International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Business - Essay Example When we talk about a country Comparative advantage, they are the Superior features of a country which provide it with unique benefits in global competition derived weather from national endowments or deliberate national policies. It is concept that helps answers the question all nations can gain and sustain national economic superiority. Competitive Advantage of a country’s firm is distinctive assets or competencies of a company derived from its size, assets, innovation strengths which are difficult for its competitors to duplicate or imitate. In other words the concepts tells us how a firm can gain and sustain distinctive competence vis a vis competitors. (Theories of International Trade and Investment, 2008) Single Market - European Union The European Union is a group of Western European nations working to unite the economic resources into a single economy. It is a group of 27 member states which have been united to create a political and economic community throughout Europe . The European Union imports and exports more than any one country in the world. The community’s chief trade partner is the United States. The community have special trade agreements with many other countries (European community). The main purpose behind European Union is to provide better economy to the poorer countries in Europe. It also means that trade between these countries is cheaper. Apart from this the European Union aims to promote economic and social progress and a high level of employment opportunities, thus maintaining sustainable development and a better standard of living and Gross Domestic Product of the economy. Through the establishment of economic and monetary union, they create an area without internal frontiers, which includes a single currency and it makes trade much easier. One of the reasons behind the formation of European Union was to provide a common defence phenomenon. In this way all the members will be secure in terms of defence. Through the intr oduction of the citizenship of Union, the rights and interests of the nationals are strengthened and protected (Folketinget). Internally the European Union has abolished trade barriers, experiencing a common currency and is constantly striving towards the convergence of improved living standards. In the words of Central Intelligence Agency : â€Å"The European Union faces a lot of difficulty in devising and enforcing common policies because of the differences in the per capita income among member states. Between 2004 and 2007, 12 countries were added to the European Union which are generally less advanced than the remaining 15 countries. Being a large Union, it has a couple of transnational issues.†The European Union itself has no border disputes with the neighbouring countries. But technically Estonia has no land agreements with Russia; on the other hand Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia. Similarly Spain has territorial and maritime issues with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar (Central Intelligence Agency). A single market is a trading bloc. It comprises of a free trading are and has common policies. There is freedom of movement where assets like land, labour, capital and enterprise are concerned. The main objective is that these factors of production are mobile. All the trade barriers, whether it be in the form of

Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay Friendship is significant as despite being rare in the America that the novel describes, friendship is able to exist between George and Lennie, despite under the crushing forced authority exerted by Curley who attempts to intimidate them and mock them. The forced authority also demonstrates that the trust in American society has been broken, similarly to how the depression resulted in people not willing to help other people out. This lack of trust is built upon. Another view which the reader is given is that in general society, there is a tendency for people to be lonely due to the lack of trust. Evidence of this is given by the appearance of Curley’s wife, who is simply referred to as Curley’s wife, without a name; there is a split in the equality of genders and she is expected to do simple jobs at home rather than working on a farm. Another side shown to the reader of Curley’s wife is her loneliness; the theme of loneliness as a contrast to friendship is repeatedly shown, such as when Candy describes her someone who ‘got the eye’, and that he ‘seen her give Slim the eye’ and ‘give Carlson the eye’. The fact that she is seen to be deliberately staying around George and Lennie, as if to catch their attention suggests the desperation that arose from loneliness, and how far people are willing to go in order to become happy: â€Å"Oh! †¦ You the new fellas†¦? Nobody can’t blame a person for lookin’† The theme of loneliness directly contrasts with the theme of friendship in the text, and in this way the importance of friendship is made significant as the friendship between George and Lennie proves to help them escape from the cycle of loneliness and desperation many other people faced at the time, one example being George’s protective nature when he demands that Lennie doesn’t take ‘a look at that bitch’, care which Lennie would not receive if it were not for friendship and care that other people did not receive. Further evidence of the breakdown in the society of America is given when Slim describes the situation as ‘maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other’, and that it was a rarity for ‘guys (to) travel around together’, showing the lack of friendship. Slim eventually gives further evidence for this, saying that it is ‘funny how you an’ him string along together’, when the people ‘never seem to give a damn about nobody’, and especially when Lennie’s mental capacity is limited yet George insists on travelling with him: â€Å"It jus’ seems kinda funny a cuckoo like him and a smart little guy like you travelin’ together†, once again emphasising the significance of George and Lennie’s unique friendship. The unfriendliness in society can be seen building up into physical violence, represented by the fight between Curley and Lennie. Curley, who attempts to intimidate Lennie and eventually results in physically attacking him: â€Å"Curley†¦slashed at Lennie†¦blood welled from his nose†¦George†¦make ‘um leave me alone, George† Another contrast between friendship and lack of friendship is made; Lennie is seen to rely on George in order to help him while Curley is left alone to defend for himself, and this is significant as it proves how their friendship will eventually help them in their struggles. George and Lennie share a unique friendship in which they make up for each other’s flaws. George is presented as the cleverer of the two, while Lennie is presented as the stronger of the two. Despite the hostile society of depression era America, the friendship between the two characters is significant as it is a rarity for two people to be able to continue a friendship in a harsh time period where people were left to fend for themselves, and often had no family to accompany them. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

Key Factors Affecting Customer Retention Marketing Essay

Key Factors Affecting Customer Retention Marketing Essay The objectives of this thesis are to examine the influence of the interaction between overall satisfaction with service quality, product quality, pricing, and switching barriers on customer retention at Apollo Education and Training Organization. The study started with an assumption which all above elements have direct impacts on customer retention and crucial to retain students in foreign owned education firms. It can be seen from the results that there is a positive relationship between product quality, service quality, price, customer satisfaction and switching barriers with customer retention. The sample size of this quantitative research included 104 current adult students at Apollo Hanoi. Building on the quantitative aspects questionnaire was designed to examine the customer retention, service quality, product quality, price, customer satisfaction and switching barriers and to generalize the finding to the large population. There are also limitations as well as future research implications at the end of this research study. Furthermore, the descriptive analysis is used to analyze the extent to which the factors affect customer retention. Customer retention is an important element of a foreign owned education firm in todays increasingly competitive environment. Management must identify and improve upon factors that can limit customer defection. These include switching barriers and customer satisfaction with service quality, product quality, pricing. Clearly, there are compelling arguments for management to carefully consider the factors that might increase customer retention rates. A lot of studies have emphasized the significance of customer retention in the industry like banking or hospitalism such as Dawkins and Reichheld, 1990; Marple and Zimmerman, 1999; Page et al., 1996; Fisher, 2001. However, there has been little effort to investigate factors that might lead to customer retention in education firm. Most of the studies have focused on the impact of individual constructs, without attempting to link them in a model to further explore or explain retention. If retention criteria are not well managed, customers might still leave their suppliers, no matter how hard bankers try to retain them. Keywords: Customer retention, Service Quality, Product Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Switching Barrier. Chapter 1: Overview of the research Background of Research Despite of the existing difficulties of the economy, in 2011 and 2012, education remains one of the few positive growth areas. According to experts; it is due to the stable development of education. Peoples learning needs are increasing; their level of investment in learning is increasing too. This investment is not interrupted by fear, worried about funding; on the contrary, students can save many other expenses to spend on their studies or their children. In the field of education, it can be said that in 2012 a lot of new English language centers are opened. The main reason is that English is more and more important, becoming obligatory recruitment requirements of many enterprises. According to the survey, using English proficiently helps graduate students quickly get a job and receive two times higher wages compared to non-English speaking candidate. Therefore, parents will not hesitate to invest in their children English learning at the prestigious center from an early age. More blue and white collared workers will enroll with the purpose of increasing salary, income. Apollo Vietnam, which was founded in 1994, is the first fully foreign owned English language training company in Vietnam and an affiliate of  International House   a well established and trusted name in English teaching. With the slogan Where the best become better, Apollo continues to strive to maintain the high standard English teaching organization in Vietnam. Apollo has made and continues to make a lot of contributions to Vietnamese society such as scholarships for students, fun learn English and teachers training for local schools and several well-known and well-loved television shows, for example, The Golden Bell, The Road to Olympia and Connect Youths. Apollo has seven moder centers based in Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Hai Phong and offers a variety of educational programs and services, such as Public courses ( including English for Young Learners, Teens, Adults, IELTS TOEFL iBT), Corporate English, School Partnership Program and Overseas Study Services. Apollos has a lot of achievements in education and training, recognized by the Vietnamese Government and the United Kingdom: First foreign organization that has received two campaign medals for the Cause of Education from the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training In  2008, Apollos Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Khalid Muhmood, was also awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II for providing international-standard English training in Vietnam. Apollo is collaborating with leading endorsers, such as Cambridge University, DOET,Nokia, Fahasa, Nestle, Prudential and many more. Apollo is also the English content provider for popular game shows in Vietnam like Peak to Olympia, Golden Bell, Hot VTeen, and Doremi. Apollo has different courses designed for public students at Apollo at different ages, especially for adult. Please have look at Appendix 6 for more details. Problem Statement and Research Questions In recent years, a lot of English language centers with huge capital and investment are opened putting Apollo in the fiercer competition with strong existing competitors like British Council, Language Link, ILA, ACET, RMIT,Clever Learn, Oxford English UK,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ as well as new entrants such as Alphabest, AMA,etc. As a result, fewer new customers are being pursued by an increasing number of service providers. Under those circumstances, a large share of a firms resources must be devoted to the present customer base in order to make them satisfied and retain them. One significance of customer retention is its close relationship to the companys continued survival, and to strong future growth. Hence, for a company, to maintain a stable profit level when competition is fierce, a defensive strategy which strives to retain existing customers is more important than an aggressive one, which expands the size of the overall market by inducing potential customers (Fornell, 1992). Apollo currently has a good student retention rate of young learner segment, about 80%, whereas for adult segment in recent years, its only around 50% (Figure 2). As it can be seen from Figure 1, Apollo had from 640 to 700 adult student turns from 2009 until present and one forth of companys public revenue comes from those adult students which means that each month a lot of revenue shouldnt have lost if more careful measurements and priorities are drawn to adult segment. As a service company, no one likes the fact that 50% of adult students leave after enrolling one course at Apollo. Therefore, Apollo should try to find out the reasons why they leave and solutions to retain more current adult students. Figure 1: Apollos Average Number of Adult Students from 2009 to 2012 (source: internal document) Figure 2: Apollo Adult Studentss Retention Rate from 2009 to 2012 (source: internal document) There is a large number of literature about customer loyalty, customer satisfaction but not many studies are concentrated on the specific topic of customer retention. Moreover, there are many different characters in the context of English training service by foreign company compared to the regular service. Part of my job relates to retaining existing adult students at Apollo. Gaining better understanding of how to retain adult students at Apollo will not only help me to work more efficiently but also make small contribution to companys development. The research questions that are discussed in this thesis are as below: What are the main determinants and influencers of customer retention at Apollo Hanoi? How can these factors and determinants be developed and evaluated at Apollo Hanoi? Hence, the primary purpose of this study is to investigate the strategies at Apollo Hanoi to increase customer retention. After reading the related literature, as discussed above, it was found out that it would be more appropriate to answer these questions by designing a model to determine customer retention. Thesis Objectives This study explores the impacts that improvements in switching barriers and overall customer satisfaction by improving product or English course quality, service quality, price could have on customer retention at Apollo Hanoi, as it is a key indicator of customer retention, which in turn affects profit. On one hand, this thesis would be an opening to the further researches according to the related area, and on the other hand, this study may have some limitations. There are other factors influencing customer retention, apart from factors suggested in this thesis such as, the demographic characteristics of customers, their life cycles, and their usage pattern of English courses, that would be studied in future researches. The general objective of the research was to examine the extent to which key indicators affecting customer retention are having an impact on Apollo Hanoi and identify steps that Apollo Hanoi should take, if proven necessary. The research is more specifically aimed to: Find out the reasons why left students ended the relationship with Apollo Discover what factors are most important to encourage students study the next level at Apollo according to customers perspectives Indicate the level of satisfaction of adult students with such factors at Apollo Hanoi Find out whether switching barriers has strong effect on students decision to stay Present recommendations to Apollo Hanoi on how to enhance its customer retention Thesis scope and limitations Scope This research was limited to Apollo Hanoi due to the limited reach of the researcher who will be conducting his research and equaled desire for control over the research process apart from these limitations. Limitations Time The researcher faced time constraints in the process of collecting data. As a result, many aspects of the research had to be accommodative of other activities going on at Apollo Hanoi, which included a survey the company had issued forcing the issuing of the questionnaire for this research to be delayed to avoid over questioning of adult students. Finance The researcher was constrained financially. This primarily attributed to the fact that the research was primarily self-sponsored. As a result, certain value adding aspects of the research could not be administered effectively. Data Collection Apollo management was not in a position to disclose all the information requested due to lack of availability of the information as requested and the inability of the company to disclose all documents as they are. The researcher also experienced problems with adult students, as many were reluctant to fill in the survey and answer the questions in interviews. Thesis Structure My thesis will be divided into six chapters Introduction Literature Review Methodology Empirical Findings Recommendations and conclusions In the introduction chapter, the background information such as brief information of foreign education in general and English training in particular in Vietnam, objectives of my research, hypotheses will be presented. In literature review chapter, the related theories will be introduced. Methodology chapter will explain the research techniques and methods. Empirical Findings, data analysis, recommendations and conclusions will show the actual and gathered data and results of this research. Conceptual framework Product Quality Overall Customer Satisfaction Price Customer retention Service Quality Switching barriers CHAPTER 2: Literature Review Customer retention Customer retention plays a very important role in organizations economic portfolio. It is the act of keeping customers resulting from service quality and customer satisfaction (Ross 1995). Companies should be interested in retaining customers, though, for the following reasons (Reichheld 1996): Getting new customers can cost five times more than the cost involved in satisfying and retaining current customers. It needs a lot of effort to induce satisfied customers to switch from their current suppliers to others. The average company loses ten percent of its customers per year. A five percent decrease in the customer defection rate can increase profits by 25 percent to 85 percent, depending on the industry. The customer profit rate tends to increase over the life of the retained customer. According to Werner and Kunar 2000, retention may lead to increased profit over time if there is a forced ongoing relationship or an inertia driven relationship; if costs of maintenance decrease over time at a faster rate than revenues. It is further argued that focus on customer loyalty can provide general commercial advantages due to the following reasons: Customers cost less to retain than to acquire. A loyal customer will commit more to its chosen supplier. About half the new customers come from referrals from existing customers/ clients The concept of customer retention comes from the concept of customer orientation or customer focused marketing, which calls for organizing the company towards the satisfaction of the customer needs. Ideally this requires that the offering should focus on the customer and his needs and/or expectations. Weinstein Johnson (1999) recommended that at least 75% of an organizations marketing budget should be spent on customer retention strategies and strengthening these relationships. Besides this realization, there is a general lack of focus on customers; profitability is still king (Ross 1995). Most firms focus a significant amount of resources to attract and acquire new customers, instead of keeping the existing ones. It is generally thought that once a customer is acquired, keeping the customer is simple through superior products and services (Payne 2006, 2). Ross (1995) continued to claim that a focus on cash flow and short-term profits is not something wrong, but long-term profit and market share both require a base of satisfied customers which are retained by a focus on satisfaction with product quality, service quality, pricing and creating high switching barriers. We notice that customer retention is a concept that requires management to focus on customers by analyzing the indicators that reflect their satisfaction with services. Key factors affecting customer retention Retention depends on how it is measured and presented, but even more on the expectations and targets set for the activity. Therefore, the need for having a model which determines the customer retention influencers so as to evaluate them is essential for such a firm to be successful in the competitive markets . As mentioned before, a model will be developed based on the previous researches for evaluating different factors which influence customer retention and this model will be applied for Apollo Hanoi. Earlier studies of factors affecting customer retention usually concentrate on customer satisfaction and the switching barriers (e.g., Dick Basu, 1994; Gerpott, Rams, Schindler, 2001; Lee Cunningham, 2001). It is studied that customers experiencing a high level of satisfaction are likely to remain with their existing providers and maintain their relationship with the firm. However, according to some research, customer satisfaction, while positively influencing customer retention, is not always a sufficient condition, and, in some cases, fails to produce the expected effects. Hence, these researchers suggest that it is necessary to analyze other potentially influential factors. It is in this context that the concept of the switching barrier was proposed (Jones, Mothersbaugh, Betty, 2002) . Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the switching barrier plays the role of an adjustment variable in the interrelationship between customer satisfaction and customer retention. In other words, when the level of customer satisfaction is identical, the level of customer retention can change depending on the magnitude of the switching barrier. Hence, many studies have been done on the subject of customer retention and loyalty. They developed models so as to determine different factors influencing customer loyalty and retention. The main model that was developed in these studies is a result of an empirical causal model is as below. It will also be used in this research: Customer Retention Overall Customer Satisfaction Switching Barriers Figure 1: Determinants of customer retention, model by Kim, et. al., 2003 Each factor contains some variables like switching barriers which include switching cost, interpersonal relationship, attractiveness of alternatives, service recovery The education firms must maximize customer satisfaction and the switching barrier in order to enhance customer retention. In particular, they must focus on service quality, product quality, pricing policy and offer customer-oriented services to improve customer satisfaction. At the same time, efforts to raise the switching barrier must be built for a long-term relationship. Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction roots from a comparison between customers expectations and experiences. It means positive reaction to a service experience. If the customers perceived experience matches the expectations, customers are assumed to be satisfied. If the preceding expectations were higher than the gain of the service, the customers are considered to be disappointed and or dissatisfied. (Ylikoski 2000, 109). Stock (2005, 59) argued that customer satisfaction is an important driver of organizational performance and a key component of competitive strategies and sustainable advantage .Therefore, in market driven economy, measuring customer satisfaction is very important and customer satisfaction is essensial to the firms survival, growth and success (Guo et al., 2004, 141). According to the marketing concept, customer needs are essentially satisfied by integrated marketing, with the intention to satisfy customers while earning profit; the basic idea is that satisfied customers will be more likely to repurchase, leading to increased sales and market share for the company (Innis and La Londe, 1994, 2). Hence, to achieve long-term business success, it is vital to keep customers happy (Stank et al., 1997, 2). Customer satisfaction has been considered as the main element for customer retention in a lot of researches, and has consequently moved to the forefront of relational marketing approaches (Rust and Zahorik 1993). According to Anderson and Sullivan (1993), the more satisfied customers are, the higer is their retention. On the other hand, there are studies and publications where the relationship between satisfaction and retention has been noted not to be so straightforward (Hennig-Thurau and Klee 1997). In some industries, customer satisfaction scores tend to correlate with retention whereas in other industries, there is little or no correlation (Lowenstein 1995, 11-12). Kotler (2003, 73) stated that firms should measure satisfaction frequently, because customer satisfaction is the key to customer retetion. The highly satisfied customer stays loyal longer, buys more from the firm, talks favorably, pays less attention to competing brands, is less sensitive to price, offers ideas to the company, and costs less to serve than new customers, because transactions are routine. Customers will defect if they are very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, or even indifferent. Hence, firms have to frequently survey their customers level of satisfaction and target to create very satisfied customers, because they are most likely to stay loyal to the firm. According to Bolton (1998), the level of satisfaction explains a significant portion of explained difference in the duration of service provider -customer relationship, comparable to the effect of price. Besides, Bolton stated that it was a common misconception that organizations which focus on satisfaction are failing to manage customer retention. Furthermore, managers and researchers might have underestimated the importance between customer satisfaction and retention due to the complexity of the relationship between these factors. In a research by Ranaweera and Prabhu (2003), it was argued that while satisfaction may be an important driver for retention, it only does not ensure service loyalty; trust, switching barriers, and emotional response such as inertia and indifference might also affect retention. In their research, Ranaweera and Prabhu adopted a holistic approach to examine the combined effects of satisfaction, trust, and switching barriers in a continuous purchasing setting. The findings denoted that customer satisfaction and trust have strong and positive effects on customer retention, although the effects of trust on retention are weaker than that of satisfaction. The results also proved that switching barriers have a significant effect on customer retention. According to the research, it is proved that satisfaction is the main driver of customer retention buy if trust is absent, satisfaction will have less impact on retention. The correlation between satisfaction and customer retention is not usually as simple and straightforward as stated before. Reichheld et al. (2000) argued that a concept called the satisfaction trap is represented: while it may seem nonrational that increasing customer satisfaction will push retention and therefore profits, the facts are opposite as 60 percent and 80 percent of customers who defect say they were satisfied or very satisfied with their former supplier. According to Storbacka et al. (1994), customer satisfaction is only one dimension in increasing relationship strength; strong relationships can be dependent or perceived of contextual bonds that function as exit barriers. It is vital to understand that contextual barriers can generate latent dissatisfaction which emerges as the importance of the contextual bonds reduces. The article ends arguing that the relationships are remarkably different between different individual consumers. Some may be very committed to the relati onship and for them the perceived satisfaction with the relationship is very important. Others may find the relationship unimportant, and for those customers, the satisfaction component is so much significant. Extensive evidence suggests the positive influence of customer satisfaction on loyalty (Bolton, 1998; Fornell et al., 1996; Musa, 2004). In fact, many researchers pointed out that in order to improve business performance; firms should measure and manage customer satisfaction and its importance has led marketing scholars to recommend firms to improve their customers satisfaction judgments as satisfaction is a key to customer loyalty and retention (Fornell et al.). Customer satisfaction with a companys products or services is often viewed as the key to a companys success and long-term competitiveness. Product quality A prominent reason why customers do not retain with company is that their products are not fulfilling its functions properly. When products fail to perform their functions completely and properly, then products are useless for customers, when customers are not satisfied with products and do not use it, they will reduce its retention and relationship with company (Buzzell and Gale 1987). Product quality plays a vital role in customer retention and has positive relationship with customer retention. Customers compare the perceived performance of a product or service with some performance standard. Customers are satisfied when the perceived performance is greater than the standard, while dissatisfaction occurs when there is lack of standard for performance falls. Product quality is the strategic benefits of quality in contributing to market share and return on investment (Anderson and Zeithaml 1984). Searching for quality is credibly the most important consumer trend of the 1980s (Rabin 1983) as customers are now demanding higher quality in products than ever before (Leonard and Sasser 1982). A company could use a number of strategies to retain its customers. Of great importance, product quality for customer retention to such strategies is the wider concepts of customer service, customer retention, and relationship marketing. Companies can build loyalty and retention through using of number of techniques, including database marketing, customized products in limited editions, redeemable against a variety of goods or service, issuing loyalty cards, preferential discounts, free gifts, special promotions, newsletters, of magazines, members clubs, or it has been argued that customer retention is linked to employee loyalty, since employees are the ones that build up long-term relationship with customers. Service quality Service quality is a critical issue in the service industry (Stafford, Stafford and Wells, 1998) and of particular importance for English training providers who characteristically offer English courses which are homogeneous in nature. Moreover, service quality is both directly and indirectly related to loyalty through satisfaction (Bloemer, De Ruyter and Peters, 1998). Therefore, those companies which deliver quality of services better than their competitors would surely have greater possibilities of success. In order to understand the level of service quality of an education firm, a measurement should be established. However, quantifying service quality is not simple and too subjective. Nowadays, education firms provide the same types of English courses, but they do not provide the same quality of services. Besides, customers today are more aware of alternatives and their expectations of service have increased. Service quality can, hence, be used as a strategic tool to build a distinctive advantage over competitors. Although quality cannot be improved unless it is measured, it can be defined from several perspectives duh as the ability to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers (Bergman and Klefsjo (1990), or the overall features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy given needs. A reason for customers to switch is that companies fail to provide the better and effective customer service to them. These services include pre-sale service and post- sale service (Lewis Mitchell, 1990). If customers are not satisfied with customer service of the company, it will force them to change the supplier. Service quality is very important for the retention of the customers and have positive relationship as if firms provide service according to the customer requirement than it will also retain the customer as well as lowering manufacturing costs and improving productivity. Service quality is consumers judgment about the overall excellence or superiority of products (Zeithaml 1988). The design and implementation of service delivery processes plays a very important role in the overall competitiveness of modern organizations. Roth and Jackson (1995) provided clear evidence that process capability and execution are major drivers of performance due to their impacts on customer s atisfaction and service quality in education firm. Bearden and Teel (1983) found a positive relationship existing between service quality and customer satisfaction. The positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction creates true customers, increase efficiency, market shares, and profits, heavy sales volume, higher revenue, and reduces cost by economies of scales, and retain customer.(Anderson and Sullivan 1993) Satisfied customer do not often switch their service providers and therefore, the cost of retaining existing customers is significantly lower than attracting new ones. These customers my also spread their satisfaction by positive word of mouth which influences non-existent customers desire to engage with the organization and work as free promotional agents (Gronroos 2007, Zeithmal and Bitner, 2000) The positive effects by practising service quality models are a competitive differentiation that favors the enterprise, chances of potential growth, better employee morale, customer loyalty and retention, customer satisfaction, economic growth and profits, employee motivation and vision, favorable advertising, greater productivity and minimization of loss for the customers. The evidence that customer loyalty makes an organization more profitable makes it imperative that complaints and other unfavorable behavioral intentions should be handled effectively and timely to ensure the stability of these relationships. It is important for organizations to also acknowledge that customers may also switch because of the attraction of competitors that are providing better service, more personable service or higher quality. In this case, customers are not switching because of unsatisfactory service. Managers of service firms should know that some customers would still switch services even when they are satisfied with a former provider (Keaveney, 1995). Price Price is another factor for customers to be retained or not to retain with companies. Due to competition, companies are playing with prices of products and services. Clients always required products on most cheap price. Previous researches show that there is positive relationship between price and customer retention and the stability would increase the potential for customer retention. Company should lower customers price sensitivity, reduce the costs of failed marketing and of new customer creation, reduce operating costs due to customer number increases, improve the effectiveness of advertising, and enhance business reputation (Fornell, 1992). Customers often switch mainly due to some pricing issues, for example high price perceived, unfair or deceptive pricing practices (Peng and Wang, 2006). Therefore, so as to increase customer satisfaction, it is essential for service firms to actively manage their customers price perceptions, for example carrying out attractive pricing, offering reasonable prices mix, lower prices without decreasing quality, etc. Price might be one of the most important determinants of customer decisions (Srivastava and Lurie, 2001). Managers could make use of price matching to stimulate repeat purchase behavior (reducing price defection), because price matching may indicate a commitment to protect customers , the objective of it is to keep customers happy so that they would come back and buy again. (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990) suggest that repeated existing customers focus less on price savings than new customers do. Understanding long-term price matching effects on customers is important so as to determine whether price matching has a lasting impact on customer behavior that is evaluating the effectiveness of these policies in stimulating customer retention, in addition to customer acquisition (Kukar-Kinney, 2006). Ol

The Abortion Debate :: Ethics Abortion Abortions Essays

One subject in society that is greatly debated is abortion. The debates are basically divided into 'Pro-Life' and 'Pro-Choice'. Pro-life supporters want abortion to be illegal and not performed anywhere. Pro-choice supporters want the choice to be up to the woman and no one else. There is no ethical way to decide between the two subjects and it's all based on what the person's moral values.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abortion is the termination of an unwanted pregnancy by loss of or destruction of an egg, embryo or fetus before birth. The term of abortion is used to define the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus attains capacity for life outside the uterus. In all societies, women have for many reasons, sought to terminate pregnancies. When a woman tries to self-induce an abortion it can cause serious physical risk to a woman. Today, abortions in the early weeks of a pregnancy, by a trained practitioner and under proper conditions, can be safe medical procedure. (Americana, 1) In no society, either in the present or the past has there been a single dominant attitude toward abortions. The Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle discussed abortion as a useful means of population control. Also under Roman law, abortion primarily reflected family rule by the husband, who on the one hand could order an abortion and on the other hand could punish or divorce his wife if she ended a pregnancy without his consent. (Ameicana, 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Roman Catholic Church they consider abortion as murder only after the point at which the rational soul became instilled, usually said to be 40 days after conception. In 1930, Pope Pins XI declared even if the life of the mother is threatened by giving birth, abortion is unjustified. The only exception to the abortion prohibition that the church has considered to be morally acceptable has been the destruction of the fetus as an indirect consequence of other surgery that is deemed necessary. In the former Soviet Union abortion was legalized in 1917 after the revolution, then it was restricted in the 1930s due to population concerns, then it was legalized again in the mid 1950s. A strong and worldwide feminist movement during the 1960s heightened the pressure to legalize abortion. In the U.S. this trend culminated in a 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that made abortion legal during the early months on pregnancy. (Americana, 3)

The Predicaments of Post-Colonialism

No Longer At Ease Extract In fact, some weeks ago when the trial first began, Mr. | | Green, his boss, who was one of the Crown witnesses, had also said| | something about a young man of great promise. And Obi had| | remained completely unmoved. Mercifully he had recently lost his| | mother, and Clara had gone out of his life. The two events| 5| events following closely on each other had dulled his sensibility and left| | him a different man, able to look words like ‘education and| | ‘promise squarely in the face.But now when the supreme moment| | came he was betrayed by treacherous tears. | | Mr. Green had been playing tennis since five o’clock. It was most| 10| unusual. As a rule his work took up so much of his time that he| | rarely played. His normal exercise was a short walk in the| | evenings. But today he had played with a friend who worked for| | the British council. After the game they retried to the club bar| | Mr. Green had a light yellow sweater over hi s white shirt, and a| 15| white towel hung from his neck. There were many other| |Europeans in the bar, some half-sitting on the high stools and| | some standing in groups of twos and threes drinking cold beer,| | orange squash or gin-and-tonic. | | ‘I cannot understand why he did it’, said the British council| 20| man thoughtfully. He was drawing lines of water with his finger on| | the back of his mist-covered glass of ice-cold beer. | | ‘I can,’ said Mr. Green simply. ‘What I can’t understand is| | is why people like you refuse to face facts. ’ Mr. Green was famous for| | speaking his mind. He wiped his red face with the white towel on| 25| his neck. The African is corrupt through and through. ’ The| | British council man looked about his furtively, more from| | instinct than necessity, for although the club was now open to| | them technically, few Africans went to it. On this particular| | occasion there were none, except of c ourse the stewards who served| 30| unobtrusively. It was quite possible to go in, drink, sign a cheque,| | talk to friends and leave again without noticing these stewards in| | their white uniforms. If everything went right you did not see| | them. | | ‘They are all corrupt,’ repeated Mr. Green. ‘I’m all for| 35| equality and all that.I for once would hate to live in South Africa. | | But equality won’t alter facts. ’| | ‘What facts? ’ asked the British Council man, who was| | relatively new to the country. There was a lull in the general con-| | versation as many people were now listening to Mr. Green without appearing to do so. | 40| The predicaments of post-colonialism. An analytical study of Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease No Longer At Ease is an African, post-colonial novel published in 1960. It is the story of an Ibo man, Obi, who is privileged enough to leave his village for a British education and a job in the civ il service.However, Obi struggles to find bearing in the chasm between a dying colonialism and stillborn independence. With the country on the threshold of independence, the novel speaks strongly of themes such as education, tradition, progression and corruption. The chosen extract is found in the opening chapter of the novel, and details the trial in which Obi is charged for corruption. It is henceforth the intent of this essay to examine how the aforementioned themes are established through the symbolism of key characters, character foils and the frame story technique adopted.This topic was selected as the novel is set in the time period in which it was written, thus it is poignant to examine the perils of cultural assimilation and modernization within the novel as a microcosm of the struggles faced by postcolonial societies. The extract hence provides a good platform to discuss multiple areas and themes of the novel relevant to the question at hand. The interplay of the opening s cene and framed- story within the extract facilitates an understanding of prominent, underlying themes – corruption, and the duality of education.Deviating from the trial, the novel launches into frames- past events that culminate into Obi’s eventual demise, all of which are flashbacks designed to answer the pertinent question, ‘why he did it? ’ (line20) The frame within the extract begins with an exchange between Mr. Green and a British Council man that crystallizes the many prejudices harbored by colonials against the Africans; Mr. Green offers an insensitive and discriminatory explanation to Obi’s actions – ‘The African is corrupt through and through. ’(line26) This in itself is heavily ironic; while Mr.Green accuses Obi and his people of being ‘all corrupt’(line35), he, a colonial master, fails to realize that it is his Western education and socio-economic policies that have paradoxically landed educated Nigerian s such as Obi in their predicament. The onslaught of Western culture has essentially roped Africans deeper and deeper into moral calamity. Another example of irony is when Mr. Green declared ‘[he’s] all for equality’(line35) despite reproaching Africans for being corrupt and therefore inferior. Achebe is hence able to subtly discredit the Western system of education using Mr.Green’s hypocrisy as a representation. Henceforth, the role of the opening scene and first frame is twofold; Firstly, they work in tandem to instill the over-arching setting – an inherently corrupt African society. This provides the occasion for the main narrative- Obi being charged for accepting a bribe, and, the issue addressed by the rest of the novel- how colonialism was a detriment Nigeria as a developing nation. Beginning with the end also allows readers to anticipate Obi’s arrest depicted in the novel’s closing scene.This imbues the novel with a circularity that prompts readers to draw connections and understand the intimate relationship between the events detailed in the novel’s frames, and why Obi succumbed to corruption. Secondly, they put forth the duality of education. Here, Mr. Green’s hypocrisy (detailed in frame) and Obi’s trial (detailed in opening scene) encapsulate the superficiality of Western education- while it opened doors and opportunities, the social and moral predicament that ensued did little to emancipate Obi; rather, it entrenched him in greater problems, that of a struggle between two extreme cultures.Secondly, the characterization of Mr. Green as an archetypal colonial figure, and a symbol of patriarchic colonialism contribute to the portrayal of the theme of tradition and progression. Achebe personifies Mr. Green as a racist individual, aghast at the incompetence of Africans whom were, in his opinion, inextricably ‘corrupt through and through’(line26). It is even mentioned that Mr. Green patronized the club to escape the very presence of the locals(line34). Having understood the dynamics of Mr.Green’s character, the juxtaposition of Mr. Green and the UPU in the novel’s opening chapter, a symbol of traditionalist culture, hence highlights the two cultural spaces between which Obi is trapped. Having undergone a Western education meant that Obi was effectively void of a concrete identity, unable to assimilate completely or relate to either his cultural roots or a more contemporary, Western culture. Hence the conflict within Obi is introduced and presented to readers via this subtle juxtaposition of Mr.Green and the UPU that foreshadows the conflict between traditional and modernist values, the source of Obi’s downfall. Henceforth, Achebe has used symbolism through characters – Mr. Green and the UPU, to illustrate the long-drawn conflict between traditionalist and modernist cultures that was prominent during the post-colonial era. A nother literary technique Achebe has exploited to accentuate the cultural predicament Obi was ensnared in is that of a character foil. The theme of realism versus idealism is enforced here.Within the novel, Christopher serves as Obi’s foil; He always offers an opposing view to Obi’s. Among the many debates Christopher and Obi engaged in, the most significant is thus the discussion targeting the morality of bribery. Here, Christopher symbolizes reality- the liberal yet corrupt values of European society while Obi represents idealistic, traditional African culture. The juxtaposition of Christopher and Obi henceforth magnifies the theme of realism versus idealism; it encapsulates Obi’s struggle to come to terms with an alien European culture that would debase his African values.Henceforth, although Christopher advocates that Obi accept Elsie Mark’s offer, Obi holds fast, at this juncture, that the educated should ‘not take advantage of [their] position . ’ There is hence a distinct conflict between the irrefutable reality of a corrupt African society evidenced by Christopher’s stance, and the morality of idealistic Nigerian values, portrayed by Obi’s short-lived resistance to corruption; this thus acts as a microcosm of the transition that Obi is soon to undergo.The influence of his colonial masters will cause him to lay down his idealistic traditional beliefs and instead hoist the flag of Western culture, marking his moral degeneration and corruptibility. This signifies the point in time where Obi’s idealism is displaced by reality- corruption. By embodying the flaws of the Western education system, and exemplifying the appalling work ethic of educated Nigerians scorned by Mr. Green, Christopher therefore foreshadows Obi’s regression, allowing readers to unlock valuable insight into the corrupt nature of the educated.Henceforth, the character foil in the novel is pivotal in allowing readers to e mpathize with Obi’s susceptibility to the influence of colonialism. In conclusion, Achebe has successfully utilized the frame-story technique, symbolism and character foils to engender a conflict of tradition and progression within Obi. This has come to define the very essence of the African experience: colonization and decolonization, and the novel has successfully portrayed the tragic reality of how Obi was unable to anchor his character in the past, or in a utopian future. Word Count: 1,097

The Season For Divorce Essays - Marriage, Anthropology, Wedding

The Season For Divorce Essays - Marriage, Anthropology, Wedding The Season For Divorce The wedding date is set, the values are made, and the rings are picked out, for celebration that will bring two people together for life. It is a step that two people make and could bring years of happiness or years of sadness. Till death do you part are the last words that are said before the big kiss. The ring of her new name brings a smile to her face. In the story The Season of Divorce, this couple seems to be happy , but in reality, the wife is upset that she has the same routine every day, although another man comes into the picture, her wedding ring and her marital vowl keep her marriage together thought good times and bad. The story suggest the power of commetment is stronger than momentary confusion about marrage.

Victims of mass hysteria essays

Victims of mass hysteria essays Hysteria is defined as behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess. These feelings shared by the masses causes much chaos and many people to get hurt. Throughout the years, starting in 1692 with the Salem Witch Trials through to the 20th century with the Robert Roberson Case, there have been many instances of this mass hysteria all containing similarities and differences between them. The similarity between all these cases is that no matter where the accusations took place throughout the country, all people persecuted by mass hysteria, were done so because they were different in some way. During the Salem Witch Trails people were persecuted because the other towns people believed they did not follow their god. Between 1942 and 1946 more than 120,000 Japanese natives living in the United States were placed in internment camps because a country they no longer lived in had attacked Pearl Harbor. During the McCarthy Hearings in 1954 people were blamed for not being American enough because they had different beliefs about the society they lived in. In the Robert Roberson Case a pastor and his wife were persecuted because they were accused of sexual abuse without being tried for it. All of these accused people caused change to the normalcy of the general public and because of it they were scrutinized and treated poorly. The victims of mass hysteria all had their reputations completely ruined, and every society they lived in never saw these people as they had before any accusations had ever been made. The differences in the cases are not as broad as the similarities. Although these people were persecuted because they were different they were all persecuted because of different specific reasons. In the Salem Which Trials, twenty villagers were hanged and killed because they would not lie and say they did dealings with the devil. No other group was largely and publicly punished for thei...

Lalchimiste essays

L'alchimiste essays Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, has a dream about finding a treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. A gypsy woman and an old man claiming to be a mysterious king advise him to pursue it. "To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation," the old man tells him. "And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." With the courage of an adventurer, Santiago sells his sheep and travels to Tangiers in Africa. After a thief steals his money, Santiago takes a job with a crystal merchant who unwittingly teaches Santiago important lessons for his long journey ahead. After working at the crystal shop for a year, Santiago earns enough money to cover his losses and return home. But then something unexpected happens. On a desert caravan, Santiago meets an intriguing Englishman. The Englishman's passion for knowledge and his relentless quest to uncover the secrets of alchemy inspire Santiago to pursue his own dream of finding the treasure. As the Englishman searches for the two hundred year old alchemist who resides in the desert oasis, Santiago falls in love with a young woman, Fatima. Exposed to the greatest and eternal alchemy of allloveSantiago thinks he has found the treasure. But the greatest test of all is yet to come. With the help of the alchemist, Santiago completes the last leg of his journey dangerous and infused with discoveries of the most profound kindto find that the treasure he was looking for was waiting for him in the place where he least expected. This story, timeless and entertaining, exotic yet simple, breaks down the journey we all take to find the most meaningful treasures in our lives into steps that are at once natural and magical. It is about the faith, power, and courage we all have within us to pursue the intricate path of a Personal Legend, a path charted by the mysterious magnet of destiny but obscured by distractions. Santiago shows how along ...

Impact & Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impact & Strategy - Essay Example The nature of industrial markets, like the power tool one, consisting as they do of a small number of large customers or potential customers, makes industrial market surveys much simpler and less expensive than similar surveys of potential markets for nationally distributed consumer staples. Because judgment plays such an important role in forecasting, there is an obvious advantage in checking one's own estimate against the estimates of other forecasters (Makridakis, 1998). Another industry is a home repairs and improvement industry. In this sphere, it is difficult to forecast customer demand in sufficient detail and with sufficient accuracy for the purposes of planning more than a few months in advance. A special attention should be given to new building materials and repair-improvement processes which create a demand for new products and innovative solutions (Schwolsky, 2004). Raw materials and suppliers relations also affect the power tool industry and influence product cost and price level. Changes in steel industry and chemical industry affect price level and can influence production facilities of the power tool industry. ... The main factors in statistics and forecasting are internal and external factors. They include field of research (narrow or broad), the seasonal fluctuations of demand and sales, direct and indirect competition, population changes and consumer earning. Internal changes are product changes (innovations), production capability of competitors, raw materials price changes, credit policy changes and labor relations (Brockwell, Davis 2003). Statistics for the power tool industry show that rank shifts based on net income involved about one-half of the possible uncertainty, and that shifts based on operating revenue are somewhat more uncertain than those based on assets. Where industry statistics are available, many corporations keep records of the pertinent industry statistics and of their own sales in each such industry. The industry history can be projected to obtain a forecast of total industry sales. One advantage inherent in the use of industry statistics is that many different forecasters are attempting to forecast the same aggregate figure. Other companies interested in the same industry are making forecasts of the same aggregate; these forecasts will be compared and a consensus will usually be reached. The major use of industry statistics, however, is to compare currently released industry sales with the corporation's own sales for the same period in order to determine (Makridakis, 1998). Total sales of an industry can be forecast by using a known correlation or relationship of such sales with National Disposable Income and the forecast of Disposable Income. On the industry side the national statistics published by the Department of Commerce provide a wealth of information for forecasting in the field of consumer

Comparing between google and yahoo companies Essay

Comparing between google and yahoo companies - Essay Example Furniture and fixtures 861,000 2,000 Leasehold improvements 290,000 3,000 2,671,000 244,000 Less: accumulated depreciation (448,000) (58,000) $2,223,000 $186,000 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities: Accrued vacation, wages, and other employee benefits $894,000 $110,000 Accrued professional service expenses 706,000 48,000 Accrued content costs 554,000 - Other 2,213,000 362,000 $4,367,000 $520,000 Analysis and Results Table 2:Yahoo! Inc: Financial Statement Financial data in U.S. Dollars Values in Millions (Except for per share items) 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Period End Date 12/31/2007 12/31/2006 12/31/2005 12/31/2004 12/31/2003 Period Length 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months Stmt Source 10-K 10-K 10-K 10-K 10-K Stmt Source Date 02/27/2008 02/27/2008 02/27/2008 02/23/2007 03/03/2006 Stmt Update Type Updated Reclassified Reclassified Reclassified Reclassified Revenue 6,969.27 6,425.68 5,257.67 3,574.52 1,625.1 Total Revenue 6,969.27 6,425.68 5,257.67 3,574.52 1,625.1 Cost of Revenue, Total 2,838.76 2,675.72 2,096.2 1,342.34 370.09 Gross Profit 4,130.52 3,749.96 3,161.47 2,232.18 1,255.01 Selling/General/Administrative Expenses, Total 2,243.79 1,851.06 1,375.02 1,072.92 709.67 Research & Development 1,084.24 833.15 569.53 368.76 207.29 Depreciation/Amortization 107.08 124.79 109.2 101.92 42.39 Interest Expense (Income), Net Operating 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Unusual Expense (Income) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Other Operating Expenses, Total 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Operating Income 695.41 940.97 1,107.73 688.58 295.67 Interest Income (Expense), Net Non-Operating 131.27 139.78 1,092.45 475.96 45.98 Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets 14.24 15.16 337.97 0.0 0.0 Other,... Google generates income by delivering relevant, cost-effective online marketing. Businesses employ Google AdWords program to support their products and services by means of targeted advertising. On top, the thousands of third-party web sites that encompass Google Network use Google AdSense plan to deliver related ads that produce revenue and improve the user experience. (Lawrence, Joehnk, Krueger, 2008) Yahoo Company develops and upholds a branded Internet navigational service specifically along with the most widely used directs for information and finding on the World Wide Web. The corporation was integrated in California on March 5, 1995 and inaugurated operations on that date. The financial tables of google and yahoo are being given in this report. (Lawrence, Joehnk, Krueger, 2008) Yahoo's main purpose is to connect people to their enthusiasms, communities, and the world's knowledge and Google's main purpose is to organize the world's information and construct it across the world accessible and useful. (Bamber, Braun, Harrison, 2008)

Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example he strengths component of the SWOT analysis it is the case that internal environment of Chick-Fil-a has a number of factors that could be considered beneficial. Firstly it is the case that the company is often perceived as having healthier options over other fast food companies, furthermore the company has a long history of innovation as they were one of the first innovators in the chicken sandwich format. There is often a sense of family oriented atmosphere in a typical Chick-Fil-A insofar as they present a fun image (By using cows in their advertising). In this regard if the company were to move forward with an internet cafà © aspect of their business it may be beneficial because they have been innovators in the past and the internet format may help add to the ‘Fun atmosphere they tend to present. In terms of the internal weaknesses of the company, as anybody who has eaten at the restaurant can identify, the menu options are restricted to chicken and when the company engages in a price war with a traditional hamburger company one could argue that the additional cost of adding internet could negatively affect the price point of their product offerings. In terms of external opportunities, the company leads the way with healthy fast food options, with a high degree of customer loyalty. This in turn can help the company if they choose to implement an internet cafà © function to their business model as it may help gain and retain new customers with a faster paced (Healthy lifestyle). Lastly the external threats to the company are that a number of other fast food chains offer similar menu items and already have the internet cafà © function. Furthermore by being closed on Sundays there is the potential that this could turn away customers who would desire a more entertaining internet experience in their free time. In terms of competition in the fast food sector and internet sector it is the case that according to openwifispots.com (2010) several other companies

Flexible Budgets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Flexible Budgets - Essay Example This paper will outline the difference between the two methods of budgeting. Flexible budget records and outlines different information than static budget since it records the daily activities of budgeting and accommodates the accountings entries and activities that are new to the budget system. Unlike static budget which is prepared before the beginning of accounting period, flexible budget is prepared daily and continues till the end of the period (Mowen, 2012). Static budget ensures comparison and variance analysis is done due to presence of actual budget and estimated budget while the flexible budget does not involve comparison of budgets as there is only one budget. A flexible budget is not always better as it does not involve many activities like variance analysis to evaluate the performance of the company. Static budget is usually preferred where a business estimates the budget and wants to compare the difference between the estimated budget and actual budget (Mowen,

The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World - Essay Example When they laid him on the floor they said he'd been taller than all other men because there was barely enough room for him in the house, but they thought that maybe the ability to keep on growing after death was part of the nature of certain drowned men. He had the smell of the sea about him and only his shape gave one to suppose that it was the corpse of a human being, because the skin was covered with a crust of mud and scales. They did not even have to clean off his face to know that the dead man was a stranger. The village was made up of only twenty-odd wooden houses that had stone courtyards with no flowers and which were spread about on the end of a desertlike cape. There was so little land that mothers always went about with the fear that the wind would carry off their children and the few dead that the years had caused among them had to be thrown off the cliffs. But the sea was calm and bountiful and all the men fitted into seven boats. So when they found the drowned man they simply had to look at one another to see that they were all there. That night they did not go out to work at sea. ... ed that the vegetation on him came from faraway oceans and deep water and that his clothes were in tatters, as if he had sailed through labyrinths of coral. They noticed too that he bore his death with pride, for he did not have the lonely look of other drowned men who came out of the sea or that haggard, needy look of men who drowned in rivers. But only when they finished cleaning him off did they become aware of the kind of man he was and it left them breathless. Not only was he the tallest, strongest, most virile, and best built man they had ever seen, but even though they were looking at him there was no room for him in their imagination. They could not find a bed in the village large enough to lay him on nor was there a table solid enough to use for his wake. The tallest men's holiday pants would not fit him, nor the fattest ones' Sunday shirts, nor the shoes of the one with the biggest feet. Fascinated by his huge size and his beauty, the women then decided to make him some pants from a large piece of sail and a shirt from some bridal linen so that he could continue through his death with dignity. As they sewed, sitting in a circle and gazing at the corpse between stitches, it seemed to them that the wind had never been so steady nor the sea so restless as on that night and they supposed that the change had something to do with the dead man. They thought that if that magnificent man had lived in the village, his house would have had the widest doors, the highest ceiling, and the strongest floor, his bedstead would have been made from a midship frame held together by iron bolts, and his wife would have been the happi est woman. They thought that he would have had so much authority that he could have drawn fish out of the sea simply by calling their names and that

Personal statement of character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal statement of character - Essay Example hat the maker of drugs should have the traits that are required to understand the philosophy behind the administration of drugs and their role in healing. When I first considered being a pharmacist, I did not base my decision on my mere aptitude at math and chemistry; it was also my personal qualities that motivated me to pursue a profession which is a crucial cog in the healing process. One of the most important qualities that can be of great assistance to me in my career as a pharmacist is my compassion for others. During my nursing profession, I often found myself empathizing sincerely with the patients and understanding their pain and suffering. My experience as a nurse has made me sensitive to the suffering of the people and the pain that they have to bear due to disturbances in their normal physiological functions. Bearing this in mind, my focus when preparing drugs would be solely to mitigate the pain and affliction of these people. I am a compassionate by nature and my poised and calm personality can be a great asset during my professional practice as a pharmacist. My experience as a nurse has equipped me with the skill of appeasing patients- an attribute that I feel is necessary for satisfying frightened and stressed customers. I am also good at sports and have remained an active sportsperson in tennis and basketball in my school and college years. Being a team member and working with the rest of the team members have equipped me with a very valuable trait- team work. The profession of pharmacy requires that the pharmacist interacts with a number of professionals from the health care field. These include doctors, drug retailers, lab technicians etc. Working in teams for the success of the team and assisting team members to improve their performance has not only made me more helpful but has also made me more goal-driven. My ambition has enabled me to deliver excellent results when working on my own. Table tennis is a sport that requires players to develop

Flexible Budgets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Flexible Budgets - Essay Example This paper will outline the difference between the two methods of budgeting. Flexible budget records and outlines different information than static budget since it records the daily activities of budgeting and accommodates the accountings entries and activities that are new to the budget system. Unlike static budget which is prepared before the beginning of accounting period, flexible budget is prepared daily and continues till the end of the period (Mowen, 2012). Static budget ensures comparison and variance analysis is done due to presence of actual budget and estimated budget while the flexible budget does not involve comparison of budgets as there is only one budget. A flexible budget is not always better as it does not involve many activities like variance analysis to evaluate the performance of the company. Static budget is usually preferred where a business estimates the budget and wants to compare the difference between the estimated budget and actual budget (Mowen,

Personal statement of character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal statement of character - Essay Example hat the maker of drugs should have the traits that are required to understand the philosophy behind the administration of drugs and their role in healing. When I first considered being a pharmacist, I did not base my decision on my mere aptitude at math and chemistry; it was also my personal qualities that motivated me to pursue a profession which is a crucial cog in the healing process. One of the most important qualities that can be of great assistance to me in my career as a pharmacist is my compassion for others. During my nursing profession, I often found myself empathizing sincerely with the patients and understanding their pain and suffering. My experience as a nurse has made me sensitive to the suffering of the people and the pain that they have to bear due to disturbances in their normal physiological functions. Bearing this in mind, my focus when preparing drugs would be solely to mitigate the pain and affliction of these people. I am a compassionate by nature and my poised and calm personality can be a great asset during my professional practice as a pharmacist. My experience as a nurse has equipped me with the skill of appeasing patients- an attribute that I feel is necessary for satisfying frightened and stressed customers. I am also good at sports and have remained an active sportsperson in tennis and basketball in my school and college years. Being a team member and working with the rest of the team members have equipped me with a very valuable trait- team work. The profession of pharmacy requires that the pharmacist interacts with a number of professionals from the health care field. These include doctors, drug retailers, lab technicians etc. Working in teams for the success of the team and assisting team members to improve their performance has not only made me more helpful but has also made me more goal-driven. My ambition has enabled me to deliver excellent results when working on my own. Table tennis is a sport that requires players to develop

Business ethics Essay Example for Free

Business ethics Essay There is no singular definition of knowledge, but for the purpose of this paper; knowledge will be defined as the familiarity with a situation or fact. Ethics, on the other hand, is a set of moral principles that govern a person’s behavior. Simplifying the knowledge issue would be to state that: The familiarity of something (whether a fact or situation) entails compliance with ethical or moral obligations. In disagreement with the previous claim, I believe that the possession of knowledge does carry an ethical responsibility. In a paper written by Steven Pinker, otherwise known as â€Å"The Moral Instinct†, he suggests that morality has a metaphorical switch. Stated as the â€Å"moralization switch†, Steven Pinker suggests, â€Å"Moralization is a psychological state that can be turned on and off like a switch, and when it is on, a distinctive mind-set commandeers our thinking. † Much like light switches, moralization switches may be turned on and off. When the moralization switch is turned off, the reasoning for doing something (moral or amoral) changes, rather than being a matter of virtue, it becomes a matter of practicality or personal reasons. Different people may have their moralization switches turned on or off in the same scenario. An example of this is â€Å"loving thy neighbor†. One may express his love for his neighbor because it is in accordance to the Ten Commandments, which he/she truly believes in; while another person may also express love toward his neighbor purely because there is something to gain from it. Steven Pinker, in his paper, states that morality is under assault. This could be in line with a conclusion formulated by David Couzens Hoy, a renowned professor of philosophy, based on the works of Emmanuel Levina (a French philosopher) who believed that â€Å"responsibility precedes any objective searching after the truth†. David Couzens Hoy concluded that there has been an ethical turn. He now defines ethics as â€Å"obligations that present themselves as necessarily to be fulfilled but are neither forced on one or are enforceable†. Despite the fact that ethical obligations are optional, the general population comes to a consensus about moral concepts such as the difference between right and wrong. It was theorized by, anthropologist, Donald E. Brown, in his work â€Å"Human Universals† that things such as the concept of distinction between right and wrong have no exceptions in normal human beings. This, along with the concept of fairness, accounts for the decision of most people to maintain a certain ethical standard and responsibility. The defiance of the ethical code of conduct that is universally accepted would either be recognized by the doer as wrong (and would most likely be punished), or would be a result of a mental disorder (such as psychopathy or moral blindness). This is why a person convicted of murder is given less harsh punishments if known to have a psychological disorder, otherwise known as being mentally unfit. The fact that they have mental disorders means that they are exceptions to this rule of thumb. The moral blindness does not allow for a coherent view with the universal morality that the rest of the world follows. The reason why the world is in chaos is because showing ethical responsibility is a choice. Harvard Psychologist, Marc Hauser, argues that millions of years of natural selection have molded a universal moral grammar within our brains that enables us to make rapid decisions about ethical dilemmas. There is a universal perception of the difference between right and wrong, but the choice to do either right or wrong is situational. It takes something as simple as personal advancement or an impulse to do something immoral. This is why the possession of knowledge carries an ethical responsibility. A cliche goes â€Å"with knowledge comes power†, which is why knowledge requires ethical responsibility. The same kind of knowledge may be used for great good or bad, and the choice of what to do with it lies in the hands of the one that possesses the information. This shows the possible threat that knowledge has. It could be used to harm humans. The moralization switch could spell the difference between life and death in the hands of the possessor. Jon Stuart Mill’s Principle of Utilitarianism states the ethical theory that one should maximize the over happiness and satisfaction, and aim for the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Exemplifying ethical responsibility, according to this principle, would entail using the familiarity with facts or information for the betterment of the majority. It is possible, however, that personal advancement is genuine happiness, and this could instantaneously shroud one’s moral mentality. It is only the sense of morality that is universal, not being moral itself. Selfish acts, which are almost always immoral or amoral are means by which people could attain happiness for themselves. This could override the choices that one makes, despite the innate ability to tell between moral and immoral. An example of this is insider trading. In the world of finance, one can win big and lose big. Insider trading is a form of immoral acts that go against ethical responsibility by using knowledge for personal advancement, while simultaneously hurting others. The end, which is money, would justify the means (which is unfairly using information for the advancement of oneself and the decline of others). Knowledge on matters may have little effects, and global effects. They may severely affect others while greatly benefitting a select few, or cause the happiness of majority of society. The end, or effect, would be a result of one’s choice on what to do with the knowledge that he has. It is therefore crucial for people to be moral. The effect of the exploitation of knowledge is limitless and can work both ways, which is why one must be ethically responsible and just.

Archaeology Is The Study Of Human Society History Essay

Archaeology Is The Study Of Human Society History Essay Throughout the course of the semester, we have explored many different aspects concerning Greek archaeology. Archaeology is the study of human society, primarily through recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data which they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts, and cultural landscapes (Wikipedia). The history of past cultures has been a fascinating topic of debate and discovery for hundreds of years. Many of us have been curious and interested in regards to our origin. Prehistoric remains often lie near the earths surface, especially stones and flints. These findings of the past lead to interest and eventually important examination as to where they came from. This is where archaeology comes into play. Archaeology has many distinct objectives, which span from studying human evolution to cultural evolution and understanding culture history. Archaeology involves surveying, excavations, and some time after analysis of the data colle cted. These all help us learn more about our past history. Archaeological field survey is very common. This is the method archaeologists use to search for archaeological sites and gather information about the setting, distribution, and order of previous human cultures across a great area. Archaeologists manage surveys to search for particular archaeological sites or kinds of sites, to find patterns in the spreading of material culture over regions, and to make a sweeping statement or test hypotheses about past cultures. Secondly, it is possible for an excavation to take place and uncover any archaeological artifacts buried under the ground. Excavation is the contact, processing, and recording of archaeological remains. Archaeological excavation has existed for quite some time now and remains to be the source of the majority of data recovered in most field projects, although it has improved a great deal throughout the years. An important aspect of excavations are they can expose many things that may not be easily reached by survey. For example, stratigraphy, which is a three-dimensional arrangement. Thirdly, the information retrieved from the excavation is studied and assessed in an attempt to reach the innovative research objectives of the archaeologists. Once artifacts and structures have been excavated, or received from surveys, it is important to correctly study them. This way we can gain as much data as possible. This is what is considered analysis of data, which tends to be the most time-consuming part of the whole process of discovering archaeological information. Unfortunately, these reports usually take quite some time to get published. Many archaeological remains have been discovered throughout the course of history through this archaeological process, and there are many that I consider to be most significant for the understanding of Greek civilization. Artifacts are possessions made by humans that are usually designed for a precise intention. Ancient artifacts are typically retrieved as part of an archeological dig, or excavation. The artifacts from the past are very significant and expressive. They represent characteristics of both the types of civilization and type of culture they were designed and used in. Archeologists are attentive to artifacts from ancient and prehistoric times, because they tell us more about ancient civilizations and their lives. If we examine the artifacts left behind by these civilizations, archeologists and scientists learn more about how the people during that time lived, hunted, cooked, etc. Artifacts also tell us how these people designed their homes and other buildings and what tools they used in daily life. Structures, such as houses are often areas in which many artifacts are found (The Importance of Artifacts). For example, The types of settlements and houses that are characteristic of the Early Bronze Age on the Greek mainland are large and dominated by well-built houses with complex ground plans, corridor houses appear to have served as residences for powerful families, and strong defensive walls of stones equipped with towers and gates (Runnels-Murray, 70). By studying these artifacts, archeologists can learn more about the culture and the social atmo sphere of these ancient civilizations. Archeologists also are interested in the clothing and jewelry worn by past civilizations. The way people dressed and what they used to adorn themselves often tells us a great deal about their belief system. Jewelry, in particular, often reflects the ideology of the culture, so these artifacts are particularly interesting. Ancient artifacts were manufactured in many different ways by many different societies and cultures. The methods used vary greatly between civilizations. Some ancient artifacts were made from bone or stone. Early man often used the natural products around him to create tools and weapons. Later civilizations used manufacturing processes to create tools and weapons (The Importance of Artifacts). Technically, prehistoric means before history, which begins when populations began keeping written records of the names of individual people and some account of the actions and events that took place in the past. Prehistoric cultures, by definition, are not known from such records; they are eternally anonymous and silent, known only from the work of archaeologists who have excavated buildings and burials, classified tools and weapons, and described and catalogued pottery, jewelry, and idols of now nameless and forgotten gods (Runnels-Murray 5). I believe almost all material remains should be considered most significant for understanding Greek culture. Each artifact has its own story and importance within a specific time period and some are even connected to others as well developed and advanced from pervious items. Many of these material remains have affected todays artists, historians, etc. According to Pedley, Acropolis and the Parthenon in Athens, and the Elgin Marbles signify Greek archaeology. These monuments mark the culmination of a long period of artistic development and reveal an early civilization of extraordinary achievement. In Greece lies the foundations of much of our Western civilization. Great philosophers, historians, poets, painters, etc. still influence the way we think and act and create today (Pedley, 11). I also believe the study of pottery and coins is important to the study of archaeology, because it can survive even in large quantities. They tell us their trade patterns, customs, beliefs, trade connections, etc. Pottery in particular can tell us about its evolution as an art form. Accordingly, pottery has become a critical tool for dating archaeological contexts and for dating and building or objects by stylistic analogy. Coins are another useful dating tool since they exist in large numbers and are often dated themselves by internal evidence; hence, they can help date the context in which they are found (Pedley, 28). Throughout the history art has played a vital role in all of our surroundings. Art is worldwide and because it is everywhere, we have occurrences with it on a daily basis. For example, from the houses we live in, architecture, to the plays and movies we see or participate in, theatre, to the novels that we read and may write, literature. Even in ancient times, art has played a critical role. Throughout time art, along with archaeological findings, has recorded history for us. Most art is created for a specific cause or intention for the most part. It has a way of making a statement, and a way of expressing ideas and beliefs. It can also record the experiences of all people. Art can be religious, symbolic, literal, traditional, etc. Archeologists hope to find some kind of material remains, and when they do it is important for them to consider more than the artifact itself. During an excavation, if archaeologists do find an artifact, they must also explore its meaning and significance as it relates to where the item was found. Where the item was found is very important, because this can often can help archeologists further understand its use and importance. When it comes to material culture, the more we know about the citizens and civilizations who have populated the world before us, the more we can comprehend and appreciate our past. With that said, by learning and accepting our past, we can have a much clearer view into our future

Affirmative Action: A Means to End Inequality Essay -- Equality Rights

Affirmative Action: A Means to End Inequality Throughout the United States, many types of inequality can be identified. What exactly does this statement mean? First, defining inequality would help one best approach this matter. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines inequality as â€Å"the quality of being unequal or uneven† through† a lack of evenness b: social disparity c: disparity of distribution or opportunity d: the condition of being variable† (Merriam Webster). Now the question is clearer, as identifying types of inequality is equivalent to recognizing the different groups that exist within the boundaries of the U.S. For instance, people can be grouped based on income, the level of education, or their position in their workplace. Inequality shown as such is easy to identify and falls nicely into categories. However, understanding such inequalities in the context of race and gender is not so simple. The median income of a white male full time worker in 2002 was near 41,000 dollars, a black male full time worker under 32,000, and a Hispanic male full time worker around 25,000 (Race: Fact File). These numbers also drop significantly for women in each category (Race: Fact File). Unemployment rates, home ownership rates, high school and college graduation rates, and even health care coverage all show inequality in America, especially in the context of race and gender (Race: Fact File). The government has taken steps to try to eliminate these inequalities through the implementation of affirmative action programs. This leads to an important issue, namely, is affirmative action a fair and an effective method of eradicating inequality? To understand and answer this question, the origins of affirmative action... ...ted States, and South Africa (in SICA Silver Jubilee).† Public Administration Review, Vol. 59, No. 6. (Nov. - Dec., 1999), pp. 495-508. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0033-3352%28199911%2F12%2959%3A6%3C495%3APOPLFI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P {scholarly primary source, print via the internet, authoritative } Wilcher, Shirley J. â€Å"The History of Affirmative Action.† Americans for a Fair Chance, Motion Magazine. Washington DC, October 12, 2003. {popular news, print via internet, apparently credible} Winter, Greg. â€Å"After Ruling Three Universities MainTain Diversity in Admissions.† The New York Times: April 13, 2004. Section A; Page 22; Column 3 {distinguished news, print via the internet, authoritative } Yetman, Norman R. â€Å"Race and Ethnicity†. Sociology: Social Foundations of Public Issues. McGraw Hill 2003. p. 348 {secondary scholarly; print; authoritative}

Poking the Parts :: Women Sexuality Society Masturbation Essays

Poking the Parts While sex and sexuality are considered to be two of the most intensely private parts of a person’s existence, a woman's personal sexuality and experience of the sexual in the context of the greater society is not always her own. "[Women] are being imprinted with a sexuality that is mass-produced, deliberately dehumanizing and inhuman"(Wolf, 162). Our sexuality is being created for us before we even have the knowledge that we have something to fight for. Very often, we do not get to decide what our sexuality means, the world has already decided for us. And one aspect of female sexuality that has had been most intensely labeled is masturbation. So my questions are, what cues are women really picking up about their sexuality? How do women create their own sense of sexuality independent of these cultural norms and dictations? My goals in exploring female masturbation as a symbol of female sexuality and its relationship to women and to society are multi-layered. In this pap er, I plan to outline the theoretical history of the taboo on female masturbation as it relates to female sexuality as a whole. I also plan to discuss the way that several women are experiencing and negotiating their sexuality now. In addressing each of these issues, I hope to present a better understanding of how the sexuality of women is affected and the way that women then manage the internalization of these cultural expectations and how they experience and conceive of their sexuality as a result. Those who fear and disapprove of female sexuality and masturbation have taken several standpoints throughout history. It is clear, however, after looking over the propaganda issued on the horrors of female masturbation, that much of it was the work of the self-serving and insecure male. One of the first standpoints taken is the notion that women are inherently insatiable when it comes to sex and that masturbation is simply encouraging sinful and inappropriate behaviors. Another is that due to the nature of female sexual arousal and response, men have the potential to become effectively obsolete as sources of sexual satisfaction, and if it is accurate that women are both unsatisfied by heterosexual encounters and sexually insatiable, they will clearly then resort to masturbation even more. And finally, the general belief that any form

Managing Information Systems Case Study Ch. 9-Thl

Dawn Ruedy Case Study Ch. 9 THL 1. A. The benefits of having policy determined by rules rather than computer codes is the application programs in the Aurora system access and process the business rules when deciding vehicle availability. With rules being arranged and easy to use, an analyst is able to alter reservation policies without technical support from personnel. B. Some consequences of an incorrect rule being entered are blocking the correct vehicle from being rented, incorrect recommendations by renting the wrong vehicle in the wrong location.As a result, business analysts may be unable to help customers. These mistakes could end up being very expensive for THL, costing them revenue by not being able to provide their customers with the correct services. Unfortunately, this could also throw future reports off that THL depends on. Some of these reports include vehicles that are to be checked out and returned to each rental location, which vehicles need to be transferred to a di fferent location and which ones need maintenance. C. If I managed the reservation system at THL, I would use the Expert systems process for the modification of rules.By applying the If/Then rules and processing those rules to make a diagnosis or recommendation, decision making would be improved by the nonexperts by encoding, saving and processing expert knowledge. 2. A. The value $3,697 is the total of the car rental brands Maui ($1,577) and Britz ($2,121) in Australia in April of 2005. $1,577 is the dollar amount spent on the Maui car rental package in Australia in 2005 and $2,121 is the dollar amount spent on the Britz car rental package. B. The Britz package is more popular package than the Maui package in Australia.THL is making no money on the Backpacker and Explore More packages. New Zealand rentals are more profitable. C. If the first column (geographic area) was switched with the third column (brand), I think on the left AU and NZ would be seen. Then, to the right would be t he amounts for each of the 4 packages and the totals. 3. Customer Reservation Data: A. Report Applications-which package was the most profitable and how much it was requested by customers. B. Market-basket analysis-which products could be purchased together C.Unsupervised data mining-review the data and observe the results, Cluster analysis D. Supervised data mining-predict when repeat customers will return- E. I like D the best, because it helps bring repeat customers back, C is good too because it describes who their customers are. I would then choose A to understand customers and how they should advertise. Last, I would choose B. 4. A. I choose California to have the best chance at success in the United States. California offers a variety of activities including beaches, Disneyland, national parks, mountains and wineries.California is a larger state with a variety of climates and sunshine. Market size would be larger than the other options, which I would assume means a better eco nomy and more money to spend. B. THL’s competitive advantage is their experience in this tourism area, having operations internationally. C. THL’s competitive vulnerabilities include figuring out their clients and how to approach the market and competition. D. The online reservation system adds value to the new operations by its easy to use functions and convenience for customers.E. Since THL headquarters will be so far away from the new US business, building a trusting relationship with customers may become a problem. Not having any face to face relationship building. Of course, this can be remedied with video chatting and new technology. 5. With the use of social media and their website using webcams, THL can see what their clients are saying about their customer service and if they are satisfied. Which will then help THL make improvements to their services and products.

Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Services Essay

The main difference between inpatient and outpatient services is that inpatient care is performed by an inpatient facility that is prepared for patients to be able to stay overnight if need be. This inpatient care can be provided by a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or a long term care facility. A skilled nursing facility (SNF) is designed to provide rehabilitation services and/or skilled nursing to injured patients after they no longer need to be in a hospital setting. The skilled nursed help the patient and assist with their recovery. A skilled nursing facility is operated by licensed nurses, with the assistance of a medical physician. A few examples of care given at a skilled nursing facility would include dressing changes, intravenous injections, and tube feeding. A nursing home is an example of a long-term care facility, which provides custodial care for patients who suffer from chronic disabilities or prolonged illnesses. Outpatient care, is also referred to as ambulatory care, is somewhat different from inpatient care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility setting. Outpatient care involves care that does not require and overnight stay. This kind of care is found in a family physician office, ER visit, physical, speech or occupational therapy, and home health care. Due to the different settings and types of treatment received at inpatient or outpatient facilities, there are different codes for all the different procedures. An inpatient care example would be an overnight stay and care that is a round-the-clock due to a surgical procedure received. If it was outpatient care the service or treatment would have been in the doctor’s office or facility. Outpatient care codes differ than inpatient due to their different settings and what services can be performed. Coding for inpatient and outpatient are different, diagnostic coding for inpatient care follow the rules of the Uniform Hospital Discharge Data Set (UHDDS). Inpatient coding differ from physician and outpatient coding, because the main diagnosis is generally determined after study in a hospital setting and coding an unconfirmed condition as the admitting diagnosis is permitted. Inpatient codes can be more complex than outpatient, in general there are more codes used in inpatient care than outpatient.