Customer feedback Essay

The purpose of this report is help Dave Smith, the General Manager of the Landmark Hotel Auckland to improve the hotel’s current customer satisfaction measurement scheme by comparing a range of survey methods and recommends the most appropriate survey programme for the hotel. The report is broken down to two sections. The first section defines customer satisfaction and articulates the importance of measuring customer satisfaction. Section one also compares the functions of CSQs and TripAdvisor.com and introduces the content analysis method to the Landmark Hotel. The second part of the report defines measures of central tendency and dispersion and presents calculations from the guest survey spreadsheet provided. Based on summary table 1.1, the report briefly describes what the calculations mean to the hotel and produced a short recommendation. The report is produced with several limitations, which need to be addressed and overcome for future research. The recommendation made to Landmark Hotel under the first part, regarding the most appropriate research method was selected based on one of only two options. Further, since there is no standard ways to perform content analysis, the report simply presented what appeared to be the most logical procedure. Finally, the recommendation regarding internal marketing was much generalised due to word limits. PART A Defining Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction has been a topic of great importance in business practices. There is an overwhelming amount of outcome definitions characterising customer satisfaction, many of which have not yet been empirically tested. According to Yi (1993), some academics and practitioners define customer satisfaction from an outcome-based approach. Alternatively, other perceives and defines customer satisfaction as a process. Engel and Blackwell (1982) defined customer satisfaction as â€Å"an evaluation that the chosen alternative is consistent with prior beliefs with respect to the alternative† (p. 501). This definition is comparable with the disconfirmation theory, which proposes that guests are either satisfied or dissatisfied based on their expectations prior and subsequent to the purchase of the actual service experience. In this section, we are particularly concerned with the importance of measuring customer satisfaction. Fortunately, this question can be answered directly using the service-profit chain. The service-profit chain is simply a proposition of a series of linkages between â€Å"profitability, customer loyalty, and employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity† (Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser & Schlesinger, 1994, p. 164). Customer satisfaction represents a crucial role in the service-profit chain because satisfaction is essentially a driver of customer loyalty (retention, repeated business and referrals), which directly impacts the profitability of a hospitality firm. Customer satisfaction is extremely important because it produces word-of-mouth, reduces operating overheads and facilitates price premiums (Denove & Power, 2006). Hospitality firms constantly look for more effective ways to measure customer satisfaction. Managers try to achieve greater accuracy in survey outcomes and use them to reliably address the gaps between management’s visions and the customer’s needs. Comparing Data Collection Methods Guest Feedback Forms Guest feedback forms, comment cards or customer satisfaction questionnaires (CSQs) are frequent tools used by most hotels for measuring customer satisfaction. Barsky (1992) stated two major disadvantages of guest comment cards, â€Å"poor construct validity†¦ poor statistical validity† (Barsky, 1992, p. 51). Yesawich (1978) also hypothetically considered CSQs as â€Å"more often than not, unreliable and statically invalid† (p, 72). Barsky (1992) further argues that guest comment cards may indicate customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction and related trends, but generally does not provide sufficient information for decision-making. Poria (2004) outlined several key advantages of using CSQs during guest complaints. Poria claimed that asking the guest to fill in CSQ would allow the staff extra time to resolve the problem and calms the guest. Tripadvisor.com In comparison with CSQs, Tripadvisor.com is an online interaction platform. Unlike the majority of quantitative methods, online customer reviews often articulate psychological changes of the hotel guests. According to Li, Ye and Law (2012), online reviews are more likely to convey guest’s true feelings, which make up for the missing information that was not captured by guest surveys. Tripadvisor.com and other eWOM platforms allow managers to interact with the guests, form one-to-one dialogues and perform qualitative content analysis. Content analysis is a systematic and objective approach to make inference from written data (Downe†Wamboldt, 1992). Like all qualitative research methods, content analysis is concerned with meanings and contextual aspects of a service experience. Content analysis can be described as an intensive exploration of a single customer review and typically, managers look for rich and vivid descriptions in the review, rather than generalised knowledge. However, content analysis and comparable qualitative research methods may lack scientific validity. Thus, it is difficult for managers to make reliable generalisations from a confined sample size. Research Methods and Design The Landmark Hotel needs to go beyond measuring performances and begin to understand perceptions and gain practical and context-dependent knowledge relating to specific guest experiences. I recommend the Landmark Hotel to focus on qualitative content analysis. Content analysis can be performed on online guest reviews as well as guest comment cards. Additionally, I recommend the use of open-ended question in guest comment cards in order to provide greater insights to the guest’s feelings (Lukas, Hair, Bush & Ortinau, 2005). According to Guthrie and Abeysekera (2006), content analysis requires a randomly selected sample, clearly defined criteria of analysis and a systematic data categorisation method, so that statistical analysis of the data can be performed. Downe†Wamboldt (1992) proposed an eight step procedure that the researcher should follow when conducting content analysis. These steps can be briefly described as 1) selecting unit of analysis, 2) defining the categories, 3) defining the categories, 4) testing for reliability and validity, 5) define or revise coding rules, 6) pre-testing the revised category schemes 7) data coding and 8) reassessing reliability and validity. According Marković and Raspor (2010), reliability of content analysis can be improved by developing coders for similar contents. Data coding allow researchers to measure frequency and percentage through tabulations, compute measures of central tendency and dispersion, test for difference, association and interdependence by performing t-tests and chi-square analysis using SPSS applications. Integration After the results have been analysed and interpreted, the researcher can choose to integrate and present the research outcomes within the hotel using an analytical report that is credible and believable. The report clearly defines the research problem/issue and the research methodology, which clearly articulates the objectives of the research, the research design used, descriptions of samples and the sampling methods and the how data are analysed. The results section is the most important section. This section should contain presentations of findings that are relevant to the research problem. The report should also contain a conclusion section, a recommendation and a limitation section which illustrates â€Å"extraneous events that place certain restrictions on the report† (Lukas, et al., 2005, p. 557). PART B Calculations and Definitions of Measurements Considering the guest survey spreadsheet, I have calculated the measures of central tendency and dispersion for each behavioural intention scale. For measures of central tendency, I have computed the mean, median and mode respectively. These measures are used as data reduction, which describes the set of responses through a single value. The mean is â€Å"the arithmetic average of the sample† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 436). The mean is derived from the sum of all values pertained from the responses and divided by the exact number of valid responses. The median is â€Å"the middle value of a rank-ordered distribution† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 436). The mode is defined as â€Å"the most common value in the set of responses to a question† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 436). Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion. It is defined as â€Å"the average distance of the distribution values from the means† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 438). The Excel function which I have used to compute the standard deviation of the data given was STDEV.S. STDEV.S estimates standard deviation from a sample rather than the entire population. The guest survey spreadsheet provided a number of intention statements aimed to obtain some ideas about guest experiences for certain aspects of the hotel. The management hoped to explore the guest’s intended behaviours as much as possible and the likelihood that guests will demonstrate predictable behaviour towards staying at the hotel in the foreseeable future. Table 1.1 shows that first and second rating scale demonstrated a lower average value in comparison with other rating scales. Evidently, service standard and staff competence to make guests feel accustomed during their stays did not meet the required expectations. Question eight also shows that on average, guests would not recommend the Landmark Hotel to others. Recommendations I postulate that service quality could be a major contributory factor to declines in booking rates. According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985), there are ten determinants of service quality – competence, courtesy, reliability, responsiveness and understanding are five relatively important determinants directly influenced by staff. Additionally, empathy and assurance are additional components of service quality directly determined by hotel personnel, as proposed in the SERVQUAL scale (Parasuraman et al., 1988). For the purpose of restoring and improving service quality, I recommend an adjustment of focus onto internal marketing activities. According to George and Gronroos (1991), â€Å"internal market of employees is best motivated for service-mindedness and customer-oriented behaviour by a marketing-like approach, where marketing-like activities are used internally† (p. 86). Internal marketing is essentially a process of building a customer-oriented culture through training and achieving internal satisfaction. Internal marketing implies a number of activities besides training utilisation. Take, for example, regularly assessing internal satisfaction, empowerment, and the provision of adequate supervisory support, open communication policies and the development of a sound reward system all forms part of internal marketing activities that seeks to achieving continuous quality improvements. References Barsky, J. D. (1992). Customer satisfaction in the hotel industry meaning and measurement. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 16(1), 51-73. Denove, C. & Power, J. D. (2006). Satisfaction: How every great company listens to the voice of the customer. New York, NY: Portfolio. Downe-Wamboldt, B. (1992). Content analysis: method, applications, and issues. Health care for women international, 13(3), 313-321. Engel, J. F., & Blackwell, R. D. (1982). Consumer behavior. New York, NY: Hole, Rinehard and Winston. George, W. R., & Gronroos, C. (1989). Developing customer-conscious employees at every level: internal marketing. Handbook of services marketing, 29-37. Guthrie, J., & Abeysekera, I. (2006). Content analysis of social, environmental reporting: what is new?. Journal of Human Resource Costing & Accounting, 10(2), 114-126. Heskett, J. L., & Schlesinger, L. A. (1994). Putting the service-profit chain to work. Harvard business review, 72(2), 164-174. Li, H., Ye, Q., & Law, R. (2012). Determinants of customer satisfaction in the hotel industry: An application of online review analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, (ahead-of-print), 1-19. Lukas, B. A., Hair, J. F., Bush, R. P., Ortinau, D. J. (2005). Marketing research. North Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited. Markovic, S., & Raspor, S. (2004). Measuring perceived service quality using SERVQUAL: a case study of the Croatian hotel industry. Management, 5(3), 195-209. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. & Berry, L.L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49, Fall, 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. & Berry, L.L. (1988). SERVQUAL: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, Spring, 12-40. Poria, Y. (2004). Employees’ interference with the distribution of guest satisfaction questionnaires. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(5), 321-324. Yesawich, P. C. (1978). Post-opening marketing analysis for hotels. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 19(3), 70-81. Yi, Y. (1993). The antecedents of consumer satisfaction: The moderating role of ambiguity. Advances in Consumer Research, 20, 502–506.

What Are the 6 Defensive Positions in Football and basketball Essay

Football vs. Basketball Introduction             Sports have always been fun and exciting for most people. It is always fun to practice and play with other people. Each and every week, millions of people tune in to watch their favorite sports, but some do not recognize the difference between one sport to another. Usually, each game has its own structure, which make it be given the name it is known for. This paper focuses on the difference between football and basketball as forms of sport.             Basketball is governed by the Federation of International Basket Ball Association (FIBA). The body was created in 1932. FIBA regulates and control all matters concerning the game in the world. In contrast, the body that governs and runs soccer activities in the world was formed in 1904, which is a Federation of International Football Association (FIFA). Moreover, it organizes international soccer matches, including World cup and also approves the facilities and equipments used world wide. It also funds soccer organization for promotion of the game and generate the rules for the management of soccer all over the world.               The field of play of football is a 120 by 100 yards where it is usually marked for positioning, such as the center circle where it is used for awarding a kick off during the start of the game.. It also has a goal line, which is the shorter boundary of the field for awarding a goal kick, corner kick and a goal. It also has a penalty area where penalty kick is awarded. Generally, the field is covered by grass. On the other hand, the basketball has a playing court, which is 28meters in length and 15 meters in width. The field is supposed to be flat, hard, surface free from obstructions. Just like a football it has a center circle, but in basketball it is used for awarding a jump ball during the start of the game.               In football, the duration of play consists of two equal periods of 45minutes whereby after the first period the players are awarded a half times of 15minutes. After the second play period, if there is a tie there are awarded an extra time of two halfs of 30minutes. But the game is usually played in 90minutes. In contrast, basketball game is played in four periods of 10minutes each where the interval of 2minutes between the first and the second period is awarded, which become the first half, and third and fourth period, which form the second half. If there is a tie an extra 5minute is awarded at the end of playing time.               Taking into account the ball that is used to play football, it is supposed to weigh not less than 410-450 grams having a circumference of not more than 70centimenters and not less than 68centimenters and a pressure equal to 0.6 to 1.1atmospheres sea level. In contrast the ball that is used to play basketball should have a circumference not less than 74.9 centimeters and not more than 78 centimeters. The ball should also weigh not less than 567-650 grams, and have enough pressure.               Though both teams has players, they are totally different. In football, a match is played by two teams whereby each team consists not more than 11 players, one of whom is the goalkeeper and three substitutes may be used, which is a maximum in an official competition. Moreover, a football match may not start if either team consists of fewer than 7 players. In basketball, a team should consist of twelve registered players, but only five are supposed to play in the field of play while the others are substitutes. A basketball cannot begin if one of the team is not on the playing court with five players ready to play. Nevertheless, in a basketball match, it is a must for all the players to tuck in their shirts while in a football match, it is not a must for the players to tuck in their shirts. Also, there is no goalkeeper in a basketball match.               In basketball the ball player is required to bounce the ball repeatedly as he/she is moving with hands, this is called â€Å"dribbling†. In football if the ball is fumbled with legs. A fumble is the loss of possession of the ball by the player. In football the ball is not supposed to be touched by hand by the players. The goalkeeper is the only person who is supposed to touch the ball with hands, and within his or her region and guided by several rules. In contrast, basketball involves hands whereby the player uses their hands to score, throw or score a goal. When a goal is scored by a player, the player is awarded either three points, one or two points depending on the position of the scorer. Also, it is considered to be a goal if the ball wholly enters through the ring and passes through the net. However, in football, a goal is considered to be a goal, regardless of the position of the scorer as long as he or she has not committed a foul or violated t he rules of the game and the ball has passed through the goal line between the two goal posts. Nevertheless, if the referee is not able to detect who committed a foul in football the players are awarded a drop ball to continue with the game while in basketball the umpire awards a jump ball.            Football and basketball have both very different play styles. Football involve full-contact sport, with tackles, blocking, and collision in every single play. In football the most common reason a player leaves the game is because of an injury. On the other hand, in basketball contact between players is prohibited. It is a non-contact sport and any contact is considered to be a foul. Football players will get many more hits in the face than basketball players. Football is more associated with brute force, strength, and speed type sport, while basketball is a skill type sport along with strength and speed. Moreover, basketball uniform consists of shirts of the same color, numbered 4-15 in the fronts and the back. In football, they wear shirts or jersey with sleeves and usually labeled on the back.             Though every team has officials who rule over the game, the officials are extremely different. In football, there is the center referee, the assistant referee and the linesmen. These are the officials who overlook the ongoing of the game, rule over and directs the entire game. In basketball, there are one or two umpires who overlook the ongoing game. These people work together with an assistant scorer, a timer, 24 seconds operator who also oversees the progress of the game in the field. It has many officials who watch the ongoing match than in football team, which can be played in the presence of three officials.               Moreover, considering the technical equipment of every team, there are different equipment used during the game. During basketball matches, there must be a foul marker, which consists of 1-5, a 24 second operating device, scoreboard and a game clock. On the other hand, a football match must have a coin used to determine the team that will start the game, which is done by tossing of a coin, a whistle, a scoring card and a pencil.             In conclusion, sports are always different from each other, considering the structure, players, the field and the officials of the game. It is for this reason that we see different games be played differently. The difference between football and basketball is totally different from the starting of the game, players, field, structures and so on. Also, sometimes the supports of the games differ since there are always taste and preference. References Alder, James. â€Å"What Are the 6 Defensive Positions in Football?† About. N.p., N.d. Web. 2012. . â€Å"Basketball Positions.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. . â€Å"National Football League Regular Season.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Aug. 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. . â€Å"The Coaching Staff in American Football.† – For Dummies. N.p., N.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. . â€Å"The Differences Between Football and Basketball.† A Sea Of Blue. N.p., N.d. Web. 09 October. 2012. . Source documents  s  

Language and form Essay

In chapter three, Dracula begins by describing his countries people and boasts of his family name to Harker. It then goes on to when Dracula quizzes Harker about England and forces him to write letters to his relatives informing them of his extended stay. One of the more startling events in the chapter involves Harker spotting Dracula crawling down the wall of the castle which makes him think of the predicament he finds himself in. Towards the end of the chapter, Harker goes against Dracula’s advice and falls asleep in a foreign room only to find himself with three voluptuous women but just as one puts her lips on his neck, Dracula disturbs them ordering them to leave with the â€Å"smothered child† he provided them. Harker is still not sure if they were a figment of his dream or not. From the very beginning of the chapter, Harker seems to have found himslef in a very much more hostile environment then he was previously in as he has recently found himself in â€Å"a veritable prison† himslef as the â€Å"prisoner†. From this moment on the tension seems to grow in the oevrall plot as Harker’s â€Å"wild feelings† and â€Å"helplessness† is portrayed in his actions of desperately trying to find an escape. By far and away, one of Stokers’ greatest techniques in building up the tension is by hinting at the things we know will develop later. A great example of this technique is the moment when Harker himself realises that the castle has no servants and the coach driver who controlled the wolves with such fearless power was actually the Count himself, all along the reader knew this however was kept in suspense as they wanted to see how Harker would react to this, in Chapter three they finally get to see his reaction and this adds instant suspense to what he will do and gives another twist as he tries to â€Å"keep his knowledge and his fears to himself†. Tension also builds up increasingly as the chapter continues as refrences back to Dracula and his brutal and vicious strength are made all the more frequent such as the simple yet very powerful gestour of â€Å"laying a heavy hand on my shoulder† which almost single handedly frightened Harker into writing the letters to notify his relatives about his extended stay. Not only does the chapter describe Dracula’s strength but it also touches on his attributes and one of them being the moment in which Harker saw the Count crawl down the sheer of the castle in a â€Å"lizard-like† way. These such instances create an eery feeling and again relates back to Stokers’ technique of hinting at the things we know will develop later as readers all know about dracula’s special skills yet just little hints like this rather then being blunt about it makes the reader really get the feel of Harkers emotions and develops dracula more effectively as the figure of fright in the story. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Bram Stoker section.

WorldCom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WorldCom - Essay Example According to the case, Ebbers and Sullivan were the main controllers and master minds behind the success of WorldCom from the time it was Long Distance Discount Services (LDDS). The mention of this massive success is however overlapped in the case by the accusations of bringing down the company to bankruptcy as a result of massive accounting irregularities, fraud and conspiracy. Once the company started going under and an external auditing firm hired to come and audit it, the recommendations from this audit firm were not taken into action immediately by the auditing committee of the company. The case explains that if immediate actions had been taken to examine the massive accounting irregularities discovered by Cooper (an external auditor), then WorldCom would have been saved from bankruptcy. But this was not to be the case. The board on the other hand had so much faith in Ebbers leadership as CEO and they were also afraid of the implications his withdrawal of his shares and input to the company would have on WorldCom that they continued to lend him loans and at a lower interest rate. These loans given to Ebbers were for his own personal growth and maintenance and they accumulated to over $300 million which was company money but no repayments were forthcoming to benefit the company. Sullivan together with the fraudulent stock broker firm (Salomon Smith Barney brokers) hid the truth of the company’s economic performance from the shareholders and stockholders. According to these two crucial groups of people, the company’s quarterly profits and cash flow earnings was admirable and even more people still refused to sell their shares even when rumors of bankruptcy of the company started being aired. Later discovery was that the CFO was misrepresenting the accounting records without people realizing and this was even worse on the last five quarters before

Target Market and Competitive - chipotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Target Market and Competitive - chipotle - Essay Example od with integrity is our commitment to finding the very best ingredients raised with respect for the animals, the environment, and the farmers.† From the statement, it is clearly evident that the restaurant has ethical practices in line with the mission’s description. The main goal of the restaurant is to provide customers with high quality food associated with a high level of integrity. In fact, the food provided by the restaurant has a reliable source and preparation of the food is carried out with a lot of dedication, integrity and care. Therefore, the high quality service availed by the company is an added advantage because it is tricky to identify the food source people utilize every day (Halverson). The target market of Chiptole restaurant is adults aged from 18 years to 24 years old. The targeted customers comprise of high school and college educated persons. The restaurant targets all the people who value freshness in foods such as organic, natural and homemade foods. The income brackets of the target market ranges between $10, 000 to $60,000. 82 percent of the target market is Caucasian and 69 percent do not have children. The target market comprises of individuals who are image conscious, tech shrewdness, love an active lifestyle, financially unfocused and environmentally conscious. The targeted consumers add value to the firm because most of them respond quickly to the products offered by the restaurant. Chiptole’s customers are persons who love cooking their foods and others consider cooking as a hobby or a passion. In addition, some of the customers have an interest in issues to do with food network. Overall, the target market is all those people who value freshness in foods, and in their shopping behavior, they value anything fresh. It is evident that the consumer behavior of the target market adds value to the mission of Chiptole restaurant because the main goal of the restaurant is to provide high quality foods to the customers.

Applied Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Applied Ethics - Assignment Example Therefore, ethics can cause morality to change. Finally, morality surpasses cultural norms, while ethics in most cases is overseen by professional and legal guidelines within a particular place and time (Ciulla, 2003). Ethics is fundamental to any leadership; good ethics upholds characteristic needed for an effective leader. In the leadership, you can get two scenerios, an effective leader but not ethical or a not effective leader but ethical (Ciulla, 2004). It is hard to get both. Therefore, the phrase â€Å"the ends justify the means† depends on what is the outcome and the goal and the means used to achieve them. If the outcome is good and noble then, the ends justify the means. However, most people do not mean that; they use the phrase as an excuse to achieve a particular goal, through any means no matter how illegal, immoral and unpleasant the means could be. The phrase means it does not matter how someone gets what he or she want so long have it. In most cases this phrase is used in an unfair way such that most leaders use it for self-gain. For instance, Machiavelli never liked Cesare Borgia as a person, however he was impressed by Borgia as the resolute, who got the job done, but the way he did it was morally disgusting. In ethics end justifying the means is an ethical dilemma and a popular scenario. There are things to be considered when making a decision, for instance, what is the morality of the action, the morality of the individual performing an action and the morality of the outcome. In the leadership, a good and effective leader should use a moral means to justify a moral end. This is because leaders need to be more careful than ordinary people because a leader’s moral inconsistency is highly noticeable by the public than just an ordinary individual. When their action does not meet their promote values, then they tend to lose the trust of their effectiveness from various stakeholders. There are leaders who tend to be effective in what

The Comfort Women of Nanking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Comfort Women of Nanking - Essay Example There are many evidences found in the literature archives that showed women were in the brothels army camp but none of these directly link the responsibility to the Japanese government. There were also photos found showing former comfort women, now in their 80’s standing in protest rallies. On the other hand, there are hard evidences on the part of the Japanese government that sustains their position of denial. On the basis of evidences, study concludes that the Japanese government did not violate any international law on armed conflict as rape is one of the atrocities of war. A recommendation on further study of the law on armed conflict is suggested to avoid recurrence of the situation in the future. The case of comfort women, once kept in secret and not discussed openly, has become a source of uncomfortable diplomatic relations with its affected Asian neighbors. After nearly 60 years of keeping quiet, and with the support of international groups, these women break their silence to demand recognition and payment for their sufferings. These ex-comfort women who are now on their eighties still believe that they deserve to be paid because of the agony they had experienced. In reply, the Japanese Government maintains its position of denial of responsibilities and remains steadfast in its response that it has met all its WWII responsibilities set in WWII treaties. This paper aims to provide an assessment of strategies mounted by the Japanese Government to contradict the claims of the ex-comfort women. I focus on the experiences of the women, particularly on the harrowing nightmares of the sexual abuses to draw an insight on the events referred to.

Conflict and friendships Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Conflict and friendships - Essay Example l consensus among developmental psychologists that security is one of the most important properties of children and adolescents’ relationships with their friends†. For example, when compared with securely attached individuals insecurely attached persons usually display lower levels of companionship with their friends, lower security levels, which are reflected in lower expectations from the friendship to help to cope with difficulties, and higher conflict levels with the friends / Hazan & Shaver, 1987/ . There are also studies, which focused on the relation of attachment styles with sex differences. These studies have shown that women display higher levels of Companionship, Protection, and Affective Bond, which men showed Aid, Security, and Help / Saferstein, Neimeyer & Hagans, 2005/. Accorging to Bukowski et al. (1994) â€Å"one of the most persistent themes in the theoretical literature regarding children’s and early adolescents’ friendship relations is that these relations are affordances for feelings of acceptance, validation, and attachment†. So, attachment style theory suggests that attachments are generally described ob the basis of certain characteristics sex of the friend is among them. One more theory investigates the dependence between the family experiences of a child and its ability and success in building close relationships with its peers. Thus, the researchers of this sphere maintain that there is a direct link between the close parent-child relationships and the quality of friendships established by a child. Both attachment and social learning theories supported the findings that children with close relations confiding relations with their mothers possessed higher quality of friendships. The most prominent such dependence becomes in comparison with children from complex or stepmother families / Dunn, Davies, OConnor & Sturgess, 2001 /. However, there is the point where the supporters of this theory split. One believe that it is the

Inappropriate Behavior Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Inappropriate Behavior - Research Paper Example The sexual harassment committed by Marwan has been quite offensive in nature. Marwan’s performance in the role of a pirate in the Studio Five Theme Park has been appreciated to a great extent by the audience and the guests who have been watching Marwan performing over a period of some time now. Marwan’s behavior has not been appropriate while interacting with the guests of the park after the performance is over. Marwan has the tendency to become cozy with the female guests of the park. He even went to the extent of placing his hands on the back of the ladies while posing for photographs. This behavior of Marwan was inappropriate in nature as the female guests of the park did not expect Marwan to engage such kind of unwelcome conduct. The behavior of Marwan towards his junior fellow colleague who was female and newly hired was very offensive and could be treated as an act of sexual harassment without any debate under the civil rights laws of the country. Marwan not only grabbed her breast but also threatened to get her fired if she refused to go on a date with Marwan. This was an inappropriate behavior of Marwan under the context and was totally not welcomed by the female junior colleague. This is a serious case of sexual harassment committed by Marwan and was strictly prohibited under the civil rights laws of the country. The complaint by the junior female artist against Marwan led to his termination from the contract of performance in the Studio Five Theme Park. The legal nature of employment of Marwan was contractual in nature.

Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground Essay Example for Free

Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground Essay Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the most influential authors in world literature. This Russian author had written several remarkable novels including Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and Brothers Karamazov. However, before the aforementioned novels were published, Dostoevsky had already gained critical acclaim and recognition for his work entitled Notes from Underground. This novel explores how the freedom of man is undermined by the atmosphere of rationality that dominated the 17th and 18th centuries. Through the novel’s protagonist, the Underground Man, Dostoevsky illustrates how real freedom is manifested in the defiance of reason. The period called the Enlightenment occurred throughout the 17th and 18th centuries (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). During this time, reason governed over every endeavor, and was valued above everything else. The period left no room for superstition or foolishness; rationality reigned supreme (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). Reason was the means in which man and society can develop for the better. European thought was dominated by materialism, liberalism and more importantly, utopianism (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). All of these movements were established on the belief that reasonable and natural-law theories could establish a perfect society (Emerson, 1992). Perfection was only attainable through the application of reason and the manifestation of â€Å"enlightened self-interest† (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). The prevalence of reason strongly influenced and inspired Dostoevsky to write Notes from Underground (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). However, the novel did not convey a message agreeable to the intellectual milieu; instead, it served to criticize its very existence. Notes from Underground is actually a response to another text, entitled What Is to be Done? (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ; Madden, n. d. ). It was written by N. G. Chernyshevsky and was published in 1863. Chernyshevsky was an advocate of â€Å"rational egoism,† a movement which fervently believed that perfection of life could be achieved through rationality and enlightenment (Madden, n. d. ). The â€Å"rational egoists† also upheld principles of natural law (Madden, n. d. ). Dostoevsky disagreed with the belief that rationality and enlightenment were the keys to perfection. He strongly believed that the nature of man was beyond those two elements. He acknowledged man’s capacity for both the rational and the foolish; he even upheld that the irrationality of man was more definite, while the rationality was merely added (Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). Moreover, Dostoevsky was convinced that laws of nature or the principles of reason were not capable of recognizing human individuality, personality, and more importantly, free will (Madden, n. d. ). These beliefs are embedded in the novel, a text which Rozanov considers a critique of reason as a means to perfection (as cited in Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). The novel, in the words of Wasiolek, showed how man can be both rational and irrational, as his actions are the result of the exercise of his own freedom (as cited in Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). Hence, the theme of freedom in the novel is the utmost disregard for reason and natural laws. The protagonist of the novel is the Underground Man, a forty year old man who used to work in civil service (Dostoevsky, 1992). For a protagonist, he is considered an â€Å"anti-hero† (Madden, n. d. ). He is also the antithesis of the time in which he lived; he disagreed with utilitarianism, which prevailed during the 19th century. Utilitarianism was characterized by utilizing â€Å"mathematical formulas and logical proofs† to equate one’s wants with his best interests (Madden, n. d. ). The Underground Man disagrees with this; he attests that man wants to exercise his freedom and could do so regardless if it agrees with his best interests or not. If it is man’s desire to act irrational, he could. Of course, acting irrational is not in anyone’s best interest. However, by being irrational, he was truly able to exercise his freedom. Actions based on desires, instead of reason, enable man to be free. Freedom is thus associated with acting without reason. So in an era where reason dominated, the Underground Man was rather unreasonable. By being unreasonable, he was able to be truly free. In the novel, the Underground Man asserts that science deprives one of freedom. Dostoevsky (1992) writes, â€Å"Science has managed by now to anatomize man to such a degree that we already know that all your wishing, your so-called free will is nothing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 29). The Underground Man then begins his attack on utilitarianism: If someday they should really discover the formula for all our whims and wishes—I mean, what causes them, what laws they’re governed by, how they develop and where they lead in one case or another†¦in other words, an actual mathematical formula—why, then man will perhaps immediately stop wishing†¦Who wants to wish according to graphs (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 29)? â€Å"Whims and wishes† in this quotation refers to the desires of man. The principles of utilitarianism are marked by analysis of people’s desires. These desires undergo scrutiny, as to determine if these desires agree with what is best for the people. However, the act of wishing does not involve analysis or scrutiny. One can desire something for no apparent reason. One may wish for something that may prove harmful in the long run. The exercise of freedom is spontaneous and non-regulated. If one has to base his or her desires from the graphs or formulas of science and math, they would no longer fall under the exercise of freedom. If one is to desire based on the graphs or formulas, it would not be an act of freedom any more. This is because there is imposition involved; the desires are imposed upon by the requirements of science or math. In this situation, the desires of man are dictated by the principles of reason. Thus, freedom disappears upon the use of reason. In the words of the Underground Man, â€Å"For if desires are one day brought into complete accord with reason, then we shall reason instead of wishing† (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 30). The Underground Man continues his argument against utilitarianism by differentiating reason and desires. He states: You see, gentlemen, reason is unquestionably a fine thing, but reason is no more than reason, and it gives fulfillment only to a man’s reasoning capacity, while desires are a manifestation of the whole of life—I mean the whole of human life, both with its reason and with all its itches and scratches (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 31). In this quotation, the Underground Man affirms that while reason is important, it is not the most important thing. The desires of man, through which freedom can be exercised, have a much wider scope than reason. Therefore, the desires of man cannot be reduced to graphs and tables because it transcends them. The Underground Man uses the piano key as a symbol of how reason curbs man’s freedom: He will insist on clinging precisely to his own fantastic dreams, his most vulgar folly, solely in order to confirm himself that men are still men, and not piano keys, which may be played by the hands of natural laws themselves, but which are threatened by this very playing to be brought to a state where it will no longer be possible to wish a thing outside of graphs and schedules (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 34). Piano keys are pressed to make a sound in the process of playing the piano. These keys cannot produce sound on their own; they need to be touched and pressed. The analogy between the man and the piano key is what Dostoevsky used to illustrate his point. By measuring man’s desires with the graphs and formulas to determine whether or not it is in their best interests, man becomes a piano key. This is because man comes under the mercy of reason which plays him. To be manipulated by reason is to be bound by its laws; therefore, it is not freedom. The Underground Man believes that humankind values freedom over reason and best interests (Madden, n. d. ). Freedom means acting out of one’s desires or wishes whether or not the act spoken of is irrational or foolish. In the book, the Underground Man manifests his freedom through several examples. He had committed acts contrary to reason, making him a truly free individual. Hence, the Underground Man was successful in escaping the realm of reason he despises. The book starts with the Underground Man’s admission of a pain. He says, â€Å"I think that my liver hurts† (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 1). Anyone who experiences pain will surely resort to measures to eliminate that pain. This is because pain is suffering, and nobody wants to suffer. In the instance that pain is felt, it is only reasonable that one seeks medical assistance by visiting a doctor. On the contrary, the Underground Man says, â€Å"No, sir, I refuse to see a doctor out of spite† (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 1). This decision is obviously irrational, because he does not want to see a doctor to deal with the pain. In addition, he does not have a valid reason not to go to the doctor. One would presume that he simply takes pleasure in his own pain. A rational man would find this decision as preposterous, as no one ever enjoyed suffering from pain (Madden, n. d. ). However, what appears to be a manifestation of masochistic tendencies is actually the Underground Man’s exercise of freedom. Reason dictates that when one feels pain, that person should visit the doctor. As was earlier discussed, the Underground Man believes that reason limits freedom, because it only acknowledges the desires that would be in one’s best interests. The tolerance of pain and the derivation of pleasure from it is the Underground Man’s way of breaking free from reason. Surely, it is a foolish thing to do, but he does not want to conform to the dictates of reason. He values his freedom, so he refuses to act according to reason. He is a free man; he could do as he pleased. Even if it is contrary to his best interests in prolonging such agony, he still does it because he wished to do so. By tolerating pain and deriving pleasure from it, he successful avoids the system of reason. According to the Underground Man, â€Å"I know better than anyone else that I will only harm myself by this, and no one else. And yet, if I don’t seek a cure, it is out of spite. My liver hurts? Good, let it hurt still more† (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 2)! The Underground Man proceeds with his painful endeavor, this time with a toothache. The fourth chapter of the book opens with his laughter: â€Å"Ha-ha-ha! You will find pleasure in a toothache next! And why not? There is pleasure in a toothache ache too† (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 14). Just like with the liver ache, the Underground Man allows himself to feel the pain of his tooth instead of seeing a dentist. He welcomes the pain, and refuses to seek treatment. A critic of the novel, Mikhaylovsky declares that the Underground Man â€Å"tortures because he wants to, he likes torture. There is neither reason nor purpose here, and, in the opinion of Dostoevksy, they are not at all necessary, for absolute cruelty is interesting† (as cited in Marder, Meyer, Wyshak, n. d. ). Indeed, this is true. The Underground Man does not subject himself to pain for a reason. In fact, he does so to do away with reason. He refrains from seeking medical treatment because he wants to. By indulging in his desire, he exercises complete freedom. Aside from the aforementioned tolerance of pains, the Underground Man had exercised his freedom through irrationality in other ways. He states: I would feel a certain hidden, morbid, nasty little pleasure in the acute awareness that I had once again committed something vile that day, that what had been done could no longer be undone; and I would gnaw and gnaw at myself in silence†¦until the bitterness would finally begin to turn into a kind of shameful, damnable sweetness (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 7). In this excerpt, the Underground Man expresses how he had realized his evil ways by contemplating what he had done. However, instead of wallowing in guilt, the realization ends up being a source of pleasure. How did the Underground Man manifest his freedom through this? The purveyors of rationality would insist that those who know what is in their best interests would not resort to baseness or frivolity. The Underground Man was aware of vileness of his actions; in a way, he was aware it was not in his best interests. However, he did not feel a sense of guilt. The realization of his action that started with bitterness eventually became that of sweetness. He knew what he had done was bad, but this does not change the fact that he derived pleasure from it. His reaction to such vile deeds set him apart from what reason dictates as proper. Because he did not follow the dictates of reason, he had exercised his own freedom through defiance. Reason makes one feel burdened when one commits a nasty or vile action. It supposes that rational ways should be observed, and a nasty or vile action is never rational. He sights an example when one is forced to apologize for a nasty deed. The Underground Man says: Generally, I could never endure saying, â€Å"Forgive me, Papa, I won’t do it again†Ã¢â‚¬â€and not because I was incapable of saying it, but, on the contrary, perhaps precisely because I was all too capable of it. And how I did it (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 16)! In this passage, the Underground Man expressed disagreement with repentance. He believes that one should not apologize for doing something. He finds apologies as deceiving; the claim to never do an act considered vile again seems insincere. In our freedom, we are all capable of doing these acts. Regardless if they are rational or irrational, we all have the capacity to act according to our own free will. The claim â€Å"I won’t do it again† is quite fraudulent, as it is quite understood that anyone can do anything, according to their free will. Thus, it is possible for one to exercise freedom and desire something which is not in one’s best interest. According to the Underground Man: And what if his advantage on a given occasion not only may, but must, lie exactly in choosing for himself the harmful rather than the advantageous? And if this is so, if there can be such an occasion, then the entire rule is shattered to smithereens (Dostoevsky, 1992, p. 22). The rule spoken of here is the belief that man would choose what is in his best interests. Again, the exercise of freedom lies in choosing or desiring something regardless of their nature. In the above quotation, the Underground Man affirms that there will be instances wherein man will choose what is harmful, instead of what is useful, to him. The moment such situation arises, the principle of reason will be disproved. The Underground Man does not believe in the principle that man will act according to what is in his best interests. Neither does he believe that man’s desires can be reduced to graphs of science nor formulas of mathematics. The concept of freedom for the Underground Man is that which is contrary to the dictates of reason. He does not acknowledge that man will commit acts that are in tune with his best interests. This would be a violation of his freedom, as the freedom presupposes one’s capacity for both the rational and the irrational. If one chooses to commit an irrational act, he is merely exercising his freedom. Did the Underground Man succeed in escaping the realm of reason he so despised? The answer is yes. His tolerance of pain and derivation of pleasure from suffering were direct defiance to reason. He had rendered himself completely liberated from the atmosphere of rationality. He did and thought as he pleased, whether or not it was in his best interests. Indeed, he had escaped, and is completely free. REFERENCES Dostoevsky, F. (1992). Notes from Underground (M. Ginsburg, Trans. ). New York: Bantam. (Original work published in 1864). Madden, C. (n. d. ). SparkNote on Notes from Underground. Retrieved March 29, 2008, from http://www. sparknotes. com/lit/underground/ Marder, J. , Meyer, M. , Wyshak, F. (n. d. ). Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground Study Guide. Retrieved March 29, 2008, from http://community. middlebury. edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/novels/UGMan/ugman. html

Potential Impact Of Online Sales To The Company Marketing Essay

Potential Impact Of Online Sales To The Company Marketing Essay Our Company, Houston Incorporated has decided to expand into online sales. The goal is to continue to sell our products in the retail stores located throughout the United States but also establish a presence on the World Wide Web. Your company has recently decided to expand into online sales. The company wishes to continue to sell its products in the retail stores located throughout the United States opportunities available for retail sales and provide a report to your manager which includes the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, As Marketing Manager, I was tasked to research online marketing opportunities available for retail sales. This report outlines the advantages and disadvantages of internet marketing, the potential impact of online sales to the company, and the requirements for a successful online marketing campaign. Marketing and selling goods online electronically is made possible by software programs that execute the main functions of an e-commerce application. This soft enables product display, online ordering, and online processing. Online marketing encompasses both e-business and e-commerce. E-commerce typical refers to transactions involving the exchange of money such as selling products to customers. E-business is a broader term that includes providing customers with descriptions and specifications for a given product. Online marketing offer many advantages as this report shall show. Having a presence on the World Wide Web offers the opportunity to reach customers not only on a national level but globally. Doing business 7 day a week and 24 hours a day is a reality with online marketing. The gathering and analysis of information gather via online marketing is possible. This information can be used to improve marketing strategies both online and in traditional retail segment. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Increase sales, increased brand recognition coupled with the low cost of operating online leads to increase revenue. These are only a few of the overall impact of online marketing. Executing a comprehensive online marketing plan encompasses virtually the same processes and procedures as traditional marketing. It also requires the establishment of a web site for product display, online ordering, and online payment systems to process payments. The decision to expand into online sales is justified by this research. Expansion into online sales is a much more cost effective mean of growing the company. The recommended model is integration of the traditional retail segment with the new online arm. This is in opposition to establishing a purely online business. The current marketing strategies can be modified to include the online segment and used to promote the website. Introduction The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. That quote was attributed to Bill Gates, Cofounder of Microsoft. Tomorrow has come and according to an article on Reuters website, Online retail sales in the United States could reach $248.7 billion by 2014, growing 60 percent from 2009. As Marketing Manager, my job is to do market research and develop market strategies. This report will outline the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, the potential impact of online sales to the company, and the requirements for a successful online marketing campaign. The goal of online marketing, similar to traditional marketing, is to communicate and provide value to the customer and manage relationships with customers that benefit the company and stakeholders. Online marketing encompasses both e-business and e-commerce. E-commerces typical refers to transactions involving the exchange of money such as selling products to customers. E-business is a broader term that includes providing customers with descriptions and specifications for a given product. Marketing and selling goods online electronically is made possible by software programs that execute the main functions of an e-commerce application. This soft enables product display, online ordering, and online payment processing. The advantages of online marketing, including the ability to reach a larger market, far outweigh the disadvantages. Online selling tends to be very competitive and may necessitate lower pricing. This is one of the few disadvantages. Establishment of a globally presence and increased sales are ways that the company can be impacted. However, having an internet presence does not guarantee success. It requires a comprehensive marketing strategy aimed at attracting new customers to our website. Online marketing has its own process and tools that contribute to the achievement of marketing goals and objectives. . Research Findings Advantages: Similar to traditional business, online marketing presents many advantages and disadvantages. However, the advantages of online marketing significantly outweigh its disadvantages. Online marketing can expand the geographic reach of the company by accessing customers in markets where the company does not have a physical presence. In the ecommerce world, doing business around the globe, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day is a reality. (Hossein Bidgoli, 2002) Online Marketing or e-commerce creates the ability to sell virtually any product that can be sold in a traditional retail environment. Nights, weekends, holidays, and time zones are no barriers to e-commerce. Online marketing can also reach customers that for various reasons can not personally visit a traditional retail store. Another advantage of e-commerce is the ability to gather additional information about the customer via tools such as cookies, email, and online surveys. This information can be used to personalize marketing effort s in a way that can lead to higher trade volumes. E-commerce also provides increased flexibility for customers. Customers can make purchases without having to leave the comfort of their homes. The customer does not have to deal with the hassle of parking or the worry of losing contact with their small children presented by traditional retail methods. Shopping tasks can be accomplished from the safety of their homes with a few clicks of a mouse. Of course, increased sales are the first thing people thing about when they consider online market. Market research shows that online sales are trending up despite the current depressed retail market. . Revenue generated by online businesses and the online part of traditional retail businesses exceed $96 billion in 2006, up from $86 billion in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. An added advantage of online marketing is decreased cost. Traditional retail businesses have overhead costs that associated with online marketing. These includ e utilities, insurance, store lease, and labor. Lower overhead cost generally result in lower overall cost and increased revenue. Therefore, online expansion will give the company a globally presence at a relative low cost. Disadvantages: Online shopping is not attractive to all consumers. They cite the loss of social contact experienced when shopping with others. While many researchers do not see any fundamental differences between the traditional and online buying behavior, it is often argued that a new step has been added to the online buying process: the step of building trust or confidence. (Constantinides, 2004) Many consumers are concerned with the privacy and security issues associated with doing business online. Almost 95% of Web users have declined to provide personal information to Web sites at one time or another when asked. (Otto Chung, 2000) Credit card fraud, unwanted solicitations, and use of their information for other than its intended purpose are a few of the reasons cited. The difficulty in attracting customers is another disadvantage to online marketing. That, coupled with increased competition due to the ease of comparative shopping greatly decreases the attractiveness of online marketing. Onlin e consumers can quickly access information from other online businesses and make better decisions. In fact, some websites are designed solely for that purpose. Therefore, online pricing is very competitive. Additionally, online marketing does not afford the consumers the luxury of examining and getting a feel for the quality and fit of merchandise sold online and generally require the seller to have liberal return and refund policies. The lack of after sales service is another concern of online shoppers. Time also is a problem with online marketing in that consumers are not able to take immediate possession of their purchases and are faced with added expense for faster delivery. Potential impact of online sales to the company: The greatest impact to the company may be the establishment of a globally presence. This means company growth at relative low cost. . Online marketing does not require the overhead cost associated with maintaining a brick and mortar store. This results in lower cost, increased efficiency and greater profit margin. Another potential impact, online sales increases in-store sales. Having an online presence leads to increased brand recognition and consequently leads to increased in-store sales. Conversely, not having an online presence means loss of potential valuable customers. Online marketing creates the opportunity to interact with customers. Exchange of information facilitates product and process improvement and can lead to greater customer satisfaction. It also allows for greater flexibility in that website information such as price, product availability, and promotion can be readily adjusted in response to market conditions. Information gathered via online sales information can be used when considering future expansion of the traditional retail operations. Requirements for a successful online marketing campaign Developing a successful online marketing campaign comprises most of the same processes and procedures used in traditional marketing. The company will need to establish goals, objectives, strategies and tactics much like traditional marketing. Likewise, market research is required. When formulating objectives, strategies, and tactics for online marketing product display it is imperative that such customers requirements as ease of use, quick access to product information, and effective distribution networks including order tracking for transparency is addressed. Understanding consumers motivations and limitations to shop online are major consideration in making adequate strategic, technological, and marketing decisions. (Monsuwe, Dellaert, De Ruyter, 2004) This is part of identifying your target audience and determining how to reach it, a very critical step. To attract customers, firms need to offer dynamic content, keep their sites fresh, and to install security devices to protect th eir customers privacy and interests. (Wei, Moreau, Jennings, 2005) Customer retention should also be included in any successful online marketing strategy. Retaining online customers depends on the overall experience when visiting a website, which includes factors such as perceived value and trust (Pitta, Franzak, Fowler, 2006; Wang Head, 2007). In addition, every online business must be able to accept online payment. Customers need a level of confidence with your website and business when making on line payment. Integration between the e-business arm and the traditional business segments helps to promote confidence. (Gay, Charlesworth, Esen, 2007) The reputation of the tradition retail environment can be extended to e-commerce. Likewise, an online presence enhanced the marketability of the traditional business. Traditional firms can adopt a range of strategies to combine offline and online market channels to derive synergies. For example Barnes and Nobles e-business model overla ps its traditional brick and mortal business model. Regardless of whether the merchandise is sold online or in a physical retail outlet, the warehousing operation is the same. (Rich, 2008) Retail companies should also integrate offline and online operations such as allowing customers to order online for pickup at stores. (Steinfield, Adelaar, Liu, 2005) Lastly, print and word of mouth advertisement will be needed to attract customers to the web site. Recommendations Based on research data, the company should expand into the online sales arena by creating an ecommerce arm of our traditional retail operation. Expansion into online sales is a much more cost effective mean of growing the company. The recommended model is integration of the traditional retail segment with the new online arm. This is in opposition to establishing a purely online business. Analysis suggests that firms should tailor their e-commerce approaches to improve service to existing customers in addition to pursuing new customers and markets. (Adelaar, Bouwman, Steinfield, 2004) Integration is advantageous in that perceived shopping risks are lower when a company also provides a physical location. Integrating online and offline operations adds additional cost saving measures such as such as ordering online for pick-up at physical location. . The current marketing strategies should be modified to include the online segment and used to promote the website Conclusion There are advantages and disadvantages to online marketing. While online marketing presents an opportunity for the company to expand its market nationally, even globally, online shopping is very competitive, as consumers have access to comparison shopping. In addition to reaching new markets, online marketing can also improve relationships with existing customers. To be successful, ecommerce websites must be properly designed so that it is easy to use, engages the customer, and provides a pleasant and trusting shopping experience. It must negate all perceived shopping risks such as concerns about giving financial or personal information, and after sale concerns such as refunds and after-sale service. Marketing strategy formulation for ecommerce businesses are very much like traditional marketing. Market research, goals, objectives, strategies and tactics are the making of a successful online marketing campaign. Analysis of the research data indicates that integration of the tradition al brick and mortar operation with an ecommerce business segment is the best method of creating an online presence. Annotated Bibliography Adelaar, T., Bouwman, H., Steinfield, C. (2004). Enhancing customer value through click-and-mortar customer experience. Telematics and Informatics, 21, 167-182. This article explains how traditional retail stores can combine online marketing to increase geographic reach and to improve relationships with existing customers of physical stores. Dr. Thomas Adelaar, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam Business School. Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies, Michigan State University. Awards and Honors include; Winner of the Graduate Office Scholarship Best Ph.D. Research Paper in the Dept. of Telecommunications, Information Studies, and Media, MSU (2004). Dr. Adelaar currently has 7 publications in Academic Journals. Charles Steinfield is a professor and chair in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University. In addition to his faculty position, Steinfield participates with the MSU Eli Broad College of Business Information Tech. Management Program. His research focuses on the organizational and social impacts of new communication technologies. Constantinides, E. (2004). Influencing online consumers behavior: The web experience. Internet Research, 14(2), 111-126. Dr. E. Constantinides conducted research showing that online marketing can increase business for companies at their physical retail locations. Dr. E. Constantinides is and Assistant Professor of Marketing, Netherlands. His research activities focus on strategic and commercial aspects of Ecommerce and E-media, and he is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Social Media Research Center. Gay, R., Charlesworth, A., Esen, R. (2007). Online marketing. New York: Oxford University Press. This book provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of online marketing as well as the techniques that can maximize revenues. Richard Gay is a professor at the Newcastle Business School, North Umbria University. Alan Charlesworth is a Senior Lecturer in marketing and emarketing at the University of Sunderland. Rita Esen is a Law Consultant and Visiting Lecturer at Durham University. Hossein, B. (2002). Electronic commerce: principles and practice. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Academic Press. This book is a four-part overview of electronic commerce. The book provides a balance of theories, applications, and hands-on material. Dr Hossein Bidgoli is a Professor of Management Information Systems. School of Business and Public Administration                California State University, Bakersfield, California Monsuwe (2004). , P., Dellaert, B., De Ruyter, K. (2004). What drives consumers to shop online? A literature review. International Journal of Service Industry Management. Using the technology acceptance model framework, the authors conducted a review of literature and identified website characteristics such as ease of use and usefulness as well as personal consumer traits as critical factors for online shopping. P. Monsuwe is a professor at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. His research focuses on the effects of media on strategy and decision-making processes, such as corporate environmental management. Otto, J., Chung, Q. (2000). A framework for cyber-enhanced retailing. Electronic Markets, 10(3), 185-191. This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of online retailing for companies with existing brick and mortar retail locations, and provides a framework for analyzing whether the company should engage in online retailing. Q.B. Chung is an Associate Professor at Villanova University. He earned a PhD in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as an M.B.A. in Management Information Systems. He has over twenty two published journal articles, numerous published books and is a seminar speaker. J. Otto is an Assistant Professor with many publications involving Management Information Systems and Operations Research and Management Science. Pitta, E., Franzak, F., Fowler, D. (2006). A strategic approach to building online customer loyalty. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23(7), 421-429. The article integrates previous research to draw the conclusion that customer loyalty to online websites depends on the perception of value as well as emotional factors such as trust. Danielle Fowler, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Baltimore. She has many awards and grants including The John and Margaret Thompson Professorship in Management Information Systems, and the Presidents Teaching and Learning Initiative Competition. Frank Franzak is a professor with Monash University and Director of Information Systems Honors Program. Steinfield, C., Adelaar, T., Liu, F. (2005). Click and mortar strategies viewed from the web. Electronic Markets, 15(3), 199-212. The authors analyzed retail store websites and found that few engaged in online and offline integration such as allowing customers to order products online for pickup at physical store locations. Dr. Adelaar currently has 7 publications in Academic Journals. Charles Steinfield is a professor and chair in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at Michigan State University. In addition to his faculty position, Steinfield participates with the MSU Eli Broad College of Business Information Tech. Management Program. His research focuses on the organizational and social impacts of new communication technologies. Wang, F., Head, M. (2007). How can the web help build customer relationships? Information Management, 44(2), 115-129. The authors conducted empirical research to identify the factors critical for building customer relationships online and found that satisfaction, trust, and switching costs determined whether a customer would continue using a website. Dr. Milena Head is an Associate Professor of Information Systems and the Associate Dean at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Canada. Specializing in eBusiness and Human Computer Interaction, she has published over 50 papers in academic journals, books and conferences. Her research interests include trust and adoption in electronic commerce, interface design, mobile commerce, identity theft, cross-cultural issues in electronic commerce and human computer interaction, e-retailing, and web navigation. Dr. Fang Wang is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the School of Business Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. Her research interests include e-commerce, e-marketing and marketing strategy. She has published in journals such as Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Comparative International Management, Internet Research, and Journal of Business Strategies. Wei, Y., Moreau, L., Jennings N. (2005). A market-based approach to recommender systems. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 25(3), 227-266. The research described in the article uses simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of recommender systems for personalizing customer experiences and customer retention. Yan Zheng Wei is Director of The Department of Broadband Wireless Management, Shenzhen, China. Dr. Nicholas Jennings is an Assistant Professor at The School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK.

Strategic Management Is The Dynamic Process Of Formulation Marketing Essay

Strategic Management Is The Dynamic Process Of Formulation Marketing Essay Strategic management is the dynamic process of formulation, implementation, evaluation and control of strategies to realize the organizations strategic intent. Strategic management is a dynamic process. In this particular course work of strategic planning module the company which I have selected is Cadbury India, a company with a great marketing structure, strategic planning and with a strong value among the customers all over the globe. Company History Cadbury India The Company was incorporated on 19th July 1948, as a private limited company under the name of Cadbury-Fry (India) Private Limited and commences business soon thereafter. Gradually the Company undertook at its own cost and responsibility the development of cocoa growing in the country. A specialist cocoa advisory service was created. A cocoa research centre was also created together with seeding nurseries and distribution centers. Through its subsidiary, Induri Farm Ltd., the Company had set up facilities near Pune to breed cattle that would give improved yield of milk at economic feeding costs. Strategic Corporate Development History of Cadbury Inc . 1919 undertook a merger with J. S. Fry Sons, another chocolate manufacturer which saw the integration of well-known brands such as Frys Chocolate Cream and Frys Turkish Delight Cadbury merged with drinks company Schweppes to form Cadbury Schweppes in 1969 Cadbury Schweppes went on to acquire Sunkist, Canada Dry, Typhoo Tea and more. In the US, Schweppes Beverages was created and the manufactures of Cadbury confectionery brands were licensed to Hersheys. Triarc sold Snapple, Mistic and Stewarts (formerly Cable Car Beverage) to Cadbury Schweppes in 2000 for $1.45  billion. In October of that same year, Cadbury Schweppes purchased Royal Crown from Triarc. In March 2007, it was revealed that Cadbury Schweppes was planning to split its business into two separate entities: one focusing on its main chocolate and confectionery market; the other on its US drinks business. The demerger took effect on 2 May 2008, with the drinks business becoming Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. In December 2008 it was announced that Cadbury was to sell its Australian beverage unit to Asahi Breweries. In 2008 Monkhill Confectionery, the Own Label trading division of Cadbury Trebor Bassett was sold to Tangerine Confectionery for  £58million cash. This sale included factories at Pontefract, Cleckheaton and York and a distribution centre near Chesterfield, and the transfer of around 800 employees. On 19 January 2010, it was announced that Cadbury and Kraft Foods had reached a deal and that Kraft would purchase Cadbury for  £8.40 per share, valuing Cadbury at  £11.5bn (US$18.9bn). Kraft, which issued a statement stating that the deal will create a global confectionery leader, had to borrow  £7  billion (US$11.5bn) in order to finance the takeover. These are the main strategic developments, which took place within Cadbury Inc. till now. Cadbury Inc has taken major strategic decision throughout their operations but at the end it is being taken over by Krafts. Above-mentioned are the strategic developments of Cadbury Inc. Cadbury India has applied both Corporate-Level Strategies as well as Business-Level Strategies. Corporate-Level Strategies and business-Level Strategies of Cadbury India Introduction of new product-line named Star and Gems chocolates in 1967 and 1968 respectively. After the conversion of Cadbury India from private limited company to public limited company on 11th June in 1977, an agreement was entered into with Cadbury Overseas Ltd., (COL) U.K., on 3rd May1977, for technical services concerning new products and processes. Cadbury India entered into an agreement with CSOL for the grant of a license for continued use of the word `Cadbury as part of the Companys corporate name. Industrial license for the apple juice project was received and the project was commissioned on 16th September, 1980. On 17th December 1982, the name of the Company was changed from Cadbury India Ltd. to Hindustan Cocoa Products Ltd., consequent to 60% of its shares being held by the Indian public. In 1985, Cadbury India explored the possibilities of entering into the business of software export. In 1987, in chocolate group, the Company launched new products such as `Crackle, `Orange, `Strawberry Krisp, `Mello, and `Wildlife bar. In the foods drinks, the Cadbury India launched `Choc O Cheer. In 1988, the Chocolate division introduced some more new products to upper and lower ends of the market. In the food drinks area, a higher protein drink under the brand name `Enriche was successfully introduced. The Company diversified into ice-cream market and a product under the Brand name `Dollops. With effect from 18th July 1993, the Companys Ice Cream business comprising manufacturing arrangements with two well known brands Dollops Lopstop was transferred to Brooke Bond India Ltd. for a consideration of Rs 1062.65 lakhs and an assurance from the company to Brooke Bond that they would not make or sell Ice creams for a period of 8 years. In 1994, The Company undertook a modernization and rationalization programme at its Malanpur factory at a cost of Rs 40 crores. In 1995, Perk was launched from its Malanpur plant. Towards the end of1996, the Company has launched a new range of sugar confectionery, `Googly, a trangy, fizzy fruit flavored candy in Chennai under the brand name `Trebor. In 1997, Cadbury India Ltd has launched Truffle flavored soft centre moulded chocolate bar. The product was launched in Calcutta, Mumbai and New Delhi during October with subsequent launches planned in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and other mini-metros in a phased-manner in November. In 1997, Cadbury India launched its well-known beverage Bournvita in sachets. In 1999, Cadbury India Ltd has launched a new product, `Nice Cream, under its sugar confectioner business. The sugar candy has been launched only in Mumbai. In 2000, Cadburys has introduced Perk Slims, a slimmer version of the wafe. The Company has re-launched Perk, its chocolate-coated wafer; it has four new layers covered in Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate. Cadbury India Ltd. has launched a range of gift packs for Diwali. The Company had entered into a Memorandum of understanding on July 5th, to sell its immovable property at Colaba, Mumbai. Cadbury Schweppes Plc acquires 39.34% stake in its Indian subsidiary Cadbury India Ltd. Cadbury Schweppes Pcl developed a new phenomenon allowing its consumers to define its brand profile. Cadbury India tapping unconventional marketing channels like non-retail chains to drive their market expansion. In 2002, Cadburys buy out of Pfizers confectionary brand is expected to set a strong base in the oral gratification category. In 2003, Cadbury has roped in advertising firm called Lemon to handle creative for its products temptation and milt treat. Cadbury India has dropped Carat India and roped in Madison Media for the media planning and buying. Cadbury India tied up with BPL Mobile for SMS vending services. Thus, we can see from above almost all the corporate -level as well as Business-Level Strategies are adopted by Cadbury India to expand as well as to avoid mishaps. Cadbury India Cadbury India has used different strategies at different situation. They have under gone mergers and acquisition, buyouts, demergers, tie-ups, etc. Current Strategic Situation Cadbury India is a fully owned subsidy of Kraft Foods Inc. The combination of Kraft Foods and Cadbury creates a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals. Cadbury India is currently the worlds No.1 confectionery and biscuit company. Cadbury India is the worlds second-largest food company with sales in approximately 160 countries. Currently, Cadbury India operates in four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In the Chocolate Confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years. Some of the key brands in India are Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5 Star, Perk, Éclairs and Celebrations. In the Milk Food drinks segment Cadburys main product is Bournvitta the leading Malted Food Drink (MFD) in the country. Similarly, in the medicated candy category Halls is the undisputed leader. Recently, Cadbury entered the gums category with the launch of our worldwide dominant bubble gumbrandBubbaloo. Since 1965 Cadbury has also pioneered the development of cocoa cultivation in India. For over two decades, Cadbury have worked with the Kerala Agriculture University to undertake cocoa research and released clones, hybrids that improve the cocoa yield. Cadbury conduct farmers meetings seminars to educate them on Cocoa cultivation aspects. These efforts have increased cocoa productivity and touched the lives of thousands of farmers. The strategies, which Cadbury follows, include: Build a high performing organization Reframe our categories Exploit our sales capabilities Drive down costs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ without compromising quality Environmental activity of Cadbury: Cadbury India takes care of the environment and enriches the quality of lives of the communities through a variety of result-oriented programs. Cadbury aim to look after the health and safety of our people and minimize the environmental impact of our business around the world. Cadbury India is committed to growing community value around the world. For our employees, this is about making a difference in the community. Other successful strategies adapted by Cadbury to their brands include: The interactive campaign for Pappu Pass Ho Gaya bagged a Bronze Lion at the prestigious Cannes Advertising Festival 2006 for Best use of internet and new media. The idea involved a tie-up with Reliance India Mobile service, allowed students to check their exam results using their mobile service, and encouraged those who passed their examinations to celebrate with Cadbury Dairy Milk. Cadbury Bytes is targeted at teens, as they are the largest consuming segment of packaged snack category. They are also the gateway to the family, especially for a new sweet snack. Cadbury Bytes is positioned as the only sweet snack in the world of salty snacks. Cadbury introduced Cadbury Bournvitta Quiz Contest, which started airing on April 12th 1972, is Indias longest running national school quiz contest. It was really a good strategy to boost-up the sales. The task was to get the youth audience to adopt Cadbury Dairy Milk in the sweet eating or muh meetha karna moments The campaign of Jab Pappu Pass Ho jaye, Kuch Meetha Ho jaye captured the thought of celebrating a moment of delight with Dairy Milk A campaign was built around the idea of how pappu celebrated passing his exams with Dairy Milk A multi-media campaign was launched on TV, Internet, Radio and Outdoor The key was how do own the moment of pappu passing his exams in the media space An innovative tie -up with Reliance web world was executed, wherein students across 66 examination boards across the company could access their results on Reword through their Reliance mobiles. If they passed a message congratulating them on their moment of delight from Dairy Milk was displayed We can see that how Cadbury India has managed and implemented their strategies over a period of time. The company has undergone various strategies like digitalization, various innovation were made to improve their products. Apart from that, they have introduced various products with good features and promoted them with the latest mode of promotion activities. It has been seen that one of the most important strategy at corporate-level was to launch products with innovation and their market strategies like campaigning. It was the trend with Cadbury, which has seen in the past decade. Moreover, in the present situation the company has underwent a turnaround strategy. It has been acquired by another company in Feb 2010 by Kraft Food. At present, it is fully owned subsidiary of Kraft Food. The company has made efficient use of internal and external sources their internal and sources are: Internal Sources: Employees: Employee of Cadbury India were well dedicated to their work and based upon their work only the company has reached to maximum height. In the same way the company has also provided ways and means to satisfy their employees. Employee retrenchment was very low in Cadbury India. Information System: Cadbury has a very good information system adopted. Later, they introduced digitalisation. Finance: the products produced by the company were in great demand that it generated large sales to the company, which helped in increased revenue for the firm. Marketing: The Company adopted various marketing techniques for the promotion of its products like campaigning, conducting contests in schools etc. Operations: In 1994, the company introduced rationalization and modernisation programmes. External Sources: Economic : The economic environment of Cadbury India includes the economic conditions like growth of company in India. Cadbury has very efficiently utilized the economic advantages. Market: The products of Cadbury India have been very efficiently targeted based upon the feature of the product. Cadbury India focused almost all the age group International: Cadbury has their branches in almost most all the countries. They adopted various international strategies like business alliance, mergers etc. To have international access. Technology: More and more efforts were being made to have technological advancement in their products. More or less, they have succeeded in delivering quality products like Cadbury milk chocolate, Bournvitta Energy Drink etc. Social: Cadbury India has undertaken various Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes, which has helped the society. As a part of their social activity, the company has constructed check water dam to store water. Cadbury India is committed to growing community value around the world. Conclusion Thus, we can say that Cadbury India has undergone various Corporate and Business-Level strategies to boost up their activities in almost all the spheres, both internal and external. They have strived a lot to attain the best position in the world. They have attained this with the strategies, which they followed in timely basis. They adopted various measures to face the competition. At last, they could not stop the hostile acquisition from Kraft Food Corporation. It was then with mutual understanding and agreement were converted into a mutual takeover by Kraft Food Corporation. At present Cadbury India is a fully owned subsidiary of Kraft Food. Again, the company should think of various other strategies, learning from the past pitfalls made. They should adopt various other strategies both in Corporate -level as well as in Business-Level. They should try to develop their RD and should come up with new products with greater level of innovation. Consumers need value to the product. Thus, Cadbury India should strive to attain maximum value to their products with reasonable cost targeting almost the entire community as a whole. The company should develop more and more community welfare programmes to improvise community growth as well. They should undertake programmes to develop the nation of the world. Cadbury India should try to concentrate on their strengths to face the threats and should work on their weaknesses to capture the opportunities that are there in the external environment. For that the first steps is to have a SWOT analysis and move on as per the requirement. Strategic Direction for the future In 2006, Cadbury chocolate was linked to a salmonella outbreak, later paying a hefty fine over a leaking factory pipe that contaminated its products. The company suffered a loss of  £30 million. There product have been recalled. Cadbury was looking to re-jig its image and make some smart decisions to save money on resources. Green promises may not put to rest consumers fears of contaminated products. To face this situation, the company set certain targets that include: 50% reduction of net absolute carbon emissions by 2020 with a minimum of 30% from in-company actions. 10% reduction in packaging used per tonne of product and 25% in the more highly packaged seasonal and gifting items. Use more environmentally sustainable forms of packaging aim for 60% biodegradable, with 100% of secondary packaging being recyclable? All water scarce sites to have water reduction programmes in place. The Company worked on these targets efficiently, and to a certain extent, still Cadbury is the market leader in Chocolates and energy drinks like Bournvitta. The company has to go long way to handle this situation. Recently Kraft Food has acquired them. Even though they are the subsidiary of Kraft Food, they should try taking necessary steps to have necessary long-term strategies to improve their standard in the market and continue their leadership in the market. They should try to learn from their past, the mistake or the mishaps, which occurred to them and destroyed their reputation in the market. The first think, which the company should do, is to have a SWOT analysis. Strengths of Cadbury India Global Coverage: the company has maintained a global level in its operations and have a good market share. Quality Products: The company offers quality products to the consumers which is a strength to the company Personnels: The Company is having well Hard-Woking staffs with them who are indulged in their work with full enthusiasm. Information technology: The Company has adopted digitalisation, which will help in networking processes. This can be utilised as strength by the company to improvise their market entry in a new market. Innovations: The Company has made innovations in their products as well as their process to face competition. They have adopted rationalisation and modernisation in their operations. Value to customers: The Company is providing value to customers by various ways and means. Cadbury is providing various well-accepted brands. Cadbury Chocolate: Cadbury is blessed with the brand Cadbury Chocolate. Still it is the best choice among the customers. Cadbury Bournvitta: In beverage section, Cadbury is blessed with Cadbury Bournvitta, a energy during mostly liked by kids and moms. Weaknesses of Cadbury India Past out break of contamination: Cadbury has gone through an out break of contamination in their products. It caused a bad reputation among the consumers. Incurred loss: The Company has incurred loss and lost its stability for the past three years from 2007. Opportunities to Cadbury India Cadbury India can enter new markets with the help of proper market research With the available technology, Cadbury can bring up with new version of the existing products and can grab the opportunities in the market. Cadbury can adopt various innovations in the products like adding extra flavour etc. The company can come up with new product-line Threats to Cadbury India Competition is the mostly affected threat to Cadbury. Competitors like Nestle are also the largest manufacturers of confectionery items. So, Cadbury has to take appropriate steps to face the competitive situation Consumers dislike with regard to the past out break issues may become a threat in future. These are the major developmental strategies, which have been adopted by Cadbury India to meet the target for 2011. 3D forming chocolate increased investment we have made in innovation, marketing and sales Thermostatic food grade packaging Methods for producing microscopic aeration in candy to provide new textures and mouth feel. Healthy additions to hard candy Alternative ingredients to menthol Cadbury India has grabbed opportunies in the market by these ways. Apart from these innovative strategies, Cadbury India has to undergo various other international strategies to increase the market share. Following are the likely ways by which Cadbury can increase there market share: The company should analysis the competitors strategies, their capabilities and future goals. By analysing this, Cadbury will be able to re-think of their strategies, their future goals and the capabilities they posses. This will help them to re-frame their strategies, goals with the capabilities they have, if need. Cadbury India can have niche strategies. They can concentrate on one particular brand and create niche market with proper innovation and product improvement. They can have integrative Cost leadership and differentiation strategies. It is possible through providing the product at low cost with the help of technologies that enable differentiation through focus on niche segment. Cadbury can adopt focus strategy by identifying a narrow target in terms of markets and customers. The company can have restructuring strategies in certain areas where they feel are weak. Cadbury India should identify an area where the company is incurring loss. After identifying that particular area or brand, they can adopt divesting strategy to stop completely the area which is causing loss to the company The company should analyse the internal environment prevailing in the organisation and should find out the loopholes. After identifying the correct problem, proper rehabilitation should be made. If the company finds that every thing is fine in the organisation and the organisation is ready to go forward with the existing products and plan, then the organisation should adopt No-change strategy. The company can have tie-ups with companies who can provide better expertise in all respect. Cadbury as what they have done in the past can have business alliance with other companies to boost up the profits. By have strategic alliances Cadbury can enter new markets, reduce their manufacturing costs, develop new technologies and diffuse them. Cadbury can have Joint ventures to gain access to new business in order to have advantage like, shared risks, combined expertise and effective utilisation of resources available with in the joint venture. They can reduce the hurdles like import quotas, tariffs, nationalistic-political interests and cultural roadblocks. Cadbury can either acquire a company, which is in the same line of production to have the advantage of efficient production of products with the available expertise of both the companies, and innovative ideas and improved processes or the company can merge with another company and start a new business having the same products with innovations. In the first case, the company need to have investment and in the second case, the company need not to invest more. Conclusion A company can expand their business in corporate level as well as in business level by many ways. The company has to choose the best among the available strategies based on the resources they have and what is their actual need. They have clearly identify what is their need and how are they going to achieve those need keeping in mind the internal and external environment.

Essay --

Dr. Goodall is a well-known British primatologist who has discovered a substantial amount about primates in her many years of research. She has written numerous books, including one that we will be going into depth about called, â€Å"Through a Window.† Her book contains personal experiences, research findings, and even pictures to help the readers visualize her scientific breaking moments from her thirty years with the chimpanzees of Gombe. She states that there is are minor differences, and several similarities between humans and the chimpanzees. We will discuss these differences and similarities through their social behavior, intellectual ability, and emotions. To conclude, examine Goodall’s research to adopt what her findings can tell us about our early ancestors, and whether or not her study coincided to the steps of scientific methodology. To start, research shows that there are a striking number of similarities between humans and chimpanzees in context to their social behavior. Next, we will see comparisons between humans and chimpanzees through their intellectual abilities. ...

Fighting More Than the Blues: A Look into Depressive Disorders Essay

Fighting More Than the Blues: A Look into Depressive Disorders This paper will focus on depressive disorders, and it will describe what they are, how they manifest themselves, what causes them and/or what makes certain individuals susceptible to the disorder as compared to others. This piece will also describe the most common treatment practices, and the effectiveness of these treatments. It will conclude by offering some testimonials from individuals who suffer from depressive disorders as well as some additional commentary about depressive disorders and their implications/challenges. What is depression? A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. A depressive disorder is exactly that—a disorder; therefore, people with a depressive illness cannot will themselves to get better they can't just pull themselves together. A depressive disorder requires treatment. (1) ("Depression 1) Are there different types of depressive disorders? Depressive disorders take on different forms. There are three common types of depressive disorders. They are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disorder. Major depression is characterized by a combination of symptoms that interfere with an individual's ability to work, study, sleep, and eat. Symptoms include but are not limited to the following: persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood, feelings of hopelessness, feelings of guilt, helplessness, worthlessness, decreased energy, fatigue, appetite and/or weight loss, or overeating and weight gain, ... .... 2003. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depression.cfm 2) Depression: An Overview, Continuing Medical Education. 26 Oct. 2003. http://www.mhsource.com/depression/overview.html 3) Dealing with the Depths of Depression, Nordenberg, Liora. "Dealing with the Depths of Depression." HealingWell.com. 26 Oct. 2003, pp 3-4. http://www.healingwell.com/library/depression/nordenberg1.asp 4) Dealing with the Depths of Depression , Nordenberg, Liora. "Dealing with the Depths of Depression." HealingWell.com. 26 Oct. 2003, pp 4-6. http://www.healingwell.com/library/depression/nordenberg1.asp 5) Depression. National Institute of Mental Health http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depression.cfm 6) Melancholy Nation , Schrof, Joannie M, and Stacey Schultz. "Melancholy Nation." U.S. News & World Report Archive. http://www.newjerusalem.com/archive-report.html