Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Home work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Home work - Essay Example aty incorporated more enforcement provisions, there would be lower environmental degradation and environmental clean up would never be a burden to the citizens. Zapatista National Liberation Army’s point of opposing NAFTA and free trade was grounded on the concept of â€Å"Land and Liberty†. That is, the rebellion was ecologically motivated. The revolt region, Chiapas, had three distinct ecological zones, threatened by industrialization. With NAFTA, the indigenous people would be affected because of increased tariffs, which the Zapatistas viewed as a death warrant for the native people. The US government pays farmers not to produce portraying the program as environmental protection initiative. However, the program substituted price support programs fro farmers and is clearly a form of income support initiative. This practice should continue as long as there is enough food supply to the US citizens and farmers are actually willing to give up farming. The fourth agricultural revolution might focus on growing food in areas of close proximity to the market to reduce the impact of emission through burning fossil fuels during transportation of farm produce to markets. It is likely to entail utilitarian urban ecology with green roof tops. In early periods, natives of LDCs were ferried to Europe and America, depleting LDCS, especially Africa, of its workforce and pumping slaves in their own systems for development purposes. Also, global economic policies are in such a way that they favor developed nations while they oppress LDCs. However, LDCs are also to be held responsible for their underdevelopment for numerous reasons. First, LDCs are characterized by poor leadership that lacks accountability. Second, LDCs population growth is far much above the rate of economic growth, putting a lot of strain on available resources. Third, LDCs are characterized by political instability, which is an enemy to development progress. Rapid population growth reduces development
Work Experiences in School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Work Experiences in School - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that working while still in school is beneficial because it gives us a good â€Å"feel†to know and realize what kind of careers we really like. In my case, I love media and film and this linking to media and film is an informed decision because I already have several work experiences as a model, promoter of boutiques and staff crew of many comedy shows. These experiences made me realized what I really wanted to pursue in the future and helped me shape as a would-be professional. These experiences helped shape my values and expectations because it made me take my studies seriously especially those that I know will be needed in the real world setting. Doing this kind of preparation during my formative years is already shaping my values. In general, my work experiences were pleasant but of course, I also had a share of not so good work experiences like having a stubborn boss. But these experiences, both the good and the bad, made me a better person and student. My work experiences did not only give me a realistic perspective about work and career but it also helped me shape as a person. I can only wish that every student will have the same work experiences that I have so that they will have the right perspective about work while still in school. I have benefited so much from it and I believe that the biggest benefit I gained from working was the realization of what kind of career that I really wanted to pursue - a career that I would be like doing not just merely having a job but doing what makes me happy. I am fortunate because I have this realization while still in school where I can still shape my future to become a better professional in the future and a happier individual doing a career that I love best.
Monday, September 9, 2019
GLOBAL MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
GLOBAL MARKETING - Essay Example This strategy employed by the counterfeiters thus happens to populate larger parts of the global market for fashionable and luxury products. However the counterfeiting activities in regards to the fashionable or luxury products are generally divided into two aspects-deceptive and non-deceptive in nature. Deceptive practices of counterfeiting are such where the purchaser is not aware that the product procured is not a branded product, rather counterfeit in nature. Replication is created as such to totally deceit the purchaser. However in the second case the purchaser becomes aware that the product procured are a counterfeit and not a real branded product. Herein the purchaser is rendered clues by the counterfeiter of the luxury or fashionable product in regards to the area from where such commodity is made available for purchasing. Further the quality and pricing standards of the products rendered also help the purchaser in rightly identifying that the products purchased are not genui ne branded ones but rather are counterfeit products (Juggessur and Cohen, 2008, p.390). Counterfeit as a Growing Threat to the Luxury Retail Market Observation made shows that regions like China are turning out as the greatest contributor of counterfeit products in the world. The Chinese economy is found to have become the largest manufacturer and exporter of counterfeit luxury products that are seeking entry into developed markets of the world like United States, United Kingdom, Russia and several other regions pertaining to Europe. Moreover the counterfeit products are also making a foray into several Middle East nations where the demand for luxury products is indeed huge in nature. This large expanse of trade and exports pertaining to the realm of counterfeit products in luxury retail is happening to render an impending threat to the market for genuine luxury products. Market shares for the luxury products are largely being taken over by the rise in counterfeit trade practices. F urther the rise in the level of counterfeit activities largely impacts the brand image of the original luxury brands thereby making the branded manufacturers to increase the level of expenditures pertaining to its marketing and promotion. Thereby the rise in the counterfeit market on a growing scale has made the markets of genuine brands to largely shrink thereby impacting the job markets and also in making the price for the products to increase. The growing threat and impact of counterfeiting practices in regards to luxury and fashionable products can further be observed from some statistics. During 2005, the customs body pertaining to United Kingdom happened to seize a huge package of products out of which around 64 percent was found to be counterfeited. Similarly another statistics revealed during 2003 reflects that a seize made by customs body pertaining to United States contained around 6500 counterfeit products valued to around $94 billion. During the same period the customs b ody pertaining to European Union conducted a huge seize of counterfeit pr
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Report on the Financial State of Affairs of Central Pool and Taff View Assignment
Report on the Financial State of Affairs of Central Pool and Taff View Pool - Assignment Example The important factor for consideration both in the case of Central Pool as well as Taff View is that there seems to be an immediate need for the sales to be enhanced since there is gross underutilization of the operating assets. This is evidenced by the Ratios of Operating Profit to Operating assets and the Sales to Operating assets. As against the ratio of operating assets to operating profit of 21% in the case of Field Park it is 1.55% and 4.60% for Central Pool and Taff View respectively. These ratios are very low. Similarly, the ratio of sales to operating assets is only 1.10%... We can review this report together once you have gone through the basics. We can take up from there for the implementation of any suitable plan of action for the overall financial improvement of the units concerned. The important factor for consideration both in the case of Central Pool as well as Taff View is that there seems to be an immediate need for the sales to be enhanced since there is gross underutilization of the operating assets. This is evidenced by the Ratios of Operating Profit to Operating assets and the Sales to Operating assets. As against the ratio of operating assets to operating profit of 21% in the case of Field Park it is 1.55% and 4.60% for Central Pool and Taff View respectively. These ratios are very low. Similarly, the ratio of sales to operating assets is only 1.10% for Central Pool and 1.34% for Taff View, whereas the same ratio for Field Park is 2.80%. Comparatively the ratios for Central Pool and Taff View are poor. Similarly, the profitability of both Taff View and Central Pool is well below the comparative profitability of Field Park. This is quite obviously exhibited by the operating profit to sales ratio of both facilities. The operating profit to sales ratios stands at 1.41% for Central Pool and 3.44% for Taff View. These are very low as compared to the ratio of 7.60% for Field Park signifying the profitability of both the facilities is not up to the mark.Â
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Introduction healthcare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Introduction healthcare - Research Paper Example They have both seen a great deal of change throughout their history. The largest impact on change within these organizations has been the constantly advancing technology; it has expanded services tremendously. The greatest challenge they both face now is the continuance of funding and personnel support in order to be able to continue their outreach services. The American National Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a branch of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It was founded in May, 1881, by Clara Barton, a pioneer in American nursing. It is a neutral, independent organization to promote life, peace, and communication in order to alleviate human suffering worldwide. It is a health care and humanitarian organization that today still serves Americans nationwide with particular emphasis on disaster relief and service to military families. Its blood drives supply more than half of the nation’s needed blood supply. Their overall aim is to feed, shelter , and provide comfort and emotional support as well as access to health care during times of disaster and crisis. (American National Red Cross, 2011) The original vision for the American National Red Cross was to provide quick and accurate communication of information during emergencies, as well as service for ill and wounded military personnel and their families.
Friday, September 6, 2019
The Virgin Group Essay Example for Free
The Virgin Group Essay Introduction The Virgin Company            Founded by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin group began as a travel company that hosts travel operations from the European regions towards other areas of the world. Aside form the travel operations; the company also caters to package transfer duties that are shipped from UK towards the American and Australian continents. The company has also established a fine relationship towards its sister companies the Virgin Express and the Virgin Blue.            Later on, the market of the Virgin Group of Companies began to expand. The traditional service that the company offers its clients have greatly taken a leap forward as the management of the company took a chance in venturing in other areas of business industry, which they though would further cater to other essential needs of their company’s clients.             As a result, the establishment of two major rail franchises that sells more than just the usual travel tour packages offered by the Virgin Company. Aside from the focus of the company on travel operations, the franchise establishments also sell entertainment materials such as magazines and music videos and DVD gadgets. There also came the establishment of the Virgin Mega stores that serve as the major mall-like establishments of the company that mostly offer materials in connection with entertainment.            Aside from the many operations that the Virgin Group of Companies caters to, there are also other services that they still offer the public. The said services include balloon flights, beverages, bridal stores, cosmetics, financial services, health clubs, Internet services, mobile phone services, publishing, and a record label. (2007)            As closely observed, the entire concern of the company is to provide recreation, entertainment and leisure to its clients. Hence, it could be noticed that most of its market comes from the upper level of the global economy. This directly refers to the fact that most of the clients that are able to appreciate and consume their products and accept their services are those who have the capability to pay for the amount of their business transactions.            Being in the industry that holds much the competition as it is directly connected to entertainment and travel systems which is now the most in demand services in the society, how are the Virgin group of Companies able to cope up with the competition that is present in the business society? How are they able to refine their strategies of market approach considering that they are considered as a multinational company that has to deal with multicultural society of workers? Aside from this, as the company grows even larger and ventures to different areas of business, how are they able to keep a strong stand in the competitive pace of the global business culture? These questions and more shall be answered on the chapter discussions that follow. CHAPTER 2 The Competitive Strategies of the Virgin Group            In business, there is always competition. According to Milton Snoeyenbos, â€Å"Competition is the essence of putting up a business and making things happen for a certain company†(1992). This is indeed true. As obviously seen today, different types of competition that naturally determines their status in the global business arena govern the global industry of business. Furthermore, Snoeyenbos adds that:                       â€Å"the ability of a business entity to keep up with the competition that it is supposed to have engagement with measures its capability of keeping up  with the fast paced development of global trade and industries†(1992)            Certainly, multinational companies, such as the Virgin Group, directly experience such competitive environment of operating in the global market. There are many companies that naturally would want to have the same ‘fair share’ of market especially when it comes to travel operations and entertainment.  It is indeed true that to be able to survive in such a competitive world of business, a company, or a business organization should have a stiff and strong strategy in operating its branches and allies in creating an amiably ample market that would naturally accept the services and the products that they would offer.            In a typical business operation setting, competition is often referred t as a challenge on the capability of the company to be noticed by the market. This capability is often measured by the profit that the company is able to incur annually. Through recent reports of the world trade organizations, it could be seen that the Virgin Group of companies has fared well in terms of the profit share that they get from the global economy. This means that they are able to attract an ample population of people who appreciates and takes advantage of the services and the products that they offer in the market.            To be able to understand the entire strategy system that that Virgin Group of Companies uses to be able to survive in the business industry, the said strategies are subdivided into four major parts. Each discussed in their own focus of concern for the companies’ success.            The Strategies: Human Resources Control and Motivation      This the branch of the strategy that creates a fine working environment that the employees of the Virgin Group could be able to find satisfaction in their job, hence, they are highly capable of performing well for their company.      The other branches of the company, which this specific strategy affects, are the research and development department. As mentioned earlier, the Virgin Group continues in aiming to expand their areas of concern in the business industry. Therefore, through human resources control and motivation strategies, the company is able to empower its employees to work hard and perform well regardless of what culture or nationality they may have come from. Marketing Strategies      According to the Virgin Group themselves, they have an aim whereas they are able to provide the identity of their clients in the best possible way every time they take advantage of the services and the products offered by the company. Hence, to be able to do so, they say that there are three major purposes of the marketing approach of the company. As it could be quoted, they say:    * We genuinely believe in making a difference for consumers.    * We deliver quality service by empowering our people.    * We love getting feedback – it helps us to continually improve each        customers experience through innovation. (Source: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. 2007)      Having these guidelines of purpose, they also have questions that help them decide on how to create the best possible marketing strategy that could support the product that they are supposed to launch to the public. The said questions too are quoted as follows:    * Is this an opportunity for restructuring a market and creating            competitive advantage?    * What is the competition doing?    * Is the customer confused or badly served?    * Is this an opportunity for building the Virgin brand?    * Can we add value?    * Will it interact with our other businesses?    * Is there an appropriate trade-off between risk and reward? (Source: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. 2007) Furthermore, when the marketing strategy is already strongly proposed and decided upon by the marketing agents of the company, the final decisions are then based upon some outlined reasons of pursuing the products and the brands that have been decided upon and finally releasing them for public consumption. The said considerations are as follows:     * The power of the Virgin name    * Richard Bransons personal reputation    * Our unrivalled network of friends, contacts and partners    * The Virgin management style, and    * The way talent is empowered to flourish within the group (Source: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. 2007) As obviously seen, the main concern of the company, even in marketing purposes is to create for their clients an assurance of being well serviced and well cared for. This factor of concern on the part of the Virgin Groups’ management team gives them an edge from their competitors in the business industry. Management Strategies      This involves the ability of the company to balance its focus on the operational activities of the business organization from its personal identity as a provider for both its employees and its clients as the stakeholders of the organization.       Through the systematic approach that is used by the Virgin Groups towards its activities, the company is then able to come along with the changes and developments of the business world while directly attending to the needs of their stakeholders. Social Connection Strategies      The acceptance of the society towards the identity that the company puts up for itself is an essential factor that contributes to the attempt of the company to remain strongly appreciated by the people that it aims to serve. This means that the ability of the company to continuously perform its social duties avails it of the capability to remain strongly competitive within the business arena.            These four major strategies have long been the assurance that the Virgin Group of Companies have used in their operations in their field of business concern. In this regard, it would be also helpful to know the strategic capabilities of the company. Naturally, it could be noticed that the Virgin Group has been constantly utilizing the Forward integration system of development. As a result, the resources of the company are then assured and the competence as well as the dynamic capabilities of the company is strengthened through the alliance-system.            What does the forward integration system mean? It could be noticed that through the study that has been presented in this paper so far, the Virgin Group of companies intended to expand through the creation of alliances with other investors n other companies. The establishment of a fine relationship with the owners and the investors as well as the board members of the companies that they have allied with, they are able to expand their operation. As clearly state earlier, the company grew from a travel service provider towards a multinational company that offers a variety of products that include both leisure and entertainment to the public.            Yes, the success system of the company depended so much on its capability to create alliances with other companies that trusted its reputation and its owner’s name in the business industry. Now, as a company, the Virgin Group directly plans to dominate the entire entertainment and leisure industry in the global business scene. Certainly, if the competitive systems as well as the strategic capability of the company continue to improve and develop through time, it would not be impossible for this group of companies to completely dominate the world’s most competitive business arena. CHAPTER 3 The Company and Its Stakeholders            As discussed in earlier chapters, there are mainly three stakeholders of the Virgin group of Companies, which in many areas affect the major activities that the company performs in their daily global operations. The stakeholders include the company management and its employees, the clients that are being served by the company, and the society that it serves its responsibility to.            In accordance with the stakeholder mapping system, the said subdivision of stakeholders could still be narrowed down to five major types depending on whether they oppose or support the company involved in the society. With the existence of the stakeholders, the control of the company operations is a factor that remains to be an essential matter of concern for the company management themselves. As obviously seen, each stakeholder have his or her own demand from the company activities. The management and the employees as for example, demands profit and income entities, while the consumers demand service and quality products from the company. The society in turn requires that the company give them what they are due; this could include the tax responsibilities of the company towards the local government of the communities, which they are a part of. Hence, if they are able to attend to the said social responsibility then they are able to help the community, which they are operating in, and in return, they gain full support from the society, which could in the future generate amiable profits for their company as they are transformed to becoming supporters of the business.            The Virgin Group of Companies sees to it that they are able to meet the needs of all the stakeholders involve in their business operations as they are mentioned above. The constancy of the concern of the Virgin Group of companies towards their employees, their clients and the society, which they serve, [which may also include the culturally diverse nature of their organization] is certainly the reason why they have been operating as long as they have been and is currently continuously growing through the developments of global business trends. Alternative Strategies for Growth and Expansion (examined through SWOT analysis)            Although the outlined evidences of the sturdiness of the Virgin Group of Companies’ status in the business industry, it could not be denied that there could be some instances that some of their traditional strategies may not be that capable of meeting the challenges of the new area of endeavor of the company. As for example, the company’s management team is sure to have their own plans of opening establishments in several other parts of the globe to be able to directly expand the market that is influenced by the said multinational group of companies. In Asia as for example, there are several points of consideration that the company organizers should attend to before they could actually perform business operations in Asian countries. Hence, the following list of alternative strategies could be integrated in the existing business approach of the Virgin Group of Companies: Cultural Knowledge of the Country being targeted      This involves the capability of the company to have a research on what products and services that the company already offers cold suit the needs of the people in a certain country without offending their traditional culture. It could not be denied that there are still countries [especially in Asia] that are directly influenced by their cultural heritage. As a result, the companies, which are planning to establish branches in such areas, are advised to take full concern of the cultural background of the country to be able to fit in the society. This would naturally address the social responsibility of the company. Legalities and Registration in the Local Governments      Most of the suggested alternatives concern the social responsibilities of the company. This is simply because of the fact that the ability of the company to expand depends on the acceptance of the society that it aims to serve.      The legalities and registration to local governments involves the tax-responsibilities of the company. Their knowledge of the business legalities and policies that their target countries imply should help them create a fine working environment with their new society and would might as well create for them a credible reputation.            The author of this paper using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis has directly analyzed these two major suggestions as alternatives. Through the said analysis, it has been noticed that the competitiveness of the Virgin Group amidst the wide expansion plans that it might have in the future would be well guarded. As mentioned earlier, the suggestions are more focused on the social responsibility of the company. This is highly suggested by the author, as this is believed by the author as the key towards a multinational, multicultural company’s success in the business industry. The SWOT Analysis Discussion Strengths- the suggested alternative, as clearly observed is a focus on the cultural knowledge of the company with regards the communities that they ought to influence, or in some other terms, target as a market source. Being culturally and legally knowledgeable of the social systems of the new community gives them an edge from other companies who have lesser care on the way they are able to meet their responsibilities to the society and put much priority on the profit goals of the company. Weaknesses- since the suggestions involve research and development strategies on the part of the company management, the issue on the funding systems may become a reason for the weakness of the suggested approach. However, through systematic arrangement, the said alternative could be proven efficient. Opportunities- The alternatives open the expansion opportunities for the Virgin Group. The said expansion operations being mainly targeted upon the Asian countries which are known to have high cultural attachment to their origins. Being able to apply the alternatives would naturally help the entire company to win the heart of Asians. Threats- the threats to the approach that has been suggested in here could be regarding the fact that other researches of the company regarding the cultural shift of the market that they intend to target may become available to others and may in some ways be used against their plans. Hence, there is a need for a certain measure of security that should be applied upon the researches of the company. CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION            It has been most certainly clear that through this study, the strengths of the Virgin Group of Companies have been outlined for better understanding. The well known reputation of the said group of companies in their ability to survive competition amidst the expansion operations that they have incurred through company alliances have been determined as the key factor of success for the Virgin group.            The systematic strategy that the whole organization applies in its daily operations has directly implied the strong foundation of the companies’ existence in the society. Their constant attendance on the responsibilities that they have towards their stakeholders has naturally created for them a fine environment of work and operations.            Certainly, the expertise that the management team of the Virgin group has on global expansion has ensured them of continuous success in providing the best service and the quality products to their clients. In return, the said managerial strategies also create for them an assurance of growing profit in the years yet to come. BIBLIOGRAPHY  Internet Sources: Changing Minds Organization. (2007). Stakeholder mapping . http://changingminds.org/disciplines/change_management/stakeholder_change/stakeholder_mapping.htm. (January 29, 2007). Harvard Business School. (2007). Creating Corporate Advantage: Strategy in the Multibusiness Firm. http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/cca/. (January 29, 2007). Marketing Teacher. (2006). SWOT Analysis: Lesson: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). http://marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_swot.htm. (January 29, 2007). Environmental Leader. (2007). Virgin Group, NTR Form Virgin Bioverda. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/01/17/virgin-group-ntr-form-virgin-bioverda/. (January 29, 2007). Virgin Group. (2007). The Virgin Group. http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/aboutUs/html/about_us_06.htm. (January 29, 2007). Market Watch. (2007). Virgin America, Echostar sign entertainment deal. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/virgin-america-echostar-sign-entertainment/story.aspx?guid=%7BEB53ED7F-B9AA-4E82-8AE0-704BC8691582%7D. (January 29, 2007). Virgin America gets more time to appeal. (2007). http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=FTDate=20070111ID=6333605. (January 29, 2007). Clare Cheung and Linus Chua. (2007). Branson Bets His Virgin Brand, Entertainment Will Win in Macau. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085sid=aWFnDVIC4lwcrefer=europe. (January 29, 2007). Book Sources: Snoeyenbos, Milton. (1992). Business Ethics. Prometheus Books. Revised Edition.                        (20-26) Riddle, John. (2001). Business Management: How to organize market and finance your way to business success. Adams Media Corporation Publications.                        (45-52)
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Weaknesses Of The Ecological Footprint Environmental Sciences Essay
Weaknesses Of The Ecological Footprint Environmental Sciences Essay flourishing at a yearly rate of 4. Contribution of the industry in the economy has become a global trend. However, as the tourist industry flourishes, those activities have also resulted into environmental impact issues, such as traffic congestion, over- exploitation of natural resources, and issues created by inappropriate tourist behaviors. Apart from the effects on human, natural, and culture heritages, these create a lot of pollution (Wu, 2003). With the constant rise of environmental protection philosophies, green consumption is slowly from being a mere concept into real action. The hotel and restaurant industries, above all, are closely related to environmental protection (Kuo, 2000). It is truly said that the continued growth of development is having an extensive and different ecological impacts. The urban that are being expanded are including the agricultural land and established the ecosystems, reducing the local bio-productivity and biodiversity while there has been an incr ease in the level of demand for resources and other ecological services by the rising populations. Ecological Footprint has been co-originated by Professor William Rees and Dr. Mathis Waskernagel. The Ecological Footprint is embedded in the reality that all renewable resources arrive from the earth. It accounts for the flows of energy and converts these into the matching land/water area necessary for nature to support these flows. The Ecological Footprint is defined as the area of productive land and water ecosystems required to produce the resources that the population consumes and assimilate the wastes that the population produces, wherever on Earth the land and water is located. It compares actual throughput of renewable resources in relation to what is yearly renewed. Ecological Footprint looks at the total quantity of global hectares that are necessary to hold a particular population. The Footprints of individual nations vary considerably.The Ecological Footprint is a resource accounting tool that measures the human demand on the Earth. By calculating a persons Ecological Footprint, it shows whether he is living within the ecological budget or whether he is overwhelming n atures resources faster than the planet can renew them. We can choose to live on a depleted planet or we can choose to live on a rich, biologically diverse, more stable planet proposes Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, co-creator of the Ecological Footprint. Strengths of the Ecological Footprint: It has an immediate intuitive appeal It is being used worldwide in a variety of settings. It addresses national, municipal, regional and individual footprint. It is used as a policy tool It is used as an indicator Weaknesses of the Ecological Footprint: It is not a precise measure of ecological sustainability It underestimates the impact of individual actions on the biosphere It provides limited information about most of the non-renewable resources. It allows only universal types of bioproductive areas to be recognized (forests, cropland) It does not account for all human impacts on the environment. Opportunities of the Ecological Footprint: Efforts are being done so as to standardize the Footprint. It will increase the usefulness of this sustainability indicator. It will be used for different projects. Critically assess Ecological Footprint with other existing environmental tools: The Ecological Footprint is based on the concepts of capacity and the precautionary principle which though out without their critics (Kooten and Bulte, 2000), are commonly accepted in the field of ecological impact assessment (Rees, 1996). Its methodology is grounded in the physical measures of the ecological limits and the environmental impacts of the human activity and it provides a theoretical foundation for the evaluation and comparison. Essential in the metric is an interpretation of the goal of the ecological sustainability that is to live within the bio-productive capacity of the earth. The tool that is being used is clearly focused on the ecological sustainability and with its creator acknowledging there is an additional need for the social assessment frameworks (Wackernagel and Yount, 2000). Thus, the Ecological Footprint is not proposed as a complete measure of sustainability. Rather, it is presented as a tool captures the main global ecological concerns within its metric w hich reflect a crucial precondition for the sustainability- living within the ecological limits of the earth (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). The inventors of the Ecological Footprint have put more emphasis on various potential uses for the tool. Since this tool has been developed, the use of the tool has spread quickly into a different range of applications. Its use now has been expanded from global and national accounts, such as the WWFs Living Planet Reports (WWF, 2006) to the regional, city and local area scales. With respect to urban planning and development, Wackernagel and Yount (2000, p. 34) define the Ecological Footprint as a powerful tool for comparing the ecological demand of design options such as housing densities, transportation systems or infrastructure development. They say that: urban design has a significant impact on peoples consuming behavior. It influences not only how they shop, but also how they move around, what kind of houses they live in and what kind of urban infrastructure services they acquire. In another study, according to Muniz and Galindo (2005), they use the footprint analysis of travel-to-work behavior in Barcelona so as to conclude that urban form has a clear effect on the travel behavior which is greater that the socio-economic factors for example the average family income, and however that compact city policies that include the public transport and a mix of populations and activities resulting in a lower transport Ecological Footprints. With growing concerns on the environment, there are several international agencies which are using environmental data/information and indicators to evaluate current conditions and trends to provide information on the state of the environment. There are other environmental tools that exist. EIA- Environmental Impact Assessment: It is a process with a set of procedures. It is an assessment which helps decision-makers. It is a project that causes minimal degradation of environmental resources. It is a planning tool that is viewed as an integral component of sound decision-making. It also helps to identify, evaluate and mitigate the impacts caused by developments. Sustainability Assessment Tools for Residential Estates In order to decrease the ecological impact of urban development, it is important to make changes to the urban form and to the urban development practices. This process of change needs tools that can understand the ecological sustainability in the context of urban development that is it must be able to achieve the aims and targets, facilitate change in the practice and measure the progress that is being done gradually. EF- Ecological Footprint: It accounts for the use of the planets renewable resources. Its application includes analysis of policy, benchmarking performance, education and awareness raising and scenario development. As a policy tool, the ecological footprint is still in its infancy. Businesses are vital associates in delivering both the social and environmental scope of sustainable development. As organizations, they both meet the demand for goods and services essential to improve quality of life and, in the process, impact on the environment either directly or indirectly through their use of natural resources and their creation of wastes. One issue for businesses wishing to benefit from better environmental and social performance is the lack of consistent and credible methodologies to compute monitor and communicate evolution. latest years have seen a rise in companies using environmental management systems but few of these take life cycle approach and report for flow of material and energy. An amount of approaches are obtainable to businesses wishing to evaluate the environmental impact of their products or services. The matter of how much utilization is sustainable is also one that require to be addresses. Ecological footprint Analysis exclusively approaches the problem of sustainability by reference to the overall carrying capacity of the world at the same time , it also link to the individual behavior to organizational, regional and global. There are many tools which measure environmental progress and consumption of resources, such as the ISO 14000, the Environmental policies and measures (EPM), the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), I-O, SPI, the LCIA, and the Environmental Management System (EMS). Critically assess EF with other existing environmental tools Ecological footprint is an approximate of the amount of space on the earth that a person uses in order to survive using obtainable technology. This space includes biologically productive land and water area that produces the resources devoted by that person such as food, water, energy, clothing, and building materials. It also comprises the quantity of land and water necessary to incorporate the waste generated by that person. In line with the management consultancy mantra that to manage something effectively you need to be able to measure it, the metrics of sustainability have become progressively important in the policy world, as governments, NGOs and others attempt to identify whether their strategies and policies are indeed beginning to have an impact. This metric turn has encouraged support for existing measurement techniques such as environmental audits, environmental impact assessments, strategic environmental assessments and state of the environment reporting, while unchecking a range of new techniques for measuring environmental impacts. These approaches range from sustainability evaluation to more fundamental ideas such as Ecological Footprints. Both new and older techniques for measuring sustainability push for policy saliency, each with its own intellectual justifications, supporters and critics, and in most cases, people whose income or professional standing in some part derive from their adoption and, equally important, local adaptation. The key players in the new metrics industry include those in consultancies of various kinds, universities, NGOs and government departments. We do not mean to assign base motives to any of those involved, since most are strongly committed to developing approaches that help shift behavior patterns in ways intended to bring about environmental improvements. We do, however, want to argue that there is more at stake here than who measures sustainability best; underlying the competition for how to measure sustainability is an ethical debate about what it is that needs to be measured, why and how. In terms of environmental problems, for instance, there is always basic political and scienti ¬Ã‚ c biases in choosing which problem merits most research money attention in different contexts. For instance there are other measuring tools which are used like: Environmental Policies and Management (EPM) This is used by government or other authorities to implement their environmental policies. That is, it focuses on problems arising from human impact on the environment which retroacts onto human society by having a negative impact on human values such as good health or the clean and green environment. Environmental Impacts Assessment (EIA) An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the probable positive or negative impact that a planned project may have on the environment, jointly consisting of the environmental, social and economic aspects. The reason of the evaluation is to make sure that decision makers consider the resulting environmental impacts when deciding whether to proceed with a project. EIA is one type of tools, which may assist the sustainable development of a country. According to (Fitzpatrick,2003 and Sinchair,2009), they said that the EIA is focused on the implementation of preventive means and due to the fact that the aim of the EIA is the identification of possible risks and effects as early as possible. The EIA gives an opportunity to take into consideration the potential effects of the designed activity and thus it consider the other alternatives in the project implementation form various perspectives. Hence, this is done by identifying the potential environmental, social and health aspects of the planned activity (Glasson et al., 2005). Advantages of EIA Disadvantages of EIA Simple to use It is difficult to change and it is open to poor judgment by decision-makers It is flexible It is complex and ambiguous Allows for good judgment It is slow and costly It can improve It can lose flexibility Environmental assessment is a systematic procedure that is designed to identify, examine and assess the environmental effects of a particular product or an activity. The aim of this procedure is to spot any foreseeable unpleasant impacts throughout the life cycle of a product. Environmental Assessment allows an effective combination of environmental considerations and public concerns into the decision making. The environmental assessment tools are divided into four sections namely: Life Cycle Assessment Environmental Risk Assessment Life Cycle Cost Eco-efficiency Environmental Protection Act (EPA) This act is to provide for the safety and supervision of the environmental assets of Mauritius so that their ability to sustain the society and its development remains unchanged and to raise agreement between quality of life, environmental defense and sustainable development for the present and future generations; more exclusively to offer for the legal framework and the tool to defend the natural environment, to plan for environmental management and to direct the inter-relations of environmental issues, and to guarantee the proper implementation of governmental policies and application provisions necessary for the security of human health and the environment of Mauritius. The model consist of six parts: Food, energy, textile, paper, waste, and construction land. Various resource or energy consumption items are converted into biologically productive land areas. There are six basic types of biologically productive land: Cropland, grazing land, forestland, construction land, fossil energy resource land, and water (marine) area. The ratio between the consumption of a certain type of goods and the yield per unit of such goods on a certain type of land is the biologically productive land area required for that type of land. Multiply the figure by the corresponding equivalent factor, and we have the required area for this type of land under local or international standards. Wherein: EFi: represents the ecological footprint of a certain category, normally expressed in units of global hectares (ghm2). Qi: represents the total consumption of a certain type of goods, normally expressed in units of kilograms (kg) or tons (t). Pi: represents the world average yield of this type of goods, normally expressed in units of kilograms/hectare (kg/hm2). Ei: is the equivalent factor for the type of the land which produces this type of goods. And, the value of the coefficient varies with land type.
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