State of the UK construction industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

State of the UK construction industry - Essay Example These changes in growth of the construction industry in United Kingdom point to long term stagnation and possible shrinking of the industry. While the global financial crisis has been blamed far and wide for these drops in performance across many industries but it must be realised that industrial shortcomings have also contributed to these changes. The current situation is unlike but comparable to stagnation in the construction industry in the past. The previous periods of stagnation and negative growth in the construction industry required government impetus to crawl out of their problems. However, this time around governmental support seems to be unlikely to drive growth in the construction industry. The government has already announced a 20% cut in the capital expenditure over a period of four years but this has failed to attract the attention of the private sector. In turn this has exacerbated the situation on ground. The structural gaps in the construction industry in the United Kingdom need to be looked into in order to find workable solutions. This must be explored in a historical perspective as well in order to discern the previous attempts at resolving issues. These could be taken as guidelines in order to see how the construction industry in United Kingdom is expected to perform in the future. ... A number of different governments in the United Kingdom undertook various forms of studies in order to improve the state of the construction industry and its practices. Various institutional reports have also highlighted the need for change in order to improve the state of the construction industry. Overall the concerns exhibited both by institutional reports and government surveys have remained the same. Such investigations have often blamed building projects for possessing more problems than other areas. Consequently the focus of improvements has also been the building construction sector. Generally the performance of different building construction projects is targeted using indicators such as cost, time and quality. While these indicators may serve to highlight the performance of smaller projects but these indicators cannot be considered as a holistic solution for all kinds of construction projects. As mentioned before, a number of reports were construed to deal with the problems in the construction industry. The earliest of these reports can be traced back to the 1960’s but no report was able to garner industry and government support enough to warrant change (Ward & Crane, 2003). This trend of non recognition and resistance to change was changed by the investigation conducted by the Latham Report. Unlike previous findings on this issue, the Latham Report was able to garner governmental support for change. The Latham Report (1994) Sir Michael Latham was asked by the government of United Kingdom and relevant construction industry organisations to look into industrial practices for procurement and contracting. Latham was given the task of looking into

Tourism Management Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism Management Assignment - Essay Example This paper looks at current performance of the Eiffel Tower as a tourist destination. The first part will give basic information and a brief review of visits. As this paper aims to look at how Eiffel Tower fares as a tourist destination, it will utilize analytical methods to justify and strengthen the assessment. After the analysis on the operation of Eiffel Tower, the paper will give recommendations and possible measures that can be undertaken to increase tourist arrivals and receipts. Also, it will offer suggestions on how to further maximize the utility gained by travelers when visiting Eiffel Tower. These recommendations will of course, lay on the future prospects which will also be identified in this paper. The Eiffel Tower is a famous tourist attraction not only in France but in the entire world. This structure is a symbol of the innovative technology which is already existent at the end of the 19th century. Postcards sent from France usually carry an image of the tower, indicating the popularity of this massive structure. Eiffel Tower, being the top attraction in Paris records approximately 6 million visitors annually (The Structure of Eiffel Tower and Its Evolution 2006). The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 to celebrate and commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. The design of the Eiffel Tower came from Gustave Eiffel, who won among the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition. After its construction, the tower was officially opened by the Prince of Wales King Edward VII of England. The establishment of the tower in 1889 marked the completion of the world's tallest (300 meters) building until 1930. At first, the building of the tower was met with resistance as people consider it as an eyesore. Now, this proves to be wrong as it draws a lot of tourists and income to France. There are a lot of amazing facts which attracts tourists to this particular establishment. For one, the tower's height varies according to the temperature. This is due to the fact that the metal used in building the Eiffel Tower expands as temperature rises. Thus, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 8cm (3.25 inches). The Eiffel tower is being repainted every seven years to protect the structure from rust. Tourists are given a chance to take part in choosing what color the tower will be by a poll. Tourists can explore the three levels of the structure to totally appreciate the beauty of the Eiffel Tower. The ground floor is consists of the massive hydraulic elevator machinery which has been used since 1899, change office and the Paris Tourist Office. Meanwhile, tourists can stroll and relax at the first floor where anyone can have a glimpse of the tower's recent and past history. The first floor also houses a section of the spiral staircase, the original hydraulic pump, a FerOscope, Observatory of Tower Top Movement, the panoramic indicators, historical panels, Cineffeil, exhibitions of the tower, souvenir shop, snack bar, "PARIS-TOUR EFFIEL" Post Office and internet stations and phone booths. Altitude 95, one of the only two restaurants in the tower can also be visited in the first floor. The second floor offers a 360 view of the whole city of Paris. This is the perfect spot to make a photographic study of the city. Like the first floor, this level