Boutique Hotels – New York

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The boutique hotel is the term used in US and United Kingdom and generally denotes some of the hotels which ware quite unique and at the same time luxurious and provide the quirky hotel environments. These types of hotels have really caught the eyes of most of the travelers as they find it quite comfortable than the other types of hotels.

I am listing below some kind of hotels which are definitely among the best hotels out here in New York. They are as follows:

1. The Benjamin New York City, NY:

This is one of the boutique hotels which are quite popular in out here. It is truly a very important place and believe me that it is quite sexy and romantic hotel to be in. the furniture out here is of such a high quality that you will find yourself lost in this hotel. The staff crew is also well trained and you will definitely find them to be of very high standard.

The Benjamin provides a great comfort in the boutique style to the business as well as the leisure travelers. That is why all the business as well as the boutique travelers tries to stay in this hotel. Even if you do not know about this hotel then I really feel that you will know about it after reading this article and I am quite sure that you will find the hotel Benjamin to be a great hotel.

2. The Gramercy Park Hotels- New York City:

The Gramercy hotel has been designed by Ian Schrager’s long time partners, Michael Overington and Anda Andrei. They have also taken the help from some of the hotels with a little help from some of Ian’s friends, including the painter Julian Schnabel. I must say that this is one of the best hotels out here in New York. The cost is also quite low and I really feel that you will enjoy living out here.

3. The Brayant Park Hotel, New York

The New York is a city where you will find thousands of hotels. You will find the boutique hotels as well in quite a good number. The Brayant Park hotel is another hotel where you can experience the energetic life. The address of this hotel is 40 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018.

I would just request you to visit these boutique hotels and I am quite sure that I would not be required to make any more requests in front of you. I really feel that you will find yourself find out that these hotels are simply great and are really different from other kinds of hotels.

Food Recalls May Have a Negative Impact on Supermarket Shopping

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Have you ever suffered from a food-borne ailment?

We all need to eat food, whether we eat it at home or outside. Whatever the quality (and cost) of the food, there is always a possibility that anyone can get some kind of food borne illness. This can occur no matter how and when and where. It must be rare that nobody has suffered from a food related illness at any time of their lives. Bacteria and viruses thrive on food and often food safety is compromised due to myriad reasons. Sometimes you don’t even know what is responsible for the problem.

What is worse is when foods and food products sold by reputed companies and manufacturers are recalled. This really shakes people’s confidence in bought foods, which are supposed to be safe to eat. A study conducted by Deloitte Consulting LLP that consisted of an online survey showed that 57 percent of the people polled stopped eating certain foods due to recalls either temporarily or permanently. On the whole people do feel that foods in the U.S. are generally safe, though more than 50 percent do have apprehensions about food safety from meat producers and even restaurants. People also feel that foods that come from China or Mexico are not very safe.

Food recalls

Manufactured foods can be recalled due to a variety of reasons that include the presence of contaminants in the food, mislabeling or branding mistakes or the presence of allergens in the foods. Among recent food recalls are:

Almonds have been recalled due to high levels of cyanide.

Bean Sprouts contaminated by Listeria resulted in two deaths and three hospitalization cases.

Raw Macadamia Nuts made by various manufacturers were contaminated by Salmonella.

Mexican style dairy products were contaminated with Listeria causing at least one death.

Some products made with pre-cooked rice contained a toxin called Bacillus cereus linked to vomiting.

Fresh cilantro was contaminated with Salmonella.

Some chicken products was recalled due to contamination with Salmonella.

Gluten free chicken products recalled due to contamination with Staphylococcal enterotoxin.

The supermarket minefield

When you buy any food product at a supermarket, you probably don’t even think that it can result in serious illnesses or even death. As the list above shows, the foods can be pre-cooked or raw or even fresh and they can likely cause problems. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many products that simply do not make headlines or the list, because the incidences may slip under the radar.

Some infections can strike immediately and sometimes the contaminants result in food poisoning after 2-5 days, by which time you may not even be able to make the link between the food you ate and the illness. Listeria, for instance, can manifest between 7-30 days. Other food poisoning ailments due to different bacteria or viruses may cause an immediate reaction, which is actually better because it is easier to make the connection between food and the food poisoning and get the treatment quicker.

Usually cooking at high temperatures and for a stipulated time is enough to kill most bacteria and viruses. The presence of allergens in the food is a different matter, though as allergic reactions can often be fatal if not caught in time. And when you eat out, you really have no control over cooking conditions and other food safety measures that the restaurant or food service is supposed to maintain.

Most Popular Honeymoon Travel Destinations in the World

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A perfect honeymoon is the one thing couples look out eagerly to spend some quality time with each other after a tiresome wedding ceremony. Good and affordable honeymoon travel destinations are what they look for. If you do not have all the facts about the packages, there is a good chance that you might end up paying much more. With some research, you can find romantic, adventurous and affordable honeymoon travel destinations

Listed below are some of the most popular honeymoon travel destinations in the world.

California

California, which is known for its water sports such as water skiing and surfing, is one of the most popular honeymoon travel destinations in the world. California has many places that are apt for couples to visit such as San Francisco, Carmel, San Diego, Napa Valley, and Monterey Bay. If you are looking for this destinations in United States, California is one of the best places you can visit.

Florida

Another honeymoon travel destination that couples prefer in USA is Florida. The scenic Miami Beach, Palm Beach, etc which sooth your mind and body. The native culture of Florida has a great impact on the visiting couples. The place is also known for the shops and eateries.

Dubai

Dubai is one of the finest destinations in the world. It can get as romantic or as adventurous as you will want it to be. Dubai is a hot spot for any type of tourist, thanks to its planned and developed infrastructure. Dubai is also known as the ‘shopping capital of Middle East’. Apart from this, there are many beautiful places that can take your breath away.

India

It is indeed not possible to exclude India from the list of most beautiful honeymoon travel destinations in the world, simply because of its serene beauty and varied culture. The beaches of Goa and greenery of Kerala are the major attraction for tourists. The cultural heritage and cordial reception in India attracts tourists globally. The hilly regions of north India and Ghats of western India are also ideal for couples. One should not miss the Taj Mahal in Agra, which is famous as a symbol of love.

Evolution of Corporate Culture: How Important is it in Today’s World?

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There are many different and competing definitions of “corporate culture” in the organizational theory literature. On one end of the spectrum culture is simply defined as the patterns of behavior within the organization (Smircich, 1983). On the other end, some theorists have defined organizational culture as a system of shared cognitions and the human mind generates the culture by means of a finite number of rules (Fiol, 1991). Although all the theorists believe in the importance of the culture in the organizational studies but still there is a lack of consensus over its precise definition (Papers4you.com, 2006). Theorists have accepted this fact and approached the concept of culture from the most widely used definition of culture, as defined by Lismen et al (2004) “a complex set of values, beliefs, assumptions, and symbols that define the way in which a firm conducts its business”.

The evolution of corporate culture within an organization has been the center of discussion for many years. Practitioners have called it the ‘way we do things around here’ (Hampden-Turner, 1990) and the theorists have called it as the ‘collective programming of the mind’ (Siew & Kelvin, 2004) which distinguishes one group from another. Culture reflects the identifiable components of practices, customs, beliefs and values:

Practices: These represents the surface level of a culture i.e. the visible elements such as language, etiquette, form of greeting, clothing, and also include the artifacts of the business i.e. the physical layout. These practices do have relevance as it greases the functionality of the organization. Such practices keep the employees motivated, concerned and even transform everyone to follow the similar path as everyone in order to achieve the common corporate objective.

Customs: These are the accepted modes or norms of behavior within the organization, reflecting the values and beliefs, which provide guidelines for the way people and groups, are expected to behave towards each other. These often shape aspects of the physical appearance of the organization, also called the artifacts.

Beliefs: The assumptions that members hold about the organization and the situation within it- about what practices work well in this business, for example how people make decisions, how teams work together and styles of problem solving.

Values: Deeply held ideas of members regarding what constitute right or wrong, fair or unfair, thus anything that has personal worth or meaning. These values are expressed in operating beliefs and norms of behavior.

The corporate culture develops as people come to share a set of beliefs and then they use these to establish norms about the way they should behave towards each other and to outsiders (Papers4you.com, 2006). If the outcomes are positive this reinforces their shared belief in the values underlying their behavior. In this way, the organizations develop deep seated values and beliefs about the way that staff should run things. However, it looks simple and straight forward case in theory, but when it is referred in the practical life then it is a big task to let it be a success story. It can be concluded by drawing upon Barney (1986) that a valuable, rare and inimitable corporate culture can be a source of sustained competitive advantage for a company.

References:

Barney, J. (1986) “Organizational Culture: Can It Be a Source of Sustained Competitive Advantage?” Academy of Management Review, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 656-665

Fiol, C. (1991) “Managing Cultures as a Competitive Resource: An Identity-Based View of Sustainable Competitive Advantage,” Journal of Management, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 191-211

Hampden-Turner, C (1990), “Corporate Culture- From Vicious to Virtuous circles”, The Economist books, pg 21-22

Lismen, C.; Margaret, S. and Ed Snape (2004) “In Search of Sustained Competitive Advantage: The Impact of Organizational Culture, Competitive Strategy and Human Resource Management Practices on Firm Performance,” International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 15:1, pp. 17-35

Papers For You (2006) “E/B/49. Review of theories on organizational culture”, Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtbus22.htm [22/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) “P/B/309. Why is corporate culture important?”, Available from Papers4you.com [21/06/2006]

Siew Kim Jean Lee, Kelvin Yu (2004), “Corporate culture and organizational performance”, Journal of Managerial Psychology; Volume: 19 Issue: 4; 2004 Research paper

Smircich, L. (1983) “Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 28, pp. 339-358