Advances in Medicine essays

Advances in Medicine essays As the history of medicine has evolved, a number of trends and prevailing opinions have swept the profession. One of the most subtle, and yet most revealing results of these sweeping trends manifests itself by altering the tone in medical conversations and dialogues, often available to the non-medical person in the form of texts and literature. A relatively current example appears in the form of Perri Klass A Not Entirely Benign Procedure, a text dedicated to the experiences of the author at Harvard Medical School. Published in 1987, Klass work offers an interesting, if not shocking comparison to Philippe Pinels The Clinical Training of Doctors, an article published in 1783. It seems that, despite the obvious advancements and progress in medical technology and general care, the modern Klass presents less certainty about the profession and its abilities than does the eighteenth century article. In Pinels article, however, a distinct tone of holistic healing pervades the proposed train ing of physicians-the lack of which Klass bemoans in her work. The contrast between the two works affords the reader a view into two parallel transitions in medicine: the decline of certainty and the decline of holistic care. One of the most shocking aspects of Pinels article involves the specificity in patient setting and observation he demands. From precise measurements of the weather to room orientations, Pinel seems to imply that precision in observation and care-giving will lead to precise diagnoses and eventual cures: It is obvious that medical observations can be precise and conclusive only if the evidence is reduced to the smallest possible number of facts and to the plainest data. The outline for the training of physicians Pinel proposes attempts to create an environment that allows the kind of precision that will lead to conclusive outcomes in patient care. Pinels demands range from the...

Advertisement for Disneyland Paris Essays

Advertisement for Disneyland Paris Essays Advertisement for Disneyland Paris Paper Advertisement for Disneyland Paris Paper Question: This is an advertisement for Disneyland Paris. How does the writer try to persuade the reader that Disneyland Paris is an attractive holiday resort for families?  To analyse how the writer tries to persuade the reader that Disneyland Paris is an attractive holiday resort for families I must first assess how the layout and presentational devices make it seem attractive. Firstly there are mainly pictures rather than a lot of text which is good for children because it is easy to convey the message of how wonderful and amazing Disneyland is, through the images to the children. Children do not like to read through lots of text or may not want to. The images are bright and bold especially the centre image of the Kingdom. It looks very powerful and amazing, especially when compared to the size of the people around it. The effect of this element of the image on the reader is that children especially will be in awe of the Kingdom just from looking at the image. The Kingdom draws your attention to the article and the people are bustling rather than busy so this would attract parents who want an exciting but relaxing holiday. All of the families and groups of people look to be having a fun and enjoyable time which creates a free and happy atmosphere where the reader knows that they wont be judged by race and they can have a good time without the usual day to day worries. Each picture creates a different atmosphere appealing to different members of the family which gives the idea that the article is targeted at families because families will have members of varying age range and interests. The image makers are anticipating that their target audience which is mainly children, will expect Disneyland to be a place where dreams come true and this expectation is met through the pictures of the space mountain and Kingdom of Dreams. In both of these pictures the children look to be having the time of their life on the rides, they are all smiling and enjoying the Disneyland experience promised to the reader through both the text and images. The title is very eye catching and seems to sum up the whole of the article. Your Kingdom of Dreams. The most important paragraph at the top left hand corner of the article is also eye catching and draws the attention of the reader because it uses a bold and italic font. Secondly to analyse how the writer persuades the reader that it is an attractive holiday resort for families we must assess how and why specific examples of persuasive language are used. The first paragraph tries to persuade the reader that Disneyland is an amazing place. The writer does this by using vivid vocabulary and powerful adjectives. Such as treasure chest of fantasy. This is also emotive language because it evokes the feeling of happiness and enjoyment. The treasure chest of fantasy also gives the idea that Disneyland Paris is whatever the reader wants it to be. This persuades the reader into going visiting just to experience this fantasy if nothing else. Another powerful persuasive phrase used is a dazzling array of attractions, adventure and sights. This persuades the reader into visiting Disneyland because they want to experience the dazzling sights and the children want to have adventures amongst their favourite Disney characters, also because the phrase uses assonance it sticks in the mind of the reader. The Paragraph under the Main Street USA conveys to the reader the amazing atmosphere to be enjoyed there. The writer has used imagery to evoke a mental picture of the Street to the audience by using phrases such as Music fills the air, horse drawn street cars and quaint shops and restaurants reflecting the char, of turn of the century America. A rhetorical question is also used to persuade you into booking that dream holiday and exploring the wonder of Disneyland. Which will you explore next? It invites the readers to come and explore and find out for themselves what it is like. Which will you explore next? The writer is also assuming that the reader will definitely visit Disneyland because it says which one will you explore next? and not which one would you explore next or which one would you explore if you came to Disneyland? The last thing which I must assess when analysing how the writer tries to persuade the reader that Disneyland is an attractive resort for families, is how successful the advert is in appealing to both children and parents. It appeals to children with the language which it uses and adults are happy if their children are. But equally there are elements in the text which appeal to adults and therefore it is successful in appealing to both groups of people and therefore to families It appeals to children through the text and language used because a lot of it is easy to read and the writer uses simple but effective adjectives which provoke imaginative thoughts and dreams for the child. For example dream and amazing and dazzling. Another way in which the text appeals to children is the phrase Ride it if you dare! This is very cleverly used by the writer because it is an invitation to the child to see whether they are brave enough and this is a powerful device which is likely to be of importance to the child. They can show off to their friends about how brave they were at Disneyland. The kingdom is also like a fairytale castle and magical place. The children can relate to this from their storybooks and other things they have experienced. The parents can relate to the images because especially on the main image there are more adults than children and this is comforting to them because they can see that parents can enjoy the Disney experience as well as children. The parents can also relate to the text as the children may not understand some of the more complex vocabulary and this is obviously aimed at the parents. The prices would appeal to the parents because they would probably be within a budget and would be interested in the value for money and choice of meals. The parents would also be more interested in the quaint shops and restaurants reflecting the charm of turn of the century America because the children will not be interested in the history they will only be interested in the excitement of the place. Where as the history is more of a theme which the adults will be interested in.

The Perspectives of Cross Border Merger and Acquisition Deals Coursework

The Perspectives of Cross Border Merger and Acquisition Deals - Coursework Example Without any doubt, the emergence of mass media has greatly affected / influenced the attitudes, perceptions, behaviours, beliefs and lifestyles of people all across the globe,   thereby compelling the people (who are also potential customers of companies and business enterprises) to consider themselves as a part of this global world or global village. Businesses today, therefore, focus more on expansion and entrance in new markets to make the most of available lucrative opportunities in different regions worldwide. However, it must not be forgotten that this recent globalization, universalization, westernization, commercialization or internationalization has not only affected the customers (and created opportunities for businesses to expand) but it has also resulted in a fast, highly unpredictable, unstructured, unclear, unexpected and uncertain business environment. Different business expansion, growth, and international market entry strategies include Joint ventures, Contract Manufacturing, Exporting, Licensing, Franchising, Turnkey project, Management contract, and Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions. This paper will throw light over Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions across the world. The paper will analyze the circumstances which may this (M&A) activity the most appropriate entry mode for a firm considering entry into a new international market. The points developed in this paper will be supported by the real world examples. Also, it will include an Analysis over the reasons why many cross border M&As are deemed to have failed or underperformed. The journal articles obtained from the internet will be used as an appropriate research method to garner qualitative and quantitative information that will then analyzed by the author.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) - Assignment Example The eWOM as a marketing strategy depends on how the organizations trigger the altruistic motives of the consumers so that they can be advocates of the company’s brand on an online platform through relaying of feedback. They could do this by developing catchy ad messages to relay via the internet to their customers hence offering an excellent base for interaction to generate a good eWOM in customers. The outfit concerning eWOM should bring forth returns to either the company or the individual who has invested time in knowing. Expert’s opinion is very strong in eWOM compared to any other opinion. Because they will use the eWOM platform to offer professional counsel and as such demand incentives, the economic returns are tenable. What the expert think about your product will determine the consumption rate. When experts pass negative opinions via eWOM in a faster way than positive opinions, consumers scare from the product. However, when it comes to incentives, they will work in a manner to suit the

Didions on Morality Essay Example for Free

Didions on Morality Essay What is it that forms and drives our â€Å"moral behaviors†? Are we born with a basic sense of morality or do we develop a set of moral â€Å"social codes† to keep society from falling into chaos and anarchy? In her essay â€Å"On Morality,† Joan Didion dissects what lies beneath the surface of humanity’s morality. By recounting several stories and historical events, she shows that morality at its basic â€Å"most primitive level† is nothing more than â€Å"our loyalties to the ones we love,† everything else is subjective. Didion’s first story points out our loyalty to family. She is in Death Valley writing an article about â€Å"morality,† â€Å"a word [she] distrust more every day. † She relates a story about a young man who was drunk, had a car accident, and died while driving to Death Valley. â€Å"His girl was found alive but bleeding internally, deep in shock,† Didion states. She talked to the nurse who had driven his girl 185 miles to the nearest doctor. The nurse’s husband had stayed with the body until the coroner could get there. The nurse said, â€Å"You just can’t leave a body on the highway, it’s immoral. † According to Didion this â€Å"was one instance in which [she] did not distrust the word, because [the nurse] meant something quite specific. † She argues we don’t desert a body for even a few minutes lest it be desecrated. Didion claims this is more than â€Å"only a sentimental consideration. † She claims that we promise each other to try and retrieve our casualties and not abandon our dead; it is more than a sentimental consideration. She stresses this point by saying that â€Å"if, in the simplest terms, our upbringing is good enough – we stay with the body, or have bad dreams. † Her point is that morality at its most â€Å"primary† level is a sense of â€Å"loyalty† to one another that we learned from our loved ones. She is saying that we stick with our loved ones no matter what, in sickness, in health, in bad times and good times; we don’t abandon our dead because we don’t want someone to abandon us. She is professing that morality is to do what we think is right; whatever is necessary to meet our â€Å"primary loyalties† to care for our loved ones, even if it means sacrificing ourselves. Didion emphatically states she is talking about a â€Å"wagon-train morality,† and â€Å"For better or for worse, we are what we learned as children. † She talks about her childhood and hearing â€Å"graphic litanies about the Donner-Reed party and the Jayhawkers. She maintains they â€Å"failed in their loyalties to each other,† and â€Å"deserted one another. † She says they â€Å"breached their primary loyalties,† or they would not have been in those situations. If we go against our â€Å"primary loyalties† we have failed, we regret it, and thus â€Å"have bad dreams. † Didion insist that â€Å"we have no way of knowing†¦what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong,’ what is ‘good and what is ‘evil’. † She sees politics, and public policy falsely assigned â€Å"aspects of morality. † She warns us not to delude ourselves into thinking that because we want or need something â€Å"that it is a moral imperative that we have it, then is when we join the fashionable madmen. † She is saying this will be our demise, and she may well be correct. Hitler’s idea that he had â€Å"a moral imperative† to â€Å"purify the Aryan race† serves as a poignant reminder of such a delusion. In 1939 Hitler’s Nazi army invaded Poland and started World War II. World War II came to an end in large part due to the United States dropping two atomic bombs. If the war had continued and escalated to the point of Hitler’s Nazis and the United States dropping more atomic bombs we could have destroyed most, if not all, of humanity, the ultimate act of â€Å"fashionable madmen. † We may believe our behaviors are just and righteous, but Didion’s essay makes us closely examine our motives and morals. She contends that madmen, murders, war criminals and religious icons throughout history have said â€Å"I followed my own conscience. † â€Å"I did what I thought was right. † â€Å"Maybe we have all said it and maybe we have been wrong. † She shows us that our â€Å"moral codes† are often subjective and fallacious, that we rationalize and justify our actions to suit our ulterior motives, and our only true morality is â€Å"our loyalty to those we love. † It is this â€Å"loyalty to those we love† that forms our families, then our cities, our states, our countries and ultimately our global community. Without these â€Å"moral codes,† social order would break down into chaos and anarchy.

Osmosis Investigation Essay -- GCSE Biology Osmosis Coursework

Osmosis Investigation How different concentrations of sucrose solution effect potato tissue. Aim How do different concentrations of sucrose solution effect potato tissue. Background Information Osmosis is the movement of water molecules though a partially permeable membrane from an area of high water potential to an area of low water potential. High Concentration Low Concentration The membrane lets small water molecules pass though but not large ones. The flow continues until the concentration becomes the same on the inside as on the outside. This is called equilibrium. Molarity is a measure of concentration. Prediction I predict that the potato will change in mass and in length. I believe this because each Molarity of sucrose will change the potato's water content. This will happen because either the concentration will higher in the sucrose and lower in the Tubas or lower in the sucrose and higher in the Tubers. Therefore water will travel in or out of the potatoes cell though its partial permeable membrane. Preliminary Method ÂÂ · I will firstly get 10 test tubes and to test tube racks ÂÂ · Then I will cut 9 pieces of potato ÂÂ · I will then get 3 different Concentrations of sucrose solution and add 20cm3 to each test tube ÂÂ · Cut a 4 mm in diameter tuba to 1 cm in length ÂÂ · Now I will measure the length and mass ÂÂ · Now place the pieces in ÂÂ · Now leave this for 15 minutes ÂÂ · Now I will measure the length and mass Preliminary Results After we did the Preliminary Test we decided to use 1 cm long 4 mm diameter tubas. We would put them in 25 cm3 sucrose solutions. I don't have any actual results because the potato tubas shrivelled up in the fridge. Method 1. I took two average sized ground potatoes and checked that they were both healthy and hard. 2. Using a standard kitchen knife I peeled the potatoes and used a potato tuba to cut 18 equally size tubas 3. Using a scalpel and ruler I cut the potato into lengths of 4mm by 10mm. I had to be very careful whilst cutting the potato as the scalpel is exceptionally sharp. I then had 18 tubas 4. Taking a test tube rack I placed 18 test tubes in it and then labelled them (0.00M, 0.25M, 0.50M, 1.00M, 1.50M, 2.00M) 5. Using a measuring cylinder I measured out 25cm3. I then poured this carefully into ea... ...the water potential inside the tissue. To measure the tubers I think I would use a digital measurer that goes to two decimal places for accuracy and it would go to the same accuracy level as the top pan balance. I would also increase the amount molar amounts I use, such as 0.25 and 0.75. one explanation for the bad results is when the potato chips were removed from the test tubes and dried I may well have dried some potatoes more thoroughly than others and so some would have more excess water, which would add to the mass. If the experiment was repeated I could find another way to dry the potatoes that would ensure that all were dried in the same way for the same time. I were to repeat the experiment I would have possibly found a machine to cut the potato as it would ensure that all potatoes would be the same weight and dimensions. As well as the potato I could have found a more accurate way to measure out the solutions and to determine the molar concentrations. Perhaps I could have used a burette. This would ensure that I have an accurate amount of fluid in each test tube. I could also weigh each tuber on a more accurate scale, e.g. not to 0.00g but to 0.0000g

All Children Can Learn and Most at High Levels

One of the founding principles of the Kentucky Education Reform Act is the statement that â€Å"All children can learn and most at high levels. † With many states having a significant achievement gap between diverse students, it is becoming more important to hold high expectations for all students. I believe that all children can learn and most at high levels. But my point is that not all the children can learn at high levels in the same field. As we know the student is the subject of education. Education aims to develope students' learning potential. But children from different environments have differences in their physiology, intelligence, ability, aptitude, interest, personality traits and emotional development. Therefore some children may gain a great success in music while some others may in math. If we can educate them according to their personalities and individual needs, most children can learn at high levels. American educator John Dewey (John Dewey ,1859-1952) has pointed out that there are plasticity and dependency in the process of one’s growth. This means that the development of a child has unlimited possibilities. The ancient Chinese educator, the Confucius put forward the idea that â€Å"No Child Left Behind† and † Teach students in accordance with their aptitude. † This can be regarded as the practice of the concept that â€Å"every child can learn and most at high levels†. Therefore, whether ancient or modern, Western or Eastern, educators all hold the same concept. We want children to be able to learn and success, the key is the teacher. A professional, high-quality and enthusiastic teacher will be a good fortune to the children. This is why personal development is a necessity to teachers. During these years of teaching I met a lot of challenges to confirm the special needs of children and develope their learning confidence. I always try my best to help each child and encourage them. To teach a student well needs the effort of all parties including parents, teachers and communities. As a home class teacher, I combine all the parties well to improve students' learning capacities and help them to form clear awareness of themselves. If the children in my class can tap all of their potentials, that will be a great success to me as a teacher. Nowadays, the competition is very fierce. Teachers have the obligation to educate their students to be more competitive in certain area in the society. We don’t have the right to give up any of the children. Today, we have to give up the child. Tomorrow, the child may give up the society. Society will pay a higher price.

Customer Loyalty in a Business To Business Context Essay

Customer loyalty is considered to be a powerful tool for most organizations in ensuring that they gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries ( Lam, Shankar, Erramilli, & Bvsan, 2004, p. 294). Customer loyalty is necessary for ensuring that organizations remain profitable while also achieving growth through reaching out to new market grounds. The importance of customer loyalty in the world of economics has developed gradually as an area of study especially business to business (B2B) environments. This is due to the need to study and identify factors that ensure customer loyalty is maintained and even increased, according to Haghkhah et al., (2013, p. 156). Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 156) further noted that increased competition for customers in the market signifies that business ought to react even faster and more specific to the demands and wants of clients in order to win their loyalty. For this reason, marketers in most organizations tend to focus on customer retention techniques and also to lay an emphasis on increasing their loyalty levels. In order to achieve this, B2B has offered vast opportunities to ensure that most organizations achieve their objectives of customer retention and loyalty. Thus, the latter shows the importance of understanding customer retention and loyalty as an important area of the research study. Customer loyalty is viewed as a behavior of repetitive buying and further developed moving forward with factors such as antecedents, consequences, and factors. This has led the researcher to gain an interest in conducting further research on customer retention and loyalty, therefore, this research paper will be on the various ways and techniques that organizations can implement in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context Customer loyalty According to Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 157) a high rate of loyalty in a B2B environment is a competitive advantage to the seller due to the client’s willingness to pay a higher price for goods and sensitive since they start becoming less price sensitive as a result of trust that has been gained. This means that the income generated is likely to increase and remain stable to move forward Customer loyalty is viewed as a strategy that aims at ensuring customers gain behaviour of repetitive purchasing from the same company. Customer loyalty in a B2B environment achieves a mutual reward that benefits both the customer and the organization. It is usually considered as ways of gaining competitive advantage by an organization over its competitors. Various companies have applied the strategy of maintaining customer loyalty since it is considered cheaper in regard trying to gain new customers in order to increase their revenue base. ÄÅ'ater.T & ÄÅ'ater.B (2010, p. 1322) view customer loyalty based on activities such as contract renewal, making recommendations to clients and increasing patronage in a business to business environments. They further note that these factors will likely influence the level of loyalty to clients of an organization. In other research, customer loyalty in a B2B environment is based on the experiences of the client, the future expectations that a client may have about the organization and the frequency at which a customer buys goods and services from the organization( haghkhah, Abdul Hamid, Ebrahimpour, Roghanian, & Gheysari, 2013, p. 158). Further, (ÄÅ'ater & ÄÅ'ater, 2010) notes that in order to influence the loyalty of clients in a B2B context, and then the organization has to understand the behaviour of the client and the attitude of the client. Literature review 2.1 Limitations and Gap in Literature The field of customer loyalty is one that has much information, but very little attention has been given to business-to-business scenarios. Most previous research has mainly focused on the customer’s point of view (Mascareigne, 2009). This could be because most view customer retentions as a behavioral factor. (Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003) In any economy, businesses have to transact to perform their daily operations. Some businesses, such as audit firms, exist to serve other businesses. Extensive research on this area could aid other businesses to learn the dynamics of customer loyalty amongst themselves. A major limitation that was also experienced in the research was the over generalization of the research based on a B2B context. Since different businesses have different operations and strategies, some aspects may works for a certain sector that may not necessarily work for another. For example, concepts that may be used to increase customer loyalty in the banking sector, may no t work in the manufacturing sector. According to Buttle (2008, p. 267) commitment is defined as the relationship that exist between the two firms and is likely to be terminated at a reasonable future date. In a B2B environment, the commitment shared by the two firms is usually on a mutual agreement. Doma (2013, p. 72) notes that commitment between two firms is usually bonded by trust among the two firms. The level of trust that is usually shared by the two or more firms that conduct business affects their commitment framework. The more a firm is committed to another increases the level of loyalty shared by the two firms. Moorman & Rust (1999, p. 183) in their research notes that commitment is usually the level of effort that is put by firms in ensuring a valuable relationship enjoyed by the two firms is maintained in the long term. The relationship usually has economic benefits for the two firms in their bid to ensure they remain profitable in their operations. For this reason, there exists a belief among organizations that the relationship has economic benefits; thus efforts are put in maintaining it. However, according to Hennig-Thurau (2004, p. 463) states that many scholars tend to argue that there is no major difference between loyalty and commitment. That school of thought has been dismissed by Morgan & Hunt (1999, p. 24) who argued there is a difference between loyalty and commitment. They, however, noted that the two are related, with a commitment being an antecedent of loyalty. This means that commitment is a factor in B2B environment that will increase the level of loyalty. This also meant that the existence of commitment had a strong positive impact on the level of commitment. Shabbir et al. (2007, p. 280) in their research demonstrated that commitment is an antecedent of loyalty. They argued that commitment in the B2B environment, it played a central role in ensuring that loyalty is always maintained and even increased to higher levels. Sharma, et al. (2006, p. 77) in their study note that commitment is the situation whereby there is a desire to make a relationship stronger with another person or even group due to familiarity or even friendship has that has been developed over time due to the personal interaction that has occurred between the two over a period of time(Eakuru & Mat, 2008, p. 125). Therefore, commitment should be as a result of identifying the values that are shared commonly between two organizations. It is crucial to note that the customer will retain a relationship with another party due to the positive effect they have with the supplier. At times, a client may be forced to continue staying in a relationship with another party due to lack of valuable options that may be available to them (Fullerton, 2005, p. 1388). However, most relationships are maintained with a commitment as a result of the benefits that both parties will benefit from (Brandi, 2001, p. 67). When commitment is the guiding principle of B2B environment, and one organization performs poorly in comparison to the incumbent organization, then due to the level of commitment shared the partners are unlikely to switch to other options (Stephan , 2002, p. 20). This makes a commitment an underlying factor that will help in influencing the level of loyalty in a B2B environment (Stephan , 2002, p. 33). Akin (2012) gives an example, in comparing the loyal between customers with low loyalty and customers with high loyalty and explains that customers with high loyalty will be not be swayed by discounted prices from other suppliers. Therfore, the higher the level of commitment that will be shared between organizations an increase in loyalty levels between the organizations will be experienced. If the level of commitment is increased through activities such as contract renewal and making of recommendations to the other organization, it will in turn increase the level of loyalty enjoyed by the two firms. Therefore, if organizations want to increase the rate of exit by their clients, then they have to build a relationship that will be founded on a commitment. Commitment will in turn increase the level of loyalty in a B2B environment. This will ensure that the future of the organization is maintained as it will continue making profit. In a study conducted by CITATION Gus05 l 1033 (Gustavsson & Lundgren, 2005) they give an example whereby airline companies use their frequent flyer programs as a means to enhance repeated purchase through provision of economic incentives to ensure that they increase and also maintain loyal among their clients. 2.2 Theories and Methodologies A common principle that has emerged from the total quality management (TQM) movement is that the decisive path, to retaining customers, is to satisfy their needs (Colby, 2013). The theory holds that if by identifying what customers expect and by meeting these requirements and expectations, these customers are less likely to opt for the services given by a competitor. Past research conducted by Colby (2013) has shown a positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. In other words, if a client is satisfied with the services offered by a business, the client is bound to be loyal to the business. Other studies have also identified a positive relationship between service quality and customer loyalty (Van Es, 2012). However, a certain level of satisfaction does not always guarantee the desired loyalty. In a certain survey, Colby suggested four indicators of customer loyalty and this include; demographics, past behavior, perception of gain or loss of switching to a different brand and attitudes towards openness to new brands. Studying these four indicators can give a better understanding of customer loyalty. For instance, if a business expects to save on costs by transacting with another business, then they are most likely to be loyal to that particular partnership. The attitudinal approach takes a view of purchase behavior and tends to explain in terms of values, beliefs and attitudes. Deterministic theory entails the logical relationship between variables and researchers in this field are responsible for identifying which variables affect customer loyalty. It appears to be acceptable to most cognitive researchers that attitude comes before behavior in a scenario that involves repurchasing a product and is very important because attitude comes before a choice. The behavioral approach holds that internal processes cannot be measured and, therefore, have no place in research (Bennet & Bove, 2002). Understanding customer loyalty in a B2B scenario is a long term relationship regardless of the importance of the transactions. Both methods may differ in views but can be both used to understand the concept. Although customer loyalty research has evolved over the years, most of this research uses a logical empiricist paradigm(Paavola, 2006). Information about customer loyalty has been derived mainly from cognitive psychology, with theories about attitude forming most of the work. Current theoretical framework could, therefore, bring a new perspective into the loyalty research. Paavola (2006) uses the social constructionism paradigm to examine the notion of customer loyalty critically. The study gives a detailed description of customer loyalty that is based on the social reality of customers. The results imply that different types of loyalty should be taken into considerations when making managerial implementations. Categorization can also be very beneficial when it comes to future loyalty research. Most theories, which are associated with loyalty studies, deal with issues such as loyalty programs, customer satisfaction, customer value, service quality and social bonds (Jacobsen, Olsson, & Sjovall, 2004). A model constructed by Jacobsen, Olsson and Sjovall (2004) shows that social bonds have the most significant effect on customer loyalty with companies in the banking sector. The study shows that the most important factors, in maintaining customer loyalty in the banking sector, were social bonds and personnel. This is because, banking services are very similar and to survive in such as market, strong competitive personnel are required to make the right connections. The same study revealed that monetary benefits are not a significant factor in that area of business. According to Kuusik (2007), the factors, trustworthiness, satisfaction, importance of relationship and image are important factors that play a role in the different levels of customer loyalty. Traditionally, most research has focussed on either the influence of individual factors on loyalty or the nature of different levels of loyalty. It is important to not only view loyalty through behavioural criteria, but also attitudinal criteria as well. Behavioural clients could be divided into; forced to be loyal, functionally loyal and loyal due to inertia (Kuusik, 2007). For instance, in a B2B context, when a certain company is a monopoly, getting supplies from them is the only logical answer, and this forces a company to be loyal by force. Businesses can be loyal by inertia due to the importance of a certain process. If the process is of low importance, then there is practically no need to get another partner. This can happen in situations where the transaction is routine such as trash- pickup. Functionality loyalty is gained from when organizations have to partner with other organizations because they have an objective reason to be. Research has shown that inertia is a situation opposite to loyalty CITATION Aki12 l 4105 (Akin, 2012). For example, a business may select another business since they require minimal effort to reach them. Dahlgren (2005) used multivariate data analysis techniques to build a link between dimensions of brand loyalty and to capture the different levels of customer loyalty. The result showed several differences in the loyalty dimensions. In a similar study, Kuusik (2007) uses a LOGIT regression model to determine the significant factors that affect customer loyalty. The model comprises of various factors that affect customer loyalty. The study reveals that image, satisfaction, importance of relationship and trustworthiness are the most significant factors in loyalty research. According to East et al. (2005) the definition of loyalty is useful if they can be used to predict phenomena such as search, retention, and recommendation. The authors establish that combination measures of customer loyalty often act as poor indicators of consumer loyalty as compared to other singular indicators such as recommendations. Apart from viewing these combinations to be of limited value, the research also establishes that there is no form of loyalty that always predicts different loyalty outcomes and a general concept of loyalty should be abandoned (East, Gendall, Hammond, & Lomax, 2005). For instance, instead of using indicators such as loyalty programs and money rewards, researchers should either look for retention of customers and any recommendation given by them. 2.3 Identifying relationships between ideas and practice to increase loyalty in a B2B context Various ideas have been drafted in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context. For example, from the above review, it is noted that identification of the company’s prospects and acting on them will help in increasing the loyalty. However a company can deliver on all the needs of their clients, but the delivery of their services will influence the level of loyalty moving forward. If when delivering all the needs of their client, and they produce a poor delivery service, then this will likely lead to a decrease in loyalty level. For example according to Akin (2012) factors that help increasing the loyalty of customers is high-level service quality delivered by firms that will lead to a high level of customer satisfaction. In another scenario, companies tend to try and find ways in which they can influence the frequency at which their clients access their websites for information. However, research indicates that half of the customers get information from their website. The lack of companies to invest and provide websites that are easy to access and provide the necessary information to their clients will lead to a decline in the level of loyalty. For this reason, there is a clear distinction between the ideas developed to increase loyalty and the practices a company will adopt. Conclusion From this literature review, it can be shown that various researches have tried to establish the existence of a positive relationship between loyalty and aspects such as service quality and customer satisfaction. Some studies have employed the use of correlation analysis to investigate this relationship. Correlation research allows a researcher to determine whether a relationship between variables exists, it allows one to define the extent of the relationship between the variables (Gall, Gall, & Bord, 2005). Qualitative and quantitative research methods both have their benefits and drawbacks. For instance, when the correlation between two variables has been established, it still does not tell the researcher what should be done, but rather what can be done. Qualitative methods, as used by Paavola (2006), can also bring out knowledge that is not familiar with other researchers. The results can also be influenced by the researcher’s personal biases. However, some of these studies tend to cover wide areas that may take long periods of research. The benefits of customer retention have been recognized by many researchers (Feihua, 2011). In the business to business scenario, certain aspects of retaining a customer bring out themselves than conducting business with the ordinary customers. For instance, paying attention to the ordinary, like attending meetings on time is not a necessary, but a crucial habit to consider. In a B2B relationship, the parties are more defined, and this is based on the assumption that both parties are seeking common benefits in the relationship (Oy, 2010). In a normal business to customer relationship, the dissolution of the relationship ends up in the consumer leaving the services of the provider. In the B2B setup, the end of the relationship is thought in terms of a process while in switching is thought as just as a change in the relationship. In customer loyalty research, perhaps it would be of vital importance to consider the industry in which the research is being conducted on. In industries wher e the businesses provide similar services, social bonds could be the prevalent factor that promotes consumer loyalty between businesses. In other industries, where the services offered are different, probably loyalty programs and monetary rewards could be the way to win customer loyalty. References Akin, E. (2012). Literature Review and Discussion on Customer Loyalty and Consciousness. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 158-170. Brandi, J. (2001). Building Customer Loyalty: The 21 Essential Elements †¦ in Action. Texas: The Walk The Talk Company. Buttle, F. (2008). Customer Relationship Management (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Doma, S. A. (2013). Relationship Quality as Predictor of B2B Customer Loyalty. SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS, 111(1), 72-78. Gustavsson, S., & Lundgren, E. (2005). Customer Loyalty. Lulea University of Technology. Haghkhah, A., Abdul Hamid, A. B., Ebrahimpour, A., Roghanian, P., & Gheysari, H. (2013). Commitment and Customer Loyalty in Business-To-Business Context. European Journal of Business and Management, 15(19), 156-164. Lam, S. Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, M. K., & B. M. (2004). Customer Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Switching Costs: An Illustration From a Business-to-Business Service Context. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(293), 294-311. Bennet, R., & Bove, L. (2002). Identifying the Key Issues for Measuring Loyalty. QUT Digital Repository, 1-29. ÄÅ'ater, T., & ÄÅ'ater, B. (2010). Product and relationship quality influence on customer commitment and loyalty in B2B manufacturing relationships. Industrial marketing management, 39(8), 1321-1333.Colby, C. (2013, December 9). A New Paradigm for Understanding Customer Retention. Retrieved from Rockbridge: http://rockresearch.com/a-new-paradigm-for-understanding-customer-retention/ Eakuru, N., & Mat, N. (2008). The application of structural equation modeling (SEM) in determining the antecedents of customer loyalty in banks in South Thailand. The Business Review, Cambridge, 10(2), 129-139. East, R., Gendall, P., Hammond, K., & Lomax, W. (2005). Consumer Loyalty: Singular, Additive or Interactive? Australian arketing Joural, 10-17.Feihua, Q. (2011). Customer Retention in E-commerce business. Haaha-Helia University press, 1-56. Fullerton, G. (2005). How commitment both enables and undermines marketing relationships. European Journal of marketing, 39(11), 1372-1388.Gall, J., Gall, M., & Bord, W. (2005). Applying educational research: A practical guide (1st ed.). Boston: Pearzon. Hennig-Thurau, T. (2004). Customer orientation of service employees: Its impact on customer satisfaction, commitment, and retention. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(5), 460-478. Jacobsen, D., Olsson, M., & Sjovall, A. (2004). The Creation of Customer Loyalty. Kristianstad University, 1-71. Kuusik, A. (2007). AFFECTING CUSTOMER LOYALTY: DO DIFFERENT FACTORS HAVE VARIOUS INFLUENCES IN DIFFERENT LOYALTY LEVELS? Tartu University Press, 1-29. Mascareigne, J. (2009). Customer Retention. Lulea University Press, 1-88. Moorman, C., & Rust, R. T. (1999). The role of marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 180-197, 63.Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1999). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. The Journal of marketing, 20-38.Oy, O. (2010). IMPROVING CUSTOMER LOYALTY THROUGH A REGULAR CUSTOMER PROGRAM. TAMPEREEN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU University Publications, 1-45. Paalova, H. (2006). Categories of Loyalty. Toward Meaning-based Theory of Customer Loyalty. European Advances in Consumer Research, 420-428. Ranaweera, C., & Prabhu, J. (2003). The influence of satisfaction, trust and switching barriers on customer retention in a continuous purchasing setting. international journal of service industry management, 374-395. Shabbir, H., Palihawadana, D., & Thwaites, D. (2007). Determining the antecedents and consequences of donor †perceived relationship quality—A dimensional qualitative research approach. Psychology & Marketing, 24(3), 271-293. Sharma, N., Young, L., & Wilkinson, I. (2006). The commitment mix: Dimensions of commitment in international trading relationships in India. Journal of International Marketing, 64-91. Stephan, B. (2002). Customer Loyalty Programs and Clubs (2nd ed.). London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Van Es, R. (2012). The Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty, and its Influence on Business Model Design. Universiteit Twente, 1-85. Source document

Anthony Ng Architects Limited Essays

Anthony Ng Architects Limited Essays Anthony Ng Architects Limited Essay Anthony Ng Architects Limited Essay ANTHONY NG ARCHITECTS LIMITED: building towards a paperless future 2011 BSM920 Topics in Advanced Strategy Group D 8/6/2011 1. Introduction Since the 1970s, the architectural industry in Hong Kong enjoyed a brilliant growth as a result of real estate and stock market speculation. In 1996, the industry was very profit-oriented and time conscious, and heavy bureaucracy was one of the main characteristics of the market. The role of the government and others institutions such as the HKIA (Hong Kong Institute of Architects) are essential in the Hong Kong architectural industry. Anthony Ng is an architect from Hong Kong who started his own architectural practice in 1991 in Wan Chai. Thanks to his visionary and entrepreneurial leadership qualities, he succeeded in making Anthony Ng a practice able to deliver buildings on time while providing top designs. The firm has been selected for big projects such as the Verbana Heights and most recently the HK$ 12 billion new airport development project in Tung Chung. These big projects created new needs for the company in order to improve its performance. First the number of employees needed to be increased, but with that the management of information and communication also needed to be improved. Indeed, the number of persons involved in the project and so the number of documents needed to be forwarded, distributed and stored was consequent. A technological improvement of the communication system became a necessity; in 1997 Anthony Ng recognised the future potential of using a paperless system which would then improve the circulation of information and knowledge in the company. 2. Towards a paperless architectural practice Internal pressures Inhouse Transaction costs economics Physical storage of documents in the office of Anthony Ng was an important cost for the company. First of all, it was costing time as the tracking of the documents could take a certain amount of time depending on when they had been stored. Secondly, the storage space used for documents was big enough to fit 20 employees, and according on how the number of employees was growing throughout the years, the need for space will soon be a priority. Third, the documents filing required personal filing charges as well. Finally, the communication costs were not insignificant around 40 mails were getting in the office every day, documents needed to be photocopied too, and the communication between Anthony’s Ng employees and with clients were costing time and money. There were for Anthony Ng undeniable in-house transaction costs which needed to be reduced. The paperless strategy imagined by Anthony Ng implied a new document management system, which would then enable the firm to reduce the costs of personal filing. The room used by the central filing storage would disappear and allow the company to increase the number of employees. In the architectural industry and for Anthony Ng, the competitive advantage lie in the creativity and originality of the designs, but the main critical success factor is time. The market is very time conscious as mentioned before. A new document management system would enable Anthony Ng to save time on communication thanks to the use of emails, on documents tracking thanks to the web-browser. By improving their efficiency on the time delivery of project, the practice would avoid minor delays, granting Anthony Ng a competitive advantage, because in 1997 the technology was not widespread yet. External pressures Institutional Based View One of the external pressures was coming from the government which plays a huge role in the architectural industry of Hong Kong. The HKIA also plays a huge role as it is responsible for the governance of the professional conduct of architects by making them adhere to Code of Professional Conduct. These institutional pressures come with rules and norms (certification ISO 9000), so the organisations seek for legitimacy and survival by accommodating to institutional practices (Greenwood et al. 2008). In Anthony Ng case, the bases of the institutionalisation are both a coercive regulation and a cognitive internalization (Scott, 1995). The HKIA is an association which is using rewards and penalties to coerce architects into compliance with the standards they came up with = COERCIVE REGULATION On the other side the government is a national institution which encourage compliance as it is taken for granted as the way things are done (Oliver 1991, Shenkar 2002) = cognitive internalization To respond to these institutional pressures, Anthony Ng decides to use co-option strategies to cope with government pressures. Learning to deal with the Building department was an important aspect of the architectural industry, as it would help avoiding important delays and loss of contracts. Another aspect of the co-option strategies use by Anthony Ng was to adopt corporate social responsibility which is considered as a new institutional logic (Lee, 2008). In addition to standards building and attractive designs, Anthony Ng decided to work on eco friendly projects, which enabled the firm to won the highest honour from the HKIA. 3. Chaos The implementation of a paperless system was a change that would take place in a complex environment. When starting to use this new system Anthony Ng did not know the real outcome of this change, because there could have been many different effects that were largely unknown in advance. When the staff started using the paperless system, the organization could not assure that the change would increase the productivity of the company. Even though the costs of the company would reduce and the information was supposed to flow easily, what if the staff did not adapt to the new technologies or if the clients preferred face to face communication rather than emails? What if there was a problem with the system and the documents could not be sent? Anthony Ng adapted to the new change. This meant that also the agents (staff and clients) had to change their behavoiur and hence the behavior of the company changed as a whole. 4. Evolution The paperless system was an evolution for Anthony Ng. On one hand the nature of the change was incremental. They were already performing computer aided design and sharing peripherals. Moreover the use of internet and browser technology was becoming more usual. So at this point Anthony Ng decided to start planning a Intranet based document viewer and management system. On the other hand the extent of the change was a transformation, as the new system was going to change the way the company used to work, their communication system, their culture. This evolutionary change was necessary. Among the internal and external pressures mentioned before, we can find some pushing factors that motivated the change. One of these factors are the high inventory costs. With the implementation of the new system the physical storage of the documents was not longer be necessary, and this space could now be used for fitting more employees that would be necessary for working in future projects. Not only this personnel for taking care of the management of the physical document would not be necessary. Another factor is that with the new system the documents were going to be stored in an appropriate way. There would not be physical storage of the documents, instead the documents were going to be scanned, distributed and stored in the system and the hardcopy would be given a unique ID that cross-referenced the softcopy in the system. This way the retrieval and tracking of the documents would be much more systematic and efficient than the traditional paper-based filing. The need to share information internally was other of the pushing factors. Accessing Tung Chung, where Anthony Lg’s next project was taking place, was only possible by boat. Communicating with the staff working there and discussing necessary issues with them would be very time consuming. Therefore the intranet that was going to be implemented would enhance communication and make it more efficient. 5. Impact The implementation of the paperless system will have impact in many aspects of the organization. First of all there will be an impact in the communication patterns. From being paper based to online reliance. The possible good impact of this change is the enhancement of information’s delivery both internally externally and speeding up processes. A very probable bad impact would be avoiding face to face communication. There would also be a change in culture, in the way architecture was done. Now with all the electronic systems there was a fear that this could affect the way of working in a negative way, as there might be a lack of attention to details. There could also be a bad impact of resistance for the organization. As they might percieve this new systems as insecure, because they do not know it or maybe just because they preferred the traditional system. What is necessary to be done is to help adaptation with a good change manager, that maintains effective communication and involves employees in the change process. A good communication strategy, training programmes, and reward systems can help employees to adapt easier to the change and to be optimist and committed to it. Finally it should be necessary to improve security and follow the evolution process. 6. Conclusion Anthony Ng used an IT strategy in alignment with its business strategy. Indeed IT is very important in the knowledge based strategy of Anthony Ng. By using Henderson and Venkatraman’s strategic alignment model maps we can determine the relationship between the firm’s strategy and IT. Anthony Ng used technology transformation with the implementation of the new document management system to manage knowledge and communication inside the company. The change management became crucial to implement this new IT strategy because of the new organisational structure, new routines and new control structure that lead to a new paradigm thanks to the sharing of knowledge. References

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buy custom Technology in the Elementary Classroom essay More and more children are becoming tech-savvy because of the immense technological expansion and improvement in the recent year. As a result, teaching has become more challenging because teachers find it difficult to reach out for children in classrooms without involving some degree of technology in their lesson plans. Experts hold that when children use technology as a support or tool for learning or communicating with others, they assume an active role rather than the traditional role or recipients of information from textbooks, teachers and broadcast. By embracing technology in Florida elementary classrooms, children would be provided with a rare opportunity of actively making important choices on how to obtain, generate, manipulate and display information on their own. Technology use will also enable them to define their own goals, make important decisions, and evaluate their progress while at a tender age. Additionally, embracing technology in Florida elementary school will help in redefining the teachers role as well. With technology, teachers will no longer be considered as the dispenser of information, but instead, assume the role of a facilitator, who sets project goals and provide resources and guidelines that will support various students activities. As the children workon their technology-supported activities, the teacher will be moving around the classroom, looking over shoulders and posing questions regarding various design choices to the delight of the children. There are various ways that a teacher can use technology in an elementary classroom. For example, a teacher can introduce the students to different web activities; take them to a virtual field trip, ask the students to make presentations and games (Cohen, 2009). It goes without saying that the introduction of technology in Florida elementary classrooms will come with immense benefits to both the teacher and the children. It is believed that the introduction of technology in elementary schools enhances technical skills. Students, even at this tender age can attain impressive levels of skills with a variety of computer software (Fisher, Dwyer, Yokam, 2006). Despite the fact that the specific software tools in use might change before these children enter the job market, being exposed to technology early provides them with a solid foundation of understanding how different classes of computer tools operate and behave. In turn, this builds confidence because they will be able to use new tools that will support their future learning of new software and hardware applications. Apart from enhanccing the pupils technical skills, the introduction of technology in elementary schools gives pupils an opportunity to accomplish more complex tasks at a tender age. Research indicates that students who have been exposed to technology while in elementary schools can handle more complex tasks and assignments. Moreover, such students can handle higher-order skills as a result of the capabilities and supports that are provided by technology (Bers, 2007). Another impact of technology on elementary school children cited by many teachers is an increased inclination by the young student to provide peer tutoring as well as work cooperatively. It can be noted that when a student is assigned to individual computer, there is an increased frequency of this child to help others with their work. This is because any student who has mastered a certain computer skill derives fulfillment, enjoyment and pride from helping others In conclusion, teachers should be very careful with the content that students get exposed to. There are some contents that children are not allowed to see or use because of their negative effect on small children. Such content include, but not limited to violence and pornography. It is argued that such content can affect the psychological and moral development of a child. Buy custom Technology in the Elementary Classroom essay

TQM Week 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TQM Week 6 - Essay Example There is a common approach to issues and improvements when flow chart is used with a team. 3. is 100% inspection good? Why or why not? 100% inspection may be good in ensuring that all the products shipped are in good condition and that goods whose conditions are not satisfactory remain behind I the factories. 100% inspection is very costly and time consuming. Alternatives to 100% inspection is the acceptance sampling plan 4. Elimination of inspection on a process that is functioning in a state of statistical control is possible because both ensure and reduce the level of damages that may occur along the process. Inspection verifies conformity and the status of a product while statistical control method monitors and controls a process using statistical method. By the end of the day, both are designed to ensure quality. 5. Yes, it is possible to substitute statistical process control for inspection and still get the same quality delivered to customers. Statistical process control ensures quality in the process while inspection only allows the best products to be taken to customers. This is enough evidence that both the techniques ensure quality end product delivered to

Parliament Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Parliament - Essay Example The UK parliament is constituted by members who belong to various political parties but mainly in three divisions namely the government, opposition and the cross benchers who are also referred to as independent members, who are not affiliated to any major political party (Grant, 2009). The government is formed by the political party which manages to acquire the highest number of seats after an election while the position of official opposition is taken by the party with the second highest number of seats in parliament (Ware, 2000). The government is entrusted with the responsibility of formulating strategies and effecting economic plans as well as accounting for the country’s wealth. The opposition on the other hand has the role of criticizing the government in all decisions which it makes, concerning governance that may be deemed to be unethical or insufficient, through constructive contributions so as to ensure that only the best comes from the agreed decisions. In addition, the opposition has the powers to oppose government proposals which they are not contented with and which may not be for the best of the country’s development. This form of parliament has its advantages and disadvantages. This is due to the fact that its performance depends on the relationship existing between the government and the opposition. For example, the political parties may lack the ability to agree on crucial bills due to political differences which may arise from future political aspirations of members, who may gang against the government to try and sabotage the government by opposing proposals which may put the government at an advantage over them in the public eye thereby winning their political good will, which may be a disadvantage to the opposition (Kenneth, 1997). This may slow the passing of important bills and amendments, which may be at the expense of