The Importance Of Values

Introduction The importance of values Even if values are omnipresent in our everyday lives, we still find it difficult to “get a handle” on them. Values are something real, yet they are really fluffy. In the same time, idealists sustain that there is nothing more “real” than values because they lie within us, they define who we are, they provide guidance for the decision making. Everybody has these qualities deep inside and yet they are very difficult to comprehend. It is much easier “to get a handle” on facts than on values. It is easier to compare how much two different journeys cost but it is much more difficult to deal with values like: service, honesty, quality and team-work, values that are included in the well functioning of the journey. The meaning with this paperwork is that values enter into practically every decision that a travel agent makes. Every travel agency values a world of peace for its travelers, social recognition in the society or accomplishment as the key for its welfare and prosperity. The way to accomplish these goals is through ambition, broadmindedness, and competence. It is a system based on values that gives consistence and that functions by mutual reinforcing.

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Leadership

Organizational Climate for Ethical Conduct

Trust

Long-term success

Table 1. The framework for the system of leadership and ethics.

The system functions by a general set of beliefs: Respect for the individual: to respect the dignity and the rights of each employee. Customer service: to give the best customer service of any company in the world. Excellence: to hold the conviction that any travel agency should pursue all tasks with the objective of accomplishing them in a superior way. In order to clarify the mentioned system deep researches have been done. The paperwork is supported by a number of philosophers, important men of state, writers, novelists and brilliant debaters.

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In order to understand the success and the acquirement of excellence of all the travel agencies, the investigation method that is to be used is by directly applying to the already existing developed booking system, the system of values.

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The problem. The importance of values and ethics - development today, in Europe, in the EU and in Sweden The importance of values and ethics -development today, in Europe, in the EU The principle of subsidiarity on which the European Union bases its policy, is that the power and the decision making process is to be moved closer to the citizen, the idea is that in this way citizens are more concerned and have more influence on the political decision making process; in this way politics stops being an institution with simply bureaucratic functions, but a more tangible and a more human one. The Treaty of Maastricht signed in 1993 has opened a new era in the European Union’s ideology and a new phase has been opened for the European integration: the building of an ever-closer European Union. Ethics and cultural values, as it naturally should be, are usually regulated on the national level. They follow the principle of subsidiarity. Still, while seeking for collaboration, understanding and harmony at the economical level but at the human level as well, European directives necessarily touch on the issue of ethics. Diverse opinions on ethics or values that are rooted in the divergent European cultures will never be directly addressed by European legislation.

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The European society is a rich cultural tapestry, made up of divergent ethical, religious, historical and philosophical backgrounds. While respecting these cultural differences, the European Commission is aiming to promote science and research which respects fundamental ethical principles1. Webster’s dictionary describes ethics as “a set of moral principles or values”. A set of values is what guides a person’s life, and any description of a person’s ethics would guide a person’s life, and any description of a person’s ethics would have to revolve around his or her values. Ethics and values go hand-inhand. Everybody has these values deep inside, according to everyone’s experience, they can be developed or they can be left unexploited. If these values are left unexploited, the person can not define them anymore or has trouble in understanding them in the actions of the others. One has an idea about them but one can not really define them as something tangible, as a product. The problem is even more developed because ethics or values are very hard to explain; they can be described but the “picture” is never complete. But what are values? Milton Rokeach 2, in “The Nature of Human Values” defines value as “an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposition or converse mode of conduct or endstate of existence.”

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http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:Ya4my5gnPsQJ:europa.eu.int/comm/research/sciencesociety/ethics/ethics_en.html+europa+ethics&hl=sv 2 Rokeach, Milton. “The nature of Human Values” New York: The Free Pree, 1973

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Rokeach stresses the fact that values are beliefs; that they are not facts. He points out that values are enduring, they do not vanish. He insists on the fact that values are the ones that provide us with guidance with respect to two aspects of our lives: our moral conduct (or the personal behavior) and our desired end-estate of existence (or our personal goals). In a system where one respects its values the results would be: “true friendship”, “mature love” and the basic verbs are: to love and to forgive. The importance of values and ethics -development of the problem - Sweden The serious ethical questions of concern to European citizens rise once with the rapid scientific and technological progress. These questions may have potential implications for future generations. There is for example the manager or the travel agent, in our case, that complains about a twohour meeting that he is attending every Monday. These meetings had not been generally wellconducted and apparently had no relevance to his job. He felt that these meetings were a complete waste of time and still he was attempting them. While asked why he was doing this, his answer came: “Well I have always attempted these meetings. It is a habit!” This is in fact not an isolated case. Many managers, just like the one in the example given above, get caught up in the “Activity Trap” and loose track of what their job really is about: the focus should be on performance.

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The aim of the paper: Professionalism. Why and how to treat things professionally? As suggested by the motto of this paperwork, L. Ron Hubbard sets the framework of the importance that things should be done to Professional standards. This paperwork is to show the importance that the Professional behavior of the travel agent has for the wellbeing of the travel agency. The travel agent cannot be an amateur, everything that he does has to be done at Professional standards. It is very important that the travel agent doesn’t just go through the travel agency withought having a clear idea about what is going on in the agency. The better the travel agent knows its business, the better his work and his results shall be. As logical as it might appear, in order that the travel agency should prosper, the work of the travel agent is necessary. The same way, beyond the economical benefits that will recompense the work of the travel agent, as logical as it might appear, there are also benefits on the personal level. But in order to obtain these personal benefits that are the real products as much as the travel agent is concerned, one needs to be proud over his work. The travel agent cannot treat things with amateurism, it is a situation that is not benefic nor for the society or for himself! In order not to treat things as an amateur, one should have broadened knowledge and should be an open minded person ready to challenge himself towards excellence.

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Questions that are to be answered in the paperwork: 1. A professional behavior and an amateur one: which attitude should a travel agent adopt? 2. How to make a better world for our employees and for our clients? 3. Study case: STS (Student Travel Schools) 1. The professional behavior and the amateur one: which attitude should a travel agent adopt? Most of the travel agents are supposed to “sell themselves” at one point or another. A competent staff that took its time for understanding the clients business, their goals and their problems, would not been seen as “pushy sales people” but as individuals that have the information and the necessary contacts for the benefit of the client. A successful selling asks for a person with particular attributes. And this includes social aptitudes, a good negotiation quality and the product enthusiasm. All these qualities should be put into practice at the right moment. Generally, the communication is on the visual level, vocal and verbal level. The first impression or the visual impression is very important and it’s almost instant. They show to the potential clients that they can trust that the travel agent would treat things with professionalism. The choice of the clothing, the appearance, the personal hygiene and the accessories, they are all a part and give a good first impression. There are cases where the personal has special uniforms in order to keep the “image” or to give a kind of unity for the staff’s

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appearance. The appearance can damage the message that the organization wants to give to its clients: wearing a suit might be appropriate for an elegant hotel but a simple t-shirt might be much more appropriate for a summer resort. In the same time, every person subjectively analyses the person that one meets according to the “subconscious judgments” that each one of us has according to our past experience. The vocal impression is the next thing that a person notices after the visual impression and this includes the tone and the capability of talking on a clear and friendly tone. A note of irritation is not welcomed even if just slightly perceived in the voice of the travel agent. The voice can be also influenced by someone’s feelings. The verbal impression is created by the way one expresses itself. The use of an informal language is to be avoided because this does not show professionalism from the part of the travel agent. Some of the qualities of the mental approach of the travel agent are very hard to describe: paying attention, listening to the client, being confident and yet sensible, keeping “eye contact” to inspire trust and a friendly attitude. The travel agent should be interested by his clients needs. Certain clients know exactly what destination to choose, others are not so sure. This is the point where the travel agent should try to find out which are the clients needs in order to guide him in his making a

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choice. The travel agent should know very well the terms of the deal that he is about to present and should try to get together all the facts before the deal is done. To go back to the client and renegotiate the business shows that the travel agent has done his job as an amateur and this shall not be benefit for the both parts. The travel agent should agree with certain small changes that can be done: special offers, discounts or to compromise for benefit of the two parts. As long as this person knows his freedom of choices before the interview or the meeting, one can talk and negotiate with self confidence and shall be able to improvise in order to have a professional attitude. The selling techniques have improved during the time and it is important that the travel agent has a long practice and experience and that he has learned as well from his mistakes. There are never two sells that are the same but the important thing is that the travel agent shall be able to face the critics, the unexpected or unusual demands or to the difficult clients that represent the real challenges. Often, the experienced managers assist the less experimented staff to meetings and give them feed-back and will guide them. This thing impresses the clients that see themselves as more important than the ordinary ones because the company steps out of its routine in order to treat them more carefully. In order to show that one is a professional one has to have a clear picture about what the company has to offer. One can not sell a product if the simple questions of the client put him into difficulty or if the given information is incorrect. The better one know one’s job the easier is to improve and to adapt to the clients needs or to present different

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alternatives that meet client’s needs. Of course that none is supposed to know everything but the important part is that one knows enough in order to live a professional impression. 2. How to make a better world for our employees and for our clients? Close related to ethics is the behavior of managers. One can point out four types of leadership behaviors: 

The manipulator: is the leader that rules according to “the end justifies the means”. The main function of leadership is to use deception and cunning to attend his purposes.



The bureaucratic administrator: is the leader that rules according to “structure is preserved through rules”. The main function of leadership is to communicate and impose rules.



The professional manager: The main function of leadership is to use people in order to achieve organizational objectives.



The transforming leader: is the leader that lifts followers to their better selves. The best way to motivate them is by bringing out the best in others.

The principal theme of transforming leadership is that of lifting people to their better selves3. It is important to describe closer the transforming leader type because this type of leaders is very hard to find. These leaders are the ones that not only that they try to know very closely their followers but they also take a personal interest in the development of their staff. These leaders are 3

William D. Hitt “Ethics and leadership: putting theory into practice”, p161

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the ones that try to remove barriers, they provide effecting coaching, they witness the development of their staff and this gives them a great joy. This knowledge includes how they see themselves today and how they would like to see themselves in the future. Most of the managers view their staff as what they are in the present or as what they have been in the past, rare are those that see their staff as what they might become. This is the exceptional quality that these leaders have. They perceive both what these individuals are and what they might become and they even take joy from helping them to become what they might become. The “transforming” leaders and their followers complete each other in such a way that they raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality. Many are those managers that see their employees only according to the functions that they perform. But this is not the case of the transforming leader; he/she sees every person as a human being and as a person of worth. As Immanuel Kant’s philosophy sustains, every person is an end in itself and not a way of means to some other end. The transforming leader does not stop to the knowledge of the “follower’s” present values and motives; this is just a starting point. The transforming leader is facilitating the movement of each person up on the hierarchy, and as a result of this advancement, new values and motives emerge. The transforming leaders consider coaching being as important as their job functions and they evaluate their performance on the basis of how much their people are learning, growing and expanding in job responsibilities. By serving as a role model, by providing appropriate job opportunities, and by coaching, the potentiality is transformed into actuality. 12

3. Study case: STS Student Travel Schools 3. a STS Student Language Schools The key words that represent STS are: responsibility, safety and quality. One has started working with language schools and academic foreign programmes in 1958. It was then that one had begun with the modern language school trips for teenagers and now this kind of trips are organized all around the world. STS is represented in most of the European countries, USA, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, China, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Korea, Thailand and South Africa. With it’s multiple departments, STS High School, STS Solresor(Sun Travels), STS Språkresor(Language Schools), STS Alpresor(Alp Travels), Au Pair and IBS(International Business Schools) one has always made a choice for its travels where quality is guaranteed. STS Language Schools organizes every year summer language school abroad for teenagers between 10-18 years in England, Scotland, France, Austria, Malta, USA and Australia. One can choose between a two-, threeor a four weeks visit, among 20 different cities and 10 different languages.

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Students can complete a language course with a sport course like: football, golf, tennis, riding or another hobby. Among the language courses that are offered, one can choose: A General Language Course offered for the high-school students with four hours daily tuition I small groups of 15 persons. All the students are Swedish students. The International Course is similar to the General Language Course but the students are mixed from different countries. The Intensive Course offered to the students that are to work harder and it has a two hours extra daily tuition. The Oxford Intensive Course is offered to the students that, besides learning English intensively, are willing to learn about England’s history and culture. The STS Golf camp, Chelsea Football Camp, STS Riding Camp and Sailing Camp or the hobby courses come all as a substitute for the language courses. While on a Summer Language School one is welcomed in foster families and apart from school, the leaders’ role is to see that the students have something to do all the time. The thing that makes STS Language Schools so unique and special is the team-work which includes backing one another through taught times, putting into practice the theoretical part explained above to the case study of STS Language Schools. 3.b STS Solresor and STS High School STS Solresor (STS Sun Travels) has been grounded in 1988 and today is the biggest Swedish own Charter Company. The idea behind the STS Solresor (STS Sun Travels) business idea is to give as much value as possible for money in a perfect combination of

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sun and joy. STS Solresor sees each one of its costumers as person and not as one among millions of others. STS Solresor is specialized on offering quality travels to Azores islands, La Gomera, Madeira, Malta, Majorca, Manorca, Tenerife, Grand Canaries, Thailand, Malaysia and Turkey. STS High School is for students that are between 14-18 years old and want to study abroad for one year. 3.c STS Au-pair To the young people that are between 18-26 years old, STS opens for them the opportunity of working as au-pair in USA for one year. USA, as a great mix of different cultures, nationalities and ethnic background is the best way for living and knowing the country. It is the year when one grows up and stays on his own feet. Au pair year is not just taking care of the children and learning a foreign language but it offers in the same time the chance for seeing things from other perspectives. By living in an American family and taking care of their children one is welcomed in the family as a family member.

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3. d Hotel Salzburger Hof In 1992 Hotel Salzburger Hof has been inaugurated in the Austrian paradise of Badgastein. It is STS owned hotel for conferences and business men. The hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels in Europe and is one of the three hotels (Hotel Kaiserhof, Grand Hôtel de l’Europe and Salzburger Hof) that STS owns in the friendly and full of color Austrian nature. Many members of Europe’s royal house have enjoyed Badgasteins warm and benefits waters and the nice nature. Situated in the heart of the Alps, Hotel Salzburger Hof welcomes its costumers with good food, beautiful and rooms and a friendly atmosphere. The hotel welcomes its guests with beautiful furniture where every room is unique, as much as design as well as in size. One has tried to keep as much as possible the old atmosphere on the hotel, with beautiful and old furniture that is to give a mythical atmosphere and the best opportunity for relaxing and enjoying the time spent at the resort. The Ritz restaurant serves the best food and the hotel invites its quests with the best of the Austrian and international wines and all kind of international food. The bar has an impressive high of 12 meters and it’s the meeting point just before the dinner. The hotel has a piano bar as well, library, brasserie and an outside terrace for the lovely summer nights. The watering place invites its clients to relax and enjoy the pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, solarium and the mineral thermal bath.

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While enjoying one’s stay at the hotel during the summer one can take long walks on the small paths in the surroundings; play tennis or squash, bike, play golf or one can visit the city with an own Swedish speaking guide. One can also go riding,

Hästdroska Från en liten by i grannskapet som heter Grüner Baum kan man åka häst och vagn in i den vackra Kötschachdalen. Det storslagna landskapet bjuder fantastiska vyer över brant stupande bergsväggar och glaciärer. Genom den svalkande skogen når man efter en timmes färd fram till dalslutet där man kan äta lunch eller dricka kaffe på värdshuset Prossau innan man återvänder. Till Grüner Baum kommer man antingen till fots eller med taxi. Man kan också beställa droska direkt från och tillbaka till hotellet. Kurbad Bad Gastein är känt som kurort sedan medeltiden och det är vattnet från de underjordiska källorna som har givit orten sitt rykte. 5 miljoner liter vatten med temperaturer upp till 45° C pumpas dagligen från källorna till de olika kurhusen. Även på Salzburger Hof kan man bada s.k. Thermalbad. I närheten av Salzburger Hof ligger "Felsenbad" med

sina stora bassänger. Hit kommer också en stor del av

vattnet som

pumpas från källorna. Här kan man motionssimma eller

bara koppla av. I

de varmare polerna kan man sitta på bänkar och låta sig

masseras av

undervattenstrålar eller av det konstgjorda vattenfallet.

Teambuilding Vi kan hjälpa till att ordna flera olika team building aktiviteter. Gör t ex en femkamp med grenar såsom snow rafting och inner tubing (gummidäck). Man kan välja mellan hel- eller halvdag. Vattengymnastik Tidigt på morgonen samlas vi i poolen på Salzburger Hof för att värma upp kroppen inför dagens aktiviteter. Enkla stretchrörelser blandat med litet lättare konditions- övningar gör att vi får upp aptiten lagom till frukost. Felsenbad Bara 150 meter från Salzburger Hof ligger utomhusbadet Felsenbad. Här kan man njuta av det härliga vattnet som springer fram ur djupa källor i underjorden. Temperaturen på vattnet i bassängerna ligger på 32-37 grader celsius. Från bassängen inomhus kan man simma genom en kanal till utomhusbassängen som håller en temperatur på 37 grader. På Felsenbad finns dessutom tillgång till bastu, solarium, thermalbad och massage mm. Thermalbad Badgasteins eget berömda kurvatten som kommer uppvärmt direkt ur berget. Vattnet innehåller radon och är bra för leder, reumatiska besvär och är allmänt avkopplande.

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I Badgastein har du lika mycket skidåkning ovanför som under trädgränsen. Detta ger en frihetskänsla och skapar stora valmöjligheter att välja olika nerfarter. Badgastein är en skidort man gärna återvänder till. Stubnerkogel. Stubnerkogels dalstation ligger på gångavstånd från våra hotell. Väl uppe på toppen finner du ett rikt varierat skidområde, praktiskt taget utan liftköer. Liftkapaciteten är hela 75 000 personer i timmen. Stubnerkogel är ett av Österrikes finaste skidberg med långa, välpreparerade pister, bl a den 11 km långa pist nr 11. Via Angertal tar du dig sedan snabbt över till Schlossalms liftsystem. Schlossalmområdet är perfekt för alla kategorier skidåkare. Här finns mängder av pister och nedfarter. Området är helt täckt av snökanoner vilket garanterar en säsong från november till maj. Här kommer man upp på 2 400 m och den 13 km långa nedfarten från Hohe Scharte ger en fallhöjd på hela 1600 m (Österrikes högsta). Tag den nya kabinbanan från Angertal upp mot Schlossalm. Det är moderna åttapersonerskabiner som snabbt och effektivt tar dig upp i Schlossalmsystemet. På detta sätt minimeras väntetiden i Angertal. Sportgastein. Den stora liftkapaciteten har gjort att man snabbt och lätt kommer upp på hela 2 700 m ö h. Hela skidområdet är en orörd nationalpark i högalpin terräng. Nedfart nr 10 (Nordabfahrt) är en mäktig naturupplevelse. Denna nedfart har aldrig sett en pistmaskin över sina enorma vidder. Südabfahrt åker man med guide. Graukogel. På Graukogel (2 492 m) finner du Badgasteins World Cup-pister. Bl a den svarta pisten B3 där herrarnas störtlopp tidigare ägde rum. Dorfgastein. Längre ner i dalen ligger Dorfgasteinsystemet som erbjuder bra skogsåkning och långa breda pister. Systemet omfattar 20 liftar med pister i varierande svårighetsgrad. Terrängen påminner om den man finner i USA. De flesta pisterna är uthuggna ur skogen och därmed vindskyddade. Längdåkning I hela Gasteinerdalen finns flera olika längdåkningsspår. Dessa finns inte enbart längst ner i dalen, där snön försvinner först utan även i höjd med liftarna. I Sportgastein och i Bad Hofgastein finns fina spår. Slädfärd "Gruner Baum" Med häst och släde går färden genom den täta trollskogen. Månens ljus och bjällerklang ger en härlig stämning under en timmes slädfärd. Väl framme på bergrestaurangen Prossau serveras traktens specialitet - forell. Efter den rejäla måltiden, som självklart avslutas med den österrikiska national desserten Apfelstrudel, är det än en gång dags att bäddas ner bland filtar och låta hästarna pulsa tillbaka mot Badgastein. Skridskor Du kan åka skridskor på två olika ställen i Gasteinerdalen. Dels i Badgastein och även Bad Hofgastein. Priset är ca 60 Ats och då ingår både inträde och hyra av skridskor. Kälkrodel Kälkrodel är egentligen ingen tävling, men oerhört kul. Man tar liften upp till Bellevue Alm och där dricker man en Gluhwein för att sedan susa ner mot Badgastein igen. I priset ingår lift, rodel (kälke) och Gluhwein. (Kvällsarrangemang)

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Egen skidguide Hyr en egen skidguide som guidar Er runt i skidsystemet.Vinprovning De österrikiska vinerna har på senare år vunnit i internationell uppmärksamhet. Bland annat har Munskänkarna utnämnt Wien till "årets vinby 1996" och tidningen Gourmet har utnämnt "Freie Weingärtner" i Wachau till årets vinmakare. På Hotel Salzburger Hof har ni möjlighet att prova några av dessa nya spännande viner tillsammans med vår sommelier. Ridning En tur på Islandshästar bland berg och dalar i kristallklar alpluft…..Man har mått dåligt av mindre! Vi bjuder på något gott att dricka som t ex Glühwein efter turen. Fondueafton Fondue kan man äta i "Hofkeller" på Salzburger Hof. I denna gemytliga restaurang i källarvalv med levande ljus, stenväggar och robusta trämöbler får man en mysig kväll. Gourméfondue Kaiser Franz Joseph Steinplatte - täljstensplatta Picnic Vi dukar upp en härlig måltid i en glänta vid backen. (ej lördagar). Felsenbad Bara 150 meter från Salzburger Hof ligger utomhusbadet Felsenbad. Här kan man njuta av det härliga vattnet som springer fram ur djupa källor i underjorden. Temperaturen på vattnet i bassängerna ligger på 32-37 grader celsius. Från bassängen inomhus kan man simma genom en kanal till utomhusbassängen som håller en temperatur på 37 grader. På Felsenbad finns dessutom tillgång till bastu, solarium, thermalbad och massage mm. Thermalbad Badgasteins eget berömda kurvatten som kommer uppvärmt direkt ur berget. Vattnet innehåller radon och är bra för leder, reumatiska besvär och är allmänt avkopplande.

STS egenägda hotell- och konferensanläggning med nära 400 bäddar och alla tänkbara faciliteter. Professionella medarbetare STS framgångsrecept genom åren Professionella medarbetare, med en målmedveten ambition att prestera kvalitet i varje del, har blivit STS mest värdefulla konkurrensfördel. Det innebär att samtliga produkter skall erbjuda ett mervärde, så tydligt upplevt att det stimulerar till återköp. Vårt produktsortiment har också attraktiva studie- och resealternativ för varje ålderskategori, vilket ofta resulterar i en långvarig kundrelation. Vår marknadsposition i Sverige är stark; med något undantag är vi marknadsledande inom samtliga verksamheter. Utomlands tillhör vi marknadsledarna i de flesta länder där vi idag är etablerade.

STS Alpresor (Alp Travels) was founded in 1976 Sveriges idag största skidresearrangör. IBS (International Business Schools) offers courses for students over 18 years old.

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Varför skall du välja STS?

När du ger oss ditt förtroende, då skall du veta att du väljer en organisation som nått framgång genom en uttalad ambition att leverera kundtillfredsställelse, alltså att genom hög personell kompetens, god effektivitet och en ständigt pågående produktutveckling leverera högre upplevd kvalitet till samma eller lägre pris än vad alternativen erbjuder. Endast på detta vis går det att långsiktigt överleva inom våra verksamhetsområden. u som då sträcker sig programmen 3 till 4 veckor. STS Alpresor, STS Solresor

Tel. 031-60 03 20 Kyrkog. 48, 41108 GÖTEBORG The Materials and Methods Section Results and analyses First impressions: “First impressions are strong impressions; a title ought therefore to be well studied, and to give, so far as its limits permit, a definite and concise indication of what is to come.” T. Clifford Allbutt Discussion Acknowledgments List of authors and References Tables of contents A word on rediscovering the human soul “The first principle of my own philosophy is that wisdom is meant for anyone who wishes to reach for it. It is the servant of commoner and king alike and should never be regarded with awe.”

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