...Introduction Overview of Costa Crociere S.p.A. and Cultural Values With revenues of 3.1 billion euros and 2.3 million total guests in 2011, Costa Crociere S.p.A. is the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s number one cruise company, comprising the brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Iberocruceros. Costa Cruises (2012). The group is headquartered in Genoa. Costa Crociere S.p.A has Europe’s largest fleet: 27 ships with total guest capacity of around 70,000. Costa Cruises is committed to enhancing its ability to listen to, communicate with and engage with all stakeholders, to continuously increase its guest satisfaction level, to the empowerment of its people, to contributing to the welfare and development of the communities in which it operates, to respecting and protecting the environment in particular the seas in which the ship sails-and to improved safety. The company values are: 1. Passion for the customer 2. Human Resources 3. Teamwork 4. Innovation and creativity 5. Financial performance 6. Teamwork and ethics Michael Tamm, CEO of Costa Crociere comments on behalf of the company by saying “Furthermore, our Sustainability Report attests to Costa Cruises’ commitment to one of the crucial aspects of B.E.S.T 4 Certification: “continuous improvement.” This principle sets us apart and we apply it to all of the areas that we have previously mentioned through monitoring, control and prevention activities (always using the latest procedures)...
Words: 3591 - Pages: 15
...The Costa Concordia Disaster Molly Howe Southern New Hampshire University Abstract This case study examines the Costa Concordia disaster in the context of organizational behavior. It will provide an analysis on the following issues: the breakdown of communication, to much group cohesion resulting in groupthink, lack of strong leadership, and the lack of good decision-making. These issues resulted in the accident and the unnecessary loss of life. This case study will also look at possible solutions for each of the issues. Keywords: communication, groupthink, leadership, and decision-making. The Costa Concordia Disaster On January 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia crashed off of Isola del Giglio, an island off the Tuscan coast. The Costa Concordia was a cruise ship part of Costa Crociere S.p.A, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp (Carnival Corp). The crash was a result of the deviation off the preplanned route (Del Valle, S. 2012). Captain Francesco Schettino is said to have traveled too close to the island hitting a granite reef that tore a hole in the side. What happened next was a disaster that resulted in 32 deaths (theguardian.com, 2013). Captain Schettino did not order an evacuation, or fully inform the authorities of the dire situation on board until an hour after the crash. The passengers aboard had not yet completed the safety drills on board and the crew on board seemed to lack the correct leadership in a disaster situation to properly assist passengers on board...
Words: 3754 - Pages: 16
...Various Tourism Options in Costa Rica There are a multitude of reasons for a tourist to travel to Costa Rica; reasons that vary from a simple vacation, to adventure tourism, ‘sex tourism’, eco-tourism, or medical tourism. Costa Rica is a relatively new tourist selection. “In the 1960’s Costa Rica warily became aware that tourism could be an important source of income.” (Tourism in Costa Rica, 2012) Since that realization, Costa Rica has become a well-traveled area. They also remain a peaceful country and prove to be so by remaining military-free since 1948. “…That tiny nation of 2.5 million which has demonstrated for nearly forty years that a country can live in peace without an army…” (Walton, 1985) Vacation Escape, getaway, relaxation, and freedom are all words that describe vacation. Costa Rica provides all of these wants. Dictionary.com describes ‘vacation’ as, “a period of work, study, or other activity used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday.” (vacation. (n.d.)) One can find a beach to relax on, a beautiful, peaceful country to escape to, and the perfect place to be free and ‘get-away’ from all of the troubles that hassle them at home, in any area of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a spectacular and unique spot to visit due to the volcanoes that are spread out through the country. Other activities that one can partake in include a new culture, off-roading, walking through the jungle, sightseeing, navigating through rainforest, zip lining, parasailing, and...
Words: 1405 - Pages: 6
...USFQ PROBLEMAS CONTEMPORÁNEOS Y ÉTICA CORPORATIVA Nombre: Valeria Bravo, Maritza Lema, Daniel Iza, Diego Zambrano, Eliana Saavedra. Fecha: 1 de Febrero del 2013 JUSTICIA Y EQUIDAD Caso: Pedro Delgado, y su titulación falsa. La justicia y equidad son comparativas y buscan un equilibrio. Justicia Para asuntos especialmente serios. Equidad Es más esencial. Se divide en 3 categorías. * Justicia Distributiva.- Distribución de beneficios y cargas. No aplica al caso. * Justicia Redistributiva.- Imposición de castigos y multas. Aplica al caso posteriormente. * Justicia Compensatoria.- Compensación por lesiones o actos incorrectos. No aplica al caso. La justicia como igualdad: Igualitarismo La igualdad se ha propuesto como un principio de justicia no solo por sociedades enteras sino también dentro de grupos más pequeños y organizaciones. * Igualdad política.- Participación igual en los medios para controlar y dirigir el sistema político. * La igualdad económica.- Igualdad entre ingreso y riqueza y la igualdad de oportunidades. Justicia basada en la contribución: justicia capitalista Cuanto más contribuya un trabajador a un proyecto, mas deberá pegarse a ese trabajador. * Ética del trabajo.- Valora el esfuerzo individual y cree que el trabajo duro conduce y debe conducir al éxito. Justicia Basada en Necesidades y Habilidades:...
Words: 985 - Pages: 4
...important. Today, with the evidence to climate change indisputable, successful tempering, of the climate; this ecology of heat for human comfort range cannot simply be through the air-conditioner, it can turn to GBC's as a first step, but additionally it must look to design for the climate, for regionalism, with specific techniques and strategies. This will be looked at in detail by examining the works of Costa Rican Architect Bruno Stagno, both in his designs for buildings in the tropics, his formation of the Institute of Tropical Architecture (Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical) and his various writings relating to architecture and regionalism. Included in this is his approach to eco principles and how this has, and could benefit a Costa Rican GBC adoption of LEED. Introduction With today's contemporary architectural discourse, and indeed building industry, an outsider looking in can be excused for thinking environmental design is simply the application of the of a LEED rating. LEED (leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is current rating system of choice for Costa Rica. By providing credits through a range of categories such as water efficiency, energy consumption, materials used it demands a building satisify a certain amount of these prerequisite categories and earn points in order to be awarded differing levels...
Words: 1673 - Pages: 7
...Economic growth in Nicaragua via production for export Nicaragua is a relatively small country, but one where the ratio of people to land with moderate or better potential for farming is rather low. With a population of less than 5.5 million living in a land of 121,000 km^2, and 57% of the population being urban, the average rural population density is barely 20 per km^2. The country’s economic history has been one of trying to find crops that could be exported: an aim that was first realized in the late nineteenth century with the planting of coffee in the highlands. In more recent history, the economy grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s as Nicaragua converted its best lands into fields of cotton and cane, or pastures for beef cattle. As the fastest growing Central American economy at this time, by the turn of the 1970s it was also the region’s most prosperous economy. But the political and social context was one of great inequality between the landowners and those running the import-export houses that supported the agricultural export industry on the one hand, and the majority of the population who subsisted on small-holdings or were plain landless, in both cases often dependent on the seasonal earnings from working on the export crops harvests. The excesses of the dictatorial Somoza regime eventually provoked rebellion and in 1979 a radical alternative took power, the Sandinistas. Although committed to equality and redistribution, the attempt to control the key points in...
Words: 1670 - Pages: 7
...Inserción de Costa Rica en la Economía Mundial Los primeros 20 años en el Sistema Multilateral de Comercio Ministerio de Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica Enero, 2012 382.972.86 C8375i Costa Rica. Ministerio de Comercio Exterior Inserción de Costa Rica en la Economía Mundial: los primeros 20 años en el Sistema Multilateral de Comercio / Ministerio de Comercio Exterior.– 1. ed.– San José, C.R.: COMEX, 2012, enero. 278 p. ISBN: 978-9968-676-04-5 1. COSTA RICA - COMERCIO EXTERIOR 2. ECONOMÍA INTERNACIONAL. 3. POLÍTICA COMERCIAL. 4. SISTEMA COMERCIAL MULTILATERAL. I. Título INSERCIÓN DE COSTA RICA EN LA ECONOMÍA MUNDIAL Índice Prólogo PARTE I. Inserción de Costa Rica en la Economía Mundial. Proceso, Institucionalidad, Resultados y Retos Colaboradores y agradecimientos 1. 2. Introducción Evolución del proceso de inserción de Costa Rica en la economía mundial viii 1 4 10 15 16 20 23 30 40 40 42 43 45 46 47 49 50 52 53 56 57 59 61 61 64 64 67 71 74 84 85 95 96 100 103 103 109 109 vii 2.1 Primeros esfuerzos de promoción de exportaciones no tradicionales (1968-1983) 2.2 Nuevos esfuerzos en la promoción de las exportaciones no tradicionales (1984-2010) 2.2.1 Contratos de Exportación y Régimen de Admisión Temporal 2.2.2 Régimen de Zonas Francas 2.2.3 Apertura Unilateral 2.3 Negociaciones comerciales multilaterales 2.4 Negociaciones comerciales bilaterales 2.4.1 Tratado de Libre Comercio entre la República de Costa Rica y los Estados Unidos Mexicanos 2.4.2 Tratado de...
Words: 124222 - Pages: 497
...Assignment Answer two questions: 1) What do you see as the three main turning points that have created the internal political and cultural tensions in the Central America region from the colonial period to the present day? Describe these turning points in terms of the people who were involved in creating change and the controversies of the times. The history of Central America is considered to be a colorful one but rather complicated and even tragic because a lot of historical events took place and influenced greatly the political, economic and cultural development of the Central America region. (Perez-Brignoli, 1989) It is known that Central America has seen wars and dictators, foreign interventions and economic crises. (Booth & Walker, 1999) To my mind, the three turning points that have created the internal political and cultural tensions in the Central America region from the colonial period to the present day are the following ones: • Colonization of Central America by Spain in 1523. • When Central America declared Independence in 1821 and on June 1, 1823 five countries of Central America were united. • Revolution in 1944-1954 in Guatemala. The first turning point can be related to the period of colonization. The local population tried to stand against the Spaniards but Indian tribes had no chances to win. All the cities were captured by the colonizers. Some cities were burned and great deals of local people were killed. The Spaniards had control over the whole...
Words: 852 - Pages: 4
...Unit Plan--Spanish level 2 La comida costarricense/Los mandatos formales Susan M. Barton Costa Rica for Educators Summer 2001 Overview Unit Objective: This 6-day unit incorporates the 5 Standards for Language Learning: Communication, Culture, Connection, Comparison and Community. The students will demonstrate understanding of the formal commands, both affirmative and negative, through the context of: learning about the foods of Costa Rica, and the preparation of an authentic recipe. Day 1 La identificación de varias comidas costarricences Day 2 Los mandatos formales Day 3 Colones y más mandatos formales Day 4 Comprando comida Day 5 Cocinar un plato típico Day 6 Repaso y final Day 1--Monday Objective: The students will be able to identify various Costa Rican foods. Materials: photo flashcards heavy magnets (19) fly swatters (3) notebooks and pens Activities: (35 minutes) 1. Give overview for week and introduce today's activities. Include explanation of project, which will be due day 6. 2. Introduce vocabulary through use of photo flashcards. Correct pronunciation as necessary. Students write vocabulary words in notes. 3. Students get into groups of 2. Using words previously copied into notes, student "a" in each pair spells a vocabulary word...
Words: 1332 - Pages: 6
...Sustainable Development: Empowerment through Partnerships for Healthy Living CLAUDIA MARA VARGAS * I University of Vermont, Burlington, USA Summary. — This article seeks to take partnerships seriously. Specifically, it is concerned with the nature, opportunities, and challenges facing women’s nongovernmental organization (NGOs), which seek to make real contributions to sustainable development. It uses a case study of COFERENE, a successful women’s NGO in Costa Rica, to explore the nature of partnerships, the contextual factors that shape them, the successes that can be realized from their wise use, and the potential problems that may arise. There are lessons, both optimistic and cautionary, to be learned from COFERENE’S experiences. This article analyzes these lessons. In synthesis, partnerships are complex and demanding, though there are cases in which women’s NGOs have used them effectively to foster sustainable development. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Key words — geographical focus: global, country specific: Costa Rica, sustainable development, partnerships, culture, nonprofits A woman said that her father was a street sweeper. If some people consider this a humble job, her opinion was that a person who has the job of picking up garbage is way superior to the person who throws away Author unknown garbage. 1 1. INTRODUCTION Although progress for women can be ascertained throughout the world in health, education, and labor, there is still much work to be done...
Words: 14873 - Pages: 60
...United States is the first among these countries. What this free trade agreement does is to create new and strong economic opportunities by opening markets, eliminating tariffs, and reducing barriers to service. The agreement helps to facilitate trade and investment between the participants, as well as promoting and increasing regional integration (Anonymous). DR-CAFTA presents a huge opportunity for Central American countries and the Dominican Republic; as they have the chance to trade with the biggest economy in the world and fortunately boost their economies. II. Description of the Subject DR-CAFTA is a free trade agreement between the United States; five Central American countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica; and the Dominican Republic. This free trade agreement opens a new era in trade between the USA and the six countries; and it generates not only...
Words: 3358 - Pages: 14
...Arianne Cerize A. Aman The Meaning of Development: Brazil and Costa Rica Economic development is the presumed solution to absolute poverty and to many of the world's other most pressing problems. But what is development, and how do we know it when we see it? The term, development, has been used in several ways. Traditionally, it was equated with growth of per capita income. Since the 1970s, other indicators of development have become widely used by development scholars and development agencies such as the World Bank. The meeting of basic needs (or, equivalently, reduction in absolute poverty), the creation of modern employment opportunities, and the achievement of a less unequal distribution of income and farmland have all become important criteria in determining the level of development. Traditional measures of growth, especially in developing countries, may be misleading in that they fail to account for the environmental destruction that often accompanies spurts in temporary and unsustainable economic growth; and economists are devising measures of the national capital stock that includes environmental wealth. The United Nations has placed both educational attainment and health standards on equal footings with per capita income as development criteria, in the widely followed United Nations Development Program human development index (HDI). Some leading development scholars, such as Amartya Sen, Denis Goulet, and Dudley Seers, have gone further. They argue that more intangible...
Words: 4391 - Pages: 18
...Vía rápida Curso intensivo de español Vía rápida Marco Común Europeo de Referencia A1 B1 A1-B1 Vía rápida Curso intensivo de español Vía rápida es un nuevo curso intensivo que cubre los niveles A1, A2 y B1 del Marco Común Europeo de Referencia (MCER) y que presenta las siguientes características: e • stá basado en el MCER y en el Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes. p • resta especial atención al desarrollo de las estrategias de aprendizaje y a la autonomía del alumno. p • repara para los exámenes oficiales, especialmente para el DELE Nivel Inicial (B1). Componentes Libro del alumno + 2 CD audio Cuaderno de ejercicios Guía didáctica (descargable) Libro del alumno p • arte de un análisis de necesidades del público universitario y responde a las particularidades de este contexto. Material complementario disponible en: http://viarapida.difusion.com ISBN 978-84-8443-655-3 www.difusion.com 9 Libro del alumno + 2 CD audio 788484 436553 via_rapida_sbk_cover.indd 1 17/02/11 13:31 Vía rápida Curso intensivo de español María Cecilia Ainciburu Virtudes González Rodríguez Alejandra Navas Méndez Elisabeth Tayefeh Graciela Vázquez ¿Cómo funciona Vía rápida? Portadilla , aceite Tortilla: lleva patata y sal. Falta… 1. ¡A comer! A. Anota todo lo que se te ocurra en relación con el tema de la comida. En parejas, compa adlo y ordenadlo en un asociograma. r 7 B. ¿Conoces...
Words: 13908 - Pages: 56
...Why Law? I woke up at five o’clock in the morning to the sound of a rooster crowing and forgot where I was sleeping. As I stood up, I groggily recalled the events of the previous day. My plane landed in San Jose, Costa Rica and I was immediately whisked away into unfamiliar territory on an adventure that would change my life forever. Months earlier at the ripe age of ten, I had been chosen to live with a host family for a month in Costa Rica. For months, I eagerly learned about the country itself, the Spanish culture, language, and food. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for the culture shock I was about to endure. On the same day I arrived in San Jose, my host family took me on a week long vacation and separated me from my friends and teacher. I quickly learned my host family spoke minimal English and the months of Spanish weren’t helping in our communication. I was car sick, tired, and missing home already. Right after a particular incident where a monkey stole my mango I had just plucked from a tree, I thought to myself, “Remind me why I decided to leave the comfortable and familiar for something completely alien to me in every way?” As the weeks progressed, I was reunited with my fellow classmates and regained my mental strength. Even at that young age, I learned a great deal about my identity and what cultural differences truly meant. My host family was completely strange to me: Steve Erkel’s voice was replaced with a Spanish imposter, my bed...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...* "El orígen de la celebración del Día de Los Muertos puede ser trazado hasta la epoca de los indígenas de Mesoamérica, [los Aztecas, Mayas, Purepechas, Nahuas y Totonacas]". Los rituales que celebran las vidas de los ancestros se realizaron por estas civilizaciones por lo menos durante los últimos 3,000 años. "En la era prehispánica era común la práctica de conservar los cráneos como trofeos y mostrarlos durante los rituales que simbolizaban la muerte y el renacimiento". * "Cuando los conquistadores españoles llegaron a América en el siglo XV, ellos estuvieron aterrados por las practicas paganas de los indígenas, y en un intento de convertir a los nativos americanos al catolicismo movieron el festival hacia fechas en el inicio de noviembre para que coincidiesen con las festividades católicas del Día de todos los Santos y Todas las Almas". Los españoles luego combinaron las costumbres de Halloween con el festival similar mesoamericano, creando de este modo el Día de Los Muertos. * En nuestra comunidad, mucha gente arreglan altares para los seres queridos disfuntos. En estos altares se puede poner flores, fotos de las personas que han muerto y calaveras de azúcar. Las comidas que son típicamente preparadas para la ocasión son molé, arroz y tamales . También se ornea pan de azúcar y chocolate caliente. * El Día de Los Muertos es más celebrado en Mexico. Las personas hacen ofrendas con una base de lentejas, nopales, y dulces de tejocote y calabaza. Son acompañadas...
Words: 390 - Pages: 2
