MARKETING PROJECT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MARKETING PROJECT - Research Paper Example Clients of fast foods usually make orders at a given counter and proceed to pay prior to eating. The industry of fast food in the US had approximately 300,000 units in year 2009 and the franchises attached to them were in above 100 other global nations. The revenue generated from the industry was about USD154.7 billion in year 2008. The industry of fast foods was prospected to record about USD157.2 billion in sales in year 2009, which would translate to a 4.2% rise from the amounts posted in 2008. Since year 2007, the industry was experiencing a continual type of growth rate, while the industry of fast food continued to escalate in value by 4% over the same period. The forecasts state that the industry of fast foods would grow by around 4% per year in the next three years. Consumers of fast foods as well continue to want value for their invested money in terms of healthier options as well as the responsibility of the company in picture to the environment. (franchisedirect.com, 2009) (a) Global Economic Situation The rise in the number of chains of fast food chains in the US has also been witnessed elsewhere in the foreign countries. As Allen and Albala wrote their book the companies of fast food in the US formed what the entire globe had. This phenomenon of chains of fast food companies has been seen to saturate in the regions of North America and Western Europe alike and as a result they have been spread to other areas of the world which are witnessing high rates of economic growth like Asia and Eastern Europe. The two authors also continue in their study to point out the fact that, if these fast food chains are aiming at surviving in the foreign, then they ought to adjust their menus to suit the tastes of local people. An example at hand is that of the sale of duck soup in Beijing. Despite the high levels of growth, restaurants of fast foods have been facing the cynics’ wrath, where sometimes they have been blamed for the rise in malnutrition negative impacts like obesity, though. (Allen and Albala, 2007 p160) (b) Business life cycles As economic cycles of booms and recessions continue being a phenomenon of business environment setting in during the days Mercantilists, these cycles have become for frequent and shorter in time durations. The explosion of information technology and the following boom in the recent past periods reflect the high speed at which global economies can rise. Various organizations like in the industry of fast foods, which have moved in the direction of consumer preferences to maturation of their products’ life cycle, have as well experienced a boom. Due to this, it has reached its peak and now the trend is that of approaching a trough as the consciousness of consumers with regards to health escalates. (Secord, 2003 pp221, 222) (c) Rates of Interest Interest rates affect consumer expenditure trends. If the rates of interest are reducing, then there is an easier accessibility to funds in turn increasi ng the demand for various products. The products for which demand is affected are especially fixed assets like homes, cars and capital investments. On the other hand, if the rates of interest are on the rise, there will be slower economic growth and this affects investment levels. Socially, there is a change in

The Creation of a Trust Which Depicts the Formalities That Are Essay

The Creation of a Trust Which Depicts the Formalities That Are Required In the Dissemination of the Deceased Properties to the Beneficiaries - Essay Example In the paper, John drafts a will and appoints Tessa and Vincent as the trustees of his widow Susan and the two children.   On the death of John Susan accuses the trustees of breaching their mandates, therefore the following advice is going to be very important to determine whether Susan will be able to win the case and granted trust of the properties. It is notable will contained no express power; it simply stated that Tessa and Vincent were to hold the said properties until the opportune moment for them to grant them to the right beneficiaries who are the family. According to Target Holdings Ltd v Redferns, the right of the beneficiary is to have the trust administered in the best way it was intended in conformity with the general law and the trust instruments. Thus, according to law, the beneficiary will always be granted access to the will or deed and the accounts which are linked to the trust. Proper justifications are to be given to any shortcomings which may be pinpointed; ho wever, in this case, it is apparent that the trustees never informed the beneficiaries on the investments they had made. Thus, there is a breach of contract which makes them liable for the loss and any abnormalities which come about. It is evident that the trustees misapplied the money in their hands for their personal use. None of the beneficiaries is really aware of what is going on until when they make the claim and want to have the money for their own use. According to the case of Wallersteiner v Moir, the trustees are liable for any unnecessary delays and circumstantial impacts they may cause the beneficiaries. Susan is thus in the right position to sue the trustees and claim their authority inappropriate in managing the properties and accounts. There is a falsification impression which is created in the whole process. It is sufficient that the trustee is liable to a want of ordinary prudence. By the trustees delegating their duties to the Best Finance Company, they defied thei r obligations entirely. Besides that, there is no clear motive for them to surrender managerial roles of the will to this company which has questionable characters and performances.

Competition in Design School Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Competition in Design School - Case Study Example Some feel competition helps each person to hone their creative skills. For students who study in design schools, the nurturing of individual creativity is important because they must continually innovate. When competition is involved, students take risks they might not otherwise take to create something unique enough to be noteworthy. It means students summon their most creative talent. Many students like Elizabeth Young, a former student of the University of California, argue that students learn more about their natural talent in competitive environment. It is considered as the "whetstone of talent." Competition also helps the students to work as teams and learn to create success together. However, talented advisers such as Michelle Fabio believe that even though competition undeniably helps elevate the standard by which we measure performance, too much competition could negatively impact less capable students. Therefore, even if some believe that competition is the best way to hone creative skills, it is not without its disadvantages. One disadvantage of competition is that it may cause students to lose sight of their main objective. Educator Mary Pat Lynch shares that in excessive competition, winning becomes the focus, instead of learning. This has been supported by interviews regarding competition conducted by Bergins and Cooks in which forty-one academically talented students conveyed that they focused on grade point average as opposed to learning for the sake of knowledge. No mention was made about any desire for competence by augmenting their knowledge and skills. This means that in a competitive environment, students' center of attention has shifted to the grade, rather than on the main goal of education which is to make students actually understand the ideas being imparted. Among designers, this will cause many to focus on finishing only those ideas that will probably help them win while hardly attempting to bring artistic life to their creations. As such, students compromise quality of life if they think they always need to perform better than others instead of letting natural talent flow. Competition also affects the general welfare of a person and the society in several undesirable ways. First, competition, by nature, requires only a single or a very small number of people to win while the rest of the competitors will lose. If a person ends up losing most of the time, it could undermine their own self-confidence, foster feelings of weakness and finally lead to depression. In fact, nearly ten percent of adolescents in the U.S. suffer from depression. Since the height of depression and low self-esteem in young people often coincide with times characterized by an increase in academic stress, the overly competitive environment increases the probability of poor quality of life for many students. Unfortunately depression is parcel of a cycle that negatively impacts many people. Depressed people are likely to feel left out and become social outcasts because no one will gladly relate themselves with people who see themselves as losers. As they lose their self-esteem, they st op trying to improve themselves. For this reason, they never realize their true talent and rarely contribute anything meaningful to society. Competition can bring out the

How To Improve Customer Service Marketing Essay

How To Improve Customer Service Marketing Essay In todays competitive, fast-paced and global economy, financial service has placed increasing emphasis on customer service as a means of gaining competitive advantage (Sarah Cook, 1995). The nature and number of competitors and the ability of retailers, banks, government deregulation and other financial service companies to offer similar products at similar prices has led to increasing emphasis being placed on personal service as a means of adding value to customers. Providing an exceptional customer service is no longer an added benefit, is a necessity, customer who are not satisfied with the way they are treated can easily take their business elsewhere, exceptional service is accomplished by positively interaction through effective communication and relationship building. Exceptional customer service will bring unexpected result, whether you give a good customer service or poor customer, the people will tell other how they are treated (Renee, 2005). Customer service is about consciously building customer centred organisation where employees are focused on serving their customers both internal and external for sustained, profitable growth, (Michael, 2003). How well you communicate and establish relationship with your customer is the meaning of customer service, the relationship may not be long the instant relationship is customer service, moving away from an intense focus on product development to lay much emphasis on relationship development (K aren and Keith, 2006). Customer service is the key issue to any organisation which involves the entire staff member of the company from the executive to the least staff of any organisation for not losing their ground to the competitors, customer is the foundation of any business we must delight our customer to keep the business in existence. Also, purpose of any organisation is to create a customer, why not give the exceptional service to them in order to achieve the purpose of the organisation (Ian Linton, 1994). Customer service should not be seen as a necessary attachment to financial service, but an integral part of business, especially at it deals with customers the real assets of companies operation in a fiercely competitive market (Bryan and Merlin, 2002). 1.1Background This section will give the background of the research since the customer is the key of any business, it gives the importance of customer service in financial services, reasons for developing customer service, benefits of customer service to financial service, how to improve customer service, the research questions will be answered in the literature review. In the banking sector the customer service involves diverse of relationship between the providers and their customers especially personnel are tools in creation and provision of services quality service, they need to take care of the customer by meeting their needs and well satisfy, we must put customer first, listen to them, by listening to your customers and providing them with the products and services they really want, you can gain and keep your share of the market, solve their problems, it make you retain the customers, provide products and services to meet their need and be friendly with them, it includes service to the customer, delivery, operations, employee and management. In meeting customer need, banking sectors must manage product and service, delivery system, environment and people so as to provide an efficient and caring service getting things done appropriately and maintaining standard. Customer care and good service must be the work of all the staff from management le vel to all staff which brings together executive, marketing, operations and human resources management. Reasons for developing customer service The reason for customer service is controlled by customers, employees and a changing business environment, customer can be individual, household, group or organisation are aware of competitors in financial services or provider organisation and also of rising standard of service they are willing to give compare to service they receive therefore, expectation of consumer rise and become faulty finding of the quality of service they receive and so organisation can be never be less concerned. Also knowledge of cost and benefit from the existing customer compare to attract new customer draws companies attention to good customer service to existing customer, meeting their needs and complaint, developing long-term relationship, companies must understand that good customer service does not disagree with profitability. Looking after employee is also a chance for an organisation not place a target amount for them to meet capital base to the bank because employee is an internal customer, as organisation become larger they may also become anonymous and bureaucratic which dissatisfy the employee. Communication may deteriorate any relationship between customer and customer contact personnel, between customer contact staff, between management may suffer. Also in a recessionary climate, cost-cutting exercise, re-organisation and redundancy can impart on staff morale, motivation and performance. In spite of this company should realise that commitment to employees bring companies rewards and more benefit it also encourage employee participation. Another reason for developing customer service is the business environment, this create need for customer services, the business environment is typical economic, legal and technology which is not stable, recent deregulation in financial service has increased competition between providers, which provides more choice for the consumer. In this business environment banking sectors must emphasize operations and financial efficiency and focused more on product and market strategy. Additionally, they can focus more on customer service (quality in the corporate and marketing strategies). Exceptional customer service must be seen as tool to achiever differentiation and a competitive advantage, so it has become integral direction and planning for BankPHB. Customer service is such an outstanding issue that no major financial service provider can overlook whilst other are improving the quality of service levels. Benefit of Customer Service In the absence of focus on customer service and quality financial service organisation will face challenges and complaints from both employees and customer, which will affect the sales and profitability of the organisation and associated financial and other costs. Also, a number of unsatisfied customers will complain and tell others, generating unfavourable word of mouth, publicity and some may move to competitors. However, with focus on customer service e and organisation can expect a number of benefits such as: Customer Loyalty: Taking good care of existing customer can cause repeat and increase business and lead to attract new customer from positive word of mouth to others by existing customer communication. Customer retention is more cost effective, loyalty to the company will make the customer to be an advocated that create a reputation for being a caring customer oriented company. Increased opportunities to sell: Understanding and complete product knowledge and sales techniques among employee together with develop interaction and rapport with customer enable staff to know customer needs and suggest appropriate product and service that will satisfy the customer. Employee satisfaction: When employee is taken care is increased job satisfaction, morale and commitment to the company good employer employee relationship and increased staff loyalty which contribute to reducing the rate of staff turnover and the associated costs of recruitment, selection and training activities. Happy commitment and competent employees will also make fewer mistakes and this lead to fewer complaints from customer and contribute to cost savings and increase the profitability of the organisation. Also good customer service improve the corporate quality image and provide protection form price competition, above all successful service leads to reduce costs such as mistakes, operating and advertising and promotions, and increase productivity and sales, market shares, profitability and business performance. HOW TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE Changing nature of customer service BankPHB needs to change or improve the traditional way they do business with their customer, using sales representative as the only means of increase their capital base is risky, is seen as public humiliating to the representative, telling the representative to get certain deposit to the bank or get fired what is needed for BankPHB and other financial service provider in Nigeria like other financial services in United Kingdom is to inject innovation to life-blood of the organisation so that it becomes part of its very being, such as telephone banking service, effective internet banking service this focus on speed, convenience, quality and service for the customer and less work for the employee. Also BankPHB needs to be more customer-focused than product focused. Creating customer-centric systems BankPHB must be willing to change the policies which has become blueprint that sales representative or marketer should bring deposit less than that they will be sacked the prospect of customer centric can be very great, this system may hurt initially, but is a good prospect. Business essential and top management involvement: BankPHB must understand that it is a clear that unless there is a business essential for customer retention and top management is fully committed to customer service there is little chance to success. Customer orientation need to accustom the organisation mission, vision, value and objectives it needs to be both executives and senior managers word and actions Service strategy and goals: To be successful in competitive market and a customer focused organisation, BankPHB must have a clear strategy and a set of specific and measurable goals for service improvements People development: Training and development is an essential in promoting customer service philosophy, there must be often training and development for the staff and customer which company can benefit because this will enhance their attitude towards the customer in a positive way their behaviour, knowledge and skill, and make the organisation more flexible, proactive and customer focused in the face of strong competitor, the quality of leadership in an organisation is an indicator to success. Communication: Communication is life-blood of an organisation to sustain and develop a service initiative, effective communication about customers, competitor and the best practice in customer service can create a positive change to BankPHB. The development of communication media to convey the service philosophy is a vital means of creating awareness of the organisation, communication can be verbal or written Reward and recognition: Organisation with best practice provides a motivating environment for their customers and employee b rewarding and recognising the employee and the customer for their contribution to achievement of the organisation and implores them to do more. Customer-driven process: BankPHB must do business with its customer in a way that matches the customers needs not its own. Changing customer expectation Because of the technology consumers expectation are high they want better service which will give them satisfaction, they want greater choice and will not be sold to or manipulated. Value for time BankPHB and all other banks in Nigeria must value the time of their customers by providing self service such as effective cash machine, where you can withdraw your money 24hours without long queue in the banking hall an effective internet banking sitting at home pay bills, check your account balance and telephone banking if customer has any issue to clarify is easy to do on telephone than going to the bank waiting for the Manager to call head office for clarification which can take two to four days it is time consuming, the process of value for time resulted to easy customer and employee satisfaction. Know your customer rights Customers know their rights they tend to be unsatisfied if is violated and complain, majority of BankPHB customers complain about loan promised to give them is their right, to get loan without security if they have good records, they likely to make their opinion known if they violate this right. BankPHB must keep to the right of customers. Technology One of the greatest changes that can improve customer service in BankPHB is technology, checking account balance on internet, pay bills, open account, debit and credit alert via phone the use of technology can potentially revolutionise BankPHB relationship with customer, bank representative can visit customer input data via computer and print out cheque, use technology to wish the customer wishes on their memorable days like wedding anniversary, birthday it gives customer existed. Technology gives customer self service. What is customer service? Ability to provide an exceptional service is a perquisite of both attracting new customers and retaining the existing customers, but customer service is the perception of the customer to the service given, and the perception is based on their expectation, if a customer receives service better than the expectation is excellent service, but if customer receives less than the expectation is bad service. To provide excellent service BankPHB must exceeds customer expectations under-promise, over deliver, keep to promise never guarantee what cannot be delivered, to win customer today BankPHB needs to delight and astound the customers with products and services that beyond their expectations. Customer experience The main concern of great service organisation today is on the total customer experience. The customer experience of the organisation based on the effective communication/marketing efforts its package and interaction with employees as well as its products or services. Financial service provider in United Kingdom Barclays Bank train their staff to help customer with all their needs such as loan even when you do not need it they will advise you also on insurance which can be of benefit to you and the entire family so that the ethnic of Barclays is brought to life by their staff as they know customer is the key of the business. Developing a relationship There must be mutual relationship between the customer and service provider and the way this relationship is managed is pivotal to achieving excellent services. Relationship has become more important in financial services even know your customer by their name. BankPHB customers must be seen as value important as part of the bank not seen as different account to the organisation. Theodore Levitt of the Harvard Business School relates giving good service with building a long-term relationship, or relationship marketing He says: ..the sale merely consummates the courtship, at which point the marriage begins. How good the marriage is, depends on how well the seller manages the relationship. The quality of the marriage, determines whether there will be continued and expanded business or troubles and divorce Embracing change One thing that constant in life is change a successful companies will sustain competitive advantage by transforming their businesses rather than maintaining the traditional way of doing business, that is finding a new way of doing things both for and with customers BankPHB must embrace change through technology by operating 24 hours banking service, getting feedback from customer to help them improve on their service and customer loyalty and satisfaction to the employee. Contact centres: Is a way of reaching to customer know their need meet their needs 24 hours such as email written as well as telephone request, ease of contact to the service provider, convenience and speed of service are the main benefit of contact centre for the customer. Some financial sectors are using contact centre policy as a marketing tool. The internet: Is another change to delight our customer if offer them greater speed and choice, 24 hours a day, it enables them to market more quickly and gather direct customer feedback to develop better products and customer loyalty, retailing on the internet is already giving customers a sense of being in control, accessing your balance, pay bills, this has made financial services rethink how they communicate with customers, what they understand markets to be, how they segment and how they plan and advertise their products and services as well as the level of service they provide. Nevertheless, BankPHB website needs to be integrated with the rest of the customer strategy in order to maintain brand synergy. Customer relationship management (CRM) The process of setting up a customer service infrastructure using contact centre and internet technology is good start to become customer focused than product focused, Customer relationship Management offers opportunity to manage their customers relationship, because the more information a company has about the customer better, CRM strategies is to identifying desirable customer segments, micro or individual on one to one basis and developing integrated programmed that maximize both value to the customer and lifetime value of customer to the financial services profit enhancing and customer retention. It can also assist to identify sales prospects from existing or potential customer this management serves as an intermediary between the service provider and the user with this management BankPHB can be a better financial service amongst its competitor and known globally. 1.2 Problem area discussion One of the major problems most financial services are facing is how to manage their customers is the formulation and delivery of their proposition to customers (Bryan and Merlin, 2002). In a customer service strategy for a company, there are often significant changes required in the corporate culture, employee training, technology infrastructure and measurement system, this changes is associated with investment of resources and personal commitment depend on the good leadership of the executive management. Excellent customer service will only be considered a critical success factor if senior management demonstrate their involvement in terms of time, money effort, commitment, persistence and visibility (Sarah, 1995). BankPHB customers (both internal and external) are not satisfy with the service provided lack of commitment from the senior management, employee such as marketers are left alone to get deposit into the bank which is quite frustrating for the employee due to this the expectation of the customer are not met, let us assume that the senior executive of the business understand the expectation and perceptions of the customer regarding service, which is based on personal experience with the staff or face to face discussions and a sense of perception issues that exist in the minds of target consumers and frontline, service delivery staff. Also, Executive manager have an intimate understanding of customer expectation and perceptions and have ensured that service standards are relevant and meaningful in marketplace, the culture of the organisation must aligned with the objectives. The company resources is not focused on service standards BankPHB promised customer if you domicile your salary account for three month you will be given loan, after three month the expectation is not met due to this the customers are dissatisfied and willing to take their account to another bank. This is misdirected marketing which creates both explicit and implicit promises in the mind of the customer, when these promises are not fulfilled, customer satisfaction will suffer (Bryan and Merlin 2002). 1.3overall research purpose Looking at the above discussion, how to help BankPHB engender and sustain customer focus, the purpose of this research is the importance of customer service in an increasingly competitive environment and how effective customer service can help BankPHB enter into global market and the implication of increasing customer expectation and changes in trading patterns exposed. To address this point above, two research questions are drawn to explain the reason for this research R Q 1 How can R Q 2 how did you rate the staff behaviour at BankPHB? 1.4 delimitation The distance between the researcher and case study financial service and time constraint, also the compilation of the questionnaires, the feedback from the staff may be characterized with similarities and prejudice because management might have influence on their feedback of the questionnaire. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Improve customer service by technology Technology can be used to improve the quality of customer service by making easier for service provider to respond to customers request and satisfy customers needs, also with right equipment, this technology provide customer with a 24 hours response service this maintain high level of customer loyalty. Technology can contribute immensely to customer service in this area. Reliable equipment operation Customer will be very satisfy if there is reliable operation of their equipment to maintain their competitive business performance; a rapid quality response to service request is vital, a bank cash-dispensing system must be constantly available, technology helps customer to operate on their own business effectively and deliver high standards of service to their customer. Better account control The financial service wants to improve account control, technological links not only provide the customer with higher standards of customer service, they help to strengthen relationships with the customer and prevent competitors from taking over. Service staffs rely on information The more an organisation know about its customers the better service it can deliver, customer databases can be invaluable in helping customer service staff quickly provide advice and guidance to customer quickly Consistent local service a large customer spread over a wide geographical territory and dealing with a financial service through a network of local branches expects a consistent standards of service, if the company does not have the resources to offer the same level of service in each branch it must find a way of centralising and allocating its resources so that customer can be offered that consistency and satisfy. THE ELEMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE Customer care for the external customer requires an organisation to pay attention to its products/services, delivery systems, delivery environment technology and employees which are highly interdependent. Product/Service range: This includes both basis and augmented services Gronroos (1987), this is based on the basic or core financial service, may be a current account with associated services which are needed to facilitate consumption of the core services e.g. ATM and another service which are not required but facilitate the service and differentiate with other competitors. The greater service offering includes how the service is delivered and the relationship between a bank and its customers which can be the accessibility of the service, customer participation in the process e.g. use of ATMs and relationship between employees and customers, system and customers and the physical environment and customers. Delivery Systems:- Delivery systems and procedures must be operate effectively and efficiently, responsive and reliable in order to avoid queuing in the banking hall, Silverstro, Fitzgerald, Johnson and Voss, (1992) refer to three types of service delivery, professional services are described as few transactions, highly customised services a process orientation, relatively long contact time, mass service is example of many customer interaction limited contact time and customization, product orientation with value being added. The level of direct interactions with service providers and customers in delivery process in known as service Encounters or moments of truth. This service encounters may take different forms, a customer wishing to make an enquiry may chooses an interaction with ATM, or bank employee by telephone, by email, face-to-face contact whichever contact the customer chooses especially coming in contact with the bank and its employees, the employee must for an impression of the bank and its service encounter also have an impact on employees in relation to their motivation, performance and job satisfaction and their rewards. Recent perspectives and research relating to service encounter are reported by Bitner (1990), Bitner, Booms and Tetreault (1990) and Larsson (1990). Delivery Environment: The delivery environment is another elements of customer service, the environment includes physical design and access aspects and also emotional or atmospheric impact, this involve customer and employees, physical design such as layout, furnishing, noise and music, space for cars, lighting temperature and comfort, most of banks are redesign open-plant to eliminate the barriers between customers and the staff (Greenland, 1994). Access aspects includes hours, availability, convenience of location and security, physical environment research has been carried out by Bitner (1990, 1992) she introduces the concept of servicescapes which may involve customers only e.g. (self service), employee only (remote service) or customer-employee relationship which is common is service delivery, she said environment must be conducive for customer satisfaction and employee pleasurable, environment lead to positive customer evaluations of service and desire to spend more time and m oney, on the other hand, unpleasant environment lead to avoidance. Technology: Technology is part of the whole service product, it facilitates customer-company exchange and increase service level, it also increases speed, efficient and accuracy for the employee and better personal service for customer. Employee:- The function of employee in customer service cannot be overlook, their personal qualities, ability to understand and satisfy customer needs. Gronross (1984a) discussed the outcome of quality of service encounters, the way the service is delivered is done by employee of the financial services this will include attitude and behaviour, appearance and personality, service-mindedness, accessibility and approachability of customer contact personnel. Edvardsson, Gustavsson and Riddle (1989) present four aspects of quality which affects customers perceptions: Technical, Integrative, Functional and outcome, while LeBlanc and Nguyen (1988) suggests that corporate image, internal organisation physical support of the service producing system, staff-customer interaction and degree of customer satisfaction all are customer service/quality. Parasuraman Zeithaml and Berry (1985:1988) suggested that he criteria used by consumer that are important in moulding their expectations and perception in ten ways: Tangible i.e. physical evidence, reliability: honouring promise, Responsiveness: readiness to proved service, Communication: telling customer what they need to know, Credibility: Trustworthiness, Security: physical and financial, Competence: skill and knowledge, Courtesy: polite, Understanding: knowing your customer needs, Access: easy to contact. MEASUREMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE Measurement of customer service can been seen as a different between consumer expectation and perception; Expectations are desires or wants, which people believe that service provider should give, Perceptions are consumer judgement about actual service performance or delivery, if there is shortcoming between predicted and perception there is service quality gap which the provider would like to close. Zeithaml and Parasuraman (1985) are influenced by four other shortcomings/gaps. Consumer expectation: (Management perceptions and consumer expectations) If customer expectation is low (both internal and external) the result might be in lower level of delivery service this is gap, gaps may be closed by market research and better communication between management and personnel. Management perceptions of Consumer expectations:- when customer needs are known, there may not appropriate service specification due to lack of resources, organisational constraints (such as promise to give loan) absence of management commitment to customer service. Service quality specifications: (actual service delivery) This gap is called service performance gap, when there is difference between management specification and service delivery due to variations in the performance of service personnel. The reason may be the employee is not willing to work or incompetence. Actual service delivery:- External communication about the service, this gap is when, what said about the service in external communication is different from the service deliver e.g. advertising therefore, it is important not to promise more than what can be deliver. 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTION

Censorship of the Internet :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Censorship of the Internet The censorship of the Internet is a big argument today in the world of computer technology. The government is trying to control something that is to many people an extension of the First Amendment Right, Freedom of Speech. Just this one point should be a slap in the face of every American anywhere, because the government is trying to take something away that has no right to be taken away. The Bill of Rights is the foundation that our country is based and built on and now the government that was created to protect that Bill of Rights, that piece that declares our rights and freedoms, is trying to change one of those twelve rights to make some conservative people more happy about how our country is and how it is run. The world is so concerned today with the petty things that are being done that they do not look to the larger picture of what is actually happening. The government is trying to censor something that they created over thirty years ago to possible send information much more harmful to humanity than pornographic materials or information on how to create bombs that do not work. The Internet was created over thirty years ago by the military for a alternative means of communications other than telephones communications in case of a nuclear strike by the Russians that rendered our great country basically helpless, this previous Internet went under such names as ARPANET, MILNET, and other acronyms similar to these. This great idea by scholars was next adopted by very well known colleges of the United States to provide a quick means of communications and data transfer, such as research information transfer or transcript transfer, between the students and college professors of diff erent city and state colleges. Some of the first colleges that took that great step into this new unknown frontier were CALTECH, MIT, Harvard, and other great prestigious colleges of the United States. During this time period of the Internet the government had no problem at all with what was happening. The colleges were putting large amounts of information on the Internet so other scholars could observe and comment on ongoing experiments, and the government was happy with the large computer network they created for their own personal dastardly deeds.

Leadership characteristics of a successful entrepreneur Essay

Successful entrepreneurs are specialized types of leaders that have a definite set of leadership characteristics that make them good at what they do–motivate people. Successful entrepreneurs are usually very focused in their vision and are immersed in making their venture successful. A good entrepreneur uses a dynamic and charismatic approach to motivate their employees to feel the same sort of feelings of success that he or she feels towards the ultimate success of the business. Howard Shultz, the founder of Starbucks Corporation, uses a dynamic leadership style, charismatic personality and vision to propel Starbucks as the premiere specialty coffee house in America, and is well on the way to becoming the global name for specialty coffee houses. Entrepreneurs, by the very nature of the definition, are self-starters that are highly motivated to make their business successful. Most people that start their own business do so because they have the personal drive to put their own ideas into a business venture. It takes a very motivated individual with personal convictions to make a business become a profitable and successful business. Obviously, if a person has enough gumption to take the steps to start their own business, then they are, by nature, very motivated individuals that want to make their project succeed. People who are not highly motivated will not become entrepreneurs or will more than likely fail if they try to make a half-hearted attempt to start their own business. To make a business succeed requires a vision of where the company should be after a specific time period. All entrepreneurs know in their mind what they would like their business to be in one year or five years or ten years. Successful entrepreneurs have a focused vision of what steps need to be taken to make their business succeed. The very best entrepreneurs are not only motivated themselves, but are able to spread their motivation to others through a charismatic leadership approach. People that become successful entrepreneurs have the ability to make those around them get excited about the business, just like they are. If the people that work in a company are motivated to work towards making the company a success, then the company has a much better chance of becoming successful. All entrepreneurs are excited about their own business, but not  all of them can get the people that work for them just as excited. A dynamic entrepreneur is able to motivate others to want to produce a better product or service because they provide the employees with motivation and direction. Motivation is probably the single most important factor that an entrepreneur can provide to their employees, but creating a shared vision for all to work for is almost equally important. People will work harder for a company that has ideals and principles that they also believe in and share. Successful entrepreneurs are able to create a vision for the company; they provide a goal or ideal that employees and the public in general can relate to. By having a vision or ideal that the company is striving for, each employee feels that they are performing a vital function that eventually leads to the final goal. Employees will work hard to achieve a goal if they feel that a goal is worthwhile or somehow makes the world a better place. Companies usually state these in mission statements, with variations for whatever the company holds as an ideal, such as environmentalism or community service. Howard Shultz, founder of Starbucks, is a very motivated individual that has a vision of what he would like Starbucks to become. The fact that Shultz coordinated 150 new Starbucks openings between 1987 and 1992 shows that he was very motivated to make Starbucks a national and eventually international success. Shultz’s vision for Starbucks has facilitated the opening of over 3,300 stores worldwide and Starbucks continues to grow at an extremely rapid pace. Along with charisma and motivation, Howard Shultz possesses many leadership attributes, which make him a very successful leader and motivator. Shultz knows how to make people feel like they are doing something important. Selling coffee is not a vital function that is needed for life, but Shultz has made selling coffee seem important to those that work for Starbucks. Shultz created a policy that Starbucks will only purchase organically grown coffee beans. This one policy makes Starbucks seem like they are performing a service to the world by creating a market for coffee beans that aren’t responsible for damaging the environment. Environmentalists and even non-environmentalists agree that this is a good thing–even noble. The  people that sell the Starbucks product feel a sense of pride for doing something for the environment. Starbucks also does other things that have the same effect, but on different populations. Starbucks has a program that builds schools, community centers, etc, in the communities that Starbucks buys its coffee beans from. This type of activity appeals especially to socially conscious people that get reward from knowing that Starbucks is ‘giving something back to the community’ from which the coffee beans are taken. Another program, called the Urban Coffee Opportunities, offers inner city entrepreneurs an opportunity to bring a Starbucks to an inner city neighborhood in the hopes that a Starbucks business can spark financial growth and future business opportunities for inner city areas. This program also appeals to the socially conscious and creates a sense that Starbucks really cares about people and their communities. These programs are definitely good ideas and greatly enrich the lives of the people that they touch, but also serve as a basis to motivate employees as well as customers of Starbucks, which creates a better product and more sales for Starbucks. References http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/customer_stories/starbucks.html; Accessed 10 Feb. 2004 http://www.starbucks.com/; Accessed 10 Feb. 2004

Communication in the customer service role Essay

Section 1 – Understand methods of communication with customers 1a) Use the table below to outline at least two different customer service situations and the different methods of communication that would be needed in these situations. Situation Methods of communication 1. IT department was doing a project over summer to upgrade some older PC’s in around different departments. When Staff came back to work after break there was some complaints of no printers being connected and also lost documents The best methods of communication are in person and trying to rectify the problems straight away with written reporting to helpdesk software to avoid issues reoccurring. 2. Customer has bought an item from catalogue or internet. But when it arrives He is not happy with the quality of the item. Because he can not find returns procedure, he needs to contact the store. The customer has a choice to either write an email or call the store. Find out the returns procedure and get RMA number, also to agree how much money would be refunded. 1b) Based on the information you have provided in the table above, outline why the different situations need different methods of communication. Different situations need different methods of communication to make sure your customer knows that you care and to show empathy to the current situation and customers problems if any. You need to plan the form of communication in relation to the context, and consider different audience and purpose. 2. In relation to your current organisation (or one that you know well), complete the table below by listing at least three different examples of customer interaction and identify the most suitable communication method for each one. Customer interaction Communication method 1. Customer calls to report a problem. Because he is already on the phone, the best is to deal with the situation straight away, ask politely can customer log a job on helpdesk while you look at the issue, than call back customer with the fix. 2. Customer Logs a job on Helpdesk. Prioritise jobs on urgency, and fix them one by one, even if you can not  contact the customer make sure you update comments on each job so if customer go back to check, he can straight away know the progress. 3. Customer comes in with the problem to your office. The best is to listen to customer, tell him you will log a job together and after that go and have a look at the issue. If customer has to go back to his work in the mean time, Ring them back with un update. 3. Complete the table below by identifying at least two advantages and at least two disadvantages of each communication method. Communication method Advantages Disadvantages Face to face 1. Seen body language 2. You can demonstrate the fix 1.You can be interrupted 2. if customer decides to escalate an issue it can be humiliating In writing 1. Written communication can be kept 2. Facts can be passed on without personal adjustments 1.Letters are slower methods of communication than spoken 2. there is no guarantee customer received it Via telephone 1. Instance Response 2. No special tools required 1.you can’t see customer facial expressions 2. You may still have to write to customer afterwards 4. When responding to a customer query in writing, outline the content that could be included in a standard letter. When responding to a letter of complaint you should address all of the areas raised by the customer in their letter. As an organization you need to show the concern, and let the customer know about the commitment to good customer service. Other thing are providing the detail if what do you need to resolve the situation (information details about the complaint) You should also tell them what action has been or will be taken by the organization to resolve the situation. Let customer know that competent person will deal with the matter personally, with job title detail at the end of the letter. 5a) Explain what is meant by the term ‘active listening’. Active listening is about engaging  with the person speaking, in order to understand them. Making sure that we do not disturb in any way the person speaking, but also we appear to be listening and not do anything else in the mean time. Also we keep an Eye contact with other person, nodding or agreeing with person at appropriate moments. 5b) Why is active listening important when dealing with customers? Active listening is important when dealing with customers because it helps you to: Make sure customers feel good after they leave the conversation. Check that you’ve got all the facts, and correct any errors. Encourage further sales opportunities. Properly communicate any message. Remain calm, friendly and polite with the customer. Stay motivated to communicate with that customer in the future. Support organisational effectiveness and customer relations. 6. Use the table below to describe the standard greetings of three different organisations and how these greetings impact on customers. Organisation Standard greeting Impact on customers Charity Shop, coffee shop Face to Face What you wear has an impact – are you required to wear a uniform or badge? How you sound has an impact – it’s important to be polite. Your facial expression has an impact – do you look sullen or approachable? Do you look tidy and presentable? How’s your body language? Is it negative with folded arms, or is it positive with an open posture? Smiles and acknowledgements meet guests’ needs for attention. Call centre Telephone How you sound has a make-or-break impact! If you sound tired or disengaged, the customer will pick up on this. If you sound enthusiastic and pleasant, the customer is likely to feel more at ease. Smiling as you pick up the phone may improve how you sound. It’s important to be polite.Your appearance is not as important but your manners are – offer assistance and listen and respond where appropriate. Supermarkets Boards Impersonal, some people might not notice is. Good when there are a lot  of customers. Customers feel welcomed without being disturbed. Section 2 – Understand how to handle customer service information 1. Explain what information may be held about customers by an organisation. Organisation can hold different types of data to provide an improved personalised service. WHO – essential info like name, gender email address and telephone number, also sometimes customers address, date of birth and ethnic background. HISTORY – Information concerning a customer’s transaction history with the organisation may include when and how they bought products or used services in the past. For example, did they buy products online, by phone or in person? PREFERENCES – Information about customer likes and needs and sometimes interests is essential to an organisation trying to understand exactly why customers buy or use the product or service on offer. 2. Outline at least two examples of ways in which customer information can be kept secure and confidential. COMPUTER SECURITY – One of the ways which organisation can implement to keep customer information secure and confidential. To implement computer security organisation needs to: Implement a firewall Install Antivirus, anti spyware and anti malware Keep your software up to date with latest patches Implement folder security with access to files by job description Implement IT usage policies Implement password policies Implement Backup and secure storage for it Secure format all drives before disposing OFFICE SECURITY – Steps needed to take to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer information in the office: Ensure physical security to the building Implement Data protection policies with Data protection officer Make sure all confidential documents are shredded When sending information to outside recipients double check it going to right people 3. In relation to your current organisation (or one that you are familiar with): Give at least two examples of information about the organisation that  should not be disclosed to customers. 1. Any details of and pending investigations and proceedings against college. 2. Personal data of staff and students. Explain why this information should not be disclosed to customers and the implications on the organisation if it is. 1. It could impair the effective conduct of public affairs, it could ruined the public image. 2. Personal data should never be disclosed to other customers or the general public because it’s protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. The implication is of course ICO enforcement and financial penalties. Section 3 – Understand how to work as part of a team to provide effective customer service 1. In relation to your current customer service role (or one that you are interested in doing in the future), what are the limits of this role when delivering customer service (e.g. what are you able to deal with as part of this role and what situations would you be unable to handle without assistance from others)? I am IT Services engineer, product specialist. My Job role is to develop good working network for apple hardware, but also work with other engineers to maintain current systems. Answer customer queries and fix problems. If customer hardware is broken beyond repair, the only thing I can do is tell customer to request replacement, I can not promise that we will be able to do it. If repair is out of my hands I help customer to log/ update job on helpdesk and make sure the right engineer knows its been booked for him. That helps keep customer expectations at the level we can satisfy them. 2. If you were faced with a customer query outside of your individual responsibility, what sources of help would be available to you? Identify them below. Other engineers (specialities)