Harvard University, which celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1986, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Founded 16 years after the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, the University has grown from nine students with a single master to an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates, including undergraduates and students in 10 principal academic units. An additional 13,000 students are enrolled in one or more courses in the Harvard Extension School. Over 14,000 people work at Harvard, including more than 2,000 faculty. There are also 7,000 faculty appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals.

Harvard College was established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was named for its first benefactor, John Harvard of Charlestown, a young minister who, upon his death in 1638, left his library and half his estate to the new institution. Harvard's first scholarship fund was created in 1643 with a gift from Ann Radcliffe, Lady Mowlson.

Harvard's Faculty

Students at Harvard University

Harvard men and women represent an array of ethnic groups, religious traditions, and political persuasions. They come from every region of the United States and more than 100 other countries. They include undergraduates and graduate, continuing education, and Summer School students. They range from pre-teens to octogenarians; in 1997, Mary Fasano became the oldest person ever to earn a Harvard degree when she graduated from the Extension School at the age of 89.

Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature,op. cit. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is also the first and oldest corporation in North America.

During his 40-year tenure as Harvard president (1869–1909), Charles William Eliot radically transformed Harvard into the pattern of the modern research university. Eliot's reforms included elective courses, small classes, and entrance examinations. The Harvard model influenced American education nationally, at both college and secondary levels. Eliot also was responsible for publication of the now-famous "Harvard Classics", a collection of "great books" from multiple disciplines, published by P. F. Collier and Sons beginning in 1909, that offered a college education "in fifteen minutes a day of reading." The collection soon became known as "Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf." During his unprecedentedly influential presidency, Eliot, a prolific book and magazine writer and widely traveled speaker in the pre-radio age, became so widely recognized a public figure that by his death in 1926, his name (and, not coincidentally, Harvard's) had become synonymous with the universal aspirations of American higher education.

Harvard's library collection contains more than 15 million volumes,See the FAQ on the Harvard-Google partnership. making it the largest academic library in the United States, and the fourth among the five "mega-libraries" of the world (after the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the French Bibliothèque nationale, but ahead of the New York Public Library). See the ranked list of U.S. libraries from the American Library Association. Harvard is consistently ranked number one in international college and university rankings, and has the largest financial endowment of any non-profit organization except for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, standing at $38.7 billion as of 2008.

Kentucky Education Association
Co-Presidents: Amberly Tullis and Kevin Fox
Outreach: Chelsea Schuster
Secretary: Elizabeth McMahon
Advisor: Rose Boulay (rose.boulay@uky.edu)

KEA Student Program is an independent group that believes in leadership and student professional development. The primary purpose of this group is to support education and improve conditions for all children, schools and teachers. Membership is open to any student interested in education. Events include professional development, community service, conferences, leadership roles, scholarships and outreach. Liability insurance is provided through the association with a paid membership. Web site: http://kea.org/studentprog. To join, pick up a new member green form in Room 133 Dickey Hall or in Room 128 Taylor Education Building.

Harvard College Book Club

For more information on this group, please contact/visit:

Purpose Statement

The Harvard College Book Club aims to provide a scholarly and social atmosphere to students interested in reading books of all genres outside of their academic courses. For this purpose, the Book Club proposes to meet once a week in a relaxed setting such as a house common room or small dining room. Between meetings, members will read a few short chapters of the book to be discussed. Each book will be covered over the course of several weeks. Weekly readings will be a light and, hopefully, pleasurable task, so that members need never find the Book Club to be a burdensome addition to their academic load. Indeed, the Club is meant to be as recreational as it is scholarly, for we hope weekly meetings to involve not only intellectual discussion of literature but also socializing and the growth of camaraderie among members. Works will include not only fiction but also nonfiction, poetry and prose from a wide range of world regions and literary traditions. Thus, we hope that the Book Club will foster broadened scholarly interests among its members and the Harvard College community, provide a means for members to meet and befriend peers with similar interests, and allow students of different interests to form bonds.

Group Information

· Associated Categories: Academic & Pre-Professional, Arts, Recreation, Social

· Number of Members: 10-25

· Involvement: Undergraduates, Graduates, Community Members

· Group Email:

· Group Web Site:

· Mailing Address:

o   Harvard College Book Club

o Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH)

o Box #

o 59 Shepard Street

o Cambridge, MA 02138

· Month of Officer Elections: May

· Information Last Updated: Feb 09 2009

Harvard College Business Club

For more information on this group, please contact/visit:

http://www.hcbusinessclub.com

Purpose Statement

The Harvard College Business Club is dedicated to facilitating a general education in the many aspects of business, promoting business as a career choice, and inspiring the creative energies of the future business leaders of the world among Harvard Undergraduates. This is to be accomplished through meetings and events uniting business education and influential speakers, as well as by other means. This club is non-discriminatory, non-exclusionary, and is open to any interested and motivated Harvard undergraduates.

Group Information

· Associated Categories: Academic & Pre-Professional

· Number of Members: 51-100

· Involvement: Undergraduates

· Group Email:

· Group Web Site: http://www.hcbusinessclub.com

· Mailing Address:

o Harvard College Business Club

o  Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH)

o  Box # 382

o 59 Shepard Street

o Cambridge, MA 02138

· Month of Officer Elections: May

Information Last Updated: Oct 31 2008

PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC SPEAKING

IN ENGLISH

http://www.englishclub.com 2002

PREPARATION

Good preparation is very important. Good preparation and planning will give you confidence. Your audience will feel your confidence and have confidence in you. This will give you control of your audience and of your presentation.

Consider these points when preparing:

Objective

'Why am I making this presentation?'

Your objective should be clear in your mind.

Audience

'Who am I making this presentation to?'

How many people? Who are they? Business people? Professional people? Political people? Experts or non-experts? A small, intimate group of 4 colleagues or a large gathering of 400 competitors?

Venue

'Where am I making this presentation?'

A small hotel meeting-room or a large conference hall? Facilities and equipment? Seating arrangements?

Time and length

'When am I making this presentation and how long will it be?'

Will it be 5 minutes or 1 hour? Just before lunch, when the audience is hungry, or just after lunch, when the audience is sleepy?

Method

'How should I make this presentation?'

Formal or informal? Lots of visual aids or only a few? With or without anecdotes and humour?

Content

'What should I say?'

Include only relevant information. Create a title for your presentation. The title will help you to focus on the subject. Prepare your visual aids, if any.

Structure

Organise your presentation in a logical structure. Most presentations are organised in three parts, followed by questions:

1 Introduction

- welcome your audience

- introduce your subject

- explain the structure of your presentation

- explain rules for questions

2 Body of presentation

- present the subject itself

3 Conclusion

- summarise your presentation

- thank your audience

- invite questions

+ Questions

Notes

Try to appear as spontaneous as possible. Do not read your presentation. Reading a text is boring and will send your audience to sleep! Use notes to remember everything you need to say. Some people make notes on small, A6 cards. Some people write down just the title of each section of their talk. Some people write down keywords to remind them.

Rehearsal

Practise your presentation two or three times so that you:

- become more familiar with what you want to say

- identify weaknesses in your presentation

- can practise difficult pronunciations

- can check the time that your presentation takes and make any necessary modifications

EQUIPMENT

Your most important piece of equipment is YOU! Check your personal appearance carefully.

Overhead Projector

The overhead projector (OHP) displays overhead transparencies (OHTs or OHPTs). It has several advantages over the 35mm slide projector:

- it can be used in daylight

- the user can face the audience

- the user can write or draw directly on the transparency while in use

Whiteboard

The whiteboard is a useful device for spontaneous writing - as in brainstorming, for example. For prepared material, the OHP may be more suitable.

Duster

The duster is used for cleaning the whiteboard.

Markers

Markers are used for writing on the:

- whiteboard (delible - you can remove the ink)

- flipchart (indelible - you cannot remove the ink)

Flipchart

The flipchart consists of several leaves of paper that you 'flip' (turn) over. Some people prefer the flipchart to the whiteboard, but its use is limited to smaller presentations.

35mm Slide Projector

A slide projector must be used in a darkened room. Most slide projectors take 35mm transparencies or slides, but projectors for 6x6cm slides are also available.

Notebook Computer

The notebook computer is often used with an overhead projector, to project an image from the computer screen onto the wall screen.

Handouts

Handouts are any documents or samples that you 'hand out' (distribute) to your audience. It is not usually a good idea to distribute handouts before your presentation. The audience will read the handouts instead of listening to you.

DELIVERY

'Delivery' is the way in which you actually deliver or give your presentation. Delivery is at least as important as content.

Nerves

Most speakers are a little nervous at the beginning of a presentation. So it is normal if you are nervous. Pay special attention to the beginning of your presentation. This is when you establish a rapport with your audience. During this time, try to speak slowly and calmly. After a few moments, you will relax and gain confidence.

Audience Rapport

You need to build a warm and friendly relationship with your audience. Be careful to establish eye contact with each member of your audience. Each person should feel that you are speaking directly to him or her.

Body Language

What you do not say is at least as important as what you do say. Your body is speaking to your audience even before you open your mouth. Your clothes, your walk, your glasses, your haircut, your expression - it is from these that your audience forms its first impression as you enter the room. Generally speaking, it is better to stand rather than sit when making a presentation. Avoid repetitive and irritating gestures.

Cultural Considerations

If we imagine a German working for an Israeli company making a presentation in English to a Japanese audience in Korea, we can see that there are even many possibilities for cultural misunderstanding. Try to learn about any particular cultural matters that may affect your audience. Cultural differences can often be seen in body language. To a Latin from Southern France or Italy, a presenter who uses his hands and arms when speaking may seem dynamic and friendly. To an Englishman, the same presenter may seem unsure of his words and lacking in self-confidence.

Voice quality

Your audience must be able to hear you clearly. In general, you should try to vary your voice. Your voice will then be more interesting for your audience. You can vary your voice in at least three ways:

- speed: you can speak at normal speed, you can speak faster, you can speak more slowly, and you can stop completely! Silence is a very good technique for gaining your audience's attention.

- intonation: you can change the pitch of your voice. You can speak in a high tone. You can speak in a low tone.

- volume: you can speak at normal volume, you can speak loudly and you can speak quietly. Lowering your voice and speaking quietly can again attract your audience's interest.

Visual aids

80% of what we learn is learned visually (what we see) and only 20% is learned aurally (what we hear). This means that:

- visual aids are an extremely effective means of communication

- non-native English speakers do not need to worry so much about spoken English since they can rely more heavily on visual aids

It is important not to overload your audience's brains. Keep the information on each visual aid to a minimum - and give your audience time to look at and absorb this information. Remember, your audience have never seen these visual aids before. They need time to study and to understand them. Without understanding there is no communication.

Apart from photographs and drawings, some of the most useful visual aids are charts and graphs.

Audience Reaction

Remain calm and polite if you receive difficult questions during your presentation. If you receive particularly awkward questions, you can suggest that the questioners ask their questions after your presentation.

LANGUAGE

Simplicity and Clarity

If you want your audience to understand your message, your language must be simple and clear:

- use short words and short sentences

- do not use jargon, unless you know that your audience understands it

- talk about concrete facts rather than abstract ideas

- use active verbs instead of passive verbs

Active verbs are much easier to understand. They are much more powerful. Consider these two sentences, which say the same thing:

Sentence 1: Toyota sold two million cars last year.

Sentence 2: Two million cars were sold by Toyota last year.

Which is easier to understand? Which is more immediate? Which is more powerful? Sentence 1 is active and Sentence 2 is passive.

Signposting

When you drive on the roads, you know where you are. Each road has a name. Each town has a name. And each house has a number. You can look at the signposts for directions. It is easy to navigate the roads. You cannot get lost. But when you give a presentation, how can your audience know where they are? They know because you tell them. Because you put up signposts for them, at the beginning and all along the route. This technique is called 'signposting' (or 'signalling').

During your introduction, tell your audience the structure of your presentation, for example:

"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe. Then I'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in Asia. After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in Africa. Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."

A member of the audience can now visualise your presentation like this:

Introduction

- welcome!

- explanation of structure (now)

Body

- Europe

- Asia

- Africa

Conclusion

- summing up

- recommendations

Throughout your presentation, put up signposts telling him which point you have reached and where you are going now. When you finish Europe and want to start Asia, you might say:

"That's all I have to say about Europe. Let's turn now to Asia."

When you have finished Africa and want to sum up, you might say:

"Well, we've looked at the three continents Europe, Asia and Africa. I'd like to sum up now."

And when you finish summing up and want to give your recommendations, you might say:

"What does all this mean for us? Well, firstly I recommend..."

Here are some useful expressions to signpost the various parts of your presentation.

Introducing the subject:

"I'd like to start by..."

"Let's begin by..."

"First of all, I'll..."

Finishing a subject:

"Well, I've told you about..."

"That's all I have to say about..."

"We've looked at..."

Starting another subject:

"Now we'll move on to..."

"Let me turn now to..."

"Next..."

Analysing a point and giving recommendations:

"Where does that lead us?"

"Let's consider this in more detail..."

"What does this mean for ABC?"

Giving examples:

"For example,..."

"A good example of this is..."

"As an illustration,..."

Dealing with questions:

"We'll be examining this point in more detail later on..."

"I'd like to deal with this question later, if I may..."

"I'll come back to this question later in my talk..."

Summarising and concluding:

"In conclusion,..."

"Right, let's sum up, shall we?"

"I'd like now to recap..."

Ordering:

"Firstly...secondly...thirdly...lastly..."

"First of all...then...next...after that...finally..."

"To start with...later...to finish up..."

THE PRESENTATION ITSELF

Most presentations are divided into 3 main parts (+ questions):

- Introduction

- Body

- Conclusion

As a general rule in communication, repetition is valuable. In presentations, there is a golden rule about repetition:

"SAY WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SAY, SAY IT, THEN SAY WHAT YOU HAVE JUST SAID."

In other words, use the three parts of your presentation to reinforce your message:

In the introduction, say what your message is going to be.

In the body, say your real message.

In the conclusion, say what your message was.

Introduction

Use the introduction to:

Welcome your audience:

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen"

"Good afternoon, everybody"

Introduce your subject:

"My purpose today is to introduce our new range of..."

"I am going to talk about..."

Outline your structure:

"To start with I'll describe the progress made this year. Then I'll mention some of the problems we've encountered and how we overcame them. After that I'll consider the possibilities for further growth next year. Finally, I'll summarise my presentation (before concluding with some recommendations)."

Give instructions about questions:

"Please feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions."

"I'll try to answer any of your questions after the presentation."

Body

The body is the 'real' presentation. If the introduction was well prepared and delivered, you will now be 'in control'. You will be relaxed and confident.

The body should be well structured, divided up logically, with plenty of carefully spaced visuals.

Remember these key points while delivering the body of your presentation:

- do not hurry

- be enthusiastic

- give time on visuals

- maintain eye contact

- modulate your voice

- look friendly

- keep to your structure

- use your notes

- signpost throughout

- remain polite when dealing with difficult questions

Conclusion

Use the conclusion to:

Sum up:

"In conclusion,..."

"I'd like to sum up now..."

Give recommendations:

"In conclusion, my recommendations are..."

"I would suggest / propose / recommend the following strategy."

Thank your audience:

"Thank you for your attention."

"May I thank you all for being such an attentive audience."

Invite questions:

"Are there any questions?"

"Can I answer any questions?"

Questions

You may wish to accept questions at any time during your presentation, or to keep a time for questions after your presentation. It's your decision, and you should make it clear during the introduction. Be polite with all questioners, even if they ask difficult questions. Sometimes you can reformulate a question. Or answer the question with another question. Or even ask for comment from the rest of the audience.

By CSC staff, Shanghai
Published: April 12,2009

China, the media are referring to this phenomenon as the "rebound in the warm spring," and it's seen as largely due to released demand for housing after a one-year downturn. Prospective buyers, with cash in hand, have been waiting for the market to become more attractive. This year, with government policies in place to encourage real estate purchase, some have decided to jump back into the market. High household savings are itching to find a lucrative place to settle.

But "prosperity" in the real estate market may actually be more apparent for some than real, and the media have begun to sniff out facts behind appearances. It's been reported on April 6 that some Beijing developers are creating the illusion of busy business by paying people to stand in line, 50 yuan per person/day. Chinastakes.com staff visited properties for sale in Shanghai and found similar ruses in action.

over the past two years, at present there is plenty of housing for sale, and then some. According to the "Analysis of Shanghai's Real Estate Trend," recently submitted to the Shanghai People's Political Consultative Conference by Guotai Junan Securities, by the end of 2009, there will be a commercial housing inventory of 42.88 million square meters yet to be digested in Shanghai, and it will take an estimated 33 months to get through it based on the 2008 rate, perhaps optimistic now, of 1.3 million square meters/month.

China's land auctions reached as high as 40%. According to National Bureau of Statistics data, in the first two months, investment in fixed asset real estate development increased by a mere 1% over the same period of last year. Developers are reducing the number of new projects, finally showing some commendable caution about the future market.

But in the fourth quarter of 2008, the number of rentals of Grade A office space fell. Rents in Pudong decreased by 15.5% and in Puxi by 8% compared to the third quarter. Shanghai Zhongyuan Real Estate Research reported that since the end of November, Grade A office space vacancies have reached 10.7%, up 3.5 percentage points compared to 7.2% at the beginning of the year.

Beijing Issues Real Estate Rescue, but Doubts Remain

By CSC staff
Published: October 23,2008

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Persistent lobbying from local governments, and big real estate developers, importantly coupled with even more persistent worry over a slowing of domestic economic growth, has pushed the central government to the point where it has decided to launch a program to prop up the real estate market.

In the present economic situation, the government is most worried that the slump in the housing market will lead to a consumption slump that will shrink upstream and downstream industries, and are especially fretting over the possibility of an increase in banks' bad loans.

The Ministry of Finance yesterday cut the contract tax for housing transaction, the stamp tax on property purchase and the value-added tax for land on sales, from November 1. It also reduced minimum loan and down payment rates for residential apartments for self use by first time buyers. Industry insiders expect soon the government will issue more policies, mainly on bank loans and land tax, to help real estate developers.

The contract tax is to be reduced to 1 percent on purchase of the first unit of housing with a floor space of no more than 90 square meters. Stamp tax on individual property purchase or sale will be exempted.

The contract tax is paid by house buyers, and was 3% of the total house price. If the house traded meets the standards for ordinary residential housing, the tax will be cut to 1.5%. The stamp tax ratio will be as low as 0.05% of the total house price.

Cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou charge value-added tax on land on the basis of the total house price, 1% for ordinary housing and 2% for villa.

The Ministry of Finance will also allow local governments to formulate tax and charge exemption policies to encourage housing purchase. 18 cities, including Shanghai and Hangzhou, have already issued policies granting subsidies on contract tax, stamp tax, and transaction tax for property trade.

Operation, contract, urban land use, property, and value-added taxes are charged on property transaction.

Apart from favorable tax ratio, the central bank has also adjusted loan and down payment ratios for housing buyers. To boost domestic consumption, the interest rates on a mortgage for first time home buyers will be cut by 0.27 percentage points. The floor for interest rates would be lowered to 70 percent of the central bank's benchmark rate. The lowest down payment ratio has been reduced to 20%. Meanwhile, interest rates for housing fund loans of all types have been reduced by 0.27 percentage points respectively.

But a lowered floor for loan interest rate doesn't mean banks will necessarily apply the floor rate. In the current economic climate, banks are sure to be more conservative in granting house mortgage loans, and the interest rates for house loans will change with the benchmark interest.

Disputes rage over the government's bailout policy.

Experts worry that bubbles will still exist in China's real estate market and will pop right up if the housing market is boosted by the government.

But many others believe that, under current circumstances, these measures are not going to stem slumping housing prices. They argue that consumers will continue to wait and see whether developers are going to bring down housing prices even more from what were not long ago ridiculous heights, so the stimulation package may do nothing to stop housing prices from sliding.

Some analysts say the property market has been "extremely evil," that its upstream and downstream impact, on industries such as steel, cement, and the employment of society as a whole, has been excessively bubbly. The government's new policy aims to stimulate property consumption, but not to maintain high property prices. China's internal demand is shrinking as external demand is slumping. This is dangerous, so a soft landing of the property sector is very important.

But many say the current property market downturn is a remedy for the extreme froth of the recent past, and that the main cause of the market "depression" is that current housing prices are still much higher than the purchasing power of ordinary buyers. These analysts believe that government interference will stop the market's self adjustment, resulting in higher prices for all to pay.

A property industry insider thinks that despite the bailout policy, housing prices will continue to drop and will bottom out in the next year, as current prices far exceed purchasing power and that speculators who bought houses earlier are selling off.

Some analysts say whether the bailout policy will work or not is still uncertain. Under the current macroeconomic situation, consumer confidence is very hard to restore.

Yi Xianrong, professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes this time the Ministry of Finance has made different policies for house consumers and for house speculators, and is focusing on improvement of residents' living condition, meaning the government will continue taking measures to curb the bubbles in the real estate market.

But Yi added that if current housing prices don't come down, the government's favorable policies will not work.

Shanghai's abrupt action

Following the central government's move, Shanghai swiftly launched 14 measures to support the local property market. From November 1, 2008, to December 31, 2009, people buying or selling housing will enjoy the following favorable treatments:

1. Contract tax rate cut to 1% on an initial purchase of housing with a floor space of more than 90 square meters.

2. Stamp tax exemption on personal housing purchase or sale.

3. Value-added tax exemption on land of personal housing sale.

4. Loans provided to buyers purchasing housing for self use for the first time. The floor for the loan interest rate can be 70% of the benchmark loan interest, with minimum down payment reduced to 20%.

5. Loan interest rate reduction of 0.27 percentage points for housing fund loans.

6. Operation tax exemption for the trade of housing purchased more than two years before.

7. Individuals selling their own house purchased more than two years before don't' need to pay personal income tax on it.

8. Maximum housing fund loan raised for each individual buying first housing for self use from 200 thousand yuan to 300 thousand yuan. Maximum housing fund loan for each family is 600 thousand yuan.

9. Housing registration fee exemption for individual's purchase of ordinary housing, and commission exemption on individual's purchase and sale of ordinary housing in stock.

In Shanghai, Falling Housing Lending Mirrors Falling Real Estate Market

By CSC staff, Shanghai
Published: February 19,2009

Personal housing lending in Shanghai has been dropping month by month. According to a report released by the Shanghai Banking Regulatory Bureau on the real estate market and real estate credit in Shanghai in 2008, housing credit growth of domestic and overseas banks in Shanghai was 14 percentage points lower for the year.

By the end of last year, the commercial housing loan balance of domestic and overseas banks in Shanghai totaled 593.56 billion yuan, an increase of 19.32 billion yuan over the beginning of 2008. The growth is 38.692 billion yuan, or 2/3, lower than the growth in 2007. Housing lending growth in the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2008 stood at 13.278 billion yuan, 8.692 billion yuan, 2.709 billion yuan, and –5.359 billion yuan, respectively, dropping quarter by quarter.

Among all housing lending, development loans for residential housing grew slowly while those for commercial building grew faster. At the end of 2008, housing development loans in Shanghai totaled 215.395 billion yuan, an increase of 8.994 billion yuan over the beginning of the year, but 2.66 billion yuan lower than the growth in 2007. Of that total, property development lending dropped by 3.25 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, while residential housing development lending increased 3.013 billion yuan, 1.659 billion yuan higher than the increase in 2007. But since August last year, residential housing development loans have seen negative growth for five straight months. Commercial development lending grew by 11.345 billion yuan over the beginning of 2008, 4.83 billion yuan higher than the growth in 2007.

Personal housing lending growth in 2008 was lower than it in 2007 due to low turnover on the market. In Shanghai personal housing lending totaled 310.769 billion yuan at the end of last year, 8.89 billion yuan up since the beginning of the year, but 34.599 billion yuan lower than the increase in 2007.

Inventory housing lending grew by 12.361 billion yuan last year, 1.028 billion yuan higher than the growth in the previous year. Lending for newly constructed housing dropped by 3.471 billion yuan, 35.627 billion lower than the growth in 2007. On the other hand, growth of housing lending to non-residents and foreigners reached 5.607 billion yuan, higher than that to local residents, totaling 3.283 billion yuan.

At the end of last year, Shanghai's non-performing loan (NPL) balance totaled 6.169 billion yuan, an increase of 1.036 billion yuan over the beginning of the year. The NPL ratio grew by 0.15 percentage points to 1.04%. The quality of personal housing lending has been well controlled. Non-performing personal housing loans totaled 1.872 billion yuan at the end of last year, 254 million yuan lower than at the beginning of the year, and the NPL ratio stood at 0.6%, 0.1 percentage points lower than it at the beginning of the year.

Shanghai's real estate market entered a downturn in the second half of last year. Despite signs of rebound in December led by stimulus policies of the central and local governments, housing prices look to continue to decline.

Allowance and consolation money
　　1． Allowance for making a business trip
　　　　Anyone who is away on official business can this allowance according to the corresponding hierarchy.
　　2． Allowance for communication
　　　　It is provided to the employees according to the corresponding job appointments.
　　3． Festival consolation money
　　　　Employees can gain this allowance on the New Year's Day, the Spring Festival, the Labor Day, the mid-autumn festival, the national day. In addition, woman employees can gain a special allowance on the Ladies' Day.
    4． Congratulatory consolation money
　　　　It can be gained once such affairs as employee's wedding, birthday, child-borne or death of lineal relative happens.

Social insurances and other insurances
　　Social insurances are paid annually for every official employee by Altratek, including endowment insurance, employment injury insurance,  medical insurance, birth insurance and unemployment insurance. Besides these, the accident insurance and the comprehensive medical insurance are paid for employees annually.
Housing policy
　　The public accumulation fund for housing construction is paid for every employee by Altratek according to national regulations.

Vacation policy
1.  On legal holidays：
　　All employees can share such national legal holidays with salary as the New Year's Day (one day), the Spring Festival (three days), the Labor Day (three days) and the national day (three days). In addition, woman employees can have half a day of leave on the Ladies' Day. And those who have children younger that 13 can have half a day of leave on the Children's Day.
2.  Annual vacation：
　Employees serviced for a year long can share 7-workday's annual leave with payment. And the in the coming years, the annual vacation period can have one-workday of increment corresponding to the working age but with the maximum of 20 workdays.
3.  According to the "labor law" and the national relevant regulations, employees can share such vacations with payment as weekends, wedding leave, funeral leave, woman's maternity leave and man's leave accompanied with the woman's maternity leave, and so on. What is more, two-day full-pay monthly sick leave can be shared by every employee.

Employee Welfare

We understand that staffs spend at least half of their time at work. They contribute to the success of the organization when they are free from worries and when they feel their welfare needs are considered. Our welfare program addresses ill health, bereavement, counseling, and work related stress, staff wellness and education assistance. Support structures have been put in place to oversee harmonious interventions in staff welfare.

HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Selecting and presenting an appropriate business gift

General Guidelines

Lavish gift giving was an important part of Chinese culture in the past. Today, official policy in Chinese business culture forbids giving gifts; this gesture is considered bribery, an illegal act in this country. Consequently, your gift may be declined.

In many organizations, however, attitudes surrounding gifts are beginning to relax. In any case, you will have to approach giving gifts with discretion, as outlined in the following points.

If you wish to give a gift to an individual, you must do it privately, in the context of friendship, not business.

The Chinese will decline a gift three times before finally accepting, so as not to appear greedy. You will have to continue to insist. Once the gift is accepted, express gratitude. You will be expected to go through the same routine if you are offered a gift.

In the presence of other people, never present a valuable gift to one person. This gesture will cause only embarrassment, and possibly even problems for the recipient, given the strict rules against bribery in Chinese business culture. Do not take any photograph of any gift giving unless it is a symbolic gift presented to the organization as a whole.

Giving a gift to the entire company, rather than an individual, can be acceptable in Chinese business culture as long as you adhere to the following rules:

All business negotiations should be concluded before gifts are exchanged.

Specify that the gift is from the company you represent. If you can, explain the meaning of the gift to the receiver.

Present the gift to the leader of the Chinese negotiating team.

Do not get anything that is obviously expensive, so that the company will not feel obliged to reciprocate.

Valuable gifts should be given to an individual only in private and strictly as a gesture of friendship.

Make sure that the gifts given to people of the same level of importance are equitable or of similar grade. Somehow, they may find out later, and the difference may lead to strains in your relationship.

Do not wrap a gift before arriving in China, as it may be unwrapped in Customs.

If possible, have your gifts wrapped in red paper, which is considered a lucky colour. Plain red paper is one of the few “safe” choices since a variety of meanings, many of which are negative, are attributed to colours in Chinese culture.

Pink and gold and silver are also acceptable colours for gift wrap. Wrapping in yellow paper with black writing is a gift given only to the dead. Also, do check the variations from region to region about colours.

Because colours have so many different meanings in this culture, your safest option is to entrust the task of gift-wrapping to a store or hotel that offers this service.

Doing business with the Chinese, Part II

29. Juli 2008 | Themen: Business English Stil & Etikette  | Kommentare lesen (0)| (0)

Konnten Sie alle Fragen in unserem kleinen Test aus Teil I des Tipps auf Anhieb richtig beantworten? Glückwunsch! Aber auch die Tipps des zweiten Teils sollten Sie sich dennoch nicht entgehen lassen.

Gift giving

If you are expecting Chinese visitors, be prepared for them to bring gifts, and have some gifts ready for them, but make sure you know the rules. Lavish gift giving was an important part of Chinese business culture in the past. Today, official policy in Chinese business culture sees giving and accepting gifts as bribery. But old habits die hard and in many organisations, gifts are still given. However, observe the following rules:

·Gifts are given after negotiations have been concluded.

·If you want to give a gift to an individual, do it privately and don't take a photograph of the visitor receiving the gift.

·The Chinese decline a gift three times before finally being persuaded to accept it. This is so as not to appear greedy. So if a Chinese visitor refuses a gift, offer it two more times. If you are offered a gift, play along and "refuse" to accept it two times.

·Never present a valuable gift to one person in front of other people.

·Always wrap gifts. Be careful to choose the right colour, because colours have many different associations in Chinese culture. Red is always a safe choice.

Der Spezial-Fernkurs für Sekretärinnen und Assistentinnen Let’s talk Business English bereitet Sie hier optimal vor.

At the meeting

·The seat in the centre of the table, facing the door, is reserved for the host. The most senior guest of honour sits to the host's left. Everyone else is seated in descending order of status.

·When you are offered a business card, accept it with both hands and read it before putting it on the table in front of you or in a card folder. Never put a business card in your pocket and never write on it in the presence of the visitor.

·Say "I'm pleased to meet you", or "ni hao", in Chinese.

·The Chinese state their last name first, then their given name, for example Liu Jianguo would be Mr Jiangou Liu.

·Don't use first names until you are asked to.

·In Chinese business, it is not customary to make and receive compliments. If you do make a compliment, expect to hear something like "not at all, it was nothing" rather than a direct "thank you".

The comfort zone

The comfort zone is the physical distance people like to keep from other people. This comfort zone varies from country to country. In Northern Europe we tend to keep further apart than people in Southern Europe. The Chinese comfort zone is slightly closer than ours. So, if you instinctively step back because you feel a Chinese visitor is standing too close to you, he or she might step closer again. But although they keep less distance from one another than we do, the Chinese do not like to be touched, especially by strangers. Do not hug, back-slap or put an arm round someone's shoulder.

Fit in Business English - The easy way: Let's talk Business English- Der Spezial-Fernkurs für Sekretärinnen und Assistentinnen

Habits to avoid

·Pointing at something with your index finger. Use your open hand.

·Using the index finger to call someone. The Chinese call someone over using the whole hand with fingers motioning downward, as if they were waving.

Some Chinese habits may seem unusual to you. In particular, the Chinese often slurp when eating. This is not a sign of bad manners but means that they appreciate the food. You must also be prepared for people speaking with their mouth full and for them smoking without asking for permission.

International Gift Etiquette - United States

How to Send Flowers the Right Way!

Step 1

The first thing you must do is consider all the times that sending flowers is essential. Secondly, you must further consider your timing in the delivery of the arrangement(s). Both elements are necessary in your ability to show grace and diplomacy in giving the "gift of flowers."

Step 2

One time when most of us usually send flowers is when someone becomes hospitalized. The suggestion here is not to send your flowers when the person is too ill or incapacitated to appreciate your gift. Flowers will do little to revive the "spirits" of a person just coming out from being "under."

Instead, send flowers prior to the operation or a week afterwards. Or, send a small bouquet or arrangement to the individual's address when he or she is due to return home.

By following the above course of action, your flowers won't arrive with everyone else's, which is directly after the operation.

Step 3

Consider the following: If sending flowers will cheer "sickly" individuals, think of the impact your flowers will make on healthier friends.

In the case where some of your healthier friends may also be substantially wealthier, rather than trying to "match" them in the "gift buying" area, use your "limited" resources to send them colorful arrangements from time to time.

In example, if they have sent you a lavish gift on an occasion such as Christmas, Wedding(s), Birthday(s), or whatever circumstance, return their thoughtful social gesture by sending them a lovely bouquet or arrangement of flowers.

Depending upon their generosity and your possible lack of "matching" resources, 1 delivery could arrive in spring, 1 in summer, another in autumn and yet another in winter. The autumn arrangement could celebrate autumn but be just in time for Thanksgiving; your winter arrangement could "applaud" the advent of winter, however, be delivered around Valentine's Day or Christmas; your spring arrangement could arrive around Easter and your summer arrangement might be delivered around the Fourth of July.

Depending on your friends and other circumstances, occasional delivery of flowers in appreciation of a thoughtful gift (well out of reach of your own "budgetary" price range) is always a graceful act.

Just don't get carried away with your "thankfulness." If you send too many bouquets, it may appear as "mocking" as opposed to appreciation. Send the bouquet or arrangement a week or so after receiving the gift, acknowledging the "givers" gift and thoughtful gesture.

A note card could simply read: "Thank you for your thoughtful gift."

Step 4

The following suggestion is for husbands who travel frequently or suitors or one of similar circumstance. Once your partner or spouse sees you off for your trip, have a box of flowers awaiting her arrival back home or schedule delivery for sometime that day.

Also, the thoughtful partner could wire flowers just prior to arriving home on the day he returns home. It is suggested to make your bouquet or arrangement somewhat symbolic of your return home. For instance, you could write something on the card like, "Three Cheers--I'll be Home to See You Tonight," if you have sent 3 lovely long-stemmed flowers.

The suggestion here is do one or the other--too much flower giving can be considered "overkill" and may "stifle" the relationship; whereas, one simple thoughtful gesture, timed appropriately, makes all the difference in the world.

Step 5

Women are at liberty to give flowers to men. Many men do not consider flowers purely a gift for women. Appropriate flowers for men include Carnations and Chrysanthemums. Less appropriate choices or selections to stay away from altogether for men include Sweetheart Roses and Baby's Breath.

If you and your companion have a "tiff," once you both have resolved the issue, why not send him a small bunch of flowers? You could send them privately, of course, as a good-natured gesture.

Step 6

Flower gifts do not need to be necessarily traditional in nature. The idea of not only sending flowers when least expected, but putting a "novel" twist to the gift giving is an ideal way of presenting floral gifts. The foll0wing are a few suggestions you may wish to use for special occasions.

"Brand" your girl with a floral arrangement made up of your own initials. Do this when you are well into the relationship and not at the beginning. This can be a dating anniversary gift and may be presented at an informal type of party. Kiddingly, let her know you are "branding" her as your girl. Make sure she has a good sense of humor. Additionally, do not give her the idea you consider her chattel. Just give it the sense that you are wanting her to wear your "pin," or give it the feel that you 2 are a "steady" item.

Another idea is a young girl could receive an "initial arrangement" based on the first initial of the recipient's first name and the first initial of her last name. Flowers such as Cornflowers, Dwarf Zinnias, Midget Dahlias, and Pom Pom Mums are flowers small enough to be part of such a design or arrangement.

You could send a Bon voyage Boat for a recipient heading abroad. Have the lower deck made with a solid mass of red carnations, with the upper deck made with white carnations. If you wish, add 2 smoke stacks with blue cornflowers to give your arrangement a "vintage feel." A talented florist should be able to construct the arrangement as described.

Step 7

Another consideration are arrangements for new mothers. How about putting together two identical vases, one large vase with big flowers and one tiny vase with miniature flowers in the same variety as the tall flowers or in the same color scheme? For example, gladioluses may be used as the big flowers with the tiny selection being the Midget Gladiolus.

Step 8

Always remember to give a girl flowers on the following occasions: graduation(s), proms, or a "deb" party.

It is suggested to give younger girls corsages made of smaller flowers. Avoid grand displays of blossoms. For example, Anthurium and Amaryllis appear too sophisticated.

Step 9

Depending on your mates temperament, if she really likes flowers, send some her way on New Year's Eve, Easter, Mother's Day, and Valentine's Day.

Step 10

Do not send funereal looking flowers to a funeral and do not send cut flowers as it may be difficult for a funeral home to readily supply an appropriate vase.

Your best bet is to send a spray. Additionally, have your florist write precisely what you have given him or her, on the back of your card.

Step 11

In conclusion, giving flowers is a matter of timing as well as inventiveness. Merely providing a nice display to the recipient is not the "total package."

Sending the gift of flowers with presentations that are original makes the difference in a floral gift that is ordinary to something that is--well, extraordinary.

Effective communication habits lead to

healthy personal and work relationships

Essential keys for happier, more productive living

In business and in the workplace, on the domestic front and in our social lives, we all stand to benefit from more effective communication skills. We crave for more fulfilling interpersonal relationships. This site is dedicated to helping you achieve your goals. New features added continually!

FEATURE OF THE WEEK:

Reading body language: 5 mistakes many people make

Human beings are genetically programmed to look for facial and behavioral cues. We see someone gesture and automatically make a judgment about the intention of that gesture. Indeed, the ability to 'read' nonverbal signals can provide you with crucial information about other people, which will give you a significant advantage in judging how to interact with them in all kinds of situations. But you have to avoid these five common mistakes that lead people right off the track when they attempt to read body language Check out all the details here.

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SEE SAMPLE ISSUE HERE

Extending the aforementioned authors’ notions about organizational approaches for business messages, Stauss and Seidel (2004: 98) suggested a checklist for dealing with dissatisfied customers:

1. Understand complaints as a normal part of your job and as a chance to reduce customer dissatisfaction and to ensure customer retention.

2. Look for a quiet location for the complaint conversation. Do not let other customers listen to the conversation. Offer the customer a seat. Address the customer by name.

3. Signal willingness to talk. Use gestures, eye contact, and body language to convey that you are paying close attention. Offer an apology or at least regret that the customer has had a bad experience. Use the first-person form when formulating responses. (for example: “I am really sorry that you had this inconvenience” or “I apologize for the trouble caused”)

4. Listen carefully. Do not interrupt the complainant. Let the customer speak first without interruption even though the customer may bring up unfounded statements.

5. Conduct the conversation in a calm and courteous manner. Respond calmly to exaggerations and personal accusations. Respond to insults calmly and bring the conversation back to the factual level. Do not argue with the customer and do not engage in a power struggle. An argument with the customer is always won by the customer.

6. Take notes. The activity of writing down what customer says demonstrates to the customer that you are taking the complaint seriously and encourages the customer to explain the circumstances more accurately. Furthermore, the notes are valuable in complaint handling and analysis.

7. Avoid immediate diagnoses and listen to all the information without confessing that you were at fault.

8. Don’t ask questions regarding the contents until the situation becomes completely clear. Pose questions in a courteous manner. (for example: “Thanks for the hint. One more thing I would like to know is…”)

9. Put yourself in the customer’s place. Avoid wording that increase the level of annoyance.

10. If a mistake actually happened, do not blame a colleague, other departments, or the firm in general.

11. Initiate the handling of the complaint immediately. Offer a fair solution.

12. Ask if the customer agrees with the settlement.

13. If a prompt solution is not possible, promise the customer that the case will be thoroughly reviewed and indicate how long it will take before the customer receives a notice. Observe this deadline. If this is despite your best efforts not possible, inform the complainant in a timely manner and explain the reasons.

14. If you are not responsible or you cannot do anything, forward the complaint and see to it that the receipt and handling process is continued according to the customer’s wishes.

15. Conclude the conversation positively.

16. Analyze the complaint case and notify the responsible manager so that the source of the error can be quickly eliminated.

·Communication Skills - Start Here!

Why you need to get your message across

Effective communication is all about conveying your messages to other people clearly and unambiguously. It's also about receiving information that others are sending to you, with as little distortion as possible.

Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver. And it's a process that can be fraught with error, with messages muddled by the sender, or misinterpreted by the recipient. When this isn't detected, it can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed opportunity.

In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication.

By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you actually send do not necessarily reflect what you think, causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals – both personally and professionally.

In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School, points out that communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success.

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue to struggle, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.

Being able to communicate effectively is therefore essential if you want to build a successful career. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and cultural context.

Communications Skills – The Importance of Removing Barriers

Problems with communication can pop-up at every stage of the communication process (which consists of the sender, encoding, the channel, decoding, the receiver, feedback and the context – see the diagram below). At each stage, there is the potential for misunderstanding and confusion.

To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of problems at each stage of this process, with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications. We follow the process through below:

Source...

As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you're communicating, and what you want to communicate. You also need to be confident that the information you're communicating is useful and accurate.

Message...

The message is the information that you want to communicate.

Encoding...

This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion (for example, cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and missing information.)

A key part of this is knowing your audience: Failure to understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.

Channel...

Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal channels including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written channels including letters, emails, memos and reports.

Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it's not particularly effective to give a long list of directions verbally, while you'll quickly cause problems if you give someone negative feedback using email.

Decoding...

Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding (involving, for example, taking the time to read a message carefully, or listen actively to it.) Just as confusion can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decoding errors. This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message.

Receiver...

Your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. Keep in mind, though, that each of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message, and their response. To be a successful communicator, you should consider these before delivering your message, and act appropriately.

Feedback...

Your audience will provide you with feedback, as verbal and nonverbal reactions to your communicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the only thing that can give you confidence that your audience has understood your message. If you find that there has been a misunderstanding, at least you have the opportunity to send the message a second time.

Context...

The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the surrounding environment or broader culture (corporate culture, international cultures, and so on).

Removing Barriers at All These Stages

To deliver your messages effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist within each of these stages of the communication process.

Let’s begin with the message itself. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains errors, you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Use of poor verbal and body language can also confuse the message.

Barriers in context tend to stem from senders offering too much information too fast. When in doubt here, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other people’s time, especially in today’s ultra-busy society.

Once you understand this, you need to work to understand your audience’s culture, making sure you can converse and deliver your message to people of different backgrounds and cultures within your own organization, in your country and even abroad

MindTools.com - Join Our Community!

The first skill that you'll learn in this section is 'How to Make a Great First Impression": This is essential if you're going to have the chance to communicate your message. To read this, click 'Next article' below. Other relevant destinations are shown in the "Extension Resources" list underneath.

·Communication Skills to Build Confidence

Dear Master Communicator-in-Making,

Re: Communication Skills explained!  

My name is Sri Hari. I have seen many people spend most of their life with the belief that they need fixing and spend thousands on therapy and counseling group sessions and still suffer with the same anxieties and pains.

I am here to help you take control back and enjoy your living y using a few simple skills and techniques which you can start using right away.

What is so great about communication skills?

This is exactly the question that started me off on this adventure. Almost everyone I met had something to say about the way I spoke. When I stopped them and asked "what do you mean by better communication skills?" they would start off with a "You have to.........." and stop dead in their track.

Everybody seems to go into a trance when answering that question. So here, I had a bunch of people who kept telling I do not communicate well, but failed to tell me how to do it better or what to do, to communicate better. Since I could not find a good enough answer, I start my own search.

You must know a few important things before you can become a Good Communicator.

Communication # Words

Quite a few people are surprised at that statement. Communication is definitely not just the words you use. You may have the entire oxford dictionary at the tip of your tongue or may have the president's pin for the biggest vocabulary and still be a bad communicator because you had this wondrous idea that communication means words and more words.

In reality, good communication skills are opposite; it is using lesser words and obtain a greater impact. Communicating well involves using multiple channels that we human have developed over the centuries. Some of them are primal in nature like the body language and some of it acquired over years, like the tone of your voice and then we have the words.

Words actually contribute to about 7% according one famous research. Let us not contest the academics or try to prove that this percentage is correct. The important point is that, communication is made up of more than just words and until you realize that, your chance of becoming good at influencing others is quite slim.

Warning: I am not a nerdy professor sitting at some ancient university behind a nice oak desk and a Harvard degree... if you expect something like that... my friend you are lost...

Why are good communication skills needed?

Most of today's influential people reached the level of success by their sheer skills of influence/ persuasion. However, before you can become good at persuasion and influence, you will first need to step through the basics....

I would suggest you to start with communication test so you can understand your current style and level of skills. Once you get a gist of your present situation, you can then start learning some of the basic rules of good communication.

When you are ready, you can step on to developing your leadership skills and presentation ideas. If you need some help in developing other core skills, we also have a section on distance education, which can help you further your academic skills and improve your job opportunities.

Based on your unique stage of learning, make your choice. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try our customized search... we have customized it to give you the best resources to develop your communication skills.

What to do next to improve my communication skills?

To help our visitors get started on the right note, we have designed a a very effective program called the 3 Steps to Maximize Influence. It has been tested over a few thousand of our visitors and improved based on their feedback.

Thousands have benefited by following our 3 Steps program and you can be one of them. It has three simple steps that you can use today to help you become better at influencing people. I suggest you take the communication skills test, which will then subscribe you to the free 3-step program, a perfect way to start your skills development.

The 3 Steps are,

1. Learn how to Ground yourself to Convert your nervous energy into confidence.

2. Develop Sensory Alertness and recognize the three primary sensory channels.

3. Learn how to build rapport very quickly

Now you would be more than happy to attend a $500 workshop on this, But I am making available to you for almost free. almost because you need to fill in your email address and name to access this report.

Developing Good communication and Confidence

Developing good communication without developing your confidence is like building just your upper body muscles, not very effective. Therefore, we also have a growing resource of material on developing your confidence and charisma. In fact, as you will discover very soon, confidence is a product of your internal communication.

Confidence is primarily based on your self-talk. If you a person who lashes out at your mistakes, guess what? You are hitting on your own toe…. So developing a good internal communication will be a major boost in developing you confidence. We will show you some simple ways to do that.

What to do Next?

Take the Communication test today to subscribe or if you want to subscribe straight away, go here. Both the Communication Test and the 3 Steps to Maximize Influence course are free of cost.

Peace and Prosperity, With Confidence

Table manners are the etiquette used when eating. This includes the appropriate use of utensils. Different cultures have different standards for table manners. Many table manners evolved out of practicality. For example, it is generally impolite to put elbows on tables since doing so creates a risk of tipping over bowls and cups. Within different families or groups, there may be less rigorous enforcement of some traditional table manners of their culture while still maintaining others. For example, some families ignore elbows on the table or mixing of foods.

Afghan table manners

The eldest should be seated as far from the door as possible, unless there are guests present, then the guests are seated farthest from the door.

Depending on the customs of the household a prayer may be offered before and/or after the meal.

Guests are offered food first, and ought to eat the most, while the hosts eat last and the least.

Guests should refrain from eating too much, unless the hosts coaxes them to eat more. The host should always ask at least three times if the guest wants more food. The guest should say no at least three times to the host. In certain situations the host can put food on the guest's plate by force.

Guests are always given the best portions of the food.

Traditionally food should be eaten with bare hands; However, cutlery is sometimes provided. Only use your right hand when eating with your hands. There are proper ways of picking up rice and other loose food without spilling any, which one should learn and practice. Wasting food is frowned upon. When cutlery is provided it is usually a spoon and fork since there is seldom need for the use of a knife when eating Afghani food. Even when cutlery is provided it is acceptable to eat with your hands interchangeably.

Soup is eaten by soaking bread in it.

Food remnants should be collected with slices of bread.

Sometimes it is common to eat collectively from one plate. One should always eat from one's own side.

If eating on a table and bread is dropped on the floor the bread should picked up and kissed and put to one's forehead before putting back somewhere other than the floor. If eating on the floor make sure that your feet do not touch the food.

Compliments to the chef are customary; however, compliments should be returned with extreme modesty.

Traditionally, service during dinner is performed by the youngest. First, water is brought in a jug with a saucer to wash the hands. The food is then served. This may be followed by fruit and then tea.

Tea is served after dinner, with dried fruits, sweets, and sugar cubes. When tea is served, the cup of a guest must never be empty, and snacks must be offered. Once the guest has finished drinking tea, the guest can flip their tea cup over to signal that they are done.

Eating or talking with one's mouth full is looked down upon.

Even if one is starving one should refrain from being over zealous at the table.

Passing wind is not tolerated.

One must never sit with one's back to anyone, especially an elder or a guest. One must never sit with feet stretched out toward anyone, especially an elder or a guest.

One must always be polite and gracious to the host. Remember if the host is poor and had only one chicken which the family used for eggs that chicken would be sacrificed for the guest.

After eating, the jug of water is brought out again to wash hands. A towel may be provided.

American table manners

Table Layout

Bread plates are to the left of the main plate, beverage glasses are to the right.

Salad fork, knife and soup spoon are further from the main plate than the main course knife, fork and spoon. Dessert utensils are either placed above the main plate or served with dessert.

General Behavior

Chew with your mouth closed.

Do not talk at an excessively loud volume.

Refrain from coughing, sneezing or blowing nose at the table.

Never tilt back your chair while at the table, or at any other time.

Do not make unbecoming noises while eating.

Do not play with food or table utensils.

Do not single out or chastise someone who has shown poor table manners.

Do not put your elbows on the table or slouch.

Always ask the host or hostess to be excused before leaving the table.

Do not stare at anyone while he or she is eating.

Never talk on your phone at table. If urgent, ask host or hostess to be excused, and go outside. Apologize when returned.

Utensils

Do not eat food with your fingers unless you are eating foods customarily eaten with fingers, such as bread, french fries, chicken wings, pizza, etc.

The fork may be used either in the American (use the fork in your left hand while cutting; switch to right hand to pick up and eat a piece) or the Continental (fork remains in the left hand) fashion -- either is now acceptable. (See Fork etiquette)

The fork is used to convey any solid food to the mouth.

The knife blade should be placed on the edge of your plate when not in use. The blade should always face inward.

When you have finished eating soup, the spoon should be placed to the side of the saucer, not left in the bowl.

Keep your napkin on your lap. At more formal occasions all diners will wait to place their napkins on their laps until the host or hostess places his or her napkin on his or her lap

When eating barbecue or some other messy foods such as cracked crab, a 'bib' napkin may be provided for and used by adults. Usually these foods are also eaten by hand, and wet wipes or paper napkins should be used to clean the hands.

When using paper napkins, never ball them up or allow stains to show.

Use your silverware from the outside moving inward toward the main plate. (Salad fork, knife and soup spoon are further from the main plate than the main course knife, fork and spoon. Dessert utensils are either placed above the main plate or served with dessert.)

Dining

A prayer or 'blessing' may be customary in some families, and the guests should join in even if they are not religious or do not follow the same religion. Most prayers are made by the host before the meal is eaten. Instead or in addition, a 'toast' may be offered [1].

Do not start eating until (a) every person is served or (b) those who have not been served request that you begin without waiting. At more formal occasions all diners will wait to begin until the hostess or host lifts a fork or spoon.

When a dish is presented 'family style', the food is served to one's plate and then passed on to the next person. put the food on your left, take some and pass to the person next to you.

When serving, serve from the left and pick up the dish from the right. Beverages are both served and removed from the right.

Eat soup noiselessly and with the side of the spoon.

Tea or coffee should never be poured into the saucer to cool but should be sipped from the cup. Alternatively, ice may be used to cool either.

Seasoning ones meal prior to tasting can be considered rude and may insult the chef.

At the end of the meal

It is acceptable in most places to not finish all of the food on your plate.

When finished with your meal, place your knife and fork with handles at the 4 o'clock position and the tines of the fork down to signal to the server you are done.

Except in a public restaurant, do not ask to take some of your uneaten food away from the meal after it ends, especially when having a formal dinner.

British table manners

The fork is held in your left hand and the knife is held in your right.

You should hold your knife with the handle in your palm and your fork in the other hand with the prongs pointing downwards.

If you’re eating a dessert, your fork (if you have one) should be held in the left hand and the spoon in the right.

When eating soup, you should hold your spoon in your right hand and tip the bowl away from you, scooping the soup in movements away from yourself.

It is not acceptable to use your fingers at the table to eat or push food onto your fork. You may, however, eat some foods such as fruit, sandwiches, hamburgers, crisps, chips or pizza with your fingers.

If there are a number of knives or forks, then you should start from the outside set working your way in as each course is served.

Drinks should always be to the right of your plate with the bread roll to the left.

When eating bread rolls, break off a piece before buttering. Use your knife only to butter the bread, not to cut it.

You should not start eating before your host does or instructs you to do so. At larger meals, it is considered okay to start eating once others have been served.

When you’re finished, place your knife and fork together at six o’clock with your fork on the left (tines facing up) and knife on the right, with the knife blade facing in. This signals that you are finished.

Your napkin should never be screwed up. When finished, fold it neatly and leave it to the left of your plate.

Never blow your nose on your napkin. Place it on your lap and use it to dab your mouth if you make a mess.

It is considered rude to answer the telephone at the table. If you need to take an urgent call, excuse yourself and go outside.

Always ask for permission from the host and excuse yourself if you need to leave the table. You should place your napkin on your seat until you return.

If you must leave the table or are resting, your fork should be at eight o’clock and your knife at four o’clock (with the blade inwards). Once an item of cutlery has been used, it should not touch the table again.

The food should be brought to your mouth on the fork; you should sit straight and not lean towards your plate.

Dishes should be served from the right, and taken away from the right. Unless the food is placed on your plate at the table, then it should arrive from the left.

Drinks should be served from the right.

Never lean across somebody else’s plate. If you need something to be passed, ask the person closest to it. If you have to pass something, only pass it if you are closest to it and pass it directly to them if you can.

Salt & pepper should be passed together.

Do not take food from a neighbour’s plate and don’t ask to do so.

You must not put your elbows on the table.

If pouring a drink for yourself, offer to pour a drink for your neighbours before serving yourself.

If extra food is on the table, ask others first if they would like it before taking it yourself.

When chewing food, close your mouth and only talk when you have swallowed it.

Swallow all food before eating more or having a drink.

Do not slurp your food or eat loudly. Burping or sneezing at the table should be avoided, too.

Never pick food out of your teeth with your fingernails.

Try to eat all the food you are served.

Glasses served in a wine glass or other stemmed-glass should be held at the stem.

Always remember “regular” manners. Remember to say "please" and "thank you".

Chinese table manners

These are mostly concerned with the use of chopsticks. Otherwise generally Chinese table manners are rather more informal, what would be considered rude in other cultures such as talking with the mouth full may be acceptable.

Chopsticks must always be held in the correct manner. It should be held between the thumb and fingers of the right hand,

Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand only, even by the left-handed. Although chopsticks may now be found in either hand, a few still consider left-handed chopstick use improper etiquette. One explanation for the treatment of such usage as improper is that this can symbolise argument, as the chopsticks may collide between the left-handed and right-handed user.

When communal chopsticks are supplied with shared plates of food, it is considered impolite to use your own chopsticks to pick up the food from the shared plate or eat using the communal chopsticks. An exception to this rule is made in intimate family dinners where family members may not mind the use of one's own chopsticks to transfer food.

It is considered impolite to use the blunt end of the chopsticks to transfer food from a common dish to your own plate or bowl. Use the communal chopsticks instead.

Never wave your chopsticks around as if they were an extension of your hand gestures, bang them like drumsticks, or use them to move bowls or plates.

Decide what to pick up before reaching with chopsticks. Do not hover around or poke looking for special ingredients. After you have picked up an item, do not put it back in the dish.

When picking up a piece of food, never use the tips of your chopsticks to poke through the food as if you were using a fork. Exceptions include tearing larger items apart such as vegetables. In informal use, small, difficult to pick-up items such as cherry tomatoes or fishballs may be stabbed but this use is frowned upon by traditionalists.

Chopsticks can be rested horizontally on one's plate or bowl to keep them off the table entirely. A chopstick rest can also be used to keep the points off the table.

Never stab chopsticks into a bowl of rice, leaving them standing upwards. Any stick-like object facing upward resembles the incense sticks that some Asians use as offerings to deceased family members. This is considered the ultimate faux pas on the dining table.

Chinese traditionally eat rice from a small bowl held in the left hand. The rice bowl is raised to the mouth and the rice pushed into the mouth using the chopsticks. Some Chinese find it offensive to scoop rice from the bowl using a spoon. If rice is served on a plate, as is more common in the West, it is acceptable and more practical to eat it with a fork or spoon. The thumb must always be above the edge of the bowl.

It is acceptable to transfer food to people who have a close relation with you (e.g. parents, grandparents, children or significant others) if you notice they are having difficulty picking up the food. Also it is a sign of respect to pass food to the elderly first before the dinner starts (part of the Confucian tradition of respecting seniors).

Traditionally, it is polite for the youngest members of the table to address each and everyone of the elderly members of the table before a meal starts and literally tell them to "eat rice", which means "go ahead and start the meal", to show respect.

The host should always make sure the guests drinks are sufficiently full. One should not pour for ones self, but should (if thirsty) offer to pour for a neighbor. When your drink is being poured, you should not say "thank you" but may tap your fingers on the table to show appreciation.

When people wish to clink drinks together in the form of a cheer, it is important to observe that younger members should clink the edge of their drink below the edge of an elder to show respect.

Filipino table manners

Food is usually eaten with Western cutlery, though with variation: the tablespoon is the main utensil, held in the right hand; the left hand holds the fork, but only as a helper to scoop food into the spoon as well as to pick up portions of food. Unlike other Asian cultures, it is not considered a faux pas to use a knife to cut foods into smaller portions at the dining table.

Eating using the hands is acceptable in some cases - although rare these days, especially in the urbanised areas of the country. One would find this practice mostly in rural areas.

Eating with hands is not practised in formal dining situations, except of course with foods that normally are consumed that way, such as table breads (i.e., buttered buns), and other delicacies. Generally, mid-level restaurants and social gatherings are not appropriate venues for this, whereas this may be done at home.

When eating, it is unethical to place elbows on the table.

Pangalumbaba or an act of supporting the chin with hands is considered a disrespectful manner while eating.

It is considered bad manners to talk when mouth is full. A person should finish chewing first before he should speak.

In Islamic parts of the country, one absolutely must remember never to eat with the left hand as this hand is considered unclean.

When visiting another's home, it is customary for the host to provide drinks and some snacks for the guests. It is very important for the guest to accept this offering. To do otherwise would be a serious insult or put-down to the host.

In situations where the guests may already have full stomachs, it is best to at least eat smaller portions of the food. Food may only be declined in the severest of circumstances, practically limited exclusively to allergies and other medical conditions.

Consuming all of the food on your plate is considered good manners, as this is an indication that you are satisfied with the food prepared. Leftover food, however, is not necessarily bad manners.

Sometimes making slight noises such as "mmm!" while eating or commenting the host on the dishes is another sign of appreciation.

Filipinos love to laugh. It's important to smile and laugh along with everyone else even if you may be quiet or shy, for it signifies that you are enjoying your time and not bored.

Certain Western customs (especially American ones) may apply, but the practice is inconsistent. Different families or different places vary in their application of Western table manners.

French table manners

Both hands must be above the table at the same time. They cannot be below the table even if they are together. This rule comes from medieval times, where the king feared assassination. To make sure he was able to dine safely, all persons dining with him kept their hands above the table where they could be seen at all times. The action of putting your hands below the table was interpreted as an attempt to grab your dagger and assassinate the king.

Remember to always say please and thank you - s'il vous plait and merci

It is considered good manners to finish everything on your plate.

Do not put ice in your wine. At restaurants, wine is served at the temperature at which it is meant to be enjoyed.

After you have finished eating, place the cutlery parallel together, vertically at the center of your plate. Then, the waiter will know to take away your plate.

While you are still eating your meal, place the cutlery to the sides of your plate at 4:00 and 8:00, opposite sides of the plate, signifying to the waiter that you wish to keep your plate.

Should you want more wine, finish your glass, but to signify that you have had enough to drink, leave some wine in your glass.

When dining at another's residence, do not use salt or pepper. This is an insult to the person who cooked the meal and is interpreted as "You did not get it right."

Indian table manners

Main article: Etiquette of Indian dining

Wait for the host or the eldest person to start first.

You should maintain silence while eating food. You are not expected to chat unnecessarily with the people around the table.

It is acceptable to not use cutlery for eating, as many foods - such as Indian breads and curry - are best enjoyed when eating with the hand.

Wash hands thoroughly before sitting at the table as some Indian foods are primarily eaten by hand. Also, wash hands after eating the food. Usually, a finger bowl (with luke warm water and lemon) is served per person for rinsing fingers.

In North India, when eating curry, the gravy must not be allowed to stain the fingers --only the fingertips are used. However, in South India, it is acceptable to use more of your hand.

When flatbreads such as chapati, roti, or naan are served with the meal, it is acceptable and expected to use pieces of them to gather food and sop-up gravies and curries.

The cardinal rule of dining is to always use the right hand when eating or receiving food and never the left. Even a piece from the bread is broken using the right hand alone.

It is considered unhygienic to use your spoon or fingers to share food from someone else's plate once you have started using your own. Instead, ask for a clean spoon to transfer the food to your plate from the common dish.

When eating with hands, always eat with right, as mentioned above. However, use only the other clean hand to transfer food from a common dish on the table.

It is not necessary to taste each and every dish prepared; but you must finish everything on the plate as it is considered a respect for served food. For that reason, take only as much food on the plate you can finish.

Footwear, that is used outside, must not be worn inside the house (in some homes) as it is considered unhygienic.

Japanese table manners

Never place chopsticks stuck vertically into a bowl of food, as this is the traditional presentation form for an offering to one's ancestors.

Accepted practice in helping oneself to a communal dish such as a salad, is to reverse the chopsticks. However this is regarded in an all male, or casual situation, as too formal and additionally, a female habit.

Women should cup their other hand beneath their serving when using chopsticks when conveying food from dish/bowl to mouth. Men should not do this.

In communal dining or drinking, the youngest person present should pour alcohol for the other members of the party, serving the most senior person first. The server should not pour their own drink, rather they should place the bottle of sake, beer,wine or spirits, back on the table or bar, and wait to be served by a senior.

One should always clean one's hands before dining with the hot steamed towel provided.

Japanese soup is eaten holding the bowl to one's mouth, never with a spoon. The exceptions to this are o-zoni, the traditional soup served on New Year's Day; soups with noodles are served in larger bowls, such as ramen, are acceptable to eat using chopsticks, although the soup itself is still consumed from bowl to mouth.

It is perfectly acceptable, rather, encouraged to make a slurping noise when eating hot noodles such as udon, ramen or soba.This is standard behaviour in Japan, and Japanese maintain that inhaling air when eating hot noodles improves the flavor.

When taking a break from eating during a meal, one should place one's chopsticks on the chopstick rest (hashi-oki) provided. A hashi-oki is usually a ceramic rectangle about 4 centimeters long, or in some restaurants, a halved wine cork is provided.

Unlike Korean table manners, it is acceptable to cradle one's rice bowl in one hand when eating.

One should not gesture using chopsticks.

Never pass food from one pair of chopsticks to another. This technique is used only in Japanese Buddhist funerary rites when transferring cremated bones into an urn.

When pouring wine or beer, the hand holding the bottle should pour forward, not backward (over the back of the hand) which is considered an insult.

There are additional etiquette rules specifically for sushi, especially in a restaurant.

It is acceptable to eat sushi with one's fingers, rather than chopsticks, if the dining situation is relatively casual (this also applies to dining out at kaitenzushi restaurant).

When possible, sushi pieces and sections of cut rolls should be eaten in a single bite, or held in the hand until finished; setting half a piece back down on the plate is considered rude.

Nigiri sushi (fish on rice) and maki (rolls) may be eaten with the hands; sashimi (pieces of raw fish) should be eaten with chopsticks.

Malay table manners

Footwear must not be worn in a Malay home due to hygienic reasons.

As a guest, if you feel that you cannot consume more food, it is courteous to turn it down by eating a small morsel or by graciously declining it altogether.

Remember that the right hand is always used for eating the traditional Malay way - NEVER the left hand since that it is considered unclean.

Have the oldest person served first (disregard whether it is a male or female).

Always cover your mouth when toothpicking.

Always turn your head away from the table if you are sneezing or coughing.

For functions that require guests to sit down on the floor, men should sit crossed-legged and not stretch them

Pointing your feet at others is impolite - point your feet away from them.

You must leave some drinking beverage in the glass or cup after you finish drinking.

Pakistani table manners

Pakistani table manners are a mixture of Islamic teachings, south Asian tradition and British influence:

Always eat with your right hand, even if you're a left-handed person

Do not chew so loudly that someone else can hear it

Chew with your mouth closed

If hands are being used, they should be washed properly before and after eating

Eat everything on the plate; leaving some food is considered wasteful

Eating additional servings is considered polite and a compliment to the host

When using a knife and fork, eat American style switching fork from left to right hand or keep knife in left hand

Do not start eating until the eldest in the family eats first

It is acceptable to mix foods

If eating food with bread, first tear bread in half. Then break off a small piece, only using your right hand if you can do so elegantly. Use bread to pinch or scoop food between thumb and fingers.

-These are very general manners, they differ from area to area and might not always be noticed

Peruvian table manners

Table manners follow most of the European standards, although there are some implications with regards to typical dishes or local traditions.

Leftover Ceviche lemon juice can be poured into a glass following consumption of the fish pieces. This accepted practice is called the "drinking of the tiger's milk".

Beer drinking in a group setting should be carried out solely with one glass. A small shot of beer should be rapidly poured into this glass and time-effectively consumed. The glass should then be passed to the left.

Russian table manners

It is polite to leave a bit of food at the end of the meal to show the host that their hospitality was plentiful and appreciated. In addition, the host will often urge the guests for second helpings of food.

It is improper to look into another's plate or saucer.

Remember to say "Thanks, everything was very tasty" to the one who made the dish upon leaving the table.

Small food should not be cut.

No elbows on the table.

No unpleasant noises.

In general, one should not be stuffy or overly ceremonial. Especially if the meal is in someone's home, conviviality and relaxation outrank propriety. A guest is expected to contribute to the fun of the party.

Don't talk while eating.

rude

We didn't get a chance to taste their food because of their rude attitudes - I wouldn't say "poor service" since there was no service at all. We reserved a table for 12 on Sunday night at 6:00 and were there on time. Nobody in the front responded to us. There was a big empty table reserved for a party of 14 at 5:45 and the party did not show up. We were told to split into 2 tables across the dining area. If there was only one table available, why would they still take 2 reservations 15 minutes apart without telling the customers of splitting the party? And they were holding the table for a party that didn't show up after 25 minutes (we waited and argued with them for more than 10 minutes). There was no apologies from them and when we walked out one of the staff was laughing. They treated people with no respects and we would not pay for being mistreated. I would never go back there again. There are a lot of Chinese/Sichuan restaurants in Chinatown Manhattan and Flushing with excellent food and services. This one is absolutely outrageous.

·Posted by Sara M on 03/30/2009

best chinese food in manhattan!

I've never had better Chinese food anywhere in Manhattan. (Flushing, yes.) The soup dumplings are perfect, the dan dan noodles numbing and metallic, everything with Sichuan peppercorns is brilliant, au zhou spicy anything is a sure winner. Spicy chicken w/ Chinese broccoli is my single favorite dish at any restaurant anywhere. Just order from the Sichuan part of the menu. Don't get pork fried rice or beef broccoli any of the other watered-down American dreck; that's missing the point. Check the restaurant name: SICHUAN. It's a Sichuan restaurant; eat the Sichuan food. If you don't, I have no sympathy for you.

·Posted by DanB on 03/22/2009

One of my favorite Chinese places in NYC

The title pretty much says it all. I am a little surprised that one of my favorite, if not my favorite, Chinese restaurants turned out to be in Chelsea. Yea, there is often a wait but that's because it's pretty popular...because it's so good.

·Posted by deaghaidh on 02/17/2009

Food Good. Service normal.

I've eaten here many times, and have taken my friends here who visit from out of town. I will have to agree that usually there is a wait, but it is not because of bad service, just TONS of people there. It is always busy. The waitstaff varies from helpful to indifferent, but I've not experienced out right rude. They try very hard to accommodate groups, which is hard to find in the city. The food is presented as "authentic", but I am not an expert to say it is. They do have "American" food too which included General Tso and the like. I recommend of that the General Tso's Tofu. My favorite on the menu are the Sichuan wontons in red hot oil. I highly recommend the place.

·Posted by chelsea eater on 02/14/2009

It's not about the service! Great, authentic food

This is not the friendliest restaurant in town. And if you're ordering chicken and broccoli or general tso's chicken, you will probably be disappointed. (Probably anything off the "American-style" section of the menu.) but if you're looking for authentic, spicy sichuan food it's an excellent choice. the chopped sour long beans with minced pork, chicken with chinese broccoli (with liberal sichuan peppercorns), dan dan noodles, ai zhou chicken, all wonderful. Aim for the "mao's home cooking" section of the menu, or any of the regional or specialty sections and it's hard to go wrong. also, to the reviewer who wrote that the chicken was "mushy" -- it's fresh. that's why the texture is different.

·Posted by anonymous on 02/12/2009

Great Food and Service!

Grand Sichuan is no place for someone who wants General Tso's chicken or their egos massaged. We've been going for years, and find the servers accomplished and friendly enough. They have the best Chinese food in the city, and the more that unenlightened people stay away means more soup dumplings for us!

Breakfast

I do not know what they do or how they do it, but their egg sandwiches are like no other. If you work or live anywhere near this place you should only be getting your breakfast from them. The quality is far better than the low grade establishments that neighbor it. Try it, you won't regret it. I like their lunch as well.

·Posted by gyrlapple on 03/23/2009

Vegetarian chopped liver...wowza

Hard to conceive,right? Well, the best vegetarian chopped liver *ever* has just arrived. Go go go...get some while you can!

·Posted by Aaron on 03/10/2009

A page out of history

As cool as the time-traveling atmosphere is it's the food that will keep you coming back. Everything just tastes great. How can it not get 5 stars every time? The burgers are not like those fast-food mass-produced hunks of cardboard you get at other places. Here, they put a little TLC into everything they make. Do yourself a favor and go in person at least once. It has to be experienced to get the full effect.

·Posted by DuGee Davis on 11/05/2008

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Find out what it means to

I am absolutely floored - floored! - at the attitude in the negative reviews below, Eisenberg's is absolutely fabulous. It is a relic from another era, and like the Automat, when it is gone, we will see a slice of the city disappear. This place is strictly OLD school. You don't call Esienbergs for "subsitutions" or "no mayo". Of course that confuses them! They have made it the same way for years!! If you want it another way, then please order elsewhere. You should be anyway, because this is "old standards" not Burger King where you can have it your way. I am sure they are flexible if you have a request, but respect limits. I recommend Tuna sandwiches, Chicken Noodle soup, and the burgers. To the reviewer who has the audacity to suggest that the older staff should be in "old folks homes" I say old age and wisdom always overcomes youth and stupidity. Have some respect! It's just lunch!

·Posted by Elliere on 10/02/2008

This Place is Classic

And the food is really terrific. I have been eating here for years and the food is really good and the people are always exceptionally nice. My favs include anything breakfast, tuna, and burgers that taste like they came right off the barbeque. Love, love, love.

·Posted by Tim@corbis on 03/07/2008

Love Eisenbergs

Just saw some of the reviews below, and felt compelled to say that I love Eisenberg's, order delivery from them all the time, and the service is great, as well as the food. The owner and staff are nice people, and they handle an awful lot of orders every day and rarely have I seen them make a mistake...and when they do, they are quick to correct it. And as noted below, it is a slice of old-school New York that we should all be thankful for. Eat there and be happy.

·Posted by Anonymous on 02/20/2008

Bad customer service for delivery...

I order from Eisenberg's frequently and love the food! I have to say their customer service is rather non-existent especially when ordering over the phone. The people are down right condescending and disrespectful. Hire new staff that can comprehend and understand callers with a level of respect and send the older employees (that could easily have been with this establishment since it opened in 1929) to a retirement home.

Great service and food

I had a great time and the food and service was great and the waitress was real nice 2 thumbs up!!

·Posted by Kevin Shwartz on 12/15/2008

not gonna bring dates there anymore

I brought a date there because the theater we were attending was rite next door. Due to a waitresses attitude (also manager after I asked the other waitress that served us, thank the lord), but still my night was ruined. All she wanted to do was leave because she no longer felt comfortable after the angry waitress gave us attitude and i was screwed because I had already ordered. Then later that night after we finished eating she disappeared into the back and I waited over 20 min for my check. Thanks

·Posted by annonymous on 10/13/2008

excellent spot to chillax

the people are always warm and the drinks always cold! the waitstaff and bartenders are what keeps me coming back. its like Cheers... everyone knows your name and you know theirs. I highly recommend this bar to throw back a cold one with your friends.

·Posted by dB on 08/17/2008

Fantastic

36 West is a gorgeous, clean place where you can throw back a few with your friends or meet some new people. The food is decent, but it's the waitstaff and bartenders that will keep you coming back.

·Posted by DeBo on 07/29/2008

Nice Place

It's a nice place. The crowd is always nice and the people that work there are always accommodating. Overall the foods good, the drinks are good, the service is great, and the people there are nice. I have made this place one of my watering holes to go to before going home.

·Posted by Anonymous on 07/01/2008

Neighborhood Bar

This is the type of place that you want to go to when you've had a bad day because the staff here will always make you feel better. They remember your name and what you like to drink and always do their best to give you great service. The food is good and the atmosphere is great. I strongly recommend this place to everyone.

Subpar Delivery Experience

I live within 10 blocks of this restaurant and they were unable to deliver 2 orders of wings within one and a half hours. I called them several times and each and every time they indicated it was on it way. In the end I asked them to cancel my order since I had no faith it would ever arrive and if it did it would undoubtedly be cold. i question the food of any restaurant if they fail to deliver easy to make food in a reasonable amount of time. I will never order food from this establishment again and will recommend not doing so to anyone that asks.

·Posted by david d. on 01/15/2008

best burger ever...

I know the place is called Atomic WIngs - and their wings are incedible - but you wont believe how great the burgers are as well. uted Perfectly. under $10 for a bacon, swiss burger with amzing wafer fries...A true find in this ever increasing gentrifying nabe

·Posted by Tyronne on 09/02/2007

Locals dislike

Not what it used to be a couple of weeks/months ago. Something has changed maybe a new owner/manager cook or something, but Wings are over cooked, dried out. Employees are not really interested in fast service or even good service. I stood at the counter while the guy answered his cell phone, lost the customer on the company phone, tried to take my order while still on his cell phone, got my order wrong and then I had to wait even longer. Bathroom unclean. Going down hill fast. Will not be back.

·Posted by Seth on 07/18/2007

Best burgers in NYC

I know Atomic Wings is rightly known for their great wings and boneless wings (chicken littles) but I swear the burgers here are the best in the city - and the toppings are only $.50 to $.75. It is the only burger I have ever gotten delivered that is as good as if I was eating it at the restaurant - and delivered super quick also. 5 stars....

·Posted by maggie250 on 06/20/2007

try it!

If you've grown tired of the same old sandwich, pizza, salad, etc. at lunch time, you MUST give Atomic Wings a try. After reading the reviews on this web site, my co-workers and I decided to order lunch. I have to say that we were all very pleasantly surprised.The person who took my order was courteous and polite. My order arrived within 20 minutes and was still hot. We had 2 orders of chicken littles and one chicken ceasar salad. Everything was absolutely delicious. Can't wait for tomorrow to try a different item on the menu. I think we'll try the Buffalo wings. Sometimes taking a chance is worth it!! This certainly was. (As for the mid-range "atmosphere" review above, we ate in the office, not at the Broadway location.)

·Posted by Marc on 05/26/2007

Incredible healthy chicken

I thought this place was just a buffalo wings greasy spoon dive. I went with a friend and had the chicken littles and had the best white meat tender chicken of my life. They use top quality meat and they really have a great recipe. It's a great low-carb meal.

·Posted by mikesynergy on 03/16/2007

great place for wings

chicken littles are great ...good buffalo sauce...wafer fries are great too ..

Great food, Rude Hostess

Decided to eat here last night before the tree lighting. We tried to get a seat by the window for obvious reasons but unfortunitly those tables had been booked in advance. This was not a problem, but the reaction of the hostess was to talk down to us in a very rude manner as if we were to know in advance that this was the case. However, after that quick bad experience, everything else went quite smoothly. Excellent and attentive waitress. The food was on point , as was the price.

·Posted by Newbie on 08/02/2008

Beautiful View

The Best part of Bryant Park Grill was the view. The wide windows make you a part of the parks beautiuful view with the space and decor. The down side, the wine glasses were dirty. They didn't check and they arrive with lipstick stains on the glasses. The food was average really over priced. The best part of the meal was the dessert. I won't return because I was with a guest to NYC and other than the view, there wasn't any added value.

·Posted by Anonymous on 08/01/2008

average ... at best

I tried several dishes on the menu. The food was average, at best. The scenery, location, and decor are definitely top notch, however. The duck tasted a tad over cooked, however, it was seasoned well. The tuna and salmon tartar tasted fishy, and lacked any real sign of quality. The raw bar for two was tasty, but again, lacked any real sign of quality in the seafood. I would return for a business meal, but it's not somewhere I would want to take family or friends to expect a quality New York meal. It's a great place to enjoy the scenery of the park, but go somewhere else for culinary excellence.

·Posted by Desmond, Chicago on 06/03/2008

A perfect antidote to a horrible day...

We had spent a very long Friday, getting from Chicago to New York, during a downpour. To further compound our misery the hotel did not have our room ready! We decided to grab dinner at the Bryant Park Grill in an attempt to at least end the day on a sane note. We had not been to New York for many years. The cab driver dropped us off a block away affording us an opportunity to really enjoy the deluge which was ongoing. We were instantly seated in a corner booth with the qualification that this was a special table for lovers only(We are coming up on 40 years of marriage!). The service was wonderful. The food was fantastic. We sat there marvelling at the ambience of this oasis. We returned a number of times, during our stay, to Bryant Park. We'd alight there, sip our drinks and enjoy the city of New York, represented in all its glory, by this wonderful location

·Posted by Disappointing- will never go back on 05/15/2008

Inappropriate Behavior

Last night my friends and I were at the outside portion having a few drinks. My other friend came with his baby and the bouncers FORCED us to leave the restaurant stating that it was against their rules and inappropriate to have a baby there. We were made to pay for our drinks that we just received, and were escorted, rather rudely, off the premises. And not only were the bouncers rude yesterday, but the bartenders always lack any personality and courtesy, and on top of that, the food is mediocre. You can be assured that my friends and I will NOT be going back and will be sure to tell everyone we know not to go there as well. It is a terrible shame as we work right across the street and we will have to patronize another restaurant/bar. Lucky them...we go out alot,!

·Posted by CynPal on 04/27/2008

Sunday Brunch

Excellent value, great service, good food for the price!

·Posted by Anonymous on 02/01/2008

Nothing more than average

Aside from good location (right on the park), this restaurant doesnt really have that much to offer. The food is bland and, most of the time, totally sub-par. We've even had corporate parties here and the event management people are not so great at customer service. The most this restaurant has going for it is the location

Toasts For

50th Anniversary

Toasts for 50th anniversary celebrations should include both nostalgia for past memories and expressions of hope for the future.

It may be that you want to make a toast to your husband or spouse, or to friends or your parents. Whichever is the case, the same principles apply.

Also, remember some of the key principles in making toasts. The toast is normally the part at the end of a speech when everyone drinks to show their support for the words someone has expressed. For example, Good health or Happy anniversary.

Here are a few suitable toasts for 50th anniversary occasions.

Congratulations on the first fifty years. You certainly seem to have got the hang of it now. We wish you all the best for the future.

With fifty years between you

and your well-kept wedding vow

The Golden Age, old friends of mine,

is not a fable now.

John Greenleaf Whittier: The Golden Wedding at Longwood

It seems but yesterday we met

A sweet memory I hold

And now we've made it 50 years

Let's celebrate in gold

Material 1 http://www.baudville.com/articles.asp?a=187

Make Your Year-End Event Count! - October 2006

Great ways to celebrate the year with your team...

Quick Tip Summary:

- Year-End Event Planning is in the Works

- Some Baudville Suggestions for Your Event

- Making it Memorable is Most Important

Year-end events are very important occasions when it comes to team-building and employee morale. All year long we look forward to the time to get together and engage in good times outside of the workplace. As one involved in the planning, it is critical to come up with something unique to make your event memorable. Here are a few ideas that you can use during your year-end event planning:

Plan Your Party Around a Theme.

We've heard of some great ones over the years and wanted to share them with you! Try a western theme, casino night, 50s sock hop, 70s disco, 80s big hair night, winter wonderland, Christmas around the world, movie awards gala or a Hawaiian luau. Themed events make tying in the details simple and lighten the mood when everyone is on the same page (or dressed up).

Arrange for a Time to Celebrate with Just Your Crew.

Year-end is a time to celebrate all of the hard work your team has put in to make your company a success. As much as we all like to have our families involved in the celebration, it's also nice to just spend some time outside of the office with our co-workers relaxing and enjoying dinner and awards. We feel more at ease when we don't have to make sure our significant others are enjoying themselves. This time allows us to just let loose and take in the recognition with a smile.

Make it a Surprise.

Who doesn't love a surprise? Give hints as to what and where the event is going to be using your invitations or little clues throughout the office. This is a great way to get people talking about the event, and to get them excited about it! Just make sure that you give the date, time and general location of the event so that your team members can make the necessary plans beforehand.

Give the Gift of Thoughtfulness.

When you give a gift to each individual team member make it one that counts. At our holiday party last year, each team member's boss wrote a personal (hand-written) note in a leather portfolio for each of their employees. The thought and kindness that went into each word is something that we will all treasure for years. Something like this takes very little money but makes a great memento? try it; your team will love it! Go here to shop great unique holiday gifts.

When we surveyed our top customers about their favorite year-end event memories, their were very few that couldn’t think of something memorable that stuck with them from a year-end event passed. Take the time to think about the details. Think about what your team would like? don’t know? Ask them. This is a time to celebrate your team how they’re like to be celebrated. Make it a year-end event they’re never forget!

Team-Building Activity

Celebrate National Make a Difference Day October 28th

Volunteer as a team!

Participants Required: 2 ?2,000

Time: As little as 1 hour

Instructions: National Make a Difference Day is October 28th. This is a time to volunteer as a team or encourage your team members to get out there and volunteer their talents to a worthy cause. Give them paid time off to volunteer as a group in your community. Not only will this build team morale, it builds personal self-esteem. Let your team members know that you care about the community and want to share in those causes that they feel passionate about as well this October 28th!

Find out more about National Make a Difference Day.

Share Your Experiences

The best place to get ideas for your recognition program is from your peers. What抯 everybody else doing? Tell us what works for you and your team and maybe you抣l be our next Share Your Experiences feature!

This month’s idea comes to us from a friend in Louisville, KY. It’s a great idea for implementing a new employee of the month program which we all know could use a little refreshing sometimes. Enjoy!

"I have a team of 15 employees. On our Job Performance Appraisal Form there is a place for Provides Positive Recognition for Fellow Co-Workers. This is not always easy for people to do, so to help in that realm of the company, I have implemented an Employee of the Month program.

The way that this works is at our monthly team meeting, we randomly draw a name and that person is the Employee of the Month (this allows everyone an equal opportunity to be recognized by their co-workers, without becoming a popularity contest). The other employees then email me the recognition for the Employee of the Month, and I put all of the recognition together onto a scrap book page and present it to the Employee at our next team meeting along with a squeezable praise trinket. It has really opened up the door for people to recognize their co-workers."

- Anonymous

Let us know how your team celebrates hard work and dedication to team efforts. Share Your Experience today!

Material 2

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Decorate-Your-Dinner-Table-In-A-Way-To-Impress-Your-Guests&id=325293

How To Decorate Your Dinner Table In A Way To Impress Your Guests

When you invite guests to come to your home to share a meal with you, setting an attractive table is as important as serving good food. Your table setting is the first thing that your guests will see and can actually influence their appetites. This is why you should chose your setting carefully, based on whether the dinner is to be casual or elegant.

If you are having a formal dinner, then using a cream colored, linen tablecloth with matching cloth napkins is great for this type of dinner. You an accent it with a crystal or gold vase filled with flowers. Be sure to use a low vase, so that your guests' views of each other will not be blocked and you can use a large one for the center of the table and two small matching ones at the end. Candles also add a touch of elegance. Instead of using typical candle holders, considering using votives that you can set in bowls of water. Floating scented candles are another way to add grace and elegance to your table. If you prefer a modern type of elegance, then forget about using your grandmother's china and purchase some of the newer dinnerware that uses colorful geometric shapes.

If you are having a casual dinner, then consider using brightly colored tablecloths and napkins. They add festiveness to the table and can be complimented with floral arrangements that match the colors that you use. You can buy utensils that have colored stems and glasses in colors to match. There are many casual place mats that are attractive and affordable. They will not only add a since of style to your place setting but will protect your table cloth as well.

Themed dinners such as those served at holiday time, can be especially fun to decorate for. There is lots of dinnerware and utensils that have holiday themes and you can even band miniature Christmas tree ornaments together to make attractive compliments to your table. Red and gold are great colors to use for these dinners and don't forget to break out the punch bowl for eggnog. If wine is going to be served, use crystal stemware.

How you serve the food is also important. You should have pitchers of water at each end of the table and serve the appetizers first. Once they have been eaten, clear the table to make room for the main dishes. Replace soiled napkins and refill the water pitchers.

Your desert should be as inviting as the main course. Consider peach cobbler or a chocolate layer cake. Always have a sugar free alternative in case one of your guests can not eat food that contains sugar.

Be attentive to your guests and engage them in conversation. Make them laugh and they will appreciate you even more.

Eiffel Tower

Introduction

Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 324 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.

Eiffel Tower October 2007

When the tower was completed in 1889 it was the world's tallest tower — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City's Chrysler Building (319 m — 1,047 ft tall) was completed. The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (225.11 m — 738.36 ft).

Eiffel Tower from the neighborhood.

The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure including non-metal components is approximately 10,000 tonnes. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in the wind. As demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125 meter square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming a density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic meter. The tower has a mass less than the mass of the air contained in a cylinder of the same dimensions, that is 324 meters high and 88.3 meters in radius. The weight of the tower is 10,100 tonnes compared to 10,265 tonnes of air.

The first and second levels are accessible by stairways and lifts. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to access the stairs which begin at that location. At the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower and the third level summit is only accessible by lift. From the first or second platform the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless of whether they have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket. The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level there are 15 more steps to ascend to the upper observation platform. The step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress of ascent. The majority of the ascent allows for an unhindered view of the area directly beneath and around the tower although some short stretches of the stairway are enclosed.

Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top. On occasion the colour of the paint is changed; the tower is currently painted a shade of brownish-grey. On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting. The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower are Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.

History

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Eiffel Tower under construction in July 1888.

The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build the tower in Barcelona, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but those responsible at the Barcelona city hall thought it was a strange and expensive construction, which did not fit into the design of the city. After the refusal of the Consistory of Barcelona, Eiffel submitted his draft to those responsible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he would build his tower a year later, in 1889. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. The risk of accident was great, for unlike modern skyscrapers the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died.

Eiffel Tower Construction view: girders at the first story

The tower was met with much criticism from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris. One is quoted extensively in William Watson's US Government Printing Office publication of 1892 Paris Universal Exposition: Civil Engineering, Public Works, and Architecture. “And during twenty years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates.” Signers of this letter included Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Charles Gounod, Charles Garnier, Jean-Léon Gérôme, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Alexandre Dumas.

Novelist Guy de Maupassant — who claimed to hate the tower — supposedly ate lunch in the Tower's restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where one could not see the structure. Today, the Tower is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art.

One of the great Hollywood movie clichés is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to 7 stories, only a very few of the taller buildings have a clear view of the tower.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne, and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle.

Shape of the tower

Looking up at the Eiffel Tower.

At the time the tower was built many people were shocked by its daring shape. Eiffel was criticised for the design and accused of trying to create something artistic, or inartistic according to the viewer, without regard to engineering. Eiffel and his engineers, as renowned bridge builders however, understood the importance of wind forces and knew that if they were going to build the tallest structure in the world they had to be certain it would withstand the wind. In an interview reported in the newspaper Le Temps, Eiffel said:

“ Now to what phenomenon did I give primary concern in designing the Tower? It was wind resistance. Well then! I hold that the curvature of the monument's four outer edges, which is as mathematical calculation dictated it should be (...) will give a great impression of strength and beauty, for it will reveal to the eyes of the observer the boldness of the design as a whole. ” —translated from the French newspaper Le Temps of 14 February 1887.

The shape of the tower was therefore determined by mathematical calculation involving wind resistance. Several theories of this mathematical calculation have been proposed over the years, the most recent is a nonlinear integral differential equation based on counterbalancing the wind pressure on any point on the tower with the tension between the construction elements at that point. That shape is exponential. A careful plot of the tower curvature however, reveals two different exponentials, the lower section having a stronger resistance to wind forces.[12][13]

Installations

Communications

The Eiffel tower and the Seine at night

The Eiffel tower illuminated in blue to celebrate the French presidency of the EU (July 2008.)

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar and still exists today. On 20 November 1913, the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless signals with the United States Naval Observatory which used an antenna in Arlington, Virginia. The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, D.C.

Restaurants

The tower has two restaurants: Altitude 95, on the first floor (95 m, 311 ft, above sea level); and the Jules Verne, an expensive gastronomical restaurant on the second floor, with a private lift. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. In January 2007, a new multi-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse was brought in to run Jules Verne.

Passenger Lifts

Ground to Second level

The original lifts to the first and second floors were provided by two companies. Both companies had to overcome many technical obstacles as neither company (or indeed any company) had experience with installing lifts climbing to such heights with large loads. The slanting tracks with changing angles further complicated the problems. The East and West lifts were supplied by the French company Roux Combaluzier Lepape, using hydraulically powered chains and rollers. Contemporary engravings of the lift cars show that the passengers were seated at this time but it is not clear whether this was conceptual. It would be unnecessary to seat passengers for a journey time of around a couple of minutes. The North and South lifts were provided by the American Otis company using car designs similar to the original installation but using an improved hydraulic and cable scheme. The French lifts had a very poor performance and were replaced with the current installations in 1897 (West Pillar) and 1899 (East Pillar) by Fives-Lille using an improved hydraulic and rope scheme. Both of the original installations operated broadly on the principle of the Fives-Lille lifts.

The Fives-Lille lifts from ground level to the first and second levels are operated by cables and pulleys driven by massive water-powered pistons. The hydraulic scheme was somewhat unusual for the time in that it included three large counterweights of 200 tonnes each sitting on top of hydraulic rams which doubled up as accumulators for the water. As the lifts ascend the inclined arc of the pillars, the angle of ascent changes. The two lift cabs are kept more or less level and indeed are level at the landings. The cab floors do take on a slight angle at times between landings.

The principle behind the lifts is similar to the operation of a block and tackle but in reverse. Two large hydraulic rams (over 1 metre diameter) with a 16 metre travel are mounted horizontally in the base of the pillar which pushes a carriage (the French word for it translates as chariot and this term will be used henceforth to distinguish it from the lift carriage) with 16 large triple sheaves mounted on it. There are 14 similar sheaves mounted staticly. Six wire ropes are rove back and forth between the sheaves such that each rope passes between the 2 sets of sheaves 7 times. The ropes then leave the final sheaves on the chariot and passes up through a series of guiding sheaves to above the second floor and then via a pair of triple sheaves back down to the lift carriage again passing guiding sheaves.

This arrangement means that the lift carriage complete with its cars and passengers travels 8 times the distance that the rams move the chariot which is the 128 metres from the ground to the second floor. The force exerted by the rams also has to be 8 times the total weight of the lift carriage, cars and passengers plus extra to cater for various losses such as friction. The hydraulic fluid was water, normally stored in the 3 accumulators complete with counterbalance weights. To make the lift ascend, water was pumped using an electrically driven pump from the accumulators to the two rams. Since the counterbalance weights provided much of the pressure required, the pump only had to provide the extra effort. For the descent, it was only necessary to allow the water to flow back to the accumulators using a control valve. The lifts were operated by an operator perched precariously underneath the lift cars. His position (with a dummy operator) can still be seen on the lifts today.

The Fives-Lille lifts were completely upgraded in 1986 to meet modern safety requirments and to make the lifts easier to operate. A new computer controlled system was installed which completely automated the operation. One of the three counterbalances was taken out of use, and the cars were replaced with a more modern and lighter structure. Most importantly, the main driving force was removed from the original water pump such that the water hydraulic system provided only a counterbalancing function. The main driving force was transferred to a 320 kW electrically driven oil hydraulic pump which drives a pair of hydraulic motors on the chariot itself thus providing the motive power. The new lift cars complete with their carriage and a full 92 passenger load weigh 22 tonnes.

Due to elasticity in the ropes and the time taken to get the cars level with the landings, each lift in normal service takes an average of 8 minutes and 50 seconds to do the round trip spending an average of 1 minute and 15 seconds at each floor. The average journey time between floors is just 1 minute.

The original Otis lifts in the North and South pillars in their turn proved inferior to the new (in 1899) French lifts and were scrapped from the south pillar in 1900 and from the north pillar in 1913 after failed attempts to re-power them with an electric motor. The north and south pillars were to remain without lifts until 1965 when increasing visitor numbers persuaded the operators to install a relatively standard and modern rope hoisted system in the north pillar using a rope hauled counterbalance weight, but hoisted by a block and tackle system to reduce its travel to one third of the lift travel. The counterbalance is clearly visible within the structure of the North pillar. This latter lift was upgraded in 1995 with new cars and computer controls.

The South tower acquired a completely new fairly standard electrically driven lift in 1983 to serve the Jules Verne restaurant. This was also supplied by Otis.

A further 4 tonne service lift was added to the south pillar in 1989 by Otis to relieve the main lifts when moving relatively small loads or even just maintenance personnel.

The east and west hydraulic (water) lift works are on display and, at least in theory, are open to the public in a small museum located in base of the East and West tower, which is somewhat hidden from public view. Because the massive mechanism requires frequent lubrication and attention, public access is often restricted. However, when open, the wait times are much less than the other, more popular, attractions. The rope mechanism of the North tower is visible to visitors as they exit from the lift.

Second to Third level

The original Hydraulic pump for the Edoux lifts.

The original lift from the second to the third floor were also of a water powered hydraulic design supplied by Léon Edoux. Instead of using a separate counterbalance, the two lift cars counterbalanced each other. A pair of 81 metre long hydraulic rams were mounted on the second level reaching nearly half way up to the third level. A lift car was mounted on top of the rams. Ropes ran from the top of this car up to a sheave on the third level and back down to a second car. The result of this arrangement was that each car only travelled half the distance between the second and third levels and passengers were required to change lifts halfway walking between the cars along a narrow gangway with a very impressive and relatively unobstructed downward view. The 10 tonne cars held 65 passengers each or up to 4 tonnes.

One interesting feature of the original installation was that the hoisting rope ran through guides to retain it on windy days to prevent it flapping and becoming damaged. The guides were mechanically moved out of the way of the ascending car by the movement of the car itself. In spite of some antifreeze being added to the water that operated this system, it nevertheless had to close to the public from November to March each year.

The original spiral stairs to the third floor which were only 80 centimetres wide. Note also the small service lift in the background.

The original lifts complete with their hydraulic mechanism were completely scrapped in 1982 after 97 years of service. They were replaced with two pairs of relatively standard rope hoisted cars which were able to operate all the year round. The cars operate in pairs with one providing the counterbalance for the other. Neither car can move unless both sets of doors are closed and both operators have given a start command. The commands from the cars to the hoising mechanism are by radio obviating the necessity of a control cable. The replacement installation also has the advantage that the ascent can be made without changing cars and has reduced the ascent time from 8 minutes (including change) to 1 minute and 40 seconds. This instalation also has guides for the hoisting ropes but they are electrically operated. The guide once it has moved out of the way as the car ascends automatically reverses when the car has passed to prevent the mechanism becoming snagged on the car on the downward journey in the event it has failed to completely clear the car. Unfortunately these lifts do not have the capacity to move as many people as the 3 public lower lifts and long queues to ascend to the third level are common. Most of the intermediate level structure present on the tower today was installed when the lifts were replaced and allows maintenance workers to take the lift half way.

The replacement of these lifts allowed the restructuring of the criss-cross beams in upper part of the tower and further allowed the installation of two emergency staircases. These replaced the dangerous winding stairs that were installed when the tower was constructed.

Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. The work is owned by the Government of France and is on the wall in the Louvre in Paris, France with the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a woman whose expression is often described as enigmatic. The ambiguity of the sitter's expression, the monumentality of the half-figure composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the painting's continuing fascination. Few other works of art have been subject to as much scrutiny, study, mythologizing, and parody.

Disneyland Resort Paris

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"Euro Disney" redirects here. For the company that owns and operates Disneyland Resort Paris, see Euro Disney S.C.A..

Disneyland Resort Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located 32 kilometers (20 mi) from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part on the territory of the commune of Chessy.

Disneyland Resort Paris features two theme parks, an entertainment district and seven Disney-owned hotels. Operating since April 12, 1992, it was the second Disney resort to open outside the United States (following Tokyo Disney Resort), and the first to be owned and operated by Disney. With 15.3 million visitors in the fiscal year of 2008, it is Europe's leading tourist destination.

Disneyland Resort Paris is owned and operated by French company Euro Disney S.C.A., a public company of which 39.78% of its stock is held by The Walt Disney Company, 10% by the Saudi Prince Alwaleed and 50.22% by other shareholders. The resort is run by chairman and CEO Philippe Gas.

The complex was a subject of controversy during the periods of negotiation and construction, when a number of prominent French figures voiced their opposition and protests were held by French labour unions and others. A further setback followed the opening of the resort as park attendance, hotel occupancy and revenues fell below projections. Partly as a result of this, the complex was renamed from Euro Disney Resort to Disneyland Paris in 1995. In July of that year, the company saw its first quarterly profit.

A second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park, was opened to the public on March 16, 2002.

Background & development

Following the success of Disneyland in Anaheim, California and the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, plans to build a similar theme park in Europe emerged in 1972. Upon the leadership of E. Cardon Walker, Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 in Japan with instant success, forming a catalyst for international expansion.

In late 1984 the heads of Disney's theme park division, Dick Nunis and Jim Cora, presented a list of approximately 1,200 possible European locations for the park.

By March 1985, the number of possible locations for the park had been reduced to four; two in France and two in Spain. Both of these nations saw the potential economic advantages of a Disney theme park and competed by offering financing deals to Disney.

Both Spanish sites were located near the Mediterranean Sea and offered a subtropical climate similar to Disney's parks in California and Florida. Disney had also shown interest in a site near Toulon in southern France, not far from Marseille. The pleasing landscape of that region, as well as its climate, made the location a top competitor for what would be called Euro Disneyland. However, thick layers of bedrock were discovered beneath the site, which would render construction too difficult. Finally, a site in the rural town of Marne-la-Vallée was chosen because of its proximity to Paris and its central location in Western Europe. This location was estimated to be no more than a four-hour drive for 68 million people and no more than a two-hour flight for a further 300 million.

In December 1990, Espace Euro Disney enabled the public to preview the complex.

Michael Eisner, Disney's CEO at the time, signed the first letter of agreement with the French government for the 20-square-kilometer (4,940-acre) site in December 1985, and the first financial contracts were drawn up during the following spring. Construction began in August 1988, and in December 1990, an information centre named "Espace Euro Disney" was opened to show the public what was being constructed. Plans for a theme park next to Euro Disneyland based on the entertainment industry, Disney-MGM Studios Europe, quickly went into development, scheduled to open in 1996 with a construction budget of US$2.3 billion.

Hotels, recreation and restaurants

In order to control a maximum of the hotel business, it was decided that 5,200 Disney-owned hotel rooms would be built within the complex. In March 1988, Disney and a council of architects (Frank Gehry, Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern, Stanley Tigerman and Robert Venturi) decided on an exclusively American theme in which each hotel would depict a region of the United States. At the time of the opening in April 1992, seven hotels collectively housing 5,800 rooms had been built. By the year 2017, Euro Disney, under the terms specified in its contract with the French government, will be required to finish constructing a total of 18,200 hotel rooms at varying distances from the resort.

An entertainment, shopping and dining complex based on Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney was designed by Frank Gehry. With its towers of oxidised silver and bronze-coloured stainless steel under a canopy of lights, it opened as Festival Disney.

Euro Disney Resort's initial cast members pose.

For a projected daily attendance of 55,000, Euro Disney planned to serve an estimated 14,000 people per hour inside the Euro Disneyland park. In order to accomplish this, 29 restaurants were built inside the park (with a further 11 restaurants built at the Euro Disney resort hotels and 5 at Festival Disney). Menus and prices were varied with an American flavour predominant and Disney's precedent of not serving alcoholic beverages was continued in the park. 2,100 patio seats (30% of park seating) were installed to satisfy Europeans’ expected preference of eating outdoors in good weather. In test kitchens at Walt Disney World, recipes were adapted for European tastes. Walter Meyer, executive chef for menu development at Euro Disney and executive chef of food projects development at Walt Disney World noted, “A few things we did need to change, but most of the time people kept telling us, ‘Do your own thing. Do what’s American’.”

Recruitment

Unlike Disney's American theme parks, Euro Disney aimed for permanent employees (an estimated requirement of 12,000 for the theme park itself), as opposed to seasonal and temporary part-time employees. Casting centres were set up in Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt in an effort to reflect the multinational aspect of Euro Disney’s visitors. However, it was understood by the French government and Disney that “a concentrated effort would be made to tap into the local French labour market”. Disney sought workers with sufficient communication skills, spoke two European languages (French and one other), and were socially outgoing. Following precedent, Euro Disney set up its own Disney University to train workers. 24,000 people had applied by November 1991.

Controversies

The prospect of a Disney park in France was a subject of debate and controversy. Critics, who included prominent French intellectuals, denounced what they considered to be the cultural imperialism, or ‘neoprovincialism’ of Euro Disney and felt it would encourage in France an unhealthy American type of consumerism. For others, Euro Disney became a symbol of America within France. On June 28, 1992 a group of French farmers blockaded Euro Disney in protest of farm policies the United States supported at the time. A journalist in the French newspaper Le Figaro wrote, “I wish with all my heart that the rebels would set fire to [Euro] Disneyland."[9] Ariane Mnouchkine, a Parisian stage director, named the concept a “cultural Chernobyl;”[10] a phrase which would be echoed in the media and grow synonymous with Euro Disney's initial years.

In response, French philosopher Michel Serres noted, “It is not America that is invading us. It is we who adore it, who adopt its fashions and above all, its words.” Euro Disney S.C.A.'s then-chairman Robert Fitzpatrick responded, "We didn’t come in and say O.K., we’re going to put a beret and a baguette on Mickey Mouse. We are who we are."

Topics of controversy further included Disney's American managers requiring English to be spoken at all meetings and Disney's appearance code for members of staff, which listed regulations and limitations for the use of make up, facial hair, tattoos, jewellery and more. French labour unions mounted protests against the appearance code, which they saw as “an attack on individual liberty.” Others criticised Disney as being insensitive to French culture, individualism, and privacy, because restrictions on individual or collective liberties were illegal under French law, unless it could be demonstrated that the restrictions are requisite to the job and do not exceed what is necessary. Disney countered by saying that a ruling that barred them from imposing such an employment standard could threaten the image and long-term success of the park. “For us, the appearance code has a great effect from a product identification standpoint,” said Thor Degelmann, Euro Disney’s personnel director. “Without it we couldn’t be presenting the Disney product that people would be expecting.”

Visitors growth

Year - Visitors (millions) 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 2007 - 2008 - 15.2

Opening day

Michael Eisner announces, “Et maintenant je déclare Euro Disneyland officiellement ouvert” (And now I declare Euro Disneyland officially open).

On April 12, 1992, Euro Disney Resort and its theme park, Euro Disneyland, officially opened. Visitors were warned of chaos on the roads and a government survey indicated that half a million people carried by 90,000 cars might attempt to enter the complex. French radio warned traffic to avoid the area. By midday, the parking lot was approximately half full, suggesting an attendance level below 25,000. Speculative explanations ranged from people heeding the advice to stay away to the one-day strike that cut the direct RER railway connection to Euro Disney from the centre of Paris.

Financial, attendance and employment problems

In May 1992, entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter reported that about 25% of Euro Disney's workforce — approximately 3,000 men and women — had resigned their jobs because of unacceptable working conditions. It also reported that the park's attendance was far behind expectations. Euro Disney S.C.A. responded in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, in which Robert Fitzpatrick claimed only 1,000 people had left their jobs.

In response to the financial situation, Fitzpatrick ordered that the Disney-MGM Studios Europe project would be put on hiatus until a further decision could be made. Prices at the hotels were reduced.

Despite these efforts, in May 1992 daily park attendance was around 25,000 (some reports give a figure of 30,000) instead of the predicted 60,000. The Euro Disney Company stock price spiralled downwards and on July 23, 1992, Euro Disney announced an expected net loss in its first year of operation of approximately 300 million French francs. During Euro Disney's first winter, hotel occupancy was such that it was decided to close the Newport Bay Club hotel during the season. Initial hopes were that each visitor would spend around US$33 per day, but near the end of 1992, analysts reckoned spending to be around 12% lower.

Efforts to improve attendance included serving alcoholic beverages with meals inside the Euro Disneyland park, in response to a presumed European demand, which began June 12, 1993.

In January 1994, Sanford Litvack, an attorney from New York City and former Assistant Attorney General during the Jimmy Carter presidency, was assigned to be Disney's lead negotiator regarding Euro Disney's future. On February 28, Litvack made an offer (without the consent of Eisner or Frank Wells) to split the debts between Euro Disney's creditors and Disney. After the banks showed interest, Litvack informed Eisner and Wells. On March 14, the day before the annual shareholders meeting, the banks capitulated to Disney's demands. The creditor banks bought US$500 million worth of Euro Disney shares, forgave 18 months of interest and deferred interest payments for three years. Disney invested US$750 million into Euro Disney and granted a five-year suspension of royalty payments. In June that same year, Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud cut a deal whereby the Walt Disney Company bought 51% of a new US$1.1 billion share issue, the rest being offered to existing shareholders at below-market rates, with the Prince buying any that were not taken up by existing shareholders (up to a 24.5% holding).

In 2002, Euro Disney S.C.A. and the Walt Disney Company announced another annual profit for Disneyland Resort Paris. However, it has incurred a net loss in the three years following, and the park is approximately US$2 billion in debt as of 2007. In 2005, the Walt Disney Company agreed to write-off all debt to the Walt Disney Company made by Euro Disney S.C.A.

1995 turnaround

The year 1995 marked the opening of Space Mountain - De la Terre à la Lune and an increase in attendance.

On May 31, 1995, a new attraction opened at the theme park. Space Mountain - De la Terre à la Lune had been planned since the inception of Euro Disneyland, but was reserved for a revival of public interest. With a redesign of the attraction (which had premiered at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in 1975) including a 'cannon' launch system and an on-ride soundtrack, the US$100 million attraction was dedicated in a ceremony attended by celebrities such as Elton John, Claudia Schiffer and Buzz Aldrin.

On July 25, 1995, Euro Disney S.C.A. reported its first ever quarterly profit of US$35.3 million. On November 15, the results for the fiscal year ending September 30 were released; in one year the theme park's attendance had climbed from 8.8 million to 10.7 million — an increase of 21%. Hotel occupancy had also climbed from 60 to 68.5%. After debt payments, Disneyland Paris ended the year with a net profit of US$22.8 million.

Name changes

Disneyland Resort Paris and its assets have been subject to a number of name changes, initially an effort to overcome the negative publicity that followed the inception of Euro Disney.

Michael Eisner noted, “As Americans, the word ‘Euro’ is believed to mean glamorous or exciting. For Europeans it turned out to be a term they associated with business, currency, and commerce. Renaming the park ‘Disneyland Paris’ was a way of identifying it with one of the most romantic and exciting cities in the world.”

The complex

Disneyland Resort Paris encompasses 4,800 acres (19 km2)[15] and contains theme parks, resort hotels, a golf course and a railway station.

Theme parks

On April 12 2007, Disneyland Resort Paris celebrated its 15th anniversary.

Main articles: Disneyland Park (Paris) and Walt Disney Studios Park

The Disneyland Park is based on a formula pioneered by Disneyland in California and further employed at the Magic Kingdom in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. Occupying 566,560 m² (140 acres), it is the largest Disney park based on the original in California.

On March 16, 2002, the Walt Disney Studios Park opened its doors to the public. At 270,000 square metres, it is a continuation on an earlier, never realised concept; the Disney-MGM Studios Europe.

The April 2007 issue of trade magazine Park World reported the following attendance estimates for 2006 compiled by Economic Research Associates in partnership with TEA (formerly the Themed Entertainment Association):

· Disneyland Park, 10.6 million visits (No. 5 worldwide);

· Walt Disney Studios, 2.2 million visits.

Other recreation

An aerial view of Disney Village (centre), Lake Disney (right) and a fragment of Disneyland Park (top left)

Main articles: Disney Village and Golf Disneyland

The Disney Village entertainment district contains a variety of restaurants, bars, shops, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Dinner Show, and other venues and stays open after the parks close.

Golf Disneyland features 9-hole and 18-hole courses.

Hotels

Disney's Sequoia Lodge.

The complex features seven Disneyland Resort Paris hotels. The Disneyland Hotel is located over the entrance of the Disneyland Park and is marketed as the most prestigious hotel on property. A body of water known as Lake Disney is surrounded by Disney's Hotel New York, Disney's Newport Bay Club and Disney's Sequoia Lodge. Disney's Hotel Cheyenne and Disney's Hotel Santa Fe are located near Lake Disney, Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch is located in a woodland area outside the resort perimeter.

Disneyland Resort Paris includes six Associated Hotels which are not managed by Euro Disney S.C.A. but provide free shuttle buses to the parks: Marriott's Village d'lle-de-France, Radisson BLU Hotel, a Holiday Inn Hotel, Vienna International Dream Castle Hotel, MyTravel's Explorers Hotel and a Kyriad Hotel.

Transport

A railway station, Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy, with connection to the suburban RER network and the TGV high-speed rail network is located between the theme parks and Disney Village. Thalys no longer operates from Marne-la-Vallée train station, but there are daily services from London on the Eurostar. On June 10, 2007, a new TGV line, LGV Est, began service between Paris and Strasbourg.

Free shuttle buses provide transport to all Disney hotels (except Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch) and Associated Hotels.

References

1. Lainsbury, Andrew (2000). Once Upon an American Dream: The Story of Euro Disneyland. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 070060989X-1.

2. "Monsieur Mickey or Señor Miqui?: Disney Seeks a European Site." — BusinessWeek, July 15, 1985

3. Anthony, Robert (1993). Euro Disney: The First 100 Days. Harvard Business School. ASIN B0006R2N8Y-1.

4. New York Times, February 5 1991 " COMPANY NEWS; Euro Disney Park"

5. Disneyland Resort Paris in Figures

6. Business America, 2 December 1991.

7. Voila! Disney Invades Europe. Will the French Resist? - Time, April 20 1992

8. “Disney Magic Spreads Across the Atlantic; Popular US Theme Park Prepares for Opening of Euro Disneyland Resort Near Paris in April, 1992,” Nation’s Restaurant News (October 28, 1991), p.3.

9. ""Thunderbird Case Studies; 'EuroDisneyland'"" (PDF). www.thunderbird.edu. http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:_OZmL6CkLn0J:www.thunderbird.edu/wwwfiles/pdf/about_thunderbird/case_series/a15990007.pdf. Retrieved on March 5 2007.

10. Happily Ever After? - Time, March 18 2002

11. Anne Ferguson, Maximising the Mouse. Management Today, September, 1989, pp. 60.

12. Disneyland Paris (Euro Disney) Frequently Asked Questions - 1996, Andre Willey/Tom Drynda

13. New York Times, June 12 1993 "Euro Disney Adding Alcohol"

14. Individual Term Paper International Marketing, Dan Snyder April 30, 2002

15. Walt Disney Co DIS (NYSE), Reuters.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Disneyland Resort Paris

· Disneyland Resort Paris (official site)

· Disneyland Resort Paris travel guide from Wikitravel

· Euro Disney S.C.A., operating company of Disneyland Resort Paris (official site)

· How Euro Disney was financed

· Official "Video of the Resort"

· Official Blog of the 15th Anniversary of Disneyland Resort Paris

Deluxe Room, Guest room, 1 King or 2 Twin/Single, City view, Low floor Room details Your request for Accessible Room is not available at this time. We have noted your request.
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 Summary of Charges Summary of Room Charges  Cost per night per room (CNY) 
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Answer 2:
Please don't be anxious about this appointment. Congratulations, by the way, you've taken the first step to getting your condition under control.
The psychiatrist will ask you about the symptoms you've been experiencing and what meds you are on etc. The aim will be to prescribe the right medication for you to stabilise your condition and help you to lead a normal life. It might be trial and error at first to get the right combination but persevere and it will pay dividends.

Answer 3:
Your psychiatrist will ask you about the symptoms you've been experiencing and what meds you are on, etc. He/she will want to know how you are feeling and go over your symptoms and diagnosis. You should tell him/her about any physical problems such as inability to sleep. Be certain to tell him/her all of the symptoms you are experiencing, especially the one that is most troubling you. The more information he/she has, the better he/she will be able to help you. Believe in your psychiatrist whose good coping skills will help you. It might be trial and error at first to get the right combination but persevere and it will pay dividends.

Answer 4:
First, be aware that it can take 4 to 6 week for meds to work for you and then they may need to be adjusted over another couple of months. Secondly, your psychiatrist will want to know how you are feeling and whether or not the meds are working. It's important to let him know about any side effects of the meds. You should tell him about any physical problems such as inability to sleep. Be certain to tell him all of the symptoms you are experiencing, especially being unable to "slow down." The more information he/she has, the better he/she will be able to help you. There are some great meds for Bipolar and they along with some good coping skills will help you. Don't worry, things will get better!

Job: In Room Dining Server
Employer: Raffles Dubai
Posted: 04 Aug 2009
Contact: Ms. Renate Raschendorfer
Location: Dubai
Job Title: Waiting Staff
Employer: Type Hotel
Position: In Room Dining Server
Job description
A stunning 19-storey pyramid rises up in the heart of Dubai, setting a new landmark for the 21st century.
Raffles Dubai promises the exceptional standards of service inherent of the Raffles name and enhanced by Arabian hospitality values.
The essence of the experience lies in its 248 opulent Suites, the largest in the city, ten exquisite Food & Beverage outlets and the indulging Raffles Amrita Spa. A unique, one-hectare 'Raffles Botanical Garden', depicting the four 'Elements of Life' (Earth, Wind, Fire and Water) also promises to enchant all visitors.
We are looking for an In Room Dining Server with the following tasks and responsibilities:
To offer guests of the outlet an enjoyable, expertly served beverage/dining experience conforming to Raffles Dubai standards; Ability to account and handle cash effectively; Able to ascertain guest's satisfaction and handle any problem with the guidance of the manager; Ensure highest quality of Food & Beverage service to the guests through the use of established service standards; Under the direction of restaurant management team, In Room Dining Server is responsible in providing prompt and courteous F&B service to Raffles Dubai residents and patrons, creating an endlessly enchanting experience.
The ideal candidate must have 1 year experience in a similar role in a 5 star hotel. The applicant must have a 1 year minimum Food & Beverage serving experience; Must be well presented and professionally groomed; Possesses a pleasant attitude and have an eye for detail; Ideally have a strong interpersonal skills and is customer oriented; With good communication and customer contact & listening skills; Must be fluent in English, Multi lingual is an advantage.

Job Title: 1906 Restaurant Server
Job Details: City: Overland Park
State: Kansas
Job description
The Server takes orders and serves food and beverage items to our customers in a timely, friendly, enthusiastic and professional manner. The ideal candidate should have a passion for food and beverage, a proactive and "can do" attitude, providing exceptional service to our guests. 
Responsibilities include but are not limited to: table set-ups and station preparation prior to service and at the end of the shift, maintaining the condition of the dining room and controlling guest checks and payments. The Server will also communicate and work closely with kitchen staff to ensure customer satisfaction. If you enjoy working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment, this is the ideal job for you. This position can be a great entrance into other food and beverage roles.
Available at http://www.careerjet.ae.

After the promotional period ends, your standard purchase APR will be applied to any unpaid balance transfer and promotional purchase balances. The standard variable purchase and balance transfer APR is 16.24%. The standard variable cash advance APR is 21.99%. However, all your APRs may automatically increase up to the 29.99% variable default rate if you default under any Card Agreement that you have with us. Foreign purchase transaction fee is 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase made outside the U.S., whether made in U.S. dollars or in a foreign currency. The transaction fee for cash advances is 3.0% of the amount of each cash advance, $5 minimum. The transaction fee for balance transfers is 3.0% of the amount of each balance transfer, $5 minimum. Subject to credit approval. Additional terms and conditions apply.

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Whenever non-profit boards hunker down to discuss fund-raising options, one suggestion invariably floats to the surface.

"Hey," someone always says, "why don't we have an auction?"

A good idea, on its face. Get some items donated, invite the public, then hope that spirited bidding sends the prices soaring.

The devil, however, is in the details. Auctions can be volunteer-intensive, especially if a lot of items need to be moved into a central area. An auction on a given day or night must be publicized, and is then at the mercy of how many people decide to show up.

In the case of the Ethel Walker School of Simsbury, CT, a traditional auction just wasn't feasible — the school was trying to target its alums, who were scattered all over the country. That's when board member Donya Nagib Sabet, acting on a friend's recommendation, decided to try an auction online.

"We were looking for something new," Sabet said later, "a fundraising event that could engage Walker's geographically diverse community. Something that would be accessible to everyone, and would be exciting, different and fun."

And it worked. School supporters not only bid but donated items on-line — 153 of them. Over 1,000 bids were placed, and the school wound up raising $62,500.

"We had some nail-biting about midway through," Sabet said, "but we stayed the course, and the last week, it just exploded."

Meanwhile, in Boca Raton, Fla., the Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center tried a different wrinkle. The group continued to hold its annual ball and live auction, a perennially successful tradition used to attract scholarship money, but augmented that with an earlier on-line auction. As it turned out, according to group member Janet Oppenheimer, the on-line auction outperformed the live one.

In some ways, this isn't surprising. While the extroverts among us may thrive in the spirited competition of a "real" auction, other people can find it intimidating. We've all seen too many movies where an ill-timed twitch or toss of the head winds up inadvertently purchasing a Ming vase or a Picasso.

On-line, the pressure is off. You bid at your convenience — and if decide to back off your bid, you won't look like a coward in public.

Then, there's the convenience aspect. As Janet Oppenheimer put it: "We wanted to reach people who might not be interested in a $500-a-plate dinner."

Forget the black tie. With an on-line auction, you can bid in your pajamas.

"I was shocked at how little investment it cost us," said Susan Neumann of the National Trust for Historic Preservation after her group tried an auction on-line. "It depends on how much you want to invest in the Web site. We didn't invest anything. We built it ourselves using two staff people. We wound up paying less than $2,500. So it was an excellent investment for us."

Like the Jewish Community Center in Boca Raton, the NTHP used the Internet to augment its normal dinner/auction. According to the Non-Profit Times, "By placing auction items online 3 1/2 weeks prior to the event, it allowed online bidders to place a maximum bid that would then be conveyed by proxies standing in against the silent auction bidders at a live event."

"The economics of an auction are that fundamentally, the more people you have bidding, the higher the bids," says Greg McHale, co-founder of cMarket in Cambridge, MA, by all accounts the leader in staging on-line auctions for non-profits and the group hired by both the Jewish Community Center and Ethel Walker School.

Non-profits can also use eBay to sell donated items with a time bound auction or over a longer haul.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation raised $200,000 on e-Bay, baiting their cyberhooks with such "experience" prizes as lunch with singer Avril Lavigne, a photo shoot with skateboard hero Tony Hawk and a tennis match with Donald Trump.

Of course, that organization is based in Santa Monica, CA. It would be a lot more difficult to pull in that star power from, say, Ottumwa, Iowa. That's where MissionFish comes in. Since 2003, the company has worked together with Giving Works, a charitable arm of e-Bay, to multiply the options open to even small non-profits.

According to the MissionFish Website: "We created MissionFish because our years of non-profit work led us to realize a few things:

1.There are a lot of good people and companies that support non-profits, and they have a lot of good stuff to give away.

2. Most non-profits can't use the things that those people and companies want to give away as in-kind gifts.

3. Nonprofits don't generally have the time, the people or the infrastructure for dealing with these in-kind gifts even when they can use them."

1. How far in advance should we get started?
Form your planning committee and begin soliciting donations at least six months before your event. Announce the date about four months in advance, and distribute invitations about two months ahead of time.

2. Can we combine an auction with our carnival or another PTO event?
You can, but consider this: Any auction, even a small one, is a fairly involved project. Pairing it with a family event such as a carnival can reduce the success of your auction. Bidders will get distracted if there are other activities going on, and precious volunteer resources will be stretched thin.

3. If we have a good silent auction, do we need to have a live auction, too?
No. But a live auction adds an exciting component to the event and typically brings in the highest bids. For a live auction to be a success, you need very desirable items, generous bidders, and a skilled professional auctioneer. Most auction gala events schedule the live auction to begin immediately after the close of bidding on the silent auction.

4. Do we need to charge for tickets?
That depends on the event format and community expectations. Guests typically purchase tickets for a sophisticated, adults-only auction gala in a community familiar with such fundraisers. If you are planning a standalone auction gala and charging for tickets, food is a must. (Providing hors d'oeuvres rather than a sit-down meal keeps guests circulating among—and bidding on—the auction items.) If the concept of an auction is new to your community, free or modestly priced admission would be more appropriate. Look around at similar events in your area to gauge what your community would accept. But don't forget that an auction is first and foremost a fundraiser.

5. Can our ticket price count as a charitable contribution for our guests?
Usually not since the buyer is receiving something of value for the ticket price: an evening out, food, entertainment, and so forth. (See IRS Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions—Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements, for more details.)

6. Where should we have the event?
Some PTOs hold auctions in the school gym or cafeteria. The school is easy to access, usually free of charge to the PTO, and large enough to accommodate the event. However, the highest returns come when the event is moved off-campus to a more comfortable location, such as a social club, banquet hall, or community center. Whatever venue you choose, be sure it is close by, easy for guests to find, and able to support the requirements of your event.

7. How should we advertise our event?
Use flyers, the school newsletter, school email broadcasts, bulletin boards, and any other normal PTO communication tool to promote your event. If you want to invite members of the greater community, consider placing an advertisement in the local newspaper and displaying posters around town. Announce the date and time up to four months in advance so people can mark their calendars, and continue with additional advertisements as the date draws nearer.

8. Any other strategies for marketing the auction?
Build excitement about the event in the school community by talking about it often. Stress the benefits the auction could bring to the PTO and the students. Announce some of the most desirable auction items in advance and post photos of auction items in the newsletter or in a display case. Have a student contest to design the auction catalog cover. Hold a preview party for an especially large auction. Hold a drawing for free tickets. Set special pricing for early ticket sales. Adopt an event theme and logo and use it in all marketing materials. Involve students and teachers in creating some of the auction items.

Securing Donations

1. How do we solicit donations?
Assign one committee member to serve as donations manager, but have many people solicit the items. Beginning at least six months in advance, send letters of request to national organizations, taking care to abide by their corporate donations policies. Send letters to local and regional merchants, and follow-up with a personal phone call or face-to-face visit. Don't forget parents and teachers; they often provide some of the best auction items. School families might donate personal items such as a weekend at their cottage or might have connections to businesses that would donate. Special one-of-a-kind art items made by students and teachers usually draw large bids. With your principal's permission, each classroom can be assigned a theme to prepare a basket of items for the auction. Be creative.

2. Do we need to have "big ticket" items?
Not necessarily, but it is wise to have a wide range of item values so all bidders can find something within their budget. Big-ticket items should be used as a draw in your advertising, though in the end, they may appeal to only a small number of your most generous bidders. Sometimes you can secure a valuable, appealing donation on consignment from a donor. The bidder pays the full amount of her winning bid, but your organization keeps only the amount over the consignment fee, called a "reserve." Be careful about offering high-value items with many restrictions. The suite at a five-star resort is far less desirable if it can only be used Tuesday through Thursday in months that contain the letter "r."

3. Can we tell our donors their donation is tax-deductible?
Only if your PTO is registered as a tax-exempt charity with the IRS under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. The IRS site has information on filing for tax exemption, and the PTO Today Start-Up Guide walks you through it step by step.

4. What information do our donors need from us?
As far as the IRS is concerned, it is the donor's responsibility to obtain a written acknowledgement of the donation. But you can assist your donors, and stay on their good sides, by providing a timely written thank-you. For tax purposes, your donors need in writing: the legal name of your PTO; a description (but not the value) of the item donated; and a statement that no goods or services were provided by the organization in exchange for the contribution. It is not necessary to provide the PTO's employer identification number (sometimes called a tax ID) to the donor.

Event Preparation

1. What kind of data do we need to track for our auction?
You will need to manage four major types of data. First, you must track your guests. Second, you need a list of donors, including complete mailing addresses, to create thank-you letters and solicitation letters for future years. The third list is for donations. It helps keep track of the items during storage. Ultimately, some of the individual items will be bundled into packages for the auction; at that time, they should be assigned a new auction number. The fourth list contains the actual auction items, each numbered uniquely.

2. Do we need to buy special software for our auction?
At minimum, the data should be kept on a computer spreadsheet system like Microsoft Excel. If your committee has the technical skills, a database like Microsoft Access is even better than spreadsheets. And some PTOs choose to purchase a professional auction software system. These systems do the setup work for you and can help make the whole process easier, but you still need to learn the system and enter the data. In any case, having the data on a computer allows you to create the auction catalog, bid sheets, donor thank-you letters, and post-auction analyses more efficiently and with less risk of typos or omissions.

3. What information should go into our auction catalog?
The auction catalog should include: an introduction to your PTO; the benefits anticipated from the event's proceeds; the event schedule; auction rules; an acknowledgement of donors, underwriters, and committee members; sponsor advertising; and most important, a description of each auction item, including auction number, value, and donor. The cover could feature the winning entry of a student art competition. Produce about two catalogs for every three guests. Make your catalog attractive and useful, but don't invest too much on printing. They will all end up in the trash by night's end.

4. How long will it take to set up the auction room for a silent auction?
Plan to spend the entire day, with the aid of several helpers, moving the items from storage to the venue and setting up the items and displays. Stow any excess packaging under the display tables. Later, the winners can repackage their items for safe travel home.

5. What information should be on the bid sheets for the silent auction?
The top of the sheet should include the auction item number, a description, the value, the donor, and any restrictions on the item. The middle area should include the minimum opening bid and the requested bid increment, and at least 10 lines for guests to enter their name or bidder number and a bid amount. You can also have a section at the bottom of the bid sheet that is cut off to serve as a claim check when the buyer pays and needs to collect his item. Make sure your forms are easy to read even in dim lighting. When bidding closes and the runners remove the top bid sheet from the table, you need something left behind to identify the high bidder. An inexpensive method is to create a second page for each bid sheet where the runners write in the winning bidder number and high bid as soon as bidding closes. These sheets stay on display with the item while the cashiers process the original bid sheets.

6. How do we close bidding?
First of all, train a few volunteers to be runners. The master of ceremonies should warn the guests and build excitement as the bidding time draws to a close. At the appointed time, the runners, each armed with a red pen, swarm the closed bid sheets. The runner circles the winning bidder/bid amount, removes the sheet from the table, and writes the winning bidder and bid amount on the second page of the bid sheet. The second page stays on the table so the guests can see who won the item. Runners deliver the original bid sheets to the cashiers, where they are consolidated by bidder and tallied for checkout.

Checkout

1. Should we accept credit cards?
Yes, if at all possible. Bidding increases when guests know they can pay by credit card. The benefit far outweighs the modest fee your PTO pays the credit card companies. Be sure to advertise in advance that credit cards will be accepted. Ideally, your PTO should have its own merchant account. PTO Today has a credit card option for PTO Today Plus members.

2. How do we set up the checkout area?
Allow a generous workspace with good lighting for each cashier. Set up the tables near the auction displays, but in an uncrowded area. You'll need three or four cashiers for a group of 100 to 150 guests. For each cashier, provide a cash box with change, credit card transaction forms, office supplies, a list of guest names with bidder numbers, and an auction catalog. All cashiers must have easy access to the completed bid sheets, so the cashiers can't be spread too far apart. Encourage guests to approach any available cashier; setting up roped queue lines or alphabetic assignments isn't as efficient. Checkout is the last impression your guests have of your PTO and the event, so you want it to go smoothly.

3. How should we get the items to the winning bidder?
It is usually impractical and unnecessary to physically relocate or cordon off the auction items after bidding closes. For most PTO auctions, it is fine to leave the items on display until the winners claim them after paying. If an item has extreme value, such as a piece of jewelry, you might want to keep it at checkout. It is also a good idea to keep gift certificates at checkout so they don't get mixed up with display props. These items should be given to the winner by the cashier. For all other items, provide a claim check to the buyer that lists their winnings. Runners floating around the silent auction area can assist guests with identifying items and packing up their winnings. Insist that all items be picked up at the conclusion of the event. You don't want to be stuck delivering auction winnings all over town the next day.

Yoga Benefits

MEANS TO MASTER THE EXERCISES

Research Resources: http://www.sbtkd.com/benefitsadult.html

benefits

There are more benefits (mental, physical and spiritual) than can be mentioned here.  We train our students to the best of their ability.  Some students come to us in shape, others come to us overweight and most come to us with limited flexibility.

As a student you are looked upon as an individual, never compared to anyone else.  Our instructors will be there every step of your way.  All that is expected is a willingness to try.

WHY STUDY TAEKWONDO?

·Some students want nothing more than practical training to defend themselves.
·Others want a regular exercise schedule build stamina, strength and improve flexibility.
·Many come to relieve stress and anxiety built up from the pressures of everyday life.
·Some are interested in competition and work training to become champions.

There are other equally important reasons why people study the martial arts such as self-awareness, weight and figure control.  Whatever the reason, the new student will quickly become aware of the many benefits of training.  Martial arts students feel healthy and physically fit.  They are confident they are learning to defend themselves and this quiet confidence filters through to all phases of their life including home, office and school.  Furthermore, as students progress in the martial arts, they gain a greater respect for themselves, others and life.

WHO STUDIES TAEKWONDO?

People from all walks of life, all races and religions study the martial arts.  Students include engineers, computer programmers, doctors, lawyers, psychologists, small business owners, musicians, college, high school and elementary school students, nurses, housewives and many more.  Everyone can benefit from taekwondo training.  Currently there is over 20 million taekwondo students world-wide.

HOW WOULD TAEKWONDO BENEFIT YOU?

Taekwondo stresses a balanced approach to life consisting of three main elements:
1 - Taekwondo training.
2 - Family and social responsibility.
3 - Responsibility toward one's education or work.

Health and Fitness:

Learn to recharge your body with exciting energy.  Flush your system clean of internal poisons that breed illness.  Massage and stimulate your body.  Create bodies that are sleek, firm and graceful. Age is no barrier - start at any time of your life.

Physically:

Taekwondo develops co-ordination, motor skills, agility, flexibility, muscular strength, endurance, balance, posture, cardiovascular fitness, aerobic fitness and anaerobic fitness.  Due to its physical nature, taekwondo training promotes a healthy lifestyle including proper physical training, proper nutrition, proper rest and the maintenance of a balance in life.

Morally:

Taekwondo's tenets are etiquette, modesty, perseverance, indomitable spirit and self-control.  Taekwondo promotes good character and a non-violent attitude by teaching courtesy, humility, integrity, respect for others, self reliance, courage and self-control under stress.  In response to conflict, taekwondo teaches calmness, avoidance and neutralisation.  It features a non-confrontational and controlled approach to aggression through the teaching of self-control, self-confidence and violence-as-a-last-resort response to conflict.  Students must respect fellow students and obey instructors.  Taekwondo demands patience, perseverance and a striving for perfection.

Psychologically:
Taekwondo reduces tension and anxiety by providing a socially acceptable means of physical self-expression, controlling aggression and venting hostility and frustration in a healthy, beneficial manner.  It requires self-respect, complete self-control and respect for others, whether training partner or adversary.  It also provides a means of personal achievement and advancement through mastery of its curriculum, testing and progression through its belt levels.  Dedication to attaining a goal and successful goal attainment improve one's self image and sense of self worth.

Aesthetically:
Taekwondo involves skills and techniques to be mastered, with some latitude for personal style and self-expression.  It develops a set of core techniques, which the taekwondo student can master and also emphasise those most natural to and effective for each individual.  Rhythm, timing, balance, proper form and proper breathing are all essential to correct technical execution.  Mentally, taekwondo practitioners have to master focused concentration and detachment from external distractions.  There is beauty and grace in the practice of taekwondo movements and techniques and great satisfaction in mastering and controlling one's mind and body in the execution of demanding physical exercise.

The Personal Experience:
Taekwondo training is also an educational and a personally broadening experience.  Students learn much about themselves, their abilities and how to go beyond what they thought were their physical and mental limitations to new levels of excellence.  Students come into contact with people of different origins, of different ages and from different socio-economic, ethnic, cultural and racial backgrounds, which is an important learning experience in the changing and multicultural mosaic of most nations.  They learn to train together and relate to each other through the medium of taekwondo.

Adults

Adults start at any age.  Some adults within the association who started at age 65 have still earned their black belt.  As a student you are looked upon as an individual, never compared to anyone else.  Our instructors will be there every step of your way.  All that is expected is a willingness to try.

The adult and taekwondo:

Exercise And Improve Well-Being
Taekwondo strengthens your body and improves your health through physical exercise and conditioning.  Isometric and dynamic tension exercises will allow you to gain better muscle tone and more strength.  A gradual building process of safe and easy stretching techniques will enhance flexibility, while breathing and concentration exercises lead to sharper reflexes and senses.

The discipline of taekwondo leads to increase energy, better health and fitness, greater coordination, and higher self-esteem.  These qualities are vital to a happier and longer life.

Self-Defence

The South Bank Taekwondo training program helps you recognise and handle situations in which self-defence may be required.  You learn the techniques you need to defend yourself intelligently in threatening situations.  What you learn could prevent you from becoming a victim.  Learn to defend yourself through rigorous, comprehensive training.  Develop your endurance, strength, flexibility and balance along with your self-defence techniques.

Learn to defend yourself, not only physically, but mentally as well. Learn to unite your body in a single effort to achieve your goals.  Develop an inner calm.  Bring up deep-rooted, long hidden fears and weaknesses, face them and conquer them.  Bring out anger and frustration in a positive environment where you can learn to deal with them effectively.  Rise above laziness and inner doubt.

Take Charge Of Your Life

Bring out the positive qualities that have always been part of you.  Develop patience, confidence, self-discipline, inner calm and a consistently positive mental attitude.  Overcome fear, self-doubt, anger, jealousy, laziness and bad habits.  You can do it.  Our program of exercise and instruction is ideal for self-development, because it exercises all of you.  Visualise your goals as you practice effective self-defence techniques.  This unique combination of physical and mental training creates breakthroughs in personal transformation.

Swine Flu Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

Transmission of Swine Flu (How is Swine Flu spread?)

Swine Flu Symptoms

Complications Of Swine Flu And Higher Risk Individuals

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Swine Flu

Prevention of Swine Flu

·Covering nose and mouth with a tissue upon coughing and sneezing followed by proper disposal of the tissue.
·Avoiding contact with ill persons.
·Avoiding the urge to touch nose, mouth and eyes in general.
·Staying home form work and/or school upon onset and for the duration of symptoms.
·Assuring adequate and thorough handwashing and use of alcohol based hand cleansers (in the absence of proper handwashing facilities).
·Providing tissues in common areas of homes, common and public areas.
·Encouraging pursuit of medical evaluation at earliest onset of symptoms.
·Use of masks to those who are exhibiting symptoms or who are ill.
·Maintenance of a 3 to 6 foot perimeter around a coughing patient.
Calm analysis coupled with accurate and proper public education is the key to identifying, treating and minimizing a worldwide outbreak.