Housekeeping and Banquet Industry Placement

Housekeeping and Banquet Industry Placement Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel Even though Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel has a steep historical background, but it was officially opened in 2000. The Hotel offers a range of services including luxurious accommodation, conference facilities, library services, fitness facilities, bar and restaurant, sports services, wedding venues among others.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Housekeeping and Banquet Industry Placement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The hotel is strategically located at the centre of Queensland new world city and has over 400 elegant rooms, fitness centre, mouth-watering restaurant and bars, heated swimming pools and spa, and 11 conferencing rooms that can accommodate over 1000 individuals among other facilities (Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011). The hotel receives many visitors both locally and internationally. Among them are businessmen, tourists, and dignitaries. Accommodation is the largest part of the hotel and generates the most revenue. The hotel departments are pegged on the facilities available and different categories of staff. The study will focus on housekeeping department and the challenges facing this department. Housekeeping department is in charge of cleaning and taking orders in the hotel. The personnel in this department include the room attendants/ maids, supervisors, senior attendants/maid and the head of the department (Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011). Housekeeping Department Housekeeping department just like the front office normally works round the clock with three shifts per day. The number of times cleaning is performed per day depends on the status of the hotel. The high higher the status the more frequent a room is cleaned and vice versa. This department is among the strictly regulated in the hotel industry. Each position has well defined instructions that have to be adhered to and it is the responsibility of the senior maid or supervisors to make sure that the instructions are followed. Cleanliness of hotel is a concept that is perceived in diverse ways in different nations. Big hotels such as Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel have mastered cleaning technologies and are role models in the hotel industry. Some hotels such as Marriot chain dust in the room after cleaning is regarded as a violation. Meticulousness in the subject of cleanliness is a trademark of hotels in emerging and advanced economies. Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel has a pleasant ambience as a result of the spectacular color schemes, beautiful furnishing and efficient staff (Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011; City Of Hotels, 2011).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Over half of the hotel’s revenue comes from room service and therefore, when a room is not sold the hotel looses a lot of money. Poor occupancy can cause loss of customers and this may be attr ibuted to hygiene matters, cleanliness and outdated facilities. Hence, the main of objective of most hotels is to enhance the appeal of their rooms. This is because guests do spent a lot of tine in their rooms than in any other part of the hotel, so matters of cleanliness are paramount in the hotel business since most customers are health conscious nowadays (Rutherford and O’ Fallon, 2007). Sofitel Brisbane Central housekeeping department owns a Linen Operating System. Therefore, all of the linen used in the whole hotel such as towels, bed linen and pillow cases are washed, dried, and ironed on a daily basis by the housekeeping department. Linen operation requires a lot of work and therefore adequate staff is needed, but the hotel has not appointed enough staff on the linen operation. Frequently the hotel usually runs out of the linen and towels and this means the room attendants spend a lot of time cleaning the rooms since linen and towels are needed to make a room. In such cases the workers in the housekeeping department do suffer a lot from too much working hours and labor (Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011). In addition, the linen departments normally bear high cost of maintenance and frequent breakdowns. This not only makes costing unpredictable but also results in loss of revenue since rooms which are not maintained are not sold to the customers. The machines and equipments used in the linen operations are relatively old and not advanced as in some of the five star hotels like Hilton and Marriot chain. Workers in the linen departments are responsible for many duties and thus are over burdened (Johnston, 1998; Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011). The operational problem in the linen department is a very serious challenge for the hotel. Even though it has not necessarily affected the clients, but it does inconvenience them when the rooms are not sold because they are in bad condition.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Housekeeping and Ban quet Industry Placement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In rare cases, guests are normally forced to reuse their line fabrics when the linen operating system fails or when the fabrics are not availed in time. Fortunately, most of these clients are regular customers or do understand the situation. But this is very risky for the hotel since some guests are very insensitive and might even sue the hotel for poor service (Wakefield and Blodgett, 1994). Most hotels normally prefer to outsource such type of services to cleaning companies since owning a linen operating system is not only expensive but also necessitates hiring more staff which is uneconomical. In addition, outsourcing has numerous benefits for the hotel. For example outsourcing will enable the housekeeping department to concentrate on its core competencies by handing over the linen operations to the third party who specializes in that service and therefore enhances the hotel’ s competitive position. Outsourcing will also make sure that there is faster and high quality service and improved efficiency in linen operations. This is attributed to the fact that outsourcing companies normally operates in a large scale coupled with guarantee in the service level and increased operational efficiency (PMP Research, 2009). Outsourcing also gives the hotel access to resources that are not available within, such as state-of-the-art technology and skilled manpower without necessarily acquiring them. It also gives the department more flexibility to respond promptly to the dynamic environment and increased competition. Personnel who were working in the linen department can be relocated to other strategic tasks. Outsourcing enhances predictability of the costs since the operational costs are incurred by the third party. Lastly, outsourcing will help the hotel to deal with problems of globalization as it seeks expand its services globally (PMP Research, 2009). Conclusion Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel is a five star hotel located in the heart of the city. The hotel offers numerous services but accommodation is the most important of them all since it generates the highest revenue. The hotel experiences operational problem in the housekeeping department. The problem is attributed to the fact that it owns a linen operating system which has numerous shortcomings. The best solution for the problem is outsourcing this service to the company which specializes in it. In this case, the company will be saved of the operational costs associated with the linen operating system, improve efficiency and enhance its competitive advantage.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References City of Hotels, 2011. Housekeeping Department. Web. Johnston, R., 1998. Service Operations Management: Return to the roots. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 19 (2), pp.104-124. PMP Research, 2009. Outsourcing is in. Web. Rutherford, D.G. and O’ Fallon, M.J., (2007) Hotel Management and Operations. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011. Hotel Sofitel Brisbane Central Services and Activities. Web. Wakefield, K.L. and Blodgett, J.G., 1994. The importance of services capes in leisure service settings. Journal of Services Marketing, 8 (3), pp. 66-76. Banquet Department Banquet department combines the function of marketing, sales and food and beverage departments and entails relaying of information to the clients regarding the events and payment of bills. The front desk staff may possibly offer labor for the preparation of the routine announcement boards, listing of daily activities, and marquees. Posting of each d ay events on the boards offers the clients and the staff with information on group activities. Marquee preparation includes congratulatory messages, sales promotion and other vital messages. In a number of hotels, staff in front office normally makes contact with the marketing and sales for important messages (Gray and Liguori, 2003). The answer to success of a hotel business is the service which begins with the contact between the client and the staff of the front office. How the guests are welcomed and treated is very important since it gives the first impression of the hotel and conditions their perception of other services in the hotel. If the guests are satisfied by the first impression of the hotel, this can mean a long lasting relationship. Many hotels have well equipped clean and comfortable rooms. However, quests do assess the hotel and its services based on the courteousness and efficiency of its staff (Roldan, 2004; Gray and Liguori, 2003). The role played by the banquet department in enhancing excellent guest relations is self evident and cannot be overemphasized. Since banquet department offers the initial contact, it is also where the guest-related problems normally take place. Most guests are ready to pay any amount for the hotel service as long as they get their penny’s worth. As a result, the guests will always voice their discontent over rude staff or slow service and look forward to faster solution for their problem (Bardi, 2003). Banquet regarded as the heart of the hotel business. Most of the staff-guest interactions take place in banquet department more than any other department. It sets the stage for satisfying and non-satisfying visit since it’s where the initial impression is formed. Many guests are normally eager to start their vacation and business plans and therefore needs a lot of information regarding the hotel so as to enjoy as possible. The response to requested information or guest problems reflects how well the h otel has equipped the banquet department staff for this significant role (Roldan, 2004). Sofitel Brisbane central hotel normally does welcome orientation to the new staff and briefly explains organizational management systems and rules, and the rules and duties of each staff. The rules and duties for the new staff are provided in a hand manual. These hand manuals are well instructed with pictorial representations to ensure easy understanding. During the orientation the human resources manager comprehensively explains the manual to the new staff. These manuals are very reasonable since they are easily comprehendible, but most employees do not really have a deep look at the manual (Hughes, 2007). These manuals are too general and are mostly focused on the external clients and ignore the internal clients (the staff). Therefore, for these manuals to be effective, they have to put emphasis on both quests and hotel employees at large. However, the hotel has no procedures relating to commu nication. The finest hotel management practices require that hotels have rules regarding how the staff should communicate with the clients. The hotel’s manual only outlines the appropriate communication skills that can be of assistance when communicating with the clients. Therefore, it’s upon the staff to choose to use these communication skills or to ignore these skills (Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011). Sofitel Brisbane central hotel uses feedback card and suggestion box to establish customers’ response and to evaluate staff performance in all the departments. However, these cards are usually given to the customers only when they ask them. The hotel always provides the feedback cards before getting more feedbacks from the clients. Nonetheless, from the responses got from the feedback cards most guests are satisfied with the manner in which the hotel staff welcomes and treats them and attend to their wake up calls. This is evident in the high number of loyal guests who revisits the hotel very frequently (Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011). Although the hotel has no set rules on the staff-guest communication, it is very strict on the way the staff handles the guests. Those who are found guilty of any form of misconduct or in violation of the hotel rules are either suspended, penalized or at the worst force out. The staffs at the banquet department are naturally disciplined and very hospitable. This is because the hotel hires highly qualified personnel for this job and is expected to be very responsible in their work. The hotel demands high level of professionalism in this job (Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011). Conclusion The banquet department is central to the operation of the hotel. This department is where the majority of the staff-guest interactions take place more than in any other department. How the guests are welcomed and treated is very important since it gives the first impression of the hotel and conditions their perception of other services in the hotel. If the guests are satisfied by the first impression of the hotel, this can mean a long lasting relationship. Sofitel Brisbane central hotel has not set rule regarding staff-guest communication, but has a brief outline of the suitable communication skills. Therefore, the hotel demands high level of professionalism for the staff working in the banquet department. References Bardi, J. A., 2003. Hotel front office management. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Gray, W. S. Liguori, S. C., (2003) Hotel and motel management and  Operations. Singapore: Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd. Hughes, B., 2007. Knowing your business means knowing your guests. Hotel and motel management, 222, pp. 38. Roldan, A. S., 2004. Front office procedures and guest relations. Paranaque: AR Skills Development Management Services. Sofitel Luxury Hotels, 2011. Hotel Sofitel Brisbane Central Services and Activities. Web.

Publishing and Crowdfunding with Publishizer

Publishing and Crowdfunding with Publishizer Crowdfunding is the perfect medium for today’s author raising funds for marketing and publishing expenses. But there is a hybrid alternative to straight crowdfunding. Instead of querying multiple publishers on their own, authors can raise funds on a platform like Publishizer that also matches authors with publishers based on pre-order milestones of their book. After doing much research, I chose  Publishizer  over  Kickstarter,  Indiegogo  and a number of hybrid crowdfunding/publishing sites such as  Inkshares  for one main reason: the idea of matching authors to publishers. I didn’t want to send multiple emails to publishers. I wanted them to come to me based on the merit of my proposal. All I needed to do was demonstrate proof of concept of the book Having gone through the experience growing my platform With Publishizer, you write a proposal outlining your book’s marketing plan for approval. You not only set a date to launch your campaign, but you also reach out to readers for pre-orders. The number of pre-orders lets Publishizer know that you are a serious writer and that there’s a following out there willing to buy the book. Then Publishizer queries publishers on your behalf based on number of pre-orders signed up Throughout the campaign, I worried whether I could even reach the 250 pre-order milestone needed to attract an indie/independent publisher, my ideal publishing goal. Acquiring 250 pre-orders takes endurance and stamina! To help me stay accountable, Guy Vincent, founder of Publishizer and his team set up weekly strategy calls (at no extra charge) via Skype and Zoom calls. They are big on helping you think outside the box in terms of getting supporters and talking about your book to sponsors to increase your marketability. Since I had an already established fan base, I reached out to those supporters first – most of whom supported this second crowdfunding campaign. I held contests, offered enticing rewards, did giveaways on social media, did several Facebook live videos, shared milestone updates – in short I built a lot of book buzz. At the end of the intense, three-month campaign, Sand and Steel: The Spiritual Journey Home was queried to 98 publishers thanks to 253 preorders that also included a very generous sponsor, growing my platform and fan base Out of the seventeen publishers who expressed interest, I ended up signing a contract with Mascot Books who, from the start, resonated very strongly with the themes and messages of my memoir about what it means to find a home in the United States as a returning American struggling with Reverse Culture Shock. It was a perfect match. Like publishing, the crowdfunding world is changing, and Publishizer is matching reputable publishers with authors like myself who otherwise, would not have known about these publishers.

Discuss the role of university research in innovation in the knowledge Essay

Discuss the role of university research in innovation in the knowledge economy - Essay Example Basic research is a study aimed at greater understanding of the phenomenon under study. The main objective of applied research is to answer and address real-world challenges. It includes systematic analysis of practical part of science. It deals with practical challenges and uses experimental methodologies to solve them. Research and innovation is linked to social and economic development of a country. In Europe, most projects contribute to minimizing regional disparities by improving innovation and research potential. Research has been growing since the end of Second World War. Most firms participate in applied research because it can be marketed easily. Most industries can collaborate with universities specialized in applied technology. Mechanism of Research Governments have made policies to structure innovations and research in the universities. They ensure that there is a return on public investments in terms of social prosperity and economic growth (Rothaermel & David 2008, p.17 ). The role of different actors in the field, their abilities to conduct the research currently are on transnational research networks. Information on research and innovation is necessary for policymakers so that they may be able to see how they can help the universities to promote their innovation and research in the market.... Government support is not enough in most institutions. In most cases, universities collaborate with industries in conducting research. Universities have people, units, and functions, which are involved in partnership actions that have an effect on technological and economic development. They do this by licensing and spin-offs. Universities differ in the way they organize their programs or activities so as to foster innovation. Research institutions, majorly in the United States, are more concerned about their societies in the recent past. This is because they represent the inner resources of knowledge in those societies. Competency of individuals, knowledge and skills and their application has improved significantly in the economy where these individuals work. Most countries focus on the development, application, preservation, and discovery of all forms of knowledge and skills. These are the humanistic, scientific, and social knowledge. They therefore assist publicly and privately fu nded universities. The institutions then appreciate these contributions by appropriately contributing to the development in economy. They enhance knowledge linking activities, which improve technology commercialization, enhance workers’ competency, and assist community and organizational change and increase competency of professionals (Chen, K & Kenney, M 2007, p 1056). They also provide social, economic, and cultural organizational analyses to train and educate individuals and to bring individuals and groups concerned about rational, informed discourse on matters of common concern (Gebauer et al 2005, p.650). The capabilities of these universities are vest in many places, not only schools of business and

The Effectiveness of The Bank of England Policies in Overcoming the Essay

The Effectiveness of The Bank of England Policies in Overcoming the Crisis - Essay Example This essay offers a comprehensive analysis of activities, that the Bank of England realizes to manage the inflation, with a focus on effectiveness of the Quantitative Easing Programme, which is among the mechanisms applied by the bank to stabilize the economy. It is argued in the paper, that the use of the Quantitative Easing of may cause higher inflation in future. The BOE applies both monetary policy and Quantitative Easing mechanism as the inflation management tools, to ensure that the inflation level does not surpass the lower or the higher limits as predetermined. The concept of inflation refers to a situation where there is a general rise in the prices of goods and services in an economy, within a specified period of time. Monetary policy refers to a mechanism applied to reduce the inflation rate, through the BoE introducing a period of higher interest rates, which targets to reduce both the consumer and the investment spending, and thus lower the quantity of money that is circulating in the economy. The Quantitative Easing mechanism is an unconventional method of managing inflation, which is applied under circumstances where the monetary policy does not generate the desired effect, in enhancing the stability of the economy The risks associated with the Quantitative Easing mechanism is its potential to cause future inflation, through capital flights and the stagnancy of production of goods and services, since the mechanism does not affect the interest rates, which in turn determines the production in the economy. ... In doing this, the Bank of England applies various mechanisms, which include: Monetary policy This refers to a mechanism applied to reduce the inflation rate, through the Bank of England introducing a period of higher interest rates, which targets to reduce both the consumer and the investment spending in the economy, and thus lower the quantity of money that is circulating in the economy (Griffiths & Wall, 2007 p22). This way, the general prices of goods and services in the economy will be lowered, considering that there would be less money in the economy, which cannot support the higher prices. The change of the official interest rate by the Bank of England is applied in the situation where the amount of money that is being spent in the economy has grown at a higher rate, compared to the volume of the output produced, in terms of the goods and services (Qfinance, 2009 p249). Thus, the Bank of England sets an interest rate, at which it lends to the other financial institutions withi n the UK, which in turn affects the interest rates at which such financial institutions, which include the commercial banks, the building societies or the insurance companies, will attach to their loans and mortgages, which they advance to their customers. In addition, the change in the interest rates also affects the prices of other financial assets such as the shares and the bonds, while also influencing the exchange of the country’s currency against those of other countries (Mishkin, 2010, p77). All these changes serve to influence the demand by consumers and businesses, thus affecting the spending that such consumers and businesses make in

Life Changing Essay Example for Free

Life Changing Essay In life, we all know something that has changed the way we perceive people and events. Most meaningful events that have changed our perception can be our experience that we have gone through and learned from. Life-changing experiences play an important role on our development. Whether adults or children, we are affected by our experience which could impact us immensely. Personally speaking, my previous experience have affected me significantly. One is my first job experience, the other is my first-time experience of living in a brand-new country. Firstly, my first job experience greatly affected me. I remember that I was working at a Taiwanese restaurant. It was a really busy restaurant with five to eight employees. My manager told me that being a good waiter, it is important to smile and have a good attitude. I was not doing a great job on my first day of work. I was not really happy, because I made a lot of mistake, including messing up customer’s orders, no smiling, and a bad service attitude. I was judged by my manager. However, I believed that practice would lead to improvement and I never gave up, keep learning and practicing the working skills. After that, I became a mature and efficient waiter. In addition to above experience, communication and co-operation are also what I learned on my job. For example, when I served my customers for the first time, I was too shy to talk. But the most important thing for a waiter to know about is customers’ needs and expectations. Lack of communication with customers will not achieve this. After working for one month, I learned how to communicate with my customers. Furthermore, co-operation between co-workers is also important. I learned how to work with other waitresses/waiters and understood more about teamwork. For instance, my manager would allocate the tasks to us and every waitress/waiter needs to be aware of his/her responsibilities. The most difficult moment of co-operation is during the business hours, because employees need to be more understanding of each other. Secondly, living in a new country is my other significant experience. I lived in England for two years. When I first arrived in England, I lived with a host family in Oxford. Language and unfamiliarity with the city are the biggest problems that I faced. My most unforgettable moment is my first day of going to school in Oxford. I could not speak English and I felt lost in a new area. At that moment, body language was my only tool to help me find my school. I still remember that I was thinking about taking a bus  school, but I didn’t know where the bus station was. I tried to use my body language to ask a passer-by. It was fortunate that a gentleman understood my body language and my school address. After that, he brought me to the school. My first experience in England positively affected me. Looking back, my first job experience made me grow up and come outgoing. It also taught me about work co-operation. Before my first job, I did not like talking, I was shy when I was talking to people. But now, I am never shy of talking. Moreover I can say that right now I understand more about how to co-operate with my people, because I learned on my first job. The advantage of my England’s experience is that I learned a new language, I became independent and my adaptability became stronger. Previously, I could not speak English, but now I can fundamentally communicate with people in English. Also, â€Å"living by yourself, supporting yourself, paying your bills, and having total freedom over your domain is truly life-changing. It changes your perspective on solitude — it’s nothing to be afraid of, and can be pretty great — and shows you that you are capable of managing things by yourself if the need ever arises.† ( from THOUGHT CATALOG, 7 life-changing experiences every girl deserves to have, BY SOPHIE MARTIN, Mar.11, 2014 ). I believe that when you travel to new country and live by yourself, it will definitely make you become independent. Lastly, my adaptability became stronger since I lived in England. A strong adaptability make me more easily integrate into a new environment. In conclusion, life changing experiences are really important to us. In my case, my first job experience and my first-time experience of living in a brand-new country are what led to change in my life. Co-operation skills, independence, adaptability and language skills are what I learned. Obviously, people can definitely learn something through their life experience. These experiences are our life lessons that lead to our future.

Lamuel Gulliver Essay -- essays research papers

Lamuel Gulliver   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jonathan Swift is one of the best known satirists in the history of literature. When one reads his works, especially something like Gulliver’s Travels, it is easy for one to spot the misanthropic themes, which emerge within his characterization. Lamuel Gulliver is an excellent protagonist: a keen observer, and a good representative of his native England, but one who loses faith in mankind as his story progresses. He ends up in remote areas of the world all by accidents in his voyages. In each trip, he is shipwrecked and mysteriously arrives to lands never before seen by men. This forms an interesting rhythm in the novel: as Gulliver is given more and more responsibility, he tends to be less and less in control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his encounter with the Lilliputians, Gulliver shows himself to be kind, honorable, and generous. Despite the Lilliputians are prideful, greedy, and cruel in response to him; he always manages to be peaceful with them. For example, when the Lilliputians and the people of Blefuscu (the British and the French in reality) go to war, Gulliver ties a knot to each of the Blefuscan ships and brings them together to the Lilliputian king. Then both of the countries negotiate and settle peace. Thus, Gulliver stops the friction between the two countries and establishes everlasting peace. This marks a characteristic of wisdom within Gulliver and the apple on his shield signifies this quality.   &n...

Passion – Basketball

My Passion by: Shariar Alam Sadmun What is basketball? In technical terms as defined by Princeton, it could be defined as a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players; points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal hoop. In my own words I would describe basketball as my best friend that never backstabs or goes away from my side; it is always there by my side no matter what just like a true friend. Everyone has a passion but I think my passion is truly unique because I have loved the sport of basketball since I was seven. I remember the day I was watching my first basketball game, I still remember it as if it was yesterday. I was not very familiar with the rules and the scoring. I did not know any players. My idol, Shaquille O’Neal, was playing in that game and he was dominating the whole game until he missed two crucial free throws near the end and his team lost. After the game he said, â€Å"Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God’s way to say nobody’s perfect. † His play that game and the way that he encountered and the way he intellectually answered the critics that day has inspired me to play and love the game of basketball. People sometimes ask me, â€Å"Why do you love basketball? All you try to do is shoot that ball through that circle. That is not fun† My response to them is always the same. I tell them basketball is not just a game, it is more than a game. It is my love, it is my passion, it is the game that is always by my side, and it is the game that gives me the most enjoyment whenever I am playing or watching it. I love to watch the game. If they show the game on television for 4 hours straight, I will watch it without getting fed up with it. If someone starts a conversation about basketball, I will turn into Manny from Ice Age who never stops talking. I hate losing, basketball brings out my competitive spirit. Basketball lets me take out my emotions, which helps me in expressing myself to others. Basketball is a game of cooperation, where the five people on the court work cooperatively to achieve the goal of winning. The great Michael Jordan once said, â€Å"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. † Michael Jordan is a hero and an inspiration to a lot of people. He is the reason a lot of people not only in North America, but everywhere in the world started playing basketball. He once said, â€Å"I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot†¦ and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why†¦ I succeed. † His competitive spirit and his hunger to succeed have always inspired me, and every time I hear or read these awe-inspiring quotes by him it always gives me goose bumps. Basketball teaches me good discipline in terms of when to shoot and when to pass to a teammate. Basketball has given me the chance of leading by example. Basketball players not only play the game but they do a lot to help their communities. A great example of that would be Steve Nash, who is an honorary member of Order of Canada (the highest civilian honour in Canada). He is possibly the greatest Canadian basketball player ever. He is an inspiration to every Canadian. All the philanthropic work he does, the way he takes care of his body, his work ethic and the way he leads his team is just a joy to watch and hear about. It makes me proud to be a Canadian and to know that a Canadian is one of the greatest basketball player ever to step on the court. Players like Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal are once in a generation type of players. The way they play with intensity and seriousness is something really commendable. I practice every day during the summer, I try to play with that killer instinct like my idols. When I was in grade five, I would play my brother every day after school and I would never win. One day he did not want to play me anymore because he told me I was not at his level. That really hit me. I remember for the next two months, I had a basketball with me. Everywhere I went, I had it with me from walking and dribbling it to the point where I slept with it. That is how much I wanted to beat my brother. I got that competitive spirit from players like Jordan or O’Neal. After two months, I requested my brother to play me and I told him if I lost I would never ask him to play me. He accepted the challenge, and after a very close game I beat him twenty-one to eighteen. After the game, I cried so much because I was so thrilled that I finally beat my brother. Basketball for some people is just a game. It is more than a game to me. It is like my best friend. It is my passion. It has always been there for me through the tough times and as well as the good times. It has helped me take my emotions out in a proper manner. It lets me take out my competitive spirit. It has taught me how to work in a team effectively. Alan Armstrong once said, â€Å"If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen for you, to you and because of you. † I feel basketball has given me the chance to enjoy my life in a way that I would have probably not enjoyed without it. Basketball has given me the chance to become its best friend, and I will always admire basketball for what it has done to change my life and what it has done to always stay by my side.