Impact of an economic crisis - Evidence from Turkey

This paper evaluates the impact of the 2001 economic crisis on the tourism industry in Turkey. The research findings reveal that neither the government nor private organizations had any plans for dealing with the crisis before or after the event. It had both negative and positive impacts although its benefits were often overlooked. The overall implication of the study is that national culture, the level of economic development of a country, the availability of financial resources, and the ability and knowledge of its government officials and managers of private firms have a direct impact on how such an event is responded to and managed. Keywords: economic, crisis, government, hotels, Turkey. This paper evaluates the impact of the 2001 economic crisis on the tourism industry in Turkey. The research findings reveal that neither the government nor private organizations had any plans for dealing with the crisis before or after the event. It had both negative and positive impacts although its benefits were often overlooked. The overall implication of the study is that national culture, the level of economic development of a country, the availability of financial resources, and the ability and knowledge of its government officials and managers of private firms have a direct impact on how such an event is responded to and managed.</p

Öğrenen Örgütlerin Oluşturulmasında Üst Kademe Yöneticilerin Rolü

Bu çalışmada öğrenen örgütlerin oluşturulmasında üst kademe yöneticilerinin rolü ve görevleri tartışılmıştır. Öğrenen örgütler bilgiyi elde etme, elde edilen bilgiyi farklı yönetim kademelerine aktarma ve edinilen bilgiyi kullanarak örgütü sürekli yenileme becerisine sahip kurumlardır. Bunun sağlanabilmesi için üst kademe yöneticilere önemli görevler düşmektedir. Çalışmadan çıkan en önemli sonuç üst kademe yöneticilerin bu süreçteki rollerini iyi bilmelerinin yanında bu rolleri yerine getirebilmek için gerekli olan becerilere de sahip olmaları gerektiğidir. Bunun başarılabilmesi için de üst kademe yöneticilerinin sürekli olarak eğitilmeleri ve geliştirilmeleri gerekmektedir. Çalışmada bu konular hakkında ayrıntılı tartışmalar yapılmış ve bu alanda uygulamada ve gelecekte yapılacak çalışmalar konusunda önerilerde bulunulmuştur.This study discusses the role of senior executives in developing learning organizations. Learning organizations are those institutions which are good at collecting and disseminating information across differnet management levels and by using this knowledge they can also transform themselves on a continious basis. To be able to facilitate this process, senior executives have important roles and duties. An important conclusion emerging from this study is that senior exetives should not only know their roles and duties in creating learning organizations but also possess certain skills to perform the required roles and duties. To be successful in this process, they should be continously trained and developed. This study provides indepth discussions about these issues and makes recommendations for practice and future reseach

ÖĞRENEN ÖRGÜTLERİN OLUŞTURULMASINDA ÜST KADEME YÖNETİCİLERİN ROLÜ

Bu çalışmada öğrenen örgütlerin oluşturulmasında üst kademe yöneticilerinin rolü ve görevleri tartışılmıştır. Öğrenen örgütler bilgiyi elde etme, elde edilen bilgiyi farklı yönetim kademelerine aktarma ve edinilen bilgiyi kullanarak örgütü sürekli yenileme becerisine sahip kurumlardır. Bunun sağlanabilmesi için üst kademe yöneticilere önemli görevler düşmektedir. Çalışmadan çıkan en önemli sonuç üst kademe yöneticilerin bu süreçteki rollerini iyi bilmelerinin yanında bu rolleri yerine getirebilmek için gerekli olan becerilere de sahip olmaları gerektiğidir. Bunun başarılabilmesi için de üst kademe yöneticilerinin sürekli olarak eğitilmeleri ve geliştirilmeleri gerekmektedir. Çalışmada bu konular hakkında ayrıntılı tartışmalar yapılmış ve bu alanda uygulamada ve gelecekte yapılacak çalışmalar konusunda önerilerde bulunulmuştur

Reliability of wear volume measurement approaches in relation to the effect of surface finish on friction and wear of Al2O3

Wear measurements are notoriously variable. Even the experiments with the same type of material and test machine can give significantly different results. Such discrepancies are mostly due to a lack of adequate control of test conditions and unreliable measurement techniques. Specification and control of certain tribological quantities are a necessary prerequisite of obtaining reproducible and comparable results. To proceed forward in this direction, it is essential to review and analyze the existing test procedures and measuring techniques. In this study, the authors investigated the reliability of the most common wear volume measurement approaches and explored the influence of surface finish on the friction and wear performance of Al2O3 ceramics. The wear tests were performed with a pin-on-disc machine on polished and ground surfaces of Al2O3 disks. The wear volume was measured from height displacement, weight loss, and from worn surface profilometry. The results indicated that the wear volume measurements by surface profilometry and height displacement (by transducer) were highly reliable. The wear rates of ground and polished alumina were in the order of 10(-7) mm(3)/m . N. Finally, for the specific surface roughness range (Ra = 0.03 to 0.4 mu m) explored in this study, the surface finish was only important during the initial run-in period

Reliability of wear volume measurement approaches in relation to the effect of surface finish on friction and wear of Al2O3

Wear measurements are notoriously variable. Even the experiments with the same type of material and test machine can give significantly different results. Such discrepancies are mostly due to a lack of adequate control of test conditions and unreliable measurement techniques. Specification and control of certain tribological quantities are a necessary prerequisite of obtaining reproducible and comparable results. To proceed forward in this direction, it is essential to review and analyze the existing test procedures and measuring techniques. In this study, the authors investigated the reliability of the most common wear volume measurement approaches and explored the influence of surface finish on the friction and wear performance of Al2O3 ceramics. The wear tests were performed with a pin-on-disc machine on polished and ground surfaces of Al2O3 disks. The wear volume was measured from height displacement, weight loss, and from worn surface profilometry. The results indicated that the wear volume measurements by surface profilometry and height displacement (by transducer) were highly reliable. The wear rates of ground and polished alumina were in the order of 10(-7) mm(3)/m . N. Finally, for the specific surface roughness range (Ra = 0.03 to 0.4 mu m) explored in this study, the surface finish was only important during the initial run-in period

Cultural Tourism in Turkey: A Missed Opportunity

This article analyzes tourism plans and policies related to cultural tourism in Turkey. Past and current tourism plans and policy documents, as well as discourses of government officials, were content analyzed. The research findings indicate that Turkey has been positioned as more a sun, sea, and sand destination than a cultural destination. According to the State Planning Organization's Five-Year Development Plans, as well as past and current tourism plans for Turkey such as Tourism Vision 2023, cultural tourism is seen more as an alternative and secondary type of tourism for Turkey. One can claim that this is perhaps a missed opportunity for Turkey given its rich and unique cultural resources, since Turkey can offer unique, positive, and memorable cultural experiences for culture-core and culture-peripheral tourists. In order to achieve this, it is essential to symbolize and rejuvenate unique cultural resources so that innovative cultural capabilities (experiences) can be offered. In return, such original and vibrant experiences can better differentiate Turkey as a destination from its competitors. The article provides theoretical and practical implications and suggests areas for future research. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry of Culture, Sports and TourismAs noted previously, Web sites belonging to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, the Tourism Portal of Turkey, and the Promotion Foundation of Turkey provide detailed and rich information and promotional materials about cultural resources and attractions in Turkey. These include visual arts, music and opera, concerts, films, documentary, animations, literature, theatre, performing arts, traditional arts, urban and rural culture, education, cultural heritage, museums, and joint cultural projects with other countries. Such detailed information can help core tourists and cultural peripheral tourists in planning their visit and preparing for cultural tourism-related activities.This article has sought to examine tourism plans and policies related to cultural tourism in Turkey and further discussed whether cultural tourism can help Turkey achieve a distinctive competitive advantage. A number of conclusions emerge from the aforementioned research findings and their discussions. First, it is evident that Turkey has rich and unique cultural resources. Following Hughes’ (2002) cultural tourism dimensions, Turkey has a vast variety of cultural resources and abilities to offer tourists in the form of basic elements of daily life, work practices, local dresses, architectures, handicrafts, history, historical sites, languages, religions, religious sites, traditions, art galleries, music, local cuisines, theaters, museums, special events, festivals, fairs, local communities, and neighborhoods. Tourists intending to visit Turkey can participate in numerous cultural activities listed above or may choose just one particular cultural attraction or event. In relation to time, Turkey offers both historical resources and present contemporary cultural themes and events. Second, the research findings reveal that Web sites belonging to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, the Tourism Portal of Turkey, and the Promotion Foundation of Turkey provide very detailed and rich information and promotional materials about cultural resources and attractions in Turkey. Through these Web sites, potential cultural tourists under any cultural tourism segments (Beesley, 2005; McKercher, 2002; Silberberg, 1995) can find detailed information and materials to plan their visits and cultural activities in Turkey. Certainly future research studies can collect data from tourists in different cultural tourists segments about their demographics, their information search behavior prior and during their travels as well as and travel behavior during their visit