US And China Relations Essays - Republics, Politics Of Taiwan

US And China Relations American Foreign relations and Foreign Policy regarding China are very critical and very tumultuous. Information that China has stolen confidential information regarding nuclear weapons has now come to light. This, combined with China's restrictive policies regarding trade with America and its long history of opportunism in dealings with the U.S., has brought our past policies, as well as Clinton's present policy, for dealing with China into question. Can we trust this nation? We currently have protective relationships with nations surrounding China, and America's relationship with Japan has changed from adversarial to friendly. America must also provide Taiwan with adequate military force for their defense. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, America has become China's greatest threat, and, now, they may have technology enough to act against us. China is progressing and growing-we can benefit from a friendly, progressive relationship with it. However, such a friendship may eventually backfire and harm America's self-interest. Does America have a choice as to whether or not it should become more positively involved with China? For the sake of our other foreign policies regarding North Korea, Russia, etc, no America has no choice. China has aided us in the past, and it could be a very valuable friend or a dangerous enemy. Taiwan is a key factor in our policies involving China. China insists that America cease to sell weapons and other military supplies to Taiwan, and it also wishes to claim the island as its own. Taiwan, however, wishes to claim independence as a democratic nation. This conflict can add to America's self-interest. If we negotiate a compromise between the two-possibly allowing them to aid one another economically and militarily, while granting Taiwan autonomy, then America once again may slide into China's good graces. A friendly relationship with China means more security for America. Should a crisis occur in China, military action on the part of the United States should be shunned. China already fears our military force as a result of our "theater missile defense" involving Japan and other nations surrounding China. Although Taiwan is not yet part of this defense system, China has posed threats to the U.S. if Taiwan becomes a part of it. Negotiations with China should provide resulting reciprocal military defense in crisis, an economic upper-hand, and political refinement regarding China's relations with Taiwan. None of these points should be sacrificed in compromise as each one is crucial to America's world status. An especially important note is that if China's economy is aided in an imbalanced manner, then it could overtake America's economic position. Military action in China by the United States should only be taken if America is threatened by China's military. If China plans any missile or nuclear attacks, then there may be no path to a friendly relationship between China and the United States. However, both nations have futures that are somewhat dependent on each other. As a result, a friendly relationship should be a top priority. In conclusion, I hope that America can lay aside cultural differences and focus on military and economic strategies to use and obtain a friendly relationship with China in order to make America an increasingly secure nation.

Nicole Kidman essays

Nicole Kidman essays Her Parents knew from a young age, that she hat talent. But it wasnt until Nicole Kidman reached her teen years, that it really stood out! Written by Justine Barron. Who can believe that Nicole Kidman, one of Australias best known actresses, could have started off so late. When Nicole was only in junior school, her parents started taking her to modern dance lessons, where she would see fully grown males walking and dancing around naked, but that did not put her off acting. Nicole has always been an artistic child, and has always focused on this from a young age. She began taking ballet lessons at the age of 3, then moving into mime at 8, and then onto drama at 10. Her very first public role was 6, where she played a loud sheep, for her primary schools Christmas pageant. With her mum as a feminist, and her dad as a labour advocate, Nicole grew up fast. Nicole possessed the same intensity as her future husband, when it came to acting. At High school, she was always seen as an outsider, due to her height (She was a tall 511), and as she reached her teens, she departed even further from her peers. While she spent her weekends at the Phillip Street Theatre, watching and Learning, her other peers were down at the beach, eyeing up each other. Nicole, from a young age, had her hopes set on higher things, wouldnt you if you had influences like Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave and Katherine Hepburn. She was chosen to play a concerned sexual repression in the late 1800s in Frank Wedekinds Spring Awakening where she conceived her first kiss on stage! For this play, she had to yell out Beat Me! Harder! Harder! every night. At the age of 14, things really started to move for Nicole. One night, after the play, she received a note of congratulations and encouragement from an audience member, who was a film student. She invited Nicole to appear in her examination short film. ...

Proposal Funding Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Proposal Funding - Assignment Example A proposal requires some background information that would help the credibility of the project. However, if there is lack of background information it is difficult to come up with a good proposal (Day, 2013). Drafting the needed resources required in the project is also tricky since one may overestimate and lose the funding or underestimate and see the project fail to be fully implemented (Peterson, 2008). It is therefore important to ensure that the resources required are well appropriated. Lack of ample information on the clientele is also a problem in coming up with the project requirements. In some cases the clientele may not be clearly recognized in the project making it difficult to write a proper proposal. The grant opportunity in this regard would be a grant towards the improvement of mental health in the country. The purpose of the grant opportunity is mainly to improve and broaden the delivery of individuals’ behavioral health. This would be through improving and enhancing integrated health care model within the existing health centers. When looking for funding for the project to conduct a research on the Healthcare experiences of the Haitian population in the Boston area in regards to Mental Health due to their cultural beliefs the Center for Disease Control and Prevention acts as one of the agencies that can fund the project (Peterson, 2008). Through the National Association for Public Health and information systems (NAPHSIS) acts as the best form of funding that the project can find since it’s sponsored by the National Environmental Public Health Tracking

F. R. Leaviss Description of Hard Times as a Moral Fable Essay

F. R. Leaviss Description of Hard Times as a Moral Fable - Essay Example To delve deep into the contention of this great man regarding one of the all time masterpieces in English literature, â€Å"Hard Times† by Charles Dickens and to examine the contention of Leavis regarding â€Å"Hard Times† as a moral fable, it become mandatory at the outset, to analyse and explore the subtle aspects operating through the novel’s scheme of things and the background and social conditions in which it was produced. Since the publication of the novel, it has been widely received and criticised by different critics across the globe and from different age. Apart from Leavis, George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Macaulay had criticised the novel on the aspect of Dickens’ delineation of the Utilitarian, trade unions and post-Industrial Revolution which neatly divided the capitalist mill owners and worker class in the British society during Victorian Era. Hard Times as A Moral Fable: Through the Eyes of Leavis ‘Hard Times - For These Times’ o r popularly known by the name of only Hard Times is the tenth novel authored by Charles Dickens and was published in the year 1854. To understand the contention of F.R. Leavis in coining the novel as a moral fable, it becomes essentially important to understand the literary term ‘moral fable’ in the first place. Moral fable is a kind of a story that involves the imagination and logic and combines them at the same platform.

Racial Disparities in Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Racial Disparities in Capital Punishment - Essay Example The study also established that the number of blacks on death row was higher compared to white defendants who had committed similar offenses. Scott (2008, pp 2-6), conducted another study on race and capital punishment in Harris County in the state of Texas, which hold the infamous reputation of being the capital of execution in the United States. The study was in agreement with the Philadelphia findings by establishing that the racial orientation of both the victim and defendant played a crucial factor in a meeting of capital punishments. In the study, Scott (2008, p5) found that the likelihood of imposing a death penalty on black defendant was higher than on white defendant. In addition, a death sentence was more likely to be imposed in cases where a white person was the victim than when the victim was black. Another important finding on race and capital punishments showed that District Attorneys were more racially prejudiced than the jury was (Baldus, et al. 1998, pp1680-89). These studies demonstrate that no matter the objection of legal technocrats, racial disparities exist in a determination of capital punishments in the United States. ` These findings bring to attention the ability of a judicial system to rise above the historical racial prejudices that purported superiority of white people over their black counterparts in the United States. In addition, they have also raised the question of whether the life of a certain race is more valuable than of another. Law courts in different states in the country have been consistently denying that the obvious racial disparities are not sufficient to prove racial biases in each particular case (David, & George 2003). This denial is of particular concern given that many states and federal governments in the US have passed legislation of addressing racial discrimination in employment and other areas such as housing.

Business Analysis of Yoplait in Mauritius

Business Analysis of Yoplait in Mauritius What is yogurt? Yogurt is a dairy product formed by the fermentation of milk from the action of two live bacteria; lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus. These are micro-organisms which transform the milk into the yogurt through a process by which they convert the lactose present in the milk into lactic acid, making the product digestible for people who are cannot ‘tolerate milk and maintaining the balance in the intestinal flora. The yogurt should contain 10 millions of lactic ferments per gram and must be alive to be designated as ‘yogurt. Yogurts are thus fresh products which should be kept frozen at most at 6à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ up to its expiry date in order to conserve all its nutritional benefits. History of Yoplait Yoplait was established in 1965 and was recognised as the first complete range of fresh daily products. Furthermore, Yoplait showed innovation as it was the first brand ever to offer refrigerated products to its customers in ‘throw-away packages whereas other products were still sold in jars. In 1967, Yoplait came with the concept of fruit yogurt and established itself on the French market before conquering the world. From its huge success, new products were consecutively launched; diet dairy products in 1972, the first drinking yogurt, Yop, in 1974, yogurt specially for kids in 1985, the fromage frais, Cà ¢lin, in 1987, a range of milk-based desserts in 1992 and Perle de Lait in 1996 (to cite the most famous ones). Yoplait also differentiates itself from other yogurt brands as it constantly shows originality by launching new products, improving them and working strongly on promotion around the world. Today, Yoplait is so successful that it is present in almost 50 countries through subsidiaries, joint ventures and franchisees. It is the number two worldwide (after Danone) and latest statistics show that more than 15,000 cartons of Yoplait are eaten every minute around the world. As the Chairman of Yoplait states, â€Å"We are determined to ensure that the little flower continues its growth and blossoms all over the world.† Yoplait in Mauritius The Yoplait brand established itself in Mauritius in 1976 through a franchise with Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e, a subsidiary of the Food and Allied Group of companies, established in 1966. Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e is today the producer of Yoplait, Candia and Miko products through franchise, technical partnerships and international branding. Marketing mix of Yoplait in Mauritius Product The presence of Yoplait in Mauritius is not only concerned with yogurts, but with a variety of other products. However, for the purpose of the study, it should be noted that the emphasis will be entirely made on yogurts. In this sense, Maurilait has segmented its yogurts into different categories; 1. Firm yogurts; comprising of Nature Sucrà ©, Nature, Silhouette Nature, and Ti-Yoplait. 2. Mixed yogurts; 3. Drinks It should also be noted there also exists different conditionings and groupings for Yoplaits yogurts, namely, tubs of 100g, 115g, 125g, 150g and 1kg. Price Different Yoplait goods have different production costs and therefore have different market prices. When these products are freshly manufactured at Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e, they have a lower price than when they are distributed by Panagora Marketing Ltd. This is so, because Panagora also has to gain a profit from their transactions. However in Mauritius, the outlets show differences in price of Yoplait yogurt products over the whole island. Since, there is no law pertaining that the manufacturer or distributor can impose a fix price for their products, retailers have the right to put their own prices irrespective of whether it is exaggerated or not. Thus, Maurilait and Panagora can only recommend prices for the products. (see Appendix) Place (Distribution) It is Panagora Marketing Ltd, another subsidiary of the Food and Allied Group of Companies, which is in charge of the distribution of all products manufactured at Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e. It ensures that all Yoplait products are accessible to everyone within the island. To do so, it was established that the distribution will be carried out according to three distinct groups: 1. CDP, that is, Commerce De Proximità ©. This category englobes all cornershops, cafetarias and other little businesses around the island. 2. GMS, that is, Grandes et Moyennes Surfaces. For this group, Panagora ensures that the distribution is adequately made to all supermarkets and hypermarkets in the country. 3. Food service, comprising the sale and distribution of Yoplait products in bulk, namely to hotels and restaurants. It should be noted that this system is in fact used for all products distributed by Panagora Marketing Ltd, in order to ensure that the specific needs and requirements of the different categories are met. Promotion All advertisements of Yoplait in Mauritius are designed and disseminated by one of the most famous advertising agencies in Mauritius, namely, Circus Advertising Company Ltd, which is again a member of the Food and Allied Group of Companies. Regarding sales promotion, feasibility studies are conducted by Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e in collaboration with Panagora Marketing Ltd. If the studies reveal that such promotion will be profitable for both organisations, it is again Circus which will be in charge of promoting the new offers. Literature Review Introduction This section will mainly investigate how customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty affect an organisation. But before going into the subject, an essential point should be considered; customer relationship. As will be demonstrated in details below, satisfaction is more likely to induce loyalty and hence profitability if relationships between customers and firms are effectively managed. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) deals with the management philosophy that enables a business to identify, attract and retain the most ‘profitable customers and at the same time build and manage strong relationships with them by delivering superior value and satisfaction. The different stages related to the creation of those relationships are illustrated below: The courtship stage is the one in which the company starts to ‘know the customer and so loyalty is very weak and nearly inexistent. The relationship phase is where the feeling of commitment towards the organisation starts to grow. A strong attachment to the firm is created and the customer is no more likely to switch to competitors. Finally the marriage stage is when a long lasting relationship is created. At this stage, the degree of loyalty is very high and the customers even get personally involved in the organisation. It should be noted that the customers should somehow not be taken for granted. The marriage stage is not an eternal one, and if ever the customer gets disappointed by the company repeatedly or if the relationship is not effectively managed, he may stop any contact with the company, that is, dissolute the relationship. From now on, this section of the study will focus on how these relationships are linked to the satisfaction rate of the customer and how it affects the whole organisation. Customer satisfaction In earlier decades, Hunt (1977) already identified customer satisfaction as the degree to which the customer is pleased by a product and how far he feels his needs and wants being met. More recently, Schiffman, et al. (2008) defined customer satisfaction as being ones perception of the performance of a product or service relative to ones expectations. As can be noticed, the dimensions of customer satisfaction have evolved and they are no longer restricted to simple terms like pleasure and needs fulfilment. Instead, thorough investigation was conducted to come with the essence of the customer satisfaction state; expectations and perceptions about the products and services offered. Kotler et al. (2005) also argued in the same sense, saying that â€Å"customer satisfaction depends on the products perceived performance relative to the buyers expectations.† Both definitions show that if the performance of a product is below the level of expectations, the customer will eventually be dissatisfied and if ever the expectations level matches that of the product performance, satisfaction occurs. Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) illustrated this theory by using the confirmation and disconfirmation paradigm; This model conceptualises the occurrence of satisfaction and dissatisfaction states. For instance, consumers have expectations about the performance of a product. For example, a consumer has certain expectations before tasting a yogurt. If the level of expectations matches that of the performance, in this case the taste of the yogurt, there is confirmation of expectations and the customer is neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. On the other hand, if the performance of the product goes beyond customers expectations, there is positive disconfirmation and the customer is satisfied. If ever the performance of the product is below the level of expectations, there will be negative disconfirmation and thus, dissatisfaction. Furthermore, it is also claimed that a customer is highly satisfied and even delighted if the performance experienced from the product exceeds the expectations level, meaning that both satisfaction and delight may occur from the positive disconfirmation stage. To come forward with this argument, Lovelock and Wirtz (2004) adapted a diagram of how factors influence the customers expectations based form Zeithaml et al. (1993) work. However, there is no ‘absolute definition of the term ‘customer satisfaction and over the past years, many authors tried to illustrate it but we can observe that the different definitions converge to the same broad ideas on the relationship between how the product performs and what the buyers expect from the good itself. During the last decades, organisations came to understand the growing importance of customer satisfaction and from there, the need for delivering value to customers and building relationships came into existence. Importance of customer satisfaction Even with the growing importance of customer satisfaction, some companies still underestimate its value. In the article Surveys value is underestimated (Anon, 2005) it was consequently argued that measuring customers satisfaction also involves the measurement of their dissatisfaction. The author firmly believed that the dissatisfied customers, together with prospects, hold valuable information contributing to the success of the company. Arussy, L (2005) even consolidates this argument by saying that customers and companies both demonstrate distinct ways of thinking, operating and decision-making. Companies fail to satisfy their customers as they assert that they understand them when in fact, they are just following their own rules. Behaving in such a manner ends up in creating the efficient relationship paradox, as illustrated below. In simple terms, the efficient relationship paradox relates to the way in which customers are taken for granted. Before the creation of any relationship with customers, that is, at the courtship stage, companies invest huge amounts of money in promotion and other marketing tools to attract them. When the customer enters in the relationship phase, that is, he starts to demonstrate financial and emotional interests, the firm drops the level of investment in order to maximise profits. In so doing, the customer does not feel valued and automatically defects, thus having the opposite result of firms prior expectations. This is illustrated as the gap in the above diagram, showing that there is a complete misunderstanding between the customers anticipations and the companys actions. Consequently, organisations must be able to understand that customers should not be treated as â€Å"one time acquisitions†. They should essentially be oriented towards valuing their customers and fulfilling their expectations in order to provide them with what they are waiting for and so, giving them satisfaction. Sà ¶derlund (1998) also points out that customer satisfaction generates a powerful tool of colossal importance for organisations; the word of mouth. As described by the cited author, it is â€Å"the extent to which the customer informs friends, relatives and colleagues about an event that has created a certain level of satisfaction†. Hart et al. (1990) went into more details by claiming that the level of the satisfaction may either positively or negatively affect the word of mouth. For instance, satisfying the customer creates positive word of mouth, that is, talking ‘good about the company, and dissatisfying the customer leads to negative word of mouth, that is, talking ‘bad about the firm. He added that â€Å"customers who have had bad experiences tell approximately 11 people about it; those with good experiences tell just 6†. This demonstrates that companies should be extremely careful in delivering value to their customers as failing to do so, may cost them a lot in terms of their reputation. Bad comments may be spread nearly twice faster than it would have been with positive comments. Subsequently, organisations should focus on providing satisfaction to their customers so as to enhance the building of a good reputation. To return on the efficient relationship paradox subject, firms should be conscious that maintaining such an unwise strategy will create a pool of frustrated and dissatisfied customers who will not hesitate to ‘bad-mouth† them and degrade their reputation, which would evidently imply extensive costs for the organisation to overcome this dilemma. Factors affecting customer satisfaction Many drivers of customer satisfaction have been identified through the numerous research conducted during the past decades. However, for the purpose of this study, factors influencing customer satisfaction in the service industry will not be considered since it will not be relevant with the actual research being performed. Consequently, some of the most important drivers of satisfaction are summarised below:- Total Quality Management (TQM) In this line, Rampersad (2001) argued that to attain satisfaction of customers, everyone in the organisation should consider that constant improvement in performance is of primary importance. In order to achieve this, there are fundamental questions that the firm should take into consideration: Which products/services the company provides The product/ service should be defined as more concretely as possible; the more specific the definition is, the better the customer needs are met. Who are the customers The company should know all its customers and examine their needs attentively. It should be noted that both internal and external customers should be considered, the internal ones being the employees. What are the wants and requirements of customers At this stage communication is crucial. Customers needs and desires should be investigated together with their feedback about the current offering. Which are the processes that need to be improved From all the data collected, the company becomes aware of whether they are able to fulfil their customers expectations, needs and wants. And the firm is also now able to improve areas in which all the above steps revealed failures. However, even if everything is respected, TQM relies on the principle that there is always room for improvement. Employee Skills and Satisfaction Rampersad (2001) also stated that â€Å"All employees determine the degree of customer satisfaction. Employees from within departments should be considered as customers of each other† For a customer to be satisfied, he should obtain a good service from the employees, and for the latter to deliver such a service, they should be satisfied with their job. Regular surveys Monitoring customers expectations and perceptions via regular research is an excellent tool for maintaining the standards of an organisation. When a firm is well informed about the expectations of a customer, it can easily deliver value according to those anticipations. Furthermore, it is also essential for a firm to be aware of how customers perceive it, together with the perceptions of the product or service offerings and performance. With these precious pieces of information, organisations are able to be proactive and thus know exactly how to satisfy and even delight its clientele. Technology According to McKinsey (2001), technology can be critical in leading to critical improvements in levels of customer satisfaction if it is properly used. West (unknown) also added that companies should compulsorily be up to date with technological advances or else be confronted to irreversible consequences. Technology can provide additional features to a product, enhancing better product quality. Technology can also improve productivity and thus be easily fulfilling increasing demand. Taking Yoplait in Mauritius as example, technology succeeded in increasing the yogurts lifetime from 28 to 30 days within only a few years. Reputation and Credibility Kuusik (2007) found in his research that it is of critical importance to match the image and values both from the companys and customers perspective. Also referred as trustworthiness, the level of credibility is critical to the behaviour of the customer. If the level of trustworthiness decreases, the customers will no longer be satisfied and will eventually start to look out for other alternatives. A company should always maintain a high reputation in order to keep its customers satisfied. Sales and Post-Sales Experience It is often the case that products are more likely to be sold by distributors rather than the manufacturers themselves. Therefore, an eye should be kept on the customer experience at the point of sale, since the satisfaction level of customers is inevitably linked to the service quality obtained there. As such, customer sales experience can leave â€Å"a good or bad taste†. If a customer obtains a great sales experience, it is most probable that he will be satisfied and stay with the organisation, whereas if the sales experience is poor, he is more likely to switch to competitors. In the same line, after sales is also a critical factor. The customer should be able to obtain the desired information and assistance about the products purchased. For example, a customer must be able to ask for exchange if ever he purchased an expired product. Customer loyalty Oliver (1999) suggests that loyalty is â€Å"a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronise a preferred product or service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same-brand set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviours.† However, the term customer loyalty may be found to be complex to define, and for this reason, many authors tried to categorise and segment customers with the aim of understanding the nature of their loyalty and thus take the most appropriate marketing actions. Rowley (2005) tried to illustrate it by asserting that customers may show loyalty in various ways; i) they can choose to continue to do business with a particular provider, ii) they may also increase the number of purchases or the frequency of those purchases or iii) they can become advocates of the firm. However, it should be noted that the categories above may eventually be overlapping, that is, a customer may show all three behaviours, or simply one or two of them. Taylor, Celuch and Goodwin (2004), came with the following research model Taking the definition of Bowen and Chen (2001), the behavioural approach considers the repeat and consistent purchase of products and services making the customer a loyal one. However, repeated purchase does not necessarily symbolise a form commitment to the company Attitudinal approach uses the emotional and psychological attachment felt towards the firm. It states that â€Å"the attitudinal measurements are about the sense of loyalty, engagement and allegiance.† After having questioned nearly 10,000 respondents in the United States of America about the real application of these variables on loyalty, these two authors reached to the following conclusions: Behavioural loyalty is mostly concerned with brand equity and trust while affect, resistance to change and value do contribute but to a lesser proportion. Concerning satisfaction, it seems that there exists no significant statistical relationship. Again, brand equity and trust have a major relationship with attitudinal loyalty whereas affect and satisfaction have a smaller contribution. In contrast with the results obtained with behavioural loyalty, no significant statistical connection seems to be present between attitudinal loyalty and value and resistance to change. Therefore, they asserted that all the variables present in the model have a contribution to the loyalty level of customers but they can vary across different settings and situations. Bowen and Chen (2001) in addition to the behavioural and attitudinal approaches, illustrated another measurement of loyalty; the composite approach. It combines both the behavioural and attitudinal dimensions which states that loyal customers have positive attitudes towards the organisation, are committed to repeat purchase and recommend the product/service to others. Furthermore, Dick and Basu (1994) argued that loyalty is in fact the strength of the relationship between those behavioural and attitudinal behaviours (repeat patronage and relative attitude) and accordingly proposed four conditions of loyalty which are illustrated in the diagram below Rowley (2005) segments even more the loyalty dimension by suggesting four additional orientations: Captive are most of the time customers who continue to purchase and use a product or service because they have no other alternative. They have a positive attitude towards the brand but may easily be poached by competitors who offer alternative products and especially if the switching cost is reduced or facilitated. Convenience-seekers are routine buyers who purchase with low involvement and usually engage in repeat transactions associated with the brand. They do not show any particular attitude towards the brand and are susceptible to promotions offered by competitors which show more convenience than what they are actually having. Contented customers generally evaluate products based on their merits and attributes and the brand owner may use this opportunity to build relationship with those customers who already made transactions with the brand. They have a positive attitude towards the brand but may switch if they get better value elsewhere or if the product is lagging behind compared to others on the market Committed ones barely consider other brands and are prepared to be involved in the brand or firm. They have a positive attitude and deliver positive word of mouth comments. These customers may somehow be lost if the product fails repeatedly with no appropriate recovery and if competitors offer new products that deliver more value. Each level of the diagram can be defined as follows;  · Suspects: These include all the buyers of the product present in the marketplace who are either unaware of the product or have no intention of purchasing it  · Prospects: These are potential customers who are attracted by the businesss offerings but have not yet started any transaction.  · Customers: Buyers of the product who do not have any feeling of attachment towards the organisation.  · Clients: These are repeat customers who do have a feeling of attachment towards the company but whose contribution is more passive than active.  · Advocates: They are clients who support actively the organisation by recommending the product and service to people around them.  · Partners: This is the strongest form of customer-supplier relationship which is maintained as both parties perceive the relationship as being mutually advantageous. Relationship between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and profitability. Many companies tend to assume that the link between satisfaction and loyalty is simple and linear, that is, the higher the satisfaction level, the higher the loyalty rate. However, many studies showed that this believed link is neither simple, nor linear. In their study, Bowen and Chen (2001) found out that â€Å"customer satisfaction does not equal customer loyalty†. The resulting table below indicates the relationship between the overall satisfaction of the respondents and their intent to return and willingness to recommend the company. Score on overall satisfaction % Stating they would recommend the hotel % Stating they would return 7 62.6 65.0 6 29.8 24.6 5 and lower 7.6 10.4 Their research, making reference to that of Oliva et al. (1992), also revealed that when satisfaction has reached a certain level, there is a considerable increase in loyalty, and similarly, when satisfaction level declines to a certain point, loyalty drops radically. As the research of Bowen and Chen shows, only extremely satisfied customers would repeat purchases and spread positive comments on the firm. The authors Hill and Alexander (2006) also gave their opinion about this relationship. Based on the research of the Royal Bank of Scotland (n.d), they pointed out that there was a very close link between satisfaction and intended loyalty and customers could only be retained at the highest levels of satisfaction. On their part, Mittal and Lassar (1998) claimed that, while a dissatisfaction state was synonymous with a switching behaviour, a satisfaction one did not guarantee loyalty. They therefore asserted that, still, there was a correlation between satisfaction and loyalty, but that this relationship was rather asymmetrical. In this sense, Bennett and Rundle-Thiele (2004) concluded that managers should not entirely rely on sole fact that satisfaction ratings of customers are high are enough to predict future purchase. Hence, companies should realise that merely satisfying customers is not enough; instead they should concentrate their efforts to extremely satisfy and delight them. As Berman (2005) stated, organisations must do more than delivering on expectations of their customers. In this sense, Gee et al. (2008) added that customer delight can provide the stable loyalty that companies look for. The Kano (1984) model cited in Berman (2005) work distinguishes three levels that explain how customer delight can be reached. i) Must be requirements It is defined as the basic requirement that the customer expects from the product. If this requirement is not matched, the customer will eventually be dissatisfied. ii) Satisfier requirements This requirement has the ability to bring about satisfaction. The more of these are fulfilled, the higher the level of satisfaction. iii) Attractive requirements These are additional requirements that the customer neither expected nor expressed. It is believed that if these requirements are met, delight will be attained. Nevertheless, Gustaffson et al. (2005) also identified two other drivers of customer loyalty, namely, calculative commitment and affective commitment. The calculative commitment is the rational and economic decisions taken by the customer regarding costs and benefits implied, together with costs of switching to other brands, whereas the affective commitment is an emotional factor based on the value and trust offered to the customer. Subsequently, as argued, loyalty is essential to retain current customers. Reichheld (2002) suggested that if customer loyalty is obtained, profits will eventually follow. In his collaborative study with Sasser (1990) and cited in Lovelock and Wirtz (2007), four reasons why loyalty contributes to a firms profitability were identified; 1) Profit is derived from increased purchases When an organisation provides high-quality products and service, individuals may wish to purchase more with them. This may be due to an increase in family size or increase in affluence. It should be somehow noted that in whatever the cause, the loyal customer will continue to purchase with a single company. 2) Profit is derived from reduced operating costs Loyal customers cost less to serve because they know the product and attached procedures and thus require less information and assistance. 3) Profit from referrals of other customers Loyal customers provide free promotion to the company by spreading positive word of mouth, implying that the firm needs less investment in this domain. 4) Profit from price premium It often happens that new customers benefit from an introductory discounted price, whereas loyal customers are more likely to pay regular prices, and even higher ones during peak periods. Clark (1997) went in the same sense by saying that loyal customers will remain customers for a longer period, will purchase more, will be willing to pay more and will provide more business by means of referrals. However, organisations should understand that it is far better to ‘cultivate existing customers than to ‘hunt for new ones. Reichheld and Sasser (1990) even found that 5% increase in customer loyalty and retention is enough to generate a profit increase range of 25% to 125%. Still, companies should bear in mind that all their customers are profitable ones. Clark (1997) recognised that a firm should accurately choose and care for its most profitable customers and at the same time, deselecting the least profitable ones. To make the right decision, organisations can make use of Reinartz and Kumar (2002) model. Customers are segmented into four categories based on their forecasted lifetime duration and profitability. According to Noone et al. (2003) interpretation of Reinartz and Kumar (2002) work; * Butterflies are highly profitable short-term customers. They are always in search of best deals and avoid building relationships with organisations. * True friends are highly profitable long-term customers. These customers are believed to exhibit true loyalty and commitment to a single firm and efforts should be directed towards building relationships with them. * Strangers are low profitable short-term customers. It is with this kind of customers that firms should particularly avoid investing in building relationships with them. Gee et al. even states â€Å"Identify early and dont invest anything† * Barnacles are low profitable long-term customers. They are usually loyal but have a negative impact on profitability. Dear Sir/Madam, My name is Marie-Estelle Lebon and I am a student in Marketing Management Level III at the University of Mauritius. For the purpose of my final year project, I would like to have your opinions on the Yoplait yogurts specific range of products and I would be grateful if you could assist me in filling this questionnaire. Rest assured that all the information that you will provide is only for academic purposes and will rema

Spread of a Cellular Phone :: science

Spread of a Cellular Phone Why did the cellular phone that I was a success which there must be spread now to this place? And would it really do our life wealthily? Finaly, I want to think about society influence by diffusion of a cellular phone . I will want to think about the answer by this sentence while comparing a cellular phone with an old rigid telephone. Primarily I try to think about the effectiveness of a cellular phone. The greatest advantage of a cellular phone telephones it anywhere any time, and it is to be able to receive a telephone. I telephone it so long as there is not you before a telephone by a traditional rigid telephone and cannot receive a telephone. It is for an owner of a telephone to almost leave the next advantage to a receiver surely. A family and the other party understanding the partner who appears than the state that I do not understand who appears among employees of a company as a traditional rigid telephone are easy to hang a telephone much much. These two effectiveness would affect the spread of a cellular phone greatly. As for the instant information nature of a cellular phone, I always very think with an advantage in life controlled by the information that continues changing by a minute unit of an advanced information-oriented society. I want to think with a cellular phone next whether our life became really rich. It is surely easy for a cellular phone to contact you for 24 hours, but it is it in the thing that any kind of time is always restricted to tell the reverse by a company and society. When this goes along, a holiday in pure meaning disappears and does not bear it any longer and must let it is work, and a head trouble. If it is it, you may consider it to be good when I do not want to arrive if I drop a power supply. However, may you drop a power supply as expected if it is generated that anything is serious while you drop a power supply of a cellular phone and thought that it may produce it to a company to be a loss? While primarily it thinks about a thing of a company, and you promise the loyalty to a company, it will be absolutely impossible to do it. Spread of a Cellular Phone :: science Spread of a Cellular Phone Why did the cellular phone that I was a success which there must be spread now to this place? And would it really do our life wealthily? Finaly, I want to think about society influence by diffusion of a cellular phone . I will want to think about the answer by this sentence while comparing a cellular phone with an old rigid telephone. Primarily I try to think about the effectiveness of a cellular phone. The greatest advantage of a cellular phone telephones it anywhere any time, and it is to be able to receive a telephone. I telephone it so long as there is not you before a telephone by a traditional rigid telephone and cannot receive a telephone. It is for an owner of a telephone to almost leave the next advantage to a receiver surely. A family and the other party understanding the partner who appears than the state that I do not understand who appears among employees of a company as a traditional rigid telephone are easy to hang a telephone much much. These two effectiveness would affect the spread of a cellular phone greatly. As for the instant information nature of a cellular phone, I always very think with an advantage in life controlled by the information that continues changing by a minute unit of an advanced information-oriented society. I want to think with a cellular phone next whether our life became really rich. It is surely easy for a cellular phone to contact you for 24 hours, but it is it in the thing that any kind of time is always restricted to tell the reverse by a company and society. When this goes along, a holiday in pure meaning disappears and does not bear it any longer and must let it is work, and a head trouble. If it is it, you may consider it to be good when I do not want to arrive if I drop a power supply. However, may you drop a power supply as expected if it is generated that anything is serious while you drop a power supply of a cellular phone and thought that it may produce it to a company to be a loss? While primarily it thinks about a thing of a company, and you promise the loyalty to a company, it will be absolutely impossible to do it.

Film Reflection Good Bye, Lenin! Essay

I had mixed feelings about the movie Good Bye, Lenin! While I enjoyed watching Alex run into new challenges and come up with new solutions in scene after scene I felt the movie became too long and repetitive. I do however think the movie succeeded as a comedy, and as a glimpse into the history of Germany. I liked how the Becker used comedy to tell a sad story because it made it easier for the audience to watch. There were also many funny characters that accentuated people’s views of the political turmoil during that time. I noticed that the older generation shared a lingering nostalgia for the East Germany of the past while the younger generation saw a whole new world of opportunities and freedom opening up in front of them. The hurdles that Alex would go over for his mother made me really connect to him as a character. He was willing to do so much for this relationship and he believed so fully that what he was doing was right that you didn’t dare question him. In class we talked about how the director could have done more to give us a feeling of suspense and drama. Instead of leaving us hanging Becker actually sped up the scenes so we would get to the climax of if Alex’s scheme worked faster. I understand why people wanted that feeling of suspense but I believe that this was an artistic choice chosen to give the movie the feeling of things moving too fast. No matter how badly Alex wanted to stay suspended in the past the present and future were rushing towards him. By speeding up the scenes we were given that same feeling, the results were always coming quicker than we expected or often wanted. Something I wish Becker had done different was the end of the movie. When the movie finished I felt conflicted and betrayed. This was because Alex’s mother knew of Alex’s scheme at the end because she was told by his girlfriend. They then all pretended she still didn’t know for Alex’s sake. I don’t know why this bothered me but I felt angry at her for ruining all the work and then lying. It angered me the most because he was so close to succeeding. I believe Becker wanted us to feel this way at the end of the  movie to represent the strengths of relationships and the reality that Alex could only twist reality so far. His mother had become confused and in a way it was better for her to understand. I wish however the end had been different and that his mother could have truly passed on in his made up world.

Biodiversity essays

Biodiversity essays Extinction is defined as the end of existence of a group of organisms, caused by their inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Throughout the existence of our planet there have been large amounts of species extinctions. For instance, the dodo, a species of flightless pigeon formerly living on the island of Mauritius, became extinct in 1665. About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, the most of the woolly mammoths and the last of the mastodons, both members of the elephant family, died. Also about 245 million years ago at the end of the Paleozoic Era, an entire class of primitive marine animals called trilobites disappeared forever. Over the years we have learned that extinction is a natural and ongoing phenomenon. In effect, of the hundreds of millions of species that have lived on Earth over the past 3.8 billion years, more than 99 percent are already extinct. This extremely high rate of extinction can be linked to several factors. Some of this happens as the natural result of competition between species, and is known as natural selection. According to natural selection, living things must compete for food and space. Those species incapable of adapting are faced with imminent extinction. This constant rate of extinction is sometimes called background extinction. Normal rates of background extinction are usually about five families of organisms lost per million years. Due to several fossil finding, we know that not all extinctions are constant and gradual, some are unpredictable and extreme. The cause of these large-scale extinctions is always dramatic environmental change that produces conditions too severe for organisms to endure. Environmental changes of this caliber result from extreme climatic change, such as the global cooling observed during the ice ages, or from catastrophic events, such as meteorite impacts or widespread volcanic activity. Extinction is a timeless trend, in fact, most scientists agree that life...

Surplus and Surplice

Surplus and Surplice Surplus and Surplice Surplus and Surplice By Maeve Maddox The fashion term â€Å"surplice neckline† recently came to my attention. The term applies to a diagonally crossed neckline that creates a deep v-shaped neckline. The surplice style is thought of as a â€Å"faux wrap,† a cross-over design that makes the garment look as if it is wrapped around the wearer. Unlike a wrap-around garment, the faux wrap is sewn in place. Perhaps it is this â€Å"extra† piece of cloth that causes some advertisers to misspell surplice as surplus: Dress like a goddess in this gorgeous gown made in sheer chiffon and designed with a surplus neckline Emily West Girls Surplus Neckline Floral Dress Get Deals Arden B. Womens Lace Back Surplus Neckline Tank Julian Taylor Womens Printed Surplus Neckline Dress surplus: more than sufficient; extra Before I learned the fashion term, my only acquaintance with the word surplice was the wide-sleeved white ecclesiastical garment worn by priests and altar boys over a cassock. The earliest documentation for the noun surplice in the OED is from a manuscript dated c1290. The word entered English from Anglo-Norman surpliz, which derived from medieval Latin superpellicium. By 1382, the word could also mean any â€Å"ample or enveloping† garment. The literal meaning of the Latin word was â€Å"over the fur garment.† In winter, medieval churches were cold and drafty. Apparently the priest bundled up in a practical fur tunic or robe and wore the priestly garment over it. Finally, surplice and surplus, are pronounced differently: surplice [SUR-pliss] surplus [SUR-plus] Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"Email Etiquette150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Summary - Essay Example According to the author, by year 2000, almost half of the American community had access to internet compared to other countries in other continents around the world where only a few people had access to internet by year 2000. Globally, about 400 million people had access and used internet with the wealthy countries leading in numbers followed by the middle economy countries. The poor countries, especially the third world countries had little or even no access to the internet. According to Lee, North America had the highest access to internet while South America, Africa, and Asia had little access to the internet. The author argues that many internet users access the internet by the help of a broadband, which can be either a fixed connection or a wireless network. The fixed connection can be used in offices or even at homes while the wireless connections can be used by gadgets such as mobile phones and the tablets. He further argues that the fixed connections are more efficient in streaming movies and videos compared to the wireless connections, which are usually less effective. In the developed nations such as the U.S., Canada, and UK, both the fixed and wireless connections are common because these countries installed the fixed connections before the discovery of the wireless connections. Lee further states that by 2012, many people around had access to the mobile internet with many users being in the African and other third world countries where there is little availability of the fixed connections. For instance, Egypt, Ghana, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, South Africa, and Nigeria use the mobile internet access more because it is affordable and accessible to low-level income such as farmers citizens in these countries because the system benefits them by enabling them transact any money transfer through the mobile

Computer Models Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Computer Models Comparison - Essay Example In this respect, this paper provides a review (comparison) of three amongst the leading computer models that an organization can choose from, namely: HP Pavilion p7-1030, Velocity Micro Edge Z40, and Lenovo ThinkStation S20 (Adams, 2011). The three models are compared on the basis of their price, external features, internal features and performance. Subsequently, recommendations are made on the best model between the three for this organization to purchase. Pricing is a key element to be considered while purchasing a computer product. Retailing at $3,665, the Lenovo would be the costliest of the three models, followed by Velocity which goes for an approximate $1199. Going for $580, Pavilion is the cheapest of them all; about $2000 and $500 cheaper than Lenovo and Velocity respectively. Regarding the external features, Velocity has eight USB 2.0 ports. With that number, it falls short of Lenovo by four ports while beating Pavillion by two ports. On the upper part of the front panel, t he Pavilion further has multimedia card reader ports (MMC, XD, MS/Pro, SD and Compact Flash). At the back all the three have an Ethernet port, three audio jerks (audio-in, microphone in and audio-out) as well as a DVI video and VGA for connecting the desktop to an external display or monitor. They also come with a wired USB optical mouse and USB keyboard. The one notable downside about Velocity is that, unlike the other two, it may not come with a monitor (Adams, 2011). Internally, the Pavillion is loaded with a 1TB 7200rpm hard drive and a PCIe Mini card which delivers 802.11n Wi-Fi therefore negating the need for long Ethernet cables when connecting to the Web (Adams, 2011). It also has 8GB of DDR3 RAM which although more than sufficient, occupies the only two DIMM slots available, thereby leaving no room for expansion unless the user chooses to do so by removing one or both pre installed memory sticks. Similarly, the Velocity feature 1TB, 7200rpm hard drive, but does scale down o n the memory to provide 4GB of DDR3. Having a 500GB SATA 7200 rpm hard drive and 2GB of DDR3 RAM, Lenovo appears to scale down on two of the most essential internal features, but on the other hand, the model proceeds to compensates for this by providing ample space for two more memory sticks and two more internal hard drives. Of noteworthy, as far as internal features are concerned, the make comes with pre-installed software. In terms of operating system, all the three come with a pre installed Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64bit. Similarly, they all come with a pre installed starter version of Microsoft Office 2010. In terms of software, the only major difference between the three is that of the anti virus software pre installed in each of them. Whereas the pavilion features a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2011, Lenovo comes with a 30-day trial McAffee Internet Security package. However, unlike Pavilion, Lenovo’s McAffee is merely made to lie on the hard drive un installed. This is seen as a good thing by many, because it saves organizations the steps of cleaning their PCs if they happen to use a different solution (Adams, 2011). Performance Regarding the performance, the ordinary office setting does not allow for computer games and gaming tests. And whereas it is