The Fall of the House of Usher Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Fall of the House of Usher Analysis Essay â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is a short story written by Edger Allan Poe in 1839. Almost everything about the story is very gloomy, dark and depressing. For example, the house is described by the narrator as â€Å"the melancholy House of Usher† and the description of Roderick Usher himself makes you think of a corpse. This theme of dreariness and sorrow pervades the story and is done to a very chilling effect, which really draws in the reader. â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† has lots of necessary elements of a traditional Gothic tale: a dreary landscape, a haunted house, mysterious characters, etc. but for all of these elements, the vagueness of the story is a large part of the terror about it. One of the most interesting and endearing elements of this story is its mystery, the fact that Edgar Allan Poe, despite the brilliant description of the setting and physical features of the characters, doesn’t actually give us a lot of information about the characters themselves makes the reader ask a lot of questions: Why is the house in such a state of disrepair? ; If the narrator was a childhood friend of Roderick Usher, why doesn’t he know much about him – like the basic fact that he has a twin sister? Etc. Even the information that Poe does give us begs more questions than it answers, for example, the fact that the Usher family doesn’t have any collateral damage. This feeling of mystery really is a brilliant way of writing a story as it makes the reader want and indeed need to read on in order to answer the questions posed. Due to this, the reader will find it near impossible to put the story down which is definitely a credit to Poe’s talent and style of writing. The characters in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† are very intriguing as well. All three main characters are interesting in their own right and they all have at least something that makes them seem out of the ordinary. Roderick Usher in particular has certain qualities that are extremely interesting and make you want to know more about him. One of them is his appearance; he looks extremely strange and has a look about him that is not easy to forget. He is described as having â€Å"a cadaverousness of complexion; n eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His appearance is especially strange because he had once actually been an attractive man and â€Å"†¦the character of his face had been at all times remarkable. † However, his looks have slowly deteriorated over time. He had in fact changed so much that the narrator â€Å"doubted to whom [he] spoke. † This fact of course then begs the question: What happened to make him change so much? The most obvious quality that makes you want to find out more about him, however, is his mental state. Throughout the story, Roderick displays obvious symptoms of insanity that the narrator picks up on from Roderick Usher’s behaviour: â€Å"In the manner of my friend I was struck with an incoherence an inconsistency; and I soon found this to arise from a series of feeble and futile struggles to overcome a habitual trepidancy an excessive nervous agitation. † The narrator is also an extremely interesting character. At first he seems to simply be a normal, educated man who has a good heart enough to come to the aid of his boyhood friend. However, as soon as he comes into the grounds of the house he becomes more superstitious: â€Å"There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid increase of my superstition†¦Ã¢â‚¬  confused: â€Å"Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and even starts to develop a certain insanity and hysteria of his own: â€Å"Rationally Ushers condition terrified, it infected me I felt creeping upon me, by slow yet uncertain degrees, the wild influence of his own fantastic yet impressive superstitions. This shows that, although he is an educated and analytical man, he is susceptible to other influences. He tries to suppress his fears and help his friend throughout the story and is successful until, at the very end, his fear finally overcomes him as Lady Madeline’s reappearance after her death is just too much for him and ends up driving him out the house. Edgar Allan Poe creates a sensation of claustrophobia in this story. The narrator is mysteriously trapped by Roderick’s lure and his need to help his friend. He cannot escape until the house of Usher collapses completely. The house, because of its deteriorated state and seemingly seclusion from everything else, seems to take on a monstrous character of its own—the Gothic mastermind that controls the fate of its inhabitants. Edgar Allan Poe creates confusion between the living things and inanimate objects by doubling the physical house of Usher with the genetic family line of the Usher family, which he refers to as the house of Usher. It is even said in the story that the people of the nearby village refer to both the actual house and the Usher family as â€Å"the house of Usher† which reinforces the idea that they are the same thing. Poe employs the word â€Å"house† metaphorically, but he also describes a real house. The use of description in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is incredible. The way Edgar Allan Poe uses the emotions of the narrator to enhance the descriptions of the house in particular really helps the reader to paint a picture of the setting in their mind. Personification of the house is used to aid in description as well, which definitely gives it a whole new dynamic and also ends up helping with the actual story being told. The house is described as having â€Å"eye-like windows† which would suggest that the house is like a face staring out at anyone who comes close to it. This really gives the story a new feeling and eeriness about it. Symmetry is a main feature throughout â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† and is also a very interesting and important theme. The first aspect of symmetry that we know of is when the narrator sees a reflection of the house of Usher in the tarn in front of it. The second is when the narrator notices a fissure running down the middle of the house itself. The two halves of the house and the house and its reflection seem to represent the two Usher twins, Roderick and Madeline. This idea is reinforced when the two siblings die together as, when they do, the two halves of the house crumble and so the reflection disappears as well. The inhabitants of the village calling the two entities by the same name â€Å"The House of Usher† represent this connection between the family Usher and the actual house of Usher. The Fall of the House of Usher† is a very interesting story that appeals to the modern day person as it undoubtedly did to the people who read it when it was first published. It is a timeless Gothic story that is extremely interesting and intriguing all the way through. There are some faults though such as the fact that the language can be confusing for people nowadays and it’s suggestions, nuances and hints may not be picked up on the first time around. However, it uses different and effective techniques of drawing the reader in and I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who appreciates good literature.

Freudian Analysis of Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Literature Coursewor

Freudian Analysis of Hamlet As a child, Shakespeare’s Hamlet had experienced the warmest affection for his mother, and this, as is always so, had contained the elements of a disguised erotic quality, still more so in infancy. The presence of two traits in the Queen's character accord with this assumption, namely her markedly sensual nature and her passionate fondness for her son. The former is indicated in too many places in the play to need specific reference, and is generally recognized. The latter is also manifest: Claudius says for instance (79), "The Queen his mother lives almost by his looks". Nevertheless Hamlet appears to have with more or less success weaned himself from her and to have fallen in love with Ophelia. The precise nature of his original feeling for Ophelia is a little obscure. We may assume that at least in part it was composed of a normal love for a prospective bride, though the extravagance of the language used (the passionate need for absolute certainty, etc.) suggests a somewhat morbid frame of mind. There are indications that even here the influence of the old attraction for the mother is still exerting itself. Although some writers, following Goethe, see in ophelia many traits of resemblance to the Queen, perhaps just as striking are the traits contrasting with those of the Queen. [...] Now comes the father's death and the mother's second marriage. The association of the idea of sexuality with his mother, buried since infancy, can no longer be concealed from his consciousness. As Bradley well says: "Her son was forced to see in her action not only an astounding shallowness of feeling, but an eruption of coarse sensuality, 'rank and gross,' speeding post-haste to its horrible delight"... ...d in continuing to "repress" the former he must strive to ignore, to condone, and if possible even forget the latter;his moral fate is bound up with his uncle's for good or ill. In reality his uncle incorporates the deepest and most buried part of his own personality, so that he cannot kill him without also killing himself. This solution, one closely akin to what Freud has shown to be the motive of suicide in melancholia, is actually the one that Hamlet finally adopts. The course of alternate action and inaction that he embarks on, and the provocations he gives to his suspicious uncle, can lead to no other end than to his own ruin and, incidentally, to that of his uncle. Only when he has made the final sacrifice and brought himself to the door of death is he free to fulfil his duty, to avenge his father, and to slay his other self — his uncle.

The Lost Symbol Chapter 44-47

CHAPTER 44 New York editor Jonas Faukman was just turning off the lights in his Manhattan office when his phone rang. He had no intention of picking up at this hour–that is, until he glimpsed the caller- ID display. This ought to be good, he thought, reaching for the receiver. â€Å"Do we still publish you?† Faukman asked, half serious. â€Å"Jonas!† Robert Langdon's voice sounded anxious. â€Å"Thank God you're there. I need your help.† Faukman's spirits lifted. â€Å"You've got pages for me to edit, Robert?† Finally? â€Å"No, I need information. Last year, I connected you with a scientist named Katherine Solomon, the sister of Peter Solomon?† Faukman frowned. No pages. â€Å"She was looking for a publisher for a book on Noetic Science? Do you remember her?† Faukman rolled his eyes. â€Å"Sure. I remember. And thanks a million for that introduction. Not only did she refuse to let me read the results of her research, she didn't want to publish anything until some magical date in the future.† â€Å"Jonas, listen to me, I don't have time. I need Katherine's phone number. Right now. Do you have it?† â€Å"I've got to warn you . . . you're acting a little desperate. She's great looking, but you're not going to impress her by–â€Å" â€Å"This is no joke, Jonas, I need her number now.† â€Å"All right . . . hold on.† Faukman and Langdon had been close friends for enough years that Faukman knew when Langdon was serious. Jonas typed the name Katherine Solomon into a search window and began scanning the company's e-mail server. â€Å"I'm looking now,† Faukman said. â€Å"And for what it's worth, when you call her, you may not want to call from the Harvard Pool. It sounds like you're in an asylum.† â€Å"I'm not at the pool. I'm in a tunnel under the U.S. Capitol.† Faukman sensed from Langdon's voice that he was not joking. What is it with this guy? â€Å"Robert, why can't you just stay home and write?† His computer pinged. â€Å"Okay, hold on . . . I got it.† He moused through the old e-mail thread. â€Å"It looks like all I have is her cell.† â€Å"I'll take it.† Faukman gave him the number. â€Å"Thanks, Jonas,† Langdon said, sounding grateful. â€Å"I owe you one.† â€Å"You owe me a manuscript, Robert. Do you have any idea how long–â€Å" The line went dead. Faukman stared at the receiver and shook his head. Book publishing would be so much easier without the authors. CHAPTER 45 Katherine Solomon did a double take when she saw the name on her caller ID. She had imagined the incoming call was from Trish, checking in to explain why she and Christopher Abaddon were taking so long. But the caller was not Trish. Far from it. Katherine felt a blushing smile cross her lips. Could tonight get any stranger? She flipped open her phone. â€Å"Don't tell me,† she said playfully. â€Å"Bookish bachelor seeking single Noetic Scientist?† â€Å"Katherine!† The deep voice belonged to Robert Langdon. â€Å"Thank God you're okay.† â€Å"Of course I'm okay,† she replied, puzzled. â€Å"Other than the fact that you never called me after that party at Peter's house last summer.† â€Å"Something has happened tonight. Please listen.† His normally smooth voice sounded ragged. â€Å"I'm so sorry to have to tell you this . . . but Peter is in serious trouble.† Katherine's smile disappeared. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"Peter . . .† Langdon hesitated as if searching for words. â€Å"I don't know how to say it, but he's been . . . taken. I'm not sure how or by whom, but–â€Å" â€Å"Taken?† Katherine demanded. â€Å"Robert, you're scaring me. Taken . . . where?† â€Å"Taken captive.† Langdon's voice cracked as if he were overwhelmed. â€Å"It must have happened earlier today or maybe yesterday.† â€Å"This isn't funny,† she said angrily. â€Å"My brother is fine. I just spoke to him fifteen minutes ago!† â€Å"You did?!† Langdon sounded stunned. â€Å"Yes! He just texted me to say he was coming to the lab.† â€Å"He texted you . . .† Langdon thought out loud. â€Å"But you didn't actually hear his voice?† â€Å"No, but–â€Å" â€Å"Listen to me. The text you received was not from your brother. Someone has Peter's phone. He's dangerous. Whoever it is tricked me into coming to Washington tonight.† â€Å"Tricked you? You're not making any sense!† â€Å"I know, I'm so sorry.† Langdon seemed uncharacteristically disorientated. â€Å"Katherine, I think you could be in danger.† Katherine Solomon was sure that Langdon would never joke about something like this, and yet he sounded like he had lost his mind. â€Å"I'm fine,† she said. â€Å"I'm locked inside a secure building!† â€Å"Read me the message you got from Peter's phone. Please.† Bewildered, Katherine pulled up the text message and read it to Langdon, feeling a chill as she came to the final part referencing Dr. Abaddon. â€Å"`If available, have Dr. Abaddon join us inside. I trust him fully . . .' â€Å" â€Å"Oh God . . .† Langdon's voice was laced with fear. â€Å"Did you invite this man inside?† â€Å"Yes! My assistant just went out to the lobby to get him. I expect them back any–â€Å" â€Å"Katherine, get out!† Langdon yelled. â€Å"Now!† At the other side of the SMSC, inside the security room, a phone began ringing, drowning out the Redskins game. The guard reluctantly pulled out his earbuds one more time. â€Å"Lobby,† he answered. â€Å"This is Kyle.† â€Å"Kyle, it's Katherine Solomon!† Her voice sounded anxious, out of breath. â€Å"Ma'am, your brother has not yet–â€Å" â€Å"Where's Trish?!† she demanded. â€Å"Can you see her on the monitors?† The guard rolled his chair over to look at the screens. â€Å"She hasn't gotten back to the Cube yet?† â€Å"No!† Katherine shouted, sounding alarmed. The guard now realized that Katherine Solomon was out of breath, as if she were running. What's going on back there? The guard quickly worked the video joystick, skimming through frames of digital video at rapid speed. â€Å"Okay, hold on, scrolling through playback . . . I've got Trish with your guest leaving the lobby . . . they move down the Street . . . fast-forwarding . . . okay, they're going into Wet Pod . . . Trish uses her key card to unlock the door . . . both of them step into Wet Pod . . . fast- forwarding . . . okay, here they are coming out of Wet Pod just a minute ago . . . heading down . . .† He cocked his head, slowing the playback. â€Å"Wait a minute. That's odd.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The gentleman came out of Wet Pod alone.† â€Å"Trish stayed inside?† â€Å"Yes, it looks that way. I'm watching your guest now . . . he's in the hall on his own.† â€Å"Where is Trish?† Katherine asked more frantically. â€Å"I don't see her on the video feed,† he replied, an edge of anxiety creeping into his voice. He looked back at the screen and noticed that the man's jacket sleeves appeared to be wet . . . all the way up to his elbows. What in the world did he do in Wet Pod? The guard watched as the man began to move purposefully down the main hallway toward Pod 5, clutching in his hand what looked like . . . a key card. The guard felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. â€Å"Ms. Solomon, we've got a serious problem.† Tonight was a night of firsts for Katherine Solomon. In two years, she had never used her cell phone inside the void. Nor had she ever crossed the void at a dead run. At the moment, however, Katherine had a cell phone pressed to her ear while she was dashing blindly along the endless length of carpet. Each time she felt a foot stray from the carpet, she corrected back to center, racing on through the sheer darkness. â€Å"Where is he now?† Katherine asked the guard, breathless. â€Å"Checking now,† the guard replied. â€Å"Fast-forwarding . . . okay, here he is walking down the hall . . . moving toward Pod Five . . .† Katherine ran harder, hoping to reach the exit before she got trapped back here. â€Å"How long until he gets to the Pod Five entrance?† The guard paused. â€Å"Ma'am, you don't understand. I'm still fast-forwarding. This is recorded playback. This already happened.† He paused. â€Å"Hold on, let me check the entry event monitor.† He paused and then said, â€Å"Ma'am, Ms. Dunne's key card shows a Pod Five entry event about a minute ago.† Katherine slammed on the brakes, sliding to a halt in the middle of the abyss. â€Å"He already unlocked Pod Five?† she whispered into the phone. The guard was typing frantically. â€Å"Yes, it looks like he entered . . . ninety seconds ago.† Katherine's body went rigid. She stopped breathing. The darkness felt suddenly alive all around her. He's in here with me. In an instant, Katherine realized that the only light in the entire space was coming from her cell phone, illuminating the side of her face. â€Å"Send help,† she whispered to the guard. â€Å"And get to Wet Pod to help Trish.† Then she quietly closed her phone, extinguishing the light. Absolute darkness settled around her. She stood stock-still and breathed as quietly as possible. After a few seconds, the pungent scent of ethanol wafted out of the darkness in front of her. The smell got stronger. She could sense a presence, only a few feet in front of her on the carpet. In the silence, the pounding of Katherine's heart seemed loud enough to give her away. Silently, she stepped out of her shoes and inched to her left, sidestepping off the carpet. The cement felt cold under her feet. She took one more step to clear the carpet. One of her toes cracked. It sounded like a gunshot in the stillness. Only a few yards away, a rustle of clothing suddenly came at her out of the darkness. Katherine bolted an instant too late and a powerful arm snagged her, groping in the darkness, hands violently attempting to gain purchase. She spun away as a viselike grip caught her lab coat, yanking her backward, reeling her in. Katherine threw her arms backward, slithering out of her lab coat and slipping free. Suddenly, with no idea anymore which way was out, Katherine Solomon found herself dashing, dead blind, across an endless black abyss. CHAPTER 46 Despite containing what many have called â€Å"the most beautiful room in the world,† the Library of Congress is known less for its breathtaking splendor than for its vast collections. With over five hundred miles of shelves–enough to stretch from Washington, D.C., to Boston–it easily claims the title of largest library on earth. And yet still it expands, at a rate of over ten thousand items per day. As an early repository for Thomas Jefferson's personal collection of books on science and philosophy, the library stood as a symbol of America's commitment to the dissemination of knowledge. One of the first buildings in Washington to have electric lights, it literally shone like a beacon in the darkness of the New World. As its name implies, the Library of Congress was established to serve Congress, whose venerated members worked across the street in the Capitol Building. This age-old bond between library and Capitol had been fortified recently by the construction of a physical connection–a long tunnel beneath Independence Avenue that linked the two buildings. Tonight, inside this dimly lit tunnel, Robert Langdon followed Warren Bellamy through a construction zone, trying to quell his own deepening concern for Katherine. This lunatic is at her lab?! Langdon didn't even want to imagine why. When he had called to warn her, Langdon had told Katherine exactly where to meet him before they hung up. How much longer is this damned tunnel? His head ached now, a roiling torrent of interconnected thoughts: Katherine, Peter, the Masons, Bellamy, pyramids, ancient prophecy . . . and a map. Langdon shook it all off and pressed on. Bellamy promised me answers. When the two men finally reached the end of the passage, Bellamy guided Langdon through a set of double doors that were still under construction. Finding no way to lock the unfinished doors behind them, Bellamy improvised, grabbing an aluminum ladder from the construction supplies and leaning it precariously against the outside of the door. Then he balanced a metal bucket on top. If anyone opened the door, the bucket would crash loudly to the floor. That's our alarm system? Langdon eyed the perched bucket, hoping Bellamy had a more comprehensive plan for their safety tonight. Everything had happened so fast, and Langdon was only now starting to process the repercussions of his fleeing with Bellamy. I'm a fugitive from the CIA. Bellamy led the way around a corner, where the two men began ascending a wide staircase that was cordoned off with orange pylons. Langdon's daybag weighed him down as he climbed. â€Å"The stone pyramid,† he said, â€Å"I still don't understand–â€Å" â€Å"Not here,† Bellamy interrupted. â€Å"We'll examine it in the light. I know a safe place.† Langdon doubted such a place existed for anyone who had just physically assaulted the director of the CIA's Office of Security. As the two men reached the top of the stairs, they entered a wide hallway of Italian marble, stucco, and gold leaf. The hall was lined with eight pairs of statues–all depicting the goddess Minerva. Bellamy pressed on, leading Langdon eastward, through a vaulted archway, into a far grander space. Even in the dim, after-hours lighting, the library's great hall shone with the classical grandeur of an opulent European palace. Seventy-five feet overhead, stained-glass skylights glistened between paneled beams adorned with rare â€Å"aluminum leaf†Ã¢â‚¬â€œa metal that was considered to be more precious than gold at one time. Beneath that, a stately course of paired pillars lined the second-floor balcony, accessible by two magnificent curling staircases whose newel posts supported giant bronze female figures raising torches of enlightenment. In a bizarre attempt to reflect this theme of modern enlightenment and yet stay within the decorative register of Renaissance architecture, the stairway banisters had been carved with cupidlike putti portrayed as modern scientists. An angelic electrician holding a telephone? A cherubic entomologist with a specimen box? Langdon wondered what Bernini would have thought. â€Å"We'll talk over here,† Bellamy said, leading Langdon past the bulletproof display cases that contained the library's two most valuable books–the Giant Bible of Mainz, handwritten in the 1450s, and America's copy of the Gutenberg Bible, one of only three perfect vellum copies in the world. Fittingly, the vaulted ceiling overhead bore John White Alexander's six-panel painting titled The Evolution of the Book. Bellamy strode directly to a pair of elegant double doors at the center rear of the east-corridor wall. Langdon knew what room lay beyond those doors, but it seemed a strange choice for a conversation. Notwithstanding the irony of talking in a space filled with â€Å"Silence Please† signs, this room hardly seemed like a â€Å"safe place.† Located dead center of the library's cruciform- shaped floor plan, this chamber served as the heart of the building. Hiding in here was like breaking into a cathedral and hiding on the altar. Nonetheless, Bellamy unlocked the doors, stepped into the darkness beyond, and groped for the lights. When he flipped the switch, one of America's great architectural masterpieces seemed to materialize out of thin air. The famous reading room was a feast for the senses. A voluminous octagon rose 160 feet at its center, its eight sides finished in chocolate-brown Tennessee marble, cream-colored Siena marble, and apple-red Algerian marble. Because it was lit from eight angles, no shadows fell anywhere, creating the effect that the room itself was glowing. â€Å"Some say it's the most striking room in Washington,† Bellamy said, ushering Langdon inside. Maybe in the whole world, Langdon thought as he stepped across the threshold. As always, his gaze first ascended straight up to the towering central collar, where rays of arabesque coffers curled down the dome to an upper balcony. Encircling the room, sixteen bronze â€Å"portrait† statues peered down from the balustrade. Beneath them, a stunning arcade of archways formed a lower balcony. Down at floor level, three concentric circles of burnished wood desks radiated out from the massive octagonal circulation desk. Langdon returned his focus to Bellamy, who was now propping the room's double doors wide open. â€Å"I thought we were hiding,† Langdon said, confused. â€Å"If anyone enters the building,† Bellamy said, â€Å"I want to hear them coming.† â€Å"But won't they find us instantly in here?† â€Å"No matter where we hide, they'll find us. But if anyone corners us in this building, you'll be very glad I chose this room.† Langdon had no idea why, but Bellamy apparently wasn't looking to discuss it. He was already on the move toward the center of the room, where he selected one of the available reading desks, pulled up two chairs, and flipped on the reading light. Then he motioned to Langdon's bag. â€Å"Okay, Professor, let's have a closer look.† Not wanting to risk scratching its polished surface with a rough piece of granite, Langdon hoisted his entire bag onto the desk and unzipped it, folding the sides all the way down to reveal the pyramid inside. Warren Bellamy adjusted the reading lamp and studied the pyramid carefully. He ran his fingers over the unusual engraving. â€Å"I assume you recognize this language?† Bellamy asked. â€Å"Of course,† Langdon replied, eyeing the sixteen symbols. Known as the Freemason's Cipher, this encoded language had been used for private communication among early Masonic brothers. The encryption method had been abandoned long ago for one simple reason–it was much too easy to break. Most of the students in Langdon's senior symbology seminar could break this code in about five minutes. Langdon, with a pencil and paper, could do it in under sixty seconds. The notorious breakability of this centuries-old encryption scheme now presented a couple of paradoxes. First, the claim that Langdon was the only person on earth who could break it was absurd. Second, for Sato to suggest that a Masonic cipher was an issue of national security was like her suggesting our nuclear launch codes were encrypted with a Cracker Jack decoder ring. Langdon was still struggling to believe any of it. This pyramid is a map? Pointing to the lost wisdom of the ages? â€Å"Robert,† Bellamy said, his tone grave. â€Å"Did Director Sato tell you why she is so interested in this?† Langdon shook his head. â€Å"Not specifically. She just kept saying it was an issue of national security. I assume she's lying.† â€Å"Perhaps,† Bellamy said, rubbing the back of his neck. He seemed to be struggling with something. â€Å"But there is a far more troubling possibility.† He turned to look Langdon in the eye. â€Å"It's possible that Director Sato has discovered this pyramid's true potential.† CHAPTER 47 The blackness engulfing Katherine Solomon felt absolute. Having fled the familiar safety of the carpet, she was now groping blindly forward, her outstretched hands touching only empty space as she staggered deeper into the desolate void. Beneath her stockinged feet, the endless expanse of cold cement felt like a frozen lake . . . a hostile environment from which she now needed to escape. No longer smelling ethanol, she stopped and waited in darkness. Standing dead still, she listened, willing her heart to stop pounding so loudly. The heavy footsteps behind her seemed to have stopped. Did I lose him? Katherine closed her eyes and tried to imagine where she was. Which direction did I run? Where is the door? It was no use. She was so turned around now that the exit could be anywhere. Fear, Katherine had once heard, acted as a stimulant, sharpening the mind's ability to think. Right now, however, her fear had turned her mind into a tumbling torrent of panic and confusion. Even if I find the exit, I can't get out. Her key card had been lost when she'd shed her lab coat. Her only hope seemed to be that she was now a needle in a haystack–a single point on a thirty- thousand-square-foot grid. Despite the overwhelming urge to flee, Katherine's analytical mind told her instead to make the only logical move–no move at all. Stay still. Don't make a sound. The security guard was on his way, and for some unknown reason, her attacker smelled strongly of ethanol. If he gets too close, I'll know it. As Katherine stood in silence, her mind raced over what Langdon had said. Your brother . . . he's been taken. She felt a bead of cold sweat materialize on her arm and trickle down, toward the cell phone still clenched in her right hand. It was a danger she had forgotten to consider. If the phone rang, it would give away her position, and she could not turn it off without opening it and illuminating the display. Set down the phone . . . and move away from it. But it was too late. The smell of ethanol approached on her right. And now it grew stronger. Katherine struggled to stay calm, forcing herself to override the instinct to run. Carefully, slowly, she took one step to her left. The faint rustle of her clothing was apparently all her attacker needed. She heard him lunge, and the smell of ethanol washed over her as a powerful hand grabbed at her shoulder. She twisted away, raw terror gripping her. Mathematical probability went out the window, and Katherine broke into a blind sprint. She veered hard to the left, changing course, dashing blindly now into the void. The wall materialized out of nowhere. Katherine hit it hard, knocking the wind from her lungs. Pain blossomed in her arm and shoulder, but she managed to stay on her feet. The oblique angle at which she had collided with the wall had spared her the full force of the blow, but it was little comfort now. The sound had echoed everywhere. He knows where I am. Doubled over in pain, she turned her head and stared out into the blackness of the pod and sensed him staring back at her. Change your location. Now! Still struggling to catch her breath, she began moving down the wall, touching her left hand quietly to each exposed steel stud as she passed. Stay along the wall. Slip past him before he corners you. In her right hand, Katherine still clutched her cell phone, ready to hurl it as a projectile if need be. Katherine was in no way prepared for the sound she heard next–the clear rustle of clothing directly in front of her . . . against the wall. She froze, stock-still, and stopped breathing. How could he be on the wall already? She felt a faint puff of air, laced with the stench of ethanol. He's moving down the wall toward me! Katherine backed up several steps. Then, turning silently 180 degrees, she began moving quickly in the opposite direction down the wall. She moved twenty feet or so when the impossible happened. Once again, directly in front of her, along the wall, she heard the rustling sound of clothing. Then came the same puff of air and the smell of ethanol. Katherine Solomon froze in place. My God, he's everywhere! Bare-chested, Mal'akh stared into the darkness. The smell of ethanol on his sleeves had proven a liability, and so he had transformed it into an asset, stripping off his shirt and jacket and using them to help corner his prey. Throwing his jacket against the wall to the right, he had heard Katherine stop short and change direction. Now, having thrown his shirt ahead to the left, Mal'akh had heard her stop again. He had effectively corralled Katherine against the wall by establishing points beyond which she dared not pass. Now he waited, ears straining in the silence. She has only one direction she can move–directly toward me. Even so, Mal'akh heard nothing. Either Katherine was paralyzed with fear, or she had decided to stand still and wait for help to enter Pod 5. Either way she loses. Nobody would be entering Pod 5 anytime soon; Mal'akh had disabled the outer keypad with a very crude, yet very effective, technique. After using Trish's key card, he had rammed a single dime deep into the key-card slot to prevent any other key-card use without first dismantling the entire mechanism. You and I are alone, Katherine . . . for as long as this takes. Mal'akh inched silently forward, listening for any movement. Katherine Solomon would die tonight in the darkness of her brother's museum. A poetic end. Mal'akh looked forward to sharing the news of Katherine's death with her brother. The old man's anguish would be long- awaited revenge. Suddenly in the darkness, to Mal'akh's great surprise, he saw a tiny glow in the distance and realized Katherine had just made a deadly error in judgment. She's phoning for help?! The electronic display that had just flickered to life was hovering waist high, about twenty yards ahead, like a shining beacon on a vast ocean of black. Mal'akh had been prepared to wait Katherine out, but now he wouldn't have to. Mal'akh sprang into motion, racing toward the hovering light, knowing he had to reach her before she could complete her call for help. He was there in a matter of seconds, and he lunged, arms outstretched on either side of her glowing cell phone, preparing to engulf her. Mal'akh's fingers jammed into a solid wall, bending backward and almost breaking. His head collided next, crashing into a steel beam. He cried out in pain as he crumpled beside the wall. Cursing, he clambered back to his feet, pulling himself up by the waist-high, horizontal strut on which Katherine Solomon had cleverly placed her open cell phone. Katherine was running again, this time with no concern for the noise her hand was making as it bounced rhythmically off the evenly spaced metal studs of Pod 5. Run! If she followed the wall all the way around the pod, she knew that sooner or later she would feel the exit door. Where the hell is the guard? The even spacing of the studs continued as she ran with her left hand on the sidewall and her right out in front of her for protection. When will I reach the corner? The sidewall seemed to go on and on, but suddenly the rhythm of the studs was broken. Her left hand hit empty space for several long strides, and then the studs began again. Katherine slammed on the brakes and backed up, feeling her way across the smooth metal panel. Why are there no studs here? She could hear her attacker lumbering loudly after her now, groping his way down the wall in her direction. Even so, it was a different sound that scared Katherine even more–the distant rhythmic banging of a security guard pounding his flashlight against the Pod 5 door. The guard can't get in? While the thought was terrifying, the location of his banging–diagonally to her right–instantly oriented Katherine. She could now picture where in Pod 5 she was located. The visual flash brought with it an unexpected realization. She now knew what this flat panel on the wall was. Every pod was equipped with a specimen bay–a giant movable wall that could be retracted for transporting oversize specimens in and out of the pods. Like those of an airplane hangar, this door was mammoth, and Katherine in her wildest dreams had never imagined needing to open it. At the moment, though, it seemed like her only hope. Is it even operable? Katherine fumbled blindly in the blackness, searching the bay door until she found the large metal handle. Grasping it, she threw her weight backward, trying to slide open the door. Nothing. She tried again. It didn't budge. She could hear her attacker closing faster now, homing in on the sounds of her efforts. The bay door is locked! Wild with panic, she slid her hands all over the door, feeling the surface for any latch or lever. She suddenly hit what felt like a vertical pole. She followed it down to the floor, crouching, and could feel it was inserted into a hole in the cement. A security rod! She stood up, grabbed the pole, and, lifting with her legs, slid the rod up and out of the hole. He's almost here! Katherine groped now for the handle, found it again, and heaved back on it with all her might. The massive panel seemed barely to move, and yet a sliver of moonlight now sliced into Pod 5. Katherine pulled again. The shaft of light from outside the building grew wider. A little more! She pulled one last time, sensing her attacker was now only a few feet away. Leaping toward the light, Katherine wriggled her slender body sideways into the opening. A hand materialized in the darkness, clawing at her, trying to pull her back inside. She heaved herself through the opening, pursued by a massive bare arm that was covered with tattooed scales. The terrifying arm writhed like an angry snake trying to seize her. Katherine spun and fled down the long, pale outer wall of Pod 5. The bed of loose stones that surrounded the entire perimeter of the SMSC cut into her stockinged feet as she ran, but she pressed on, heading for the main entrance. The night was dark, but with her eyes fully dilated from the utter blackness of Pod 5, she could see perfectly–almost as if it were daylight. Behind her, the heavy bay door ground open, and she heard heavy footsteps accelerating in pursuit down the side of the building. The footsteps seemed impossibly fast. I'll never outrun him to the main entrance. She knew her Volvo was closer, but even that would be too far. I'm not going to make it. Then Katherine realized she had one final card to play. As she neared the corner of Pod 5, she could hear his footsteps quickly overtaking her in the darkness. Now or never. Instead of rounding the corner, Katherine suddenly cut hard to her left, away from the building, out onto the grass. As she did so, she closed her eyes tightly, placed both hands over her face, and began running totally blind across the lawn. The motion-activated security lighting that blazed to life around Pod 5 transformed night into day instantly. Katherine heard a scream of pain behind her as the brilliant floodlights seared into her assailant's hyper dilated pupils with over twenty-five-million candlepower of light. She could hear him stumbling on the loose stones. Katherine kept her eyes tightly closed, trusting herself on the open lawn. When she sensed she was far enough away from the building and the lights, she opened her eyes, corrected her course, and ran like hell through the dark. Her Volvo's keys were exactly where she always left them, in the center console. Breathless, she seized the keys in her trembling hands and found the ignition. The engine roared to life, and her headlights flipped on, illuminating a terrifying sight. A hideous form raced toward her. Katherine froze for an instant. The creature caught in her headlights was a bald and bare-chested animal, its skin covered with tattooed scales, symbols, and text. He bellowed as he ran into the glare, raising his hands before his eyes like a cave-dwelling beast seeing sunlight for the first time. She reached for the gearshift but suddenly he was there, hurling his elbow through her side window, sending a shower of safety glass into her lap. A massive scale-covered arm burst through her window, groping half blind, finding her neck. She threw the car in reverse, but her attacker had latched on to her throat, squeezing with unimaginable force. She turned her head in an attempt to escape his grasp, and suddenly she was staring at his face. Three dark stripes, like fingernail scratches, had torn through his face makeup to reveal the tattoos beneath. His eyes were wild and ruthless. â€Å"I should have killed you ten years ago,† he growled. â€Å"The night I killed your mother.† As his words registered, Katherine was seized by a horrifying memory: that feral look in his eyes–she had seen it before. It's him. She would have screamed had it not been for the viselike grip around her neck. She smashed her foot onto the accelerator, and the car lurched backward, almost snapping her neck as he was dragged beside her car. The Volvo careened up an inclined median, and Katherine could feel her neck about to give way beneath his weight. Suddenly tree branches were scraping the side of her car, slapping through the side windows, and the weight was gone. The car burst through the evergreens and out into the upper parking lot, where Katherine slammed on the brakes. Below her, the half-naked man clambered to his feet, staring into her headlights. With a terrifying calm, he raised a menacing scale-covered arm and pointed directly at her. Katherine's blood coursed with raw fear and hatred as she spun the wheel and hit the gas. Seconds later, she was fishtailing out onto Silver Hill Road.

Holiday Companies Product

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4231 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Holiday Inn Corporation Analysis I. Introduction (600) The term of globalization describes a number of processes by which products, people, companies, money and information are able to move freely and quickly around, unimpeded by national borders or other territorial limitations (Morrison, 2002). Benefited from that, multinational organizations are booming in the world market. Globalization opens up new opportunities for multinational corporations, but it also creates new risks and something uncertainties. The aim of this paper is to examine the internationalization process of Holiday Inn hotel chain, one of the famous multinational corporations in budget hotel industry, with the framework of Porters Diamond and transnational management typology. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Holiday Companies Product | Business Dissertations" essay for you Create order 1.1 Overview of Budget hotel industry in the USA A budget hotel is described as a hotel that is economical, as well as being clean and comfortable. Generally, budget hotels only provide bed and breakfast. They are as good as three-star hotels, but have no resplendent lobby, no conference rooms or entertainment centers. Some dont even have dining halls. The budget hotel sector exists as a hotel business as part of to the traditional full service hotel business that offers standard facilities and services. (Xinhua Daily, retrieved 2007) After the Second World War, the prosperity of Americas economy led to the development of domestic tourism, which resulted in a great demand for inexpensive accommodation; furthermore, the building of an inter-city expressway network led to the motels becoming popular. For instance, in 1952, the Holiday Inn chain of hotels was founded by Kemmons Wilson to provide inexpensive family accommodation for travelers within the USA. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, Large hotel groups preferred merger and acquisition of existing brands to create new brands. Since entering the 21st century, the budget hotel sector has started a new rapid growth. The main manifestation of this stage is the development of budget hotels in developing countries. The famous budget hotel brands, such as Ibis, Formula 1, Super 8, Days Inn, and Holiday Inn Express, have been entered into the Asian market (green). Due to Luxury hotels were considered as not economical, and inexpensive hotels were neither sanitary nor practical, the growth of budget hotels is increasing fast. According to statistical data collected by AHLA (American Hotel Lodging Association) in 2006, the number of budget hotels in the US is about 60,000 and the average occupied rate approximately 70 percent of the U.S. hotel market. Meanwhile, a survey of oversea tourism shows the proportion of revenue of budget hotels is 64% in the US hotel industry. C. The Holiday Inn Corporation overview Holiday Inn hotel is one of typical international budget hotels chains. It was founded in 1952 in the USA to provide inexpensive family accommodation for travelers within the USA. By 1968 there were 1000 Inns across the country. In 1988, Holiday Inns International was purchased by Bass PLC, the owner of a UKs beer brand, followed by the remaining domestic Holiday Inn hotels in 1990. The remainder of Holiday Corporation was spun off to shareholders as Promus Companies Incorporated. In March 1998, Bass acquired the InterContinental brand, expanding into the luxury hotel market. With more than 1,400 properties worldwide and nearly 1,000 in the U.S., Holiday Inn is the most recognized lodging brand in the world. (Holiday Inn from Wikipedia: retrieved 2007). D. Structure of the project This paper will be mainly organized as four parts: introduction, literature review, company analysis and conclusion. In the literature review section, the framework of Porters Diamond transnational management typology will be explained in details. After the competitive advantage analysis of American Budget Hotel industry, a company analysis of Holiday Inn chain of hotels will be discussed from competitive challenge, collaborative challenge, organizational challenge, and cultural challenge aspects. II. Literature review Porters Diamond Analysis Traditionally, economic theory discuss many factors for comparative advantage for regions or nations, such as land, location, natural resources (minerals, energy, etc.), labor force, and local population known as Heckscher-Ohlin Theory (Ball and McCulloch, 1999). However, by studying a hundred firms in ten developed countries, Michael Porter argued that a nation can create new advanced factors such as knowledge based workforce, advanced technology, and government support, etc. He believed those classical theories of comparative advantage are incomprehensive, so that he claimed Porters Diamond of national competitive advantage (Porter, 1990). Porters Diamond (Figure 1) is a diamond shaped diagram of the basis of a framework to illustrate the determinations of national competitive advantage. This model represents why the nation achieve in a particular industry from four factors: Factor conditions, Demand Conditions, Related and Supporting Industries, and Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry. Besides, chance and government are two extended factors in the model. The factor of chance is uncontrollable, while the impact of government is hard to neglect (). Factor Condition Factor conditions (also called as Factor Endowments) refer to inputs used as factors of production. Porter divided factors into basic factors (Heckscher-Ohlin theory) and advanced factors; general factors and specialized factors (Ball and McCulloch, 1999). Porter emphasized that the key factors of production (or specialized factors) are created, not inherited (Porter, 1990) The basic factors include raw materials, unskilled labor, climate, location, etc, while the advanced factors refer to technology, information, transportation and other infrastructure, skilled labor, and research and development sectors. Porter believes that the importance of basic factors is much less than the advanced factors, due to the decrease of demand (Porter. 1990). And an international firm can easily gain those basic factors from the whole world network. In contrast, the importance of advanced factors in achieving competitive advantages is indubitable. Due to the difficulty of gaining advanced factors from outside, firms must take effort on the staff training and investment heavy and continually. Specialized factors are necessary in each specialized industry, and lead to bring more competitive advantages. Porter pointed out that if a country builds up its competitive advantages on the basic and general factors, it is unsteadily. In real competition, abundant resources and cheap cost may lead to inefficiency on utilizing resources. In contrast, some disadvantages may make the stress on innovation (Porter, 1990). Demand conditions Domestic and local demand shapes the attributes of domestically made products and encourages upgrading competitive advantage (Bartlett, 2008). Firms that face a sophisticated domestic market are likely to sell superior products. Because of the market demands on high quality products, firms are able to get better understanding of the needs and desires of the fastidious customers (ibid). The other aspect is anticipatory buyer needs. If the nations discriminating values spread to other countries, it helps local firms anticipate global trends. And then the local firms will be competitive in the global market (). Related and supporting industries Porter pointed out that a series of strong related and supporting industries is also vital for the competitiveness of firms. He mentioned that Home-based competitiveness in related industries provides similar benefits: Information flow and technical interchange speed the rate of innovation and upgrading. A home-based related industry also increase the likelihood that companies will embrace new skills, and it also provides a source of entrants who will bring a novel approach to competing (Bartlett, 2000, pp230). Porter also pointed out the impact of Industrial Cluster, a phenomenon of competitors locating in the same area. It brings both positive and negative influence, i.e., it helps the cooperation with the first class suppliers, and builds a close relationship with upstream and/or downstream industries. However, it has potential risks that poaching of employees by rival companies and obvious increasing in competition (). Firm strategy, structure and rivalry Porter emphasized that the motivation, which leads firms to be international, is very important. It may be from the international demand, the stress from local rival, or the market base. Nations are more likely to gain success where the management practices and modes of organization favored by the national environment are well suited to the industries sources of competitive advantage (Porter, 1990. pp108). Porter also argues that countries will tend to be more competitive in particular industries because of they have fit management style which may be differed from others. Meanwhile, intense competition helps the process of innovation. In addition, international competition is not as intense as the general consideration. In international market, companies are different enough due to their own national environment, culture and value to survival in each particular industry. The other reason is a successful product, before being international, must experience an intense competition and then gain achievement in its domestic market (Porter, 1990). Chance and government Along with the four competitive determinants, Porter also emphasized the role of chance and government in the diamond model. Chance events are defined as the ones that have little to do with circumstances in a nation which are uncontrollable of firms (Porter, 1998). Random events can either show positive or negative effect on a firms competitive position. These can be anything like major technological breakthroughs or inventions, acts of war and destruction, suddenly increasing of the production cost (e.g. the increasing price of oil), sharply change of the market demand or dramatic shifts in exchange rates. It may bring competitive advantages to new rivals but make the formal one loose its position. The government plays an important role in Porters Diamond model. Governments proper role is as a catalyst and challenger; it is to encourage or even push companies to raise their aspirations and move to higher levels of competitive performance (Porter, 1998) Governments can impact all the four of Porters determinants through a variety of actions such as subsidies to firms, changes of taxation, business or property ownership policies, educational support, establishing high technical, and regulating product standards. The role of government in the diamond model is to encourage companies to raise their performance, stimulate early demand for advanced products, focus on specialized factor creation, and stimulate local rivalry by limiting direct cooperation and enforcing antitrust regulations (webMBA). Criticism Although Porter theory is well-know and has world wide reputation, it has a number of criticisms. Porter developed his theory based on case studies only covering about 100 industries and 10 developed countries. Therefore, it has been considered as not adoptable in developing economies. Besides, the model does not adequately concern with the role of MNCs which seems to be ample evidence that the diamond is influenced by factors outside the home country (12). Dunning commented that the competitive advantages of a country has been affected by the globalization of production and markets (Dunning, 1993). Rugman and DCruz argued that a major problem of Porters model is Porters Flawed understanding on the two-way nature of foreign direct investments (FDI) (Lee, 1998, pp15). Porter believed that only outward-FDI is valuable in creating competitive advantage, and inbound-FDI does not increase domestic competition significantly because the domestic firms lack the capability to defend their own markets and face a process of market-share erosion and decline (web). Additionally, raw materials and other resources could largely provided by international competitive supplier. Thus, related and supporting industries within a particular nation may not as important as Porters theory mentioned. (Jin and Moon, 2006) Meanwhile, Ruman and Verbeke (1993) pointed out that Porters diamond does not give a clear reason that why use national level as the geographic indicator for an industrys environment. Referring to international success, the local, regional or global level may be more suitable for particular determinants. Finally, Porters diamond is used to analyze firms condition afterward and it does not have predictive function. Particularly, the join of chance makes the model further weaken predictions (12). As a result, it is necessary to think about whether Porters theory is persuasive to the industry you are going to analyze. As Hedlund and Ridderstrale(1997) demonstrated, Bartlett and Ghoshals study was suffering from a lack of emipirical grounding. The provided ones were dispersive and not concrete enough to give a rough sketch of the research. They would mainly focus on the leading MNCs rather than a more representative sample. Meanwhile, it is also argued by Harzing(2000) that the sample size in their research was too small, that is, only nine MNCs, which would not cover all the characteristics of various MNCs integratedly. He also pointed out that in many researches, the authors failed to tick out international firms from other types of firms, including Multinational, Global and Transnational corporations. However, in several researches, international firms were simply regarded as Transnational Companies, while in others, they were referred to as low integration and low responsiveness. Therefore, whether Bartlett and Ghoshals competitive challenge theory is valid is still unknown to us. As Gtote(2002) said, in this theory, they supposed most industries may have the opportunity to become transnational firms but the degree or level varies among the three different types discussed above. There is a possibility that the costs arises from the risk of disintegration, coordination and control of a transnational company might offset the higher profit related to a transnational strategy in a multi-domestic industry. Thus, sometimes regional strategies might be more proper than global strategies to smooth competitiveness since it could be viewed as a fixed level between two countries while more vulnerable in a multi-country environment. III. Company analysis Competitive analysis of American Budget Hotel industry The hotel industry is considered as one of the most glory industry in the USA. Budget hotel sector is one of the most unique sectors in the hospitality industry which is original start in the US and exploiting to the worldwide. According to the data from American Hotel Lodging Association in 2006, the number of budget hotels in the US is about 60,000 and the average occupied rate approximately 70 percent of the U.S. hotel market. In addition, a survey of oversea tourism exhibits the proportion of revenue of budget hotels is 64% in the US hotel industry. Factor endowment It is easy to achieve each of the fundamental needed in the US due to its large land and a large amount of migrated workers. Discussing about the hospitality industry, from the human resources aspect, those migrated and unskilled workers could always support the most basic cleaning jobs in hotel and only require little wages. On the other hand, America is a nation that attracts many knowledgeable and skilled workers worldwide. In this case, the staff in management and RD departments is professional and competitive. For another aspect, indications from the USA suggest that long-term commercial success will not be achieved on price cutting or product augmentation strategies, but could be achieved on providing service quality. This strategy though may be self-defeatingsince it is likely to elevate these so-called budget hotels into the full-service sector where competition is equally intense. In that case, since the 1990s, the budget hotels in the USA are developing their services and equipment. They begin to build swimming pools, game centers, and other entertainment facilities. These kinds of innovation make the budget hotel in the US more competitive in the global market, and help the achievement for going international. In addition, budget hotels tend to located in the sides of public roads, such as highways, there is a very developed and completed transportation network which can easily link hotels and city centre. The National Highway System (NHS) covers approximately 160,000 miles (256,000 kilometers) of roadway, including the Interstate Highway System, a separate system within the NHS that the total length is about 46,837 miles (75,376km),as well as other roads, which are important to the nations economy, defense, and mobility. Besides, the high developed road network promotes the in-country travel, therefore, also contributes to the hospitality industry. Demand conditions The US has more than 300 million populations so that the potential demand of local hotels is considerable. Large proportions of the hotel roomsoccupation rate in the US are contributed from the business travel and leisure travelers. The large demand encourages the investment on this industry. Since the 1980s, there is a booming in the budget hotel sector. The intensive competition in hospitality industry drives the hotels more concern with custom services. As a result, they focus on the quality management. Quality has long been a mantra of the U.S hotel industry. Countless hotel properties have spent time and money on quality assurance, benchmarking, assessing the cost of error, continuous improvement (Quality). It is considerable that the American budget hotels are highly anticipatory worldwide. C. Related and supporting industries The hotel industry has many related and supporting industries that enable the well operation of it. They also contribute to its development and help to achieve worldwide competitive strategies. The supporting industries include: Tourism: the development of local tourism is the largest motivation for the hotel industry. Hotels, which run in the hot hit travel place, always gain more space to survival in the intensive competition. Meanwhile, the cooperation with travel agents ensures the stable customer flow. Business conferences: it brings another target customer cluster. It could also solve the problem of variation that influenced by travel season. Design and Decoration: to make each hotel be unique or consistent. The related industries include: Entertainment: televisions, network, electronic game, etc Furniture: Beds, chairs, sofas, etc Textiles : blankets, towels, carpets, uniforms, etc Firm strategy, structure and rivalry In the recent years, the American hotels focus on quality management as one of the most important competitive strategies rather than global exploiting (quality). Due to the market environment, many companies are likely to follow long-term strategies to keep or win more market share. Under the intensive competition in the US, a large number of hotel chains are taking efforts on the global market and take actions of joint venture, acquisitions and mergers. The major hotel chains in the US, such as, are more common to be multinational companies that. Domestic competition in the hotel industry in the US helps, to some extent, to promote innovation. There are mainly six levels of American hotel chains: Luxury Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Fairmont Upper Upscale Embassy, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton Upscale Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard, Crowne Plaza Mid with FB Holiday Inn, Ramada, Best Western Mid no FB Hampton Inn, HI Express, Comfort Inn Economy Motel 6, Red Roof, Days Inn According to the Hotel Development Cost Survey 2008 by Elaine Sahlins, the senior vice president of HVS San Francisco, hotels are doing effort on new room construction and room standard shift. (development cost) https://www.hospitalitynet.org/file/152003497.pdf Hotel Dvelopment Cost Survey per-Room of Cost for 2005-2007 2005 2006 2007 Luxury 1490900 1659400 1725800 Upper Upscale 373700 633700 665400 Upscale 260700 321200 337300 Midscale with FB 222700 286800 301100 Midscale w/out FB 335400 4132200 433900 Economy 121100 149200 156700 It can be seen from the table that the cost on room development is continuous increasing. Thus, the domestic intensive competition becomes a great motivation of the development for existing hotels. Because of the development, the hotel industry in the US shows more competitive in the global market. Chance and government For Chance factor, it is uncontrollable, but sometimes predictable. A good example for that is like holding the Olympics. The US has hosted four times Summer Olympics and four times Winter Olympics. Those events had largely promoted the development for both local tourism and the hotels which located around those areas. Besides, the improved technology on hotels facilities, the changes on exchange rate, etc, could bring more chances to the industry. These chances may help companies to gain competitive advantages among the rivals. However, these advantages are changeable. If hotels do not innovate and make improvement, their will loose their own position by not catch those chances. Meanwhile, the influence from government is also hard to neglect. For instance, Financial Preferential Policy to companies benefits each American firm from the taxation aspect. Such kinds of policies on taxation, education, shareholder policy could bring the American companies many benefits. On the other hand, the influence from the government sometimes blocks the pace of companies. As mentioned above, the local tourism makes great and unavoidable impact on hotel industry. For example, from the figure, it is obvious that during the years from 2001 to 2003, there was a shape decrease of the room demand. The reason for that may be larger related to the 911 issue. During that period, the American government began to control the inflow passages so that make the tourism met a decline. Consequently, it embroiled the hotel industry indirectly. Challenges analysis competitive challenge: exploit labor costs by national differences to achieve efficiency; Business effectiveness is key, partly fuelled by a pay portfolio designed to reward and retain high performers, she says. Competitive advantage through people and a focus on performance indicators are absolute. Significant growth in product distribution and profitability has been achieved in the three regional divisions of the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Strong hotel occupancy levels are reported, along with lower-than-average labour turnover rates, the latter a key performance indicator for the sector. a wide range of orientation (different types of inns) provides economies of scope and flexibilities; servicing multinational customer worldwide; Upgrades. Given this environment, the stated position of Holiday was to concentrate on upgrading existing properties rather than expansion. Holiday focused marketing efforts on its traditional niche of business, leisure, senior, government, and military segments and believed that upgrading hotels in these chosen markets would do more for increasing dominance than growth could alone. By 1991, every Holiday Inn would have upgraded all guest rooms, public space, parking lots, and landscaping. As a result, high performance role models were constructed and refined on the basis of nine core competencies of value to the organization. Seven were initially piloted at headquarters before group-wide implementation: (1) Customer service orientation. Understanding and acting on the needs of others to better serve them. (2) Flexibility: being able to adapt and work effectively in varied groups and situations. (3) Commitment to organizational values. Acting consistently, in accordance with corporate values and standards. (4) Achievement orientation. A desire for improved performance, challenging objectives, and standards of excellence. (5) Initiative and proactivity. Self-motivation, persistence and going beyond the job description for potential outcomes. (6) Organizational influence. Influencing others effectively. (7) Creative problem solving. Identifying patterns in problem situations that are not obviously related and achieving solutions. Innovation Says Carol E. Chapman: We decided to pilot at headquarters for two reasons: each competency had to be tested for clarity before rollout to business units, as each had varying job populations and cultures. Four functional categories were developed administrative/ support; professional/technical; managerial/supervisory; and executive each with different standards of expected competence. We wanted to make sure that performance correlated with the position in each job category and opportunities for demonstrating competence in the organization. In effect, she explains, this gives a correlation reality check for any competence expected level of performance and opportunity to demonstrate these competencies. A competency-based pay programme, piloted at corporate headquarters in 1991 and cascaded within 18 months throughout the entire complement of around 200 company owned and managed hotels and numerous franchises, became a critical link between new human resource (HR) and remuneration strategies and those of business. Though the programme was innovative and effective for its 30,000 employees, Carol E. Chapman, director of Compensation and Benefits, remarks that it was then perceived as a one-off real driver of change. On reflection, it was just a forerunner of others to come which emanate from a redefined and everwidening HR agenda. (1) Business strategy: Achieve preferred hotel brand; Improve operational results for premium returns; Restructure to provide high-quality, costeffective services; Hotel base growth to expand brand and product distribution; and Explore new strategic advantages. (2) HR strategy: Become the preferred hotel employer worldwide; Ensure recruitment, selection and training systems attract higher quality employees; Devise organizational structures to achieve business potential and empower employees; Develop a performance-oriented culture which motivates and retains employees. (3) Remuneration strategy: Devise a total remuneration programme to utilize all forms of compensation and benefits; Provide competitive schemes to attract, retain and motivate new employees; Ensure that critical positions and superior performance earn higher remuneration levels; and Develop a programme related to qualitative and quantitative results. Over the last 20 years there were certainly mixed opinions about actions the company took, such as: Entering the gaming business; Establishing new product segments with their potential for severe competition and violations of territorial integrity; Decentralizing corporate operations; Proposing increases in franchise fees; Demanding different quality standards for company-owned and franchisee-owned properties; Failing to impose sufficiently high quality standards on franchisees in a uniform and timely manner Creating Holiday Inn Express (by HIWW); and Failing to maintain adequate communications between the company and franchisees. Says Carol E. Chapman: We decided to pilot at headquarters for two reasons: each competency had to be tested for clarity before rollout to business units, as each had varying job populations and cultures. Four functional categories were developed administrative/support; professional/technical; managerial/supervisory; and executive each with different standards of expected competence. We wanted to make sure that performance correlated with the position in each job category and opportunities for demonstrating competence in the organization. In effect, she explains, this gives a correlation reality check for any competence expected level of performance and opportunity to demonstrate these competencies.