Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Impact of the Media on the Development of a Child Research Paper

Impact of the Media on the Development of a Child - Research Paper Example The teens have invaded the media in droves and according to the recent research, they constitutes almost seventy percentages of the users especially in internet and broadcast media, the big question is whether the media is contributing positively in the development of this cadre of population. Certainly, the answer is no, it is now apparent that the media particularly the internet has made the moral turpitude of the teens to be put to doubts and ascertained that this is the avenue through which they explore and practice illicit behaviors. Media’s Contribution in development of the Teens It is not accurate to state that media does not have any meaningful contribution in the lives of teens. It is true that it does influence many things with positive outcomes, an example of the case in the US where adolescent obesity has been mitigated through the media (Ford 11). Notwithstanding, when critically assessed it will be found that media has also contributed negatively in the lives of the teens by exposing them to issues related to sex, an example is the phonographic videos in the internet. Teens have also fallen into the trap of engaging in the illicit activities following the kind of advertisement they are accorded in the media. The media is thus an area where both positives and negatives conducts are drawn by the teens. Positive Attributes of the Media on teens Development The media has significantly contributed to the positive development of the teens in several ways helping them to achieve their life objectives. These positive impacts of media to the teens include academic improvements, growth of a reading a culture and networking. Academic Improvement According to research, it has been proven that the teens with computer and laptops in their room demonstrate remarkable improvement in their performance in academic work. This is attributed to the fact that by having computers, they not only have the ease to reach information through the internet but also get motivated and spend more hours reading information in the internet. Television show are also rated to have the best educational session on several issues that even the parent might not be having good grasp of knowledge about. In a close supervision then, television can prove to be one of the best informative media on relevant issues to the teens; an example is the show by Dr Oz and Oprah (Ford 17). Inculcation of the Reading Culture and Networking It is certain that our reading culture is threatened with the technological advancement today, as most of the teens demonstrate a very poor reading culture that needs to be reinforced. The print media that details several issues that takes place around the world is rejuvenating this culture. Through the magazines, journals that discuss the topical issues, the teens are fond of extracting the information in them through reading and this is helping in realizing the culture of reading. The internet on the other hand, provides the teens with a faster and safe way of interaction and can have the opportunity to share on some of the issues that interest them with whomsoever they choose around the world (Ford 20). Therefore, parents should then ensure that their children do not fall a prey to the other sides of the media that bears contrary impact. This precautionary measure ensures that the teens do not succumb to the disturbances, obsessions, depressions, and mental deterioration characterized with dwindling academic performance. Negative Attributes of the Media to the Teens Several studies have indicated that teens who demonstrate

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Quotation About Best Practice In Supervision Social Work Essay

Quotation About Best Practice In Supervision Social Work Essay Koster (2003) stated that supervision leads to a mental and emotional education that can guide practical work, frees fixed patterns of experience and behaviour and promotes the willingness as well as the ability to act suitably, carefully and courageously(p1). This essay will explore Kosters quotation about best practice in supervision, in relation to supervision in the area of counselling. This essay will also identify the benefits and difficulties of supervision, in regards to counselling, that can arise in supervision. Examples from a personal perspective will be presented on how supervision throughout work experience enabled difficult situations to be handled. Furthermore, an analysis of how effectively supervision was conducted throughout work experience, as well as personal suggestions on improvements of supervision in that work setting. Kosters quote does speak truth as supervision can lead to all sorts of positive and negative developments (Pelling, Bowers Armstrong, 2007). In particular he claims that it can lead to mental and emotional education that guides practical work, frees from fixed patterns of experience and behaviours. Supervision in counselling is very vital as it aims to increase self-awareness and enhances professional competence which will guide the supervisee throughout their work in a confident manner (Pelling, Bowers Armstrong, 2007), which is similar to what Koster is trying to state. The goal of supervision is primarily about the supervisees developmental growth and professional awareness (Pelling, Bowers Armstrong, 2007). Which again leads back to Kosters quote about how supervision leads to development; and that development of experience will guide the supervisee throughout their work in counselling. Thorough supervision, the supervisee will grow, reflect and develop in their professional and personal skills. It is through these developments that will alter their behaviour that will eventually guide them through their work to act in a suitable, careful and courageously; throughout their career in counselling. Which in return, is vital for a counsellor as his or her mental and emotional education needs to continually develop, and this can be accelerated through supervision. It can be said that a number of individuals and organisations can benefit from quality clinical supervision. Quality supervision is about making sure the client is not being harmed and is being assisted to accomplish established goals in competently appropriate ways, the receiver of counselling services is the first to benefit (Page Wosket, 1994). The majority of the conversation in supervisory sessions centres on interventions being used for the client and advance to how the supervisee is stressed with various parts of the case. While the supervisor is interacting, clarifying, explaining, educating, supporting and coming up with helpful professional interventions, another person is benefiting from this while interacting back to their supervisor the supervisee. As Pelling, Bowers, and Armstrong (2007) suggests: This is where the supervisees scope of practice, expertise and insight is being intentionally and incrementally expanded. Engaging supervisors in the struggle for understanding is valuable for deep learning to occur. In this sense it is the clinical material that is the teacher, not just the supervisor themselves. Supervision can insulate the supervisee from work-related stress, variously referred as burn-out. (p. 126) In addition, if the supervisee is an apprentice from an educational establishment, the organisation itself benefits with the development of a more proficient and safe practitioner (Pelling, Bowers Armstrong, 2007). This gives the organisation an excellent reputation for supporting and appropriately training the people in their charge in a professional manner, hence supervision being provided by the organisation benefits the organisation with a good positive professional reputation. Last of all, the clinical supervisor gains a great deal from offering supervision. While they support the supervisees, their understanding of clinical work, knowledge, experience, the world and themselves develops a great deal and the sense of fulfilment of being additive to so many is indeed rewarding and satisfying (Pelling, Bowers Armstrong, 2007). Supervision can be a valuable constructive learning tool, but at times difficulties in supervision can make it a negative experience. Moskowitz and Rupert (1983) found in their research, within USA, that supervisees reported that 38% of those surveyed claimed that there had been difficulties and conflict in their supervision that interfered with their learning. Their research further found that there are three major areas of difficulties and conflict that arise in supervision: theoretical orientation, style of supervision and personality issues (Moskowitz Rupert, 1983). Differences in theoretical orientation may lead to difficulties and conflict in supervision (Carroll Gilbert, 2006). In various organisations, supervisees may not have a choice of a supervisor and may perhaps end up getting supervised by somebody who has a different theoretical to their own. For example, a supervisor may be convinced of the rightness of their orientation and is not ready to accept interference that arise from a different school of psychology. These differences in theoretical orientation are a common problem in supervision and it may lead to rifts between the supervisor and supervisee, therefore failing to negotiate differences of this kind (Holloway, 1995). Secondly, difficulties and conflicts may arise in supervision when it comes to the style of supervision. Some supervisors have a formal style whilst others have an informal style of approach (Carroll Gilbert, 2006). There are four unsatisfactory styles of supervision that cause conflicts and difficulties: constrictive supervision; amorphous supervision; unsupportive supervision; and therapeutic supervision (Abott, 1984). In the constructive type, there is limited autonomy. In the amorphous type, there is very little supervisory contribution and the supervisor may have a somewhat laissez faire outlook to the entire process, where whatever happens goes. Unsupportive supervisors are unfriendly and distant and supervisees would not willingly approach them with their difficulties. Therapeutic supervision transforms the supervisee into a patient while the supervisor takes on the position of the therapist often in a persistent and pushy manner that infantilizes the supervisee (Carroll Gilbert, 2006). The last style of supervision that causes conflict and difficulties is known as personality issues. This is when there is a personality clash between the supervisor and supervisee which can result to a rupture in the supervisory alliance (Carroll Gilbert, 2006). These ruptures are often caused by confusion in communication, for example the supervisor may misinterpret something the supervisee has said in a negative way. Furthermore, the rapture may be simply be caused by the supervisees own defensiveness. An example would be that the supervisee may act defensively when the supervisor gives feedback, therefore causing a strain in the supervision relationship. Supervision is a valuable tool for a supervisee when they are having difficulty dealing with their client in an effective professional manner. Whatever the problem is, in regards to the well-being of the client, the supervisee can discuss these issues throughout supervision in order to uncover helpful interventions in dealing with the matter (Wosket, 1999). An example from work experience in which supervision enabled to deal effectively with a difficult situation, is when there was a client who brought up an issue that was difficult to handle. The reason the issue was difficult to handle is because there was limited knowledge in that area and there was no confidence in dealing with the matter. So in order to deal with this dilemma, it was brought up to the attention to the supervisor throughout the supervision session. Throughout the supervision session the supervisor, listened to the dilemma and asked explorative questions, made encouraging statements and shared self- disclosure. She also in return, working the supervisee, came up with interventions to put together in order for the supervisee to handle the struggling case. The supervisor clarified the problem to the supervisee and explored potential explanations and interventions for the supervisee to consider. The supervisee filled in the gaps of the knowledge and asked the supervisee to reflect and explore options on how he will put the explored interventions in to action. The supervisor also used modelling and role-plays to show the supervisee on how they might be able to assist their client. So through supervision, the supervisors challenges and confrontations facilitated the supervisees critical reflection and learning, hence this gave confidence to the supervisee to handle and deal with their difficult situation. A concise breakdown will currently be offered on how efficiently supervision was carried right through work experience. Supervision was conducted effectively because the supervisor followed a significant process in order for supervision to function at its best. The initial supervision session is when the supervisor clarified what the supervisee has done in the past in regards to practice and supervision, and asks where they would like assistance. When it came to the daily supervision sessions, it was noted at times that the supervisor would follow a process right from beginning to end. When the supervisee had an issue, it would be looked thoroughly. Issues discussed in supervision included: intervention strategies and future plans; counsellor professional development; supervisee client alliance and boundaries; client issues and goal setting; supervisor supervisee relationship; ethical and legal issues; and so on. Once the issue were discussed, the supervisor would ask a series of structured questions in order to gain clarification, as well as allowing the supervisee to reflect and offload. Such helpful questions included: What are you feeling and views about the issue?; Where do you feel most confused?; what kind of help would you like?; and what are the key details I need to know about the case?. Furthermore, during supervision the supervisor and supervisee took notes during sessions to have an ongoing record of plans, themes, struggles, clients discussed, learning and progress. Once the issue was discussed and the supervisor asked her questions, the supervisor would then encourage the supervisee to: understand the problem; find links among the information; develop a treatment plan to put into practice; and create a working proposition (Carroll Gilbert, 2006). Towards the end of every supervision session, the supervisor would give feed back as well as ask for verbal feedback back from the supervisee. The supervisor would ask something as simple as How was our session for you today? or Was this session valuable or unbeneficial to you today? Summing up, supervision was conducted effectively because the supervisor followed a valuable process throughout the sessions. Apart from following an effective process, the supervisor herself was encouraging, respectful, genuine, empathetic, and self-disclosed, which as a result added further to the effectiveness of supervision. From personal experience, the supervision that took place during work placement cannot be faulted. However, there is lack of knowledge of how the other supervisors function in their role, as during placement only one supervisor was given to work closely with. Focusing purely on the supervisor provided with, her name being Amy, she was nothing but professional, educated and friendly. One could suggest that Amy is the ideal supervisor as throughout work placement she always showed respect, genuineness, empathy and was always encouraging. She was also concrete and showed a great deal self-disclosure throughout supervision. As stated, Amy would be the ideal supervisor as her supervision qualities match what Carifo and Hess found in their research in what makes an ideal supervisor. Carifo and Hess (1987) found that the ideal supervisor is a person who shows respect, empathy, genuineness, concreteness and self-disclosure in his or her dealings with supervisees (p.247). So as one can see, supervision cannot be faulted as it was nothing other but a positive learning experience, with the help of a true professional supervisor who knew how to function in her role. Therefore, it is too complex to come up with suggestions for improvements for supervision in the work setting because it just worked to well in order to suggest any changes. Supervision may have its benefits and difficulties, but it is those experiences a supervisee needs to experience in order to develop their mental and emotional experience. It is these developments and experiences that allow the individual to be able to learn and handle future challenges in their area of counselling. With the right supervisor, as well as having regular supervision sessions that are conducted effectively, it will consequently transform the supervisee into a stronger counsellor who is willing to learn, act suitably, carefully and courageously; throughout their counselling career.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Cost Management Essay -- Accounting Finance Business Essays

Cost Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On page 92 of our text it says that committed costs are costs arising from the possession of facilities, equipment, and a basic organization. Discretionary costs are determined by management as part of the periodic planning process in order to meet the organization’s goals. They have no obvious relationship with levels of capacity or output activity. Therefore my assumptions of Committed and Discretionary costs are as follows. Committed Costs  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Discretionary Costs  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Administrator  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $60,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Assistant  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $35,000 Accounting and Billing  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $15,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two Secretaries  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $42,000 Consulting  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $10,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Supplies  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $35,000 Salaries  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $46,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Advertising and Promotion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $9,000 Transportation  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $10,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professional Meetings and Dues  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $14,000 Security  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $12,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two Social Workers  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $70,000 Custodial  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $13,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Totals  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $166,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Totals  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  $205,000 When I first took a look at this assignment, I thought it would be a bit difficult to prove my point by using the text as a reference guide. I did that my citing the definition, but I am going to rely on what I know as a manager of a business to answer these questions and I was told that real world experiences are sometimes better that citing them from a text. Therefore, I am going to take a stab at this.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I feel that Dr. White needs to take a look at theses areas- * Salaries (for assistant and two secretaries and for two social workers) * Supplies * Advertising and Promotion * Professional Meetings and Dues   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My first question as I was reading this assignment was: What do they need with an Assistant and two secretaries? Where do they hold their meetings? What do they need two social workers in each of the two areas for? Why are they spending $35,000 in supplies? I also referred back to my previous classes in team work and producing a greater output in half the time. This is not needed here. This is a mental health facility and as hard as it might be at times, they can cut the two secretaries to the administrator. I believe that one would suffice and the administrator has an assistant. They can also cut the social workers down to one per shift area, or one for community health and one for mental health. This outpatient clinic has operational costs of $371,000 with $205,000 being what I ... ...clinic’s long-run prospects. (Managerial Accounting pg 93) I am simply recommending a reduction in certain areas of the clinic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In any business, when one becomes accustomed to functioning in a certain manner; it is difficult to identify and separate what is costing you money, particularly if it is personnel. I am very familiar with this as this is one area where I am forced to make a lot of cuts. A lot of times it is like cutting your nose off to spite your face. I will honestly admit that this is one area that is the absolute hardest for me, as these people become like family. Advertising and promotional items are essential to any business but when you spend more money to promote a company, than what you are bringing in, you have a serious problem. Therefore, with this said, I would advise Dr. White to prepare for a reduced budget by analyzing what is costing her the most money, and make a decision in those areas as to how to scale them back. It will not be an easy task, but I feel that I have offered her some viable alternatives. Works Cited www.nationalpen.com Horngren/Sundem/Stratton-Introduction to Management Accounting, 2005, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Business Ethics and Issues Essay

Ethics Ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to find answers about the moral concepts like bad, good, evil, right, wrong, etc. According to OEC (2011) ethic is defined as â€Å"a moral philosophy which is concerned with what is right or wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair, responsible or irresponsible, obligatory or permissible, praiseworthy or blameworthy†. Many scholars have associated it with the various feelings and emotions like guilt, indignation, empathy etc. The ethics deals in the way of doing things and with the generalized matters related to the public policies and the personalized issues. It is based on the social practices and laws, religious matters and conscience. These social practices give strength to this branch of philosophy. It seems to be very general matter but due to its connection to various social issues, it is often termed to be very complex and difficult to employ. With the passage of time, many companies have started giving importance to the corporat e ethics and their responsibility towards the society and communities. Today, many businesses have gained lot of reputation and recognition by being in business and following the morals when conducting their business activities while many others have lost their reputation only because of bad business practices. To many, business is an economic activity to maximize their profits and the main focus for them behind this activity is money. There is nothing wrong with the money itself but the some businesses acquire money and gain profits matters most and their manner raises several questions related to the ethical behavior. Business Ethics Business ethics strives to understand whether or not a specific business practice is morally and ethically acceptable. The American Heritage Dictionary has defined business ethics as â€Å"the philosophy of human conduct with the emphasis on determining right and wrong. It specifies the rules or standards governing the conduct of the members of a profession† (Ferrell et al, 2009). It is necessary for the entrepreneurs to follow good business ethics for every part of their business. There are several global entities, that offer brands to the public for general and specialized use, are engaged in the bad business practices and many of them have been fined by the related authorities which accounts for millions. The companies are fined due to their failure to adhere to the business ethics and ethical laws. The main problem with these companies is the amount of money they generate is much higher than the fines imposed on them. This outweighs the opportunity costs associated in their business and they happily pays off all the fines. It is therefore necessary for the authorities to force business ethics over all the business entities and their business units. Business ethics can remove the minor issues like the lower wage rates, work force exploitation as well as the big issues like the children in sweat shops making sneakers or footballs for the large companies. The above discussed implications explain some of the important facts related to the business ethics. The importance of ethical business practices is forced by many local, regional and state level governments to the companies. Importance of Business Ethics Being a good person or a person of values, in one’s own opinion, being a person of good ethical and moral values is not enough in the today’s business scenarios and it is not helpful to handle the issues related to the ethics that may arise in the organizations. It is very important for the companies to understand and recognize the relationship between the decision related to ethics and the legal aspects of business organizations. The importance of business ethics was first recognized, during the 1960’s, when the social issues in business rise to large extent in the American societies. There were increased issues related to the public safety, and ecological problems related to the pollution, waste management system, disposing the toxic wastes etc. in these societies. The then president of America, John F. Kennedy, gave a special message to the general public and the companies to safeguard the consumer rights of safety, the right to be informed and right to choose, which is widely known as consumer bill of rights. In the late nineties, business ethics became an emerging field in the societies. Lot of emphasis on this field was placed by the theologians and philosophers who suggested that some of the principles of ethics are applicable to business activities. This gave rise to the academic and research writings about Corporate Social Responsibility of a company (Ferrell et al, 2009). The importance of ethical practices can be recognized by considering the fact there is an international Federation Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) which was established in late 90’s to set the standards and code of conduct for the companies working in the business environments. There are ten basis guidelines for the organizations specified by FSGO which must be followed by the companies in order to remain ethical in the business (Ethics Resource Center, 2005). Ethical Issues in Business Due to increased emphasis on the business ethics over last three decades, this field is suffering and is troubled by the lack of proper directions and is struck, just like Alice in the wonderland, in the issues like logic, reasons etc. Much of the research emphasis is given on the two basis approaches to understand the relationship between ethics and the business practices. These approaches used by the researchers are termed as normative approach and empirical approach (Donaldson and Dunfee, 1994). The past conception of the companies about the ethical issues in business was related to the administration of rules, regulations in the organizations and making sure that the people are complying with these rules or adhere to the standards set by the organizations to stay ethical. This conception is now nowhere implemented, today, people from the top management level and the business owners have understood that this concept of ethical issues in business is far superior than handling the r ules and regulations and their effective implementation. There are wide ranges of issues related to the business ethics currently observed by the market analysts. According to the online report published by UK Energy Saving Website (2011), today, there is wide range of areas listed under the head of ethical issues in business. These issues can be of varying nature ranging from professional ethics which may include the moral duties of engineers, doctors, and architects, lawyers as well as the employee right issues. The issues related to employee rights may further be divided into various categories like issues related to wages, safe working environment, non-discriminatory policies etc. The functional areas of business like marketing, management, accounts etc. also reported to have ethical business issues. Due to the varying natures of these issues, it is difficult to conclude whether or not any company or a supply chain partner is adhering to the ethical principles. In the current business environment, the issues like fairness, justice and honesty are the main issues that are posing complex dilemma to the businesses. Any wrong or biased decision can have a profound impact on the goodwill of the company as well as its market position. To deal with such issues, many companies follow the ethical guidelines so that they â€Å"do not lose sight on the essential value of fairness. However, if they choose to use legality and profitability as their measurement in determining what is right from wrong then business ethics will surely become irrelevant† (CFA, 2009). Business Function Ethics: Marketing Ethics Marketing is among the most crucial functions of a business in an organization. The function of this business unit is to provide understanding about the four basic aspects of a business- Product, Price, Place and Promotion. It provides interface to the management related not only to the customers but the other related parties like media, investors, distribution system, supply chain partners, legal framework, as well as others. The importance of marketing ethics is vital to the organization due to the diverse nature of stakeholders associated with this business function (Ferrell, 2007). While Ethic deals in the determination and study of what is right, wrong, good, evil etc., for marketing managers, workplace ethics deals with the rules, regulations, principles for governing the code of conduct of the members of an organization (Ferrell, 2005). Therefore, ethical marketing can be defined as â€Å"practices that emphasize transparent, trustworthy, and responsible personal and organiza tional marketing policies and actions that exhibit integrity as well as fairness to consumers and other stakeholders† based on normative perspective (Murphy et al, 2005). The concept of marketing ethic emphasizes on the practices and standards that are deemed acceptable in the marketing conduct. These operative standards are usually determined by the stakeholders and the organization as a whole which is responsible for the marketing related activities. The marketing team is required to adhere to these standards and make sure that these prescribed standards are in fit with the societal needs and expectations. According to Ferrell (2005) the ethical marketing practices are most significant in establishing and retaining long term relationship, and development of customer trust. The nature of marketing is very diverse which in turn started large numbers of ethical issues incurred by the businesses today. Key Issues in Marketing Ethics As the 21st century started, the companies and business started to give more importance to the business ethics due to the various scandals emerge early this century related to Enron, Tyco, and Sunbeam etc. most of the business scandals were related to the accounting frauds or supply chain management. During this phase, the journal of marketing consisted of wide range of articles that were associated not only to ethics but especially to the issues related to business ethics (Klein, Smith and John, 2004). The marketing ethical issues are defined by the stakeholders and the company and therefore these issues must be resolved in the timely manner to improve the level of trust and build long term relationships with these people. Murphy et al (2005) suggested that due to the nature of marketing issues, the marketers are sometimes need to deal with the choices that are subjective and moral in nature requiring them make decision regarding the moral standards. Due to these ethical standards, the companies and their stakeholders must conform to the moral principles. Many companies have started fair trade system to operate ethically with their supply chain partners. For example, the star bucks has started the fair trade system to engage with their farmers by offering right prices and maintaining business relations as well as direct purchasing options (Starbucks, 2011). When applying ethics to the marketing practices some factors are important to be considered. First, the marketers should understand the objectives of the company. Second, they must balance the marketing practices with the objectives of the company. The balancing may involve compromise at any point of business or tradeoffs (Ferrell, 2007). Most of the marketing ethics are related to the fairness, justice and honesty as well as conflict of interest, fraud, discrimination and privacy etc. Talking about the global business practices, many countries trade departments have established regulatory groups like better business bureau etc that mainly deals with the issues related to the ethical marketing. The governments have also developed trade commissions that forces laws related to the consumer protection. These government regulated bodies includes Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration etc. these organizations strives to help the consumer in identifying fraud, deception and public safety. These and many other related agencies focus on identifying the major issues that are of ethical concern for the marketers. Examples of these issues includes the communication practices adopted for marketing, wrong advertising, hidden pricing, wrong information presentation in the internal and external communication system, misleading ads, etc. to deceive the customers (Ferrell, 2007; Leclair, Ferrell and Fraedrich, 1998). A lot of progress is been made in the field of ethical marketing based on research and theory. In order to obtain promising results various codes of conducts have been developed by the organizations like American Marketing Association, Marketing Research Association etc. which has elevated the marketing practices. Moreover, many organizations have developed code of ethics which helps them address various marketing practices related ethical risk areas. References CFA (2009) Ethical Issues in Business and the Importance of Ethics, retrieved on July 29, 2011 from http://cfagbata.com/ethical-issues-in-business-and-the-importance-of-ethics/ Donaldson, T. and Dunfee, T. W. (1994) Toward a unified conception of business ethics: integrative social contracts theory, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.252-284 Ethics Resource Center (2005) Federal Sentencing Guidelines for the organization, ethics org, retrieved on July 29, 2011 from http://www.ethics.org/resource/federal-sentencing-guidelines Ferrell, O.C. (2005). A Framework for Understanding Organizational Ethics. In Business Ethics: New Challenges for Business Schools and Corporate Leaders. R.A. Peterson and O.C. Ferrell, (eds.) Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 3-17. Ferrell, O. C. (2007) nature and scope of marketing ethics. In G. Gundlach, L. Block & W. Wilkie (Eds), Explorations of marketing in society, Mason, OH: Texere/ Thomson South Western Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J. and Ferrell, L. (2009) Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, 7th edition, USA: South Western Cengage Learning Klein, J.G., N.C. and John A. Smith. (2004). Why We Boycott: Consumer Motivations for Boycott Participation. Journal of Marketing, 68 (3): 92-110. LeClair, D.T., O.C. Ferrell, and J.P. Fraedrich. (1998). Integrity Management: A Guide to Managing Legal and Ethical Issues in the Workplace. Tampa, Florida: University of Tampa Press. Murphy, P.E., G.R. Laczniak, N.E. Bowie, and T.A. Klein. (2005). Ethical Marketing, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice-Hall. OEC (2011) Defining Ethics and Morality, OEC org, retrieved on July 29, 2011 from http://www.onlineethics.org/Education/precollege/scienceclass/sectone/chapt2.aspx UK Energy Saving (2011) Ethical Issues in Business, retrieved on July 29, 2011 from http://www.uk-energy-saving.com/ethical-issues-in-business.html Starbucks (2011) Fair Trade, retrieved on July 29, 2011 from http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/StarbucksAndFairTrade.pdf Further Reading 1. Business Ethics Cases: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/cases.cfm?fam=BUSI 2. Performance Appraisal case: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/dialogue/candc/cases/performance.html 3. Applied Ethics Resources: http://www.ethicsweb.ca/resources/business/topics.html 4. Business Ethics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_ethics 5. Cutting-edge issues in business ethics: continental challenges to tradition: http://books.google.com/books?id=RsBfMI6di8gC&pg=PA87#v=onepage&q& ;f=false 6. A companion to business ethics: http://books.google.com/books?id=PDXVnfyKHBIC&pg=PA178#v=onepage&q&f=false 7. Harvard Business Reviews: Business Ethics: http://www.businessweek.com/managing/company/business_ethics/ 8. Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis: http://www53.homepage.villanova.edu/james.borden/vsb1001/Goodpaster.pdf 9. Ethical Decision Making http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ 10. Importance of Ethics in Business http://www.accountantnextdoor.com/importance-of-business-ethics-importance-of-ethics-in-business-investment/ 11. The Critical Importance of Business Ethics For Effective Leadership http://www.businessexpertwebinars.com/content/view/471/29/ 12. Business Ethics Manual http://www.trade.gov/goodgovernance/adobe/bem_manual.pdf

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Forced Marriage Essay

Forced marriage is a crime in Australia, and is punishable by up to seven years in prison. Under Commonwealth law a forced marriage is one where a person gets married without fully and freely consenting because they have been coerced, threatened or deceived. A person can be coerced through obvious means such as force, detention or duress, or through more subtle means like psychological oppression, abuse of power or taking advantage of the person’s vulnerability. The crime of forced marriage can apply: to all victims, regardless of their age or gender, to legally recognised marriages, as well as cultural and religious ceremonies and registered relationships, To marriages that occur in Australia (including where a person was brought to Australia to get married), as well as where a person is taken overseas to get married. Forced marriage is not limited to any particular cultural group, religion or ethnicity, and there are reports of forced marriage from all over the world. While the majority of reported victims are young women and girls, men and boys can also be victims of forced marriage. According to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, forced Marriage falls under article 16 – http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/udhr_article_16.html UDHR Article 16 states that 1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. 2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. 3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. Media Article one: Girl Kidnapped for Forced Marriage. Suffer Rising Crime in India Teenage girl, Rupsona was walking home from school when three men kidnapped her at knifepoint near her village in the Indian state of West Bengal. They forced her into a car and transported her across the country to a man who had paid $800 for a bride. Rupsona said she was forced to marry the man and abused by him for 14 months until she was  rescued. In India, cultural preferences for a son have helped fuel a growing gender divide, which has led to an increase in the number of women being kidnapped and forced into wedlock I choose this article to show a real life situation of forced marriage, and the harsh reality that it involves. Legal Responses. The Legal Responses to this issue involves amending the Commonwealth Criminal Code to recognise forced marriage as a serious form of exploitation and a crime. Under the Criminal Code, the forced marriage offences carry a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment, or seven years’ imprisonment for an aggravated offence. An offence may be aggravated in several circumstances—including where the victim is under the age of eighteen. *Arranged marriages are not captured by these offences In February 2013, the Australian Parliament passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Act 2013 (Slavery Act), which then further amended the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 (Criminal Code) to recognise forced marriage as a serious form of exploitation and a crime. The Australian Government is actively working in consultation with stakeholders to improve community awareness on forced marriage issues. This includes developing a communications awareness strategy on human trafficking and slavery. As part of this strategy, the Australian Government will develop a series of awareness materials on early and forced marriage—including materials written in relevant community languages. The government is also working in line with community investors to raise awareness of forced marriage issues with religious and civil celebrants, migrant and legal resource centers, domestic violence services, child support agencies—as well as people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Article 23 of the ICCPR states that 1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state. 2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be  recognised. 3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses. 4. States parties to the present covenant shall take appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case of dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection of any children. Non-Legal Responses. Non-government organisations work to promote and enforce coverage of the forced marriage issue. For example NGO SACH (Struggle for Change) is an organisation, which run a major awareness campaign. They run workshops and create social justice for communities. The Forced Marriage Unit worked closely with NGOs (NGO SACH) and community groups to increase the protection and support available to victims of forced marriage. For example, in November NGO SACH provided funding for the development of a range of social media projects including web pages, text messaging and smartphone applications to raise awareness and support peer mentors. Evaluation of Legal and Non-Legal Responses. The responses to Forced Marriage are highly affective in some areas and are lacking effectiveness in others; meaning the responses have made forced marriage more of a known issue, but have not completely stopped the issue. It is evident in many other human right violation issues as well as forced marriage that just because the violation is illegal doesn’t completely abolish it from happening. The legal and Non-legal responses create highly accessible and understandable knowledge for the wider community creating the highly affective overall response. Without these responses forced marriage would not be an evident issue and it would be ignored, creating more human right breeches and an increase in un-wanted physical and pressured relationships. 1 in 9 girls are forced into a marriage by the age of 15. Media Article 2 – Too young to wed: Indian girls say no to forced marriage This Article refers to the breakthrough of children being pressured standing up for their rights. It explains Keshanta and Laali were 13 years old when their families pushed them together to get married. Laali Bairwa, 15, isn’t sure just yet what she wants to be when she grows up. But she, like her  classmates in a rural part of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is certain she doesn’t want to be a child bride. This article reflects education preventing the forced marriage. This article reflects the changing values and morals of society. I chose this article to show the effects of the legal and non-legal responses. Overall Effectiveness. Organisations of legal and non-legal responses work together unknowingly to create awareness of the Human Rights Violations. This further proves an effective response to the issues and supports an overall idea to prevent forced marriage in the future. Media Article 3 – Forced marriage ruins the lives of too many girls, so we’re working to end it This article doesn’t focus on a particular occurrence of forced marriage, rather it talks about the statistics and problems faced by each affected individual. Girls who are forced into marriage are often trapped in poverty with no means to lift themselves out. These girls are robbed of an education, vulnerable to death in childbirth and at a greater risk of domestic violence. The article states, â€Å"The good news is that some countries are making progress on reducing child marriage, but progress is slow. Ending child marriage will take time and requires unstinting commitment at community, national and international level. The UN is playing its part but we need others to join so that the rights of millions of girls are no longer violated.† I again chose this article to reflect the overall changes of societies views and reactions to forced marriage. The article shows that even though the issue of forced marriage is still occurring, the responses to the issue are growing in a much more positive way. Overall Conclusion: Forced marriage is evident within the world and in Australia. A marriage is seen as forced when there is undue pressure to wed causing psychological pressure. It is stated under the UDHR Article 16, which explains equal rights and consent of a marriage. There are many legal responses, which build together amendments, furthering the knowledge of forced marriage and stating it as a serious exploitation and crime. Legal Responses also fall under Article 23 of the ICCPR. Bibliography http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/udhr_article_16.html (Accessed 19th March 2014) http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/10/forced-marriage-girls-lynne-featherstone (Accessed 19th March 2014) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-17/girls-kidnapped-for-forced-marriage-suffer-rising-crime-in-india.html (Accessed 19th March 2014) http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/too-young-wed-indian-girls-say-no-forced-marriage-f8C11376237 (Accessed 19th March 2014) http://www.forcedmarriage.net/whatis.html (Accessed 20th March 2014) http://www.ashaforcedmarriage.org.uk/case-studies (Accessed 20th March 2014)

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Biography of Dmitri Mendeleev, Periodic Table Inventor

Biography of Dmitri Mendeleev, Periodic Table Inventor Dmitri Mendeleev  (February 8, 1834–February 2, 1907) was a Russian scientist best known for devising the modern periodic table of elements. Mendeleev also made major contributions to other areas of chemistry, metrology (the study of measurements), agriculture, and industry. Fast Facts: Dmitri Mendeleev Known For: Creating the Periodic Law and Periodic Table of the ElementsBorn: February 8, 1834 in Verkhnie Aremzyani,  Tobolsk Governorate,  Russian EmpireParents: Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, Maria Dmitrievna KornilievaDied: February 2, 1907 in Saint Petersburg, Russian EmpireEducation: Saint Petersburg UniversityPublished Works:  Principles of ChemistryAwards and Honors:  Davy Medal, ForMemRS  Spouse(s): Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva, Anna Ivanovna PopovaChildren: Lyubov, Vladimir, Olga, Anna, IvanNotable Quote: I saw in a dream a table where all elements fell into place as required. Awakening, I immediately wrote it down on a piece of paper, only in one place did a correction later seem necessary. Early Life Mendeleev was born on February 8, 1834, in Tobolsk, a town in Siberia, Russia. He was the youngest of a large Russian Orthodox Christian family. The exact size of the family is a matter of dispute, with sources putting the number of siblings between 11 and 17. His father was Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, a glass manufacturer, and his mother was Dmitrievna Kornilieva. In the same year that Dmitri was born, his father went blind. He died in 1847. His mother took on the management of the glass factory, but it burned down just a year later. To provide her son with an education, Dmitris mother brought him to St. Petersburg and enrolled him in the Main Pedagogical Institute. Soon after, Dmitris mother died. Education Dmitri graduated from the Institute in 1855 and then went on to earn a masters degree in education. He received a fellowship from the government to continue his studies and moved to the University of Heidelberg in Germany. There, he decided not to work with Bunsen and Erlenmeyer, two distinguished chemists, and instead set up his own laboratory at home. He attended the International Chemistry Congress and met many of Europes top chemists. In 1861, Dmitri went back to St. Petersburg to earn his P.hd. He then became a chemistry professor at the University of St. Petersburg. He continued to teach there until 1890. The  Periodic Table of the Elements Dmitri found it hard to find a good chemistry textbook for his classes, so he wrote his own. While writing his textbook, Principles of Chemistry, Mendeleev found that if you arrange the elements in order of increasing atomic mass, their chemical properties demonstrated definite trends.  He called this discovery the Periodic Law, and stated it in this way: When the elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic mass, certain sets of properties recur periodically. Drawing on his understanding of element characteristics, Mendeleev arranged the known elements in an eight-column grid. Each column represented a set of elements with similar qualities. He called the grid the periodic  table of the elements. He presented his grid and his periodic law to the Russian Chemical Society in 1869. The only real difference between his table and the one we use today is that Mendeleevs table ordered elements by increasing atomic weight, while the present table is ordered by increasing atomic number. Mendeleevs table had blank spaces where he predicted three unknown elements, which turned out to be germanium, gallium, and scandium. Based on the periodic properties of the elements, as shown in the table, Mendeleev predicted properties of eight elements in total, which had not even been discovered. Writing and Industry While Mendeleev is remembered for his work in chemistry and the formation of the Russian Chemical Society, he had many other interests. He wrote more than 400 books and articles on topics in popular science and technology. He wrote for ordinary people, and helped create a library of industrial knowledge. He worked for the Russian government and became the director of the Central Bureau of Weights and Measures. He became very interested in the study of measures and did a great deal of research on the subject. Later, he published a journal. In addition to his interests in chemistry and technology, Mendeleev was interested in helping to develop Russian agriculture and industry. He traveled around the world to learn about the petroleum industry and helped Russia to develop its oil wells. He also worked to develop the Russian coal industry. Marriage and Children Mendeleev was married twice. He wed Feozva Nikitchna Leshcheva in 1862, but the couple divorced after 19 years. He married Anna Ivanova Popova the year after the divorce, in 1882. He had a total of six children from these marriages. Death In 1907 at age 72, Mendeleev died from the flu. He was living in St. Petersburg at the time. His last words, spoken to his doctor, reportedly were, Doctor, you have science, I have faith. This may have been a quote from the famous French writer Jules Verne. Legacy Mendeleev, despite his achievements, never won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In fact, he was passed over for the honor twice. He was, however, awarded the prestigious Davy Medal (1882) and ForMemRS (1892). The Periodic Table did not gain acceptance among chemists until Mendeleevs predictions for new elements were shown to be correct. After gallium was discovered in 1879 and germanium in 1886, it was clear that the table was extremely accurate. By the time of Mendeleevs death, the Periodic Table of Elements was internationally recognized as one of the most important tools ever created for the study of chemistry. Sources Bensaude-Vincent, Bernadette. â€Å"Dmitri Mendeleev.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 25 Feb. 2019.Gordon. â€Å"Mendeleev - the Man and His Legacy...†Ã‚  Education in Chemistry, 1 Mar. 2007.Libretexts. â€Å"The Periodic Law.†Ã‚  Chemistry LibreTexts, Libretexts, 24 Apr. 2019.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

50 Synonyms for Control

50 Synonyms for Control 50 Synonyms for Control 50 Synonyms for Control By Mark Nichol Numerous words are available to take the place of control to more specifically convey one’s meaning. Here’s a list of synonyms and their senses. 1. Arrest: slow, stop, seize, or catch 2. Block: stop passage or progress; also, chart, shape, or mark outlines, and other meanings 3. Bottle: see restrain; also, literally or figuratively put into a bottle 4. Bridle: restrain as if using a bridle; also, indicate hostility or resentment as if being restrained by a bridle 5. Cap: set a limit on or prevent from growing or spreading; also, provide with a cap or other protection, conclude, or outdo 6. Check: block progress, slow, or stop, or see restrain; also, examine, inspect, or verify, or mark with a check mark or another symbol to indicate that such an action has occurred, and other meanings 7. Choke: obstruct or control growth, and other meanings 8. Circumscribe: control an activity or a range of activities, or surround 9. Confine: hold or keep within limits 10. Constrain: see confine, limit, or restrain, or hold back, or produce in a strained manner 11. Constrict: narrow or reduce 12. Contain: halt or prevent, or enclose or hold 13. Curb: control, or impose a limit 14. Detain: put into custody 15. Enjoin: see forbid, or impose an admonition or order 16. Forbid: order so as to prevent 17. Gag: control freedom of expression or freedom of speech 18. Govern: control or influence actions or exercise legitimate or illegitimate authority 19. Hamper: see impede or restrain; also, disrupt or encumber 20. Handcuff: render powerless or ineffective; also, place handcuffs on 21. Harness: use for a particular purpose 22. Hinder: see impede 23. Hold: see restrain 24. Impede: interfere with; also, slow the progress of 25. Inhibit: see prohibit and restrain, and discourage 26. Keep: see detain or restrain 27. Limit: curtail or reduce; see also restrain 28. Measure: see regulate, and other meanings 29. Mince: restrain speech for the sake of decorum or discretion 30. Muffle: see smother 31. Muzzle: see smother 32. Obstruct: see block or impede 33. Prevent: keep from existing or happening, or hold back 34. Prohibit: see forbid and prevent 35. Quell: overwhelm so as to produce passiveness or submission; also, quiet or pacify 36. Regulate: adjust or set amounts, degrees, or rates, or make laws or rules or bring under control of authority 37. Repress: see prevent and subdue 38. Restrain: keep under control; see also prevent 39. Restrict: see restrain 40. Rule: exercise authority over 41. Silence: see smother 42. Smother: prevent communication or expression; also, deprive of air or otherwise suffocate, and other meanings 43. Squelch: crush or silence, or see quell 44. Stifle: deter or discourage, or cut off, or see smother 45. Stop: put a halt to occurrence or progress 46. Strangle: see hinder and stifle; also, choke or stop someone’s breathing 47. Subdue: see curb; also, conquer, or tone down 48. Suppress: see curb, prevent, smother, and subdue 49. Swallow: keep oneself from expressing 50. Tame: bring under control; also, to humble or soften Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and ToesDoes "Mr" Take a Period?Dissatisfied vs. Unsatisfied

Saturday, October 19, 2019

International business strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

International business strategy - Assignment Example These large firms account for holding more than 90% of the world’s consulting market. Entering into new markets or acquiring the market share of competitors was one of the leaping strategic challenges before the firm. Moreover, they were already holding great cost and resource advantage in some of the largest emerging countries like India, Philippines and other nations like Eastern Europe and Russia (Plunkett, 2007, p.119). The management of WCS also was faced with a dilemma. This was choosing the right or appropriate model from amongst the several trends and models which different organizations across the globe followed. The challenge was choosing between the following options. First, was to create and generate the consulting capability of the firms and then spin off as a completely independent and different company having no operational connectivity with the parent organization. The second option treated consulting capability as a captive unit. This is followed by the off-sh ooting the existing units of businesses which continues to evolve their own consulting capabilities in the global market. However, units operate under the strong guidance and supervision of the parent organization and uses operations such as human resource management and marketing management from the parent organization itself. After much of the deliberations, the leaders decided that it would need the best features of the two models. This consequently generated the concept of a federated structure. The idea was to provide a certain amount of fundamental autonomy to the consulting business of the firm while maintaining a loose association with the parent organization. According to the organizational leaders such...The challenge was choosing between the following options. First, was to create and generate the consulting capability of the firms and then spin off as a completely independent and different company having no operational connectivity with the parent organization. The secon d option treated consulting capability as a captive unit. This is followed by the off-shooting the existing units of businesses which continues to evolve their own consulting capabilities in the global market. However, units operate under the strong guidance and supervision of the parent organization and uses operations such as human resource management and marketing management from the parent organization itself. After much of the deliberations, the leaders decided that it would need the best features of the two models. This consequently generated the concept of a federated structure. The idea was to provide a certain amount of fundamental autonomy to the consulting business of the firm while maintaining a loose association with the parent organization. According to the organizational leaders such as Mark Payne, this would be the most suitable or appropriate structure for the company. However, creating this structure would be a great challenge for the company with regards to the ex tent of autonomy it would rest with itself and the degree of coupling it would maintain with its parent organization. The positioning of the firms in the strategic consulting space along with the existence of such firms as BCG and McKinsey was challenging and not very easy.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Game changers in the us economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Game changers in the us economy - Essay Example Shifting through more than a dozen possible game changers to boost this sluggish growth, five such theories have been identified as feasible for US market. These five will act as a catalyst for the US market and revive it from this depressing state. These five can further be dived into: Shale energy, knowledge intensive trade, big data, infrastructure, talent development. Shale, knowledge, and infrastructure will prove to be the most effective game changers to help revive US from this crucial stage and all of the five will provide a strong foundation for long term growth and competitiveness. Shale energy is the production of natural gas and light tight oil extracted from very deep grounds. It is too costly to extract these energy resources but US possessing the 4th biggest Shale gas resources has to utilize it properly so that they can enter the market accordingly. The production of natural gas and light tight oil is already booming in places like Dakota, Texas, and Pennsylvania as t he some stakeholders have realized the importance of the energy in terms of economical progress. If utilized properly then it could add a potential boost of $380-$690 billion to annual GDP by 2020. And this will in turn generate an additional 1.7 million jobs. Moreover, by producing their own energy from natural resources the US imports will reduce to zero. But along with that the environmental risk must also be controlled to fully realize its potential.

The importance of bees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The importance of bees - Research Paper Example Female bees have a stinger where venom s stored. In the collection of pollen and nectar, bees pollinate plant flowers. The research project seeks to find out the importance of bees to plants and the ecosystem at large. A discussion on how Human activities positively or negatively affect the life and functions of bees in the botanical world is of concern in this project. It will also highlight the significance of plants in the ecosystem and the need of bees in diversity of plants. The importance of plants in the ecosystem In any ecosystem, the sun is the main source of energy. Plant community forms the largest component of the ecosystem. They trap the energy from the sun using their chlorophyll and make their own food through photosynthesis. In addition, they constitute the primary producers of the ecosystem and pass the energy to primary consumers that feed on them. The energy continues to flow to secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and then the quaternary consumers. It is clear that directly or indirectly plants provide food to all organisms in the ecosystem including humans. They also provide shelter to a number of organisms in the ecosystem (Jorgensen, 2009). Flowering plants dominate the plant community and have flowers (the reproductive organ) as the distinguishing feature. Sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves the formation of gametes and the transfer of the male gamete to the female gamete. This transfer of male gametes or pollen grains (pollination) is by animals or wind. The survival of most flowering plant to another generation depends on the formation seeds from fertilization. The agents of pollination determine the propagation of a variety of plant species (Bailey, 2009). Bees as agents of pollination: research on horticultural plantations Flower pollinators are several. They include bees, birds, bat, other insects, and wind. However, bees play the most important and effective role in pollination. Honeybees are advantageous as pollina tors compared to other types of bees especially in crop production. They collect pollen and nectar from a vast area where plants are growing until the supply is exhausted. Their consistence makes them reliable pollinators unlike other bees and insects that just visit flowers occasionally. They move out in larger numbers making every flower occupied. Honeybees are adapted for pollination in various ways. Possession of certain structures on the hind appendages, allow them to carry pollen. As they move from one flower to another, the pollen falls on the stigmas of the flowers. Their forked body hairs enable them to pick pollen and carry it around while their antennae cleaner enable them to clean the antennae. During this cleaning, pollen grains fall on the stigmas of flowers. According to research, these bees have a way of communicating to other bees (Bailey, 2009). They transmit information about flowering crops to other bees thus making pollination effective and fast. Pollination is not important to some plants such as oranges and grapes. They reproduce without fertilization (parthenocarpy). Only few plants reproduce by these means and all the other fruit plants require fertilization. A few plants are wind and self-pollinated while the others need an animal pollinator. Self-pollinations is rare because plant posses structural mechanism to get rid of it (Lovett, 2011). Experiments on

Education, in particular equality in education Essay

Education, in particular equality in education - Essay Example In one of his Lectures on education, Emerson declared that the whole theory of schooling and education is on the mother’s knee (1). A child learns to skate, fish, make snowballs and hit a mark with a stone. This is education, the same way learning the secrets of science, history and literature is. What is important is to respect the student and impart knowledge that catches a student’s attention and brings out the genius in him. However, education today is governed by the steam instead of meeting the needs of each individual mind. According to Freire’s Educational Theory, it is important for the teachers to recognize that the students are thinking subjects rather than objects (90). Therefore, it is not possible for information to be transferred from a teacher to the learner and simply memorized. This transference of knowledge needs to be shaped through discussions and reflections and comprehended for it to be called education. He also believed that a teacher should try Humans are members of not only the society they live in, but also the world. Every human being is linked to another and it is crucial for human beings to understand each other rather than focusing on what benefits they can derive from one another, especially in times of globalization where the world has become an interdependent global village. This understanding can be gained through Liberal Education as derived by Martha Nussbaum. Nussbaum, in her article ‘Liberal Education & Global Community’ wrote that the system of higher education in many countries focuses on a single pre-professional subject whereas, the liberal arts universities will cultivate humanity within students and allow them to deal with other humans through human understanding rather than economic and political connections (2-3). According to Armstrong, Doctor Howard Gardner proposed the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Ethical Dilemma In Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Dilemma In Marketing - Assignment Example This is a case of flaws in parts of its cars as it appears in After Ratings Drop, Ford Reworks Touch Screens Published: March 5, 2012 (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/business/after-ratings-drop-ford-reworks-touch-screens.html?_r=0) in The New York Times.This is an issue of ethical dilemma in marketing. Ford Motor Company has been a global firm that manufactures cars and has equally faced significant challenges including stiff competition. The most critical aspect of the problem it experiences involved realized flaws in some parts of its models. The company added touch-screen control systems to some of its most popular models as a way of meeting the demand of the customers. They also did this to gain the competitive advantage over other firms. However, with time, the customers noted significant inefficiencies with the system which was bound to affect the image of the company. Considering a number of resources Ford had invested in marketing and the intensity of surety and guarantee they gave clients. This put them in a dilemma to recall the cars or leave the customers to survive and make changes in the yet to be released ones. The customers felt disappointed and inconvenienced by the response of the system. This forced Ford motor company to decide between the two difficult alternative decisions. If they are to recall, they will incur huge losses and lose the confidence of the consumers. By leaving the customers in the dark will equally make it fairly difficult to boost the image of the firm.

REWARD SYSTEM- CASE STUDY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

REWARD SYSTEM- CASE STUDY - Essay Example 1.3 Pay. The basic rate for regular employees is  £14,000. A bonus system is in place which is commensurate to the call handler’s efforts in terms of (a) number of calls taken, and (b) informal assessment by supervisors on the quality of customers relations in sampled calls. So far it has ranged from 0 to  £8,000, averaging at  £1,300. Bonuses are paid out every three months. 1.5 Commission. The chief executive has commissioned a study to be made on an appropriate rewards system that would resolve the aforementioned problems, while at the same time matching the organisation’s key competencies, namely From the case situation given, there appears to be prima facie dissatisfaction with the rewards system of Chalmers pertaining to their call handlers, and the way the rewards system is being administered. However, this may be misleading as all allegations of unfairness and poor pay come solely from the handlers, which may be a biased perception. At present, there is no agreed, specific definition of a call centre. The University of Sheffield, commissioned to create a study of the industry for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), formulated a working definition of a â€Å"call centre† as â€Å"a work environment in which the main business is conducted via a telephone whilst simultaneously using display screen equipment (DSE). The term call centre includes parts of companies dedicated to this activity, such as internal help lines as well as whole companies.† (Sprigg, Smith & Jackson, 2003). An alternative name for this type of business firm is the â€Å"contact centre† which is described as â€Å"a business unit with responsibility for communicating directly with customers, either proactively to initiate sales, or reactively in order to respond to specific needs or enquiries. Contact centres are used extensively across both the private and public sectors (UK Trade and

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Ethical Dilemma In Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Dilemma In Marketing - Assignment Example This is a case of flaws in parts of its cars as it appears in After Ratings Drop, Ford Reworks Touch Screens Published: March 5, 2012 (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/business/after-ratings-drop-ford-reworks-touch-screens.html?_r=0) in The New York Times.This is an issue of ethical dilemma in marketing. Ford Motor Company has been a global firm that manufactures cars and has equally faced significant challenges including stiff competition. The most critical aspect of the problem it experiences involved realized flaws in some parts of its models. The company added touch-screen control systems to some of its most popular models as a way of meeting the demand of the customers. They also did this to gain the competitive advantage over other firms. However, with time, the customers noted significant inefficiencies with the system which was bound to affect the image of the company. Considering a number of resources Ford had invested in marketing and the intensity of surety and guarantee they gave clients. This put them in a dilemma to recall the cars or leave the customers to survive and make changes in the yet to be released ones. The customers felt disappointed and inconvenienced by the response of the system. This forced Ford motor company to decide between the two difficult alternative decisions. If they are to recall, they will incur huge losses and lose the confidence of the consumers. By leaving the customers in the dark will equally make it fairly difficult to boost the image of the firm.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Simone de Beauvoir's Masterwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Simone de Beauvoir's Masterwork - Essay Example The Second Sex introduction contends against the edge of the woman question of why they are down casted. It argues for ladies correspondence while demanding the truth of the sexual differences between men and women. Beauvoir thinks that it unreasonable and indecent to utilize the sexual differences as a contention for ladies subordination. She discovers it un-phenomenological to overlook this pertinent issue. As a phenomenologist, she is obliged to look at ladies remarkable knowledge of their bodies and to decide how these encounters are controlled by what phenomenology calls the regular demeanor. It is a practical judgment skills and suspicions that people unreflectively bring to their experience. In the excerpt of Baby you are great by Wilhem surely lays concrete evidence to the introduction to the second sex by viewing women as commodities, split personalities, altered humans, post -humans, and judged and manipulated by media. Women are portrayed as weaker sex as tools for sexual satisfaction use. Women appear to be rated to youth and youth to be dressed in the same social poise as the grown-up guys. Later on, the young person, coveting and cherishing, encounters the safety, the freedom of the lady sought and cherished; in marriage, he regards lady as wife and mother, and in the solid occasions of marital life she remains there before him as a free being. He can thusly feel that social subordination as between the genders no more exists and that all in all, notwithstanding contrasts, lady is an equivalent. As, nonetheless, he watches a few purposes of second rate quality the most essential being unfitness for the callings he credits these to regular reasons. When he is in a co-agent and kindhearted connection with lady, his subject is the rule of theoretical equity, and he doesnt base his state of mind upon such imbalance as may exist.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry: Nandos

Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry: Nandos Topic: How customer loyalty can be increased in the restaurant industry? The case of Nandos. Why customer loyalty is important? What Nandos is doing and how it can be better develop? Loyalty marketing, loyalty programs, how to manage it? Techniques? Benefits? Problems? Conclusion. Loyalty Marketing: Definitions Of Customer Loyalty The main change concerns in the organization of marketing activities are certainly one of the more remarkable doctrines marketing. The concept of traditional marketing put at the centre of its priorities the creation of a preference for the service, the needs and desires of consumers. The marketing approach, as observed in the theory and practice in recent years focused more on the notion of exchange and the relationship is the focus of analysis. More recent approaches of marketing focus on the customer and make the quality of the relationship the key to loyalty. Indeed, a quality relationship inhibits choice and represses the effect of preferences. Thus, the relationship with the client becomes a primary concern managerial and academic. The market-oriented generates necessary behaviours to create superior value delivered to customers (Kohli and Jaworski 1990) and place the interests of the client first (Deshpande et al. 1993) for a continue satisfaction, permanent, which undergone constant refinement. This satisfaction is no longer about the only service provided by the company, but includes elements of the relationship, such as trust and commitment. For this, we seek an ongoing relationship and oriented in the long term in the context of a relationship marketing (Dwyer, Schurr et Oh 1987, Sheth et Parvatiyar 1994) and in this context that develops loyalty policies (Dawkins and Reichheld 1990). Kyner and Jacoby (1973) define loyalty as follows: Loyalty is defined as a behavioural response bias because non-random (not spontaneous) expressed over time by an entity decision, finding one or several brands taken in an overall, according to a decision process.† In this definition, loyalty requires: A repeat purchase behaviour resulting from several background variables and complement each other; A positive attitude of consumers that must be controlled or directed. This attitude reveals a favourable perception towards the brand, service, differentiating it to the loyalty from routine behaviour. For others loyalty rooted quality and delivered on the positive gap between perceived expectations and post-purchase evaluation. For Shapiro and Varian (1999) loyalty is to the consumer when efforts to change brand, product or supplier are too large to expect a significant gain change. The authors of this school of thought attempt to explain loyalty by exit barriers that prevent a kind of free choice of the client (a client may be considered faithful to a company only because it has characteristics of geographical proximity). Another school of thought on the loyalty is that which gave birth to the management of customer relationship management (CRM) with the emergence of ideas of Life Time Value. It aims to analyze the lifetime value of its current contribution but also on the basis of its potential to better allocate the resources of the company. It is now for an analysis in terms of portfolio of clients (each client has a value for the company that can be measured by the margin gen erated). Customer loyalty can be defined as the tendency of a customer to choose one company or product/service over another for a particular need. Customer/s can be described as being brand loyal because they tend to choose a certain brand of product more often than others. Customer loyalty is evident when it is the customers who make choices and take actions. Customer may express high satisfaction levels in a survey with a product or company, but there is a big difference between satisfaction and loyalty (Kumar (2008). Loyalty is shown by the actions of the customer, who can be satisfied and still not be loyal. The satisfaction with the product is ultimately a condition for loyalty. In fact, satisfaction is necessary for loyalty but not sufficient. It is true that the satisfaction is not only based on the product and service but also the relationship with the staff. Satisfaction towards the product concerns intrinsic attributes: quality, features, design, durability, benefit. Ultimately, th e quality-price emerges as a global assessment. The service specifically covers guaranteed delivery, solving problems and handling complaints. It introduced the relational aspects of accessibility, courtesy, competence and communication. Experience has shown that the first reason why customers leave a company with whom they do business, is that they do not feel that their needs are important to the company, and vice versa for the remaining loyal to the company for a long time, they feel valued and important. This perception and feeling to be considered is the emotional bridge between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Ghaury and Cateora 2006). Companies use a series of programs as relationship marketing, Database marketing, permission marketing or customer relationship management (CRM). Loyalty has a direct effect on sales of a company, and even better on its profits. However, the increased level of loyalty stems directly from the attitude and behaviour staff to clients. Motivation staff is the most powerful vector loyalty which itself contributes to profits. Meanwhile, business processes influence largely on how the staff behave with customers. It is in the interest of the company to develop a long-term relationship with clients where both parties benefit each other. It is much less costly for the company to keep its existing customers than to seek new ones. The scale of customer loyalty has 5 types of customers starting with: Suspect: A suspect is someone who comes across the companies promotion. They are a potential suspect for the company. Prospect: If the person is interested in the promotion they become a potential prospect. Customers: A customer is someone who purchases either the product or service. Clients: Clients are those who come back to the company. Advocates: Promotes the business on the companys behalf. They are so happy about the product/service that they tell others. (http://www.learnmarketing.net/ladder.htm Accessed on 02/08/2009) Marketing And Loyalty There are many definitions of marketing applying to loyalty programs. Several of them have focused these objectives in view of the value of the customer more profitable for the company. Today, programs and loyalty cards are found everywhere on standard credit cards, restaurants, etc Loyalty programs are widespread in all sectors that deliver goods or services used. They rely on marketing databases built from information from the loyalty cards that identify the client and record information about its behaviour. Their rules often refer to the use of methods from the traditional promotional techniques, encouraging consumers to increase and sustain their purchases in order to obtain a reward. In this context, they can be distinguished from the sales promotion of their defensive focus to longer term. The objective of the promotion is offensive, and when it stops, there is nothing that prevents consumers to come back to their old habits (Ehrenberg et al. 1994). In contrast, a loyalty progr am seeks to preserve market share by locking consumers through tangible benefits deferred (promotional techniques) or intangible (individualization, privileges, etc) and acts somewhat like a permanent promotion in the long term. The effectiveness of a loyalty program thus depends on its characteristics and tangible benefits but also intangible, that is to say, the expected value of the potential relationship that is likely to generate and develop. The consumer joining a loyalty program seeks, in making their purchases at shopkeepers, obtaining dividends, gifts. The trader in investing in this program seeks to seduce and imprison the consumer. This method, better known as retention, is actually a rather simple technique by which the consumer is faced with the efforts invested in the bonus points and is losing everything in case of abandonment of the program. A loyalty program is a relationship between the customer and the merchant in which, technically, the 2 parties have benefits. I n promoting their businesses, traders undertake several actions to attract customers. For the management of immediate rewards, they offer special discount store. By managing customer loyalty program, they offer rewards delayed. In contrast to the sales promotion where earnings appear at the same time as the cost or effort, this ratio is reversed in the context of delayed rewards, since an individual must first make an effort to more or less long term for earnings in the future. Investigations on human behaviour have shown that some individuals possess a strong motivation to engage in efforts leading to the award of future earnings (Atkinson 1957, Nicholls 1989). It is this aspect that loyalty programs appropriated in the construction of systems with delayed gratification the aim of managing the length of the relationship (retention) and discrimination. (Meyer-Waarden (2002). P. 2-88). Curiously this strong motivation is akin to the quest for a reward. In other words, the effort is motivated by greed. Some experts say that consumer motivation fades over time as more becomes aware that the bonus is spaced in time, the more likely he become discouraged with the efforts required for obtaining the reward. (Meyer-Waarden (2002), P 2-89) Thus, programs must allow consumers to obtain the benefits of the program while also locking in this program. To counter this behavioural aspect, 2 types of programs are offered: proportional and landing. The first principle is to proportionately reward the best customers. The second system encourages them to consume more to reach the next threshold points providing more benefits. Thus, it offers a minimum of points to small unprofitable consumers, maximum points for customers who are very profitable, and few points to very large consumers who buy anyway. (Meyer-Waarden (2002). P. 2-89) Greed is thus increased to obtain a value of gift supported by the consumers effort. The number of points necessary for obtaining a reward is related to the amount invested in the market by the consumer. By cons, consumer choice to join or not this kind of program that demonstrates the lure of gain accessible to long-term investment requires not only money but also time. There are several types of loyalty programs. Some programs offer a specific product free after a number of agreed purchase (coffee, compact disk, etc..) Or reductions applicable on each purchase while the issuers of credit cards offer privileges such as trave l insurance and car insurance during a rental. Some cards also allow a percentage discount or return money. In practice the system of loyalty cards is simple. It is generally sufficient to consumers to use when buying the card issued or accepted by the merchant to qualify for benefits. The card companies also offer credit to their customers bonus points programs. Unlike cards issued by participating merchants, using credit cards leads automatically, no matter where it is used, the accumulation of points and can sometimes match the accumulation of these points to another program loyalty. It is important to mention the strategy department stores growing strongly consumers use their credit cards to earn double the points they would get by paying cash or get loyalty points better at the price of an interest rate up to 28.8%. More specifically, programs that offer frequent flyer points accumulated encourage consumers to use the card as often as possible when making purchases to earn poin ts available for every penny spent, which will be redeemable against products or services available through a catalogue of premium or cons of coupons or discounts available with designated partners. (Benavent. Christopher. and Lars Meyer-Waarden. 2001. Loyalty Programs: Strategies and Practices). Some loyalty card segment their customers by offering them the opportunity to pay an additional fee to join an enhanced program that offers them a better ratio spent pounds / points accumulated. The holders can be considered as incidental to their privileged relationship with the issuer of the card. From the outset, the consumer, by joining the loyalty program, provides data that feed the database of the issuing company. Subsequently, all transactions for which the loyalty card is used by the consumer are stored in this database comes to prepare a record of its habits. The program relies on both the declarative, where the consumer fills out the questionnaire affiliation, but also on buying behaviour, thanks to its history. (Frenove, A.S. Hivet, N. Joly, P and Josquin, C. 2003. Topic: The Ethics of supermarkets). The ultimate goal of these programs, in addition to customer retention is to allow traders to analyze the data collected in order to increase the value of the customers shopping cart. The Concept Of Customer Life Cycle And Types Of Loyalty The Concept Of Customer Life Cycle: One of the key concepts of customer-oriented marketing is the life cycle dynamics of the customer, based on the idea that the flows of revenues and costs vary over time as requirements change in customer / business relations, contrary to the classical analysis and static demand. The first feature of the approach is that it is done individually and not aggregated, underscoring again the importance of marketing database, made possible thanks to the performance of information technology. Another interesting aspect is that the analysis is performed dynamically. The main idea is that the opinion of a client may occur more or less intense, and we can assume that it is forming a cycle. Practically, these cycles represent changes in purchasing power, but also modes, changing preferences, the phenomena of learning and forgetting. These cycles depend on several factors: the first is age. During the aging characteristics of opinion trends, tastes and attitudes can occur. Aging is characterized by a higher loyalty, more conservative, more risk aversion. Another factor is the generation based on the assumption that successive generations have value systems and own beliefs relatively distinct from others. This generation effect partially covers the different types of experiences. This manifests itself in innovative behaviours that vary with the gap between innovation and generation. This management based on cycles of life is clear to solve three problems: acquiring the customer, maintain, expand consumption and profitability. According to Dwyer, Schurr and Oh (1987), in the sense of relationship marketing, the life cycles of the relationship between a brand, product and a consumer have three distinct phases characterized by changes over time the amount used: (1) initialization or acquisition, (2) maturation or development and (3) breaking. The beginning of the cycle is quite understandable and is in customer acquisition, with a time of discovery of the other as a potential partner. Both parties calculate the attraction of the relationship, the costs and benefits of continuing it. Marked by the process of adoption and learning, this phase is characterized by a positive rate of consumption growth, but with high costs. In a second phase, presumably the consumers level of consumption stabilizes after having fully explored the use of the service. The expectations of the relationship and its benefits are confirmed, which leads to a continuation trade and then the notion of commitment, which results in the ignorance of competitive offers. Incomes of the company increase first and then level off as costs decrease. Finally, a third cycle is where a revival / reactivation, retention or separation from the client must be considered because the contribution weakens. The decrease in sales of service may occur at any time or gradual ly, indicating a process of wear or a more brutal, reflecting the substitution phenomena. Indeed, the dissolution occurs when the unmet expectations of increased transaction costs, the weakening of the switching costs of changing needs. Both partners must make a trade off between the benefits and costs brought by the relationship to decide whether or not its continuation. Any company engaged in the marketing approach dynamic client needs to adapt its strategy according to these phases. Three types of strategies should be considered in terms of life cycles that match: The customer acquisition, The loyalty and customer retention, And the augmentation of customer loyalty which represent a real challenge. Abandonment is considered when the costs of retention are higher than income generated by the client. (Abandonment=Costs loyalty > Income generated by the client). Once the company has determined the position of the life cycle by customer segment, it becomes clearly evident that this strategy must lead to an individualized approach to lead to a balanced allocation of resources. The problem is that each individual has a different value each time t for the company, which requires segmentation based on the potential and value of customers. Types Of Loyalty Customer loyalty is the result of well-managed customer retention programs. Before developing these successful programs, its important to know there are two types of loyalty: behavioural loyalty and the emotional loyalty. Behavioural loyalty is the loyalty to a brand demonstrated by repeat sales and responses to marketing campaigns by the customer. He behaves exactly like the company wants, by purchasing good or service. Behavioural loyaltys measures include response rate to direct marketing to the customer base. Emotional loyalty is the loyalty to a brand driven by favourable perceptions, opinions and giving recommendations. The customer feels empathy and attachment to a company or brand and he is willing to recommend it around him. It is better for the company if the customer has the both types of loyalty, but when its not the case specific strategies are developed to achieve both. (Chauffey, Chadwick, Mayer, Johnston (2006)). Benefits Of Efficient Customer Loyalty Management First, a loyal customer will continue its purchases over the years. Its purchase volume should also normally increase simply by economic growth and inflation. It should accept offers for complementary products and additional (Cross-Selling and Up-Selling). In any event, transaction costs should not increase proportionately. Consequently, they will decrease as a percentage of the cost and improve profitability (Kumar (2008)). Finally, a satisfied customer refers an average of 3 customers should in the best case follow the same progression. A study by the Harvard Business School published in the journal of the same name, shows an improvement in the percentage of loyal customers by 5% per year for 5 years to double, not sales, but profits.(CRM Odyssey Inc (2003)www.crmodyssey.com Accessed on the 09/08/2009 Another benefit from customer loyalty is it creates allow to the company to protect its markets from competitors; the more the customer is satisfied, the less he will be to buy to another product or service to the competitors. Automatically barriers are created against the competitors trying to enter in the market(s) (Ghaury and Cateora (2006)). Finally the word of mouth behaviour of loyal customer increase brand awareness. Customer share their positive feelings and experiences with their friends, family or mates when they are loyal to the company or product. They still purchase to the company and recommend it to others. It means a reduction of advertising cost; the money can be used to boost the word of mouth by making strategies to reward loyal customers. Reichheld goes even further in 1996 in his book The effect of loyalty by writing: the benefits of loyal customers are increasing over time and can recruit new consumers at reduced cost by using the legal Customer faithful because it is supposed to be a good speaker for the company.† It also shows in his work as a loyal customer makes purchases more often, he tends to buy for a higher amount and is less sensitive to the variable price. He becomes a captive of the company and therefore gives a kind of barrier to entry for potential competitors. The work of the TARP (Technical Assistance Program Reseach) supports these observations. They show that winning a new customer returns four to five times more expensive than keeping a customer is already active. Jones and Sasser (Jones 1995) focused on the relationship satisfaction / loyalty and showed a sense of satisfaction may not necessarily result fidelity as a loyal customer may nevertheless want to take advantage of a promotion with another supplier, test another product or refer to another offer. By cons, they also show a sense of dissatisfaction may cause disloyalty if dissatisfaction is not taken into account by the company. These gains must obviously be taken with caution because they rely heavily on industries. There is however no doubt that customer retention can benefit a significant leverage effect on profitability. The main reasons are: lower costs for customer acquisition, the net margin updated on the life of the customer to cover these costs; reduced management costs, a loyal customer knows the business better and less prone to use his front office to make purchases (reservations) effect of recommendation; Increased revenue per customer The Cost Of Lost Customers: A defensive marketing is cheaper than an offensive marketing, which often requires a direct confrontation with the competition. The cost of keeping a customer is five times less than the cost of converting a prospect, and it can cost up to sixteen times more to achieve with the new customer, the profitability of a customer acquired. So its the rate of customer retention rate that is essential, and not the attraction. The company must carefully monitor the defection of customers and minimize the amplitude. There are four stages: Define and measure retention. This may be the reuse of the services. Know the different reasons for discontinuation, and identify those which can be remedied. Estimate the lost profit per customer lost. Calculate how much it would reduce defections. Profitability: We have already mentioned the theory of Reichheld and Sasser that a company can improve profitability by 25% to 85% by reducing its rate of defection by 5%. Thus, loyal customers are often more profitable than occasional customers. Specifically, in the service activities and the Business to Business, customers of a company tend to increase their purchase from the company as they know it and appreciate it better. A positive word of mouth: In many cases, loyal customers of a business will spontaneously promote to their surroundings, and become, through word of mouth, very effective recruiters because disinterested and credible. For all these reasons, the loyal customer service of a company is considered a real capital, called the customer capital. Retention and its challenges: This new focus puts the customer and his control in centre of our concerns. Given the incredible proliferation of professional works in the field, it seems essential to discuss strategic issues and objectives of retention, by reviewing customer orientation and loyalty policies to give a definition and a clear positioning of loyalty. The retention strategy: Loyalty, recognized as indispensable goal of any customer relationship strategy, not confined to mere promotional programs: Some rules must be respected. Rule 1: Be selective: Customers do not all contribute equally to the profitability of the company. Therefore, retention should be selectively adapting any loyalty action from an analysis of customer value. Rule 2: Propose an attractive loyalty offer and truly innovative. The loyalty offers are numerous, but not all have the same impact. The company can arbitrate according to its objectives between different options: Immediate benefits often focus on value and price (price preference ); Privileges, providing intangible benefits to customers (priority systems, assistance ); Rewards delayed in time, seeking to establish lasting relationships with customers the most profitable and likely to extend their relationship with the company. Whatever the choice of the selected offer, interest for customers is based on five attributes, determining its overall perceived value: The perceived value of any premium or net worth; Attractiveness; Accessibility through time; The freedom given to the customer in the choice of options; Simplicity of the offer. Rule 3: Anticipating the costs: The need to assess the costs in advance of any approach to loyalty is essential. Too often, a company focused on profits resulting from the proposed strategy, without taking into account the costs generated before and repeatedly. These costs may be related to both the growing number of customers affected, and ways and means of dealing with relationships with clients, sometimes completely new to the company. Rule 4: Consolidate and exploit customer information: The challenges that the company have just highlighted described the need to build its strategy of strong customer loyalty for the company. Two main lines of action are considered: †¢ The opportunity to integrate operational databases (sales / billing, marketing ) in a baseline. †¢ The interest of exploiting every opportunity to contact customers to gather information about them. This database will allow the tracking of the customer relationship over time, and identification of customer profiles profitable and unprofitable, which will determine the choice of targets to retain. Problems Linked To Customer Loyalty Difficulties In Marketing: Obtaining a good efficiency requires a good understanding of customer behaviour and causes of abandonment. One must distinguish the causes of termination which are inevitable (and often unpredictable) from other, more or less predictable and can be combated. The causes are unavoidable, for example: a change of personal or professional lifestyle, financial problems, death Preventable causes are: inadequate tariff, a history of poor service and complaints. The challenge is to build something, based on information often dispersed. In anticipation of the termination for inadequate tariff, must be able to say what was the invoice for each client if they had chosen the optimum rate? How much would he have saved? From what current difference between invoice and optimum bill is there a risk? To anticipate the claims for termination, you must classify all types of call to customer service (there are easily hundreds) and identify those that increase the probability of termination. We must also take account of differences in behaviour related to age, family status, and place of residence and recover to the extent possible this information. Difficulties In Management Retention also poses problems of management, for example the coexistence of a culture of acquisition and a culture of loyalty: In a young market, corporate culture is naturally directed towards the acquisition. This orientation manifests itself in several ways, for example, budgets are allocated primarily to sales, what is important here is the market share of sales. In these circumstances it is difficult to make a place to loyalty because it is cultural opposition on both fronts: its budget is in competition with the acquisition, because what is important here is the retention of customers and not flow of customers. Difficulties In The Organization: When the market is young, the sales should be focused on conquering, the measure of the rate of effectiveness is still difficult, and loyalty is part of the Marketing. Then improving customer knowledge, customer service records terminations, understand the causes, loyalty becomes profitable and worthy of large budgets, customer service becomes legitimate to ensure loyalty. In consumer, all sale actions are public, as far as loyalty is confidential. Loyalty is indeed a clear competitive advantage. It allows to keep or to take market share in all discretion. Confidentiality is necessary for a second reason: do not create perverse behaviour on the part of customers, who know the rules of the game could benefit for future benefits. (Jean Baptiste COUMAU and Henri WIDMER, La Jaune et la Rouge,2002) Rejection Of Customers: The approach of loyalty can lead to bias by virtue of its objectives: there is concern that the benefits accorded to consumers more loyal to the product or service concerned and not the enterprise. There is a risk of great loss of power marketing consent. Moreover, the strong competition leads to a generalization of loyalty operations that can not only cause fatigue but also a rejection of the approach by customers. The multiplicity of material resources such as loyalty cards generalized in various companies in portfolios causes both a reaction to the trivialization of operation for the customer and a loss of power to the business on target. The implementation of a loyalty operation is tricky: the company must choose carefully because the target must be loyal customers, those holders of profits. This targeting is difficult and requires the development of a database of well-informed. This base is also used to monitor quantitatively and qualitatively loyal customers. These are consider ations of costs related to these investments in information that may be a limit. (Fotso Tagne Achille Rostand, La fidelisation client http://www.ougagner.fr/fidelisation.html Accessed on the 09/09/2009) Means And Factors Influencing Loyalty Factors Influencing Loyalty If they are well structured and well implemented, customer loyalty programs cited above can bring measurable benefits to the company that would stand out positively of competition by reducing costs and in the same time increase its income. This situation is favoured by: Attracting new customers; A high retention rate of existing customers for a long period; Increasing the frequency of visits by the existing customers; Increasing expenditure on new and existing customers; Making customers in good conditions so they feel appreciated and satisfied then they promote products or services through word of mouth around them. (Memberson (2008) http://www.memberson.com/Loyalty/CustomerLoyalty.aspx Accessed on 01/08/2009) Some factors are essential to create and maintain the Customer loyalty. Showing 6 success factors that make some companies