Human genome online assignment Essay

1) If genetic manipulation does become a reality, I think allowing non-disease characteristics to be altered would have serious ethical and social implications. Screening for diseases and treating or eradicating them totally would be a huge benefit to mankind, but to use genetic technology to produce â€Å"designer babies† will most likely lead to a social divide similar to that portrayed in the movie â€Å"Gattaca† (De Vito and Niccol, 1997). Such technology would most likely be expensive and only those who can afford it will benefit and gain undue advantage over those not fortunate enough to have the financial means to avail of the technology, leading to a social system where you have the genetically-enhanced superior class and the â€Å"inferior† citizens conceived the natural way. 2) I don’t think life insurance companies should have access to a person’s genetic information. As it is, I believe insurance policies already hold a lot of stipulations that policy holders more often than not, end up receiving the short end of the bargain. If insurance companies find out that a person has a predisposition to a disease, they could easily refuse to provide that person with insurance and that I think, would be unfair since they would be depriving that person of his need to secure financial aid in case he does get sick. In the interest of fairly sharing risks though, insurance companies may be allowed limited access to genetic information. Limited, because I believe the welfare of policy holders should still be of topmost priority and any form of discrimination against individuals should not be allowed. 3) Yes, I believe that the information from the Human Genome Project (HGP) will bring tremendous benefits to a lot of people in the next 20 years. Technology develops at a very fast pace and it is not impossible that Collins’ predictions may very well come true. Already, the underlying genetic problems responsible for certain diseases have already been identified and with the genetic map from the HGP, the causes of a lot of other afflictions will be identified and from there, therapies can and will be developed. Even though custom-made therapies will most likely be more difficult to develop and perfect, the identification of disease genes will still greatly benefit the general population (Nova Online, 2001). 4) I think we are not that prepared for the implications that will result from the applications of these information. Right now, our society is already struggling with various other ethical issues in other biotechnological fields like stem cell research and it would be too naive to ignore the present and potential issues that may arise due to the far-reaching consequences of the HGP. 5) I don’t think employers should have access to an individual’s genetic information since there is the danger that a person may be discriminated on the basis of his genetic profile. As of present, I think discrimination may be viewed as singling out an individual for what he is (e. g. his race, gender, etc. ), but to discriminate someone based on his genetic profile would also mean discriminating him for what he could be. A person can be at risk for a certain disease but that’s just it – it’s a probability, not a guarantee. Besides, it would also mean discounting a person’s capabilities in spite of whatever genetic condition he may have. There have been countless stories of people overcoming their disabilities so there is no reason that one should be discriminated or favored based on his genetic makeup. 6) I don’t think it is that surprising, especially if I consider that like me, these lower organisms are alive, so it’s really just logical that we do share something in common. Considering though how much more complex we seem to be compared to these organisms, then yes, it is surprising that we don’t seem to be that genetically different from them. 7) I believe that testing of unborn children should be confined to deleterious genes, i. e. those that have serious and possibly life-threatening consequences such as that with diseases. I believe it’s a matter of putting things in perspective. Traits and disabilities like homosexuality or color blindness may be undesirable but they really seem trivial compared to serious afflictions that may mean life or death for the child. 8) If it’s a curable or preventable disease, then I would probably be in favor of being tested so that I can take the necessary steps to prevent or prepare myself in case I do get sick. However, I can’t say that decision would be as simple in the case of non-treatable diseases, because as with the woman who tested positive for a BRCA mutation (Nova Online, 2001), knowing that I am at risk for a disease that has no cure will probably mean that I will be living my life everyday with a sword hanging over my head and it would be very hard to live life that way. 9) Yes, I would want my mate and I to be tested if we were carriers for a disease prior to having children. I wouldn’t want to take the risk of bearing a child only to have him/her suffer from the disease that we carry when we could’ve spared him/her from that difficult life. I believe that I owe it to my future child to have myself and my partner tested. 10) I don’t think genes or genomic material should be patented because as Lander has observed, apprehensions over whether a particular gene or part of the genome has already been patented has become a limiting factor in that drug companies usually wouldn’t want to take the risk of working on treatments that might already be protected by a patent (Nova Online, 2001). I believe that there are several ways that scientists can approach a disease and develop a treatment for it, so why patent genes or genomic material? Why not just let everybody have access to such information so that not only one drug company can work at a specific disease but rather several, so that there’s a better chance that one of them will be able to develop a treatment which they would then have all the right to patent? Let’s take for example the case of cystic fibrosis. The gene responsible for this disease was discovered way back in 1989 and yet no cure has been discovered up to now (Nova Online, 2001). It only goes to show that identifying the gene responsible for the disease does not automatically mean that the cure would also be discovered consequently, so why allow the burden of further limitations brought on by patents? References: De Vito, D. (Producer), & Niccol, A. (Director). (1997). Gattaca [Motion Picture]. USA: Sony Pictures. NOVA Online. (2001). Cracking the code of life. Retrieved May 30, 2007, from http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/genome/program. html.

Global Opportunities for Pounder Bicycle Company Essay

Business firms struggle to remain global in scope and these organizations are faced with several challenges in there contemporary business dealings and there is a requirement for such firms to struggle for there continued existence. Research indicates that business environment keeps on varying as these organizations endeavour to sustain their market share as well as provide quality products/services to there clientele. Business environment entails both internal and external features that may influence upon the expansion and general performance of the business. Contemporary firms are required to construct economic and political links that typically take the structure of transfer of goods, finances and populace across national boundaries. This phase of relationships has in the process witnessed combined sharing of information and philosophies that has led to enhancement in the swiftness of change, ambiguity, uncertainty, and impulsiveness in day to day business undertakings (Lee and Carter, 2005). This paper will therefore examine Australian business environment and particularly examine the current political, economic, social-cultural, technological and legal environmental factors that impacts business entry to Australia. It will further examines the concept of globalization with relevance to Pounder Bicycle Company’s competitors, overall market size, marketing strategies, market entry strategies, project costs and the benefits that the company will attain if it will succeed in Australia. Australia Environmental Analysis Political  Political factors may have a direct and indirect effect on the performance of the Pounder Bicycle Company. Some of the decisions made by the Australian government may impact negatively on the operations of Pounder Bicycle. For instance, the decision to minimize the production and marketing of high performance bicycles to countries believed to be a threat to Australian local industries. This will definitely have huge implications to the company particularly in the marketing of bicycles in Australia. Economic Every business organization including Pounder Bicycle Company is affected by economic factors. Fiscal policy rates, inflation, interest rate policy, cash exchange rates, monetary policy and consumer factors among other economic factors set forth in Australia may have an impact on the company’s undertakings in Australia. Research indicates that the Australian climate of the economy dictates how the consumer behaves in the economy. Australian economy is reported to be in a boom thus there is increased speculation that the company’s customers can obtain the bicycles comfortably i. e. comfortable with the prices of the array of bicycles. Opportunities for the company however exist since Australia government opts cycling of tourists meaning there is market for the bicycles because it supports the economic growth of Australia (Austroads, 1999). Social-Cultural Forces within the Australian community such as family, friends and media will have an impact on how Pounder’s Bicycles will perform in the market. Research reveals that in Australia, many customers have been misinformed to believe that bicycles from Australia only are of quality and of high quality thus those coming from outside Australia may be of low quality. Such social factors affect the customer’s attitude, opinions and interests on how they will approach the Pounder’s bicycles in Australian market. Technological The way Pounder Bicycle Company will operate its business will also depend on technology changes. The internet will boost the company’s chances to meet new markets in Australia and extend its global outreach. However, it can be noted that the company will not require high technological inventions since it will manufacture traditional bicycles and market the bicycles in Australia. Legal  The way the company will operate in terms of operating rules of law in Australia will matter a lot. The company will be engaged in legal business practice of marketing bicycles which is permitted by Australian law. Therefore Pounder Company will not be against the Australian law thus it will be an ideal opportunity for the company to market its bicycles in its new market i. e. Oceania Australia (Cycling Promotion Fund, 2006). Industry Analysis Australia is one of the most powerful nations in the world boasting of a well-built society, politics, customs and economy. It has contributed significantly to the entire economy of Europe and the entire world today over the past. Right from the beginning of European incorporation, it has been a main contributor to the expansion of the European Union and it is looked upon as one of the pillars of the continent and the European Union at large. Australia is vigorously concerned in almost every phase of the European Union and the most outstanding ones are; provision of political leadership, military relations, economies, diplomacy and policy making. Sale of bicycles in Australia is a popular market since many of the individuals living in Oceania use bicycles to travel to workplaces and learning institutions among other places. Research indicates that bicycles in Australia are popular means of transport since many people believe that the use of such bicycles are of great benefits particularly health benefits i. e. by riding bicycles to various places it is a way of exercise thus individuals have no need to go to gyms for further practise. The growth of bicycle industry can be traced back to 17th century in Australia which by then bicycles were the most popular and convenient way of transport in the country. Good economy, stable exchange rates, flexible import duties, better trade tariffs and more importantly, the single currency used by the two countries are factors that promotes international marketing. Europeanization has directly affected the governments of the member states; this means that the developments that Australia has gained so far in culturally and domestically are linked to the European Union’s progress (Hill, 2005). The comments by the Minister of Transport of Australia and Regional Services Mr. John Anderson that the enhancement of the total of secure cycling in Australia will improve the Australian well being automatically indicates that the bicycle industry in Australia is popular and therefore Pounder Bicycle Company has the opportunity to utilize such ready markets in Australia. The minister further believes that a raise in cycling will advance transportation access for lots of the local people in Australia, amplify levels of personal health and also trim down the greenhouse emanations, air contamination and traffic jams. Further more, cyclists and non-cyclists will gain from lesser health expenditure in the society, a smaller amount of traffic on Australian infrastructure and more importantly enjoy cleaner air (Cycling Promotion Fund, 2006). Therefore with such reasons and intentions by the Australian government it implies that cycling is more encouraged and thus Pounder Bicycle Company can venture in Australia since it will face no hostility or lack of market for the bicycles since the government of Australia encourages individuals to use bicycles in their day to day activities. Further, the size of bicycle market in Australia is reportedly to be approximately over a billion dollars at retail level per year; adults in this case are highest buyers or owners of the bicycles as compared to children. Also there are a variety of bicycles being sold by different companies who manufacture bicycles in Australia; many have emphasized on the comfort and speed of such bikes. Therefore with such industry trends in Australia Pounder Bicycle Company will have the opportunity of selling traditional bicycles to Australians since research indicates that such types of bicycles are on the decline (Cycling Promotion Fund, 2006). Market Pounder Bicycle Company should not concentrate on the Australian bicycle market but instead should identify particular market segments which will record high sales of traditional markets. Therefore the company will have not to compete in the entire market but rather identify its strongest segments that will ensure success of the company in Australia. Pounder Bicycle Company should utilize encirclement strategies for winning the competitors in Australian bicycle market. Such a strategy is also referred to as envelopment strategy and it is considered subtle, moderate and a bit non-offensive but dangerous way of offending the rival. Pounder Bicycle Company can utilize two ways using his approach. First, the company can introduce broad range of bicycles that are alike to the competitor’s bicycles and each of these bicycles will get a share of the same market the competitor is currently in. In the long term, the rival will be demoralized, undermined and depressed thus the competitor at large may opt to give up the market. Such technique will ensure that full scale confrontation is avoided between the company and the target competitors in Australia (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). The second approach that the company may utilize is that approach of market niches rather than concentrating on bicycles themselves. In this approach, the market share is liberated from the target competitor via the expansion of market niches that surround it. With such strategies therefore the company can achieve substantial market share which will eventually leads to success of the company in the long-run (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). Market Entry Since Pounder Bicycle Company has opted to go international i. e. enter Australian market several market entry strategies are available to the company to utilize. However, such entry strategies differ with cost, risk and the degree of control which can be put into effect over them with particular regards to security of markets i. e. whether it will be successful. Pounder Bicycle Company should utilize the indirect method of entry to Australian market: Under indirect exporting market entry strategy, an exporter can access foreign market free from risks of doing it directly. It will involve Pounder Bicycle Company using independent organizations within the Australia’s domestic markets. The company can do this through various ways; for example, a domestic based export merchants, who will take the title of the bicycles and sells them in Australia, domestic based export agents who sell and market the bicycles on behalf of the company and co-operative organizations who act on behalf of the company. Pounder Bicycle Company should utilize such strategy by either choosing to use one of the above methods of indirect exporting because of the following advantages; communication is very much easy because the exporting company is domestically based and the risks of investing are much lower than coming up with full market in the host country i. e. in Australia (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders, and Wong, 1999). Project Costs and Financing The whole project of entering the Australian market will require Pounder Bicycle Company to have substantial amount of resources in order to ensure the success of the firm in its business endeavours. The cost of entering the market for instance may be high thus necessitating the company to look for alternative way of sourcing funds. Further the cost of materials to manufacture enough bicycles to be sold in Australia may be high. The company therefore can utilize its own resources i. e. its savings although it should not exhaust all the financial resources in such venture because business entails risk taking. Therefore, the company should opt for loans from financial institutions in order to combine such funds with the internal financial resources that it has. Clear financial forecasting as well as financial cash budgets should be prepared by the company’s management in order to spend the financial resources effectively and wisely. HR Issues and Organization Structure Pounder Bicycle Company will be faced by issue of workforce diversity which is the spread of human labor across the entire globe irrespective of their area of specialization and skills entailed. The existence of the globalization concept have been realized when diverse patterns in workforce are put into consideration. Pounder Bicycle Company will also employ people from the host country i. e. Australia thus the firm will have to adhere to rules and regulations set forth for businesses in Australia regarding employer-employee relationships (Hoyer, 2001). The most excellent means Pounder Bicycle Company can openly develop its financial performance in the industry is to employ, choose and train the right personnel. The most excellent strategic exercise to realize this goal is to carry out what is usually termed as job-fit practice. Such practice is practical to the company since the workforce to be recruited will not be required to undertake further extensive training but carry out their responsibilities right away applying their skills gained somewhere else. Organizational effectiveness can only be achieved if the management of the company is be able to incorporate good leadership, motivation, a well defined organizational structure, forming group dynamics and setting up good structures for communicating in the workplace. Pounder Bicycle Company should formulate a flexible organization structure in the sense that they should be ready to cope with change without affecting their productivity especially when it intends to go international (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2005). Strategic Benefits to Pounder Bicycle Company An analysis of business environment will help the company to know of all the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the company will face in there quest to expand to Australian market. Therefore the company will be able to consider the following factors: The speed of entering the Oceania market, flexibility/free and exit barriers, the costs to be incurred when entering Oceania market, the risks inherent in the course of entering the market, period of payback/how quick the firm can start earning the returns or proceeds from such investments and the company’s long run goals among other factors will be clearly known in advance. With ascertainment of the above factors therefore, Pounder Bicycle Company will be able to identify its strategic benefits form any opportunities that exist in the Australian market. For instance, the company will benefit from large market share since there is high demand of bicycles in Australia thus the company will realize substantial revenues because of high sales. The company will also strategize well in Australia thus being able to compete effectively with its both local and international competitors (Lovelock, 2006). Conclusion Business environment keeps on changing because of globalization and the concept of international businesses. Businesses therefore are faced with a lot of threats as well as have a lot of opportunities brought about by such aspects of business world. To attain greater investments and better market opportunities in the international market, it is necessary that primary and secondary market research is done (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2005).

Hamlet Act 5 Scene 5 Analysis Essay

Give me your pardon, sir. I’ve done you wrong. But pardon ’t, as you are a gentleman. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ That I have shot mine arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother. Since Hamlet somehow knows this fencing fight is not only a simple competition between him and Laertes, Hamlet understands that why Laertes needs to fight with him, which because Hamlet killed Polonius, who is Laertes` father, by accidentally. â€Å"I here proclaim was madness.† In terms of anagorisis, Hamlet tells Laertes that the murder was not done by Hamlet`s consciousness, but rather by his madness. In addition, this is the first time in the whole play since Hamlet knows the truth from the ghost and he acts straight, Hamlet convince that he is mad and acts stupidly (killed Polonius) consequently. Hamlet hopes that Laertes can understand it is not Hamlet`s fault or guilty of killing Polonius and removes himself from the responsibility. â€Å"If’t be so, Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged.† In terms of metaphor/personification, Hamlet indicates that he is the victim of his mental illness so that he was controlled by it and killed Polonius. â€Å"His mad ness is poor Hamlet’s enemy.† In terms of personification/analogy, for Hamlet, he thinks he is not the one who should be blamed or punished rather his madness should be blamed as Hamlet`s enemy. â€Å"Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil Free me so far in your most generous thoughts That I have shot mine arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.† In terms of analogy, Hamlet hints at Polonius` spying in Gertrude`s closet when Hamlet killed him by using â€Å"a purposed evil† and describes Polonius was accidental killed by him by using â€Å"I have shot mine arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother†, which â€Å"the house† means Gertrude`s closet. Originally, Hamlet thought the guy who hid behind the curtain was Claudius, and Hamlet promised that if Claudius has done something badly, he must kill Claudius. However, he did not know the guy behind the curtain was Polonius instead of Claudius. Plus his madness, he killed Polonius immediately by mistake, which it is the same as  shoots a narrow and accidentally hurts Laertes (because Polonius died). Overall, in this soliloquy, Hamlet basically apologizes for how he has hurt Laertes, but agrees to the fight anyway because he is using it as his reason to murder Claudius to get his revenge.

Nature vs. Nurture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nature vs. Nurture - Essay Example Since the introduction of fuel consuming vehicles in the society, there has been a rapid increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Cars are everywhere on the face of earth. There is hardly any region where people still travel on foot, and don’t use cars. Cars consume fuel. As the fuel burns, it releases chloro-flouro carbons into the atmosphere, which in turn, result into an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases. Increase in the content of greenhouse gases has caused the temperature to rise in general. In addition to that, our reliance on the vehicles in daily life has made us lazy and laggard. We tend to avoid traveling on foot as long as we have cars with us. Reduced physical activity has caused many of us to put on weight, and people have become obese in large numbers. Like global warming, obesity is an equally big social issue in many advanced countries in the present age. Although there are many other factors that lead an individual to obesity, yet lack of walk is an important factor that causes obesity in people. I believe that in order to cater for these problems, we need to avoid use of vehicles that consume oil. I use a vehicle that does not consume any fuel, and also allows me to put in physical exertion. I have a bicycle. Wherever I have to go, I use it. Not only does it save time, but is also very environment friendly and also keeps me physically fit as I have to constantly keep rotating pedals to drive the bicycle. In addition to that, I also take other measures to stay physically fit. I dislike obesity and believe that it ruins an individual’s looks. I am a big fan of healthy food, and have always tried very hard to keep stuck to one. To me, health is more important than wealth. I tend to be indulged in more and more physical work because exercise is the treatment of obesity (Queen). I believe that increased use of vehicles in the modern age has

Racist Skinhead Subculture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Racist Skinhead Subculture - Essay Example The racial skinhead subculture is similar to neo-Nazi ideologies in the sense that aggression is mainly targeted to certain racial groups. In this case scenario, the most hated are often Jews, since the skinheads view them as the ones who have taken all the economic privileges in the country. They also abhor blacks and other races, whom they consider as inferior races to the white race. Over the past three decades, the racist skinhead subculture has continually evolved to be more sophisticated in the way it uses the internet to spread its propaganda. Though various extremist skinhead activities were weakened after 9/11 attacks in the US due to another of issues such as arrest of some leaders and death of another (Sinderbrand, 2004:38), since 2004, and over the past five years most of the groups have been regrouping, getting integrated and increasingly carrying out race motivated attacks on people (Anti Defamation League, 2012a:1). Since such groups often surge during times of economic distress and seek to put blames on various racial groups for taking away all jobs in the economy, I contend that it is probably due to the recent economic recession that most of these racist skinheads have regrouped. It is due to this reason that this paper finds it important to study the intricacies of the brand community of the skinhead subculture, and specifically the racist skinhea ds.... It is due to this reason that this paper finds it important to study the intricacies of the brand community of the skinhead subculture, and specifically the racist skinheads. The study will use subculture theory to understand why the skinhead group is a subculture and to tease out specific elements and themes concerning a specific example of racist skinhead: Hammerskin Nation. It will also analyze empirical studies as to attributes of this group in order to understand their practice. To this end, the key research questions will be what the main characteristics of the brand Hammerskin Nation are, why they have these characteristics and why they are a subculture based on clear themes concerning their movements that have been teased out and highlighted theoretical attributes. Literature review Historical perspective of the racial Skinhead The start of the skinhead head movement can be traced in the UK back in the 1950s and the 1960s. During this time several young people defined themsel ves separately by adopting a high stylish lifestyle bordered on mainly styles adopted by the British rock bands, US R$B, as well as movie stars. Brown (2004: 175) observes these earlier young people known as mods, who were less inclined to violence, became known for their devotion to music, fashion, scooters and their general consumerism. Since not all of the fashion trendy adhering to mod subculture could afford to have the latest trends in fashion, the group split off into two, the well off referred to as the smooth mods and the working class mods who could less afford the fashion trends. Nordstrom and Robben (1995:87) show that due to this the hard mods preferred to be sported in suspenders, boots and straight legged jeans. The hard mods mainly enjoyed he hard rock,

Financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial services - Essay Example Transactions on derivative contracts occur between two parties in which a financial agreement is done whose payments depend on the value of the underlying assets and securities. Derivative contracts are broadly categorized into lock and option products. Lock category derivative contracts bind the two parties into an obligation of executing the contract according to the terms and conditions over the period for which the contract is agreed upon. Option product derivatives are contracts that provide the right to the buyer but not the obligation to execute the contract over the period of the contract (Whaley, 2007, p.121). The derivative contract includes an agreed upon price between the two parties to buy or sell the product within a specified period of time. The derivative contracts may be traded in the exchange in which case these are called exchange-traded-derivatives or may be privately traded in which case these are called Over-the-counter derivatives. Over the counter derivatives are not traded in specialized exchanges. Recent examples of banks and companies making heavy losses from using derivatives The financial meltdown of 2007 in US was largely due to the fall in the mortgage prices which served as underlying assets for loan products. Irresponsible lending, relaxed policies of the banks, corporate houses and happy-go-lucky attitude of the regulators in assessments of the derivative products led to the fall of big banks like Lehmann Brothers. After a meagre financial recovery from the support of the government, derivative market is again one of the biggest markets in today’s global financial scenario (Schwartz and  Smith, 1997, p.499). Banks today are carrying out transactions on derivative markets on a much larger scale than ever before. The banks are more opaque and are indifferent to the risky derivative products. Banks, however, are unwilling to disclose the face of the derivative contracts to their investors. It is understood that a change i n the underlying market factors would lead to massive losses of the world economy as a result of devaluation of the underlying assets. The size of the derivative markets has grown from $500 trillion in 2007 to $707 trillion in 2011. Lack of transparency in trading of derivative contracts reflect the risk involved as a result of probable fluctuation of underlying market factors. This can be observed in the light of recent examples. J P Morgan has registered a loss of $6 billion due to trading in risky derivatives. The increasing size of derivative markets and declining due diligence in investments in order to achieve higher profits imposes higher risk. Several high ranked officials from big companies like Meryl Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup commented that the banking industry is vulnerable in the wake of huge losses in derivative markets. After the earthquake in Japan, J P Morgan decided to reverse their position in derivatives due to the huge losses to be incurred. In 2011, D eutsche Bank decided to reduce the foreign currency exposure of Post bank by â‚ ¬8.1 billion looking at the heavy losses in their investment in derivatives. Deutsche bank themselves lost $1.74 billion in US derivative markets. A huge foreign exchange option for Hewlett Packard was executed early in order to reduce the losses predicted out of market uncertainty. Due to lack of transparency on the investments in derivative ma

The Concept of Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Concept of Risk - Essay Example The occurrence of an undesirable event is known as risks and risk management is a subject of great importance in project management. The risks which occur in project management is objectified and often occurs in the form of monetary loss and there is always an uncertainty associated with the occurrence of risk, however, the results of a risk are always undesirable for the people and organizations involved in the project. Project Risk Management has become a very important field of study in recent years because the project costs are very high these years and substantial capital is involved in the execution of the projects. Moreover, monetary loss is not the only issue, the time constraint has become much more important in the current economic and political scenario and the uncertainties in the execution of the project can delay the completion of the projects. These delays can result in fines and heavy penalties and can also affect the execution of other associated projects, therefore it is imperative to analyze and manage risk properly. Some authors also include the risk of life in risk assessment associated with a project, however, in this essay, it will not be discussed as a risk in project management because it is more relevant to health and safety issues. Thus there is a general consensus among the authors regarding the definition and concept of risk in project management. A risk is always an uncertainty in the execution of the project with a little probability of occurrence.... has become a very important field of study in recent years because the project costs are very high these years and substantial capital is involved in the execution of the projects. Moreover monetary loss is not the only issue, the time constraint has become much more important in the current economic and political scenario and the uncertainties in the execution of the project can delay the completion of the projects. These delays can result in fines and heavy pnealties and can also affect the execution of other associated projects, therefore it is imperative to analyse and manage risk properly. Some authors also include the risk of life in risk assessment associated with a project, however in this essay it will not be discussed as risk in project management because it is more relevant to health and safety issues (Jeynes, 2002). Thus there is a general consensus among the authors regarding the definition and concept of risk in project management. A risk is always an uncertainty in the execution of the project with a little probability of occurrence, however if occurs it always has undesirable result. Risk Management is always carried out in five steps: 1. Identification 2. Analysis 3. Resolution 4. Implementation 5. Monitoring Risk in PRINCE2 PRINCE2 is a process driven project management method and thus the management of a project as per PRINCE2 is carried out in steps. It gives ultimate liberty to the project management team to control and neutralize risks in project management. According to PRINCE2 risk is an uncertainty in the outcome of a project, this uncertainty is a two way pehnomenon, it can be a positive opportunity or a negative threat. Thus all the unclear outcomes of a project are termed as risk in PRINCE2 method of project management (Bentley, 2005).

Motivational Interviewing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivational Interviewing - Case Study Example Approaching verbal abuse requires entails a set of five changes before the client can come into an outcome. The first stage is the precontemplation stage whereby the client is unaware of the need to change hence does not intend to change. The second stage is the contemplation stage whereby the client is aware of the need to change but has not made the decision yet. Thirdly is the preparation stage whereby the client makes decides to take a step towards change in the future and has already tried changing but has been unsuccessful. The fourth step of change is action in which the client has started working on the change with measurable success but not the full expected outcome. The fifth stage is the maintenance stage whereby the client has already attained the set goal and is now working maintain the acquired status (Cormier, Nurius, and Osborn, 2009, p.231). In response to the different stages of change, I intend to follow through a set of interventions specific to each step of change. During the precontemplation stage, I should keenly listen to the client while ensuring comfort as a measure of encouraging the client to transition to the next stage. In response to contemplation stage, I should focus on educating the client about change while focusing more on the advantages in support of the client’s ambivalence about the change. During the preparation stage I should take the client through the possible alternatives while emphasizing on trying some of them. This is meant to give the client a taste of the change process thereby encouraging change acceptance. During the action stage my main role is to take the cline through appropriate strategies to prevent backslides once the expected goal is achieved. Finally, interventions in the maintenance stage are meant to provide emotional support to the client once the change has taken effe ct. After successfully going through the change process it is important

Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Response - Essay Example This is an editorial which appeared in Scientific American which is the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. The editorial mainly discussed about the agricultural firms in America and its effect on health. According to the editorial, Agriculture has helped in the evolution of the Human population. The focus of the editorial however are the problems related with the crops being grown in America. These crops are infected with some kind of disease and they are being duplicated genetically which is further enhancing the spread of the diseas. This results in the crops being wiped out. As a result Plants and animals are not the only one being effected but evidence has been seen which shows that this approach to agriculture is directly leading to the spreading of various human diseases. The authors of this article are lecturers at the center for Population Studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. They have researched on various reproductive and sexual health issues in the regions of South East Asia. Out of them Aisse Diarra is an independent Consultant who has extensive experience with Women Health and Women Rights issues in Mali. The interesting thing about this article is the reversal pattern of their writing. They discuss the global issue of trafficking of women and children and after having discussed them they say that their view is erroneous and the information provided by them is mis-leading. The author of this article, Joe Becker is an M.A. in political science and has shown interest in the field of rights of childs. She has been actively speaking out in government and media forums on the case of Child soldiers and the abuse of Child Laborers in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma and Uganda. This article is also about Child Soldiers and it focuses on three Characters, Charles Taylor, Kony and Lubanga who are the

Cautions or Adverse Effects of Massage Assignment

Cautions or Adverse Effects of Massage - Assignment Example 3). The inspiration of the nursing profession, Florence Nightingale, had stressed the importance of creating an environment that supports healing and noted that in such an environment supportive to healing, complementary therapies like music perform an important role (Snyder, 2006, p. 8). Complementary therapies are important for holistic nursing. This is because holistic nursing considers the individual’s interior, collective interior and collective exterior (Dossey, 2009, p. 4). Snyder and Lindquist’s (2010) list of complementary therapies include massage. Citing several sources, Snyder and Taniguki (2010, p.337) identified massage therapy as â€Å"one of the most widely used complementary therapies and has been a part of the nurse’s armamentarium for centuries.† In many cases, â€Å"massage is combined with other therapies, such as music, aromatherapy, acupressure, or light touch† that it has become difficult to separate the effects of the benefi cial specific effects of massage from those of the other therapies (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 337). However, several studies have reported that massage has beneficial effects for relaxation, improving sleep, and minimizing pain (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 337). Based on at least two sources, the term â€Å"massage† was derived from an Arabic word that means â€Å"to press gently† (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 337). However, the term â€Å"massage† was defined by American Massage Therapy Association as â€Å"the application of manual techniques and adjunctive therapies with the intention of positively affecting the health and well-being of the client† (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, pp. 337-338). Snyder and Taniguki emphasized that there is a scientific evidence for the view that massage therapy works. One study indicated that massage promotes relaxation and pain reduction, and stimulates the mechanoreceptors that activate the nonpainful nerve fibers ( Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 338). Thus, based on the study, Snyder and Taniguki asserted that massage prevents pain transmission from reaching the consciousness. Studies also suggested that massage can affect the psychoneuroimmunological functions of the mind and body (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 338). Although anecdotal, there are indications that massage produces positive results in persons afflicted with HIV (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 339). A study also pointed out that massage is used to decrease aggressive behavior, improve sleep, facilitate communication, improve patient mobility, increase body weights, and increase psychological well-being (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 344). In practice, nurses explain to a patient the basis why massage therapy has to be used, assess a patient’s history, and secure the consent of a patient (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 343). Snyder and Taniguki (2010, p. 343) stressed that it is important to find out a patient’s overal l response to touch because some people are adverse to touch as a result of negative experience. Others are also hypersensitive to touch and this matter must be factored in by a nurse (Snyder and Taniguki, 2010, p. 343). In overcoming the situation, Snyder and Tanigu

Five Forces Model for Industry Analysis Essay Example for Free

Five Forces Model for Industry Analysis Essay New Entrants The online bookstore industry that Amazon.com has pioneered in was, at first, very hard to penetrate. There were different barriers such as distributing capabilities and the variety of the selection offered that are supposed to be hurdled. Amazon successfully solved the tricky parameters as being the first one to get into the whole idea of online retail. With being the first, they had the luxury to set what were the norms for the industry. Factors that may lower these barrier tactics would be a wider selection and the ability to go to an actual bookstore to exchange or return books or other products. This network of actual retail spaces makes it easier for the consumer to return or exchange the products they were not satisfied with. These handicaps of Amazon were the basis for the emergence of book retail giants Barnes and Noble and Borders in the online shopping industry. Industry Competitors The major competitors of Amazon are Barnes and Noble and Borders. Barnes and Noble is a retail giant offering books and CDs both in their outlets all over the country. It opened their online industry in 1997 and has become the fourth largest e-commerce sites today. Focused largely on the sale of books, music, software, magazines, prints, posters, and related products, the company has capitalized on the recognized brand value of the Barnes Noble name to become the second largest, and one of the fastest growing, online distributors of books. Their advantage to Amazon is the brand name and the availability of actual retail outlets in which consumers could go in to exchange or return products easily. They also have an established book selection based in their retail operations. Borders is another multi-media retail store found in major cities around the country. Started out as a small bookshop in the college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, it has since expanded into one of the finest bookstores. In 1992,  Borders was bought by the Kmart group which further flourished the company into a Multi Media Giant with a wide selection of Audio, Video and Books found throughout the United States. The Online Bookstore industry have become a fierce business which involves discounts, varied selections and fast delivery in which all three companies are challenging each other. Buyers The consumers of this industry can be found in every corner of the population. These are mostly people who have had some form of higher education and have access to the Internet and computers. The segment of online shoppers has increased dramatically in recent years due to the convenience of shopping in the comforts of the home and the accessibility of the Internet. These developments have made it easier for consumers to log on and buy on the Internet. Consumers also tend to compare prices among the retail leaders such that buyers are able to buy products with very big discounts compared to ones bought in actual retail outlets. The bargaining power of the consumer is based on the competitive strategies of each active firm in the industry. Thus, consumers can challenge one firm for charging more than the other one such that the firm will beat the price of the competing firm. Suppliers Amazons suppliers range from the publishing and media houses to electronics manufacturers. Amazon buys all their books, videos and audio CDs from the multi media houses and publishing giants such as Time Warner, Doubleday etc. Amazon also has alliances with other bookstores to cover orders that they cannot serve. Substitutes The substitutes for Amazon and other online bookstores are the actual book  retailers and music stores such as Barnes and Nobles, Virgin Megastore, Tower Records, Sam Goody and other small mom-and-pop outlets. With the rise of online retail, there will be little impact from these substitutes. One impact would be some consumers who would like to hold or listen to their purchases prior to buying and those who are into the whole shopping experience. Barnes and Nobles have jumped into online retail and have succeeded into diversifying into the new e-commerce industry. Industrial Organization Model Degree of Competition Due to the shift of focus for Amazon, it has become the Earths biggest anything store. Its competitors have expanded from just online book retailers Barnes and Nobles and Borders to top audio retailers CDNOW.com and online auction house EBAY.com. Amazon has an overall lead of 40% market share against the other online retail firms. Their international business has more than doubled over the past 2 years and this growth increased Amazons share in the online business market. Life Cycle Amazon, in its first years, had negative income but the rise of e-commerce sites and being the pioneer made the succeeding years led to boom time for them. Their growth period was during 1994 to 1995 when they were the first of its kind in the world. They incurred very high costs in terms of distributions to customers. Still with a negative income, Amazon went public in 1997 and had one of the biggest IPOs of the time. With investors banking on future positive cash flow for this company, Amazons market value soared. Many people caught on with the idea of online shopping, thus, Amazons success. Amazons success as an online retailer prompted bricks-and-mortar rivals Barnes and Noble and Borders to join in. Competition decreased Amazons profitability so in the past couple of years, Amazon has expanded to more than books, audio and video to electronics and other retail concepts. Social Relevance Amazons products are marketed for every consumer possible. Books, audio, video and electronics are appreciated by majority of the population especially those who have access to the Internet. Amazon is active in pursuing literacy programs for young children by collaborating with the makers of the Dr. Seuss books. They have actively participated in the Dr. Seuss shops, story telling sessions and Dr. Seuss days. Degree of Globalization Amazons strength internationally lies within its networks in major ports and cities around the Globe. Amazon first started out in Seattle but as soon as they have established a niche market, they have opened shop all over the nation and in cities such as London, Berlin, The Hague, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore and many more. These branches overseas improves their delivery service to a wide consumer base. Extent of Government Control There has not been many government regulations regarding online retailing. A group of CEOs whose firms that are engaged in such practices have formed an organization called Global Business Dialogue. This GBD group supports the development of a seamless global system that delivers the broadest array of goods and services to the largest number of consumers at the most competitive prices. This work effort will: offer recommendations to the WTO, including making the moratorium on online tariffs permanent; and collaborate with governments to target and eliminate discriminations against, or other non-tariff barriers to global trade in, electronic commerce. This working group will also provide an avenue for the GBDs to consider and promote the growth of the electronic marketplace in an environment unencumbered by detrimental taxation. Degree of Vertical Integration Amazons primary value chain includes purchasing/sourcing, marketing, distribution and after-sales services, which includes returns and exchanges from unsatisfied customers. Their main focus is in the purchasing/sourcing and in the distribution of the products to the consumers. Their investments are therefore, geared towards warehouses in key points of high consumer demand areas and an efficient delivery and distributing system to service all its consumers. Thus, Amazon controls most of its distributing system that spans across borders. Inter Organization of Network Economics Amazon in its efforts to sustain its market leadership in the online retailing industry has tied up with various online organizations. Netscape Navigator and Amazon will offer members of Netscape Netcenter a co-branded storefront where Earths Biggest Bookstore will be easily accessed through Netscape Netcenter (home.netscape.com). In addition, Amazon.com has multi-year exclusive and premier bookseller relationships with 5 of the top 6 sites on the World Wide Web: AOL.com, Yahoo!, Netscape, GeoCities, and Excite. These partnerships widen Amazons presence in the World Wide Web. Sensitivity to Business Cycles The Online retailing business has a very quick cyclical growth. Amazon being one of the firsts to venture in this type of commerce are all ready in what seems to be in their decline stage where market share is declining. Therefore, Amazon is expanding to different industries within online retailing. Amazon and other online retailing firms are very sensitive to business cycles due to the speed of technology involved in the services they offer. Dynamics of New Knowledge Generation Online retailing relies on the work of an excellent distribution system. Amazon has invested their money into expanding their network of distribution centers around the globe. They also have investments in creating better  technology for tracking orders and giving efficient delivery systems for their customers. Amazon.com has remained on top of the online retailing business despite the entrance of giants such as Barnes and Nobles and Borders. Their success is attributed to two factors; timing and continuing to invest heavily into the inventory and distribution systems. Amazon, by being the first of its kind, has a big lead over the nearest competitors due to their experience and its reputation as the first movers. Their thrust remains on improving efficient delivery systems across borders and to build name recognition as the number one retailing firm in the Internet. They have also ventured into different retail options to keep that lead. Marketing, Innovative inventory and distribution systems, and name recall have helped Amazon build a sustainable competitive advantage. In order for any online retail company to remain prosperous and income generating, they must invest a lot of time and money into research and development of more efficient operations and distributions systems. This proved to be key for the Market Leader in online retailing, Amazon.Com.

The Moving Image Essay Example for Free

The Moving Image Essay I will be looking closely at two particular programmes involving families: The Simpsons (Homer Alone) and The Royle Family (Sunday Dinner) both families have been labelled dysfunctional yet both programmes have attracted huge TV audiences. I will be comparing the portrayal of family life in both these programmes and will try to account for their popularity. The Simpsons is an American cartoon set in Springfield. The family consists of: Homer and Marge whom are married and parents to Bart, Maggie and Lisa. In the episode Homer Alone Marge is feeling depressed because the rest of the family depend on her to do everything for them, she is feeling under a lot of pressure. After a while she decided shes had enough of doing everything for the rest of the family, therefore, she drives her car across the motorway and remains inside the car when it is parked up. This results in other motorists having no access to the road. By doing this act Marge soon gets noticed. Police cars and reporters arrive questioning Marge about the event. Soon after Homer arrives announcing that he loves her and wants her to come home to her family. It works; she comes out of the car and goes home. After a long think she decided she needs a break to get away from everything for a short while, she needed to clear her mind. So the next day she goes away for a while, and leaves the rest of the family behind. Bart and Lisa went to stay with their aunties, whereas Maggie is left with Homer. During the short period of time when Homer was responsible for Maggie, he manages to lose her! He finally finds her just prior to the return of Marge. The Royle Family is a British sit-com set in Manchester. The family consists of Jim and Barbara, the parents to Denise and Anthony. Norma, the mother to Barbara, Dave, Denises boyfriend and Twiggy a family friend. In the episode Sunday Dinner the family is round at the Royles house for their Sunday dinner. Jim and Dave are late as usual due to them being at the pub. At the pub Jim invites Twiggy back round to their house to join them for Sunday dinner without consulting Barbara. They eat lunch and chat about usual family issues. When an audience sit down to watch a cartoon, for example The Simpsons, they expect it to be funny and continuously revolving around a family or a group of friends. It is usually set in the same village or area. Cartoons are usually played on set days during the week and last the same period of time, it usually tends to be a short amount of time, ranging from 20-30 minutes. Cartoons have a very busy atmosphere, there are barely any moments when nothing is happening or no-one is speaking. The appearance of a cartoon character is often very different to human beings. In The Simpsons the characters have yellow skin and hair that remains exactly the same all the time. The Simpsons is a very typical cartoon. The characters are abnormal as they have yellow skin and are not real people. The colours are very bright and unrealistic, for example the sky is all blue apart from a few clouds which are just white. Music is used very frequently throughout cartoons. In The Simpsons music is used to create an effect on the event or character to make the audience have opinions of the situation. For example, we see Bart in detention, therefore we automatically suspect him to be quite mischievous. The beat of the music would fit in with the atmosphere of the event. When an audience sit down to watch a sit-com they would expect a television series usually lasting about an hour. It would feature the reactions of a regular cast of everyday, realistic characters to unusual situations, such as misunderstandings or embarrassing coincidences. The Royle Family is a typical sit-com because it has people playing characters which relate closely to everyday life. The characters are involved in common situations and the language they use to speak to each other is very informal, they use slang words and occasionally swear. The cameras are hand-held which gives a real-life feeling and no added lighting or special effects have been used. The clips shown are not always the best, clearest quality picture which you would get in a top quality DVD. They are just what you would expect to see when using a video camera. An opening sequence to a programme acts like an overture it has a dramatic effect on the audience. After watching the opening sequence you may think that the programme is going to be boring and not worth watching. Your viewing of the opening sequence depends on whether it appeals to you or not. Usually if the opening sequence doesnt appeal to you, you decide against watching it. It gives a taster of the programme and shows the type of programme that it is and a little about the characters involved. The opening sequence of The Simpsons begins with clouds across the screen and a bright blue sky. The title The Simpsons appears across the screen in bright yellow bubble writing. This already suggests that it is a cartoon because the writing it bubbly bright and colourful. The camera then zooms into the letter P to show a birds-eye view of Springfield, it is very colourful. You can be definite that it is a cartoon now because the village is in two dimensional form not three dimensional and all the buildings are blue or purple. The first character to be introduced is Bart; he has yellow skin and hair. Hes in detention writing on the black board which immediately gives us the impression that hes mischievous. As soon as the bell goes, he rushes out of school as quickly as possible. We then meet Homer; he is working with radioactive materials at his work and as soon as his bell goes he rushes out to go home as soon as possible being extremely careless as he leaves. Marge and Maggie are then in the car on the way home. Lisa is at band practice, she is playing her instrument proudly. We then go back to see Marge and Maggie in the car, Marge obviously has a big influence on Maggie because she copies everything she does. When Marge beeps her horn so does Maggie. She has her own toy steering wheel in the passenger seat, she steers exactly the same ways as Marge pretending to be driving just like her mum. The credits appear and the programme begins. In the opening sequence there are 23 shots of different situations in a short time of one minute and fourteen seconds. During a cartoon there are never silences or gaps, something is always happening. During the opening sequence of the The Royle Family the background is dark blue and it is set in the Royles living room. The family members are introduced one by one with them sitting on the sofa. The way they are introduced is exactly how they are throughout the sitcom. Jim is sat on his own chair in full view of the TV. Everyone else has a seat on the sofa except for Anthony, who is left to sit on the floor by himself. The music throughout the opening sequence is Oasis half the world away. This song could be used to suggest that there is one world inside the Royles house and the outside world is something completely different from their own. The lighting is just plain and ordinary like everyday life, no brighter or duller colours have been added for any special effects. Characters are very similar in both programmes in different ways. There are few characters living and working together, there will be extra minor characters put into the programme on odd occasions. The characters in both programmes can express their personality without informing us about themselves; it is easy to tell their opinions through watching their actions and reactions. Marge, in The Simpsons is similar in character to Barbara in The Royle Family. They are both the person in each family whom keeps them together; they do everything for the family, and receive little in return. They dont get appreciated enough from the rest of the family. Just Also, we have Homer and Jim who are alike in many ways. They are both idle and expect everything to be done for them by their wives. They can be very rude and inconsiderate to the rest of their family. Jim makes several complaints to Barbara about her cooking, he makes jokes about other people in the room but will not accept rude remarks made about him. Homer expects Marge to do everything for him; she makes his sandwiches in the morning, goes to the shop with his bowling bowl straight after, food shops for the family. In Homer Alone Bart and Lisa make it clear that they dont get on in the beginning, but as time goes on we see them holding hands in fear whilst at their aunties house. This shows that they do love it each other but dont show it until they need to. Denise and Anthony act in exactly the same way at Bart and Lisa. Both The Simpsons and The Royle Family have been labelled as dysfunctional, however, I do not agree with this. I believe that a real family should consist of whom they are closest to. It could include friends and animals! Each family member should respect each other and support them whenever they require it most. They will stick by each other no matter what and rely each other to help them through tough situations. Some families dont show their love and support for one another until a real crisis occurs but you can be sure that they will be there for you. I think that both The Simpsons and The Royle Family are not dysfunctional. They act as if they dont care about each other but that changes when it comes down to it. The Simpsons dont realise how close they are until Marge goes away, when she returns the family all sleep in the same bed and discuss how much they have all missed her and how bad life could be without her. In The Royle Family they all ask about each other and are interested in each other as soon as Twiggy leaves they all talk about him as if he wasnt part of their close family and they all knew that if they expressed their own personal feelings it wouldnt leave that room. The target audience is whom the programme is directed to. I think that The Simpsons is directed to anyone as it has bright, funny cartoons, which is what children would like to see. They dont have to understand the speaking to understand the programme; you can tell whats happening by the actions and reactions of the characters. It is also targeted at adults because there are jokes about political issues and famous people that adults would understand and find funny. I think that The Royle Family is targeted at adults. It doesnt appeal to children as there arent bright colours, it hasnt got a busy atmosphere and there isnt enough slapstick, simple humour throughout for them to laugh at. Adults would find it funny because its just like real life; everything they say or do is just like a typical family, like our own. Both programmes are extremely popular in different ways. The Simpsons is funny because of the familys continuous sayings and jokes. The actions they do are so unrealistic that its just so funny and the family always have terrible things happening to them, but always manage to get through it. Homer Alone Homer loses Maggie but she is luckily found safe and sound just prior to the return of Marge. The Royle Family is popular because of the way it is filmed and presented. No extra lighting or special effects have been used to create a more exciting set. It is dull and just how it would be in a normal house. Its so realistic that it looks like there are hidden cameras in house and theyre just filming them without them knowing. It is popular because people enjoy watching people like themselves, they can see what real family life is like.

Customer Satisfaction In Bank Of Ceylon

Customer Satisfaction In Bank Of Ceylon Abstract In this comparative commercial world, the bank has to satisfy the needs and wants of the customers, and has to attract new customers, and hence enhance their business. Service quality is considered through the banks strategies. Therefore, every bank has to emphasize on customer satisfaction. As far as the banks are concerned this phenomenon is very prominent. Banking sector has to improve and modernize their service. I have selected the subject Service quality and Customer satisfaction in Commercial bank of Ceylon limited in Jaffna District- Sri Lanka. This research article has three tasks. First task is a research proposal which includes the introduction of the subject, hypothesis and methodology. Second task includes Literature review, data presentation and data analysis. Third task states the findings and some recommendations from the analysis. Finally the information gathered from the questionnaire, relevant books, mails and annual reports. To the best of my ability in order to present the research report, I have used the above guides to the research. Please be excuse due to any mistakes in this study. -Researcher. Task 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION This research topic is Service quality and customer satisfaction in Commercial bank of Ceylon limited in Jaffna District- Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is one of the developing countries in South Asia which has twenty five districts based on geographical and political system. Jaffna is one of the districts of Sri Lanka. There are different kinds of banks in Sri Lanka, such as, central bank, commercial bank, Exchange bank, Agricultural bank, saving bank, rural bank, and development bank etc. Commercial bank is selected for the research purpose in Jaffna district in Sri Lanka. This is an institution and accepts money from the public for non-interests bearing current accounts. A customer may withdraw on demand by cheque, the monies in his or her current account. Particular this bank is focused on the study. Banking institutions and their activities are vital for the development of the country. Customer satisfaction plays a major role in the banking activities in the competitive environment. So banks has to evaluate the satisfaction of customers. Parasuraman.P (1988) said that a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or out come) in relation to his or her expectation. The banks are aiming for high satisfaction because customers who are just satisfied still find it easy to switch when a better offer comes along. The bank has invested heavily in researching the market to identify service quality. Today many banks undertake service quality through the satisfaction their customers. Service quality based on customers needs and wants expectation. Normally banks successfulness depends on large co-operate customers. This is profitability of banks .Therefore customers satisfaction is very useful concept about the banking sector. It can be achieved increasing customer service and service quality. 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Objectives are the end results of the process. Customer satisfaction also ends result of the service quality of the banking process. So the objective of the study is to know the organizations position. Through this study the researcher can get new ideas about service quality in banking sector and to improve customer satisfaction and can provide new ideas to modify any inefficient matters and can suggest any advantages and in future development. This research study will have some following objectives .these are Evaluation the service quality that the affect on customer satisfaction. Assessing the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. To identify the reasons, the service improvement and why a bank improves customer satisfaction. To find out the significant factor, service quality for achieving customer satisfaction. Whether there is any relationship between in customer satisfaction and banks performance. If so, what type of relationship (positive/ negative). 1.3 SIGNIFICANSE OF YHE STUDY When we consider the significance of the study that provides some important factors to organization customers, employees and managers. If there is high customer satisfaction it will help full to organization and managers to get more customers. They can get much deposit and get more profit through this satisfaction. They can get a well goodwill in private banks also to provide a caring service quality .but on the other hand if there is dissatisfaction it is difficult to increase their market share. Customer satisfaction also helps to employees. If the employees give good service quality they can get good marks to their performance report on banking assistance, so it will help to their reward system. This study gives us a chance to understand to what extent the theoretical knowledge we have studied is being followed in practice .Study of working people may help us to understand clearly how the customer satisfaction of banking is important to meet the changing needs of the people to achieve the goals of the institution. 1.4 LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH There must be some limitation to any event; it is not an expectation in this report. Though there are various factors causing service quality and customer satisfaction. Prevailing condition Due to the prevailing situation some customers and employees may not say whole true data strategies and benefits. Through there are various factors causing as service quality and customer satisfaction the following factors are taken this study. Improving service quality has high expresses, so it is not possible to implement immediately in Jaffna district. Select the sample of banks customers in the research with require their concern and it is there fore not expected to be with bias. This study has only tried to find out relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is a human behaviour, that is difficult to measure The questionnaire will prepare specially for customer-(selected samples). 1.5 METHODOLOGY 1.5.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter allocated to describe the methodologies that have used in relation to this study. This includes conceptualization, operationalization, research sample, data collection techniques and method of analysis. Further the way of research sample was selected. The system adopted in collecting data techniques used in analysis, the data and the measures utilized for analyzing the dates are explained. 1.5.2 CONCEPTUALIZATION In the conceptual frame work, the researcher can compare the relationship between independent variable and dependent variable. The problem of the service quality and customer satisfaction in the banks could be conceptualized based on the factors assumed that can cause for this problem. The following conceptual frame work can be formulated. Conceptual frame work Tangibles Reliability Responsiveness Services Customer Quality Satisfaction Assurance Empathy In this frame work showed the relationship between the key variables of the dependent variable and independent variables. The services quality is independent variable and customer satisfaction is dependent variable. The service quality are consist tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. If perceived service quality is equal to or, greater than expectation, the customer is satisfied. If perceived service quality is less than expectations the customer is dissatisfied. Services quality depends on five variables such as tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy. In this variables are functioning in a better position there, quality service. It is issued by the firm. It is lead to customer satisfaction. OPERATIONALIZATION In this research the operationalization model is given below. Concept Variable Indicator Measurement Service Quality Tangible Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Customers Satisfaction Customers loyalty Customer complain Customer expectation Customer relationship Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire Questionnaire RESEARCH SAMPLE In developing the research plan the research has to decide or, sample size, its composition and means of collecting data. There fore, for this research purpose a bank will be selected as sample. Commercial bank has been selected for this study in Jaffna district in Sri Lanka. Customer residing in some selected divisional areas of the Jaffna district was selected for this purpose. Samples for data collection are selected randomly. 1.5.5 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES A scientific research is on the basis of Positivism and interpretivsm which are applied for this study. Primary data and secondary data were collected for the research work. Primary data was collected by the questionnaire through the gatekeeper who is working as a managing assistant in commercial bank (Jaffna branch, Sri Lanka). Secondary data has been collected from the Commercial bank of Ceylon Ltd, Jaffna from their annual report, articles, magazines and report and other related publications. Furthers such data has also been collected from publications, definitions about customers satisfaction. Questionnaire is a collection of written questions about the respondents attitudes, opinions, perceptions act. Information was collected by gatekeeper. Questionnaire was issued and collected randomly to the commercial banks customers in Jaffna district-Sri Lanka by gatekeeper. The questionnaire is included two parts. The questionnaire was prepared with questions in different sections to measure the customer satisfaction. These question were prepared based on the types of banks details such as, * Tangible * Responsiveness * Assurance * Empathy * Reliability and * Customer satisfaction. The questionnaire includes questions that are related to how far a bank has been attempted to fulfil the customer needs and wants. Marks were allocated in the following manner to the answer to the given questions. Very strongly Accepted 05 Accepted- 04 Not to do say 03 Rejected 02 Very Strongly Rejected- 01 1.5.6 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY Hypotheses are the assumption that guides the research activity towards the ultimate finding based on the hypothesis. The researcher will go through the research activity including data collection analysis and then researcher will attain and ultimate conclusion. This research also has two hypotheses relating to customer satisfaction and service quality in respect of private banks. The moderator hypothesis is supported if the interaction is significant and although, there may also be significant main effects for the predictor and moderator, these are not directly relevant to testing the moderator hypothesis (Baron and Kenny, 1986; P 1174) According we report only the significant, interaction path co-efficient. The analyses revealed only two significant effects of moderation. Service failure moderated the effect of functional quality on overall satisfaction, and Communication moderated the effect of functional quality on functional satisfaction. H1 The service quality has mainly depended on the tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy with customer satisfaction. H2 -The service quality has an impact on customer satisfaction. 1.5.7 AN ACTION PLAN It is important to formulate an action plan to do the research. It is considered mainly six main steps for a scientific research such as; the research question, hypothesis, methodology, literature review, data collection and analysis, conclusion with recommendations. This study followed an action plan with a time table. 10/10/2009 Identify the research question or hypothesis 12/10/2009 Formulate the methodology 15/102009 Refer the literature review 19/10/2009 Data collection and analysis 02/11/2009 Presentation of findings 2.0 Task 2 2.1 LITERTATURE REVIEW 2.1.1 SERVICE QUALITY- DEFINITIONS Asubonteng (1996) said that it can be defined as the difference between customers expectations for service performance prior to the service encounter and their perceptions of the service received Gefan(2002) referred that Service quality as the subjective comparison that customers make between the qualities of the service. That they want to receive and what they get Parasuraman et al (1985, 1988) said that Service quality is determined by the differences between customers expectations of the services providers performance and their evaluation of the services the received 2.1.2 CUSTOMER VALUE Any promise is that customers will buy from the bank that they perceive offers the highest customers delivered value. The customer delivered value is the difference between total customer value and total customer cost. The total customer value is the bundle of benefits customers expect from a given product or service. Total customer cost is the bundle of costs customers expect to incur in evaluating, obtaining, using and disposing of the product or service. The researchers found five determinants of service quality. These are as follows. 01. Reliability: the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately 02. Responsiveness: the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. 03. Assurance convey: the knowledge courtesy of employees and their ability to trust and confidence. 04. Empathy: the provision of caring individualized attention to customers. 05 Tangibles: the appearance of physical facilities equipment, personal Communication materials Figure 1: Service quality model Service delivery (Including pre and past contacts) External Communications To consumers Translation of perception into service quality Management perception of consumer expectation Word of month Communication Personal Needs Past Experience Expected services Perceived services Gap 05 Gap 01 Gap 04 Gap 03 Gap -02 Gap 04 (Source: A parasuraman, Valarie, A Zeithamal and Leonard Berry, Journal of Marketing, fall 1985) 2.1.3 DEFINITION OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Kotler said that Satisfaction is a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or out come) in relation to this or her expectations (Kotler, 2000, p 36) Hount said that Satisfaction is a function of customers belief that he or she was treated fairly (Hount 1991) 2.1.4 METHODS OF TRAKING AND MEASURING CUSTOMER STATIFACTION Marketing concepts and tools describe how companies can track customer satisfaction. Companies use the following methods to measure how much customer satisfaction they are creating. Complaint and suggestion systems A customer centred organization makes it easy for its customers to deliver suggestions and complaints. Many restaurants and hotels provide forms for guests to report like or dislike. Companies are also adding web pages and e -mail to facilitate two way communication. These information flows provide companies with good ideas and enable them to act quickly to resolve problems. Customer satisfaction surveys Studies show that although customers are dissatisfied with one out of every for purchases, less than five percent of dissatisfied customers will complain. Most customers will buy less or switch suppliers complaint levels are thus not a good measure of customer satisfaction, responsive companys measure customer satisfaction directly by conduction periodic surveys they send questionnaires or make telephone calls to a random sample of recent customer. They also solicit buyers views on their competitors performances. Lost customer analysis Companies should contact customers who have stopped buying or who have switched to another supplier to learn why this happened. It is necessary to monitor the customer loss rate. If it is increasing this clearly indicates that the company is failing to satisfy customers, 2.1.5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Spreng and Mackoy (1996) had also found the path coefficient between service quality satisfactions to be significant (Lee et al 2000) wood side (1989) had found similar empirical evidence. The findings of Lee et al (2000), who have studied customers of an entertainment park and an aerobic school also supports this argument. The Lock of consensus in the causality between these two constructs has been caused mainly by the use of the constructs at different levels by researchers (Lee et al 2000) those who argue that satisfaction is an antecedent of perceived service quality have treated perceived quality as a global construct while treating satisfaction as an encounter (or transaction) specific construct. The majority of those who have found perceived service quality to be an antecedent rather than a transaction specific construct. Further some researchers have argued that perceived quality could also play a role at transaction level. at this level, it is found to be an antecedent of satisfaction with the transaction (Rust and Oliver, 1994) what is evident from the foregoing discussion is that When the level of aggregation of both constructs is identical, there is less dispute that quality is an antecedent to satisfaction (Roest and Pieters, 1997) 2.2.0 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 2.2.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter presents and analyses the data collected from samples from banking sector. This chapter tries to find out the relationship between the variables by using correlation and regression analyses with graphs by using SPSS and Microsoft Excel Packages. Further more, here the researcher examined the average of variables and percentage of variables and explains the relationship and comparisons by using the bar charts. 2.2.1 CORELATION ANALYSIS Correlation analysis is a statistical analysis, which statistically measures the extent and nature of the relationship between two variables. That means if changes of two variables are associated with each other, they are said to be correlates. It signifies a relationship between them. In this research this analysis is under taken to find out the relationship between. Quality of Tangibles and customer satisfaction. Quality of Reliability and customer satisfaction. Quality of Responsiveness and customer satisfaction. Quality of Assurance and customer satisfaction. Quality of Empathy and customer satisfaction. The co-efficient of correlation (r) is always between-1 and 1 and tells the type and strength of relationship between these variables. That is, if r is positive, there is positive relationship between the two variables. If r is less than zero that means there is negative relationship between two variables. The strength of relationship between the variables will be as follows. r= +1 indicates complete positive correlation. r= -1 indicates complete negative correlation. r= +/-0.5 indicates moderate correlation. r= +/-0.8 or +/-0.9 indicates strong correlation. r= +/-0.2 or +/-0.4 indicates weak correlation. r= 0 indicates zero or no correlation. Following tables illustrate the coefficient of correlation derived by the analysis for variables Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy related to customer satisfaction in the Commercial bank of Ceylon Ltd. Table -1 coefficient of correlation between customer satisfaction and service quality Service Quality Customer satisfaction (r ) Tangible Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy Total 0.229 0.579** 0.753** 0.388 0.641** 0.787** When interpreting the coefficient of correlation, the researcher can observe that, there is positive relationship between services quality and customer satisfaction in all cases. r is +0.787. The relationship is moderate in the case of service quality compared with customer satisfaction of the Commercial bank of Ceylon Ltd. In the case of tangible, the relationship between the tangible and customer satisfaction is positive relationship and also the relationship between the tangible and customer satisfaction is weak because the coefficient of correlation is + 0.229 between tangible and customer satisfaction. In the case of reliability, the relationship between the reliability and customer satisfaction is positive relationship and also the relationship between the reliability and customer satisfaction is moderate. The coefficient of correlation is + 0.578** between reliability and customer satisfaction. In the case of responsiveness, the relationship between the responsiveness and customer satisfaction is positive relationship and also the relationship between the responsiveness and customer satisfaction is strong. The coefficient of correlation is + 0.753** between responsiveness and customer satisfaction. In the case of Assurance, the relationship between the Assurance and customer satisfaction is positive relationship and also the relationship between the Assurance and customer satisfaction is weak. The coefficient of correlation is + 0.388 between Assurance and customer satisfaction. In the case of Empathy, the relationship between Empathy and customer satisfaction is positive relationship and also the relationship between the Empathy and customer satisfaction is moderate. The coefficient of correlation is + 0.641** between Empathy and customer satisfaction. There for, the relationship between total service quality and total customer satisfaction is strong positive relationship. The coefficient of correlation (r) 0.787** between total service quality and total customer satisfaction. The pattern of variation of the service quality as tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy in relation to the value of the satisfaction of the customer are as follows. Table 2 regression summary service quality and customer satisfaction in Commercial bank of Ceylon ltd in Jaffna district. Y= a + box Service quality a b r2 Tangible Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy 61.0 38.1 22.9 49.6 36.8 0.229 0.578 0.753 0.388 0.641 0.053 0.334 0.567 0.151 0.411 Quality of tangible and customer satisfaction The regression equation of customer satisfaction in relation to the quality of the tangible in Commercial bank of Ceylon in Jaffna district is given below. Y=a+ bx Y= 61.0 + 0.229X Based on this equation when X increases by one unit, the value of y is increase by 0.229 that is the customer satisfaction is increased by 0.229 per each additional unit of tangible. This prediction equation is graphed in the following graph, along with a plot of the data points. Graph 1 Tangible and customer satisfaction Now let us check the usefulness of the hypothesized model that is whether X (tangible) really contributes information for the prediction of y (customer satisfaction) using the straight -line model. The coefficient of determination (r2) represents the proportion of the variation in y that is explained by the independent variable (x). In the case of customer satisfaction is 5.3% that means 5.3% of the variance in the customer satisfaction can be explained by the changes in the quality of tangible. This indicates that 94.7% of customer satisfaction will be influenced by the other factors. Quality of Reliability and customer satisfaction The regression equation of customer satisfaction in relation to the Quality of Reliability in Commercial bank of Ceylon Limited in Jaffna district is given below. Y= 38.1 + 0.578 X Based on this equation when X increases by one unit, the value y is increase by 0.578. That is the customer satisfaction increase by 0.578 per each additional units of Reliability. This prediction equation is graphed in the following graph with a Plot of the data points. Graph 2 Reliability and customer satisfaction Now, let us check the usefulness of the hypothesized model, that is, Whether X (Reliability) really contributes information for the prediction of Y (customer satisfaction) using the straight -line model. The coefficient of determination (r2) represents the proportion of the variation in Y that explained by the independent variable. In case of customer satisfaction is the reliability influences only 33.4% that means 33.4% of the variance in the customer satisfaction. This indicates that 66.6% of customer satisfaction will be influenced by the other factors. Quality of Responsiveness and customer satisfaction The regression equation of customer satisfaction in relation to the Quality of Responsiveness in Commercial bank of Ceylon Limited in Jaffna district is given below. Y= 22.9 + 0.753 X Based on this equation when X increase by one unit, the value Y will also increase by 0.753. That is the customer satisfaction will increase by 0.753 each additional units of Responsiveness. This prediction equation is graphed in the following graph along with a Plot of the data points. Graph 3 Responsiveness and customer satisfaction Now, let us check the usefulness of the hypothesized model, that is x (responsiveness) really contributes of information for the prediction of y (customer satisfaction) using the straight-line model. The coefficient of determination (r2) represents the proportion of the variation in y that explained by the independent variable. In the case of customer satisfaction is the Responsiveness influence only 56.7%. It means 56.7% of the variance in customer satisfaction. This indicates that 43.3% of customer satisfaction will be influenced by other factors. Quality of Assurance and customer satisfaction The regression equation of the customer satisfaction in relation to quality of Assurance in Commercial Bank Ceylon Limited in Jaffna district is given below. Y=49.6 + 0.388X Based on this equation when x increase by one unit, the value of y will also increase by 0.388. That is the customer satisfaction will increase by 0.388 per each additional units of Assurance. This prediction equation is graphed in the following graph, along with a plot of the data points. Graph 4 Assurance and customer satisfaction Now, let us check the usefulness of the hypothesized model, that is, whether x (Assurance) really contributes of information for the prediction of y (customer satisfaction) using the straight-line model. The coefficient of determination (r2) represents the proportion of the variation in y that explained by the independent variable. In case of customer satisfaction is the Assurance influences only 15.1% at mean, it means 15.1% of the variance in the customer satisfaction. This indicates the 84.9% of customer satisfaction will be influenced by other factors. 05. Quality of Empathy and customer satisfaction The regression equation of the customer satisfaction in relation to quality of Empathy in Commercial Bank of Ceylon Limited in Jaffna district is given below. Y= 36.8 + 0.641X Based on this equation when x increase by one unit, the value of y will also increase by 0.641. That is the customer satisfaction will increase by 0.641 per each additional units of Empathy. This prediction equation is graphed in the following graph, along with a plot of the data points. Graph 5 Empathy and customer satisfaction Now, let us check the usefulness of the hypothesized model, that is, whether x (Empathy) really contributes of information for the prediction of y (customer satisfaction) using the straight-line model. The coefficient of determination (r2) represents the proportion of the variation in y that explained by the independent variable. In case of customer satisfaction is the Empathy influences only 41.1% that means 41.1% of variance in customer satisfaction. This indicates the 58.9% of customer satisfaction will be influenced by other factors. Task 3 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 3.0 INTRODUCTION This is final chapter of this research. This chapter includes the findings of the research, hypotheses testing and recommendations. This chapter discusses the findings of the research and the test of the hypotheses whether the hypotheses are accepted or not. Further it gives suggestion to improve the service quality in order to achieve the customer satisfaction. 3.1 FINDING OF THE RESEARCH In this research, the researcher finds out the results based on the data presentation and data analysis used in this research a correlation, average and percentage. The area concerned with this research is banking sector with selected sample from Commercial bank of Ceylon Ltd in Jaffna district. According to the correlation analysis, the following findings are prepared. The relationship between the Tangible and customer satisfaction is positive and weak as at 0.229, Reliability and customer satisfaction is positive but moderate as at 0.578*, Responsiveness and customer satisfaction is positive and strong as at 0.753, Assurance and customer satisfaction is positive and weak as at 0.388 and Empathy and customer satisfaction is positive but moderate as at 0.641* in Commercial bank of Ceylon Ltd in Jaffna-Sri Lanka. Based on the re

Dance Dance Revolution :: essays research papers

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Why does the government think they need to regulate private businesses? When it comes to working conditions, employers must be responsible to create fair standards of how businesses should operate. Business owners must be able to make independent decisions regarding wages, hours, and safety to allow one’s business to be successful. During President Regan’s years in office, he initiated a policy to deregulate businesses. He eliminated as many restrictions as possible, to let the businesses regulate themselves. This means that these companies can pay employees any amount desired, so long as they meet federal minimum wage standard. A special salary for employees working overtime is unnecessary. Successful businesses will choose to pay extra anyway, as this will create a competition between businesses for quality employees. The hours an employee works need not be regulated so long as the employee is compensated for the time worked. An example of how regulations can be counterproductive is in France. Currently employees are not allowed to work more than 35 hours per week. As of the 1st of January, that work week will be further reduced. Companies are fined if employees work more than 35 hours. This is causing a problem because the companies’ production is lower and so is the quality of the products. With reduced quality and quantity of the product, these companies could be forced out of business, leaving the government less to regulate. Safety is another key issue that the government likes to regulate. Because of the reduced work week in France, it will be interesting to see if safety becomes a problem for overnment regulators or private businesses. In the United States, most business owners are aware that a safe work environment is a must. How Much Control Should The Us :: essays research papers Why does the government think they need to regulate private businesses? When it comes to working conditions, employers must be responsible to create fair standards of how businesses should operate. Business owners must be able to make independent decisions regarding wages, hours, and safety to allow one’s business to be successful. During President Regan’s years in office, he initiated a policy to deregulate businesses. He eliminated as many restrictions as possible, to let the businesses regulate themselves. This means that these companies can pay employees any amount desired, so long as they meet federal minimum wage standard. A special salary for employees working overtime is unnecessary. Successful businesses will choose to pay extra anyway, as this will create a competition between businesses for quality employees. The hours an employee works need not be regulated so long as the employee is compensated for the time worked. An example of how regulations can be counterproductive is in France. Currently employees are not allowed to work more than 35 hours per week. As of the 1st of January, that work week will be further reduced. Companies are fined if employees work more than 35 hours. This is causing a problem because the companies’ production is lower and so is the quality of the products. With reduced quality and quantity of the product, these companies could be forced out of business, leaving the government less to regulate. Safety is another key issue that the government likes to regulate. Because of the reduced work week in France, it will be interesting to see if safety becomes a problem for overnment regulators or private businesses. In the United States, most business owners are aware that a safe work environment is a must.