Government response to terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Government response to terrorism - Essay Example There have been numerous controversies surrounding legal definition of terrorism. Left-wing critics claim that use of a nation’s armed forces in crushing an opponent’s political progress amounts to terrorism. In this context, a ruling government which uses indiscriminate violence to destroy an opponent’s progress engages in terrorism. Apart from a ruling government, terrorism comprise of violent activities used by nationalists fighting an oppressive regime. In fact the late Nelson Mandela was once branded as a terrorist by the white government in South Africa. This means that these controversies undermine existence of a definite boundary between justifiable uses of violence for political progress. Fraser and Staniforth (2012) says that from a legal perspective, UK law defines terrorism as any act of violence that causes or threatens to cause indiscriminate loss of lives, property damage and create a serious risk to health and safety of the public. The UK governme nt takes any such form of violence which seeks to influence governmental institutions or the public as acts of terror. Terrorism is not new in Britain. In the last decade, British security forces arrested approximately 1800 people in connection to terror related cases. Most of these individuals arrested are British citizens involved or associated with accomplishing assistance roles in extremist activities. Demographics show that a substantial portion of those arrested are radical youth lured by perpetrators towards a path of violent extremism.

Rapid Freight Converged Network Security Case Study

Rapid Freight Converged Network Security - Case Study Example Accidentally, internal threats occur when people use their portable devices outside the network then plug them back in importing viruses and other malware. Some members of staff might be malicious and try to access unauthorized segments (Paul, 2011). External threats are easily kept at bay through the implementation of firewalls. A firewall allows a flow of data from known sources to the web server or specified destination while rejecting unknown traffic. If the firewall is compromised, it severs the connecting of the system to the internet host. Notwithstanding, firewalls are not perfect and should not be used solely (Stewart, 2010). Unified Access Control and Network Access Control ensure that device users are authorized to use the network. Account management system registers network users and signals any illegal activity. Coupled with Personalization, the intervention will keep the network safe from internal threats of any nature (Gregory, CISA, & CISSP, 2007). Implementing session management features such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) will overcome challenges posed by the use of VoIP phones, Video conferencing and PDAs. IPSec VPN scrambles traffic from the phone and safely connects to the corporate network without fear of infiltration. Softphone users will require authentication into the Converged network. Secure Socket Layer VPN (SSL VPN) ensures that users are logging in from healthy computers when accessing the network remotely. Intrusion Detection and Prevention software (IDS and IPS) will further enhance overall security by scanning entire network to identify and report signatures or suspicious traffic arrays (Gregory et al,  2007).

After the Revolutionary War Essay Example for Free

After the Revolutionary War Essay After the Revolutionary War, many Americans realized that the government established by the Articles of Confederation was not working. America needed a new form of government. It had to be strong enough to maintain national unity over a large geographic area, but not so strong as to become a tyranny. Unable to find an exact model in history to fit Americas unique situation, delegates met at Philadelphia in 1787 to create their own solution to the problem. Their creation was the United States Constitution. Before the Constitution could become the supreme law of the land, it had to be ratified or approved by at least nine of the thirteen states. When the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787, they knew ratification would not be easy. Many people were bitterly opposed to the proposed new system of government. A public debate soon erupted in each of the states over whether the new Constitution should be accepted. More important, it was a crucial debate on the future of the United States. The Federalist Papers Nowhere was the furor over the proposed Constitution more intense than in New York. Within days after it was signed, the Constitution became the subject of widespread criticism in the New York newspapers. Many commentators charged that the Constitution diminished the rights Americans had won in the Revolution. Fearful that the cause for the Constitution might be lost in his home state, Alexander Hamilton devised a plan to write a series of letters or essays rebutting the critics. It is not surprising that Hamilton, a brilliant lawyer, came forward at this moment to defend the new Constitution. At Philadelphia, he was the only New Yorker to have signed the Constitution. The other New York delegates had angrily left the Convention convinced that the rights of the people were being abandoned. Hamilton himself was very much in favor of strengthening the central government. Hamilton’s Constitution would have called for a president elected for life with the power to appoint state governors. Hamilton soon backed away from these ideas, and decided that the Constitution, as written, was the best one possible. Hamilton published his first essay in the New York Independent Journal on October 27, 1787. He signed the articles with the Roman name Publius. (The use of pseudonyms by writers on public affairs was a common practice.) Hamilton soon recruited two others, James Madison and John Jay, to contribute essays to the series. They also used the pseudonym Publius. James Madison, sometimes called the Father of the Constitution, had played a major role during the Philadelphia Convention. As a delegate from Virginia, he participated actively in the debates. He also kept detailed notes of the proceedings and drafted much of the Constitution. Unlike Hamilton and Madison, John Jay of New York had not been a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. A judge and diplomat, he was serving as secretary of foreign affairs in the national government. Between October 1787 and August 1788, Publius wrote 85 essays in several New York newspapers. Hamilton wrote over 60 percent of these essays and helped with the writing of others. Madison probably wrote about a third of them with Jay composing the rest. The essays had an immediate impact on the ratification debate in New York and in the other states. The demand for reprints was so great that one New York newspaper publisher printed the essays together in two volumes entitled The Federalist, A Collection of Essays, written in favor of the New Constitution, By a Citizen of New York. By this time the identity of Publius, never a well-kept secret, was pretty well known. The Federalist, also called The Federalist Papers, has served two very different purposes in American history. The 85 essays succeeded by helping to persuade doubtful New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution. Today, The Federalist Papers helps us to more clearly understand what the writers of the Constitution had in mind when they drafted that amazing document 200 years ago.

Three Supermarkets Namely Tesco Dunnes Store And Aldi Business Essay

Three Supermarkets Namely Tesco Dunnes Store And Aldi Business Essay Several decades ago, the manufacture industry occupied the most important status in the business world. Service industry merely existed as an accessorial industry for the manufacture industry. Product and service were recognised as two diverse aspects. In other words, product quality and service quality were two disparate measures of performance. Moreover, customer service was ignored for a long time and was identified in a very narrow meaning. Nevertheless, nowadays, according to the expanding and diversified economy international economy, customer service can be the critically crucial factor between an organisations success and failure. Most organisations are providing excellent and distinguished customer service in order to retain existing customers and attract more potential customers. Consequently, the organisation acquires the competitive edge among businesses in final. However, if the organisation handles customer service in a disastrous way it can damage the businesss operations. Customers in the current trends incessantly demand to improved levels of service. Therefore, the issue of customer service training, particularly in a retail environment has improved greatly over the past decades. Retail companies spend massive efforts, time, money and other resources into training programmes as a result of treating customer service as a key factor for companies. Although the importance of customer service quality is well-known, through the existing literature, there are relatively few studies which argue if customer service training impacts customer satisfaction in the supermarket industry. The purpose of this study intends to address the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer service training programmes. Intense competition and market saturation are forcing supermarkets to access new revenue streams worldwide. Supermarkets are expanding their array of products through mass customization, developing private label lines, embracing internet and home delivery services and increasing focus on customer loyalty programs (Agnese, 2003; Blisard et al. 2002). Market saturation, extreme competition and shifts in demographics teamed with the recent economic slump restrict players in the supermarket industry to limited external market growth. In an attempt to deal with diverse markets (the first major business issue), supermarket retailers are forced to customize various operating strategies expanding the array of services and products, increasing loyalty of profitable customers, generating profits through private labelling, and reaching customers through new delivery methods like internet shopping and home delivery. Supermarket retailers attempt the most effort to satisfy customer needs in orde r to maintain the existing customers and attract potential customers. Customer service and training can not be ignored by supermarkets. This research will investigate three supermarkets, namely, TESCO, Dunnes Store and ALDI. TESCO Tesco plc is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding  £3  billion. It is currently the third largest global retailer based on revenue, behind Wal-Mart and Frances Carrefour, but second largest based on profit, ahead of Carrefour. Dunnes Store The company, which is privately owned, is intensely proud of the fact that it is an Irish company. The guiding principles of the company are to provide its customers with a choice of good quality products at competitive prices. These principles are encapsulated in the words Better Value for which Dunnes Stores has become famous. 15,000 people operate throughout the Dunnes Stores Group within a vast array of different and diverse positions. ALDI ALDI, short for ALbrecht DIscount, is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany. They are still Germanys richest men, earning an estimated à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.5 billion per year. Cost-cutting strategies save Aldi money and the general price level in Aldi stores shows that most of these savings are passed directly on to consumers. Employees are expected to alternate between checking customers out and store maintenance, such that all employees focus on that during peak hours. Conversely when customer traffic is low, only one employee will check people out while the rest perform other duties required to run the store (pallet removal/insertion, cleaning etc). 1.2 Research Question Research question is foundation stone for the research. Bryman and Bell (2003) point out that formulation of the research questions are crucial because they will: guide your literature search; guide your decisions about the kind of research design to employ; guide your decisions about what data to collect and from whom; guide your analysis of your data guide your writing up of your data; stop you from going off in unnecessary directions. The researcher intent to answer the following research question: Does customer service training impact on customer satisfaction levels in the supermarket industry? In addition, the research question should always generate new insights into a subject matter. Based on the best of the researchers knowledge, no studies have been carried out on the relationship between customer service training and customer satisfaction in the supermarket industry. The findings of this research will be valuable information to those involved in the areas of customer satisfaction, customer service training and supermarket. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 overview of supermarket industry In recent years, the customer base in much of the world has been declining or stabilizing and market demographics have shifted considerably (Agnese, 2003). The rate of population growth has decreased across the board worldwide over the past 30 years. In low-income countries it declined from 2.0 percent in 2000 to 1.9 percent in 2003 then to 1.8 percent 2004 and finally 1.8 percent in 2005. In middle income countries population growth remained stable at 0.9 percent in 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2005. In high-income countries it declined from 0.8 percent in 2000 to 0.7 percent in 2003, 0.7 percent in 2004, and 0.7 percent in 2005 (World Development Indicators Database, April 2006, www.worldbank.org), Todays woman bears, on average, less than three children down from five in the 1960s (World Bank, 2003). This trend is expected to continue until at least 2010 (World Bank, 2003).The world economy is also struggling. Annual GDP has been stagnant the past five years in countries of all income le vels. During 2000-2005, annual GDP was between $0.85 and 1.4 trillion for low. The supermarket industry is well saturated as a result of urbanization and many existing supermarkets in residential neighborhoods. The industries within the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan are highly mature (Table I). Growth opportunities, which traditionally came from opening new stores, are now found mainly in same store growth, complimentary markets and acquisitions. Saturation has given rise to intense competition and required many grocers to address new types of competitive threats (restaurants, home shopping delivery, etc.) and rethink their traditional business model (Stadler, 2002). 2.2. Overview of Customer Satisfaction 2.2.1 Signification of Customer Satisfaction The service sector has developed considerably during the past 20 years, so far, it occupies close to three-quarters of GDP, three-quarters of employment. It leads to increase competition and customer demand for higher quality service and products have forced organisations to both examine the levels of service they presently provide and increase the quality of service provided to customers. Furthermore, customer satisfaction is one of the most important factors of customer service. Satisfied customers who stay with a company for a long period tend to impact the profitability of the company in several ways. First, their repeat business generates income for the company. Second, because of the expenditure involved in advertising, promotion, and start-up activities, acquiring new customers can cost much more than retaining existing ones. Third, loyal (and satisfied) customers often spread the good news and recommend the services to several others (Anderson and Sullivan, 1990; Reicheld and Sasser, 1990; Zeithaml et al., 1996). High customer satisfaction has many benefits for the company, such as increased consumer loyalty, enhanced firm reputation, reduced price elasticises, lower costs of future transactions, and higher employee efficiency (Anderson et al., 1994; Fornell, 1992; Swanson and Kelley, 2001). On the other hand, dissatisfied customers may take their businesses elsewhere and disparage the firm. The success of Aldi and Lidl, both German-owned, coincided with the recession that put a squeeze on household budgets. The stores adopt a pile it high, sell it cheap philosophy, and high customer Satisfaction while the number of staff per store is a fraction of mainstream operators. They both charge for plastic bags, and do not tend to offer big brands. The success of some budget supermarkets in our survey proves that savvy shoppers can make the most of their money without compromising on quality. (chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith)UK shoppers want the whole package great value for money, a wide range of quality products and a pleasant shopping environment. Its not rocket science, but those supermarkets that consistently get it wrong should beware shoppers will vote with their feet and take their business elsewhere. 2.2.2 Customer Satisfaction Theories In the past several decades, many definitions of customer satisfaction had been defined already. Customer satisfaction generally means customer reaction to the state of fulfilment, and customer judgment of the fulfilled state (Oliver, 1997). Brown (1992) defined customer satisfaction as: the state in which customer needs, wants and expectations throughout the product or services life are net or exceeded resulting in repeat purchase, loyalty and favourable worth-of mouth. Satisfaction is a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations (Kotler, 1997). And, Bitner and Zeithaml (2003) pointed out satisfaction as follows: The customers evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether that product or service has met their needs and expectations. Finally, throughout the literature researched, Kotler and Armstrong (2006) deem that customer satisfaction is an emotional attitude generated towards a product, resulting from the comparison of what was expected and what was received. Customers compare their expectations of a product or service with their perceptions of what they received. If perceptions meet or exceed expectations, the customer is generally satisfied. However, if expectations are not met, the customer is generally unsatisfied with the service. 2.2.3 Customer Satisfaction Model The customer satisfaction model from Kano (1984) is a quality management and marketing technique that can be used for measuring client happiness. Kanos model of customer satisfaction distinguishes six categories of quality attributes, from which the first three actually influence customer satisfaction (See Appendix 1): Basic Factors. (Dissatisfiers. Must have.) -The minimum requirements which will cause dissatisfaction if they are not fulfilled but do not cause customer satisfaction if they are fulfilled (or are exceeded). The customer regards these as prerequisites and takes these for granted. Basic factors establish a market entry threshold. Excitement Factors. (Satisfiers. Attractive.) The factors that increase customer satisfaction if delivered but do not cause dissatisfaction if they are not delivered. These factors surprise the customer and generate delight. Performance Factors. The factors that cause satisfaction if the performance is high and they cause dissatisfaction if the performance is low. Here, the attribute performance-overall satisfaction is linear and symmetric. Typically these factors are directly connected to customers explicit needs and desires and a company should try to be competitive here. The price for which customer is willing to pay for a product is closely tied to performance attributes. The additional three attributes which Kano (1984) mentions are: Indifferent attributes. The customer does not care about this feature. Questionable attributes. It is unclear whether this attribute is expected by the customer. Reverse attributes. The reverse of this product feature was expected by the customer. These last three attributes are often of little or no consequence to the customer, and do not factor into consumer decisions. An example of this type of attribute is a plate listing part numbers can be found under the hood on many vehicles for use by repairpersons. 2.2.4 Factors that influence customer satisfaction According to Wong and Sohal (2003), the greater the degree to which a consumer experiences satisfaction with a retailer, the greater the probability the consumer will revisit the retailer. In order to acquire a good understanding of customer satisfaction and distinguish which features compose successful customer satisfaction in the retail environment, the researcher has identified the following findings. Customer aspect Customer satisfaction is strongly influenced by customer characteristics such as variety seeking, age and income. Demographics variables such as education and age have also been found to be good predictors of the level of customer satisfaction (Homburg and Giering, 2001). Satisfied customers tend to use a service more often than those not satisfied (Bolton and Lemon, 1999), they present stronger repurchase intentions, and they recommend the service to their acquaintances (Zeithaml et al, 1996). It has been suggested that satisfaction has a direct effect on repurchase intentions (Reichled and Teal, 1996). Employee aspect Personnel affect the satisfaction level of the occasional, probably due to the aid they require from supermarket staff as they do not know the store layout and/or facilities. Wang and Netemeyer (2004) pointed out that employees competence and abilities are not the only important factors, but also the employees friendliness and general presentation play a particularly central role. Especially against a background of strong price orientation by some retailers and the increasing homogeneity of products and assortments, service quality is a very promising means of creating a distinctive retailer brand, not only for specialty retailers. Service quality aspect In todays world of intense competition, the key to sustainable competitive advantage lies in delivering high quality service that will in turn result in satisfied customers. Quality is one dimension on which satisfaction is based ¼Ã…’one group of researchers upholds that satisfaction is antecedent to service quality. Another group of researchers who believe that service quality is antecedent to satisfaction argue that since service quality is a cognitive evaluation, a positive service quality perception can lead to satisfaction, which may in turn lead to favourable behavioural intentions (Brady and Robertson, 2001). A third perspective maintains that there is a non-recursive relationship between service quality and satisfaction (Taylor and Cronin, 1994). For the service industry in general, the authors divided service quality into two categories: technical quality, primarily focused on what consumers actually receive from the service department, and functional quality, focusing on the process of rendering service. Emotions aspect Liljander and Strandvil (1997) observed that affective reports are more highly predictive in consumer situations involving services than those involving physical products. Darden and Babin (1994), for example, discuss the importance of emotions in retailing, and point out the need to include affective factors when studying store image and purchase behaviour. They contend that, in order to account fully for a stores retail personality, both its functional and emotional meaning should be assessed. Both factors influence the customers perceived store image and his/her purchase behaviour. In a small empirical study, the authors found evidence of the usefulness of affective quality (items taken from Russell and Pratt, 1980) as a means of explaining consumers mental representations of retail stores. Store aspect Whites (1996) meta-analysis of manufacturing performance defines a set of variables that influence customer satisfaction including quality, delivery speed, delivery dependability, cost, flexibility, and innovation. Gagliano and Hathcote (1994) divide service in retailing into store service (e.g. returns/exchanges, after sales service) and sales service (helpfulness, friendliness, employees competence). Darian et al. (2005) state that a retailer should avoid poor service levels for any service activity. Furthermore, one also had to bear in mind that customers develop specific preferences for specific brands. Regardless whether such preferences are habitual or demonstrate loyalty to the brand (Gounaris and Stahakopoulos, 2004), weaken the consumers actual involvement with the stores atmosphere and aesthetics since they enter the supermarket with a predetermined choice plan. 2.2.5 Argument for customer satisfaction Roger and Rolf (2002) suggest that customer satisfaction with service industry probably decrease its significance through the developed world because most people do not care it any more. In other words, the trouble is, it may be dead but it will not lie down. In Roger and Rolf (2002) view, line managers primarily struggle to meet their financial targets since this is what most of them believe dictates their bonuses and future promotion and their ability to move to other jobs. Further, for such managers, customers are potential assets that need to be managed and leveraged. So, customer relationship management is key, not customer satisfaction (Srivastava et al., 1998). Customer satisfaction is losing its status even for marketers. It is not helping them in achieving this aim such as understanding their marketplace so that they can continually present key customers with better value offerings than the competition. There are three main reasons to cause it. Firstly, it is very difficult to measure; secondly, even when measured, it often has little relation to actual purchase behaviour; thirdly, new technology is opening up both the actual purchasing activities and the possible reasons behind them. 2.3 Overview of Training 2.3.1 Signification of Training Every organisations desire to complete their goals and to survive in an increasingly competitive world must utilise effectively and efficiently its most valuable asset- the skills of its employees. According to Ferketish and Hayden (1992), the human resource development (HRD) challenge for the next decade will be to assure a continuous improvement culture by keeping the system aligned with continuous improvement strategies. Bramley (2003) argues that training implies learning to do something and, when it is successful, it results in things being done differently. The author believes that training should be a planned process rather than an accidental one. To be more specific, Barlow and Mail (2000) suggest that receiving service is both a personal and psychological experience. There is a psychological and physical closeness between employees and customers in the service encounter, effective training done not only make supermarket sales process more efficient, also provide satisfaction to customer, which helps retain their loyalty to companys brand, or become an opinion leader to spread in other consumers about supermarkets reputation. In addition, there is no quality control in the customer contact; service providers work alone and without supervision, fail to train service providers may lead to the consequence that dissatisfied customers may take their business elsewhere and disparage the firm. 2.3.2 Customer Service Training The definition of training, Heery and Noon (2001) introduce the concept of competence, explaining that training is the process of changing the skills, attitudes, and knowledge of employees with the purpose of achieving or improving their levels of competence. In other words, training is that through a designed process, management is able to change, improve employees working skill, attitude, and knowledge to suit their current position or fit higher level organisational hierarchy in thecontext of career development. Refer to the retailing industry, customer service training can be seen as a grass roots program, which provides employees the knowledge and skill of serving customers. There is no surprise that Customer service training is considered as one of the most vital factors to improve the level of employees capability when dealing with customers in retailing industry by market researchers and organisation management. The very common customer training is all the activities performed to support the customer during the supplier-customer exchange, including all presale, sale, and post-sale activities (Markland, Vickery, and Davis, 1995), in order to maximize customer satisfaction. High level of customer satisfaction makes customers more dependable on retailers or suppliers, as a result, organisations build strong relationship with their customers, strength customer loyalty, which Innis and La Londe (1994) suggest that can be considered as a effective competitive advantage over rival firms. Todays business world, skilled labour is seen as one of the most valuable assets, human resource managers have to effectively utilise training programme, where can be crucia l to companys success. For instance, all new employees at Disneyland and Walt Disney World must attend Disney University, where they undergo a special training program for Disney employees. However, many companies do not always support training programmes. They may be indirectly unsupportive of training programmes by not covering for that employee while they are off-the-job on a training programme. Inappropriate training programme is another issue, especially under global financial crisis, most companies are suffering from difficulties, the situation requires firms consider cost more carefully. Formal training course is usually a big expense which management willing to cut. Furthermore, the management may concentrate on areas of training which increase productivity or efficiency, but not customer service. Moreover, the customer service programmes may emphasise areas which customers do not consider important. For example, the training may focus on how to smile, how to respond to a certain situation, rather than providing service providers with skills to enable them to foresee customer needs and wants and to be able to respond in a very personal and customised manner to t hat customer needs or wants (Coulter et al., 1989) 2.3.3 Training Process Reid and Barrington (2000) use the Training and Development National Standards to design the training process. The purpose of the standards is stated as being to develop human potential to assist organisations and individuals to achieve their objective. The following is the comprehensive lists that break down the training process into its main functional areas and sub-areas. Identify training and development needs Identify organisational training and development requirements Identify learning requirements of individuals Plan and design training and development Design training and development strategies for organisations Design training and development programmes Design and produce learning materials Deliver training and development Manage the implementation of training and development Facilitate learning with individuals and groups Review progress and assess achievement Monitor and review progress Assess individual achievement Assess individual achievement of competence Continuously improve the effectiveness of training and development Evaluate the effectiveness of training and development within an organisation Evaluate the effectiveness of training and development programmes Improve own training and development practice Contribute to advances and developments 2.3.4 Customer Service Training Dimensions Based on theory of Lin and Darling (1997), the customer service training process should be learned as a multidimensional issue. They segment the training process by three dimensions: 1. an analytical dimension of tasks, technique, procedure and system. 2. a behavioural dimension, concerned with attitudes, perceptions, and motivation. 3. and an organisational learning dimension, concerned with management style, corporate culture, structure and information flows. The first dimension, analytical dimension is the most widely recognised, it means that management breaks down service tasks into several trainable steps. Typical topics include such major headings as the customer and market knowledge, and knowledge of the selling process (Anderson, Hair and Bush, 1992; Ingram 1992). The training may include high service element is often made more effective by including words, photographs, drawings, video tapes, computer-based training. The purples of the analytical dimension are to concentrate the relationship between service providers and customers, based on the analytical results of service input and output. Moreover, quality and technical issues are also the concerns of management in analytical dimension. Above individual employees level is the organisational behaviour training, which is not any written rules or skill or knowledge that can be learned by any course, but the way of doing daily business of certain organisations. Positive and effective organisation behaviour is a valuable advantage for retailing business, which can strongly support on job training new employees and improve levels of customer service. Therefore, the third dimension also known as organisational learning was introduced by Nevis et al. (1995) it defines as the capacity or processes within an organisation to maintain or improve performance based on experience. According to information processing perspective (Garvin, 1993), organisational learning encompasses the acquisition, dissemination, interpretation, and storage of information that results in the modification of the potential range of behaviours to reflect new knowledge and insights organisations that are responsive to customers needs engage in organisati onal learning in a customer information context (Day, 1991). Moreover, Training should lead not only to the improvement of skills but also to change in the ways employees think and view their jobs and the company. 2.3.5 Customer Service Training Barriers Binshan and John (1997) point out three ancillary issues add complexity to training program implementation. These implementation issues involve operational barriers, managerial barriers, and cultural/structural barriers. The operational barriers focus on training technique and the roles of training officers. The training officers can play either the provider role or the change agent role. The provider has a generally accepted, although limited, role in offering training expertise geared toward the maintenance and development of organisational performance, but it does not extend to organisational change. On the other hand, the change agent is the classic organisation development consultant and performs a role that is the antithesis of the provider role. As the title implies, the change agent views the customer service function as giving rise to organisational problems and is concerned with helping others to resolve these problems through changing the organisational culture. Thus, the message of the change agent is always clear: Change is good, change is essential, and change is here to stay. 2.36 Efficient consumer response (ECR) and logistics systems structure Supermarket chains are dealing with their unique positions by implementing a common strategy: ECR (Kurt Salmon Associates, 1993). This strategy is becoming central to shaping logistical trends within the supermarket industry (the third major business issue). ECR focuses on the customer as the driving force of the system. It involves evaluating inefficiencies throughout the entire supply chain to create improvements on every level. ECR was started in the USA in 1992 in response to low growth, high competition, and consumer pressure. The movement spread to Europe in 1994, Asia in 1996, Latin America in 1998 and is now starting in India. The system requires cooperation and information sharing between members of the supply chain, and more commonly involves cooperation between previously unrelated suppliers. In many cases, ECR strategies now include competitors. Although suppliers do not always agree, efforts pay off for all parties (Corsten and Kumar, 2003). Grocery stores in the USA los e $6 billion in sales per year, $200,000 per average supermarket, due to out-of-stock products in the top 25 grocery categories (Stadler, 2002). Approximately,  £2.5 billion a year in the UK is lost because a product is not on the shelf when a customer is looking to buy it (Rowat, 2006). When products are on the shelves, customers get better service, supermarkets increase profitability and sales and suppliers reduce transportation costs and increase sales. Although born in the USA, the ECR movement in Europe gained momentum to allow the European chains to quickly outperform their US counterparts, primarily due to the lack of space, issues related to dealing closely with 14 countries and transportation costs. American chains often have warehouses that rival the shop floor in square footage. This space provides plenty of room for safety stock. European supermarkets often lack back rooms, requiring that inventory systems be extremely efficient and accurate to avoid stock-outs without requiring any extra inventory. The same factors allow the US to achieve profitability with an average of $510,000 in sales and 40,000-50,000 SKUs per store, while European supermarkets must have higher sales with only 20,000-35,000 SKUs (Fallon, 1998). In 2005, it was reported that grocery retailers in the UK were now keeping an average of 11.3 days worth of stock compared with 12.8 days in 2003 (Food Manufacture, 2004). 2.4 The Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Training Because of customers are vital to business growth and success, so customer service, especially satisfying customer is the key to achieve the business growth and success. How to train staffs to satisfy customers that is big challenge need to face by organisation. The important factor is the measurement of customer satisfaction as fourth factor. As before mentioned, the lack of market research identified in the Irish survey, few managers represent dissatisfaction with the results of market research but an even greater number did not attempt to carry it out. To respond complaint from customer that is a method to access customer needs and wants. However, this may be a motivating

Historical Sites from the Battle of Saratoga :: History Saratoga

The Blockhouse was built in the late 1920's to serve as a visitor's center for the Historical Park which was then owned and operated by New York state and was located near where the Nielson House still stands today. It is said that the Blockhouse was built using lumber from barns and other structures that were present during the Battles of Saratoga. In 1938 the Battlefield became a National Historical Park and eventually a new visitor's center was built. The Blockhouse was then removed from the National Historical Park in the early 1960's and was relocated to a plot of land on Route 32 across the street from it's original location. After many years of discussion the Blockhouse was finally moved to a location on the river on Routes 4 and 32 in the Village of Stillwater. (W. Valosin, personal communication, May 5, 2002). It currently serves as a Visitor's Center and a Museum containing artifacts from the history of Stillwater, NY. The Saratoga Monument was built to commemorate the victory of the Battles of Saratoga. Construction began on October 17, 1877, which marked the 100th Anniversary of the surrender of General Burgoyne, and was completed after 10 years of construction (W. Valosin, personal communication, May 5, 2001). The structure can be seen before you enter the Village as it stands nearly 155 feet tall and contains 184 stairs ("Saratoga Monument", 2001) that lead to an observation level from which you can see the entire Village of Schuylerville. Over the years there have been many structural concerns, due to water damage, which had caused the Monument to be closed to the public on two different occasions. The first time was in 1970 where it remained closed until it reopened in the summer of 1981 after extensive repairs. Unfortunately there were again structural concerns, due to moisture, and the National Park service, which now owns the building, was forced to close the historical site once again in 1987. Now, after inspection has shown that it is structurally safe and it has been under repair for internal damage for more than three years, the Monument is scheduled to be reopened to the public May 25, 2002. ("Saratoga Monument", 2001). John Nielson built his house in 1775 or 1776, where he and his wife lived until they learned that General Burgoyne and his British troops were headed to the area in September of 1777. The American Army had set up Fortifications to wait for the British Army to arrive and used the Nielson House as a mid-level headquarters.

Exploring Birds Article, College is a Waste of Time and Money Essay

Exploring Bird's Article, College is a Waste of Time and Money In the article "College is a Waste of Time and Money", Caroline Bird explains why higher education may not be the best choice for high school graduates. Bird writes that students do not attend college because they want to, but because of what others expect. College is merely the trend in today's society. It is an escape from the real world. Students may be shuffled into a system that is neither financially nor academically beneficial. During the first part of the article the author writes that colleges use techniques to sell themselves to students just like any other product on the market. They advertise what they have to offer and tell students what they want to hear. Students choose a school because of recreational facilities, social reputation, or by what they have heard about the academic expectations. Students do not have the money to go to college in the first place, then they end up being unhappy when they get there. A feeling of sadness exists in colleges around the country. Students do not feel of sense o...

Managerial Epidemiology for Gerontological Health Care

Gerontology is the scientific study of aging as well its effects. In the recent years, the field of gerontology had been the focus of many concerned citizen because there is a significant increase on the elder sector of the society. Practically all academic disciplines and non-academic professions are affected by the aging of Americans. The study of aging and associated issues, therefore, will be of critical importance during the next century as the â€Å"baby boomers† pass into the ranks of the older generation. For this paper, the main objective is to have a study about gerontology in a managerial perspective. It will focus on the kind of healthcare service that will be given on the elder sector without compromising the quality of the said service. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The Healthcare Industry The healthcare industry is one of the most fast growing industries in the world. The main purpose of the industry is to provide health services like prevention, treatment of diseases, and the maintenance of wellness through the combined force of doctors and other related profession. Problems in Healthcare Industry A.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Low Quality of Healthcare service Some healthcare service has low quality of service they offered. This is because of the financial status of healthcare center. They cannot afford to buy medicines and apparatus for their services. This is mainly on the poor status of a certain country.(Emerald, 2006) B.  Ã‚   Recruitment and Human Resource Quality Shortage and low quality of doctors and other related profession is another problem of healthcare industry. This will lower the healthcare services that will need by several people. Solutions to the Dilemma A.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Implementation of New Technology Implementations of information and communication technology of healthcare industry will vehicle the development and improvement of the industry in offering medical care. (Sangaran, 2006) B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Good Recruitment Even though healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries, the recruitment is one of the problems. Proper staffing, improvement on the salary and benefits and a safe working place will attract people to go in healthcare industry. (Goldstein, 2006) C.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retain Valuable Employees Retain employees that have high quality in proper attitude towards work. These qualities are being responsible, high motivation in their work and skilled and talented personnel. These are the main key for the success of the industry. (â€Å"Retain Valuable Employees.† 2006) D.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sets Standards Sets of standards must be made to guide the employees in their work. These standards will be used to provide ethics as they serve their patients. Technology and Research In the advent of the advance technology, new methods and materials were produce to prolong the life of man. In this stage also were health care industry was more known. Many benefits to man are provided by the said industry. It helps and maintains good health on man and prevents further illness. High technology brought many positive changes to human kind. It produces many tools to help people life easier. Another breakthrough in the field of medicines and therapies is the result from many research studies. Many findings brought significant result that help to prolong and sustain a healthy aging among elder citizens. It also produces many medicines that lower the rate of mortality and prolonging life. With this, population in the world gradually increases (Wilfond, 2005). From the given statement, we will have a intelligent guess that intervention of technology as well the application of findings of research will have a significant effect on the effectiveness and preventive ness in the elder care sector. The most evident form of intervention of technology in the healthcare industry is the utilization of newly advance medical equipments. These equipments are capable of detecting possible health problems as well able to cure patient elder people. Moreover, with this high sophisticated apparatus, physicians can do medical operation easier. Some of these medical apparatus that are more advanced includes X-ray machines, MRI, surgical computers and many others. Another application of technology in medicine is telemedicine. As the name implies, it combines the application of medicine and telecommunication. Specifically, telemedicine involves telecommunications and information technology to provide clinical care to individuals at a distance and to transmit the information needed to provide. We know for the fact that elder people find it hard to go to hospital just to check the physical condition. But with the introduction of telemedicine, physicians will be able to monitor their patients who are in their own houses. Findings from research do also play vital role in the health service given to elder people because these results will be applied to the elder people. Like in the case of healthy aging where different method are examined that will make aging among elders healthier and not the other way around. These studies will provide necessary information that will lessen the effects of aging among senior citizen. These findings are being employed by many health care institutions to decrease the number of fatality on the elder sector. Examples of the proposed of many researches are to exercise, drink plenty of water, and eat the right kind of foods. Right kind of food means eating healthy and nutritious foods. Eating vegetables and fruits regularly will prevent the risk in many dangerous diseases like cancer, and heart diseases. Proper diet will ensure the normal activities of our cells, tissues and organs (Healthwise, 2007). REFERENCES: Emerald. (2006). International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance.  Ã‚   Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚   April 8, 2006 Goldstein, G. (2006). How Can A Union Solve Problems on the Job?  Ã‚   Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   April   Ã‚   7, 2006 Healthwise. (2007). Healthy Aging – Topic Overview [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 13, 2008, from http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/tc/ Retain Valuable Employees. (2006).  Ã‚   Retrieved April 6, 2006, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.piworldwide.com/PredictiveIndexApplications/Default.asp?Reference  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Keywo  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   rd=RetainEmployees Sangaran, S. (2006). Healthcare Sector Will Benefit From ICT Implementation.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved April 7, 2006, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/564850/healthcare_sector_will_benefit_fro  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   m_ict_implementation/index.html?source=r_health Mills, A.M., C.L. Wilkinson, and D.R.   Bromham. (1996)†Guidelines for Prescribing Combined Oral Contraceptives  .† British Medical Journal . Wilfond, B. (2005) â€Å"Ethical Issues with Marketing â€Å"Off Label† Drug Use in Pediatrics. .† National Institute of Health.