earth in the centre, surrounded by the five globes or areas of ECOTEL Certification. Together, these five globes encompass the processes, systems, and practices of environmentally responsible hotel operations. Thus, the image conveys that ECOTEL through its five globes is a Certification that cares for the WORLD. Certification Details The certification is valid for a period of one year only, after which members must reapply. It is applicable to hotels irrespective of a member hotels country of origin since it is designed specifically for recognizing environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ friendly systems, operations, and practices in hospitality. The Process The Process for Certification is typically undertaken in three steps, which are: D:Z-ArenaSIMSR AssignmentsPOMECOTELFlowChart.gif Step One: Property Assessment: In an effort to understand the current standards observed by the hotel, an in-depth assessment of the property is conducted covering all the relevant areas of focus. The inspection includes: Interviews with the management and staff to comprehend the propertys commitment to environment. Physical inspection of the subject property including back-of-the-house areas to evaluate the systems employed for undertaking environment friendly operations. Collating data on consumption of various resources such as electricity, water, diesel, and chemicals among others to assess the processes for environment friendly operations. Interviews with the staff to assess their knowledge, attitude, and training levels to carry out environment friendly operations. This stage of the certification process culminates in generation of a Property Assessment Report that details the propertys baseline status as regards achieving minimum standards considered essential for an ECOTEL. Step Two: Roadmap for Certification:- If the hotel wishes to certify itself as an ECOTEL, our team prepares a detailed blueprint for the certification in conjunction with the hotels management team. This Roadmap for Certification includes mutually decided targets, technology, and training workshops that will enable the hotel to become an ECOTEL. The process is estimated to take upto 5-6 months and will include training initiatives, inclusion of best practices as part of the hotels standard operating procedures and the necessary capital infusion where required. Phase Three: Audit: A final audit of the property shall then be conducted and a certification awarded on its successful completion. Rating System: The hotel is rated on the parameters defined in our checklists covering the five globes. Our methodology rates every standard on a Likert scale, assigning weights to them based on their contribution. The checklists have a predefined minimum standard, Primary Criteria, which every participating hotel has to clear before being certified as an ECOTEL.