Different Status, Advice and Actions Codes for Flights

To provide clear understanding on different status codes for flights in GDS, below table are some of the many codes you need to familiarize.

ACTION CODES

Code	Description
FF	Frequent Flyer
FR	Forced request - Amadeus System user airlines
FS	Forced sale - Amadeus System user airlines
GI	Group interactive
GK	Ghost segment confirmed
GL	Ghost segment waitlisted
GN	Ghost segment need
HK	Holding confirmed
HK	Service segment confirmed
IN	If not holding need (non-System user airlines)
IS	If not holding sold (non-System user airlines)
IX	If holding cancel (non-Amadeus Access Sell airlines + AF LH IB TG)
NA	Need segment specified or alternative segment immediately following
LL	Waitlist (non-System user airlines)
NN	Need segment
PE	Standard priority non-group waitlist
PG	Priority waitlist for groups
PK	Confirmed Passive segment
PL	Waitlisted Passive segment
RR	Reconfirmed
SA	Space available
SG	Group sell
SS	Sold
ST	Stretcher
UM	Unaccompanied minor

ADVICE CODES

Code	Description
HX	Holding canceled
NO	No action taken
KK	Confirming
KL	Confirming from waitlist
TK	Confirming, advise passenger of new times
TL	Waitlisted, advise passenger of new times
TN	Holding need, advise passenger new times
UC	Unable flight closed, have not waitlisted
UN	Unable, flight does not operate
US	Unable to accept sale, have waitlisted
UU	Unable, have waitlisted

STATUS CODES

Code	Description
DK	Confirmed (before end of transaction)
DN	On request (before end of transaction)
DW	Waitlisted (before end of transaction)
GK	Confirmed Ghost segment
GL	Waitlisted Ghost segment
GN	Ghost segment need
HK	Holding confirmed
HK	Service segment confirmed
HL	Waitlisted
HN	Holding need
HO	On offer
HS	Have sold
IN	If not holding need (non-System user airlines)
IS	If not holding sold (non-System user airlines)
IX	If holding cancel (non-Amadeus Access Sell airlines and AF LH IB TG)
LK	Holding confirmed (Direct Access)
LL	Waitlist (non-System user airlines)
NA	Need segment specified or alternative segment immediately following
NK	Holding confirmed, pending record locator return (Direct Access)
NN	Need segment
NS	No seat required (for infant in TST)
OX	Cancel only if requested segment is available
PK	Passive segment confirmed
PL	Passive segment waitlisted
RQ	Waitlisted (for segment in TST)
RR	Reconfirmed
SA	Space available
SS	Sold

You may refer to various GDS website for verification.

Corporate Social Responsibility || Answer the following questions:

 Does this chapter increase or decrease your motivation to consume organic food products? Explain why.

Personally, it does not increase nor decrease my motivation to consume organic food products. Growing up at a rural area where farming is a main source of food and income, I have always been an advocate supporting agricultural products straight from the farm. Most products that we produce are organic because of the natural fertilizers and pesticides used for farming.

What is a more important motivation—in your view—for consuming organic food: a) that it is better for your health, or b) that it is better for the environment and for farmworkers? Explain.

Based on the text, I viewed consumption of organic food as closely similar to conventional food except for processed food. Thus, for me, consuming organic food helps the environment as it does not involve chemicals that may ruin the ozone, the water and air. It will also help the farmers in a way that consumption of organic products will increase their production and their income.

Let us say that, instead of a hospital as our case study example, we had used the example of a wealthy private school for K–12 students. Would the argument be stronger or weaker for adopting organic food in the cafeteria of the school? Why?

 In today’s world, millennial and Gen Z parents are reliant to processed food because they tend to focus on earning more to support the family. If we adopt organic food in the cafeteria of the school, it would help the students gain vitamins and minerals from at school to contrast to the food they take at home. Therefore, this argument is strong because it will help the young parents make sure that their kids are getting the right nutrients for their kids.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Business success is measured not only on profitability, growth and brand recognition but it goes beyond that. A business who aims to improve their corporate culture, community, economy, the society and the environment always practice Corporate Social Responsibility. Reckmann, N. (2023) defined CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility as “a form of self-regulation that reflects a business’s accountability and commitment to contributing to the well-being of communities and society through various environmental and social measures.”

In this paper, I will provide an example company who practice Corporate Social Responsibility and explain what they do that made me trust and admire this company. In contrast, I will also provide an example company who does not practice Corporate Social Responsibility, if there is, and explain what they do that made me doubt the organization and why they failed to gain my trust as a potential consumer and as part of the society. Lastly, I will also discuss whether or not I am willing to work in the field of corporate social responsibility and expand my thoughts as to why I am willing or not.

Main Topic

 In recent times, where innovation and vast changes in various industries can be seen, the world’s perspective has also improved to cope up with these changes. Companies – especially the giant corporations – who operates across the globe like Teleperformance have practiced corporate social responsibility by implementing several actions that addresses social and environmental issues like global warming and gender equality.

Teleperformance according to Great Place To Work (2022) is “the global leader in outsourced customer and citizen experience management and advanced related services, serves as a strategic partner to the world’s largest companies in many industries.” This company offers professional services with branches across the globe has implemented various platform and actions to improve its brand and expand its business by attracting more investors to invest in the organization. According to Peachman, R. (2023), Teleperformance ranked 404 in the list for the Best Employers for Diversity (2023). While there are various companies who may engaged into countless racial, socio-economic and gender inequality, Teleperformance made attempt in addressing these countless issues of inequality and was able to be part of the list of the best employers for diversity for the current year. A diversified company is a company that eliminates discrimination at work and this is one of the many reasons why I admire this company.

On the other hand, mining companies have the least possibility that I would trust. While mining companies may be compliant to the governments mandate and laws implemented to ensure it does not impact the environment and the community negatively, I am still having doubts about trusting these companies. I will refrain from providing a specific company to avoid misinterpretation and to make it fair for the industry. The fact that they are mining the mountains and ruin the natural beauty of nature, I believe that this action is not according to corporate social responsibility. Thus, this gives me doubts in giving trust to these companies.

Conclusion

Working in the field of corporate social responsibility is a satisfying job, you get to participate in ensuring that the company is responsible with there actions not only because they wanted to increase their consumer rate and company growth but to give back to the community and the environment. Therefore, yes, I would be willing to work in this industry, working at this industry will definitely give us peace of mind because it is ethical and satisfying.

References:

Peachman, R. (2023). America’s Best Employers For Diversity. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-employers-diversity/?sh=3909957c6468

Great Place To Work (2022). Teleperformance. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/certified-company/1121655

Reckmann, N. (2023). What Is Corporate Social Responsibility? BND. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-responsibility.html

What is distributive justice?

There are three forms of justice as provided in the text, these are; legal, commutative, and distributive. Distributive justice governs the equal distribution of benefits and burdens to the people by the city-state. These benefits and burdens include but not limited to taxes, income assistance, health benefits, social security benefits and etc. (Bryars & Stanberry, 2019)

For debates related to distributive justice, in the Philippines, the common concerns that the participants and the people raise based on my own knowledge and observation are as follows:

The agriculture sector of the country is given less importance and budgeting as compared to investing in infrastructures – farmers are getting lesser attention in terms of budgeting; thus, injustice arises.

When distributing subsidies like calamity funds or even the state subsidies for the least fortunate population were not equally distributed, there are poor families who does not get the subsidy especially those that are less educated and living far from the city where transportation is a little bit challenging.

“In particular, it cannot be denied that the present Muslim rebellion and the communist threat are connected to economic inequities. In short, distributive justice, unlike economic growth, is crucial to the security of the state.” (Mangahas, 2015)

Reference:

Byars, S. M., & Stanberry, K. (2019). Business ethics. OpenStax College and Rice University. Retrieved from: https://openstax.org/details/books/business-ethics

Mangahas, M. (2015). 4 - Distributive Justice in the Philippines: Ideology, Policy and Surveillance. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/reflections-on-development-in-southeast-asia/distributive-justice-in-the-philippines-ideology-policy-and-surveillance/020E6123499DECA83DFE19AFF8CD9469

Please read the reading materials from Chapter 12 of the Corporate Social Responsibility textbook that you find in the reading assignment. Based on what you have learned in this unit, answer the following questions:

 Does reading this chapter make you less likely to buy leather and fur products, or not? Why or why not?

I have never aimed nor wanted leather and fur products in my possession, I always buy affordable and durable products. Reading this chapter made me think that I was living a better lifestyle because I know that the things in my possession are not against animal rights. This gives me an idea to less likely buy leather and fur products; instead, I should buy alternative products that are similar but crafted in accordance to animal welfare act.

Does reading this chapter make you more likely to go vegetarian in your food consumption (if you are not already), or not? Why or why not?

While understand the context of protecting the animal rights, I believe that we should be logical in our decisions, as such, we should be able to categorized commercial meat from those that are not introduced as for consumptions. For example, meat from pigs and chicken, these are acceptable for consumption legally as discussed in the text related to Humane Farming and Meat Consumption. (Jimenez & Pulos, 2016)

Do you feel that the consumption of meat and the use of leather and fur are “natural” and therefore acceptable? Why or why not?

I have separate views on the consumption of meat and the use of leather and fur. I believe that consumption of meat is natural and acceptable because; first, meat contains vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy body. Second, it is part of the natural food chain where human is higher than animals. On the other hand, the use of leather and fur is only for luxury and fashion, thus, it is not necessary to slaughter animals because there are other alternatives that we can use to craft a better fashion other than leather and fur.

Does an “ethical” company owe any duty to animals, or are ethical duties only owed to humans?

In my own opinion, an “ethical” company do not only owe duty to animals and to humans but to the Earth and all the living things within the planet. It is very important that companies are responsible not only to the animals and the humans but also to the environment as the industrial effects are affecting the entire planet. But yes, “ethical” companies owe any duty to animals and not only to human and the environment.

Reference:

Jimenez, G. C., & Pulos, E. (2016). Good Corporation, Bad Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Economy. Open SUNY Textbooks. Retrieved from: https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/good-corporation-bad-corporation/.

Based on your research, all materials covered in this course as well as entrepreneurial skills that you gained, please share your own entrepreneurship definition and post an advertisement inviting other joint venture partners. In your ad explain your renewed business, introduce your new partner’s idea (as described above-use your imagination) Provide factual details pertaining to your joint business. Invite others to join.

Entrepreneurship is taking financial risks engaging into business ventures and other economic activities like investments because it will your ability to manage and follow your passion and it can be compared to building your own source of income. – Ruel Sales

Advertisement:

Thinking about a pandemic and recession proof business? 

Are you ready for investments? 

Travel Micro Credit is the best place to trust your hard-earned money. We are a micro-finance company who aids financial support to individuals who are planning to achieve their dream travel. With our innovative ways on sending and collection of money, we are committed to be ready to serve even during pandemic and recession.

We are currently looking for partners who can help us bring our business to the global stage. If you think you have what it takes to be part of our growing company, contact us at inquiries@travelmicrocredit.com or call us at +63 0911 563 0978.

Job Description Sample

 

Supervisor, Satellite Branch

Travel Micro Credit is a micro-financial business company who operates across the nation; offering financial services to individuals who wanted to travel but are struggling to pay for the travel all at once.

Our daily activities include credit evaluation, loan approvals, loan collection, travel payment control, travel confirmation, customer services, online membership registration assistance, rewards membership assistance and travel offer.

Supervisor Job Responsibilities:

Monitor and supervises staff and organizing work processes.

Provides coaching, counseling, and disciplining employees to materialize company’s objectives and goals.

Plans, monitors, and appraises job results.

Provides training and responsible for overseeing the team members within a professional setting.

Audits and monitor the ins and outs of the money within the branch.

Implements and enforces systems, policies, and procedures.

Maintains safe and healthy work environment by establishing and enforcing organization standards and adhering to legal regulations.

Completes operations by developing schedules, assigning and monitoring work, gathering resources, implementing productivity standards, resolving operations problems, maintaining reference manuals, and implementing new procedures.

Controls expenses by gathering and submitting budget information, scheduling expenditures, monitoring variances, and implementing corrective actions.

Provides quality service by enforcing quality and customer service standards.

Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.

Supervisors are expected to work nine hours a day with 30 minutes paid breaks and an hour unpaid lunch, a total of 7.5 working hours needed; five days a week. The candidate will receive a 10% of his/her basic salary as a premium to be included in his/her gross pay. Health care benefits are included with additional two members of the family included; all paid by the company.

Supervisor Qualifications / Skills:

Quality management

Supervision

Tracking budget expenses

Safety management

Staffing

Delegation

Performance management

Organization

Fostering teamwork

Self-development

Giving feedback

Education, Experience, and Licensing Requirements:

High school diploma, GED, or equivalent

Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in business or management preferred

Industry and management experience a plus

“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support.” – Sabrina Bryan

If you have what it takes, do not hesitate and send us your resume at recruitment@travelmicrocredit.com or call us at +63 32 563 7900. We can’t wait to have you as part of our growing family.

References:

Supervisor Job Description Template (n.d.). Monster. https://hiring.monster.com/resources/job-descriptions/management/supervisor/

Team Leader Job Description Template (n.d.). Monster. https://hiring.monster.com/resources/job-descriptions/management/team-leader/

What have you learned about your product or service in this unit? How did you learn it? What went well and what would you want to improve in the future? How did you give and receive feedback?

 While I strongly believe that the service that I wanted to engage into a venture is relevant and profitable especially now that we are slowly moving on from the pandemic, I also found out that it is not yet ready. The reason why I believe it is not yet ready is because the valuation of the business is not yet enticing to investors. It is very important that we attract investors to provide additional capital to the business for it to grow and operate across the country.

The idea of how the business will be structured and formed as an entity, as well as, the idea of how it will be marketed has gone smooth as planned with the help of the lessons learned from this unit and from the past units; the main challenge is when and how the business will be launched and the plans will materialize because of the capital. Working on financial aspect of the business is one of the things that I should be working on moving forward to ensure that the business will be launched sooner.

When I provide feedback, I always make sure that I am ready and the feedback is organized. I always start with setting the scene, making the receiver of the feedback feel at ease. And then, I transition to discussing great things or behaviors observed, praise the receiver and remind to be consistent with it. After that, I now then provide at least two opportunities, this is to let the receiver choose which of the opportunities is important and needed urgent attention. Once the focus opportunity is identified, I discuss possible recommendation and actions to address the problem before getting the receiver’s commitment on working on the problem following the SMART action plan.

Receiving feedback is very important, it is one way of knowing what have we done wrong and how we can work on it. When receiving feedback, I always look for good things followed by opportunities that I need to improve on. If feedback is straightforward without noticing good behaviors, I tend to think that nothing has been done correct and that I need to reflect on everything that I do and how I can change it. But that is time consuming and challenging because we don’t know what is right as we are thinking that everything is wrong, and so, we need to improve everything including those good things that was not noticed or discussed.

Reference:

Robbins, S. (2004). How to Value a Business: 9 Ways to Calculate a Business's Worth. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/how-to-value-a-business-entreprenurcom/66442

Establishment of a Business Form - Sample

 Travel Micro Credit is a limited liability company that offers micro loans to individuals who would want to satisfy their travel goals. Being one of the most popular micro lending companies in the country, we are extending our business to operate a franchised business. We aim to globalized our business by putting up several satellite offices across the globe, this is to ensure that we improve not only the company’s profitability but also its growth rate.

The business will provide financial needs to individuals who aims to pursue their travel goals that were not materialized because of the restrictions and financial issues related to COVID19 pandemic. The borrower can travel and pay for the borrowed amount in installment until the liability is paid off on or before its maturity. By providing this, the business should be able to satisfy the customer’s goal while earning.

“The most important reason you might want to operate the Franchised Business through an entity (instead of as a sole proprietor) is to shield yourself from personal liability for the debts or other obligations of the Franchised Business. A C-corporation, an S-corporation or an LLC all offer this type of protection.” (Vinson, n.d.) The business is structured as LLC to ensure that the investors and stock holders are protected and that the franchised business will grow and profitable. So, instead of losing more time searching for good investment, you now have this in your hands. A business for all is the investment you need, what are we waiting for? Let’s join hands and make this business grow.

Reference:

Vinson, K. (n.d.). Establishment of a Business Form. FranMan. https://franman.net/establishment-of-a-business-form/

Franchise Business Ideas

 Travel Micro Credit is an initiative that focuses on providing financial services to consumers who wanted to achieve their travel goals. Micro financing is a complex business and taking into consideration factors that will effectively make it a huge franchise business requires great decision-making skill.

First step will be registering the business as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), this is to ensure that the investments are protected from liabilities and shared responsibilities. The form of business is an important factor that we need to consider before we operate a franchise business.

Capital and investments are essential factor that we need to consider because building a Limited Liability Corporation requires huge amount of capital and investments. It is very important that we strategize better on how we can obtain the right capital to operate the business.

Another factor will be the brand, it is very important that the brand will capture the consumers’ attention. This is to ensure that we increase the target market which will help us attract more investors and franchisee. Along with the branding is the company’s marketing strategies, the marketing strategy should focus on captivating the attention of the target market – especially those that are capable of traveling.

Travel and hospitality industry have recovered from the effects of the pandemic and now slowly recovering from the effects of inflation. Therefore, this business is timely and relevant and one important factor that we need to consider before operating a franchise business is building a strong partnership with various travel agencies in which we can include our micro-financing business as part of the payment method they can offer to their customers.

Making the business a pandemic proof is another factor we have to consider especially that we just recently experienced global lockdown and strict restrictions because of the pandemic.

Lastly, we have to provide strategic locations and contracts to the franchisees, this is to ensure that the company provides support to investors who wanted to franchise the business. Strategic planning includes management training and seminars to improve the services offered.

Factors that each entrepreneur needs to consider to ensure the success of the business

 In my own humble opinion, the factors that each entrepreneur needs to consider to ensure the success of the business are the product or services, the target market and the location of the business. First, the product or service offered, this factor is very important because this is the basic foundation of the business. We have to know and identify the right product that the public will patronize, the right product should stay in the market in a long run. For example, selling ice cream in North pole may not be a good idea because of their cold weather. Second, the target market, making sure that we know who are our potential consumers is an important factor to consider because this will measure the profitability of the product. Lastly, the location, this is very important because you need to make sure that the business is situated within the target market. Location should be crowded and should be within the city’s business district.

Another factors that an entrepreneur needs to consider to ensure business success based on the report from The World Bank (2020 ) are starting a business and protecting minority investors. These factors for example in the Philippines, building a business is profitable because not only that it is a developing country but its DB score on starting a business increased from the last year’s score. Because it is a developing country, the cost to start a business is lower and the competition is not as tight as compared to the first-class countries across the globe. The Philippines is also a great venue for investments because it protects minority investors and evidently its DB score went up as provided by The World Bank in their 2020 ranking report. This could mean that your investment is not only protected but you as an investor as well.

On the other hand, the United States of America is also a great place for investment. In contrast to the Philippines, USA is a first-class country and its score on “Starting a business” also increased, this means that there are still a lot of business opportunities in the country even for a fact that there are multiple competitors in the industry. As an investor, the country with an increasing score on “Enforcing a contract” could be a right place for investments because you won’t have to worry about breach of contracts as USA has a positive score and credibility when it comes to enforcing a contract – this should guarantee you as an investor.

Reference:

The World Bank (2020). EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN Philippines. https://archive.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/philippines#DB_sb

The World Bank (2020). EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN United States. https://archive.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/united-states

Doing business 2004-2020

 I reviewed the resource provided and the country that captured my interest in building my own business is the Philippines. I am a Filipino and I lived in a developing country named the Philippines, building a business in a developing country is an advantage for any entrepreneur because competition is not as tight as the first-class countries.

Based on the analysis and scoring provided by “The World Bank”, the country has increased its score on the “starting a business” category, this means that investors and entrepreneurs are likely to start business in the country. The trust rating to build or start a business in the country has improved by just looking at how it is being scored on the “starting a business” category.

The country’s increasing score on “Dealing with Construction Permits” category implies that there were improvements on the processes which could mean a better, efficient and trusted process. While I know that it is hard to work on the paper works especially when it is related to building a new business venture, this increase is good news not only us – start-up entrepreneurs, but also to the investors who wanted to engage into putting money into the businesses in the country whether global or local companies.

While the paper works process is becoming easy, the environmental issues in the country has caused a decrease on its scoring on “Getting Electricity” category and this could be a challenge for new business ventures especially for those whom electricity is required – modern world requires technologies that uses electricity – this issue must be considered prior to starting a business venture.

The plateau score on “Registering Property”, “Getting Credit”, “Trading across Borders” and “Enforcing Contracts” is an indicator that the government needs to focus on improving these categories; however, as an entrepreneur, this should be the least of the concern as there are business in the country that are rapidly growing even for the fact that these categories were not improving.

It wouldn’t be a challenge for entrepreneurs like us to start a business because the country has a huge leap on its scoring for “Protecting Minority Investors”, this means that we can easily attract local and foreign investors because the country has multiple policies implemented focusing on protecting the investors. Therefore, the trust rating of investors will for sure, increase because of this huge movement to the country’s scoring on “Protecting Minority Investors” category.

Therefore, I conclude that the Philippines would be a great choice for building our own business because of the increasing overall performance of its economy. While these categories were increasing and building trust to investors and entrepreneurs, few things that I believe the factors that we can consider are; the labor cost in the country is relatively low as compared to the other countries, the flexibility and dedication of Filipino workers will be an asset to the business and the fact that this is a developing country – pioneering businesses in the Philippines will definitely bring the company to success because of less competition.

Reference:

The World Bank. (n.d.). Doing business 2004-2020. https://archive.doingbusiness.org/en/doingbusiness

Travel Micro Credit: Travel now, Pay Later!

 Introduction

The tourism, travel and hospitality industry are slowly bouncing back its economy as the world is recovering from the COVID19 pandemic. Travelers around the globe have started their future trip to escape from the stress that the pandemic and work has caused. Because of the pandemic, most travelers have utilized their savings specific to their travel plans to spend for food and medicine when COVID19 restricts majority from working.

While recovering, micro-lending business is one of the many potential businesses we can build to support and accommodate the financial needs of the people whether for personal use or for their travel plans. Filipinos, particularly, loves to spend holidays and events at the beach or even during regular weekends - we love to travel. In the Philippines, almost all island in the country can be a tourist spot, it is a perfect spot for leisure, retreat and relaxation; thus, people here save and spends money just to be with the nature and relax – we call it stress reliever.

Main Topic

According to TRUiC Team (2023), “Microlending is the practice of lending smaller sums of money, typically to those who are unable to obtain funding through an established federal institution. Microlenders typically don’t request any type of collateral before loaning out the money. For-profit institutions may charge a high rate of interest to mitigate financial risks should the borrower default on their loans.”

Building Travel Micro Credit business and implement a “Travel No, Pay Later” program interest me because of the fact that the world is now starting to recover from the pandemic in which travel restrictions were lifted and people are now allowed to travel with less hassle. Because of this, I thought this opens an opportunity to lend a hand to those who are in the process of recovering financially but wanting to relieve their stress by traveling to different tourist spots in the country or even abroad.

The business will provide financial needs to individuals who aims to pursue their travel goals that were not materialized because of the restrictions and financial issues related to COVID19 pandemic. The borrower can travel and pay for the borrowed amount in installment until the liability is paid off on or before its maturity. By providing this, the business should be able to satisfy the customer’s goal while earning.

Since the target market is already identified, it is now the time to assess the payment terms and possibly offer assistance in planning their trip by engaging into partnership with travel agencies in the country in booking the trip for the customers. This will not only increase the consumer rate but will also strengthen the probability to create an exponential growth because the partner agency can market the payment terms which will benefit both the micro-lending business and the agency.

The challenge now is how to raise a capital to ensure that this business plan will materialize. Now, to raise a capital, I should create a copy of proposal and present it to potential investors. It is very important that I list down potential investors who will be willing to take risk and invest into the business. Attracting investors is a little bit challenging but if I profile them based on interest, income and risk; I should be able to come up with a presentation that will entice them to invest especially is the target investors are travelers themselves.

In addition to scouting investors, engaging into bank loans will definitely help. Identifying the best bank that offers a great deal for business loans is the key to a profitable capital. Just like scouting an investor, creating a proposal containing the company’s profile, long-term goal and current asset and income will ensure that the bank understand the business and provide loan for additional capital.

Conclusion

In conclusion, building this potential business will be as challenging as surviving from the pandemic, I have to be creative with the strategies that I should implement especially when attracting investors and banks to provide additional capital in the business. Once projected capital is achieved, the implementation will now then start by registering the business for tax and legal obligations.

After the registration, marketing and promotion should start right away. Utilizing various marketing platform available to make the business known to the target market and scouting for additional travel agency partners and have them help out with the promotions to attract consumers. While bringing the business to a stable phase, I should make sure to continuously attract investors and partner agencies to expand the business and be available nationwide and even until it operates globally.

Reference:

TRUiC Team (2023). HOW TO START A MICROLENDING COMPANY. TRUiC. https://howtostartanllc.com/business-ideas/micro-lending-company

What product or service do you want to market and why?

 As the world is changing, building your own business becomes harder than before because of the competitions all over the market in which will require you to innovate and be more creative. I have been silently observing possible ventures that I may be able to engaged into. Now, because of the culture that the Filipinos has, I came to realized that one of the best ventures that I can invest into is a financial or a small lending business. Because the country is fond of celebrations and travels, I thought of innovating a small lending business into a platform that will support financial stability to those to plans to travels.

The idea of the business will not only focus on lending money to those who needed it for their food and other commodities but also to those who are saving for their travel goals. The save now, fly later initiative will allow consumers to book their trip ahead of time and pay for it in installment until a day prior to their scheduled trip. Because the target market is broad, the marketing will focus on strengthen the online ads – the use of today’s technology will definitely help.

Because the service and the target market has been identified, as an entrepreneur, it would be best to also identify whether or not the proposed initiative will attract the market. Is the “save now, fly later” initiative enough to boost consumers who possibly will patronize the business? Any idea you can add to innovate the business idea better would be highly appreciated.

Entrepreneur Characteristics

For this unit, I got to know more about myself as an individual and as an aspiring entrepreneur. I started by answering the survey and analyze the result to ensure that I use these results when answering all assignments we have for this unit. I started by creating a profile for myself posing as an entrepreneur and provide a solid explanation why I have chosen the financial related business and what inspired me to engaged into that business. Upon reviewing the results, I realized that the first three strengths that is listed in the result of the survey were things that I am aware of and agreed to be my advantage most of the time. To provide answer to this week’s learning Journal, below are my response per characteristics to the question whether it is important or not.

Attitude and character – this implies a general impression to you as an entrepreneur, right attitude for an entrepreneur involves other characteristics like charisma, confidence and many more. Thus, this is important because first impression always stands out especially to investors.

Budgeting skills – ultimately, this is very important because if you are not good with financials, then it would be hard for your business to succeed.

Change – this is important in a sense that you have to adapt the changes that the economy or the industry is throwing at you. This goes along with innovation and creativity.

Charisma – this I believe in a natural skill; it comes with your physical and intellectual beauty. It is less important to me especially that I believe that not everyone has a charisma.

Commitment, Loyalty, Responsibility, Risk-Taking and focus – definitely important, you have to be committed to your goals and action plans. As an entrepreneur, you need to make sure that you do not entertain distractions and focus on your goal.

Communication – this is very important because running a business needs constant communication and it requires a higher level of communication skills to make your negotiations and interactions with the clients, employees and investors to be effective.

Competence – this is important, because of the competitors, the business needs a competent entrepreneur for it to survive.

Confidence, Self-esteem and Self-Discipline – this goes along with attitude and courage. This is also important because without confidence and courage, you won’t be able to do your action plans better.

Creativity, Vision, Thinking and Initiative – just like any other business, competitors are everywhere, innovation and creativity are essential attributes to an entrepreneur in order to outsmart the others.

Critical thinking, Problem Solving and discernment – these are critical attributes that will play a huge role in the entrepreneur’s decision making. It is very important that an entrepreneur is good at these characteristics as it will help him/her better plan for the business and its future.

Fiscal responsibility, Motivation, Passion and Perseverance – without discipline to the policies, motivation, passion and perseverance, an entrepreneur will definitely not succeed in achieving his/her goals as these characteristics are necessary to make that the business and the its captain will not waver from the obstacles and hardships that the business may face.

Followership, Relationships, Generosity, Humility, Integrity and Teachability – these characteristics can be learned along the way and may not be as urgent and important as the other attributes listed, it is very important that an entrepreneur obtain these behaviors because these are important especially when we deal with the people that surrounds as like our employees or investors.

Leadership, Listening, Management, Preparation and Service – these characteristics or skills are few of the most important for an entrepreneur to acquire because these are necessary for running a business. Without these behaviors or skills, an entrepreneur may not be able to compete to his/her competitors which will eventually lead to losing the business.

*Please note that I answered the question based on my understanding of the topic and personal thoughts, thus, I am unable to provide references for this assignment.

The Stranger

 The short horror story titled “The Stranger” was written by Megan Baxter on July 20, 2023, the story is about a babysitter who lets a stranger woman enter the house in the middle of the night where everyone in the neighborhood is asleep.

The story wanted to paint an important lesson that all of us needs to keep in mind. The woman (the stranger) asked strange questions to the babysitter sounded like she’s suggesting something horrible. “The children, the woman said, would you eat them? Put them in an oven and roast them up?” (Baxter, 2023). This statement is an artistic way of portraying the demons inside of us, the stranger is like a personification of what is inside of us and that we need to learn when to listen to our thoughts.

Demons can be in any forms, finding its way to entice us to commit horrible actions which later on we can no longer undo. The story is a story of how we should deal not only to strangers but also to our inner thoughts. This short story I something that we should be reading and fonder upon because it delivers a strong message that will help us be a bring the best in us especially when we deal with our inner demons and to strangers.

I found an article related to this topic, it is in titled “"MAN IS A DEVIL TO HIMSELF": DAVID JORIS AND THE RISE OF A SCEPTICAL TRADITION TOWARDS THE DEVIL IN THE EARLY MODERN NETHERLANDS, 1540-1600”, written by Waite, G. K. (1995), the story is about the connection between devils and witches from the ancient beliefs. It is believed that witches are engaged into devil activities that will give them powers that are unimaginable to human.

The article described about resistance and belief to devilish acts and that bad lucks re associated to witchcraft and devils, it was established that the prior generations of humans are uninformed that that the actions that they were following are not relevant to today’s generations, and that people mistakenly believe devilish acts from the inner voice they hear. At the end of the article, the author made a point about the inner voice and belief we have and identify it as the evil inside of us.

Therefore, I conclude, that witches do not have anything to do with our decisions, it is about the inner voice that we have because we are not properly guided with the things that we are confused about. It is very important that we do reality check and see if we are conscious about things that are for humanity and that there are things that human cannot explain, but it does not mean that it is an act of devil; but a temptation because of what was planted to us by our ancestors.

References:

Baxter, M. (2023). The Stranger. Flash Fiction Magazine. https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2023/07/20/the-stranger/

Waite, G. K. (1995). “MAN IS A DEVIL TO HIMSELF”: DAVID JORIS AND THE RISE OF A SCEPTICAL TRADITION TOWARDS THE DEVIL IN THE EARLY MODERN NETHERLANDS, 1540-1600. Nederlands Archief Voor Kerkgeschiedenis / Dutch Review of Church History, 75(1), 1–30. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24009006

Short Story v Article

I liked the short story better compared to the article because the story focuses on its relevance to the main topic which is the 9-11 attack. And because of this, it kept my attention to the story. It is very important that the story kept its relevance to the attack. Although, the article relates the actions taken by the athletes and their organizations to show support to the incident, the short story detailed real-life information that relates to terrorism and war.

Regardless whether a news article or a short story, the information that they tell us perceives by its reader as the truth; thus, narratives are powerful as it can influence the reader’s view about the real world based on what was written. For example, the article is trying to bring down the 9-11 issue by covering it using the actions and support provided by various sports organization across the world. Or, the short story tells us about terrorist and war which can fuel the fear and belief of the reader that there will be a possibility of war happening.

Nowadays, narratives affect the truth, the use of fake news boost various issues that are likely real for the reader but way far different from the truth – that’s how powerful narratives are.

 

References:

Thompson, H. (n.d.). Fear & Loathing in America. ESPN. Retrieved from https://proxy.espn.com/espn/page2/story?id=1250751

Litsky, F., & Williams, L. (2001, September 12). Many sporting events called off or postponed; Mets and Yankees among idled. New York Times, C1. https://cd21ae6hp-mp02-y-https-link-gale-com.proxy.lirn.net/apps/doc/A78199601/STND?u=lirn17237&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=faede270

Literature Review: Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?

 “Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?” is journal article written by Kearney, M. S., & Levine, P. B. (2012). This journal focuses on factors affecting the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy and discusses why does this social dilemma is important. This social issue has been making noises since 1960s and even until today. In this article, the authors presented a study that shows that teens in the US are 10% less sexually active as compared to other western countries but 15% higher when it comes to not using protection including contraceptives. Because of this, the probability of early childbearing is higher even for a fact that they are not sexually active.

Upon reflecting on the whole article, the study is vey important because of several reasons and few of which are poverty, mental and physical health, over population, lack of education and broken family. Teens from poverty are likely to be sexually active and are not able to afford protection which results to pregnancy. Because this may result to raising a child living a poor social status, abortion and other physical health conditions may increase and therefore this makes the study crucial and important. While there are several factors supporting the study’s claim to be important, it is very important that we all understand that this is a real problem and that the consequences will remain long-term and so educating our new generation is very important.

Reference:

Kearney, M. S., & Levine, P. B. (2012). Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter? The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(2), 141–166. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41495308

Literature Review: I Have a Dream

 On August 23, 1968, Martin Luther King pitch in his speech in titled “I Have a Dream”. The talk is about his dream on racial discrimination and injustice to people of color. He summarized how the people in the African-American community lived their life in America in which white supremacy exist and that they experience police violence and other forms of injustice.

Nowadays, I believe that there is still a trace of racial discrimination and injustice to people of color; however, it is not as worst as hundred years ago. In his speech, he talks about diversity in which he emphasized that he dreamed about people are living together regardless of their color and ethnicity. The author talks about his experiences as part of the people of color community in which injustice and racism is visible. He talks about the future generation in which he referred as his kids will be living a better life – a life with peace, equal and freedom.

I believe that the author’s dream has become reality now as we are all living with unity and we understand each other whether we are white or a person of color. Even the fact still remains that there are still racism, discrimination and injustice, it is minimal and majority of the population are now embracing diversity. And I strong believe and agree when he said, “And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.” (King, 1968) This statement has strike me the most and I know that a great nation is a nation of united people regardless of their race. We have to move forward together, so our country will become stronger.

Reference:

King, M. (1968). I Have a Dream. Retrieved from https://www.artofmanliness.com/i-have-a-dream-by-dr-martin-luther-king/

Literature Review: Teenage Pregnancy

 Romantic relationship nowadays has become a norm to teenagers and has grown tolerable by the millennial parents. Teenagers are supposed to enjoy and learn more about life; they should less focus on romantic relationship because they are vulnerable and their aggressiveness to engage into premarital sex is higher. The shift of culture when it comes to romantic relationship has ignited various social dilemma specially to developing countries like the Philippines. Because teenagers are not capable of dealing with the consequences that romantic relationship may bring, they tend to cause chaos and issues that affects mental health and family issues. Early child bearing mothers and fathers in the country are increasing which is causing an upward trend on poverty, overpopulation, unemployment, education deficit and depression.

The consequences of romantic relationships for teenagers last longer than we can imagine; bearing a child at an early age will result to lack of education as compared to those who postpone their pregnancy at a later age. As a result, teenage parents – especially women – will have limited access to better job opportunities, worst case is they will get no opportunities at all. Engaging into a romantic relationship at an early age can result to starting a family before they become mature, this kind of family is unstable because teenagers are not yet equipped with right mindset to build and grow a family that has a strong foundation. They also tend to bear more kids as compared to those who finished their education and plan their family at a later age. (Card & Wise, 1978)

Parents must implement rules and restrictions within their household that will help them regulate the effects of romantic relationship to their kids. It is the parent’s basic responsibility to educate their children about the possible results and consequences of kids engaging into romantic relationship at an early age. The consequences of this action are real and the effects are long-lasting; parents should mitigate financial hardship, unstable marriage, education deficits, poor health and behavioral outcomes. They must not tolerate unsupervised romantic relationship or should not allow their kids to engage into this until they grow mature and financially stable.

References:

Card, J. J., & Wise, L. L. (1978). Teenage Mothers and Teenage Fathers: The Impact of Early Childbearing On the Parents’ Personal and Professional Lives. Family Planning Perspectives, 10(4), 199–205. https://doi.org/10.2307/2134267

Furstenberg, F. F., Levine, J. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1990). The Children of Teenage Mothers: Patterns of Early Childbearing in Two Generations. Family Planning Perspectives, 22(2), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.2307/2135509

Thornberry, T. P., Smith, C. A., & Howard, G. J. (1997). Risk Factors for Teenage Fatherhood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 59(3), 505–522. https://doi.org/10.2307/353942

Literature Review: The MMR vaccine and autism: Sensation, refutation, retraction, and fraud

 “The MMR vaccine and autism: Sensation, refutation, retraction, and fraud” is about a case published in 1998 discussing about the possibilities of autism linked to MMR vaccines in which captured the public’s attention and made chaos because of this issue that leads to denial to vaccination. The fact that the case study is limited and has fewer supporting documents and studies, the question about the link between the vaccine and its effect to the brain still remains even after disputes from the scientist.

This incident tells us to be keen with the information or stories we tell especially to the public because it may create negative impact and cover what is true and real. The scientist should have explained through publishing a case to counter this incomplete information. It is our human nature to believe what we think will harm us even without thorough research and understanding about the situation. It is very important that we review facts before we believe or write our own story.

Reference:
Rao, T. S., & Andrade, C. (2011). The MMR vaccine and autism: Sensation, refutation, retraction, and fraud. Indian journal of psychiatry, 53(2), 95–96. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.82529