Why the Managing Ethics and Social Responsibility Issue Is Relevant to Essay

Why the Managing Ethics and Social Responsibility Issue Is Relevant to the BP (British Petroleum) - Essay Example Ethics are used for setting the limits in regard to the operations of MNCs in countries worldwide. In its common sense, the term ethics is used for referring to ‘a code or set of principles by which people live’ (Popkin and Stroll 1993, p.1). However, the monitoring of the alignment of organizational decisions with ethics is a difficult task; in fact, it has been proved that most decisions of MNCs may violate ethics, at least at regional level. According to Beer (2010) the decisions of organizations operating in the context of the international market are likely to oppose, more or less, to ethics. Current paper reviews the performance of a well-known multinational corporation, British Petroleum (BP), in regard to ethics. According to the company’s reports, as presented below, the firm highly emphasizes on social responsibility and ethics in regard to all its activities. However, in practice the above argument is not verified. In fact, it is proved that the organiz ation has repeatedly failed in responding to its social responsibilities, causing severe damages on its employees and people living in the areas surrounding its sites; besides, the environmental effects of the firm’s activities cannot be ignored. It is clear that the firm needs to update its operations globally promoting ethics and social responsibility. ... practices with ethics and social responsibility, can be identified by referring to the firm’s existing policies for promoting social responsibility and ethics. At the next level, events proving the violation by the company of ethics will be presented and evaluated using appropriate literature. BP operates in an industry the effects of which on the environment can be significant. For this reason, and under the influence of the accident in Mexico in 2010, the firm has tried to introduce a series of initiatives for improving its relationship with its stakeholders. Daft and Marcic (2008) explain that the organization emphasizes on the continuous increase of its performance in regard to environmental responsibility. Lord John Browne, the Group’s Chief Executive, monitors the performance of the organization in regard to the specific sector (Daft and Marcic 2008, p.149). Browne notes that the increase of the needs in oil and gas annually has led to the increase of environmenta l risks, an issue that it is difficult to be managed effectively, due to the lack of control over the global needs in oil and gas (Daft and Marcic 2008, p.149). Moreover, the firm has introduced ‘an emissions trading system’ (Daft 2007, p.761), in order to improve its performance in locating resources without set environment in risk (Daft 2007, p.761). In addition, the firm has established an Educational Service, which promotes educational schemes for informing students and teachers on the effects of industrial operations on climate change, and the impact of the latter on human life (Ferrell and Hartline 2010, p.556). In 2005 the firm developed its Code of Conduct aiming to show to its stakeholders its efforts in promoting ethics and social responsibility (Ferrell and Hartline 2010, p.556). The

The Economics of the Doll and Car Industry in the USA and in China Term Paper

The Economics of the Doll and Car Industry in the USA and in China - Term Paper Example Doll Production Doll production does not involve much heavy equipment to carry out its industrial production according to the movie. Considering the fact that doll making could be very convoluted and intricate at some point, it requires more labor force than machines since most machines do not have the capability to perform extremely complicated tasks with high levels of precision. Also, doll production takes in a lot of workers to work on the quality checking, dressing, molding phase, and assembling. Looking at the conditions, doll manufacturers have lower production as compared to other industries such as the car industry in that doll industry implements labor intensity rather than capital intensity. This is the reason why the doll industry employs several hundreds to thousands of workers to meet its production quota. It’s vivid from the movie that doll production goes through several phases. These phases includes, molding body parts, assembling of the body parts, varying doll colors, doll dressing, quality check and packaging. Most of the China dolls are manufactured by low fired ceramic. The doll heads are labeled easily lost stickers inside the heads. Certainly, each phase calls for a lot of workers to perform each type of operation. Consequently, the current doll production process entails not just lower production but also higher production cost as doll manufacturers have to remunerate a considerable number of workers. Car Production In car production employs capital intensity in the manufacture of the cars. Car manufacturers use a large part of its capital to purchase and install extremely heavy and costly machines and robots rather than workers to carry out its production. (Economy Watch, â€Å"Capital Intensive Industry†). One fine example is the recently constructed Honda assembly plant in Wuhan, Central China. This new Honda facility poses a capability to produce thousands of cars annually. As a matter of fact, as stated on the video, DFAC Honda has produced 164,200 units in 2008 alone; and this is still way short to the facility’s maximum production capacity of 240,000 cars. Honda also underwent a joint venture, which combined Guangzhou Honda and DFAC Honda. This merger has resulted into Honda being one of the top five selling car brands, 470,000 units sold annually, and two independent channels of sales. Also, 95% of this production was sold in China, and 70% of the auto parts were supplied locally. Honda’s high production can be attributed to its implementation of capital intensity. It uses heavy equipment and high-priced machines to work as substitute for the labor force. In general, car manufacturers prefer this strategy in their production because it entails high production but lesser production cost. In the video, Honda installs hundreds of robots and heavy machines to build cars. These robots and machines work simultaneously and coordinately for a faster and more precise assembly of cars. Capital-intensive industries such as Honda do not necessarily discount the importance of labor force. Car manufactures still employ labor force to perform very important functions in the installation of small auto parts and for checking the quality of the car; although, car production requires smaller number of workers. Labor Intensity Labor intensity involves a large number of employees or longer hours of work from its employees in order to meet certain production quota. The production cost can be measured by taking the proportion between the labor cost and the capital cost. In the case of doll production, a lot of human labor is implicated since. This is because it involves a lot of complicated tasks and high levels of precision in the making unlike the car industry whereby human labor is minimal. This makes the doll industry is labor intensive. Capital Intensity Capital intensity entails an investment of the capital to heavy and expensive machines to act as substitute for a

Microsoft Visio Case Tool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Microsoft Visio Case Tool - Essay Example Microsoft Visio’s interface is user-friendly by virtue of its numerous semblances to other Microsoft programs. As such, usual computer operators will find it easier to interact with and generate the finest drawing outcomes. For members of the team who are starters in this class of applications, the visual style is highly revealing, giving it greater intuitive qualities that anybody in the team can utilize to generate the best outcomes. Parker (2013) suggested that the ability of the program to automatically check the user’s diagrams and correct glaring mistakes on the projects is one of its iconic benefits that complement human skills and creativity to generate high-quality graphic deliverables for the software development team. Still, the Office utility enables users to insert hyperlinks to other more complex flowcharts that cannot be collated together in a single page. This feature improves the programs interactive nature with external sources of information. Wright and Roth (2013) added that by enabling the users to customize the way they route their primary ideas and include one’s own tasks made on Microsoft Visual Basic Express, each member of the software development teams will easily execute their tasks as spelt out in the work breakdown structure and compare notes on best they can carry out the process in a more seamless manner. Alternatives to the Office utility Gantt Chart is an alternative to MS Visio, considering that the both programs have comparable deliverables.

HOW USEFUL IS A HUMAM RIGHTS DISCOURSE TO THE STUDY OF GENDER AND Essay

HOW USEFUL IS A HUMAM RIGHTS DISCOURSE TO THE STUDY OF GENDER AND CRIMEDRAW ON EXAMPLES TO SUPPORT YOUR AGUMENT - Essay Example person is always seen to be more aggressive than his female counterpart (Bess, 2005), and thus according to a stereotyped mindset, it is very natural to associate violent crimes exclusively with male criminals. Criminologists from times immemorial have been dealing the issue of crimes without keeping the gender perspective in focus. There is no doubt that there have always been women who committed crimes, but no importance was relegated to them, marking them as just as an aberration. The general feeling was what Wootton more than 50 years earlier, had expressed, â€Å"If men behaved like women, the courts would be idle and the prisons empty† (1959, 32). However, in modern times, specially starting from the 1990s, perspectives have changed and many recent studies pertaining to crime have been made, keeping the gender differences in mind. More than thirty years ago Carol Smart had published her book Women, Crime and Criminology, where she had mentioned that criminology is Ã¢â‚¬Ë œgender blind’, and therefore as a subject, the study of criminology remained incomplete and unconsummated (Smart, 1976). In fact, before the second wave of feminism came in around 1960, the argument put forward by the poststructuralists that the sociology study till then had been predisposed to generalise the male forbearance, is correct to some extent. A look at the past legal records will reveal that the number of women who came to the court as a defendant, or a witness, or an overseer, is surprisingly ambiguous (Beattie, 1974-5), the exception being for cases that were looked upon as typical feminine ones. Such a mindset arose mainly from the cultural and social stereotypes that were prevalent during the nineteenth, and a greater part of the twentieth century, which led to the court records being interpreted and maintained according to these pre conceived assumptions. This article will take a look at this topic of the deviances in gender crimes and their varying patterns, and will explore

Spirituality in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Spirituality in Nursing - Essay Example Pragmatically though it is nurses on the ward, rather than staff who only visit occasionally, and often only when requested, who are best placed to deal with this part of holistic nursing care. This is especially so where life-threatening illness is involved and there is much one to one interaction between nurse and patient. Thompson in 1993 spoke of the way in which by maintaining a bond with a distressed patient   the nurse is making an act   'unconditional love'.Even if their own beliefs are different from those of the patient, by being both good communicators and listeners, nurses can be supportive. They are often providing spiritual care simply be allowing the patient the opportunity to express themselves about beliefs and spiritual matters. Nurses have been encouraged to care for the whole person as a spiritual being,   as well as biological and psychological beings, since the 1970’s and books appeared such those by Roper, Logan and Tierney and their ‘Element s of Nursing’ each edition of which includes a chapter about dying and such things as grief and bereavement.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spirit is someone's soul, so spirituality would be focused on the self, but focused on the self in a manner in which they can understand it more deeply than just standard cognitive thinking about it, so religion might help you understand yourself in that "higher" manner. That is, it is almost like faith to believe in yourself like that, so it is like religion. ... They are often providing spiritual care simply be allowing the patient the opportunity to express themselves about beliefs and spiritual matters. Nurses have been encouraged to care for the whole person as a spiritual being, as well as biological and psychological beings, since the 1970’s and books appeared such those by Roper, Logan and Tierney and their ‘Elements of Nursing’ each edition of which includes a chapter about dying and such things as grief and bereavement. Definitions of Spirituality Mark Pettinelli – Spirit is someone's soul, so spirituality would be focused on the self, but focused on the self in a manner in which they can understand it more deeply than just standard cognitive thinking about it, so religion might help you understand yourself in that "higher" manner. That is, it is almost like faith To believe in yourself like that, so it is like religion. Laburn ( 1988) 'That which inspires in one the desire to transcend the realm of the material', Living Words of Wisdom:- You are surrounded by spirituality every day. The definition of spirituality is that which relates to or affects the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. Spirituality touches that part of you that is not dependant on material things or physical comforts Dictionary Definitions of Spirituality There is any number of variations on the subject of spirituality. It is defined most often as the quality or state of being spiritual. this doesn’t get you much further on unless you then look up what spiritual means. This, however, can be defined as simply to do with the spirit. It then follows that one must first of all define spirit.  

History of the Punctuation of English Writing Essay Example for Free

History of the Punctuation of English Writing Essay A few examiners face off regarding that the soonest codification of English started in the sixteenth century through the production of punctuations and lexicons the vast majority of which are bound to instruct the English dialect edges zones for the most part after the Union demonstration of 1536 amongst Ribs and Britain. The standard English was on a very basic level arranged between the sixteenth and seventeenth hundreds of years. The codification operation was described with three fundamental impacts which were basic. *The lords English as the legal and administrative dialect. *Literary English which was as the legal and administrative dialect. *The English of instruction and church or for the most part demonstrate as \Oxford English\. There was no reason for which the state was locked in. The codification operation additionally impacted the talked type of the English standard English. The got articulation was in a general sense systematized through training influence particularly that of nineteenth-century state-funded schools, pursue from the twentieth century by TV, silver screen and radio. It is fathomed that around 3 to 5 percent of the English turn to speak Got Elocution today. Authorizing of Word-references The expanding utilization of composed dialect framed the need materials that presented the requirement for materials that delineated the type of the dialect, in a way that could be gazed upward by every one of the people that required data about the English dialect. This was at first implied for individuals who are non-local speakers, however, later on, the English local speakers that needed to think about the cutting edge and grew some portion of the dialect likewise searched for such materials. The underlying lexicons were in a general sense a rundown of arduous words. This on a very basic level included the rundown of present-day \ advance words\ that was from the established dialect and the cutting edge English states abroad. By the nineteenth century, word reference composing was on a very basic level perceived movement, and the researchers were being dispatched by various distributors to compose such materials (Kemmer,2009). Different places in Europe, dialect foundations were being based in order to arrange and furthermore lithograph every one of the types of the dialect. By the by, thusly was not received in the zones which communicate in English, and there was never a perceived foundation for institutionalization in either USA or UK. The word reference embraced pretty much a descriptivist demeanor that is new and was at conflicts with the previous prescriptive supposition of the prior lexicon makers. Johnson perceived change as an ordinary operation and rejected any change as a debasement (Hitchings,2005). Afterward, the Samuel Johnson word reference started to build up, the spelling framework was at that point conspicuous same as that new English with relatively couple of orthographic attributes. Then again, political freedom in the US paves the way to battle for recognizing social elements. In this way, Noah Webster, thought of a lexicon included regional, Americans based their definitions to be known and contrast from the English. Noah Webster started to make his own word reference incorporated some American-lingos definitions. This gives the needed orthographic contrast without changing the critical conjoint clearness. He on a very basic level consolidates the utilization of \ize\ rather than \ise\ for the verbs and the expulsion postfix u in the addition \- our\ (Kemmer,2009). The Criteria for Incorporating Words in the Lexicon By the time, a considerable measure of words and terms in English dialect create and in this way the real lexicon do monitor such words to decide to those that are not pleasing. This passage will investigate how the Oxford word reference takes out this activity. The Oxford College press has the greatest and colossal dialects look into program far and wide. The most foremost exporters are the Oxford Perusing Project and the English Corpus. The Corpus on a very basic level contains archives that have been sourced from the sites while the perusing program shows to electronic gathering selections and citations on a very basic level towed from a decent variety of famous deception, songwriting, and logical magazines. The OUP keeps tracking the two projects to be permitted to track new words which go to the English dialect. In light of having verification or guide that another word is utilized by different sources, not just by one individual or creator, subsequently, the world turns into a choice for the consideration into the establishment\s lexicons In the earlier hundreds of years, a great deal of the lexicons was restricted of a rundown of words that most creators thought it is useful, even that there is no confirmation could exhibit or demonstrate that individuals had utilized some time recently. An individual summons is not capable or permitted in the advanced lexicons and it conditions that have been connected for a timeframe and by a gigantic people, can be acknowledged in the word reference (Oxford College Press,2014). Prescriptive and distinct lexicon Prescriptivism shows to the execution and the affirmation of a particular arrangement of rudiments by an establishment or person. Prescriptivism alludes to the demeanor where delineates the nuts and bolts of the dialect that ought to be taken after and the standards that likewise ought to be shunned. Remedies and prohibitions are conventional when all is said in done it present receipt of learning and intelligence. Then again, descriptivism demonstrates to the dialect use and activities in a lexicographical setting. Actually generously all the English dialect are unmistakable truly. The key editors show dependably to as how the word is spelled and connected. In that way, unmistakable dialect depicts or demonstrate the content words that are utilized usually regardless of whether they are not standard and frequently incorporate non-standard spelling. These sorts of word references are more required about the right and write English. At the end of the day, prescriptive lexicons depend on advance the standard English, not at all like the unmistakable word references that depict the use and the spelling of the dialect. The Conclusion All things considered, this composed content shows four primary focuses, the historical backdrop of how English has been systematized in lexicons and punctuation books, likewise it displays the appointing of word references and the purposes for composing these word references, furthermore, it tells about the criteria for incorporating words in lexicons, and the last point in the contrast amongst prescriptive and distinct lexicons.

Environmental Degradation In Mauritius

Environmental Degradation In Mauritius Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. The main environmental problems facing Mauritius are water pollution, soil erosion, and preservation of its wildlife. The sources of water pollution are sewage and agricultural chemicals. Mauritius cities produce 0.1 million tons of solid waste annually. The erosion of the soil occurs through deforestation. The Ministry of Housing, Lands, and the Environment has principal responsibility in environmental matters. As of 2001, only about 1.8% of the nations total land area is protected. According to UN reports, Mauritius ranked third in the world on the list of countries with the most endangered species in the mid-1990s. In 2002, there were 44 extinct species. As of the mid-1990s, 3 of Mauritius mammal species and 10 of its bird species were endangered, as well as 269 of its plant species. Endangered species on the island of Mauritius include the pink pigeon, Round Island boa and keel-scaled boa, green sea turtle, and Mauritius varieties of kestrel, parakeet, and fody. Extinct species include the Mauritian duck, the Mauritius blue pigeon, and the red rail. One of the biggest threats that the environment faces today is environmental degradation. One of the main reasons for environmental degradation is human activity. Rampant burning of fossil fuel and deforestation are major causes of this degradation. Also, over hunting, expansion of residential areas, increasing population and industrialization are degrading the environment beyond repair. The toxic chemicals let out by industries end up contaminating the water bodies. This, in turn, makes the water bodies polluted and the water is not fit for drinking or irrigating land. Also, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, are contributing to the gradual warming of the planet, a process known as global warming. This warming is having a negative impact on the climate and we can observe climate change everywhere. Agricultural activities are wreaking havoc with the environment. Agriculture is leading to degradation of the soil and contamination of ground water due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Strong economic development Strong economic development on a small territory is generating threats on environment. In a developing country, there is often a gap between development and prevention or correction measures. In Mauritius, we have very fast development simultaneously causing numerous problems, a lack of human resources and frequent undeserved privileges. There are various conflicts of interest on a small space, particularly on the coastal zone, between various activities. Tourism in Mauritius The tourism service provider in Mauritius is heavily dependent on natural resources, that the physical environment. The traditional marketing approach of sand, sea and sun has created a mindset that led to the concentration of tourist facilities in coastal areas. Coupled with an economys growing dependence on tourism revenues and the agglomeration of hotels on the coastline, tourism has developed into a sector of the economy in its own right which has led to a greater use of coastal and marine resources. This dependence is not without cost, both for the economy and industry. According to Empretec Mauritius, the tourism industry has undoubtedly contributed to the degradation of coastal and marine environment. The actions of the tourism industry have a close relationship with the coastal and marine resources and are heavily dependent on coastal and marine resources. As there are fragile ecosystems and which are interconnected in coastal areas, they are experiencing increased stress due to human activities such as fishing in the lagoon, pollution, erosion, overexploitation of coastal waters and coral. The actual construction of hotels directly on the beach head has significant environmental impacts. Very often, there are sediment run-offs into the lagoon and haphazard disposal of construction wastes into wetlands. When permission is given for works directly in the lagoon, such works very often involves dredging and excavation which increases turbidity when mud is disturbed and is carried away by currents to be deposited somewhere else in the lagoon, on corals for instance. Furthermore, often Government grants permission to remove beach rocks to create bathing areas as was carried out in the south of the island a few years back (2004-2005). Such works interfere with beach dynamics and interestingly enough, this has often resulted in beach erosion. A few years later the hotel promoters were forced to replace some of the rocks to mitigate the beach erosion they created in the first place. Heavy construction works in lagoon 2005 west coast In the seventies and eighties it was very common for hotels and bungalows to build jetties that impeded greatly the long shore current which in turn caused local accumulation of sand in one place and sand erosion in another. These jetties also impede the free passage of the public up and down the seashore. At times there were even high walls that descended right into the sea so as to physically prevent people from walking in front of a number of bungalows. It took energetic action in the early nineties from authorities to gradually put an end to this disgraceful practice. Indeed, government workers were sent together with officials to pull down those walls and jetties thereby re-establishing long shore currents and also permitting the free passage of the public. Example: Grand Gaube By 1992, hotels with more than 75 rooms must have, by law, a water treatment plant on site, it is not known whether all the different hotels treatment plants are really adequate to cope with the load or whether some seepage does occur at times which could have adverse effects on the lagoon. Sometimes sewage treatment plants were built close to the seashore as was the case in 1990 in the north. Sand erosion caused by the construction of piers and other hard structures close to the sea shore and by sand mining (thankfully banned in October 2001) is a significant problem as detailed in the Baird report of 2005. The seriousness of the problem can be gauged by the fact that the Government has, over the past years, built sea defenses at certain places round the coast like Grand Baie, Cap Malheureux and Flic en Flac. The defenses consist of placing at selected places gabions which are wire netting cages 1 metre cube in volume filled with rocks. The objective of this method is to hold sand in place and permit the local accumulation of sand. Unfortunately gabions tend to disintegrate with time for instance at Flic en Flac. The clearing of sea weeds, corals and other rocks in the lagoon close to the shore has regularly been carried out to create suitable bathing areas or sky lanes for hotels. Though, in some cases, the clearing is fairly innocuous, on a couple of occasions, it cannot be said to be so. It needs reminding that sea grass beds are nurseries for fishes and other sea creatures. In 1993, the Touessrok Hotel at Trou Deau Douce (east coast) carried out very important works in the lagoon with the necessary Environmental Impact Assessment report. The government of that time informed the management that the ministry has no objection to the implementation of the proposed works in relation to (i) the dredging of the inner cover and of the two channels (ii) dredged material treatment and handling onshore (iii) beach recharging and widening (iv) erection of a groyne and (v) the construction of an artificial breakwater to protect the cove beach, provided that the following conditions are observed (Le Week End 20th of June 1993). Though the local fishermen went to court to obtain an injunction, it does not appear that they managed to influence the course of things. From 1995 till 2000, promoters fought hard to have a hotel built on ilot des deux cocos in Blue Bay Marine Park. Their initial works in August 2000 did cause damage to coral fields in the vicinity. However for once Government had the initial works stopped and subsequently rejected their Environment Impact Assessment report in April 2001. It is worth mentioning that it is the first time that a hotel project had been rejected by the Authorities on purely environmental grounds. It is undoubtedly a landmark in environmental management in Mauritius. It is possible that from then on promoters might be a little more aware of the importance of sound environmental management for the tourism industry. Unfortunately, little is at present known on the impacts of hotel development on the coastal and lagoon ecology. Yet there is anecdotal evidence that points to sewage seepage from hotels into nearby lagoons in spite of most hotels having primary and secondary sewage treatment plants. In several places, bungalows and even hotels have been built on wetlands or marshy grounds, for example at Flic en Flac or Grand Baie. This has resulted in a drastic reduction of wetlands around the coast, hence wetlands are no longer there to act as natural filtering systems of either sewage or storm waters. The water table at Grand Baie has risen significantly, for example, and is now only a metre deep. Flooding and pollution by sewage is now a reality in parts of Grand Baie. At Flic en Flac also, construction of hotels and bungalows has been going on for years on marshy lands. And now certain parts of Flic En Flac are regularly flooded after heavy rains with little scope for a permanent solution to the despair of residents. It is important to realise that wetlands act as natural filter beds cleaning storm or rain waters before they enter the lagoon system. Lack of wetlands inland can lead to sediments finding their way into the lagoon thereby polluting it. Environmental Impact of the Recreational Use of Beaches One of the main impacts of the use of beaches by the public on the environment is the fact that a fair proportion of the public fails to use the dust bins provided on the beaches for the proper disposal of solid waste. Hence, at times and on certain beaches, there is solid waste accumulating on site. This waste, apart from being unsightly and a source of bad smells attracting rodents, can drift into the lagoon waters thereby polluting it. Furthermore, at certain places, the lagoon is used by some people as a huge and uncontrolled dumping ground. Regularly, non governmental organisations working in the field of the environment and professional divers team up to remove from the lagoon bottom large quantities of solid waste which found its way there. For example on the 7th of June 1997, during the World Environment Day divers removed from the lagoon of Blue Bay ( South of the island ) car and truck tyres, old nets, discarded plastic bags and bottles, broken plates and even radio sets. At low tide, it is common for locals or tourists to go reef walking sometimes even at night. The potential for coral damage is evident. In the nineties undersea walking was introduced as a tourist attraction. This activity has lead to localized coral reef damage. Nowadays authorities have ceased to issue new permits for this activity, though previous operators appear to continue their activities. Environmental Impacts of pleasure Boats Operations Anchor damage by pleasure crafts or fishing boats is thought to be a significant factor in the destruction of corals whilst oil seepage from motor boats can have an impact on lagoon health, especially in places like Grand Baie where there are lots of boats at mooring. Over the years there has been a fairly widespread effort to install mooring buoys especially at popular diving sites in order to limit anchor damage. There is evidence that this measure has helped to a certain extent. Boating operations in lagoons have often created conflicts with swimmers on public beaches when boat operators openly flout safety regulations and common sense by loading and offloading passengers for boat trips directly from public beaches and travelling at high speed close to the sea shore. Authorities had to demarcate bathing areas along popular beaches to limit accidents. Coastal zones are undoubtedly under heavy use, and pressure will not cease in the foreseeable future as long as there are significant increases in tourism arrivals and with more of the population going to the sea side for leisure activities. With the world economic and financial crisis of 2008 2009, tourism arrivals have begun to drop. Although no-one knows how far or how deep this present crisis will be, reductions in tourism arrivals will lessen pressures on coastal zones, thereby opening up a window of opportunity to put in place a coherent coastal zone management plan.