Marketing Strategy Essay

While there’s merit in evaluating the strategy from a qualitative standpoint (its completeness, internal consistency, rationale, and relevance), the best quantitative evidence of how well a company’s strategy is working comes from its result. The stronger a company’s current overall performance, the less likely the need for radical changes in strategy. The weaker a company’s financial performance and market standing, the more its current strategy must be questioned. Organizations succeed in a competitive marketplace over the long run because they can do certain things their customers value better than their competitors e. offering better quality products with cheaper prices. First we must understand what is the current strategy the company is implementing now; 1. A low-cost leader strategy:  striving to be the overall low-cost provider of a product or service that appeals to a broad range of customers ie;focus on being the lowest cost provider e. g Lidyl , and tal- Lira. 2. A broad differentiation strategy:  seeking to differentiate the company’s product offerings from rivals’ in ways that will appeal to a broad range of buyers i. they want to differentiate from their rivals ie by offering something different eg, Apple and Rolex as a prestige brand, Dr. Pepper with a different taste, Wal-Mart with value and more for your money. 3. A best-cost provider strategy:  giving customers more value for the money by emphasizing both low cost and upscale difference, the goal being to keep costs and prices lower than those of other providers of comparable quality and features (a couple of examples are the Honda and Toyota car companies with customer satisfaction ratings that rival those of much more expensive cars). . A focused, or market-niche, strategy based on lower cost:  concentrating on a narrow buyer segment and outcompeting rivals on the basis of lower cost (The Gap is a good example). A focused, or market-niche, strategy based on differentiation:  offering niche members a product or service customized to their tastes and requirements [examples are Rolls-Royce (sells limited number of high-end, custom-built cars) and men’s big and tall shops (sell mainstream styles to a limited market with specific requirements) i. they aim to focus on a particular target market eg constructions at madliena targeting high class people, or do they try to be the best cost provider ie providing value for money products. Approaches to assessing how well the present strategy is working Qualitative assessement – Is the strategy well conceived, is it well thought ie The strategy should be consistent with the vision and mission of the company, it should be in line with the current market trends. Quantitative assessement – It is the measure of return on total investment, Is the strategy being implemented resulting in higher profits for the company? This means that a good strategy should result in an above industry performance. Key Indicators of How Well the Strategy is Working See the trend in sales/market share Acquiring/retaining new customers Detecting how well is your image and reputation and overall financial strenghth Question 2. What Are the Company’s Resource Strength and Weaknesses and Its External Opportunities and Threats? SWOT analysis provides a good overview of whether the company’s overall situation is fundamentally healthy or unhealthy. A first-rate SWOT analysis provides the basis for crafting a strategy that capitalizes on the company’s resources, aims squarely at capturing the company’s best opportunities, and defends against the threats to its wll-being. A resource strengths is something a company is good at doing or an attribute that enhances its competitiveness in the marketplace. Resource strengths can take any of these forms: a skill-an area of specialized expertise, or a competitively important capability, valuable physical assets, valuable human assets and intellectual capital, valuable organizational assets, valuable intangible assets, an achievement or attribute that puts the company in a position of market advantage. A competence(abilta li jaghmlu xi haga ahjar minn kumpaniji ohra) is an activity that a company has learned to perform well. It is nearly always the product of experience, representing an accumulation of learning and the buildup of proficiency in performing an internal activity. A core competence is a competitively important activity that a company performs better than other internal activities. A distinctive competence is a competitively important activity that a company perfoms better than its rivals – it thus represents a competitively superior resource strength. The competitive power of a resource strength is measured by these four tests: is the resource really competitively valuable? Is the resource strength rare? Is the resource strength hard to copy? Can the resource strength be trumped by substitute resource strengths and competitive capabilities? Competitively valuable resource strengths and competencies call for the use of a resource based strategy. Core concept of Resource-based strategy is that it uses a company’s valuable resources strengths and competitive capabilities to deliver value to customers in ways rivals find it difficult to match, advised to pass on a particular industry opportunity unless the company has or can acquire the resources to capture it. It is management’s job to identify the threats to the company’s prospects and to evaluate what strategic actions can be taken to neutralize or lessen their impact. SWOT analysis are drawing conslusions from the SWOT listings about the company’s overall situation, and translating these conslusions into strategic actions to better match the company’s strategy to its resource strengths and market opportunities, to correct the important weaknesses, and to defend against external threats. The final piece of SWOT analysis is to translate the diagnosis of the company’s situation into actions for improving the company’s strategy and business prospects. What are the company’s resource strengths and weaknesses, and its external opportunities and threats? A SWOT analysis provides an overview of a firm’s situation and is an essential component of crafting a strategy tightly matched to the company’s situation. The two most important parts of SWOT analysis are (1) drawing conclusions about what story the compilation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats tells about the company’s overall situation, and (2) acting on those conclusions to better match the company’s strategy, to its resource strengths and market opportunities, to correct the important weaknesses, and to defend against external threats. A company’s resource strengths, competencies, and competitive capabilities are strategically relevant because they are the most logical and appealing building blocks for strategy; resource weaknesses are important because they may represent vulnerabilities that need correction. External opportunities and threats come into play because a good strategy necessarily aims at capturing a company’s most attractive opportunities and at defending against threats to its well-being. A strength is something a firm does well that enhances its competitiveness eg alliancing. Company Competencies and Capabilities Competencies are assumed to be the company’s valuable resources Competency – A competency is anything a business does well. A business may have numerous competencies. For example a manufacturing company might be extremely successful in keeping its number of defects per thousand units produced extremely low. The Companies Competencies and Capabilities stem from skills, expertise, and experience (esperjenza li kibbret maz-zmien usually representing an accumulation of learning over time and gradual buildup of real proficiency in performing an activity. i. e il-kumpetenza ta kumpanija tigi through the buildup of performing the activity ghax taghmel l-istess attivita kontinwament u l-esperjenzi li jkollha matul l-operations taghha) Core Competency – A core competency is a competency of the business that is essential to its overall performance and success. If this company held itself out to the market as a reliable manufacturer of quality products, this could easily be a core competency, because the ability to consistently provide quality products is a key to its business model. (Core competence tfisser l kompetenza ta xi kumpanija li hija centrali ghall-kumpanija, fejn permezz ta din ilkompetenza se tikkumbatti tajjeb lil competitors l ohra u se tiddistingwixxi ruhha minn ma kumpaniji ohrajn. Importanti li din il kompetenza tkun giet through l-esperjenza tal haddiema eg. Jien immur ghand Toni & Guy ghax jogghobni il-way kif jaqta’ x-xaghar, immure ghand dak ir-restaurant ghax jaghmel ricetti tajbin tal-hut, expertise in integrating multiple technologies to create new products. ) Distinctive Competency eg Toyota (low cost high quality manufacturing of motor vehicles and Starbucks – innovative coffee drinks and store ambience A distinctive competency is any competency that distinguishes a company from its competitors. A distinctive competency is typically a core competency that truly distinguishes a company from the rest of the competition. For example, one of Google’s distinctive competencies is its name recognition and status as the most famous search engine. This competency is hard for competitors to imitate and sets Google apart from the rest of the market (Distinctive competence of a firm refers to a set of activities or capabilities that a company is able to perform better than its competitors and which gives it an advantage over them. Distinctive competence can lie in different area such as technology, marketing. They provide sustainable competitive advantage because these are hard to copy. ) Identifying Resource Weaknesses and Competitve Deficiencies After identifying the Company’s strengths we will now identify the company’s weaknesses. * A weakness is something a firm lacks, does poorly, or a condition placing it at a disadvantage. Resource weaknesses relate to Inferior skills, expertise. * Missing capabilities in key areas Identifying a Company’s Market Opportunities. Opportunities most relevant to a company are those offering enticing prospects which reflect financial growth, is a good resource to outcompete your rivals, good match with its financial and organizational resource capabilities jigifiri li l-opportunitajiet ikunu addatati ghall-kumpanija e,g taghraf li tista tidhol ghall xi sistema gdida eg xetra trading system fejn tista ggib new listings. Identofying External Threats Some possibilities are that other competitors will * Emerg cheaper/better technologies * Introduce better products * Entry of lower-cost foreign competitors * Onerous regulations Rise in interest rates * Unfavorable demographic shifts changes fit-tastes tan nies * Adverse shifts in foreign exchange rates * Political turmoil and/or burdensome government policies Question 3 : Are the Company’s Prices and Costs Competitive The intent of a company is to do things that ultimately create value for buyers. Assessing whether a firm’s costs are competitive with th ose of rivals is a crucial part of company situation analysis. One can assess whether a firm’s costs are competitive through 2 Key analytical tools: * Value chain analysis * Benchmarking Value Chain Analysis describes the activities that take place in a business and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the business. * The value chain (A value chain is a chain of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver something valuable (product or service), Value Chain Analysis is one way of identifying which activities are best undertaken by a business and which are best provided by others (â€Å"out sourced†). It contains two types of activities: * Primary activities – those that are directly concerned with creating and elivering a product.

Example of a Debate Speech

Thank you Madam Speaker. A very good morning I would like to wish to the honourable adjudicators, precise timekeepers, fellow members of the government, members of the opposition and members of the floor. We are gathered here today to debate on a very important motion that is THBT physically challenged people should not be seperated in schools. And, we, the government strongly back this motion. To address this motion, please allow me to start off by specifying my role and the role of my fellow members of the government.I, as the Prime Minister, have the main task in hand in which I have to state the motion, which I have already done earlier. Next, I will highlight some of the keywords and define the motion of today’s debate. Following this, I will present the first point of the government in order to support our stand. The role of my deputy here is to rebut the points given by the opposition leader and he will go on to present two additional new points that will further suppor t the government’s stand.Finally, the third speaker of the government has the task as the whip of the government to rebut all the points given and put forward by the opposition. Now, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to point out some keywords that we the government, find to of the government, in order to support our stand. The government defines ‘physically challenged’ as any form of impairment that limits the mobility and function of the body. we also define ‘people’ as students, staff and teachers in a school. e also define ‘school’ as an institution for educating students. we the government, agree that physically challenged people should not be seperated in schools on the grounds that it isn’t up to us to deny their rights to mainstream education to be part of the school community. ladies and gentlemen, allow me to move on to the governments first point of the day. that is physically challenged people can be part of the society b y having self motivation. y sharing the same school at their young ages, physically challenged people have the chance to build their self motivation. everyone has their own aspiration and ambitions that serve to define themselves in their lives. self motivation comes from within the person. being able to compete with more physically able students personally makes a physically challenged student to get rid of his/her prejudice of him/herself(lack of physical abilities makes him/her unable to compete mentally with normal students), thus motivating and purring the individual to move forward. put it at a way that you were able to beat one of your classmates that is more â€Å"complete† than you, how would that make you feel? of course, it makes you feel better of yourself. proving that nothing is impossible for you to do. for example, muhammad rosli and ahmad of sekolah kebangsaan seksyen 27 in shah alam were born as conjoined twins and now succesfully seperated following an oper ation in saudi arabia in 2002. venthough they were not like normal students, they still manage to get good results in their upsr which was 4a’s and 1b in 2011 and are still educated in a normal school. this relates back to being part of the society by having the attention of being able to do something you’re more capable of. just imagine, ladies and gentlemen if they did not share the same school with normal people at their young ages, they probally would not get the self motivation needed for their future adulthoods being in the society itself. great statistics to prove this is that, the national resources centre on learning disablity found that graduation rates of all students with disabilties in the u. s increased to 14% from 1984 to 1997. this report differentiate between students enrolled in mainstreaming inclusive or segregated programs for teachers, they are not supose to be seperated too. the qualification of one being a teacher is already tested before they be came teacher. bypassing the test this proves that they have the skills and capability of being a teacher, and why be seperated?. or example, stephen william hawkings, he cant move his whole body, but he still is an inspiriation to all in the field astronomy and lectures people. you need to accept who you are, accept everything about yourself. you are who you are, that’s your beginning and that’s your end. by sharing the same school with normal students, the physical challenged also can have the oppurtunity to learn or at least adapt other alternatives to provide them access to normal education. it doesn’t mean that if a person has a limitation to do something, that person can’t do it at all. et’s put it in a simpler way, if a person is neither deaf nor blind but can not walk, does it mean you cant learn like normal students? for example, nick vujicic is a man without limbs, who only has a foot with two toes, he went to an ordinary school and now he is a succesful motivator. at his early ages he had problems but overcame it by realizing that he was not alone in his struggles and began to embrace his disabilty. he learned to write using two toes on his left foot with a special grip that slid into his big toe. e learned to use a computer and type using the â€Å"heel and toe† method. he learned to throw tennis balls, play drum pedals, get himself a glass of water, comb his hair, brush his teeth, answer the phone and even shave. this shows that even a person without any limbs can adapt other alternatives to do normal things like normal people do. adapting other alternatives is a true skill. physically disable students adapt these alternatives, by mingling with the other students since their childhood. ure, you might think that things will be more complicated and difficult for the challenged people who are in mainstream schools compared to special schools, but if things were too easy for them at the beginning, would they ma nage to handle what they will face in the future? before i take my seat, i would like to reaffirm our stand that is we the government, agree that physically challenged people should not be seperated in schools on the grounds that it isn’t up to us to deny their rights to mainstream education to be part of the school community. With that i rest my case.

Nursing Home Administrator Essay

The delivery of Healthcare is a high touch enterprise that calls for interaction among every stakeholder within the healthcare sphere. Communication, whether interpersonal or intrapersonal, is a crucial part of these dealings and may be transformed by the intellectual use of communication tools. Information is the means of support of healthcare. Therefore, communication systems are the backbone that supports the whole idea. Care of patients in the nursing homes now almost unavoidably entails many different people, all with the need to share patient information and talk about their organization. As a result there is an ever increasing attention in the information and communication technology that sustain health services. There exists a huge gap in the wide understanding of the function of communication services in the delivery health care. This paper will review different types of communication methods for the health care organization, including the advantages and disadvantages of using traditional, electronic, and social media for health care communication. The review will then discuss effects of HIPAA and other regulations on the use of these media for health care communication. The significant role that communication plays among people in healthcare is often neglected. Basic and very important to all healthcare managerial functions, communication is the means used in the transmission of information and additionally makes an individual understood by the target audience. In a situation in which a nursing home faces transition of management and the residents are unable to communicate effectively, have no local family, and have not indicated that they approve the release of their medical information is a crisis many health care administrators face every day. In such situations, communication is a key challenge for administrators for they are solely mandated to provide information, which consequently affects performance in the organization. A communication system is any formal or informal structure that an organization uses to sustain its communication requirements. The system involves components like people, the message that is needed to be conveyed, the technology that mediates a conversation, and an organizational structure that characterizes and limits the conversation that occurs. They are therefore bundles of different kinds of components and the utility of the general system is measured by the correctness of all the components combined. The situation above poses a challenge due to the barriers between reception and feedback. Most of the people to be displaced have no idea why and may even lose their privacy in the process. In order to solve the crisis above, it is mandatory to review the pros and cons of different kinds of communications. Electronic communications are fast, they are cost-effective and quite convenient. However, these attributes enclose intrinsic disadvantages. The technology that helps people to keep on the go also may invade privacy and cut into valuable time meant for other social activities. Devices such as cell phones with mobility technology and portable computers facilitate communication at all times. This allows one to work and visit sites in public locations, such as trains and other social gatherings. This has enabled people to stop traveling long distances to work and may do so from home. The technology also encourages productivity, for instance, a person intending to meet a professional deadline may save valuable time by working on a mobile gadget before getting to the workplace. Electronic communication is also convenient and instantaneous. It distributes with the need to mail or fax a document that can be stored online or on a portable electronic device to protect it against any kind of loss. These advantages facilitate learning and research. A visit to a clinical website may help out an individual with a complicated health problem. Despite the good attributes, modern electronic communications leave individuals vulnerable to cyber-attacks and other forms of online criminal attacks. Additionally, online conversations may pose a physical threat to children. It also exposes people to violent materials and pornography that may become addictive and eventually a health issue. Interruptions and distractions brought about by the modern electronic communications compromise quality time and if left unchecked may damage an individual’s intelligence quotient. Another platform that has received a lot of attention lately is the use of social media in addressing health care issues and extraction of patient information readily available in the social sites. The social media outlets are widespread. An advantage of using it is that it is wide-reaching, user-centric and collaborative in nature. If health care centers embraced the platform, then an interactive channel is guaranteed as most of the users are cooperative. The social sites include blogs, wikis, videoconferencing, multimedia blogging, and the diverse websites. Traditional media usage in health care communication is well embraced due to the minimal threats contained. Traditional methods have a simple system of getting information and allow one to make informed decisions. They are simple to learn and understand. However, the traditional media cannot cover all the patients’ needs because of the lack of services and the one way channel. The traditional means is not interactive and may not always target the right audience. It does not always give accurate information and may be biased. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) created in 1996 is a charter with mandated regulations that institute standards to guard the privacy of every individual’s independently exclusive health information. Health care centers must conform to these privacy regulations and all the rules on the subject of the way health centers may or may not use or disclose protected health information (PHI). The regulations intend to shelter the identity, personality and privacy of healthcare patients. Consequently, specific aspects of the healthcare employee culture are needed to change in the manner that employees distribute information and discuss their clients. Healthcare establishments are also mandated to put into effect HIPAA fulfillment from within. This creates additional administrative and training costs. Knowledge of HIPAA effects on healthcare organizations helps to assess the costs, effectiveness, and benefits of the HIPAA regulations. Patients must make contact with the administration so that permission for healthcare providers to share information with each other is obtained. It is illegal for healthcare providers to acquire records from social networks. This only poses as a barrier to effective communication. According to this paper, communication is essential for any administrator to solve a health care crisis. Whether the health care patient in a nursing home understands the consequences of a new management or not, he or she is entitled to correct information regarding how the process will transpire. Organizations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are a good establishment to protect their (patient) privacy. However, certain sections of their standard regulations need to be changed for the sake of the illiterate persons without local families and completely unaware of whether to consent to his or her information being shared. With new developments in communications, health car e providers should face smooth communications rather than the old hard system. References HIPAA Compliance Guide: http://www.hipaacomplianceguide.com/ U.S. HHS, Administrative Simplification in the Health Care Industry: http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/

RCP 3 Chapter 3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RCP 3 Chapter 3 - Coursework Example Have more limited administrator-related rights over the firewall systems. An example is when a network analyst blocks particular IP address from accessing the network under the directive of the lead network engineer. Operation under the directive of the lead network engineer prevents instances of malicious analysts configuring networks to allow for penetration by IP addresses that are already blacklisted by Data Mart. Have uncontrolled privilege on the operation of the firewall system. An example would be ensuring that every computer system or internal network passes through the firewall before permitting a user to reach a logon banner. Has a restricted permission over the rack mounted server. Allowed to carry out simple tasks like sending HTTP or HTTPS requests using client browsers. Otherwise, allowing users to control the server can result into leakage of Data Mart-owned information to the general public. Have limited administrator-related privileges on the manner of operation of the server. An example of a privilege would be retrieval of the backed-up data following any incidence of loss or damage. Granting power users full administrative privileges on server operation can lead to issues like Denial of Service attack. Have wholesome control and privilege on the operation of Data Mart-owned router. An example is the privilege to configure the router so as to be capable of performing the traffic directing roles in an effective way. Have limited user permissions and rights like reading content. An example is an online customer viewing the options of cloud platforms offered by Data Mart. This measure is appropriate because a larger number of malicious users of database systems are found among this user category (Meghanathan & CNSA, 2010). Have more limited administrator-related rights like deleting or updating existing records. An example

Biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Biology - Essay Example t is taking place however, is that the overabundance of harmful gases which are a byproduct of fossil fuels, are causing a latticing effect to take place in the ozone layer. The earth’s ozone layer is necessary in order to filter out the sun’s excessive and destructive ultra violet rays. As the ozone layer becomes more and more compromised, the areas of the globe governed by cold temperatures (such as the arctic) are literally rising in temperature causing the melting of polar ice caps. As these ice caps melt and merge into the ocean, warm water oceanic areas are being cooled down to unnaturally low temperatures. This results in a drastic rise in natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. On a short term level, the animals that inhabit the arctic are finding their environment less and less suitable. Fish are dying due to the drastic oceanic temperature changes while animals like penguins and polar bears are finding less and less available fish. When discussing global warming, the topic of precautionary principle becomes extremely relevant as well. The precautionary principle is essentially a moral principle with political ramifications, which allows for necessary action in the face of possible danger to public health or the environment even without scientific confirmation or agreed substantiation of the threat from the scientific community. In other words, global warming is certainly a global issue and an obvious threat, regardless of the fact that many with conservative view points, argue its validity. Because of this, it is in the world’s best interest to act in a manner which is airing on the side of precaution, in the best interest of pandemic survival. Normal proof policies would indicate that proof rooted in scientific fact is necessary but without exiting the confines of science. The precautionary principle allows for a lack of scientific proof and more of a suspicion with some confirmation based on observati on or

Claims and reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Claims and reflection - Essay Example My analysis majors on citizenship and identity in a European context. A lot of arguments concerning this area led to the development of the law pertaining to the freedom of movement of people within the Union. This will allow the citizens from other member states have equal rights and treatment as the domestic citizens. As I was writing my essay on what should be contained in EU and UK Bill of Rights, at first I thought that it may be a difficult paper to write since we have no written Constitution in the country, hence, it may be difficult finding a basis for my paper. UK being one of the world’s democracy without a written constitution, this does not mean one cannot find any documented rules and regulations in use by the British government and which is supreme over ordinary law in comparison to, I got some information from this website http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/rights-of-immigrants/european-union-nationalisits-and-european-union-assiations-agreements/difference s-of-approach-between-eu-and-uk-law.shtml. I found the information concerning the critical understanding of the interactions between UK and EU law’ in MLO1. It’s clear that the British legal system has laws that are a combination of statute law and the principles of the common law that are developed by the courts. It is based on the constitutional principles of Parliamentary sovereignty and the Rule of Law, compared to the EU whose laws are written in a Constitution. As I found in the website http://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/PDF/Oxford%20Ver4%20July10%20HB.pdf, the British legal system is based on the idea of outstanding rights that

Website Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Website Project - Essay Example According to the people involved in the protest marches, a lot of these protests are trying to make it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens so that they can share in the civil rights laws that were created the last time large groups of ethnic people gathered together. This peaceful, yet attention-getting response by such large numbers of people on the city streets made the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s stand out in even greater detail as a significant period in US History. While searching, I found a student’s website that detailed a lot of information about African American history, including an entire chapter devoted exclusively to the Civil Rights Movement. Based upon what had already been learned, the African American History website seemed well-researched and informed for this project. Unlike many of the other websites that I went to, this one actually provided me with much of the information I think it would be important to know in terms of the Civil Rights Movement as well as the documentation to back it up. Not only did the author of the site provide her name, affiliations, and other information necessary for a complete bibliographical entry, but for each section of the site, she indicated when and why this section was written so that her readers would have a good idea of her experience and expertise level at that period in time. These are things that are not normally included as a part of the website features, which automatically excluded several websites I found during my search that might have contained the same information, but were not as well organized or documented. In addition, throughout each essay within the site, the author made sure to keep her own bibliographic references as part of the page, so that her information could be verified from the origi nal source or so that I, as a reader, could go find out more information about that

Managing Acute Myeloid Patients Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managing Acute Myeloid Patients - Thesis Proposal Example The disease, among the elderly population, demonstrates isolated characteristics from its effects and response to treatment among young people who demonstrate a better response to treatment. High morbidity rates and treatment side effects have been noted among elderly victims of acute myeloid leukemia. Variation in treatment side effects that is more significant in some patients than in others further identifies the need to investigate characteristics of people in the two categories for a better approach to treatment (Pollyea, Kohrt and Medeiros 524- 540).   The concept of â€Å"Invasive fungal diseases† is another challenge to managing conditions of acute myeloid leukemia patients because the infections are significant among the group but a patient’s susceptibility cannot be determined with confidence, a factor that may hinder efficient treatment (Rieger, Huppmann, Peterson, Rieger and Ostermann 94, 95).   Existing information, therefore, identifies treatment side effects and vulnerability to secondary infections. Further, some patients are more vulnerable to the treatments’ adverse effects and secondary infections than others are. The reason for this variability has not been established and this identifies the problem of determining the potential factors that influence hyperactivity to treatments and vulnerability to secondary infections.   The proposed dissertation aims at investigating possible factors to the variability, genetics, and age, and explores the significance of these factors to the patients’ variability in hyperactivity and vulnerability to secondary infections towards the efficient outpatient treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.   The research proposes a mixed method for exploring the objective and evaluating the hypotheses.

The Essential Tools and Techniques Used By Organizations to Manage the Essay

The Essential Tools and Techniques Used By Organizations to Manage the Human Resources - Essay Example Rights and privileges of workers are put in place taking into account such limitations only. Maintaining good employee relations depends on how the rights and privileges of workers are treated by the organization. Finding good people often proves to be difficult for the organization, it is, therefore, essential to find ways to retain them as well. Good industrial relations or employee relations form part of such efforts. This study is an effort to analyze the essential tools and techniques used by organizations to manage the human resources in an organization and how the HRM has adapted itself to the changing economic scenario. In particular, the objectives of this study are to have an assessment of; To get the optimum from a satisfied and participative individual is considered to be the ultimate objective of HRM policies. The global economy has made it almost mandatory for international corporations that an effective strategy is adopted for managing the human resources and the diversity. It is through their behaviour that employees give expression to their commitment to work, level of motivation and their attitudes. Behaviour includes all actions overt or covert, and verbal or non-verbal. This affects the overall efficiency of the person and the performance of the organization. Some of the organizations encourage Unions and Associations to represent the employees’ issues and such organizations have a mechanism which encourages cordial relations between such unions and management as it helps in smooth functioning of the organization. But there are some other organizations which prefer to engage with individual employees for grievance redressal. Such a mechanism generally f unctions well in smaller organizations having lesser number of employees. The ultimate aim is to have a functioning relationship with employees so that the company’s functioning is not adversely affected. As a student of human resources management, it is very crucial for me that I am fully aware of such a mechanism, the legal positions and how the system has evolved over the years.     

The Possibility of Evil, Creative Dialogue Essay Example for Free

The Possibility of Evil, Creative Dialogue Essay Mrs. Foster stepped into the elevator and gave Miss Strangeworth a nod. Miss Strangeworth glance at her with embarrassment, knowing that that was the first time people had ever seen her after the operation. Without saying a word, she quietly turned and looked sideways. It had been two months since her transgressions circulated around the town. When she was about to sigh, the cart started shaking unexpectedly. Most of the elevator lights flickered and went off eventually. They could barely see each other’s faces. Dead stillness ruled the whole world, as though the elevator crashed down to a grave. Lovely day, Mrs. Foster,† Miss Strangeworth ventured, â€Å"People should have examined this elevator regularly. Don’t you think so? † Since she knew no one would pay any attention to her anymore, she was getting frustrated. â€Å"I think people will be coming soon to fix it. † Mrs. Foster paused, and then comforted her amicably, â€Å"We will be all right. † Miss Strangeworth intended to start another conversation, Mrs. Foster’s operation, for instance. But the words wouldn’t come out. â€Å"All right,† she loosened her hand that was holding the handle tightly, trying to maintain her dignity, and lowered her voice, â€Å"all right. Silence ensued. Miss Strangeworth could see Mrs. Foster out of the corner of her eye, wondering if she had recovered from the illness. Mrs. Foster was not as energized as she used to be, she thought. The shadow of Mrs. Foster’s face was casting on the wall, her plain face cracked into a smile. Miss Strangeworth was feeling like she was in a coffin, and the phrase from her letter kept coming to her mind, saying â€Å"the knife accidently slipped†. She was drawing back unconsciously until she was against the wall. She cried out suddenly, â€Å"Forgive me Mrs. Foster! I promise I would ever write the anonymous letters again! Forgive me, please. † â€Å"It is all right, every single person makes mistakes. † Mrs. Foster said gently with joy, â€Å"Did you hear that? People are fixing the elevator. † The elevator door was opened, the world were lightened. Miss Strangeworth and Mrs. Foster were surrounded by townsfolk. Everyone was concerned about their safety. â€Å"It is virtue to realize your mistakes and try your best to correct it. † Mrs. Foster whispered as she walked out of the door. Miss Strangeworth began to cry with a mix of joy and regret.

E-Commerce Analysis: Online Ticket Purchasing

E-Commerce Analysis: Online Ticket Purchasing CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the background of the research study. It starts by providing an overview of Electronic Commerce, customer satisfaction and service quality, followed by an outline of the current situation concerning â€Å"Online Ticket Purchasing† in Kuwait. The problem of the study is then defined, highlighting the research the study seeks to investigate and its significance alongside the research objectives, questions and methodology used to achieve these desired objectives. The research limitations are then explored and the chapter concludes with an outline of the thesis structure. 1.2 OVERVIEW Unprecedented advances in Information Technology in recent decades, alongside evolving business environments have seen the emergence of Electronic Commerce (E-commerce) as a major economic force. With the increasing number of Internet users and rapid development of network technologies, e-commerce is perceived as an essential application of the computer and communication technologies (Manvi and Venkataram, 2005 cited by Zhang and Tang, 2006). As observed by Gunasekaran and Ngai (2005) e-commerce enhances communication channels and provides a virtual interactive environment where the suppliers and customers can exchange information and products. Moreover, it improves the communications between partners along the value chain and offers an integrated business model by which companies can be more responsive and flexible to the changing markets and customers requirements (Zhang and Tang, 2006). E- commerce therefore replaces or enhances the traditional market channels by opening web-based storefronts, which is known as â€Å"business to customer e-commerce†. Firms present their products and services on the web and generate revenue from the sales of those products and services to their customers (Molla and Licker, 2001). According to Khalifa and Liu (2003) there has been considerable growth of internet based services, both from internet businesses and from traditional companies developing online services. The technology of e-commerce identifies what can be offered to customers, but only customers determine which of those technologies will be accepted (Lin, 2003). As Jamal (2004) has argued, in the last forty years the issue of customer satisfaction has been one of the most important theoretical as well as practical issues for most marketers and customer research. Satisfaction is significant in the success or failure of any business depending on the performance of the perceived service, if the perceived performance is less than customer expectation the customer will be dissatisfied; whereas, if the perceived performance exceeds their expectations then customers will be satisfied. Many researchers agree satisfaction is an attitude or evaluation that is formed by the customer comparing their pre-purchase expectations of what they would receive from the product to their subjective perceptions of the performance they actually experience (Oliver, 1980). Numerous studies on service quality and customer satisfaction present service quality and customer satisfaction as conceptually distinct, but closely related constructs. Satisfaction is defined as the degree of discrepancy between customers normative expectations for the service and their perception of the service performance (Parasuraman et al., 1994; Dabholkar, 1996). Different researchers such as Gronroos (1983) and Parasuraman et al. (1985) have tried to identify features of service more related to quality assessments. The most common measure reveals ten dimensions of service quality: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the customer and access. These were then filtered to 5 dimensions and based on these 5 items a measurement tool for service quality was devised known as SERVQUAL (PUT SOURCE HERE!!!). While Yang (2001) highlighted the rapid growth of online retailing with broadening experiences of consumers online shopping, Santos (2003) believes that e-service quality can increase attractiveness, hit rate, customer retention, stickiness and positive word of mouth. It can also maximize competitive advantages of e-commerce. Numerous researchers have the discussed the dimensions of e-service quality including Cox and Dale (2001), Madu and Madu (2002), Parasuraman (2002), Yang et al. (2003), Parasuraman et al. (2004) and Lee and Lin (2005), yet online retailers appear to fail due to poor quality services provided to their customers. For that reason online service quality is significant for two reasons: (1) it influences customers satisfactions and intentions to shop online and (2) e-service quality plays a major role in attracting potential customers (Cai and Jun, 2003). Zeithaml (2002) points out online companies should focus on all elements of e-service quality before, during and a fter the transaction, as e-service quality is the extent to which a website facilitates efficient and effective shopping, purchase and delivery. 1.2.1 E-Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a critical element in the success or failure of any business. Web customer satisfaction has been emphasized as crucial by the rising demand for long-term profitability of dotcom companies and traditional companies that are â€Å"Net enhanced† (Pather, Erwin and Remenyi, 2002). An understanding of the factors that influence web customer satisfaction is vital for e-commerce. Satisfaction is a result of an effective evaluation, where some comparison standard is compared to the actually perceived performance. If the perceived performance is less than expected, customers will be dissatisfied. In contrast, if the perceived performance exceeds expectations, customer will be satisfied (Lin, 2003). A broad idea of traditional service quality might not be enough to build the e-service quality dimension, hence amending several variables is important. Santos (2003) discussed the e-service quality dimensions of, ease of use, web-appearance, linkage, structure and layout, content as the incubative dimensions; reliability, efficiency, support, communication, security, and incentive as active dimensions. This paper focuses on achieving a measurement of the service quality of the Jazeera Airways Website as perceived by their passengers, using a conceptual model of e-service quality developed by Santos (2003). 1.3 ONLINE TICKETING Electronic ticketing over the Internet facilitates the buying or reservation of tickets online, by making the process more easily accessible and convenient. Through these services tickets may be purchased from any location and at any time, provided an Internet connection exists. The tickets are ordered from a web site that provides both ticket information and the purchasing or reservation service. Internet booking or online ticketing concentrates on providing a helpful and efficient service to clients. Firms who sell travel tickets, performing arts, game tickets, concerts, movies and many other activities have notably embraced the online ticketing system according to Burford (1998). Convenience is a main advantage of buying tickets via the internet as the service is available at any geographical location, including ones home via laptop and cellular phone and at any time or day. Electronic ticket services have a further advantage by providing relevant information along with the service. This can help purchasing decisions and may encourage future usage (Burford, 1998). Another feature is that apart from maintenance and data updates, no manpower is necessary to offer the service once it has been established. The process of recording the transactions is more automated and overheads are reduced. An essential point is that ticket providers while providing a convenient service are thereby improving their public image and encouraging return customers (Burford, 1998). A number of countries across the globe are already benefiting from electronic ticketing including the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and France. In fact the U.S.A. it has 80% market p enetration, while in Europe it is approximately 40% and in the U.S.A. more than $350 million dollars in event tickets were sold online during 2000 increasing to $3.9 billion in 2004 (Bhatia, 2004). 1.3.1 Online Services and E-Ticketing in Kuwait The internet is a technology with many properties with the potential to transform the competitive landscape in many industries while at the same time creating completely new industries (Afuah and Tucci, 2003). The revolution of the internet continues to excel leading to rapid changes in many fields, at an overwhelming speed. In Kuwait, prior to 1990 internet usage was limited to electronic mail and minor services, however in 1992 a decision was made by the Ministry of Communication to facilitate the public data network. In the same year the National Science Foundation agreed to extend the Internet to Kuwait at a time when it was only available for US institutions and some selected institutions overseas. In recent years with the support of the Kuwaiti government for IT plans, practical steps have been taken in this field with the possibility of payment for mobiles and traffic tickets via the internet and the sale of online airlines tickets for the first time. These advances indicate the growth and development in the IT field in Kuwait as a whole. In 1943, the oil boom opened a new chapter in the modern history of Kuwait as The Kuwait Oil Company Limited (KOC) was founded. By 1947-1948 KOC developed the new Al-Nugra (Al-Mayass) Airport, located in the Nuzha district, operating in daylight only, with airlines opening offices in Kuwait City to handle ticketing and cargo operations for the Arab expatriate community. By 1954, the Kuwaiti National Airlines Company celebrated the arrival of the first airplane, which was called â€Å"Kazma† (http://www.da.gov.kw). The worldwide revolution of low-cost carriers (LCCs) started successfully with Pacific Southwest Airlinesin the United States, which pioneered the concept in 1949. Notable successes which have followed are Irelands Ryanair, which began low-fares operations in 1990, and EasyJet, formed in 1995. These low cost carriers then developed in Asia and Oceania from 2000 led by operators such as Malaysias AirAsia, Indias Air Deccanand Australias Virgin Blue. The low-cost carrier model is applicable worldwide, although deregulated markets are most suited for its rapid spread. In 2006, new LCCs were announced in Saudi Arabia and Mexico (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com). On September 12, 2005 Jazeera Airways owned by Marwan Boodai, Chairman and CEO, announced its first flights were open for booking. Jazeera Airways is the first privately owned airline in the Middle East, established in Kuwait. It offers passengers ticketless flights to Dubai, Lebanon, Damascus, Amman and Bahrain via the web, by phone, SMS or through travel agents (www.jazeeraairways.com). Breaking away from out-dated business models by developing a new model tasked with raising operational efficiency requires incorporating the latest revenue management procedures into the company and installing state-of-the-art technologies. This will ultimately enable travelers to become more independent in their bookings and payment. With tickets sold through a website as the main distribution channel, online booking is a very efficient distribution method for airlines. It reduces the number of back office staff and reduces the payment cycle. Jazeera Airways has worked hard to entice travelers to book through its website by making it the cheapest method to purchase tickets. Many promotional offers made by the company are available only to travelers who book online, therefore Jazeera Airways strategy is rewarding travelers who book online (www.jazerraairways.com) 1.4 PROBLEM DEFINITION Understanding customers requirements is vital to any business enterprise in order for it to remain competitive. Customer satisfaction is of great interest since it has a direct effect on customer retention, loyalty and the prospect of new customers. Retention is a major challenge, as customers can easily switch from one service provider to another considering the internet can facilitate easy access to a wide variety of choices with lesser cost. Acquiring new customers may involve significant cost on the part of the company in terms of marketing, advertising and promotion. Hence it is important to understand the determinants of customer satisfaction and assess the current experience of the customer in order to improve services. Customer satisfaction is a major issue of Jazeera Airways and good online service quality is a key factor that will determine in the long term, whether it will succeed or fail in retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. Due to rapid technological advancements in the marketplace Jazeera Airways maintains a close relationship with their customers, as their expectations and perceptions of online service quality may change. This research will therefore be conducted on Jazeera Airways, the first low cost airline in Kuwait. Jazeera Airways offers online ticketing in its website as the main distribution channel. Therefore it is important to take into account the quality of its website and to pay more attention to customer evaluation of the service given. Customers want to make their own bookings in their own time without depending on middlemen; as a result it is necessary that online service quality determinants lead to satisfaction. Dissatisfied travelers may perceive one of the following: Web sites do not seem to have many of the very basic features that experts consider important in forming relationship with customers. Service providers undervalue the attributes that customers use to judge service quality that should be monitored and enhanced to help the service performance. There are other variables of the online service quality that affect the overall travelers satisfaction. Therefore this research aims to address such problematic issues by researching the relevant factors including current opinion of the airline users. 1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES As this research study aims to examine the customer satisfaction of the service of Jazeera Airways in online ticketing through the quality delivered through its website, its main objectives are as follows: To assess the perception of each service of Jazeeras e-service Quality dimensions. To evaluate consumer satisfaction towards e-service quality for online service quality within Jazeera. To determine the important dimensions leading to satisfaction when purchasing online tickets within Jazeera. 1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS In order to fulfill the objectives of this study, the following questions need to be addressed: What key incubative dimensions do online customers perceive as important for their e-service quality? What key active dimensions do online customers perceive as important for their e-service quality? What are the most influential online service quality dimensions of the website as perceived by respondents with a high level of customers satisfaction in the Jazeera Airways website? What are the most influential online service quality dimensions of Jazeera Airways contributing to customer satisfaction when examining the Jazeera Airways website? Are the different socio-demographic variables involved perceiving e-service quality and satisfaction in the same way or differently? 1.7 Research Methodology This research is considered deductive, quantitative, descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory to some extent type of study. The research follows the survey strategy approach and consists of 67 questions composed of a two page questionnaire distributed to the target sample in Kuwait. Data was collected using Arabic and English questionnaires, from a sample size of X passengers who booked online through Jazeeras website. The questionnaire consists of four sections (A, B, C, D). Section A solicits demographic information. Section B evaluates Jazeeras Airways e-service quality using an adapted Santos (2003) model. Section C measures the level of customer satisfaction. Statements of Section B and C are scaled using a Likert type scale from 1 to 5. Section D collects information added by customers that will add value to the research. 1.8 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS Throughout this research conducted in Kuwait regarding Jazeera Airways website service quality a number of limitations were noted as follows: The thesis investigates the customer satisfaction of Jazeeras Airways website service quality and does not include the companys perspective/point of view; therefore the study is limited in its scope to customers and not employees or managers. The study does not include product quality, price, situational factors, personal factors, and other services provided by Jazeera Airways. Using a quantitative approach only towards addressing the research problems, a qualitative approach is lacking. The research scope is limited as it assesses Jazeera online service â€Å"e-ticketing† excluding airport customer services such as check in, luggage, lounge and on board services. There is limited relevant literature concerning service quality in the airline industry in Kuwait and the region, therefore there are no previous findings or frameworks to consult. 1.9 THESIS STRUCTURE This study is composed of five main chapters. Chapter One presents the background details of the selected research area and the experience in Kuwait, followed by the problem definition, the research objectives and questions, the methodology, the studys limitations and the thesis structure. Chapter Two discusses related theories, concepts and models providing a comprehensive review and an insight into the subject area as a whole, followed by an explanation of the research to the country of Kuwait. Chapter Three describes the methodology, research design and techniques used in the collection and analysis of the data. Chapter Four presents the gathered data, their interpretation and analysis. Chapter Five looks at the findings, assessing whether they satisfy the research questions and objectives to draw conclusions from the results. Based on these conclusions, recommendations for management are provided with further suggestions for future research. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter a comprehensive review of available related literature is made concerning website service quality and customer satisfaction. In the process various concepts, models and theories covering customer satisfaction, determinants of customer satisfaction, the relationship between online service quality and satisfaction and online service quality dimensions are presented and explored to give the study a wide ranging theoretical basis. In addition the relevance of the research to the country of Kuwait is also addressed. 2.2 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 2.2.1 Definition of Customer Satisfaction Oliver (1980) explains satisfaction as the summary of a psychological state resulting when the emotion surrounding disconfirmed expectations is coupled with a consumers prior feelings about the consumer experience. In other words, satisfaction is an attitude or appraisal that is created by the customer comparing their pre-purchase expectations of what they would receive from the product or service to their subjective perceptions of the performance they actually did receive. Customer satisfaction has become a key intermediary objective in service operations, because of the benefits it conveys to organizations (Ranaweera and Prabhu, 2003). The importance of customer satisfaction results from the generally accepted philosophy that for a business to be successful and profitable, it must satisfy customers (Shin and Elliott, 2001). While many authors have described satisfaction using various definitions, Table 2.1 presents a few notable explanations of customer satisfaction. Table 2.1 Definition of Customer Satisfaction Definition Author Customer satisfaction is a collective outcome of perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption experience with a product/service. Yi (1990) Satisfaction is function of consumers belief that he or she was treated fairly. Hunt (1991) Satisfaction is a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectation. Kotler et al. (2000) Source: Research based From the above table we understand that satisfaction is the consumers evaluation of the product and service that meet their needs and expectations. According to Parker and Mathews (2001) there are two main interpretations of satisfaction; satisfaction as a process and satisfaction as an outcome. Whereas Gustafsson (2005) argues satisfaction has a strong positive effect on customer loyalty intentions across a wide range of product and service categories. 2.2.2 Determinants of Customer Satisfaction Zeithaml et al. (2005) argued that satisfaction, as shown in 2.1, is influenced by service quality perception, product quality, and price as well as situational and personal factors. Economists differentiate between two categories of properties of consumer products; search qualities and experience qualities. With search qualities consumers determine before purchasing a product like color, style, price, fit, feel, hardness and smell. Experience qualities, are hard to determine; as a result it can be evaluated after the purchase and until the service is received like vacations and restaurant meals (Zeithaml et al., 2005). Keaveney (1995)ppp.jpg point out that a main reason leading to customers switching services is price, as customers, based on prior experience with the service provider, sometimes felt cheated and believed that price increases were unfair or even deceptive. According to (Zeithaml et al., 2005) comparing the price relative to value and state, research reveals that customers of services will make trade-offs among different service features such as price level versus quality. A number of customers, for example, view price as an important element for their satisfaction more than quality. Perceived service quality is only one factor of customer satisfaction (Zeithaml et al., 2005). Consequently to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction, most researchers suggest that a high level of service quality should be delivered by the service provider as service quality is normally considered an antecedent of customer satisfaction (Cronin et al. 2000). Zeithaml et al. (2005) described a consumers emotional state as a personal factor. Satisfaction will vary due to customers biographical characteristics such as age, gender, education, ethnicity and income (Gilbert and Veloutsou, 2006;Van Pham and Simpson, 2006). Customers take partial responsibility for outcomes and describe those negative feelings that influence how a consumer responds to services, causing a person to overreact negatively to the slightest problem (Zeithaml et al., 2005). Situational factors can notably influence purchase decisions such as social environment, physical environment of the purchase place, time influence and the previous states (Vysekalovà ¡, 2004; Nagyovà ¡, 2001). 2.3 The Evidence of Service (3Ps) Services are intangible; therefore customers are searching for evidence of service in every interaction they have with the organization. The three major factors of service experienced by customers are: people, process, and physical evidence. Together these elements are considered as an evidence of the service. Each evidence or subset is present in each service 2.2. Firms should essentially manage the service quality that will lead to satisfying their customers (Bitner, 1993). 2.4 SERVICE QUALITY Numerous researchers have defined service quality their own ways, including Bitner, Booms and Mohr (1994) who described service quality as the consumers overall impression of the relative inferiority / superiority of the organization and its services. Perceived service quality is only one component of customer satisfaction (Zeithaml et al., 2005). According to Parasuraman et al. (1994) service quality is defined as, the degree of discrepancy between customers normative expectations for the service and their perception of the service performance. Gronroos (1982) stated that total service quality is customers perception of difference between expected service and perceived service. Afterward in 1984, he then explained service quality of the service encounter as two different dimensions: one is technical or output quality and the other functional or process quality. Therefore, service quality has become a well-liked area of academic investigation, recognized as a major factor in differentiating service products and gaining competitive advantage (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Table 2.2 presents the concept of service quality from varied authors viewpoints who combined suggest we can understand that meeting the need and requirements and achieving customers expectations depends on delivering the best level of service quality. Notably with time, service quality takes place before and leads to overall customer satisfaction Table 2.2 Definition of Customer Satisfaction Definition Author Service quality as the subjective comparison that customers make between the quality of the service that they want to receive and what they actually get. Gefan (2002) Service quality can be defined as â€Å"the difference between customers expectations for service performance prior to the service encounter and their perceptions of the service received†. Asubonteng et al. (1996) Service quality is determined by the differences between customers expectations of services providers performance and their evaluation of the services they received. Parasuraman et al. (1985,1988) Source: Research based Gilbert and Veloutsou (2006) determined different approaches to measure customer satisfaction, varying between measuring expectations relative to perception or measuring the performance aspect only, without relating it to the desired level of service. Service quality has been found to be an important input to customers satisfaction (Caruana, 2002). 2.4.2 Dimensions of Service Quality Service quality has been the focus of increased study in recent years as many researchers have tried to reveal features of services that significantly relate to quality evaluation in traditional service environments. In 2001 Brady and Cronin presented a model consisting of interaction quality, physical environment quality, and outcome quality. These dimensions draw on, among others, the work of Gronroos (1982) and Rust and Oliver (1994) who suggest that exploring both what is delivered (Gronroos technical quality) and how it is delivered (Gronroos functional quality) are important aspects of service quality. Table 2.3 Dimensions of Service Quality Quality Requirement Description Reliability Reliability Consistency of service/ dependability, i.e. the ability to provide the service on time, accurately and dependably Responsiveness Responsiveness Willingness/readiness of employees, i.e. the ability to deal effectively with complaints and promptness of services Assurance Credibility The extent to which the service is believed and trusted; involves honesty, trustworthiness and believability Courtesy The politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness shown to the customers by the contact personnel Security The freedom from danger, risk and doubt Competence The possession of staff of the necessary skill, knowledge and information to perform the service effectively Empathy Access The ease of approachability and contact Communication Listening to customer and keeping them informed about the service Understanding the customer Trying to understand the customers needs and specific requirements Tangibles Tangibles Appearance of personnel and condition of equipment Source: Parasuraman et al. (1985); Ghobadian et al. (1994); Curry and Herbert (1998) A most widely used and accepted study done on service quality is by Parasuraman et al. (1985). Having developed ten dimensions through focus group studies: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the customer, and access. These ten dimensions were then filtered and extracted to five: tangibles, reliability, responsibility, assurance, and empathy, which constitute the basis of a global measurement for service quality, SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Based on these five dimensions researchers presented a 22-item service quality scale and on an operational level service quality research has been dominated by the SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Curry and Herbert, 1998). Table 2.3 presents a description of the service quality dimensions. 2.4.3 Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality Service quality has been found to be an important input to customer satisfaction (Caruana and Malta, 2002). Cronin and Taylor (1992) examined the causal relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention. The results suggested that service quality was an antecedent of consumer satisfaction, service quality had less effect on purchase intentions than did consumer satisfaction, and consumer satisfaction had a significant effect on purchase intentions. Customer satisfaction had a stronger effect on behavioral intentions than service quality did (Dabholkar et al., 2000). As a process in time, service quality takes place before, and leads to overall customer satisfaction. Customers loyalty was affected by product quality, service quality, and retailer image. They also suggested that quality of product and service is directly related to customer satisfaction, and then leads to the loyalty of the customer (Cà ¶ner and Gà ¼ngà ¶r, 2002). Based on empirica l findings in service quality and satisfaction literature, service quality is one of the antecedents of satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Cronin and Taylor, 1992), and loyalty is one of the consequences of satisfaction. Luarn and Lin (2004) indicated that not only customer satisfaction and perceived value directly affected customer loyalty, but also indirectly affected customer loyalty through commitment. 2.5 THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SERVING CUSTOMERS According to Parasuraman (2000), delivering excellent customer service is vital in case customers have to serve themselves by technology-based systems. With quick penetration of technology-based customer-company interfaces such as online banking and e-commerce, employee-delivered service is being replaced by self-service, reducing the need for face-to-face encounters between customers and company personnel. However, this fundamental shift does not mean that companies can afford to ignore customer service. Development of self-service technologies need to emphasize customer service to ensure the customer-technology interface is user-friendly, putting in place an excellent customer-service infrastructure (including properly tr

Hierarchy HR Department Human Resource Management Commerce Essay

Hierarchy HR Department Human Resource Management Commerce Essay Human capital is the rarest resource of the company which cannot be imitated while every other resource or asset of the organization can be copied by the rivals due to the changing environment and emergence of technology. HR Is basically a support function which helps the other imperative functions in achieving their vision which cannot be achieved without the support of HR. Its a cost minimization and value creating source. HR successfully linked the lower management with the top management for the purpose of achieving goals and objectives. There is not a formula or certain procedure in human resource management, it varies from person to person and managers perceived it differently as everyone has his/her own strategies. In this report we have covered almost each and every aspect of human resource management. HR process starts with hiring of the effective employees and ends with the performance evaluation of the human resources. Goals of HR Department in UMA To recruit the most effective pool of candidates Motivate the employees so that performance of each employee can be strengthened Prevent and reduce the turnover rate. This is the most imperative job of HR because it helps the firm in achieving its goals Give rewards and benefits to the deserving candidates. Deserving candidates are identified by analyzing the performance appraisal. To give priority to the internal labor supply over the external one so that the motivation level and performance of workers could be enhanced Resolve the conflicts among the employees so that an impressive working environment could be developed. Develop HR related policies and code of conduct. HIRING There is not a fixed time period for hiring. Company hires the workers according to the need of the time the first and the most imperative step in the hiring process is recruitment. Recruitment is basically the process of generating effective pool of employees. The most famous and renown tool for recruitment is newspaper and internet in united marine agency. The firm believes that with the help of newspaper and internet you can generate a huge pool of candidates in a very limited time. Besides this there is another advantage of recruiting the candidates through newspaper and i.e. Image of the organization , as we all know that an immense ad in the newspaper can strongly influence the image of the company. Employee referral is also a tool used by the firm for the purpose of generating impressive pool of candidates. Employee referral is considered as the most trustworthy, reliable and effective tool because the employee are very much conscious in referring the candidates as this is the matter of their credibility as well as a result the most preferred and effective candidates are referred by the employees . Employee referral is not always positive. There are some negative aspects of employee referral as well because sometimes managers has to neglect or ignore the mistakes of certain employees just because of there sound reference . Internal Vs. External Labor Supply The firm believes that internal labor supply must be given preference over external labor supply. Consequently when an executive position is vacant, top management attempts to fill that vacancy by promoting a deserving employee. This helps the firm is following ways Reduce cost of hiring Hiring is the process of human resource management which involves a lot of cost and requires a massive time for the purpose of producing effectual pool of applicants but internal labor supply is that efficient tool which can certainly reduce the cost of hiring process for united marine agency, because via promoting and enriching the job responsibility of an productive employee you can reduce huge cost of the organization for sure. Internal employee is aware of the organization culture An internal employee is usually aware of the organization culture therefore he does not take much time in adjusting with the work environment Productivity increases When an internal deserving employee is promoted to an executive position, motivational level increases thus performance of the employee enhances which results in effective organization productivity. Emergency hiring In case of emergency hiring, the firm does not rely on the normal procedures of recruitment but they try to go for the speediest process and usually the process is decided by analyzing the situation intensely and implementing a process according to the situation. SELECTION Selecting the Candidates Process of selection varies job to job. Some job requires a test. Test is provided to the candidates who have been shortlisted through recruitment and the individuals who are able to clear the test are requested to appear in the interview. In majority of the cases, employee referral is used for the purpose of hiring personnel for executive position in UMA. And there are many reasons behind this. Generally an employee is aware of the kind of the individual required for a particular position because he knows the responsibilities of the vacant position and is pretty much aware of the nature of the job therefore he refer an individual who can efficiently perform the job activities and help the organization in achieving its goals and objectives. As Mr. Zeeshan stated that recently a sales manager was hired in UMA on the reference of general manager. The compensation package of that individual is very impressive and well-off according to MR Zeeshan but the general manager is very much satisfied with the compensation package of sales manager because according to him he has the ability of generating sales vigorously. SELECTION PROCESS Candidate is selected by following certain steps which include the test at the initial stage which is design to reduce the vigorous pool of candidates, later an interview is conducted by the HR manager once short listed by the HR manager, the candidates are asked to appear in the final interview conducted by the HOD of the particular department to get the dedicated employees. SELECTION CRITERIA UMA follows the following criteria in order to select effective employee for the firm Education Experience Confidence Soft skills Reference TRAINING Every company either SME or large corporations has a vigorous believe that human capital can build a strong position of company if efficiently and effectively utilized. UMA also strive in achieve the same goal. UMA strongly believe that training and development plays an important role in increasing revenues of the company either through cost reduction or increase in sales. Trainings in UMA are done on almost every level whether a telephone operation or a brand manager of a company, all are indulge in training. As per Mr. Zeeshan employees gets motivated when such sort of activities is done in the organization. Some training is the routine trainings which have to be given to each and every employee after certain time period. such as fire fighting, emergency exits drill and on the job trainings which is given to the new induction by the immediate boss only in the case if there is any technical work in the job description of the employee, Whereas other trainings are done as per the requirement of the job. TRAINING METHODS ON THE JOB TRAINING The frequently used training method is on the job training in UMA. Usually lead by the senior very next to the person who needs the training. Moreover other consulting companies are also outsources by the company in order to accumulate new skill in the employees. As per Mr. Zeeshan recently UMA has organized a 15 days training session for the sales support staff and telephone operator so that the company can build good relation with the customers and can provide the exact solutions of their queries. OFF THE JOB TRAINING Off the job training is rarely done by the company and is only provided to the executive class. These trainings include seminars and workshop which is conducted abroad mostly in Singapore and Dubai. Performance appraisal UMA does the employees performance appraisal on as annual bases. Performance appraisal is done by using multi methods in order to get accurate information for the employee and its achievements. UMA uses two performance appraisal methods at the same time, MBO and graphic rating scale. In every December before the increment of the employees performance appraisal form is distributed to the HODs of every department with the due date, and then it become the responsibility of HOD to evaluate the employee. Following are the questions that are included in the appraisal form of the employee List your achievements or tasks you have done or/and currently doing well. What are the facilitating and constraining factors in performing your work? Achievements of Previous Agree Targets any training required RATING SCALE 1 Unsatisfactory 2 Acceptable 3 Good 4 Excellent FACTORS Employee Evaluator 1 Quality of Work 2 To meet targets and deadlines Initiative 4 Attitude 5 Cooperation 6 Attendance 7 Communication Skill 8 Interpersonal Skill 9 Willingness to learn 10 Cost conscious 11 Development of subordinator REWARDS AND BENEFITS: every year increments is given on the bases of performance of the employees and is not influenced by personal liking or disliking If employee performance is not up to the mark they are considered for the training and development program in order to make them more effective in achieving the task assigned to them. Training is also given if the employee thinks they need it for the better understanding and execution of the task. Drawback of MBO and Rating Scale The biggest drawback of appraising the performance through MBO is employee stick to the particular objectives provided to them which limits their productivity, performance and creativity to a certain level Benefit of MBO The most impressive benefit of MBO is providing the employees with clear and specific objectives as a result employees are aware of the fact that what is required from them therefore employees put their best efforts for the purpose of matching those objectives as efficiently as they can PROMOTION UMA consider different factors in order to analyze the promotion of the employees. According to them they dont have any fixed time period to promote an employee. It totally depends on the traits personality and hard working of the employee. Recognizing the promotion UMA recognizes the need to promote employee by continuously observing the performance of the employee. The main focus of the company is on the goals and targets achieved by the employees then on the factors and lastly on the time duration. Even the Deputy Manager is promoted in 8 month of time period because of his achievements and fulfillment of the targets. Factors considered in promotion planning and organizing professionalism teamwork and leadership punctuality achieved targets attitude and behavior of other According to Mr. Zeeshan once an employee is promoted then they are not promoted until they develop their skills for the upper position. If the employee is about to get promoted and at that time he resigns, then as per the practices of the HR department they either promote the contingent employee or give dual responsibilities to other. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS UMA provide great incentives and benefits to their employees. Other than their basic salary following are the incentives provided to the employees are based on their designations. Fuel Allowance Fuel allowance is given to the employees on the bases of their designation and work. Fuel allowance varies from 45 liters to 300 liters. As per the policy following is the ratio of giving fuel Bikes 45 liters Car (till 1000cc) 150 liters Car (till 1300cc) 250 liters Car (till 2400cc) 300 liters Mobile allowance Mobile allowance is also provided as per the designation of the employee Medical Insurance Every employee is covered with medical insurance which only includes hospitalization. In case of any mishap insurance company will pay all the expenses. Vehicle and its repair and maintenance Company provides the vehicle with the repair and maintenance to the employee as an incentives, but with the condition that car must remain clean all the time otherwise it would be taken back. Cars are inspected on daily bases Bonus Two bonuses are given to the employee in the period of one year other than the increment in the salary. One full salary is given on eid-ul-fitr and 70% is given on eid-ul-azha Retirement benefits The biggest benefit of retirement policy is that there is no age constraint in retirement an employee can work till the time he is capable of working in the organization. Gratuity is given to the employee which equal to the one salary for one year of service EOB pension is given to the employee Job rotation As mentioned before, employee is rotated to any other department or job if his/her performance is unsatisfactory. Most of the time managers also asked to their subordinates that whether they require a job rotation or not. Managers do this in order to enhance the employee motivation, performance and skills. TERMINATION In UMA, employees are not terminated on the basis of their performance because termination is not the solution of the problem. If the performance of the employee is not up to the mark, management attempt to transfer that individual to another department Termination is only occurred on the basis following cases Misconduct Or Misbehavior Misbehavior or misconduct of any employee is not tolerated in any case, which leads to straight termination Violation of HR policies or rules Each and every employee is requested to follow the HR rules and policies and if the employee is not following the rules and regulations, firm decided to terminate that individual Sexual harassment Sexual harassment is the case which leads to immediate termination Fraudulent For the purpose of alerting other employees, deceptive or fake individuals are terminated. ISSUES 360 degree of method of performance appraisal is ignored Do not have software for online recruitment At times, employee referral caused difficulties for the managers HR department of UMA is almost new. So the parameters of selecting new candidates are completely different as a result the performance of new induction varies from the old one which results in the organizational conflicts. SOLUTION The HR department is doing an impressive job but there are still some issues which need to be rectified as soon as possible. Following are the recommendations we suggested for the HR department of UMA 360 degree method of performance appraisal must be used. This is the most effective tool for the performance appraisal which is ignored by UMA because the performance of an individual must be evaluated by other colleagues as well Do not have software for online recruitment which is a hindrance in the hiring process. Software should be used for making the recruitment process more effective. Sometimes employee referrals cause problems for managers as they have to ignore the mistakes of the particular employee who has a strong reference. This issue can be resolved by providing the managers right to discipline the employee who is not performing well CONCLUSION By analyzing the whole HR process, we analyze that the HR department is doing an impressive job for United Marine Agency because the whole HR department consist of only five individuals who are managing more than 250 employees. Therefore we can state that HR department is doing a really efficient job. We all know that recruitment via newspaper or internet can generate very large pool of candidates. And we were really amazed by knowing the fact the whole task of recruitment is managed by only 5 individuals in the HR department. To fill the executive position through employee referral is a wise decision which helps the firm to hire effective individual and save the cost and time related to hiring process. The most impressive thing is their policy of not terminating any individual on the basis of his/her performance. By doing this, UMA proves that moral values and corporate social responsibility is an integral part of the organization. The process of job rotation is conducted by considering the opinions of the subordinates that whether they require job rotation or not. This helps the firm in enhancing high organizational performance by increasing the motivation level of employees. Different sort of incentives are provided to the employees in order to satisfy the workers and reduce the turnover rate Employee has to pass three interviews sometimes. This is also a good move because caliber of the candidate cannot be judged in a single interview only because organization has to make sure that it has selected the right candidate for the right job Two methods of performance appraisal are used by the firm which is MBO and rating scale. The purpose of using two methods is just to confirm that the performance is appraised appropriately.

My Antonia Essay: The Spirit of Antonia -- My Antonia Essays

The Spirit of Antonia in My Antonia      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The life of Antonia Shimerdas, the main character in Willa Cather's My Antonia, could easily be judged a failure. Perhaps measures of wealth, career, beauty and love fall short when held next to Antonia. If one could categorize life by that unnamable light or spirit which Antonia never loses, she would surpass all who belittle her achievements in other areas.    Where the spirit comes from, no one can say. â€Å"Perhaps an ethereal or god-like being takes residence in the person's heart†(Helmick 46). Some may say it's simply the chemistry of human beings to vary in levels of energy, which manifests itself as vigor and enthusiasm for living. â€Å"But even one who attributes the undying light to an abundance of hormones or simply luck in life will ultimately hit a barrier to such a theory, as is the case with the timeless heroine, Antonia Shimerdas†(Helmick 48).    Only rarely does the spirit of life embody itself in the eyes of a woman or man. Strangers recognize a striking presence in the eyes of Antonia even as a young child. Her penetrating eyes, like "mirrors of the soul," remind a passenger conductor of the gleam which emanates from a new dollar. Similarly, when first meeting his lifelong friend, the narrator, Jim, is struck by her "big and warm" eyes, which bring forth images of "the sun shining on brown pools in the wood" (Cather 22).    Like many children, the young Antonia exudes a fascination with all nature's things. Yet her connection with the land continues to flourish at the time when other children climb down from the trees and enter the realm of adulthood. In an arduous life of poverty and toil, Antonia embraces her love of the land, harnessing her passio... ...kept," they could not diminish that which made Antonia blaze-her Inner Light, whose mysterious source remains unnamed, but is forever cherished as a testimony to what it means to truly live.    Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold, ed. Willa Cather's My Antonia. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1987. Bourne, Randolph. "Review of My Antonia." Murphy's Critical Essays 145-147. Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Fussell, Edwin. Frontier. American Literature and the American West. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1965. Helmick, Evelyn. "The Mysteries of Antonia." Bloom's Willa Cather's . . . , 109-119. Rosowski, Susan J., ed. Approaches to Teaching Cather's My Antonia. New York: The Modern Language Association of America. 1989. Trilling, Lionel. "Willa Cather." Bloom's Modern Critical Views 7-15.   

Who comes first, the plants or the people? :: Essays Papers

Who comes first, the plants or the people? What does come first? Should people be asked to give up something or be denied something? Or should people be allowed to develop where they please? Often when people take on an endeavor their first thoughts are about how they can benefit right now, especially in terms of money, and they are not focused on the long-term effects of what they are doing. Although this is not the case in every situation, the incidences in which it is can have a negative impact on the environment, in particular, damage the wetlands. According the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) there was estimated to be over 220 million acres of wetlands in the lower 48 states during the 1600s and in 1997 there were only 105.5 million acres of wetlands remaining (2003). From 1986 to 1997 58,500 acres of wetland were lost each year (EPA 2003). The study during 1986 to 1997 also showed the causes of wetland losses in the United States were due to urban development (30%), agriculture (26%), silviculture (23%), and rural development (21%) (US Fish & Wildlife 2003). Wetlands are found throughout the United States and there are many different types of wetlands and these environmental structures provide a number of valuable functions in the communities in which they reside. There are some protection measures present for these wonderments and measures to help the communities protect them. However, there are still those that question the value of them. The numerous valuable functions of the varying types of wetlands throughout the United States is one group of â€Å"plants† that should be preserved and come before â€Å"people.† What are wetlands? In the United States there is a wide variety of wetlands due to the varying climates, land structure, species occupying the terrain, and other factors, such as human disturbance. The EPA defines wetlands as an area of land that is saturated with water, on or near the surface, and the water amount determines the plants and animals that are found in that community (2003). The Clean Water Act also provides a definition of wetlands as â€Å"those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support †¦ a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions† (EPA 2003). From these definitions wetlands can be grouped into four basic types: marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens.

Deaf President Now

Richard Evans 12 October 2012 Deaf Community Midterm: DPN Who Will Be President It all started in 1987 at the first deaf school in the United States, Gallaudet University. Former President Dr. Jerry C. Lee resigned at the end of 1987 and the school needed to find another president to take place. So in February of 1988 the committee announced the finalists for the running for a new president. A majority of the candidates were of hearing and just a couple were of deaf nature. Let us start by discussing, who were the candidates, what initially started the troubles in 1988, and how it was finally resolved.In 1988 when Gallaudet University needed to find a new president to take over for the open position at stake they had many people send in their resumes to the committee who takes care of that kind of stuff. They later announced the finalists and some were hearing and some were deaf and considering this is a deaf school, wouldn’t one think that a deaf president would fit a lot bet ter than a hearing person? Well the finalists that were announced were the following: Dr. Harvey Corson, who is deaf, Dr. I.King Jordan, who was also deaf, and Dr. Elisabeth Zinser, who is hearing. The congregation of Gallaudet wanted the presidency to be filled by one of the two deaf candidates and they started writing and sending letters to the board to let them know how they would like to see the direction of the school. Then the school announced who was going to take over the open position and when they said it was the hearing candidate the school was in shock, and that’s when history was forever changed at that school.March 1, 1988 was the day when the board finally announced their decision and when the University had announced that Zinser had become the new president of the university the students, angered and with feelings of betrayal, marched to the board meeting and they demanded to be told why that was the decision that had been made. The following day is when they finally got to hear why they made the decision and the students of Gallaudet were appalled. Meetings upon meetings took place between the student congregation debating what next step was needed to be taken.They decided to barricade the way onto the campus the next morning and they rallied and gave speeches to all the students and the protest leaders came to a conclusion on what they wanted. They gave the board 4 ultimatums that must be met or else and they were: 1. Zinser Must resign and a deaf president be selected; 2. Spilman must step down off of the board; 3. The percentage of deaf persons on the board must be a majority; and 4. There must be no reprisals against any of the protesters. And the board said no to all of their demands and the protesters then turned to marching to the Capitol Building in D. C.The following day the university wasn’t barricaded any longer and the university’s classes took place but the protesters boycotted the classes and went to speeches and rallies instead. The rallies had then gotten so large that it was being covered by national television, programs, and newspapers. Zinser then thought to herself that she needed to begin her presidency early and she started appearing on campus to show that she cares. But she was turned down quickly and then the following day she resigned and the students took march to the capital to get the other 3 demands to be taken and make sure they are done.The next day was a day break for everyone to relax so that Sunday they would then start up again. Then all 4 demands were met and Dr. I. King Jordan was the first deaf president at Gallaudet University. In 8 days and tons of emotional stress and action packed days the rallies and everything came to an end and everyone was happy. To review all of what had happened just shows with a lot of heart and effort one can succeed in anything and the congregation at Gallaudet had shown the world that the deaf community can stick up and join togethe r and not budge.This revolution at Gallaudet will always be remembered and marks a big spot in history for the deaf community. Works Cited â€Å"Deaf President Now Protest – Gallaudet University. † Deaf President Now Protest – Gallaudet University. N. p. , n. d. Web. 03 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"DeafWeb Washington: CSCDHH GA Newsletter – March 1998. † DeafWeb Washington: CSCDHH GA Newsletter – March 1998. N. p. , n. d. Web. 03 Oct. 2012. . Lane, Harlan L. , Robert Hoffmeister, and Benjamin J. Bahan. A Journey into

Legal Punishments

The two broadest types of rationales for punishment are retributive and utilitarian. Retributive rationale aims at punishing the criminal for the crime committed against the victim. This approach seems a little dubious since it calls for ‘an-eye-for-an-eye’ attitude towards the criminal. Utilitarian perspective calls for solutions that hurt the smallest number of people or benefit the greatest number. Thus, the punishment according to the utilitarian perspective should be modelled in such a way as to benefit the victim and others mostly and to reduce crime rate at present and in the future. For instance, if the criminal is put in prison, he or she will not be able to commit crimes for the time spent in captivity. Deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation are the most popular utilitarian rationales for penalties imposed upon criminals. Deterrence means that punishment is imposed upon the criminal in order to discourage this person and others seeing this example from perpetrating crimes in the future. Incapacitation means depriving criminal of the ability to commit offences as through capital punishment or incarceration. Rehabilitation aims at reforming the criminal, empowering the person to return to normal social life. 2. Support three-strike laws through a retributive rationale and then through a utilitarian rationale. The retributive rationale, in my view, does not work very well for three-strike laws that allow life sentences for repeat offenders. If the person committing a repeat crime has already done time for this crime, there is no reason to impose an enhanced punishment for the new offence. Three-strike legislation was caused by â€Å"the problem of a significant percentage of crimes committed by people who previously have committed crimes† (Harary 2003). The laws aim to incapacitate these criminals by taking them off the street and to deter other repeat offences   through the threat of the life sentence. Rehabilitation is not the reason since criminals are not supposed to get back to society. References Harary, C.J.   (2003, April 4). Incarceration as a Modality of Punishment. Jewish Law. Retrieved on October 7, 2005 from http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/ch_incarceration.html. Hoff, S.B. (n.d.). Review of: Pojman, L. & Reiman, S. (1998). The Death Penalty: For And Against. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1998. Law and Politics Book Review, 9(9), 384-386.