The Work Of A Hotels Front Desk Staff Tourism Essay

The Work Of A Hotels Front Desk Staff Tourism Essay When in a hotel there are jobs for all levels where the front office manager job and responsibilities,assistant managers jobs and responsibilities, the front desk representatives job and responsibilities, the night auditor job and responsibilities, the cashiers jog and responsibilities. If all the job and responsibilities are done correctly the hotel will be successful in the hotel industry. However if a poor job is done the hotel will face failure and bankruptcy there for it is important for the staff to achieve there job and responsibilities to secure a successful business. Front Office Manager The front office manager is in charge of maintaining a high level of efficiency among all the front office staff, to make effective decisions regarding reservations policies and room assignments, and handle guest problems and complaints with courtesy and tact. The manager must also maintain an open communication between all other departments of the hotel. The front office manager must assign duties to all staff members of the front office. He is in charge of preparing weekly work schedules and shift assignments, scheduling regular staff meeting to make sure that staff understand what they have to do and all the hotel policies. The manager must also hire and train all new employers, consistently overview the performance of each the new staff members. The front office manager must also define the reservation policies and set quotas, aiming for maximum room occupancy. The manger must also monitor all arrivals, departures and cancellations. And setting policies for no-shows, early arriva ls, and over booking. Assistant Front Office Manager The assistant front office manager is there to aid the department manager who is responsible for coordinating front desk personnel, monitoring all guests accounts and payments, and authorized checks and credit procedures. Also the assistant manager may assist the front desk staff during high peak periods. Other duties of an assistant manager are to review reservation for the day and preparing daily room occupancy forecasts. For a manager an front office manager may have have a lot of work to do so as a front office assistant manager he is to help the manager with extra work that needs to be done. Along with helping desk staff if the are to many customers wanting lodgeing. There for needing patience. Front Desk Representatives. Front desk representatives are the main for who are always reminded to always show to the personality of the hotel to all the guests, to be a front desk representative you must strong communication skills along with the ability to work with people. Front desk representatives must use diplomacy, courtesy, and warmth in order to successfully make a guest feel welcome. They must also deal with clients problems and complaints. Also to directly work with clients of the hotel. Working at the front desk they have an important role of assigning rooms and maintain maximum occupancy. The front desk is responsible for verifying reservation information, checking credit card identification and authorization, assigning rooms, and dispensing room keys. Other duties are to provide information about facilities and policies, handling special guest requests, such as photocopies, and gift purchases. A front desk representative must always be polite warm and understanding around customers. Giving there f ull attention to customers. A customer does not like to be keept waiting. And also must highlight their experience in the hotel. The night auditor. A night auditor has two jobs to do where first he must do all the jobs as a front office representative. Secondly he or she must prepare a machine balance report. Typically, a night auditors shifts run from 11 pm until 7 am. When the front desk responsibility slackens usually the night auditor starts to audit or trace the posting of the previous days transactions to verify their accuracy. The main point is the night auditor must calculate the total charges owed to the hotel and incurred by guests during the previous day. They must determine the daily balance. To be a night auditor one must be good with numbers along with having all the skills needed to be a front office representatives. A night auditor is one of the most tireing jobs in a hotel. Because work is based at night until early morning. As for most people wont want to work as a night auditor. Cashiers The cashiers are responsible for checking out departing clients, posting charges, verifying the guest check, and handling payments. Cashiers may also be required to assist other members of the front desk staff in the performance of their duties. And vice versa. Cashiers are responsible for verifying payments from customers who are about to check out. Also they must calculate the charges and presenting the guest check. They are considered members of the accounting department who answer to the accounting manager. And finally they have other duties, such as sorting mail, handlingguests communications, and coordinating room status and reports. A cashier is responsible for handeling all the income for a hotel so its necessary that a cashier is knowledgeable about accounting. And also if asked to help the front office staff with their dutys so there for must have good people skills to be able to communicate sucessufly with a customer. Being a cashier one must always respecta customer along with getting all your taskes fulfilled. Reservationist The reservationist is responsible for handling advance room requests, determining availability, quoting rates, and documenting reservations. Reservation systems range from simple forms that are organized like desk calendars to computer-based systems. A reservationist must have good knowledge of the rooms, rates, and hotel policies. In addition, arithmetic and computer skills may be required. A reservationist is responsible for reciving all reservations and dealing with the accordanly. But mst make sure that all reservations are below 70% because that is the limit that a hotel and reserve for customers. Because if a hotel reserves 100% of the hotel and most the guests dont come they will lose customers and income. A reservationist must know how to deal with a customer, say when when you can and know how to reject a customer if the hotel has already reserved 70% of rooms in the hotel. Telephone Operator A telephone operator is responsible for coordinating the use of the telephone system of a large hotel. An operator answers all incoming telephone calls and directs the callers to the appropriate guest room, department, or staff member. In addition, operators may be required to direct house calls placed from inside the hotel. Operators must have an up to date directory of the guests room assignments. This position requires oral communication skills, an efficient telephone technique, and attention to detail. A telephone is required to know how to transfer calls to all rooms in the hotel and know how to make house bound calls from within the hotel. A telephone operator must answer the phone with a smile talk with a gental tone to all guests. It is important that a telephone operatormust have full knowledge on how to do his job. CONCLUSION The Work of a hotels front desk staff is important they are responsible of first impressions and must always treat guests like royalty. To do so they must always meet their jobs critiera where a front office manager is responsible for looking out on staff giving a weekly work schedule, high level of efficiency infront of all staff, be able to make decisions, and must always have communications with all deparments of the hotel. A assistant front office manager is to help the manager with tasks needed. Coordanating front desks opperations the assistant front desk manager has the responsibility to train all new employees. The front desk representative are the one who serve guests, they must always be polite and carry a smile at all times. Being a front desk representative you need be to able to communicate with customers successfully. The night auditor is responsible of 2 jobs first he is a front dest representative then when customers stop coming normaly around 1 he must calculate all income from the day. cashiers are the ones who deal with the money that guest pay before check out. The also can assists the front office representative with their work. They are considered as members of the accounting department.working under the supervision of the accounting manager. Reservationist are basicly the ones who deal with reservations from customers. Determining availability, quoting rates and documenting reservations. The telephone operator is in charge of handeling all calls, and directing the calls to guests rooms, staff members or department. The also may have to direct house calls placed from within the hotel. QUESTION 2 Front office staffs must have certain skills to attract guests during the first impression. Write about Front Office staff skill in guest relations. INTRODUCTION Front office staffs must have certain skills to attract guests during the first impression. Write about Front Office staff skill in guest relations. When working in a hotel as a front office representative you must have special skills to attract customers. From being able to have a good first impression, giving a smile to customers. Good interpersonal and communication with customers. being able handle stress properly. Having knowledge of phone lines, having knowledge of computers. Being polite and always showing warmth to all customers. Being polite, being courteous, having patience with all troubleing customers. Being helpful to all the customers. When having learned all these skills it will be easy to attract customers to the hotel. Being polite and warm to all customers. When all of these skills are used correctly for sure that all Customers will feel wanted and important by the hotel. Then wanting to come again on holiday. Resulting in a successful hotel. All this is needed for a front office staff. When working in a hotel customers will want to feel like they are wanted by the hotel. Since customers are paying for their stay they will want the perfect service where all customers want to be able to stay their holiday in peace. To do so the staff must always show that they are wanted. A good first impression, A good first impression can go a long way. The way you dress, the way your hair is tied for girls, your hair style for guys, how u say hello to a customer. The way you present your self is important because a customer does not want to be served by someone who looks unpresentable. So dressing correctly and having a decent hairstyle is important to attact customers. Therefor staff members must always have a correct uniform on and is presentable to all customers. First impressions can also be seen from how you greet a customer. A simple hello and a smile would be enough. And must also remember regular customers by name. It makes them feel as if they are all wanted and remembered by the hotel. So making sure that all staff are dressed correctly and know how to greet a customer properly. Good interpersonal and communication with customers. Again all staff must be able to communicate with customers well. Making sure that the customers fully enjoy their stay. Being interpersonal and having good communication with all customers is important to have in a hotel to make it successful. Being able handle stress properly. Every staff member of a hotels front office must always remember that they must not show their personal problems inside the hotel. If in a bad mood or if angry when a customer comes they must not show their emotions towards them. As for a argument might escalate. However if one has a personal problem that is hard to control tell your supervisor to let u have a break or the day of. As for personal problems are part of life and cant be helped. But if a small matter they wont. And you will have to hide your emotions inorder to satisfy the customer. And if a troubleing customer comes that might be rude or disrespectful one must always ignore what he/she says just to please the customer. Hold your emotions. Until later when can release them freely. So having control over stress and emotons is important for front office staffs. To ensure that customers are treated correctly and avoid any problems. Being polite and always showing warmth to all customers. When working in a hotel as a front office staff it is important to always be polite to all customers, politeness is one of the main things to remember when serving a customer. Being rude will show that the hotel does not care about the customers. Even when the customer is wrong the staff must always respect the customer and remember that the customer is always right. When outside ad out of uniform you can say what you want. But when inside of the hotel or wearing the uniform you must respect all customers and always be polite to all the customers. Showing warmth to customers is important being able to show the customer that they are wanted. Try void body contact a customers would not think well some some one they dont know hugging them. A simple thank you or a smile would be enough to show a customer that they are wanted in the hotel. Being courteous. Courtsy is a form of politeness saying that you for your stay will show your customer that their business is appreciated in a hotel. Always remember that inside a hotel staff must always show courtsy to all customers even if a customer is rude or abnoixous but they are all customers of the hotel and for a hotel to be a success the hotel must have customers so being courteous is important for a hotel. Every hotel must remember to make sure that their front office staff are show courtsy to all customers. Having patience with all troubleing customers. Patience is important for every employee in a hotel. If its being patient with your boss or more importantly being patient around a troubling customer. A customer way be annoying, rude, disrespectful or just an overall pain. But its the job of a front desk employee to make sure that the customer enjoys their stay. Patience is the key for success as they say. Every employee must be able to handle a customer, have patience with troubling customers and know how to treat all customers correctly. This having being said every front office manager must always remember to train all staff in ways to communicate with customers to successfully gain their business. Every employee shold be kind to all customers, talk in a soft tone to each and every customer And always make sure that the customer is pleased when checking into room and checking out. Make sure that their stay is a plesent one. CONCLUSION Every employee must have a special set of skills to make sure that a customers stay is plesent. So a manager must always make sure that the acting supervisor is coorectly training staff to handle customers correctly. By making sure that the employees all know how to communicate with a customer correctly and efficiently. Making sure that all employees are warm and kind hearted to all current and future customers, enable to sustain current customers and attract potential customers to the hotel. Making sure that customers have no complaints with employees attitude, A good first impression goes along way where all employees know how to dress correctly and look presentable to all customers for the hotel. Being presentable means having the correct uniform and a decent hairstyle nothing to crazy. Being able to handle stress is important to for all employees where they must not show their unhappy mood to customers. Customers dont want to see your attitude. Being courteous to all customers is something every employee must remember. A customer is the income for a hotel. And the reason you work there. So always show customer courtsy. Being able to handle troubleing customers is important. Some time customers can be un-understanding, a employee need to be able to handel a troubling customer easily. Bibliogaphy http://www.ehow.com/facts_5538984_hotel-office-manager-job-description.html http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_Duties_and_responsibilities_of_front_office_manager_in_hotel http://www.paycheck.in/main/work-and-pay/women-paycheck/job-outlook-2/front-office-staff-receptionist-in-hotels-1 http://www.wowjobs.co.za/job/Oops.aspx

Time I Learned a Lesson

While living in a state as hot as Arizona, not only do the football players have to drink a lot of water, but everyone else as well. The day I didn't taught me a lesson: Actions, good or bad, are followed with consequences. I thought my body would be perfectly fine without some water for the day but boy was I wrong. Just minutes before the incident, the only Item on my mind was how fun the rap concert would be the following night. Little did I know, I would not be attending.A late night trip to Albertson Isn't rare for my family as we forget things tie easily (and when I say we I mean I). I entered Albertson with a mental list of Ethylene, snacks, and Storage. Yet, I still made my way to the ice cream aisle as I seem to always be gravitated towards it. Him, what flavor sounds good? Ben and Jerry Peach Cobbler gets me every time! I reach out to grab that perfect concoction and smack! My body now lays lifeless on the floor as I blackout. Seconds, minutes, maybe hours later I become con scious. I make an effort to move my limbs but there's no use.My heavy eyelids have a arid time opening, I force them open and find myself in a hospital bed wearing one of those dresses I promised myself I'd never wear. My eyes find their way to the side of my bed where my motherly sits, pale skinned, and mouthing my name. Her voice finally registers Into my head as it translates from terrified to joyful. My very own nurse rushes In once I'm awake. She tries her hardest to talk slowly and uses hand gestures to explain why I'm here, why I'm lifeless, and why I'm wasn't eating my ice cream in the comfort of my own home.I had blacked out for several hours. Well that was an unexpected nap, I thought to myself. My nurse says the word dehydrated and it clicks my mental grocery list. There was Ethylene for my headache, snacks for nauseates, and Storage for extreme thirst. How could I be so stupid? The next day my life carried on normally: I woke up, ate, went to school, ate, napped, ate, di d my homework, ate, and slept. Of course there was a lot more water in my system compared to the day before, but drinking more water wasn't the lesson learned.I could have been testing and driving, or not completing a homework assignment but the point was the same; there were consequences to my every move. I could've been In a car accident or simply slotting In SAD with a bunch of kids I TLD know. It's your own choices that make you or break you In this life, what will you choose? And will you be prepared for the consequences that follow? BY excellencies English II- Period 3 A typical sight in the halls of Hamilton High School are the tall and built young men of was I wrong.Just minutes before the incident, the only item on my mind was how fun attending. A late night trip to Albertson isn't rare for my family as we forget things quite easily (and when I say we I mean l). I entered Albertson with a mental list of finally registers into my head as it translates from terrified to Joyfu l. My very own nurse rushes in once I'm awake. She tries her hardest to talk slowly and uses hand I could've been in a car accident or simply sitting in SAD with a bunch of kids I didn't know. It's your own choices that make you or break you in this life, what will you

Ionization Energy of the Elements

The ionization energy, or ionization potential, is the energy required to completely remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion. The closer and more tightly bound an electron is to the nucleus, the more difficult it will be to remove, and the higher its ionization energy will be. Key Takeaways: Ionization Energy Ionization energy is the amount of energy needed to completely remove an electron from a gaseous atom.Generally, the first ionization energy is lower than that required to remove subsequent electrons. There are exceptions.Ionization energy exhibits a trend on the periodic table. Ionization energy generally increases moving from left to right across a period or row and decreases moving top to bottom down an element group or column. Units for Ionization Energy Ionization energy is measured in electronvolts (eV). Sometimes the molar ionization energy is expressed, in J/mol. First vs Subsequent Ionization Energies The first ionization energy is the energy required to remove one electron from the parent atom. The second ionization energy is the energy required to remove a second valence electron from the univalent ion to form the divalent ion, and so on. Successive ionization energies increase. The second ionization energy is (almost) always greater than the first ionization energy. There are a couple of exceptions. The first ionization energy of boron is smaller than that of beryllium. The first ionization energy of oxygen is greater than that of nitrogen. The reason for the exceptions has to do with their electron configurations. In beryllium, the first electron comes from a 2s orbital, which can hold two electrons as is stable with one. In boron, the first electron is removed from a 2p orbital, which is stable when it holds three or six electrons. Both of the electrons removed to ionize oxygen and nitrogen come from the 2p orbital, but a nitrogen atom has three electrons in its p orbital (stable), while an oxygen atom has 4 electrons in the 2p orbital (less stable). Ionization Energy Trends in the Periodic Table Ionization energies increase moving from left to right across a period (decreasing atomic radius). Ionization energy decreases moving down a group (increasing atomic radius). Group I elements have low ionization energies because the loss of an electron forms a stable octet. It becomes harder to remove an electron as the atomic radius decreases because the electrons are generally closer to the nucleus, which is also more positively charged. The highest ionization energy value in a period is that of its noble gas. Terms Related to Ionization Energy The phrase ionization energy is used when discussing atoms or molecules in the gas phase. There are analogous terms for other systems. Work Function - The work function is the minimum energy needed to remove an electron from the surface of a solid. Electron Binding Energy - The electron binding energy is a more generic term for ionization energy of any chemical species. Its often used to compare energy values needed to remove electrons from neutral atoms, atomic ions, and polyatomic ions. Ionization Energy Versus Electron Affinity Another trend seen in the periodic table is electron affinity. Electron affinity is a measure of the energy released when a neutral atom in the gas phase gains an electron and forms a negatively charged ion (anion). While ionization energies may be measured with great precision, electron affinities are not as easy to measure. The trend to gain an electron increases moving from left to right across a period in the periodic table and decreases moving from top to bottom down an element group. The reasons electron affinity typically becomes smaller moving down the table is because each new period adds a new electron orbital. The valence electron spends more time further from the nucleus. Also, as you move down the periodic table, an atom has more electrons. Repulsion between the electrons makes it easier to remove an electron or harder to add one. Electron affinities are smaller values than ionization energies. This puts the trend in electron affinity moving across a period into perspective. Rather than a net release of energy when an electron is gain, a stable atom like helium actually requires energy to force ionization. A halogen, like fluorine, readily accepts another electron.

Do Emerging Markets Still Offer Diversification Benefits - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2167 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Economics Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? One of the most significant contributions to the investment community has been Markowitzs modern portfolio theory (MPT) and its foundations in risk return trade-offs and international asset diversification. The growing dependency of Emerging market countries on the US for its stable currency and export sales among other factors has increased their dependence on US markets for their GDP and market growth. This has caused a reduction in the diversification benefits in the Emerging markets. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Do Emerging Markets Still Offer Diversification Benefits?" essay for you Create order This paper will examine the various empirical evidence on emerging markets diversification and will also construct a portfolio to assess whether investment in these markets still provide benefits. MPT is based on two key principles of investing, namely that an investor will seek to maximise expected return whilst also minimising risk. Its risk is measured by its standard deviations of returns around expected values. By considering â€Å"the expected return of each investment in relation to the impact that it has on the risk of the overall portfolio,† (Litterman (2004) p. 12) An investor can prevent weaknesses in one asset class from reducing the portfolios overall return. Therefore a portfolio that is invested in a range of industries or asset classes is more diversified against risks that may affect only one asset class. (Crescenzi (2008) p. 141) The implication is that portfolios are constructed with a rate of return equal to the weighted average rate of return of the hol dings and yet its risk will be less than the weighted average return of the portfolio. (Litterman (Ibid) p.14) Recent developments in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and mutual funds have allowed investors to be invested across a range of markets and countries without being exposed to the potentially large risks of any one internationally traded company. (Crescenzi (Ibid) p.141) More specifically, Index ETF, such as those of iShares, which are designed to closely follow their relevant indices whilst being internationally invested. (Barclays (Ibid) p. 2) MPT also demands investment in asset classes that correlate as little as possible with each other, as measured by their covariance. In fact, the covariance should be less than one in order to reduce the risk in the portfolio. Asset returns that have covariance equalling one are highly dependent on each other and a covariance of zero means they are independent of each other. Covariance is calculated by multiplying the correlations by the variances of their returns. (Litterman (Ibid) p. 12) A portfolios overall risk in relation to its benchmark is measured by its beta. A portfolio with a beta of 1 is has a volatility that is equal to that of its index, whereas a beta greater than one will have greater volatility than the index and is likely to achieve returns greater than the index. It is calculated by dividing a portfolios covariance with the index by the indexs variance. (MacKay Shields (2003) p.2) Mean variance approach MPTs mean variance approach demonstrates efficient combinations of high expected returns with a specific level of risk. Any portfolios that exist below the frontier are considered inefficient because they are earning lower returns for the same amount of risk in comparison to those on the frontier. Unfortunately, this is difficult to apply in reality because it requires the use of an optimiser which is based on the calculation of expected returns to arrive at weights. The resulting weights are often considered extreme and inappropriate and the actual calculation of expected returns is also considered difficult to obtain, with the closest and most widely available data being historical returns. Additionally, the approach requires investment in the entire universe of stocks however oftentimes fund managers seek to create portfolios which are invested in a small universe, to attract local investors. (Zimmerman (Ibid) p. 282-262) Another concern is the models static nature which requ ires action once the initial allocation of wealth to the securities is made, until the investment horizon is reached. The dynamic nature of stock markets and the wide ranging risks that underline them can greatly impact asset returns, making it crucial for the profitability of an investor to continually rebalance their portfolio according to changes in them. (Korn (1997) p. 12) Empirical Evidence of Emerging Markets Diversification There is extensive empirical evidence to support Markowitzs theory that investment across the globe reduces portfolio risk levels. Cumby and Glen ((1990) cited in Aiello and Chieffe (1999) p. 29) find superior returns are gained by internationally diversified investment funds. Divecha, Drach, and Stefek ((1992) cited in Aiello (Ibid) p. 29) show more specifically that investment in the Emerging markets is likely to reduce a portfolios total risk. Moreover, Masters ((1998) cited in Aiello (Ibid) p. 29) recommend allocate of at least 6 percent in the Emerging markets, to benefit from the rapid economic growth in the region. Speidell and Sappenfield ((1992) Aiello (Ibid) p. 29) maintain that developed countries, unlike emerging markets, move in close tandem with each other and therefore provide less diversification. A study by Aiello and Chieffe also finds that diversification in the Americas Free Index provides the lowest standard deviation of returns. However, Aiello also notes t hat the Emerging markets are characterised by high volatility due to asset and sector concentrations, small markets, insider trading and poor information. (Aiello (Ibid) p. 34) Constructing the Portfolio Initially a portfolio comprised of solely developed countries will be constructed using index ETFs. iShares Morgan Stanley Country Indices (MSCI) will be used for the purposes of this paper. Initially an assessment of the regional ETF index risk and returns will be made from which individual countries will be selected for investment. A portfolio of developed countries will first be selected followed by a selection of Emerging market countries to assess their impact on the portfolios overall risk and return. The period of investment which will be used for the construction of this portfolio will be 2nd January 2009 to 13 March 2009. Unfortunately, access to iShares MSCI data is limited to between 2008 and 2009 for the majority of countries which is insufficient given the significant downturn in the global economy. A time horizon of one year would not highlight the potential benefits, if any, of investing in the Emerging markets. Ideally a two or three year time horizon would be more appropriate. The above table shows the various Index ETFs by global regions and their corresponding returns, standard deviations, variances and covariance. In comparing the returns it can be seen that the Emerging markets (-8.20%) and Latin America (-3.30%) had the best returns in comparison to Europe (-24.9%) and USA (-18.9%). However, these are also accompanied by high variances relative to developed countries. Covariances between the U.S. and other regions are all under unity and therefore have low dependency in their relationships. The Latin American and Emerging Markets regions proved to have the greatest covariances with the U.S. and therefore have the greatest dependency on American markets for their own performances. This is likely to due to their currencies being pegged to the US dollar and their strong dependency on export sales to the US. Despite the higher risks associated with investment in the Emerging markets their returns are worthy of investment to diversify a global portfolio. Therefore investment in the Emerging markets will be added to the portfolio. Given the high dependency of Latin American markets on the US, this market will not be included in the portfolio. Of the developed countries, those with covariances with the US, greater than 0.0007, such as Australia and France will not be included. The remaining countries: US, Canada, UK, Japan and Germany remain for consideration. The choice of weights invested in the portfolio will depend on their individual risks and returns. The portfolio weights will reflect the risk averse nature of the investor. As can be seen from the table above, Japan and the US have the lowest risk levels but their returns vary greatly being -18.6% and -26.3% respectively. Additionally, the US and UK have similar returns and yet the former has a much lower variance and will not therefore be included in the portfolio. Similarly Germany has a slightly greater risk compared to Canada but with half the retur n, there is therefore no reason to invest in Germany. The US and Canada have the highest returns with the US having the lowest standard deviation. It will therefore have a 50 percent weight in the fund leaving Canada 40 percent weight. Whilst Japan has the lowest return it also has the worst return of the three and therefore will have the smallest weight of 10 percent. Since the portfolio is made up of mostly the US index and is not greatly diversified internationally the most appropriate benchmark will be the SP 500. The portfolio return for the year to date comes to -16.7%, calculated by summing the weights of each country index multiplied by their returns, thereby outperforming the index by less than 3%. The portfolio beta is 1.01, calculated by dividing the portfolio covariance with the index, by the variance of the SP500. The portfolio beta being marginally greater than unity implies it is slightly more volatile in comparison to the index, due in large part to the Japanes e weighting. Investing in the Emerging Markets Given that the Emerging markets have been shown empirically to provide greater diversification benefits and are recommended by the MPT this region will also be considered for investment. Choosing a set of Emerging market index ETFs will begin by taking out those with the highest covariances with the SP 500, namely South Korea and South Africa. Taiwan has the strongest return with a risk level, as measured by its variance and standard deviation, close to that of Hong Kong and Singapore. It will therefore have a high weight in the Emerging Markets portion of the fund. Singapores returns is the lowest with an almost equal risk level to the other countries, therefore it will not be considered for investment. Malaysia whilst it has a slightly lower return does have the lowest risk level. This is likely to be due to its much more developed stock market and more stable political environment and will help to diversify the regions risk level in the portfolio. The remaining countries are Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. In considering weight allocations countries with low standard deviations, such as Malaysia (50%) will be given greatest weight. Taiwan and Hong Kong have only slightly differing variances but very different returns and therefore their weights, 10% and 40% respectively, will reflect Taiwans greater return. The combined return of these three countries is -6.8% which against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, outperformed by 1.4%. Their combined beta is 0.60, half the volatility of the index. Moreover, its covariance with the SP 500 is only 0.00051, making it very independent of the US market. Given the positive returns, low risk and low dependency on the US market, the Emerging markets will be given a weight of 30% in the original developed countries portfolio. This improves the original portfolio return from -17% to -2% which against the SP 500 benchmark, outperforms by over 16%, during one of the most tumultuous market downturns in recent history. Although the standard deviation of the new internationally diversified portfolio is the same, its beta is 0.90 and covariance is 0.0006 making it very independent of the US market. Ongoingly investors must assess the risk and return of any of the country index ETFs that he or she is invested in, rebalancing the portfolio accordingly. Factors such as political unrest, financial fraud, poor macroeconomic management and manufacturing can all greatly increase country risks and reduce their returns. Conclusion This paper set out to assess whether the Emerging markets still have diversification benefits on a portfolios return and risk levels. The various empirical literature examined in the paper conclude that the Emerging markets do still add to portfolio diversification. The portfolio that was constructed also demonstrates the added benefits of investing in these markets to its performance. Some of the limitations of this paper include the relatively short time frame chosen for the model portfolio. A period of two to three years would have been more ideal. Middle Eastern ETF representations were limited to only Israel and Turkey and therefore did not provide a reasonable representation of Emerging markets in the Middle East. Bibliography Aiello, S. and Chieffe, N. (1999) International index funds and the investment portfolio Financial Services Review 8, p. 27–35 Barclays Global Investors (2009) An Introduction to iShares: Exchange Traded Funds, www.ishares.com Barclays Global Investors, (March 2009) iShares Products   https://us.ishares.com/content/stream.jsp?url=/content/repository/material/product_expense_ratio_report.pdfmimeType=application/pdf Crescenzi, A. (2008) Investing From the Top Down: A Macro Approach to Capital Markets, McGraw-Hill Professional Korn, R. (1997) Optimal portfolios: stochastic models for optimal investment and risk management in continuous time, World Scientific Litterman, B. (2004) Modern Investment Management: An Equilibrium Approach, Quantitative Resources Group, John Wiley and Sons MacKay Shields (2003) Managed Accounts: Modern PortfolioTheory, MacKay Shields Investment Management LLC Zimmermann, H., Drobetz, W. and Oertmann, P. (2003) Global Asset Allocation: New Methods and Applications, John Wiley and Sons iShare ticker symbols and index information sourced from iShares.com Historical prices from which data was calculated was sourced from yahoo.com/finance

The Cold War And The Soviet Union - 995 Words

World history is an extremely important subject that all students around the world should learn about. World history is simply a branch of knowledge that welcomes all humanity. It is essential to learn because it symbolizes the question of who we are, prepares us to live in the alluring world and ensures cultural literacy. One of the most fascinating events known in history includes the Cold War. This essay will explore the fierce, overpowering, and chaotic Cold War describing its purpose, summary and analysis of events, and how it came to a complete end. The Purpose of The Cold War The Cold War was solely a shape of political and military pressure beginning in Europe during the time era of 1945-1990. It occurred after the phenomenon of World War II between powers in the United States and powers in the Soviet Union. The relationship between these two nations was very apprehensive and fragile. They had different propositions about government and economics. The United States is known a s a capitalist country while the Soviet Union is known as a communist country. It is very important to note what the terms capitalism and communism signify. Capitalism is a political and economic system in which a country s trade and industry are primarily controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. Communism is a distinct system of social organization in which all social and economicShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War And The Soviet Union973 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a state of economic, diplomatic, and ideological discord among nations without armed conflict. The Cold War was between the United States and the USSR because these were the two major powers after WWII. Basically, the Cold War was a series of proxy wars that had taken place back in time involving surrounding countries. One of the main causes for Cold War was that the Soviet Union was spreading communism and the United States didn’t like that so they were trying to contain communismR ead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1233 Words   |  5 PagesThe Cold War is unique among war’s to be not a war between states, but a war between ideologies. The United States and other allies defend social democracy capitalism, as the pinnacle of freedom and equality; and the Soviet Union though communism was the pinnacle of equality. These ideologies manifested themselves through the superpowers, which caused the conflict between them. Both the United States, and the Soviet Union are to blame for the outbreak of the Cold War. The United State’s missionRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe Cold War, in fact didn’t take place in the winter season, but was just as dangerously cold and unwelcoming, as it focused on two contrasting powers: the U.S. and the Soviet Union. After World War 2, the Cold War influenced capitalist U.S. and communist Soviet Union to engage in disagreements causing many disputes having to use milita ry, economic and humanitarian aid. With different goals, the contrasting powers prove through the Marshall Plan, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and SALT that communismRead MoreThe Cold War And Soviet Union840 Words   |  4 PagesThere are many theories and opinions of how the cold war started. Some believe that the cold war was the result of the belligerence of Joseph Stalin and the insecurity it caused in the United States and the West. Others believe the primary responsibility for the cold war derives from the hardline policies of the United States. (Viewpoints Article: the Soviet Union Start the Cold War) I believe The Cold War was triggered by the theory of two superpower countries in a race for dominance in the worldRead MoreCold War And The Soviet Union859 Words   |  4 PagesAMS2270 Cold War This essay will discuss about cold war, including the background, beginning, progress and ending. As we know, cold war is a struggle between U.S. with NATO and Soviet Union with WTO from 1947 to 1991. It is a significant event in history, and it influence the almost all of world, it directly lead to the radical change of eastern Europe and the breakup of the USSR. In 1946 February, George.F.Kennan wrote a â€Å"Long Telegram†, it clearly said the strategy of containing Soviets and itRead MoreThe Cold War On The Soviet Union1230 Words   |  5 PagesThe Cold War’s effect on the Soviet Union Shortly after the World War 2 ended, the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies entered the cold war with the Soviet Union. Germany was divided in half and later, the Berlin Wall was constructed as a physical boundary between the Soviet controlled East Germany and NATO controlled West Germany. This standoff continued until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. The cold war had a huge influence on the world stage, but also had a majorRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1391 Words   |  6 Pageswake of World War II as the decades-long force of Germany’s reign came to its conclusion, an extensive repositioning of authority among the world’s top powers began. The war wielded devastating consequences for most countries involved and effectively diminished the dominance Britain and France once employed across the globe. Out of this devastation rose the two new dominating forces of the world who were triumphant in the aftermath of the war: the U nited States and the Soviet Union. The United StatesRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union Essay965 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War was a period in world history marked with increased tensions primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both countries desired to expand their ideologies across the globe, the U.S. urging capitalism and democratic elections and the Soviets promoting communism. After the allies had obtained victory in World War II, the Yalta Conference was held. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, wanted to expand his sphere of influence into Eastern Europe and demanded thatRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1343 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract: As one of the most important events in 20th century, the Cold War had a very deep influence for the human-being civilization and it changed the world structure . The United States and the Soviet Union ,the two poles, became enemies from friends after the World War II. They adopt hostile attitude towards each other and criticized the the opponents’ social systems. To find out who provoked the Cold War, the US, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdoms ,Roosevelt, Truman ,Stalin, and ChurchillRead MoreThe Soviet Union Of The Cold War1745 Words   |  7 Pages During the era of the Cold War, starting in 1947 and definitively ending in 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union faced off in conflicts with each other through smaller states. The United States and Soviet Union faced off to see who could spread their ideology the most in Europe. The Soviet Union used force and supported coups to spread communism while the United States installed democratic governments as a way to counter communism in Eastern Europe. These small conflicts that the two superpowers

Defining Terrorism Free Essays

string(69) " a military and most importantly the terrorist goes after civilians\." If people around the world were surveyed and asked to define terrorism, the answers would be seemingly endless. It has been said, â€Å"one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. † From culture to culture, people view terrorism in a different way. We will write a custom essay sample on Defining Terrorism or any similar topic only for you Order Now An inherent definition of terrorism would be the act of creating terror, but not everyone is terrified of the same thing. So how then is it possible to come up with one definition for the word? â€Å"A 2003 study by Jeffrey Record for the US Army quoted a source that counted 109 definitions of terrorism that covered a total of 22 different definitional elements. [1] In the book Understanding Terrorism, the author Anthony Marsella comes up with â€Å"four problems associated with efforts to define terrorism today: (a) there have been historical changes in the definition, (b) media and states have been inconsistent in their use of the term, (c) there are multiple definitions across agencies even within a single country such as the United States, and (d) there is international disagreement on the definition of the term. †[2] Some views of terrorism say that it must have political goals, while other do not believe this. Some views state that it must be innocents or civilians who are the victims, while other definitions do not believe this. Another argument is whether or not the terrorists must be non-state actors. Definitions are different based on whether they were created for legal purposes or international agencies. In this paper, I will go through some of the different arguments in order to provide a clearer sense of what terrorism truly means in this day in age. Most books written on terrorism begin by giving a definition of the word in the author’s opinion in order to put it into context for the remainder of the book. The entire first chapter of Bruce Hoffman’s book Inside Terrorism is dedicated to trying to define terrorism. Terrorism now seems to be a part of our everyday life. It appears as though every act of violence is perceived as being ‘terrorism. ’ Every time violence occurs people immediately think terrorism. The term terrorism is so hard to define and there is so much controversy about how to define it that it is easy to make the assumption that all violence is terrorism. At the same time, because of the controversy, many media sources are reluctant to use the word. Instead, they give attacks different titles. The Oxford Canadian Dictionary defines terrorism as the â€Å"systematic employment of violence and intimidation to coerce a government or community, especially into acceding to specific political demands. †[3] This definition might satisfy Hoffman because he believes it must be stressed that terrorism is the use or threat of violence to achieve a political aim. [4] Without a political aim, there cannot be terrorism. Nor can there be terrorism without the threat or use of violence. Hoffman believes it is difficult to define terrorism because of its ever-changing meaning throughout history. A factor that makes defining terrorism difficult is that the definition has changed over time. The original definition of the word is no longer the definition used today. The word originally gained support during the French Revolution as part of the â€Å"Reign of Terror. † The purpose was to scare people in order to prevent further revolutions from occurring. The terror was created by the state. Although the definition has changed since the â€Å"Reign of Terror,† there are two points that are similar in today’s definition. First, the regime de la terreur was neither random nor indiscriminate, as terrorism is often portrayed today, but was organized, deliberate, and systematic. †[5] Terrorists plan out their attacks, they are not random or spur of the moment. Targets in present day are often chosen based on what will receive the most media attention. â€Å"Second, its goal and its very justification was the creation of a â€Å"new and better society† in place of a fundamentally corrupt and undemocratic politically system. †[6] Simply put, terrorist attacks occur in order to achieve a political goal. Later, during the Industrial Revolution, Carlo Pisacane argued that the most effective way to publicize his cause was through violence, and that no other means would generate the same amount of attention. [7] This revolutionary-style terrorism remained up until the First World War. â€Å"By the 1930s the meaning of â€Å"terrorism† had changed again and was used to describe the practices of mass repression employed by totalitarian states and their dictatorial leaders against their own citizens. †[8] After the Second World War, the term returned to the original connation of a revolutionary type act. Up until the 1960s, terrorism was largely considered to be domestic. In the late 1960s and 1970s, terrorism began to become more international. It is important to discuss the three types of terrorism: international, domestic and â€Å"new terrorism. † Domestic terrorism is terrorism that takes place against people within your country. International terrorism is terrorism that takes place against people by a group that is not native to the country. New terrorism may have no political aims, but instead are more religious based and mainly concern themselves with destruction. The textbook The Globalization of World Politics states that there are â€Å"three factors that led to the birth of transnational terrorism: the expansion of air travel; the wider availability of televised news coverage; and the broad common political and ideological interests. †[9] These terrorist attacks initially took form in airplane hijackings, but as security tightened up, the terrorists instead chose American targets in foreign countries. Since the September 11th attacks on the United States, international terrorism is mainly what people think of when they think of terrorism. Those attacks were very publicized and had a huge impact on international relations. As well as understanding the different types of terrorism, it is also important to distinguish the difference between a terrorist, a guerrilla and a ‘freedom fighter. ’ â€Å"The freedom fighter conducts a campaign to liberate his people from dictatorial oppression, gross disarmament, or the grip of an occupying power. †[10] A guerrilla is fighting against a military and most importantly the terrorist goes after civilians. You read "Defining Terrorism" in category "Papers" Any group can use terrorism to achieve their goals. In the book Terrorism: The New World Order, Fotion et al explain that there are narrow and broad views of terrorism. The narrower views insist that victims of terrorism must be innocent. A problem with the narrower view is that although it is most often innocents who are targeted by terrorists, they did not see a distinction. Whether they target a military organization or innocent civilians, they are performing terrorist acts. Their objective does not change based on who they are attacking from one day to the next. Their goal is to demoralize their opponent. It is very hard to differentiate the difference between a guerrilla and a terrorist. Although a guerrilla would be attacking military personnel, they could be labelled differently based on their intentions. They could be attacking merely to kill and weaken their opponents or they could be attacking in order to scare the opponents into possibly retreating. By defining terrorism as only attacking civilians, it makes analyzing terrorism a lot more difficult. Fotion et al discussed the paradigmatic scheme, which represents the most generally accepted view of a terrorist attack. [11] â€Å"An attacking group (or individual) victimizes some group of people by harming or killing them. The attackers then escape either before, during or after the victimizing event. Others, seeing what has happened to the victim group become terrorized (frightened, anxious, etc. ). We will call this the immediate effect or result of the process of creating victims. While in their state of terror, they pressure their government to change its political outlook in a way that satisfies the goals of the attackers and, most likely, displeases the government and many of its people. This pressure and resulting changes count as the secondary effect or result of the victimization process. [12] The book Terrorism: The New World Order points out that the word terrorism is seen as having negative connotation, so those who are often labelled as such, would try and find a definition that does not apply to them. [13] â€Å"Those labelled â€Å"terrorists† by their opponents rarely identify themselves as such, and typically use other terms or terms specific to their situation, such as separat ist, freedom fighter, liberator, revolutionary, vigilante, militant, paramilitary, guerrilla, rebel or any similar-meaning word in other languages and cultures. [14] In the past, people did not hide behind these labels and proclaimed themselves as terrorists and their tactics to be terrorism. [15] This inability for people to acknowledge they are terrorists makes coming up with a definition near impossible. Robert Keeley wrote an entire article about trying to define terrorism. In this article he pointed out that freedom fighters and terrorists are two different things, however freedom fighters often use terrorism. [16] Keeley believes aims of terrorism include â€Å"to advertise for the terrorists’ cause and to weaken morale on the attacked side and build up morale on the attacking side. [17] Because of the pejorative connotation of the word, during warfare, groups often label their opponents as ‘terrorists’ in order to gain more support for their own side. Thi s furthers the difficulty of defining terrorism, as everyone wants to say their opponent is a ‘terrorist,’ which makes everyone a terrorist. At the end of his article, Keeley did not seem to be any closer to finding a true definition than at the beginning. In the book Terrorism: Origins and Evolution, Lutz and Lutz say there are six main parts to defining terrorism. They believe that violence is directed to political ends and that there must in fact be violence or a serious threat of violence. Terrorism must affect a wide range of people, not just the victims of the action. People need to be aware when a terrorist act has happened; there must be an audience. If no one is aware of an occurrence, then the attack has failed. Terrorism is organized and it is performed by a non-state actor. It is important to note the difference between war and terrorism. In simplest words, a war is a conflict between two organized groups. The difference between a war and terrorism is that terrorism occurs by a non-state organization. In recent years, with the availability of the Internet, it has become much easier for terrorists to spread their ideas. It is now simpler to gain the audience that is required to be a successful terrorist. Finally, they believe that terrorism is a weapon of the weak. Terrorist acts occur when the terrorists have no other options in order to achieve their political goals. [18] Though there are many definitions for the word terrorism, it seems that all the definitions stressed that it is political in nature. The act is used to achieve a political aim through the means of violence. Terrorists do not require extensive supplies and the goal is to gain support and demoralize their opponent. As long as those who may be seen as terrorists find other names to describe themselves, unwilling to admit that they are a terrorist, I believe it will continue to be difficult to agree on a specific definition. With no one willing to admit to being a terrorist, the word becomes completely subjective. There will always be controversy over finding one definition, especially with the â€Å"new terrorism† in which religion plays a huge role. These terrorists want nothing, but to create terror and cause destruction. They do not fit in the accepted definition of violence with a political motive, yet what they are doing is creating terror and therefore should be considered terrorism. People will find ways to describe themselves as anything but, and their opponents will try to stress that they are in facts terrorists. â€Å"Terrorism is ultimately a form of psychological warfare, nd it is designed to induce fear. †[19] BIBLIOGRAPHY Baylis, John, and Steve Smith. Globalization of World Politics an Introduction to International Relations. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Bisset, Alex, ed. â€Å"Terrorism. † The Canadian Oxford Paperback Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Fotion, Nicholas, Joanne K. Lekea, and Boris Kashnikov. Terrorism The New World Dis order (Think Now). New York: Continuum International Group, 2008. Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. Jackson, Robert, and Georg Sorensen. Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Keeley, Robert V. â€Å"Trying to Define Terrorism. † Middle East Policy IX. 1 (March 2002): 33-39. Lutz, James Michael, and Brenda J. Lutz. Terrorism Origins and Evolution. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Moghaddam, Fathali M. , and Anthony J. Marsella, eds. Understanding terrorism psychosocial roots, consequences, and interventions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2004. Terrorism Research Center, What is the Definition of Terrorism? (n. . ) Available from: Charles Townshend, Terrorism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Whittaker, David J. Terrorists and terrorism in the contemporary world. London: Routledge, 2004. ———————– [1] Fathali Moghaddam et al. Understanding terrorism psychosocial roots, consequences, and interventions. (Washington: American Psyc hological Association, 2004), 14. [2] Fathali Moghaddam et al. Understanding terrorism, 15. [3] Alex Bisset, ed. â€Å"Terrorism. † The Canadian Oxford Paperback Dictionary. (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000), 1085. 4] Bruce Hoffman. Inside Terrorism. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 3. [5] Hoffman. Inside Terrorism, 4. [6] Hoffman. Inside Terrorism, 4. [7] Hoffman. Inside Terrorism, 5. [8] Hoffman. Inside Terrorism, 14. [9] John Baylis et al. Globalization of World Politics an Introduction to International Relations. 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 482. [10] David J Whittaker. Terrorists and terrorism in the contemporary world. (London: Routledge, 2004), 4. [11] Nicholas Fotion et al. Terrorism The New World Disorder (Think Now). New York: Continuum International Group, 2008), 4. [12] Fotion et al. Terrorism The New World Disorder, 4. [13] Fotion et al. Terrorism The New World Disorder, 1. [14] Hoffman. Inside Terrorism, 20. [15] Hoffman. Inside Terrorism , 21. [16] Robert V Keeley. â€Å"Trying to Define Terrorism. † Middle East Policy IX. 1 (March 2002): 34. [17] Keeley. â€Å"Trying to Define Terrorism,† 36. [18] James M. Lutz et al. Lutz, James Michael, and Brenda J. Lutz. Terrorism Origins and Evolution. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 9. [19] Lutz et al. Terrorism Origins and Evolution, 8. How to cite Defining Terrorism, Papers

Cervical Cancer in Bukit Panjang-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Cervical Cancer in Bukit Panjang. Answer: Introduction Cervical cancer is considered to be the 9th most common cancer that is found among Singaporean women. In order to cure cervical cancer it is important to detect the disease at an early stage. According to the doctors one of the most effective ways to prevent cervical cancer is to go for regular Pap smear in every three years. The current essay attempts to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the Malay community in Bukit Panjang in order to identify their vulnerability towards cervical cancer. Overview of Malay community In Bukit Panjang Malay, community is one of the many communities that live in Singapore. Women of Malay community are not aware of Cervical Cancer. according to Sheikh et al. (2015) attitudes towards cervical cancer and the screening services are some of the factors that are profoundly affected by the cultural norms and beliefs of a community. Among the age group of 21 to 56 the women of the community have been identified to be severely affected and prone to the cervical cancer. According to a primary research by Yong et al (2008) among 60 participants of the Malay community, residing at Bukit Pangjang more than 35 women never had a Pap Smear which is one of the primary factors for early detection of cervical cancer (Nwabichie et al. 2018). The Malay community and especially the women due to their cultural norms and values are often reluctant to discuss the cervical cancer and even participate in the surveys regarding the detection of cervical cancer. Overview of the local demography in Bukit Panjang In Bukit Panjang the youthful Malay population reflects a high YDR but a comparatively lower ODR. The general literacy rate of the district is high however; it has not influenced the overall mindset of the women. Total population of the district is 139,030 as per the study reports of 2015. Among the population 22,230 are of Malay ethnic background. In Malay community, the number of women has increased in recent years (Nwabichie, Manaf Ismail, 2018). Total 63% of the population are women, among which the literacy rate is 43% approximately. Among the total population 31% are young women who are more vulnerable to cervical cancer (Muhamad et al. 2015). Potential community strength and weaknesses In Singapore the population of 2.41 million women, aged 15 years to 56 years have been considered to be at risk of cervical cancer. In the country considering the Malay community, every year more than 100 Malay women are diagnosed with cervical cancer among whom more than 50 people die (Muhamad et al. 2015). It is important to assess the risk of the community of being affected of the disease. In this regards, it is important to note that over 3% of Malay women in the general population are prone to HPV. As per the vulnerability of the community is concerned more than 30% women of the community are younger, as the younger women are prone to cervical cancer. It is an important fact that more than half of the cervical cancer victims are diagnosed in women under the age of 45. Approximately 12 types of HPV are considered to be at high risk in the cervix cancer. For most of the people the immune system, that clears the HPV infection within 2 years. However, in Malay women, the community have a long lasting or persistent infection that indicates high risk type of HPV (Maharajan, Rajiah, Fang Lui, 2017). Another important factor that requires mentioning is the lifestyle of the community. As the literacy rate of the community is increasing, the number of working women are increasing. Urbanization and workplace related stress has been considered to be one of the chief weaknesses. The tendency of safer sex is one of the strengths of the community. Vaccines also help in preventing HPV (Malhotra, Bilger, Liu Finkelstein, 2016). In Singapore girls, aged 12-14 are not provided with the vaccines that help in protecting them against cervical cancer. Smoking tobacco is another factor that increases the risk of getting affected with cervical cancer. The risk increases with the increased rate of tobacco consumption. This particular community does not indulge into smoking tobacco (Keough, Bleakley, White Zahra, 2016). This can be considered as one of the community strengths. Apart from tobacco consumption, use of contraceptive pills also increases the chance of cervical cancer. However, this particular community has higher rate of consumption of contraceptive pills especially in working women. The community has lower level of hereditary tendency of cervical cancer. Contribution of the strengths and weaknesses in the communitys health The major weaknesses that have been identified to be the causes against their vulnerability towards cervical cancer. One of the most significant community weaknesses that have been identified is the unavailability of vaccination among the pupils that helps in protecting the female Malay community from Cervical cancer (Choo et al. 2016). Apart from that, it is important that the community indulge more into protected sex rather than consuming contraceptive pills. The women of Malay community are not informed enough regarding the cervical cancer and the required preventive steps. It is important for them to be aware of the difficulties and the necessary of Pap Smear testing on a regular basis for the detection of the disease at an early stage. Brief discussion of cervical cancer Cervical cancer emerges due to the abnormal growth of the cells that are capable of invading to other parts of the body. One of the risk factors of the disease is that no early symptom is seen in the initial stage of the disease (Choo et al, 2016). The disease can be chronic if it is diagnosed at the later stage and most of the women affected of the lethal disease are mostly due to unhealthy lifestyle and lack of knowledge regarding the disease. Conclusion In the light of the above study, it needs to be stated that in Malay community for decreasing the growth of cervical cancer it is important for the community to undertake necessary steps for early detection of the disease. Apart from in order to effectively inform the female population of the district of the necessity of Pap Smear in order to prevent Cervical cancer at an early stage, community programmes and support platforms can be arranged. References Choo, B. A., Koh, V., Tang, J., Low, J., Stephenson, M. C., Cheong, D. H., ... Roy, S. (2016). 324P Radiation response assessment by hybrid positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging for cervical cancer treatment.Annals of Oncology,27(suppl_9). Available at: https://academic.oup.com/annonc/article/27/suppl_9/mdw585.028/2919742 Choo, B. A., Lee, Z. W., Zhao, W., Wang, X., Ng, J., Low, J., Deng, L. W. (2016). 326P Biomarker discovery for early prediction of therapy resistance in cervical cancers.Annals of Oncology,27(suppl_9). Available at: https://academic.oup.com/annonc/article/27/suppl_9/mdw585.030/2919745 Keough, W., Bleakley, L., White, L., Zahra, M. (2016). EP-1968: Vaginal mucosal doses in the treatment of cervical cancer using HDR brachytherapy.Radiotherapy and Oncology,119, S932-S933. Available at: https://www.thegreenjournal.com/article/S0167-8140(16)33219-4/abstract Malhotra, C., Bilger, M., Liu, J., Finkelstein, E. (2016). Barriers to Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in Singapore: a Mixed Methods Analysis.Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention,17(8), 3887-3895. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6006/f210c637032f4830e67ccf985d971aa4a47e.pdf Maharajan, M. K., Rajiah, K., Fang, K. N. S., Lui, L. Y. (2017). Cervical cancer prevention in Malaysia: Knowledge and attitude of undergraduate pharmacy students towards Human Papillomavirus infection, screening and vaccination in Malaysia.Journal of Cancer Education,32(1), 166-174. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13187-015-0957-2 Muhamad, N. A., Kamaluddin, M. A., Adon, M. Y., Noh, M. A., Bakhtiar, M. F., Ibrahim Tamim, N. S., ... Aris, T. (2015). Survival rates of cervical cancer patients in Malaysia.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention: APJCP,16(7), 3067-72. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Faizal_Bakhtiar/publication/274726291_Survival_Rates_of_Cervical_Cancer_Patients_in_Malaysia/links/59da09e30f7e9b12b36d7b80/Survival-Rates-of-Cervical-Cancer-Patients-in-Malaysia.pdf Nwabichie, C. C., Manaf, R. A., Ismail, S. B. (2018). Factors Affecting Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening Among African Women in Klang Valley, Malaysia.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention: APJCP,19(3), 825. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rosliza_Manaf/publication/324006342_Factors_Affecting_Uptake_of_Cervical_Cancer_Screening_Among_African_Women_in_Klang_Valley_Malaysia/links/5ab88a3caca2722b97cf9e81/Factors-Affecting-Uptake-of-Cervical-Cancer-Screening-Among-African-Women-in-Klang-Valley-Malaysia.pdf Sheikh, S. A., Simbak, N. B., Ismail, S. B., Rahman, N. I. A., Rebuan, H. M. A., Dali, W. P. E. W., Haque, M. (2015). A Pilot Survey of Awareness and Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine among Men and Women Attending for HPV Vaccination in Terengganu, Malaysia.Int J Pharm Sci Rev Res,31(2), 242-246. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mainul_Haque2/publication/275410646_A_Pilot_Survey_of_Awareness_and_Knowledge_of_Human_Papillomavirus_HPV_Cervical_Cancer_and_HPV_Vaccine_among_Men_and_Women_Attending_for_HPV_Vaccination_in_Terengganu_Malaysia/links/553c72a60cf2c415bb0b2d5a/A-Pilot-Survey-of-Awareness-and-Knowledge-of-Human-Papillomavirus-HPV-Cervical-Cancer-and-HPV-Vaccine-among-Men-and-Women-Attending-for-HPV-Vaccination-in-Terengganu-Malaysia.pdf