Jaguar Land Rover Management Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Jaguar Land Rover Management Report - Essay Example The company is highly concerned in developing a business model that will contribute the overall nature and climate protection, by investing into green technology, implementing low-carbon solutions into the vehicle building technologies, and developing green materials for vehicle production. Therefore, product life cycle is considered as the key aspect of the proper strategy development, since it involves all the three components of the strategy. It is divided into 7 phases:1.  Design: This is the basic step of developing a â€Å"green† product, and reducing CO2 emissions for the future models. The stage involves developing safety, energy saving and durability technologies.2.  Raw material production: the company deals with the sustainable suppliers. This is also important for the final cost reduction, since â€Å"green† suppliers offer lower prices (Jaguar Land Rover Annual Report, 2014)3.  Transporting: the properly developed logistics strategy helps reducing the transportation costs, as well as CO2 emissions. 4.  Manufacturing: emissions to air, soil, and water are thoroughly controlled by implementing filters, and energy saving technologies. Additionally, the waste and emission control helps implementing the waste recycling technologies, which is also helpful for cost reduction. 5.  Delivery to customers: the shorter delivery ways help reducing emissions and costs, emissions to air. Similarly to material and components transportation, shorter ways are required for cost and emission reduction.

How does a hardware firewall work Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How does a hardware firewall work - Term Paper Example Therefore, firewall is an effective solution to deal with these issues. This paper will present a detailed analysis, implementation, and working of the hardware firewall technology. This paper will also outline the role of firewalls in the security matters. The massive utilization of the internet and the World Wide Web places networks at even larger danger of unwanted threats. In addition, many corporations distribute information on the internet (using web sites), while remaining have workers who distribute information to the internet from the corporation’s network or download material from the internet (Norton). At the present, increasing numbers of organizations are exposing their personal networks to internet traffic; therefore, the implementation of firewalls has turned out to be a basic requirement. In addition, the firewall stops illegal communication inside and outside of the network, facilitating the company to implement a security strategy on traffic running between its network and the Internet (Laudon and Laudon; Turban, Leidner and McLean; Turban, Rainer and Potter, Introduction to Information Technology,3rd Edition). In addition, Firewalls can be either software or hardware. However, the best firewall arrangement wil l contain both (Beal). In point of fact, a firewall can divide a network into several domains. A general execution the firewall has the Internet as un-trusted domain; a semi trusted and a semi secure network, acknowledged the demilitarized zone (DMZ), as an additional domain; and an organization’s computers as third domain (Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne 673). â€Å"Hardware firewalls are external devices that perform job of a guard between organization’s network (office or home) and external networks (the internet)† (Antivirus-Firewall-Spyware). According to Beal (2009), the hardware firewalls are

Impact of Knowledge Sharing for Elderly Housing Support

Impact of Knowledge Sharing for Elderly Housing Support The Impact of Knowledge Sharing in the Provision of Floating Support in Sheltered Housing for the elderly. Abstract As the population ages, increasing number of vulnerable older people are living alone in own home, sheltered housing or residential care. The needs of the older people are constantly changing and there is need for long term support. Older people living in sheltered housing with complex and high needs require access to services with a network of different types of support; high staff cover and supervision. Supported people introduced floating support to aid people with high and complex needs. Floating support aimed at preventing homelessness among people with high difficulties; and intensive support, with out-of-hours cover, for people with high needs. Housing services, social services, ‘health services have to liaise and coordinate the services being provided. Knowledge sharing will help ease of the tensions and demands among the agencies. This paper, which is based on an on-going PhD project, begins by examining the field of sheltered housing for the elderly, discusses floating support and the key prayers providing the support. This is followed by analysis of knowledge sharing and potential factors that are important to a successful knowledge-sharing in providing floating support to the services provider. This paper concludes that , trust, motivation, effective communication, shared mindsets, training and leadership are the critical for effective knowledge sharing in provision of floating support in sheltered housing for the elderly. Effective gathering and sharing knowledge and information between supported Housing providers, social services and health and Care agencies through the establishment of the Knowledge sharing initiatives. Keywords: Knowledge sharing, sheltered housing, floating support and Provisions Nowadays Knowledge is regarded as a strategic resource in organizations, and thus the leverage of knowledge is a key managerial issue. Knowledge creation, sharing and dissemination are the main activities in knowledge management. This study examines the influence the social and technological factors such as learning culture and IT use, could have on knowledge sharing of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) students. A cross-sectional survey was used as a methodology for data collection and 137 valid responses were collected from all the three categories of students that include graduates, undergraduates and preparatory students. The study shows that there is a significant positive relationship between the student learning culture and IT use on student knowledge sharing. The study limitations, practical implications, along with directions for further research are discussed.. Despite the strong interests among practitioners, there is a knowledge gap with regard to online communities of practice. This study examines knowledge sharing among critical-care and advanced-practice nurses, who are engaged in a longstanding online community of practice. Lack of knowledge and sharing knowledge with each other was also reflected on (Table 2 and Appendix). The participants from the specialized unit for demented people spoke about their lack of knowledge concerning demented people in general and they wanted more training. Their practical knowledge gained through long experience was put forward by the supervisor. Lack of resources, principally lack of time was another topic for reflection (Table 2 and Appendix). The participants spoke about the work with demented pensioners as time-consuming and that they hardly ever had the time they wanted, for instance to sit down and talk to the pensioners. The descriptions presented during the sessions and derived from practical experience could also support other staff who are dealing with the complexity of caring for demented people. The participants were given the opportunity of sharing their own knowledge with each other through comparing how they handled various tasks. Several studies show that staff who are given the opportunity to share their practical knowledge with others gain a wider variety of experience, attitudes, new ways, views and solutions to problems (Bulechek McCloskey 1985, Kadushin 1985). Johns (1995) emphasized that reflective practice always needs to be guided and that clinical supervision is central to the process of learning. Clinical supervision offers an ideal milieu for the guidance of reflective practice just as reflective practice offers an ideal method to structure what takes place within clinical supervision (Johns 1995). The benefits of these reflective discussions are not the focus of this study. It s eems reasonable, however, to assume that such well-designed discussions also help the nurses to achieve high quality care. (Olsson and Hallberg 1998) Effective knowledge sharing is vital to successful provision of floating support in sheltered housing for the elderly. There is still little knowledge available about home-based professional care for demented people and how to support it from a managerial point of view. In order to develop clinical supervision techniques further and to understand the home care staffs specific problems in their caring for demented people living in their own homes, it seems useful to study the content of supervision sessions. The professionals narratives during such sessions may contribute to a deeper understanding of professional home care for the demented. It is estimated that the best solution for elderly demented people is to stay at home, since their known environment can better support the maintenance of their personal lives and values. Staying at home supposedly gives demented people an opportunity to maintain ADL-performance, and promotes the individuals sense of self and integrity (Zgola 1988, Kihlgren 1990). Studies from Canada and the USA show that demented people remain in their homes during the major part of the disease (Alessi 1991, Gallo et al. 1991). It may well be that the circumstances are the same in Sweden. No studies, however, have been located. Usually demented people who stay at home are cared for by their own families (Dellasega 1991) and this is known to cause strain on the family caregiver (Given et al. 1990, Pushkar Gold et al. 1995). The family caregiver also seems to benefit from increased satisfaction and self-esteem related to taking on and carrying through the responsibility for their demented family membe r and they do not necessarily worry about their demented next of kin, as they tend to do if the demented becomes institutionalized (cf Stephens et al. 1991). On the other hand the family caregiver may suffer from social and affective limitations in his/her life especially at the beginning of the next of kins disease (Grafstrom et al. 1992) and Saveman et al. (1993) show that there is a risk of abuse of elderly people in informal care. Home care staff may have the opportunity to relieve such strain.(Olsson and Hallberg 1998) (Olsson and Hallberg 1998) Research on outcomes in supported housing has been very limited and most published studies are descriptive, rather than evaluative. Cost-effectiveness has generally not been investigated. The outcomes most commonly evaluated are satisfaction and quality of life. A recent GOSW research review has concluded that: Â § There are some beneficial effects of supported housing, particularly in relation to quality of life that could lead to improved health; Â § There is a lack of research into health related outcomes, such as re-admission rates or clinical symptoms; Â § The objective of promoting independence, as stated in the South West Regional Housing Strategy, should be assessed formally; Â § There is a need for formal evaluation of supported housing schemes to ensure that the projects meet the needs of the clients and the wider population. ABSTRACT In the area of knowledge management, many studies have been devoted to investigating how to design an effective knowledge-sharing system in organizations. These studies emphasized the importance of various aspects to the success of the knowledge-sharing system and provided us with hints concerning what critical factors we should consider in the design of a knowledge-sharing system for group learning. In this study, we aim at exploring the critical components of a successful knowledge-sharing system and influential aspects we should consider in the design of a system for group learning. To achieve this task, we conducted an experiment during a semester-long course. The participants in the experiment were the final-year undergraduate students of a business school in Hong Kong. Finally, several factors important to the success of a knowledge-sharing system were identified. Implications for teaching and learning were also provided. Keywords Knowledge sharing, group learning, critical success factor INTRODUCTION Knowledge sharing among students is believed to be an effective approach to facilitate studying and improve their academic performance. Therefore, how we should carry out successful knowledge sharing in the classroom is a meaningful topic and should be given some attention. To build a knowledge-sharing system is an approach worthy of effort in conducting effective knowledge sharing in school. However, which system aspects merit consideration is still a problem under investigation. Based on previous research, the present study explores potential factors that are important to a successful knowledge-sharing system and discusses some implications for academic teaching and learning. LITERATURE REVIEW In the area of knowledge management, many studies have been done to investigate how to establish an efficient system for sharing knowledge in organizations. These studies emphasized the importance of various aspects to the success of knowledge sharing system. For example, Almeida et als study (2002) emphasized the availability of multiple mechanisms, formal and informal, to share and transfer knowledge so as to flexibly and simultaneously move, integrate and develop technical knowledge. Besides, the organizational culture that is capable of supporting the flow of knowledge was also addressed as an important factor. Another study by Nelson and Cooprider (1996) empirically tested the relationships between IS performance and mutual trust and influence among IS groups and their line customers. They found that mutual trust can facilitate knowledge sharing and can then increase shared knowledge. Bryants paper (2003) mainly studied the role of leadership in organizational knowledge manageme nt by comparing the effect of transformational leadership and transactional leadership on knowledge sharing. The involvement of high technology in knowledge sharing is addressed by Hubers study (2001) that claimed that some of the barriers to knowledge sharing can to a certain extent be raised by utilizing appropriate technologies. A few studies noted the role of motivation in knowledge sharing. Most of them discussed the different effects of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on knowledge sharing. It was believed that extrinsic motivation is a short-term approach and cannot create a lasting commitment to sharing knowledge (Kohn, 1993). Moreover, extrinsic motivation is also inappropriate if the knowledge shared is mainly tacit in nature (Osterloh et al., 2000). In Hansens paper (2002), the results showed that project teams who could conveniently access related knowledge from other units by virtue of pre-existing relationships could complete their projects faster than those who failed to do so. Thus, pre-existing relationships are also a facilitating factor due to their shortening the path among units who possess related knowledge. Lastly, a common language is also believed essential for effective knowledge sharing so that knowledge producers and recipients can achieve fluent and accurate communication in exchanging ideas and knowledge (Ali, 2001). EXPERIMENTAL SETUP For this study, we planned an experiment that was conducted during a course and lasted for whole semester. The participants in the experiment were the final-year undergraduate students of a business school. For the purposes of this experiment, we separated all students into different groups with each group consisting of five to six students. We then assigned relevant project topics to different groups and asked them to finish the projects by the end of semester. At the beginning, we counseled the participants that sharing knowledge is an effective way of improving performance and encouraged them to share their knowledge with their group mates as much as possible during the projects. MEASUREMENT A questionnaire was designed to test the participants perceptions concerning knowledge sharing based on their experience acquired in the group projects. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. In the first part, we selected eight factors based on past studies, including knowledge-friendly culture, motivational practices, multiple available channels, leader supportiveness, trust, pre-existing relationship, common language and level of technology. Participants were asked to indicate the extent to which each of these factors is important to the success of knowledge sharing. The second part had four items: Email, Knowledge repository, Face-to-face (F2F) meeting and Formal seminar. We ask participants to indicate the frequency with which they used each of the above methods to share knowledge with their group mates. We distributed the questionnaire to 91 students in a course and finally obtained 75 usable samples for further data analysis. RESULTS The mean, max and min values for each of the eight variables in the first part are summarized in Table 1. In addition, we conducted a series of paired t-tests to statistically compare every possible pair of means. Based on the results of the t-test (Table 2), we categorized the eight factors into five different groups: knowledge-friendly culture and motivational practices, multiple available channels and leader supportiveness, trust, pre-existing relationship and common language, and, lastly, level of technology. Trust Culture Motivation Channels Leader Relation Language Tech MEAN 6.04 5.84 5.76 5.52 5.51 5.12 5.27 4.71 MAX 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 MIN 3 4 4 3 4 3 3 1 Importance MAX MIN Table 1. Results of the first part Culture 2.15 Motivation 2.71 0.92 Channels 4.36 2.66 2.31 Leader 5.18 3.42 2.32 0.12 Relation 6.54 6.11 5.16 2.95 3.04 Language 6.31 4.22 3.66 1.98 1.96 0.95 Tech 9.28 8.41 6.83 5.03 5.73 2.70 3.50 t-value Trust Culture Motivation Channels Leader Relation Language Table 2. Results of paired t-test ( p In each above group that contains more than one factor, the factors are not statistically different from each other. For example, the knowledge-friendly-culture factor is perceived as equally important as the factor on motivational practice. We then prioritized these five groups in terms of their importance to the success of knowledge sharing by comparing their mean level. Obviously, building trust is the most important factor and the level of technology the least, as shown in Table 1. The mean, max and min values of the second part of the dataset are exhibited in Table 3. We also worked out the percentage of responses that rated the item more than 4 points. By referring to this percentage and checking the corresponding mean values, we can obtain information concerning how many of participants at least frequently used each method to share their knowledge with others. To conclude, F2F meeting is the most frequently used approach to sharing knowledge. Formal seminars, on the contrary, were the least used. F2F Email Repository Seminar MEAN 5.83 5.41 4.48 3.00 MAX 7 7 7 7 MIN 4 2 2 1 Frequent Usage 94.7% 85.3% 46.7% 21.3% Table 3. Data of the second part IMPLICATIONS Our study has essential implications for course teaching and learning. Our study suggests that in order to facilitate knowledge sharing among students, building trusting relationships is the first and most important step to take. Such trust can be built and strengthened via gradual mutual understanding. Therefore, there should be various opportunities and occasions for students to get to know each other. In this way, improved trust due to good understanding can raise the psychological barriers to communication and can then increase the students willingness to share knowledge. Moreover, a healthy culture should be fostered among students that learning from others and sharing what you know with others is the right thing to do and an effective way of improving study. In this arena, instructors play a particularly critical role. As for the sharing activity itself, increasing interactive communication between students is still an ideal way of proceeding. Whether in class or after class, s tudents should be provided with adequate opportunities for face-to-face discussions without the presence of instructors so that they can actively share knowledge during these discussions. Frequent formal seminars are not an effective approach for sharing knowledge because they hardly communicate with each other to exchange opinions and thoughts during the seminars. REFERENCES Ali, Y. (2001). The intranet and the management of making and using skills. Journal of Knowledge Management, 5, 338-348. Almeida, P., Song, J. and Grant, R. M. (2002). Are firms superior to alliances and markets? An empirical test of cross-border knowledge building. Organization Science, 13, 147-161. Bryant, S. E. (2003). The role of transformational and transactional leadership in creating, sharing and exploiting organizational knowledge. Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 9, 32-44. Hansen, M. T. (2002). Knowledge networks: Explaining effective knowledge sharing in multiunit companies. Organization Science, 13, 232-248. Huber, G. P. (2001). Transfer of knowledge in knowledge management systems: unexplored issues and suggested studies. European Journal of Information Systems, 10, 72-79. Kohn, A. (1993). Why incentive plans cannot work. Harvard Business Review, 71,54-63. Nelson, K. M. and J. G. Cooprider (1996). The contribution of shared knowledge to IS group performance. MIS Quarterly, 20, 409-432. Osterloh, M. and Frey, B. S. (2000). Motivation, knowledge transfer, and organizational forms. Organization Science, 11, 538-550. Knowing in Community: 10 Critical Success Factors in Building Communities of Practice The Limits of Knowledge Management Many companies are discovering that the real gold in knowledge management is not in distributing documents or combining databases. In the last few years many companies have used the internet and other new information technology to link professionals across the globe to share documents or compare data. But many are discovering that the real value in knowledge management is in sharing ideas and insights that are not documented and hard to articulate. This undocumented, hard-to-articulate knowledge is what has been called tacit knowledge (Polanyi, 1958). A group of systems designers for a computer company tried to share their knowledge by storing their documentation for client systems in a common database. They soon discovered that they did not need each others documentation. They needed to understand the logic other system designers used — why that software, with that hardware and that type of service plan. They needed to understand the thinking of the other system designers. A petrophysicist trying to interpret unusual data from a deep sea oil well needed help from a colleague who had seen similar anomalies and could help him think through how to interpret it. Only in the course of the discussion were they able to understand the anomaly. A geologist faced with an array of new seismic tools needed to know which would be most useful in his particular application. A product development team at an auto company found through their internet that another development team had developed and rejected a design ideas similar to one they were considering. They needed to understand the reasons for the rejection and get feedback from the other team on the approach they were considering. A sales manager working with a particularly difficult client needed to know how sales managers for other product lines had dealt with that client. In all these cases people needed tacit knowledge; knowledge that was not documented, that their peers had never previously articulated, and t hat needed to be thought about to be shared (McDermott, 1999a). Using typical knowledge management methods to leverage tacit knowledge often results in information junkyards and empty libraries. At the heart of most knowledge management efforts is an attempt to document and share information, ideas and insights so they can be organized, managed and shared. But documenting tacit knowledge frequently does more harm than good. When a major computer company first introduced its knowledge site, it asked field engineers to place their files in a common database. But, like many other companies, this company soon discovered that their staff did not want to hunt through many, redundant entries. As one engineer said, My own file cabinet is bad enough, why would I want look through everyone elses file cabinet. Rather than a resource, the company had created an information junkyard, full of potentially good material that was too much trouble to sort through. The field engineers wanted someone familiar with their discipline to assess the material, decide what is important and to enrich the documents in the database by summarizing, combining, contrasting, and integrating them. This would make the junkyard useful. Another company instructed their professional staff to document key work processes so others could easily learn from them. Most staff felt their work was too varied to capture in a set of procedures, but eventually they completed the task. Within a year the database was populated, but little used, an empty library. Most people found the information to be too general to be useful. The help they needed was still in the experience — the tacit knowledge of their peers. Communities of Practice Leverage Thinking Ironically one of the oldest elements of organization is key to leveraging tacit knowledge, communities of practice. Communities of practice are groups of people who share information, insight, experience, and tools about an area of common interest (Wenger, 1998). A communitys focus could be on a professional discipline like reservoir engineering or biology a skill like machine repair or a topic like a technology, an industry, or a segment of a production process. In a manufacturing company, for example, communities were formed around steps in the production process. Shell Oil Co.s New Orleans operation, which is organized into cross-functional teams, formed them around key disciplines and topics that cross individual teams. Communities of practice have always been part of the informal structure of organizations. They form spontaneously as people seek help, try to solve problems, develop new ideas and approaches. Some say that spontaneous communities of practice have always been the real vehicle through which technical knowledge spreads through organizations. Spontaneous communities of practice are informal. People participate in them as their interest, time and energy dictates. Although they usually gel around a particular topic or domain, the specific issues they focus on change over time, as the needs and interests of their members change. Communities are held together by passionate interest and value. Communities of practice frequently form around topics community members have invested many years in developing; topics they are often passionately interested in, a science, a craft or a manufacturing process. But communities of practice are not just celebrations of common interest. They focus on practical aspects of a practice, everyday problems, new tools, developments in the field, things that work and dont. So people participate because the community provides value. Community members frequently turn to each other to help solve technical problems, like interpreting anomalous data. Because they are often linked, not only to each other but also to suppliers, universities and others outside their organization communities of practice, they often keep members informed of new developments in the field. Because community members share a common technical interest, they can share ideas and concerns with others who really unders tand. And praise from community members is often the most meaningful because technical peers really understand the difficulty of the work or the brilliance of an analysis. As a result, people often have a great deal of their professional identity tied up in their communities. Communities of practice link people in many ways. Communities frequently link people with a common interest who do not have regular day-to-day contact. For example, in Shell Oils New Orleans operation, communities link people who work on different teams. In this double knit organization (McDermott, 1999b) teams are the core organizational structure. Communities form around technical disciplines and topics that draw people from many teams. Each community operates in its own way, but the Turbodudes community is fairly typical. The Turbodudes draw people from different disciplines (geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir engineering) who are interested in a particular kind of geological structure common in the Gulf of Mexico, turbidites. The Turbodudes stay together through five key components: a coordinator, mentors, a weekly meeting, presentations by outside vendors, and a website that stores topics discussed at previous meetings. For the last two years the Turbodudes have met ev ery Tuesday at 7:30 in the morning, before the other organizational meetings begin. Typically twenty to forty people come to the meetings. While there are often many new faces at the meetings, there is a core group of ten high-contributors who make most of the meetings. The meetings seem very informal. The coordinator asks who has a question or problem. After a short presentation, others offer their observations, describing the logic or assumptions they made in formulating those observations. A technical specialist takes notes on her computer. The following day meeting notes are posted on the communitys website. While the meeting only lasts an hour, people often leave in small groups hotly engaged in discussions of the meetings topic. But these meetings are not as informal as they seem. Between meetings the coordinator walks the halls connecting people with others who share similar concerns, following up on the meetings topics, and finding topics for the next meeting. To keep discus sions focused on cutting edge topics and to keep senior community leaders engaged, the community developed a mentorship program for people new to the field. The mentorship program provides an avenue for basic questions and distributes the job of educating new community members in an equitably. Communities thrive on trust. One of the main dynamics of the Turbodudes and many other communities of practice is that members ask for and offer help solving technical problems. Regularly helping each other makes it easier for community members to show their weak spots and learn together in the public space of the community. Having frank and supportive discussions of real problems frequently builds a greater sense of connection and trust between community members. As they share ideas and experiences, community members often develop a shared way of doing things, a set of common practices, and a greater sense of common purpose. Sometimes they formalize these in guidelines and standards, but often they simply remain what everybody knows about good practice. In the course of helping each other, sharing ideas, and collectively solving problems, everybody often becomes a trusted group of peers. Communities of practice are ideal vehicles for leveraging tacit knowledge because they enable person-to-person interaction and engage a whole group in advancing their field of practice. As a result, they can spread the insight from that collaborative thinking across the whole organization Critical Success Factors for Community Building Communities of practice are a new/old kind of organizational form. Even though communities of practice have been part of organizations for many generations, we have only recently begun to understand their dynamics and tried to intentionally develop them. Because they are organic, driven by the value they provide to members, organized around changing topics, and bound by peoples sense of connection, they are very different from teams and other organizational forms most of us are familiar with (McDermott, 1999b; Wenger Snyder, 2000). The challenges they pose and the factors in making them successful are also different. There are four key challenges in starting and supporting communities capable of sharing tacit knowledge and thinking together. The management challenge is to communicate that the organization truly values sharing knowledge. The community challenge is to create real value for community members and insure that the community shares cutting edge thinking, rather than sophisticated copying. The technical challenge is to design human and information systems that not only make information available but help community members think together. And the personal challenge is to be open to the ideas of others and maintain a thirst for developing the communitys practice. Ten factors, dealing with each of these challenges, are critical to the success of communities of practice. Without them, communities tend to flounder or fail. Critical Success Factors in Building Community Management Challenge 1. Focus on topics important to the business and community members. 2. Find a well-respected community member to coordinate the community. 3. Make sure people have time and encouragement to participate. 4. Build on the core values of the organization. Community Challenge 5. Get key thought leaders involved. 6. Build personal relationships among community members. 7. Develop an active passionate core group. 8. Create forums for thinking together as well as systems for sharing information. Technical Challenge 9. Make it easy to contribute and access the communitys knowledge and practices. Personal Challenge 10. Create real dialogue about cutting edge issues. The Management Challenge Knowledge management, like total quality and reengineering has become the latest of management fads. Many professionals have found that if they just keep their heads low they can escape the extra work and impact of these fads. With so many pressures drawing on their time, it is often hard to get the attention of professional staff. Four factors can communicate that management really does support knowledge-sharing communities. 1. Focus on knowledge important to both the business and the people. To show that communities of practice are important, form them around topics at the heart of the business, where leveraging knowledge will have a significant financial or competitive impact. Communities of practice at Shell, a very technically oriented company, started around technical topics. At a manufacturing company, we formed the first communities around major steps of the manufacturing process

Conrads Heart of Darkness and the Dehumanization of Africans Essay

Heart of Darkness and the Dehumanization of Africans      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Western world, generally speaking, is not kind to Africa and its native inhabitants. We acknowledge Africa's existence, but we do not want to see or understand anything about it beyond the obvious: overt things that are open to criticism like Apartheid (a European invention). The occasional praiseworthy entity is given momentary applause, but felicitations are short-lived and quickly forgotten. These statements refer just to politics, so one can imagine the rightful indignation by twentieth-century African writers when their work is largely ignored in favor of such enlightening fare as Heart of Darkness. One writer, Chinua Achebe, seeks to change this view by illustrating the complex, unquestionably civilized rituals and protocols of day-to-day African life. He is not alone in his endeavor, as several other writers also portray an Africa worthy of respect while they crumble the long-standing traditions of ignorant bias and patronization. Can Achebe really change the perception that Africa is nothing more than the heart of an immense darkness that surrounds all of us? That is exactly what he tries to do in his essay on racism. He ascertains that "white racism against Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its manifestations go completely unremarked." He further questions the classification of Heart of Darkness (or any work that dehumanizes Africans) as a "great work of art" (12). Obviously, this essay is more direct in its attack on the standard view of Africa than his novels, but Achebe uses the essay forum to state his hopes about the future of African literature in the West. He wants to rehabilitate this image that he keeps seeing from everyone who ha... ...oroughly rehabilitated me towards Africans in literature. Only a few billion more to go until Achebe can call his project a success.    Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays. New York: Anchor, 1990. -- -- --. No Longer at Ease. London: Heinemann, 1960. -- -- --. Things Fall Apart. 1958. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Expanded Edition, Vol. 1. Ed. Maynard Mack. London: Norton, 1995. Ba, Mariama. So Long a Letter. 1980. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Expanded Edition, Vol. 1. Ed. Maynard Mack. London: Norton, 1995. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Signet, 1997. Soyinka, Wole. Death and the King's Horseman. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Expanded Edition, Vol. 1. Ed. Maynard Mack. London: Norton, 1995.

History Coursework Essay

In this essay I will be explaining the main features of the New Deal, I will include Roosevelt’s main aims and alphabet agencies which helped America recover through the financial crisis. Emergency Banking Act – Roosevelt closed all banks for a four day â€Å"Bank Holiday†. Every bank was inspected only honest, reliable well run banks with enough money were allowed to re-open this was incredibly important because this was one of the major causes of the depression, the banks were giving large amounts of money to people who could not pay it back and so this caused a knock on effect. The Economy Act – Roosevelt cut the pay for everyone working for the government, army, navy and air force by 15% and saved a nearly 1billion dollars to be re-invested into the economy, these tough measures were needed for people who were unemployed or having financial crisis’s this money was extremely important so that the economy could make a slow but steady recovery. F.E.R.A – The Federal Emergency Relief Agency was given $500 million dollars to help the homeless or people who were struggling to make ends meet. They helped people with basic things such as food, clothes, mortgage payments, they gave great support for people who needed money for basic things. H.O.L.C – The Home Owners Loan Co-operation loaned money to people with very low rates of interest and people who could not keep up with their payments this was very important because it took the pressure of the home owner because they could rely on the government to help or support them with their finances. F.C.A – Farm Credit Administration helped farmers. They loaned money to farmers who were unable to meet their mortgage payments they loaned 100 million dollars in 18 months. A.A.A – Agricultural Adjustment Agency paid farmers to produce less food so that there was more demand for farmed products. The farms were overproducing and so they were losing a lot of money because there was no demand for those products. The AAA paid them to destroy their food and because there was more demand for the products there incomes increased, they nearly doubled! In conclusion Roosevelt was helping America’s economy unlike Hoover his aims of helping the economy were succeeding and the public began to lie him.

Physics Friction Lab

Friction Page 1 Lab: Friction William Morris Leo Hayes High School Friction Page 2 Purpose: To investigate the coefficient of friction for a given surface and the effects that factors such as weight, surface area and changes to the surface have on the coefficient of friction. Hypothesis: The smaller the amount of normal force (weight), the less friction created and the least surface area and the greaser the surface the less friction is created. With the increase in normal force corresponding with the increase in friction should balance out â€Å"mu†. Materials: Spring scale, string, 4 textbooks, PledgeProcedure: 1. Using a spring scale and some string we hooked through the pages of the text book to find the weight to find the weight of each text book we used and then recorded it. 2. We pulled the first text book across the table then estimated the amount of force we needed to apply to the scale attached to the text book to move it at a constant speed and then recorded our gues s. 3. Using the string and spring scale we pulled the text book across the table at a constant speed keeping the string parallel to the surface of the table and then recorded the data. . From this measured force below, we determined the frictional force that had acted upon the book as we pulled it across the table. 5. Then we pulled the book across the table once more at a different constant speed to ensure accurate friction readings. 6. From the weights of the text book we found earlier we determined the normal force acting on the text book as we pulled it across the table and then recorded it below. 7. We added the second text book, (B), to the first one and pulled them across the table again recording their force of friction. 8.We then repeated this procedure twice more adding a text book each time as recorded below. 9. We then pulled text book, A, on its spine across the table at a constant speed recording the force from the scale. 10. We pledged the table and rubbed it thorough ly with a cloth and then repeated only step 3 on this pledged surface and recorded the force required. Friction Page 3 Questions: 1. Compare the books weight with the force required to pull it horizontally at a constant speed. Which one is larger? In all cases the normal force is larger than the force of friction. 2.It always takes more force to start an object than to keep it moving at a constant speed. Why? Friction is caused by tiny scratches in the smoothness of a surface. The rougher a surface is, the rougher it feels. And the rougher a pair of surfaces are, the harder it is for them to slide past each other. The tiny rough edges grab hold of each other and lock the surfaces into place, so that it takes a great deal of force to make them move. That's the static friction you're trying to overcome. Once you get the surfaces moving the rough edges are already dislodged and as long as you don't stop, they won't have a chance to lock again.Therefore, it's easier to keep something mo ving once you've started than it would be to stop and start again. 3. Does it take more force to move an object at a higher constant speed than a slower constant speed? In our lab the force seemed to stay the same. This could have something to do with our sources of error. The lab did not reveal this. 4. The force of friction was found in part 3. Would it be more or less if you pulled the text book across: (a) Ice(b) Sand(c) Rough Concrete(d) Waxed Floor How is the force of friction affected by changing the surface from smooth to rough? a) Less friction (b) More friction (c) More friction (d) More friction A rough surface has more grooves to grab than a smooth surface therefore creating more friction. Friction Page 4 5. Does the force of friction depend on the speed of motion? In our lab it was impossible to figure this out due to our sources of error. 6. Write an equation showing the relationship between the force of friction and the normal force. Use this equation to calculate the coefficient of friction for each set of readings. 7. What are the units for â€Å"mu† , the coefficient of friction?There is no unit measurement for the coefficient of friction. 8. Plot a full page graph of the force of friction verse the normal force. See graph on following page for the force of friction verse the normal force. 9. Based on your graph what is the relationship between the coefficient of friction verse the normal force. The relationship between the coefficient of friction verse the normal force is such that the coefficient is the same because the increase in normal force corresponds with the then increase in friction creating the same â€Å"mu†. 10.How do the coefficients of friction compare for each of your five trials in the data table? Is this how they should be? With a smoother surface the friction is lowered therefore lowering â€Å"mu†. This is how it should be. Friction Page 5 Data/Results: Books| Normal Force| Friction|  µ| A| 10. 5 N| 2. 5 N| 0. 24| A + B| 20. 5 N| 5. 0 N| 0. 24| A + B + C| 31. 5 N| 7. 5 N| 0. 24| A + B + C + D| 42. 5 N| 10. 0 N| 0. 24| Book A on spine| 10. 5 N| 2. 0 N| 0. 20| Books A on Pledged Surface| 10. 5 N| 2. 0 N| 0. 20| Books| Normal Force (weight)| A| 10. 5 N| B| 10. 0 N|C| 11. 0 N| D| 11. 0 N| Discussion: There are several sources of error in this lab. One being the scales not being accurate and there is no way to fix this except to purchase new scales each time. Another could be the angle we are pulling the book from. There is no way for us to be exactly sure if this force is exactly parallel with the table. When finding our normal force we do not take into consideration the weight of the string and this cannot be fixed as our scales are not this precise. It is unknown if our hand was completely steady while finding our normal force.This could result in our normal force being inaccurate. There is no way to fix this as we are not robots. The same is true for finding the force of frictio n as we are not sure we are pulling the book(s) at the same constant speed. Conclusion: After the lab I found my hypothesis to be true in that the smaller the amount of normal force (weight), the less friction created and the least surface area and the greaser the surface the less friction was created. With the increase in normal force corresponding with the increase in friction it balanced out â€Å"mu†.

How to Submit a Book Proposal in 3 Steps

How to Submit a Book Proposal in 3 Steps How to Submit a Book Proposal in Just 3 Steps Many writers start the publishing process thinking that the writing of a book is the most difficult part of the journey. Once their book is written and published, they quickly realize that the marketing of their book is just as hard - if not harder!The same thing applies to book proposals. Once you've finished writing a great book proposal, you might think you're over the hump and ready to coast to a book deal. But then you realize: you still haven't figured out who to submit it to - and how.Well, we want to be in your corner! To that end, this post will discuss the four main components of submitting a book proposal: deciding whether you need a literary agent, how to find the right publishers for you, and what to do if your proposal is rejected.How to Submit a Book ProposalDo you need to submit a book proposal through an agent?How to submit a book proposal to publishers in 3 steps.What should you do if your book proposal is rejected?Do you need to submit a book proposal through an agent?The answer is yes and no. Or rather, it depends on the type of book you’re working on and your goal.Let’s start with the yes...When you should work with a literary agentIf you are working on general fiction (such as histories, memoirs, and biographies) and are looking to secure a contract with a major trade publisher or New York house, you will need a literary agent for your proposal to be considered. Do you need a literary agent to submit a book proposal? Find out here. To bring that point home, here’s an account from a former executive editor at St. Martin’s Press, Laurie Chittenden: â€Å"Once a month, assistants will process the slush pile. That means putting a form letter with the proposal saying the publisher doesn’t accept unsolicited manuscripts and sending it back to the author. Publishers already see such a massive volume of projects from agents, they don’t have time to look at unsolicited ones. When I was in-house, I’d easily get 25-50 manuscripts a week from literary agents. That’s well over 5,000 pages to read a week, on top of the books I already had under contract to edit.† And remember that as with any new business endeavor (which is what you should treat becoming a published author as), sometimes you need to call on the experts.If your proposal hasn’t yet led to a contract, considering getting a set of professional eyes on it. A developmental editor usually charges $500 - $1,000 and can take the feedback you’ve received so far to improve your proposal and ensure it’s putting it’s best foot forward.And hey, the good news is that the more you keep at it, the more you learn about the publishing process - maybe even enough to fill a book.What's been your experience with submitting or writing book proposals? Do you have any additional questions about this process? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Reporting Verbs for English Language Learners

Reporting Verbs for English Language Learners Reporting verbs are verbs that serve to report what someone else has said. Reporting verbs are different than the reported speech in that they are used to paraphrase what someone has said. Reported speech is used when reporting exactly what someone has said. To do this, use  say and tell. John told me he was going to stay late at work.Jennifer told Peter she had lived in Berlin for ten years. Peter said he wanted to visit his parents that weekend.My friend said he would finish his work soon. Other verbs used with reported speech include mention and comment. Here are some examples: Tom mentioned he enjoyed playing tennis.Alice mentioned she could take care of the kids this weekend. The teacher commented the students werent getting their homework done on time.The man commented he felt tired after such a long journey. When using reported speech, change the verb used by the original speaker to match your usage. In other words, if you report using said, you need to move everything back one step into the past. There are also pronoun changes and time cue changes that need to be made as appropriate in reported speech.   I like playing tennis. - Tom mentioned he liked playing tennis.  I have lived in Berlin for ten years. - Jennifer told Peter she had lived in Berlin for ten years.   Say and tell are the most common reporting verbs used to report what others have said. However, there are a number of other reporting verbs which can more accurately describe what someone has said. These verbs take a variety of structures that differ from reported speech. For example: Original Statement I will come to your party. I promise. Reported Speech He said he would come to my party. Reporting Verb He promised to come to my party. In this example, reported speech changes the original verb to would as well as changing the possessive pronoun your to my. In contrast, the reporting verb promise is simply followed by the infinitive. There are a number of formulas used with reporting verbs. Use the chart below to identify the structure required.   The following list gives you reporting verbs in various categories based on sentence structure. Note that a number of verbs can take more than one form. verb object infinitive verb infinitive verb (that) verb gerund verb object preposition gerund verb preposition gerund adviseencourageinviteremindwarn agreedecideofferpromiserefusethreaten admitagreedecidedenyexplaininsistpromiserecommendsuggest denyrecommendsuggest accuseblamecongratulate apologizeinsist Examples:Jack encouraged me to look for a new job.They invited all their friends to attend the presentation.Bob warned his friend not to open the can of worms.I advised the students to study carefully for the test. Examples:She offered to give him a lift to work.My brother refused to take no for an answer.Mary decided to attend university.He threatened to sue the company. Examples:Tom admitted (that) he had tried to leave early.She agreed (that) we needed to reconsider our plans.The teacher insisted that he didnt give enough homework.Our manager suggested we take some time off work. Examples:He denied having anything to do with her.Ken suggested studying early in the morning.Alice recommends playing golf in Bend, Oregon. Examples:They accused the boys of cheating on the exam.She blamed her husband for missing the train.The mother congratulated her daughter on graduating from college. Examples:He apologized for being late.She insisted on doing the washing up.Peter apologized for interrupting the meeting. For more information on reported speech, this overview of  reported speech  provides a guide on which transformations are required to use the form. Practice using this form with the  reported speech worksheet   that provides a quick review and exercise. Theres also a  reported speech quiz  which provides immediate feedback on correct or incorrect answers. Teachers can use this guide on  how to teach reported speech  for help introducing the reported speech, as well as a  reported speech lesson plan  and other resources.

Definitions and Types of Sentences in French

Definitions and Types of Sentences in French A sentence (une phrase) is a group of words including, at a minimum, a subject and a verb, plus any or all of the  French parts of speech. There are four basic types of sentence, each with its own punctuation, outlined below with examples. Normally, each sentence expresses a complete thought. One way to better understand French sentences is to read French newspapers (like Le Monde or Le Figaro) to analyze their syntax and construction. Parts of a French Sentence Sentences can be separated into a subject (un sujet), which may be stated or implied, and a predicate (un prà ©dicat). The subject is the person(s) or thing(s) performing the action. The predicate is the action of the sentence, which usually begins with the verb. Each sentence has an end punctuation mark- such as a period, question mark, or exclamation point- depending on the type of sentence, as well as possible intermediary punctuation such as commas. For example: Je suis professeur. I am a teacher.Subject: Je (I)Predicate: suis professeur (am a teacher) Paul et moi aimons la France. Paul and I love France.Subject: Paul et moi (Paul and I)Predicate: aimons la France (love France) La petite fille est mignonne. The little girl is cute.Subject: La petite fille (The little girl)Predicate: est mignonne (is cute) 4 Types of French Sentences There are four types of sentences: statements, questions, exclamations, and commands. Below are explanations and examples of each type. Statement  (Phrase Assertive or Phrase Dà ©clarative) Statements, the most common type of sentence, state or declare something. There are affirmative statements,  les phrases (dà ©claratives) affirmatives,  and negative statements,  les phrases (dà ©claratives) nà ©gatives. Statements end in periods. Check out some examples: Les phrases (dà ©claratives) affirmatives (Affirmative statements) Je vais la banque. (Im going to the bank.)Je suis fatiguà ©. (I am tired.)Je vous aiderai. (Ill help you.)Jespà ¨re que tu seras l. (I hope youll be there.)Je taime. (I love you.) Les phrases (dà ©claratives) nà ©gatives (Negative statements) Je ny vais pas. (Im not going.)Je ne suis pas fatiguà ©. (Im not tired.)Je ne veux pas vous aider. (I dont want to help you.)Il ne sera pas l. (He wont be there.)Ça  ne me  regarde  pas. (Its none of my business.) Question  (Phrase Interrogative) Interrogatives,  aka  questions, ask  about  or for something. Note that these sentences end in a question mark, and there is a space in every case between the final word and the question mark.  Examples include: As-tu mon livre  ? (Do you have my book?)Sont-ils prà ªts  ? (Are they ready?)Oà ¹ est-il  ? (Where is he?)Peux-tu nous aider  ? (Can you help us?) Exclamation (Phrase Exclamative) Exclamatives express a strong reaction such as surprise or indignation. They look just like statements except for the exclamation point  at the end; for this reason, theyre sometimes considered a subcategory of statements rather than a separate type of sentence. Note that there is a space between the final word and the exclamation point. For example: Je veux y aller  ! (I want to go!)Jespà ¨re que oui  ! (I hope so!)Il est trà ¨s beau  ! (Hes very handsome!)Cest une bonne idà ©e  ! (Thats a great idea!) Command (Phrase Impà ©rative) Commands are the only kind of sentence without an explicit subject. Instead, the subject is implied by the conjugation of the verb, which is in the imperative. The implied subject will always be  either the singular or plural you form:  tu  for singular and informal;  vous  for plural and formal. Commands can end in either a period or an exclamation point, depending on the speakers desired intensity. For instance: Va ten  ! (Go away!)Sois sage. (Be good.)Faites la vaisselle. (Do the dishes.)Aidez-nous le trouver ! (Help us find it!)(Note that the   and le  here are not contracted to au  because le is an object, not an article.)

Answer the questions 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer the questions 6 - Essay Example Some sentences do not adhere to the correct use of phrases such as â€Å"beyond a shadow of doubt â€Å" is a clichà © and should be, â€Å"beyond any shadow of doubt.† In this same paragraph there is misuse of the word impersonal. Following your request for suggestions on how to improve customer relations, I wish to submit some ideas. I am of the opinion that we can enhance customer satisfaction easily by making a change in our counters. Last December, glass barriers were installed in our branch separating tellers from customers. These barriers have air vents that allow tellers like to communicate freely with our customers. Management thought that since these barriers are bulletproof; they would help in stopping thieves from gaining easy access to the tellers’ cubicles. However, there were customers who were not pleased by these glass partitions especially since communicating with them became extremely difficult. This is because both the customer and teller had to raise their voices for them to be heard. It becomes even more inconveniencing when dealing with elderly people or someone from another country. This makes the customers think they are being treated in an inhospitable manner. After some careful research from other banks, I realized we are the only bank in town using such barriers. Most of the other banks are trying causal kiosks and open counters to make their customers feel at

Deming's 14 points Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Deming's 14 points - Assignment Example Deming makes clear that ‘defect detection’ and ‘defect prevention’ are preludes to the continuous improvement process. An optimal defect detection system would not operate on the misplaced assumption that increasing the quantity of tests (mass inspection) would automatically â€Å"decrease the variability of the quality characteristics of products and services.† Likewise, a robust defect prevention system would not consider ‘zero defects’ as the ultimate hallmark of quality. Instead it would take into account the concept of ‘entropy’ in the life-cycle of a product and device methods for mitigating it. Continuous Improvement is basically looked at as the â€Å"ongoing reduction of process (unit-to-unit) variation, even within specification limits†. It is impinged on the fact that by reducing unit-to-unit variation around the nominal value the incurred production costs are also reduced. The SDSA Cycle stands for Standardize-Do-Study-Act, which is a technique for standardization of a process. The first key step toward standardization is identification of â€Å"best practice methods with key indicators of process performance†. Consensus among employees involved in the process is important. Hence a commonly agreed flowchart of the process is followed by all to ensure consistency. In the second stage (Do) trials and experiments are run on the standardized best practice methods. Following this, in the Study stage of the SDSA Cycle, the efficacy of the best practice methods are evaluated through an analysis of key parameters. Finally, in the Act stage of the cycle, managers attempt to ‘formalize’ the best practice methods that have stood the scrutiny of trials. But in order to materialize and enhance the best practice methods thus formalized the management will have to follow through the PDSA cycle. The PDSA cycle stands for Plan-Do-Study-Act. Its purpose is to aid the management in â€Å"improving and innovating

Stress reduction technique that worked for me (prayer) Essay

Stress reduction technique that worked for me (prayer) - Essay Example Firstly, I have seen serious fights between my parents since my childhood. I have grown up in a very dysfunctional family. There is not much bonding amongst the family members or with my relatives. One of the major reasons for my parent’s fights is their frustration regarding the financial condition. My dad has been working really hard but due to some reason or the other he suffers a loss. Secondly, my sister got married 2 years back and when she was 6 months pregnant, she returned to our home and then we got to know that there has been serious issues going on between them and she wanted to be separated from her husband that is she wanted a divorce which upset me a lot. Lastly, exams at this stage also cause stress because in such a situation, it is very difficult to stay home and study or to concentrate in the books. It was Tuesday night 12 am when suddenly my sister came to my place. She was crying like anything and when she told my mother the whole story, I burst into tears. I didn’t know what to do and what to say at that time. My tears were due to the accumulation of all the tensions and stresses I had. That was the time when I decided to pray to God and ask for His help. Before I started to pray, I was mentally very disturbed. I could not think of any positive thing around me and was lost in some other world. Then I started to pray. Prayer as a stress reduction technique follows a four step procedure. Firstly there is supplication in which I asked for guidance in my own words along with the set prayer which said â€Å"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me† and â€Å"Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on my soul†. In this we ask for certain events to turn out the way we want to. Then there is meditation in which being still in body, which is contributing to the settling of the turbulent waters of issues in the mind; confusion falling away so that the voice of conscience can be heard. In this, our mind relaxes and becomes more

Supply chain management - Operation management Essay - 1

Supply chain management - Operation management - Essay Example The aggregate planning is often shared with the supply chain partners since it has a great impact on the supply chain. All the stages within the supply chain ought to work hand in hand in order to improve the supply chain performance. This is quite essential because it would help synchronize the flow of operations throughout the supply chain (Boyer & Verma, 2009). The information that would be better shared with the supply chain partners is the vendor managed inventory because vendors are known to undertake the duty of planning on behalf of the trading partners. My main reason for such a decision is to minimize the safety stock as a buffer on the vendor side due to the uncertainty in demand as well as minimize the safety stock on the consumer side due to uncertainty in supply (Liu & Kumar, 2003). The supply chains partners will have to ensure that there is collaboration between the overtime, inventory holding and the subcontractors. In case the aggregated plan is not achieved, a special handling process ought to be adopted so that the process of production is not slowed down, but met as anticipated within the six months. Strategic sourcing is, as well, information that ought to be shared herein. Since the production of tankloads involves a chain of suppliers, sourcing becomes a complex match making procedure. The combined process of efforts from subcontractors, working overtime and the inventory holdings varies in its structure from chronological sharing. The success in information sharing throughout the supply chain, starting from demand forecast to order fulfilment, will see the Bottling Company minimise costs using this production

Martin Luther King (Business Ethics) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Martin Luther King (Business Ethics) - Essay Example In order to love enemies, it is better to focus only on their qualities rather than accepting their evils. The most excellent way that the speaker suggests to demonstrate one’s love towards one’s enemies is to skip the opportunity to defeat them. Furthermore, one should help enemies in the best way possible to overcome their difficulties. The idea of loving enemies is relevant to business field as well because modern business involves broad and collaborated knowledge sharing and problem solving. Traditional business was subject to personal management; and therefore, lacked integration and teamwork. In business, the practice of King’s idea of love for enemies can enhance business sustainability as the ‘win win’ approach would become a competitive approach to business firms. As far as I am concerned, the idea of loving enemies is not practical in normal way of thinking because immature feelings like jealousy and selfishness prevail over human nature th at persuade them to hate their enemies. This speech has influenced me to reshape my perceptions regarding the feeling of hatred towards the enemies. 2. Unfulfilled Dreams The speech, ‘Unfulfilled Dreams’ by Martin Luther king is a subject of great significance in the life of every individual. As the speech says, it is natural for man to have his own dreams and struggle for attaining those dreams. Despite the determination and effort, most of the dreams remain unfulfilled. It says that one of the main reasons which impede the efforts is the inappropriate choices we make in our lives. The sincere efforts to dream fulfillment is likely to be rewarded by God and blessed with the required ability to fulfill it. The height of the dream and the obstacles associated with it do not matter when the aspiration derives from the depth of heart and efforts through the right path. In business also one’s strong determination to fulfill the dreams and desires can be regarded as t he key to success. The paucity of strong willpower and divergence from predetermined strategies lead to business failure. As the time passes and situations turn unfavorable, the determination to fulfill dreams becomes feeble. The sparkling speech of Martin Luther King has imbued me a lot with new outlook towards life-goal and choices I would make in future. 3. A knock at midnight ‘A knock at Midnight is yet another motivational speech delivered by Martin Luther King in 1963. The speech had a social significance in the period during which he delivered it. The essence of the King’s speech is that mankind lives in midnight amidst various evils. He points that world nations fight each other in order to attain supremacy; and they use scientific achievements for the destruction of the whole world. In his opinion, the midnight night in the social life refers to retardation of the human values. He adds that the midnight will not continue for a long term; instead, there will be rather long hours of light. These words of King reflect his hope toward achieving social equity in America. New business ideologies of profit maximization have challenged all basic human values. Modern businesses employ every possible malpractice so as to achieve market dominance; and it often severely hurts all fundamental human interests. Therefore, it can be clearly conclude that the modern business world also is in darkness as it undermines human values. From my moral point of view, the cut-throat competition has weakened the

HR Case Study of Motivation, Compensation and Rewards Research Paper

HR Case Study of Motivation, Compensation and Rewards - Research Paper Example It however has a large number of employees whom it ensures that they receive a fair and equitable treatment. TRI Company however will require an appropriate compensation, reward and benefits system to enable its employees to stay motivated and to improve their performance. The appropriate performance appraisal system will also be required to measure the performance of the employees. The appropriate reward system will therefore be needed and this involves the financial rewards, non-financial compensation and the employee benefits. The reward system will be composed of processes that measure the value of job, motivational practices applicable, structures that relate the appropriate pay to the value of work done, schemes for providing incentives and rewards and structures that help to maintain the reward system (Armstrong, 2002). With the large number of employees available in the company, TRI will require compensation models that will ensure that the employees are more productive in their contribution to the company. The models that TRI may use to compensate their employees include merit pay, base pay, which include salaries, rewarding them using hourly wages, contingent pay, which includes use of bonuses, stock options, and gain sharing plans, indirect compensation and profit sharing. Base pay, which is also referred to as basic pay will include payment of a basic salary to the employees in the organization. The application of this model to TRI Company will involve ensuring that every employee is entitled to a basic monthly salary, which they should receive at the end of every month, year or other determined interval. The basis for this basic salary will be the managerial judgments that are used to recruit these employees. It is used as a platform through which other additional payments are determined. It also forms the platform on which other entitlements such as pensions are based. Merit Pay for TRI will involve determining the amount of

Martin Luther King (Business Ethics) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Martin Luther King (Business Ethics) - Essay Example In order to love enemies, it is better to focus only on their qualities rather than accepting their evils. The most excellent way that the speaker suggests to demonstrate one’s love towards one’s enemies is to skip the opportunity to defeat them. Furthermore, one should help enemies in the best way possible to overcome their difficulties. The idea of loving enemies is relevant to business field as well because modern business involves broad and collaborated knowledge sharing and problem solving. Traditional business was subject to personal management; and therefore, lacked integration and teamwork. In business, the practice of King’s idea of love for enemies can enhance business sustainability as the ‘win win’ approach would become a competitive approach to business firms. As far as I am concerned, the idea of loving enemies is not practical in normal way of thinking because immature feelings like jealousy and selfishness prevail over human nature th at persuade them to hate their enemies. This speech has influenced me to reshape my perceptions regarding the feeling of hatred towards the enemies. 2. Unfulfilled Dreams The speech, ‘Unfulfilled Dreams’ by Martin Luther king is a subject of great significance in the life of every individual. As the speech says, it is natural for man to have his own dreams and struggle for attaining those dreams. Despite the determination and effort, most of the dreams remain unfulfilled. It says that one of the main reasons which impede the efforts is the inappropriate choices we make in our lives. The sincere efforts to dream fulfillment is likely to be rewarded by God and blessed with the required ability to fulfill it. The height of the dream and the obstacles associated with it do not matter when the aspiration derives from the depth of heart and efforts through the right path. In business also one’s strong determination to fulfill the dreams and desires can be regarded as t he key to success. The paucity of strong willpower and divergence from predetermined strategies lead to business failure. As the time passes and situations turn unfavorable, the determination to fulfill dreams becomes feeble. The sparkling speech of Martin Luther King has imbued me a lot with new outlook towards life-goal and choices I would make in future. 3. A knock at midnight ‘A knock at Midnight is yet another motivational speech delivered by Martin Luther King in 1963. The speech had a social significance in the period during which he delivered it. The essence of the King’s speech is that mankind lives in midnight amidst various evils. He points that world nations fight each other in order to attain supremacy; and they use scientific achievements for the destruction of the whole world. In his opinion, the midnight night in the social life refers to retardation of the human values. He adds that the midnight will not continue for a long term; instead, there will be rather long hours of light. These words of King reflect his hope toward achieving social equity in America. New business ideologies of profit maximization have challenged all basic human values. Modern businesses employ every possible malpractice so as to achieve market dominance; and it often severely hurts all fundamental human interests. Therefore, it can be clearly conclude that the modern business world also is in darkness as it undermines human values. From my moral point of view, the cut-throat competition has weakened the

Business Analyst vs. Financial Analyst Essay Example for Free

Business Analyst vs. Financial Analyst Essay Analyst is an essential job in our society. They make analyses to help people figure out problems, and point out a positive way to solve problems. Analysts almost apply in every different professional area, such as political analyst, military analyst, and economic analyst. They analysis all information with their professional knowledge, and then translate a certain language which everybody can understand easily. For example, social analyst can use their knowledge to analyze current social problems and provide a useful analysis to government or city hall. Then, people can understand what happen to their society. Therefore, analyst is a necessary job for our society. For business corporations and companies, there are two important analysts for them. They are business and financial analysts. Many people, including employers and employees, dont know what these two analysts are exactly, and what different between them. However, they do exist, and they do help a corporation or company become more efficient and profitable. In other words, they play important roles in business activities. In general term, business and financial analysts have different definition for their position, different working area, and different training path, but they have the same goalto help users have better business condition. According to Julia Scholz, who is a successful business analyst, she said a business analyst is like a road trip planner, helping people plan their map and route (P.1). She says, a BA will help a user determine their wants, focus on a destination or desired outcome, outline possible maps of how to get there (P.1). Simply, business analyst is a communicator or translator to translate what employer wants to their employee. They gather all information from boss, employee, and outside world, and plan an efficient way to achieve their goal. It is not easy to be a good business analyst. Scholz lists some steps that her term and she do everyday to help successful project: 1.Listen to the users: the most important task for business analyst is find  out users demand. What do users desire for? What kind of outcome do they ask for? In what way they hope to achieve their goal? And some suggestion to their employee to improve whole companys operation. These things are important for business analyst making analysis. 2.Document: when a business analyst listens to their users, they need to record and write down all they get from users. They may use computer or recorder to record users words. Then when analysts do analysis, they can use this information quickly and easily. 3.Gather information: a good analyst also needs to do some outside research to determine all possible ways to achieve goal. They need to know current business situation and economic trend because outside activities would affect their analysis and strategy. 4.Translate and analyze: it is the key part for a BA. According to Scholz, a good analyst should be able to listen to the users, analyze their requests, document the requests and then communicate these requests to the development group in a way that the development group can understand (P.3). Most employers dont have chance to speak to employees directly. So the business analyst plays a channel to communicate both employers and employees, and to coordinate both side to achieve final goal. So the job of business analysts is not only making analysis but also communicating requests to each side. In conclusion, Scholz states that, BA is like a translator, able to communication in a users language and a developers language (P.3). So a business analyst should have good communication skill in order to translate users requests to developing department. A BA also may be involved in these area: Data Warehouse, E-Commerce Development, New application Development, New Business Development, Software Package Selection, Software Package Customization, Business Process Improvement (B2Ttraining program P.1). A BA needs to have certain knowledge of these areas to be able analyze all business event and situation. Financial analysts are very similar to business analysts. Financial analysts  also need to gather information and makes analysis. They also help a corporation or company makes more benefits and profits. However, financial analysts work in different aspect and way to achieve users goal. Generally speaking, their goal is to maximize the value of the company. They are just like a doctor. They examine the whole financial condition of a corporation or company, and figure out the virus (bad strategy or financial policy). Then making a good description to improve bad things (making better financial condition). The information that a financial analyst needs to know is like: working capital, account payable turnover, and EPS. A FA needs to know the potential of a company and forecasts the financial needs of the company. In advance, FA can make a correct financial plan to the company. Compare to business analysts, financial analysts consider more about the value of company stock. So when they make financial analysis, they will put market value and stock price at the first place. Financial analysts also require communication and computer skill. They sometimes need to present their analysis in front of the chiefs of all departments, and they also need to operate some accounting software to figure out the value of the company. Totally, the job of financial analysts is to examine the financial system of the company, analyze both good and bad side, gather outside financial situation, and make a forecasting financial plan. Similar to business analysts, they try to help a company operate more efficient and profitable. In fact, business and financial analysts are very similar. They both gather information from inside and outside the company. They both make analysis form the information, and help users to improve users business condition or business competence. They both use computer to help them achieve their tasks. However, they have different aspects to make their analysis. One is emphasizes on whole system of the company and plan a good road to achieve users requests; another is emphasizes on the financial condition of the company and make forecasting financial plan. Generally, they have different ways but the same goal. Reference: 1.Scholz, Julia. What do you analyze? One Analysts View http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:JRtp_0y5V4k:www.businessanalyst.com/BusinessAnalyst.htm+business+analysthl=zh-TW 2001/10/10 2.B2T training. What is a Business Analyst? http://www.b2ttraining.com/BAwhat.htm 2001/10/10. 3.Ross, Stephen A. Fundamentals of Corporate Financial. Toronto: McGraw_hill Ryerson 1999. P. 8-10.

Background and justification of affecting customers loyalty

Background and justification of affecting customers loyalty In todays competitive markets services and service companies within the same industry are becoming increasingly similar. Differentiation through the delivery channel (i.e. delivery of services against payment) is difficult. A growing number of service companies have embarked on a journey of positioning through the communication channel (i.e. advertising and personal selling) (Andreassen, T.   1995), with the objective of building strong corporate images in order to create relative attractiveness. This development is in line with Lovelock (1984) who claims that  «(images).. . are likely to play only a secondary role in customer choice decisions unless competing services are perceived as virtually identical on performance, price, and availability ». Recent years have shown a growing interest in customer loyalty. The globalisation of competition, saturation of markets, and development of information technology have changed customer behavior and perception and created a situation where success is no longer achieved through product price and qualities. Instead, companies build their success on a long-term customer relationship. According to former studies, it can cost as much as 6 times more to win a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. (Rosenberg L. et al. 1984: 45) Depending on the particular industry, it is possible to increase profit by up to 60% after reducing potential migration by 5%. (Reichheld F. 1993) It follows then, that the increase and holding of loyal customers has become a key factor for long-term success of the companies. The main emphasis in marketing has changed from winning new customers to the keeping of existing ones. Traditionally there are two approaches to treat customer loyalty. Some researchers have investigated the nature of different levels of loyalty, others have explored the influence of individual factors on loyalty. In this article both treatments are combined. The starting point of the paper is to test whether the list of most important factors affecting customer loyalty is dependant on the levels of loyalty of costumers. The potential for establishing loyalty depends on the object (i.e. product or vendor), on the subject (customer) or on the environment (market, other suppliers etc.). This work might be rather helpful for both students, interested in developing this field of research and people, who are working in the sphere of marketing, because it may provide with interesting information worth dwelling upon. This topic interests me personally, because to my mind, customers are the turning point of the market. They decide whether to buy a product or to use a service or not, changing the whole picture of market. That is why, I suppose it is rather necessary for industries to pay much attention to the topic of customers loyalty and satisfaction in order to be a success. Chapter 2. Statement of Objectives and Hypothesis to be Examined. This paper aims to test if the importance of each factor affecting loyalty varies in different loyalty segments described in Figure 1, presenting segmentation of customers loyalty. One possibility to investigate it is to compare the customers of different loyalty levels and examine what kind of factors influence the probability of the customers to remain on that level or to move to another loyalty level. Customer loyalty expresses an intended behavior related to the service or the company. This includes the likelihood of future renewal of service contracts, how likely it is that the customer changes his preferences, how likely the customer is to provide positive word-of-mouth opinion. If real alternatives exist or switching barriers are low management discovers the organizations inability to satisfy its customers through two feedback mechanisms: exit and voice (Hirschman A. 1970). Exit implies that the customers stop buying the companys services while voice is customer complaints expressing the consumers dissatisfaction directly to the company. Customers exit or change of patronage will have an impact on the long-term revenue of the company. Customers may be loyal due to high switching barriers or lack of real alternatives. Customers may also be loyal because they are satisfied and thus want to continue the relationship. History has proven that most barriers to exit are limited with regard to durability; companies tend to consider customer satisfaction the only viable strategy in order to keep existing customers. Several authors have found a positive correlation between customer satisfaction and loyalty (Bearden and Teel   1980;Bolton and Drew 1991; Fornell 1992; Anderson and Sullivan 1993). Based on the future discussion, the following two hypotheses are proposed: Hypothesis 1: Factors such as satisfaction, trustworthiness, importance of relationship and image have a positive influence on loyalty. Objective 1: To indicate any relationship between loyalty and such pshycological factors as satisfaction, importance of relationship and others. Hypothesis 2: The relevance of factors affecting loyalty depends on the levels of loyalty of customers. Objective 2: Define and dwell upon the levels of loyalty of customers, examin them. The limitations of my hypothesis questions were shortage of time, because I had to provide results in a relatively short period of time, and money, because true and reliable information was hard and costly to get. Chapter 3. Details of Information/ Data Collection Methods. Research on customer loyalty has a long history and has been studied using a large variety of methods. Although the study of relationship between satisfaction and loyalty of customers is a newer field of research, various methods have been applied to study this   phenomenon as well. Some studies have also been purely conceptual (Stewart 1998; Hocutt 1998). Although qualitative methods seem to dominate in studies of relationship, quantitative methods have also been used. The data used for the analysis is a secondary source. A secondary source usually contains commentary on or discussion about a primary source. The most important feature of secondary sources is that they offer an interpretation of information gathered from primary sources.   I did not use the primary source as it is an original material. It is from the time period involved, was not filtered through interpretation and need much time and knowledge to process it. Demographically, the study had some limitations. Firstly, only urban customers were targeted in the study. This group was chosen due to the fact that urban customers have more available alternativetives and are therefore potentially more active in their telecommunication choices. Methodologically a certain limitation of the study was that some of the interviews were conducted on the telephone. Despite the fact that the interviews were considered to provide a deep and accurate enough picture of the relationships and the factors affecting customer loyalty, it is obvious that interviews face-to-face have the potential to reach greater depth. The data used in our analysis originates from PacoNet Customer Satisfaction Survey carried out in November 2003 by professional market research company. PacoNet is the one of the leading telecommunication provider in Ukraine and was providing telephone and internet services for private customers at that time. There were three kinds of competitors for PacoNet: firms providing telephone services on PacoNet network; cable-TV companies providing internet services on their own networks, and mobile telephone companies. The satisfaction survey contained information about 1000 private customers. Data was collected by phone interviews. During the survey the customers were asked how important various factors were for them. The importance was measured on a 5-point scale, where â€Å"1† is â€Å"not important at all† and â€Å"5† is â€Å"very important†. Every factor listed above was divided into 3 to 7 subcategories (e.g. accounting had subcategories like the accuracy and understandability of bills, dept management, availability of different payment methods). Satisfaction with the factors reveals from the satisfaction with those subcategories. Additionally customers answered about their general satisfaction with the firm PacoNet. The satisfaction was also measured on a 5-point scale, where â€Å"1† is â€Å"not satisfied at all† and â€Å"5† is â€Å"very satisfied†. Customer loyalty was measured by following questions: What operators are the customers using right now? What operators will the customers use in 2 years? Does the customer recommend or is the customer ready to recommend PacoNet to others? Chapter 4. Details of Data Analysis Methods In the current analysis only the raw data of mentioned survey was used. Software packages MS Excel 2000 and Stata 9.2 have been used by PacoNet for data processing, because Microsoft Excel is a deep program rich in features and functionality. One of the most powerful features of Excel is the ability to write programs that run behind the worksheets to turn Excel into a calculation-oriented development tool for creating special purpose spreadsheets which can function as applications in their own right. Chapter 5. Literature Review There are multiple approaches to customer loyalty. Theories of behavioral loyalty were dominating until 1970 considering loyalty as the function of the share of total purchases (Cunningham R. 1956; Farley J. 1964), function of buying frequency or buying pattern (Tucker 1964; Sheth 1968) or function of buying probability (Harary F. et al. 1962; McConnell D. 1968; Wernerfelt B. 1991). These approaches looked at brand loyalty in terms of outcomes   rather than reasons, until Day G. (1969) introduced the two-dimensional concept of brand loyalty, which stated that loyalty should be evaluated with both behavioral and attitudinal criteria. Contemporary researches consider and accent the psychological (mostly attitudinal and emotional) factor of loyalty (Jacoby J. et al. 1973; Oliver R. 1999; Chaudury A. 1995). These different approaches allow distinguishing customers as whether behaviorally or emotionally loyal. Behaviorally loyal customers act loyal but have no emotional bond with the brand or the supplier when emotionally loyal customers do. Jones T. and Sasser W. call these two kind of loyalty accordingly false or true long-term loyalty (Jones T. et al. 1995). Hofmeyr J. and Rice B. (2000) divide customers to loyal (behavioral) or committed (emotional). Emotional loyalty is much stronger and longer lasting than behavioral loyalty. Its a lasting desire to maintain a valued relationship. The relationship is so important for the customer that he or she makes maximum efforts to keep it (Reichheld F. 2003; Moorman C. et al. 1992). Highly bonded customers will buy repeatedly from a provider to which they are bonded, recommend that provider to others, and strongly defend these choices to others insisting that they have chosen the â€Å"best† product or service. (Butz H. et al. 1996) Behaviorally loyal customers could be divided to sub-segments by the reason of acting: forced to be loyal, loyal due to passivity or functionally loyal. Customers are forced to be loyal when they have to be clients even if they do not want to. Customers may be forced to consume certain products or products/services offered by certain vendor e.g. when the company acts as a monopoly or the poor financial status of the customer is limiting his selection of goods. Gronholdt L. has found that companies with low price strategy had a much higher loyalty than expected from their customer satisfaction. On the other hand, companies that had used a lot of energy on branding indeed had a high customer satisfaction but they did not have a correspondingly high loyalty (Gronholdt L. et al. 2000). Forced loyalty could be established through creating exit barriers as well. Loyal behaviour may also result from passivity customer does not move to another vendor due to comfort or relatively low importance of operation if the choice has low importance, there is no point to spend time and effort on searching for alternatives. Thus, based on his faith in the suitability of the current product, the customer continues to use it without checking alternatives. Hofmeyr J. and Rice B. (2000) say that one of the reasons that customers dont switch brands when they are dissatisfied is that they feel that the alternatives are just as bad as the brand they are using or even worse. Passivity may be caused also by lack of information about attractive characteristics of the brands (Wernerfelt B. 1991). Functionally loyal customers are loyal because they have an objective reason to be. Wernerfelt B. (1991) points out â€Å"cost-based brand loyalty† where brand utilities have a positive influence on brand choice. Functional loyalty can be created by functional values using price, quality, distribution, usage convenience of a product or through different loyalty programs (points, coupons, games, draws etc.) giving a concrete reason to prefer certain supplier. Unfortunately competitors can most easily copy functional values. Thus, creating functional value offers a fleeting competitive advantage: functional loyalty cant be very long lasting (Barnes J. 2003). Jones T. and Sasser W. (1995) propose three measures of loyalty that could be used in segmentation by loyalty: Customers primary behavior regency, frequency and amount of purchase; Customers secondary behavior customer referrals, approval and spreading the word; Customers intent to repurchase is the customer ready to repurchase in the future. Based on the theoretical literature presented above, the customers of a certain telecommunication provider could be segmented by their loyalty as follows: Committed or emotionally loyal customers active customers who use only the certain providers services and declare that they will use only this provider in the future and recommend this provider to others; Behaviorally loyal customers active customers who use only the certain providers services and declare that they will use only this provider in the future but do not agree to recommend this provider to others (inert or functionally loyal); Contradictory or dubious customers active customers who use only the certain providers services but dont know which provider they will use in the future; Disloyal reducers- customers who have reduced or will reduce the percentage of the providers services in their usage; Leavers customers who declare, that they will certainly leave this provider. The impact of satisfaction on loyalty has been the most popular subject of studies. Several studies have revealed that there exists a direct connection between satisfaction and loyalty: satisfied customers become loyal and dissatisfied customers move to another vendor (Heskett J. et al. 1993). The primary objective of creating ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) in 1984 was to explain the development of customer loyalty. In ACSI model customer satisfaction has three antecedents: perceived quality, perceived value and customer expectations (Anderson E. et al. 2000). In the ECSI (European Customer Satisfaction Index) model perceived quality is divided into two elements: â€Å"hard ware†, which consists of the quality of the product or service attributes, and â€Å"human ware†, which represents the associated customer interactive elements in service, i.e. the personal behaviour and atmosphere of the service environment (Gronholdt L. et al. 2000). In both model increased satisfaction should increase customer loyalty. When the satisfaction is low customers have the option to exit (e.g. going to a competitor) or express their complaints. Researches have shown that 60-80% of customers who turned to a competitor said they were satisfied or very satisfied on t he survey just prior to their defection (Reichheld F. et al. 2000). So its clear that there must be also other factors beside satisfaction that have a certain impact on customer loyalty. Image of brand or supplier is one of the most complex factors. It affects loyalty at least in two ways. Firstly, customer may use his preferences to present his own image. That may occur both in conscious and subconscious level. According to the Belks theory of extended self, people define themselves by the possessions they have, manage or create (Belk R. 1988). Aaker J. has shown how consumers prefer brands with personality traits that are corresponding with the personality traits that constitute their selfschemas (Aaker J. 1999). Kim C., Han D. and Park S. have researched the link between brand personality and loyalty. They did get positive support to hypothesis that the attractiveness of the brand personality indirectly affects brand loyalty (Kim C. et al. 2001). Tidwell P. and Horgan D. (1993) have showed that people use products to enhance self-image. Secondly, according to social identity theory, people tend to classify themselves into different social categories. That leads to evaluation of objectives and values in various groups and organisations in comparison with the customers own values and objectives. They prefer partners who share similar objectives and values (Ashforth B. et al. 2001). Fournier S. (1998) states that consumer-brand relationships are more a matter of perceived goal compatibility. Brands cohere into systems that consumers create not only to aid living but also to give meanings to their lives. Oliver R. (1999) argues that for fully bonded loyalty the consumable must be part of the consumers self-identity and his or her social-identity. Trustworthiness of the partner is a factor that has certain impact on the establishment of loyalty nobody expects a long-term relation with a partner that cannot be trusted. Trustworthiness is one criterion for measuring the value of the partner (Doney P. et al. 1997). Spekman R. (1988) calls trust a cornerstone of the strategic partnership. Morgan R. and Hunt S. (1994) posit that trust is a major determinant of relationship commitment: brand trust leads to brand loyalty because trust creates exchange relationships that are highly valued. Chauduri A. and Holbrook M. (2001) have showed that brand trust is directly related to both purchase and attitudinal loyalty. Many authors have accented that trust is important in conditions of uncertainty (Moorman C. et al. 1992; Doney P. et al. 1997; Morgan R. et al. 1994). Uncertainty may be caused by dependence or large choice: people tend then to prefer popular or familiar brands or partners. Many definitions describe loyalty as a desire to retain a valuable or important relationship (Morgan R. et al 1994; Moorman C. et al. 1992). That way the establishment of loyalty is predetermined by the importance of relevant relationship or selection. Weiss A. (2001) points out three aspects that may increase the importance of the relationship: strategic importance of a product; high risks involved in the transaction or costs incurred by cancellation of contracts. Hofmeyr J. and Rice B. point out that the more important the relationship is to a person, the more willing that person is to tolerate dissatisfaction in favour of trying to fix it. By contrast, when a relationship doesnt matter, then even the perfectly satisfied consumer can switch on to another product (Hofmeyr J. et al. 2000). A relationship can also be made important by personal approach. Various authors have compared loyalty with marriage (Lewitt T. . 1983; Dwyer F. et al. 1987; Gummeson E. 1998; Hofmeyr J. et al. 2000). Marriage is one of the most personal and important relationships. That means that intimacy is one determinant for importance of relationship. Lewitt T. (1983) has considered a role of salesman in making relationship more personal. Summarising the discussion above following figure   is presenting the major groups of factors affecting customer loyalty. The present study focused purely on customer perception of the relationship and the factors that have affected it and their loyalty or disloyalty. A useful extension of the study would be to couple such a study of how the service provider perceives the relationship and factors affecting customer loyalty or disloyalty. This would add factors such as customer profitability to the study, making it possible to focus on factors affecting customers that are most attractive to the company. In such a study, the customers and providers views on the relationship would be combined. As a result, one would identify potential gaps in the companys knowledge of the customer and also be able to eliminate potential misconceptions. Chapter 6. Chapter Outline. Presented work is built up of 8 chapters, dwelling upon the customers loyalty. Each chapter gives clear information on subtopics, which are logically combined to provide the reader with sufficient facts to understand the flow of the research. The first chapter is dealing with the background and justification for selection of the topic. Since customer loyalty is something more of what an enterprise must get from the customer, it is a very productive research product for the companies. As opposed to what the name suggests, is not just something that the customer has to build towards the enterprise. It is not just the customer who is being loyal to the company in the progress but also the company that has to maintain its loyalty to the customer The second chapter presents the hypothesis questions, which are being examined through the whole work. I come out with two hypothesis, which are as follows: Hypothesis 1: Factors such as satisfaction, trustworthiness, importance of relationship and image have a positive influence on loyalty; and Hypothesis 2: The relevance of factors affecting loyalty depends on the levels of loyalty of customers. The third and forth chapters puts light on the research methodology I have used to process the data and come to conclusions. I took into consideration secondary data, which originates from PacoNet Customer Satisfaction Survey carried out in November 2003 by professional market research company. Two software packages MS Excel 2000 and Stata 9.2 have been used for data processing and presenting the results of the research. In this chapter I also dwell upon the limitations of the research, which consists of time limitation, budget limitation, as well as demographical and methodological. The fifth chapter gives perception of the theory used for the thesis. It informs us, that theories of behavioral loyalty were dominating until 1970 considering loyalty as the function of the share of total purchases (Cunningham R. 1956; Farley J. 1964), function of buying frequency or buying pattern (Tucker W. 1964) or function of buying probability (Harary F. et al. 1962;). Contemporary researches consider and accent the psychological (mostly attitudinal and emotional) factor of loyalty (Jacoby J. et al. 1973; Oliver R. 1999; Chaudury A. 1995). These and other researches were used as a base for my own research proposal. And the last, sixth chapter provides with a brief outline of the research proposal stages. Having developed the hypothesis questions, and done a literature review we come to the conclusion that the findings of the present study reveal that it is not accurate to treat all customers equally in terms of methods of increasing their loyalty. The research supports the research proposition that the list of most important factors affecting loyalty is dependant on the level of loyalty of consumers. The overall satisfaction and importance of products build the foundation of any kind of loyalty. It shows also that reliability of products or trustworthiness of the supplier is most critical for behavioral loyalists and the image creation is the main tool for getting loyal customers. Therefore many factors were derived indirectly and with certain limitations, and they may lack some qualities considered in the theoretical part. There are multiple ways for further development of the model, but first there is need to elaborate reliable questionnaires for collecting the source data. There are several factors for building a customers loyalty which I could recommend. It is very important to communicate. Whether it is an email newsletter, monthly flier, a reminder card for a tune up, or a holiday greeting card, it is nice to reach out to a steady customers.   Another pleasant way is to provide customer service, to go the extra distance and meet customer needs, because customers remember being treated well. It is also very important to provide with employee loyalty. Loyalty works from the top down. If a boss is loyal to his employees, they will feel positively about their jobs and pass that loyalty along to the customers. Employee training should also be used, training them in the manner that to interact with customers. It is also of great advice to give customers a reason to return to the industrys business. For example, because children outgrow shoes quickly, the owner of a childrens shoe store might offer a card that makes the tenth pair of shoes half price. Likewise, a dentist may give a free cleaning to anyone who has seen him regularly for five years. It is also important to have products awareness, knowing what a steady customer purchase and keep these items in stock. It is possible to add other products and/or services that accompany or compliment the products that regular customers buy regularly. The reliability of the vendor is highly appreciated. If they say a purchase will arrive on Wednesday, they should deliver it on Wednesday. If something goes wrong, they should let customers know immediately and compensate them for their inconvenience. Vendors should be flexible, trying to solve customers problems or complaints to the best of their ability.