Hurricane Katrina and its Impact on the New Orleans Economy

Hurricane Katrina and its Impact on the New Orleans Economy Introduction The Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 had hit the areas like, Bahamas, Cuba, South Florida, Louisiana and especially, New Orleans as it was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Its greatest impact was seen in New Orleans, Louisiana with estimations of about 80% of the city being wiped out and the overall damages due to hurricane were pegged at more than $200 billion and 1,836 people lost their lives. New Orleans Economy Though the region contributes merely 2% of the gross domestic product of the USA, it plays a vital role in the growth and development of the country as the New Orleans port is one of the busiest and largest in the world. It is also a centre for the maritime industry. Another key industry at New Orleans is the countrys one of the major sources for petrochemical productions with oil refining facilities. It is also one of the major educational hubs of the country homing over 50,000 degree students. Besides, tourists from worldwide folk at the pristine beaches of New Orleans with over $5.5 billion turnover every year contributing about 40% of the tax revenue of New Orleans with about 10 million visitors. New Orleans is also one of the 10 most visited cities in the USA. The employment scenario before the Hurricane Katrina was different in New Orleans which could be understood from the fact that from 1990 to 2000, the employment in U.S. economy grew by 19.5 percent creating more than 21 million jobs whereas for the corresponding period, the population in the country had increased by 13 percent i.e., about 32 million people. However, in New Orleans city lost both jobs and population in the same corresponding period. Little less than half of the population in the city was employed in hospitality, trading, medical and healthcare and government. (Cashell Labonte, 2005) However, there was a shift in pattern of the employment base and tourism became one of the major employers with contributing 16 percent of total employment and government employment was about 20 percent. At the same time, the gap of average wage between national rate and New Orleans had widened. Export Hub Having three main industries in New Orleans namely, ports, education and tourism which have remained backbone for the local employment. The ports at New Orleans have capacity of handling about 5,000 ships every year from the docks of 60 countries. The port of New Orleans along with the Port of South Louisiana near LaPlace accounts for the maximum bulk shipping in the world. The major exports from these ports are petroleum products, food and grain and minerals. Whereas, the key imports are mainly with Latin America which includes coffee, cocoa beans, chemicals and petroleum. (Cashell Labonte, 2005) Education New Orleans city has Tulane University located in along with the University of New Orleans, Lyoyla University, Xavier University, Southern University, Dillard University and Louisiana State University Medical School. New Orleans hence, is a major hub for the degree students enrolling significantly of African-American students. Post-Katrina Economic Impact Following the devastating hurricane Katrina, the loss of output reduced the economic growth of the region in later of 2005 and resumed the economic activities in early 2006. However, the increase in spending while rebuilding the city and restoration measures had expected to increase the growth rate of the region for first two quarters of 2006 and the macroeconomic advisors changed their estimations for the growth from 3.2 per cent each for both quarters in 2006 to 4.4 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. (AbcNews, n.d.). Impact on Energy and Trade For the nation as a whole, its Gulf Region is a key producer of oil and natural gas contributing 6.5 percent and 16 percent of consumption of crude oil and gas respectively. Due to Hurricane Katrina, the refining of crude oil and petroleum loss is estimated of about 2 million barrels per day as the refining capacities had to shut. Nonetheless, major pipelines supplying crude and petroleum to the East, South and Midwest costs also originate in Gulf which created impact on petroleum prices. Energy prices fluctuations in any economy leaves large impacts on the nation which has been observed in the disasters like wars and recessions. It leaves behind losses and opportunity losses hurdling the national growth rate indirectly. According to studies, mere 10 percent of rise in oil prices for about three months also can affect the cumulative growth of the economy curtailing it by about 0.7 per cent to 1.4 per cent per annum. It suggests that a small price rise in the key component like oil ca n have a modest impact and sharp impact on the national economy. According to the Energy Department, gasoline had set a new record price on September 5, 2005 at $3.07 per gallon. Dean Baker, economist and co-director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research had opined that the rise in prices was because of short in supply due to loss of refining capacity slowing the growth rate of economy slightly in the fourth quarter. These immediate effects had largely dissipated by the end of the year. If anything, the rebuilding from the storm (financed by insurance and government assistance) was giving a modest boost to the economy by the beginning of 2006, Dean was quoted in a news report. (AbcNews, n.d.) The hurricane in New Orleans had forced to cease about 95 per cent of oil production from very second day of the disaster striking. Though, the mammoth works of rebuilding and restorations were in place down to 10 months also from the day of disaster, the yearly oil production was 30 per cent less than before the Katrina. The refineries where shut down across the region and from nine facilities with capacity of refining up to 1.5 million barrels a day, seven were operational by November 2005 (Mcculey, 2007). Rest of two had taken longer time to commence. One of the refineries producing 247,000 barrels a day could start only after 8 months in May. Moreover, thousands of jobs were lost combining with the sharp increase in prices affecting the economic growth in the last quarter of 2005. The countrys GDP had seen a sharp fall in the growth rate at 1.8 per cent for the respective quarter in comparison to 4.2 per cent of GDP growth for the corresponding period in the previous year. Mesirow Financial chief economist Diane Swonk had commented that Katrina had left distortionary impact on the economy. After a hike in the fuel prices, they were again dipped less than $3 per gallon in first quarter of 2006 as the federal government along with the private enterprises had pumped in millions of dollars in rescue and restoration initiatives. The impact of this on GDP was very positive and the growth rate was registered at 5.6 per cent in the same period. Increase in household spending was also recovered in the same period with the fuel prices returning to normalcy. New Orleans after Two Years from the Disaster According to the Time Magazine, about 450,000 population of New Orleans had not returned to the city even after two years of the disaster after a majority population was evacuated and some had migrated in 2005. The unemployment rate had gone up in 2007 at 5.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent in 2006 in Orleans Parish. (Mcculey, 2007) The industries which had sustained the hurricane had started posting positive financial results which was a positive sign of the recovery though new enterprises were restraining from the region due to its vulnerability. (Brinkley, 2006) The ports of New Orleans were first to recover from the disaster and within two weeks of devastation, first ship call was received at the port. Sooner, the cargo traffic was in place contributing faster recovery as about 60,000 jobs were related to the ports and its operations in New Orleans. In 2007, about 500,000 passengers through cruise ship were estimated to arrive in New Orleans which was inching towards the figure of 2004 when 750,000 passengers through cruise had arrived at the port. (Dolfman, Wasser, Bergman, 2007) Conclusion Hence, the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the economy of New Orleans has been mixed as it shrunk the growth of the region but after the setback also rebounded with vengeance. It also changed the landscape of employment pattern and flow of tourists as tourism is one of the key industries here. The long lasting impact of the hurricane will remain in the minds of locals and those who lost their family and friends which could not be healed ever and as much as the economic damages can be. As the Time magazine had stated in its issue of 2007 that there were certain things in New Orleans which will never be like before. (Mcculey, 2007)

The Melting Pot Theory :: immigration in America

The Melting Pot Theory In the 1800’s and the early 1900’s, some people gave the America the name, the melting pot. People imagined this because thousands and thousands of immigrants coming from around the world were coming into the United States in hope of a better life. So most people imagined that all these different cultures were being poured into a giant pot called America, heated to a low boil and molded into one kind of person. If one steps back and thinks about this theory, it isn’t entirely true. In fact, it’s not really true at all. If one takes a closer look at America today, one sees millions of people labeled Americans but not by how they act, what religions they practice and what kind of foods they eat but where they are born. total opposites. Now all Americans must be able to speak English, or at least bad English, and they must also follow the laws set fourth by out four fathers, but no two Americans are alike. Take San Francisco for example. Twenty years ago, it was the center for the hippie movement, but just down the street from Haight and Ashbury there is a place called China Town. A place placed filled with Chinese Americans, shops and temples that could be easily mistaken for buildings only found in China . In Ohio, one could meet a Caucasian farmer, a African American businessman, an Amish family or even a reporter who has a strong German background all in the same day. So many different people living together in one piece of land. Now, after taking a closer look, no one really melted together to make just one kind of person. But what did they do? One could say that the English man could be symbolized as lettuce, Africans as black olives, Germans as radishes, Italians as tomatoes and so on and so forth making a giant salad. All different kinds of fruits and vegetables tossed together in a bowl to create one dish.

Nurger King Project Including Pestel Analysis

Global service economy project Burger King Table of content: 1. Introduction 2. Presentation of the company 3. PESTEL analysis of the company 4. Poters 5 forces analysis 5. Resources Introduction In this project we would like to look from the insight of the Burger King Company and analyse the main factors which affects the progress and development of the organisation, as well as its business future. To accomplish a clear look-up on the company and undertake the analysis we are going to use the PESTEL model and Poter’s five forces model. A PESTEL analysis most commonly is used to measure a market.It can be used for marketing and business development and decision making. There are many factors that affect the decisions of managers of any company. To encourage proactive thinking and help analyse the organisation’s macro-environment managers use the PESTEL model, where PESTEL stands for: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal. Potter’ fiv e forces is a framework for industry analysis and business strategy development. It consists of five forces which affect a company’s ability to serve its customers and make profit.Potter’s five forces refer to: threat of new entrants, power of suppliers, power of consumers, threat of substitutes, competitive rivalry. Burger King Company Burger King is an international franchise organisation. It was founded in 1954 and with its signature recipes and family friendly dinning environment the company grew tremendously on the market and became one of the most famous restaurants for fast food in the world. Nowadays it is the second largest hamburger chain. Burger King suffered many changes during the years . It changed the owner of the company a couple of times .It also started a new way of advertising , which turned out to bring it very big success. First the adverticements were animated and were popular within the kids. The company also changed its slogan a couple of times and that is what makes it intresgting among the people. Later on in the history of Burger King was introduced the breakfast menu which became very popular and immediately turned out into hit. During the years the company kept improving by introdusing new sandwiches and advertisments where was always said that the customers are important for them .Eight years after establishing the first restaurant in the US , the company had 275 restarants more all around the country . Later was opened the first Burger King restaurant abroad – in Puerto Rico . This was the beginning of expanding and thinking globally. Nowadays Burger King have restaurants in many countries all around the world . It is the second most popular fast food chain , after McDonald‘s . People love it because of the unique way of preparing its sanwiches and the friendly autmosphere each of the restaurants has. PESTEL analysis of Burger King CompanyPolitical factors At widest the Political environment and factors refers to tax policies, environmental laws, trade restrictions and etc. and may also refer to goods and services which the government want to provide or not provide. In general the Burger King Company is not seriously affected by the political environment. It is only affected by the tax rate, which is different in every country. There were also debates in the Arabian world, regarding an offense to the Muslim religion through a kind of ice-cream the company provides.However, at the moment in Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest Burger King restaurants. Economic factors Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, inflation and etc. Burger King is one of the biggest fast food chains as well as a fast growing franchise company. Since 1950’s first starting with one restaurant in Florida it has become world-known and nowadays it has more than 12,000 restaurants in 76 countries. Social factors Social factors refer to the population growth, age and demand. Burger King is a world-known company famous for its delicious fast food.There is high demand for warm, tasty and cheap food, no matter the age or gender. The company use only chicken or beef meat and for this reason the food is consumed even in the Muslim countries. Of course the demand will differ between countries with higher or less population. Technological factors Technological factors include innovations, marketing campaigns, automation and technological change. Burger King is fast growing company because of the innovations and marketing campaigns. It is famous logo is easily recognised by people of all ages.The company have tried a lot of different marketing campaign, changed its logo and it business strategies several times since it grew up outside the boarders of US. Environmental factors Environmental factors include ecological and environmental factors such as water, climate, pollution and etc. Burger King Company is trying methods which will not harm the environment and even will have positive impact on it. They have started a Burger King Going Green Session for their employees and member of supply chains. The company is also very concerned about recycling and reusing.On global level BK Company have chosen to purchase beef raised in environmentally responsible ways. Legal factors Legal factors include consumer, employee, and health and safety law As a condition of doing business within the BURGER KING Franchise system, every approved vendor must comply with the Code of Business Ethics and Conduct for Vendors. Burger King Company have partnered and received recognition from variety of organisations that share their dedication to be a good corporate citizen and improve the communities around the world. Poters five forces analysisThe Five forces analysis is a framework created to help understand the structure of an organization or company‘s position with respect to the forces operating in the microenvironment. It is also used to explain the competitor‘s performance on the market. The five forces are: Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of customers Threat of substitute products Degree of competitive rivalry Threat of New entrants – Threat of new entrants refers to new companies entering the market and competing with the present ones.To become competitive Burger King Company is constantly introducing new trends on the market which are interesting for the people. However, the industry they are in is already overloaded with restaurants and fast food chains. The most important thing that keeps them popular still is their reputation of always tasty foods and the family friendly environment. The way they advertise themselves is also one of the major factors which helps them survive in the competition with other fast food chains and restaurants.Bargaining power of suppliers – If the buyer is powerful enough to negotiate the price than the profit will be reduced. Burger King knows that very well that‘s why they have fixed prices for every hamburger they offer and the prices are very affordable. It‘s rather cheap and that is what customers like. Burger King combines cheap prices with high quality hamburgers and fries and also family and kids friendly environment. Burger King restaurants always implement that kids are their most important customers and for this reason they do a lot to attract them.This is a wise move because if you attract the kids you will also attract their parents and their friends. The uniqueness that the supplier provide with his resources: The suppliers of Burger King know that they want only the best quality meat and potatoes. Burger King Company use only trusted products and everything they do has a fresh taste. But however if the recourse is essential to the buying firm and there is no close substitutes then suppliers might be at a powerful position. That way they can sell on a higher price.Burger King knows that perfectly well and a lways has more than just one supplier so that they can choose the better price and the better quality of the products they want. The power of the customer – The power of the customer in relation to The Burger King Company is increasingly dominated by a small number of large retail products. If a market situation in which the product or service of several sellers is sought by only one buyer. The Burger King Company seeks to push the prices down. Moreover, the powerful customers act under pressure to drive prices down.Determination of buyer power: They offer a great range of products. Furthermore buyers in the restaurant industry are said to have weaker power because of the highly individualistic nature of the industry. Foods are served for each person and are not bought in large volumes. Further, the levels of uniqueness of the industry’s meals and surrounding are another determinant of the buyer power, aside from the available money to be spent on food. Nonetheless, th e consumers will attempt to find best prices for a meal as well, and will settle for restaurants which offer promotions and price cuts.Fast food chains like McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger King, etc. are examples of these restaurants apart from catering to on-the-go people through drive thrust . For instance the company offer different size and kinds of sandwiches. The Burger King Company has great variety of menu as well. It is not limited only in sandwiches. That diversity of products and discount contribute to the bargaining power of buyers. Threat of the substitute products – The Burger King Company has a threat of substitute result in a new products and service competing closely with existing ones.First of all, they have differentiation and diversification strategies. Secondly, the company create switching costs to prevent loss of customers. The original is always better than the substitute and the customers might see that difference between products. It is a big risk to su bstitute the original and it might cost a lot . If there is a threat of a rival product that means that the firm will have to lower its prices and improve the quality of the product. We see this when we go to Burger King Restaurants. It‘s prices are lower than McDonald‘s for instance and the quality is better.They lower their prices because McDonald‘s is their biggest competition and the fight between them is big. That‘s why Burger King constantly changes the prices of their products to attract customers. So far they have been very successful with this method and they keep on expanding their chain of restaurants using that exact method. Degree of rivalry – Slow industry growth or decline makes competitors more desperate. For instance, when facing declining consumer interest in fast food, McDonald’s launched its 81 menu featuring the Big Tasty burger, which cost $ 1. 07 to make in some restaurants.This action, designed to wear out McDonaldâ€℠¢s chief rivals, Burger King and Wendy’s, squeezed industry wide margins. Finally, if there are only a small number of rivals led by a few dominant firms, no capacity is added incrementally, industry growth is strong and exit cost are reasonable. The degree of rivalry is likely to be moderate and industry profit more stable. Moreover, conditions opposite from those grant intense rivalry. Resources www. bk. com http://www. researchandmarkets. com/reports/564112/fast_food_global_industry_guid http://gwdocs. whopper. com/FDD/FDD_USA. pdf https://bkdelivers. com/#! menu John Tribe (2011)

Essay on The Game of Golf and Physics - 2320 Words

The Game of Golf and Physics A famous saying for many golfers is, â€Å"golf is the most enjoyable walk that can be had in two hours†; even though many people disagree with this and say it is, â€Å"the worst walk in two hours.† Still, over time many people have had the opportunity to play, learn, and enjoy the beauty of golf courses around the world. Many golfers know that the game of golf requires mental and physical aptitude with hours of practice in order to be proficient at the game. Furthermore, since golf is a sport played in the physical world, the entire game can be explained and actually improved by many principles in Physics. Understanding the principles of Physics in the swing of the golf club, golf ball, collision of the golf†¦show more content†¦We know this due to Newton’s Second Law of Motion stating, â€Å"that force equals mass times the acceleration.† (Kirkpatrick 37) So with a mass that is constant (the golf ball), the velocity of the swing can be imp ortant if you want to hit the ball a long way. An example of this would be Bobby Jones’s (professional golfer) swing, which starts out at 34 ft/sec. and continually acquires acceleration until it collides with the ball moving at 165 ft/sec. (Williams 21) This is more than 110 miles per hour, which is very fast and very easy to miss the ball if you don’t keep your eye on the ball! The average force that can result from a full driving swing is 1400-2000 pounds of force, launching the ball more than 280 yards. 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