Customer-Driven Learning at Radisson Hotels Essay

In the case study titled â€Å"Customer-Driven Learning at Radisson Hotels Worldwide† the background, growth, and service guarantees of the Radisson Hotel chain is discussed. Radisson Hotels was founded in 1938 by Curtis L Carlson of Carlson Companies Inc. The company’s headquarters were located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was divided into four operating groups – Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Carlson Marketing Group, and Carlson Leisure Group. In 1975 Radisson only had ten hotels but quickly grew to three hundred and sixty locations in forty seven countries by 1998 by partnering with existing hotel companies creating Radisson SAS Worldwide under the â€Å"growth at any cost† model. By 1998 Carlson Hospitality Worldwide included Radisson Hotels Worldwide, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, TGI Friday’s, Regent Hotels, Italianni’s, Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill, Friday’s American Bar, and Radisson Seve n Seas Cruises (Schroeder, pg 454). Also in 1998 Curt Carlson’s daughter Marilyn Carlson Nelson took over as CEO of the Carlson Companies. It was at this time that Brian Stage, Radisson’s president, and Maureen O’Hanlon, Radisson’s executive vice president, started taking initiatives to transform the â€Å"growth at any cost† model to becoming a more customer-focused brand. To achieve this transformation from the current diverse hotel quality, they included a service guarantee, a guest satisfaction measurement program, and employee satisfaction measurement program, and an information technology initiative. Their goal was to make Radisson the â€Å"most trusted and respected brand worldwide† (Schroeder, pg 454). To support these strategies, Stage and O’Hanlon initiated a 100% guest satisfaction program, a fully integrated guest information system, guest and employee satisfaction measurement programs, guest recognition and rewards program, and a genuine hospitality program . Customer satisfaction is a relative concept that varies from one customer to another (Schroeder, pg. 147). A service guarantee is a promise by a company to compensate the customer in some way if the defined level of service delivered is not duly met. An effective service guarantee sets clear standards of performance for customers to expect and to which employees adhere (Al, 1993; Rose, 1990; Hart, 1988). It communicates to workers the level of service the organization intends to offer to its customers, as well  as provides a clear and strong task identity (Cahill & Warshawky, 1995). It mandates that every decision and employee must focus on the customers. Successful implementation of a service guarantee would require managerial emphasis and proper allocation of resources on key determinant variables. Management staff is primarily responsible for the formulation and communication of service priorities to frontline staff as well as the design of recovery measures for resolving customer complaints. Quality of service and the ability to attract and retain customers dictate the success or failure of hotel service providers. Hotels typically measure quality through inspections and with customer-satisfaction data. David Kearns once said â€Å"Performance benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, services and practices against the toughest competitors or those companies recognized as the industry leaders.† In today’s competitive environment, customers are quick to abandon services that do not meet expectations. The ease with which customers can switch from their current service to another, demands that providers deliver the highest possible levels of service quality and performance. To be successful, hotels must deliver positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by comprehensive service quality management. Significant changes are occurring in the hotel industry that affect how providers run their businesses as well as what services they offer. There is a greater need to attract new customers, find new revenue sources, reduce operational costs and increase customer satisfaction. Successful quality management of next-generation services requires end-to-end service management across complex, multitechnology, multivendor infrastructures. Providers need to be able to quickly assess the impact of events on the performance and availability of revenue-generating services, establish and ensure aggregate service quality levels, and provide a detailed analysis of an individual subscriber’s experience that correlates back to broader service quality trends. In effect, providers need to be able to visualize service quality, prioritize their efforts and communicate relevant information to all stakeholders. This means they need to consolidate key data from disparate systems and from multiple vendors. They  need to be able to model relationships and dependencies between the network, applications and databases so they can see what resources are critical to their service. Communication plays a vital role in managing overall service quality. Providing relevant service intelligence to those who need it such as operations, IT, executives and customer care, helps providers rapidly resolve issues and minimize service impact on customers. They can quickly relate performance to business metrics. They can get a real-time view to better understand the customer experience. By improving communication across all levels of the value chain, they can help improve overall service quality and customer satisfaction. With the improved communication, Radisson must train all employees from all franchises in the same fashion to create a more consistent customer-driven concept. Many companies and franchise systems have found themselves in a situation where rapid change and deployment is critical to the company’s success. It’s absolutely essential to have a roadmap under these conditions. Once training is completed, studies and surveys must be done that include guests and employees to provide information that can be used to increase customer and employee satisfaction as well as help shape the direction for a defined service guarantee. Once defined, the service guarantee should be implemented to continually provide quality measurements and improve employee motivation. Providers also need a real-time view to understand the customer experience. How many customers are experiencing the service? Who is impacted by service issues? Providers need to be able to quickly assess the impact of events on service performance and availability, as well as how the business is affected. By providing a detailed analysis of an individual subscriber’s experience and correlating it back to broader service trends, providers can better manage the overall customer experience. Information technology software delivers comprehensive service quality management and customer experience management that help service providers  differentiate through improved service quality and lower operational costs. It gives them the ability to monitor and manage, from a single, central location, the availability, performance and quality of services. Information technology software equips them with a complete view of all the resources that comprise a service, from very beginning all the way to the customer. Information technology software not only plays a part in accelerating the drive to improve service quality but additionally measures information needed to improve customer and employee satisfaction. It can measure and create reports against key measurements to more effectively monitor availability, quality of virtually any service. By delivering new, high-quality services to market, they can attract new customers and generate new revenue streams. By enabling an improved customer experience, providers can help reduce churn, positively affect the uptake of that particular service and impact a subscriber’s willingness to try new services. Delivering consistent high-quality services to customers in a franchise business is more difficult than in a non-franchised business. In a franchised business, all employees must be trained in the same manner as well as have access to the same information. There are no exact guidelines, nor books to follow, nor formulas to adhere to when it comes to establishing and maintaining strong franchisor-franchisee relationships. It must be a strategic choice that is constantly enhanced, nurtured, and developed (Howe, 2003). Once a relationship is commenced it must be sustained, and any effort to maintain a high-quality affiliation requires the vital component of effective, two-way, communication. The franchisor is responsible for providing the channels for communication. A commitment to high-quality communication will also help to align the goals of the management team, hotel workers, owners, corporate management, and corporate staff. There are other benefits that come from this commitment to a two-way exchange of ideas and perspective. It cultivates a mutual respect and commitment between the employees, building trust and therefore solidifying a fully functional and working relationship. This should be designed to keep in touch with the franchisees’ core needs and goals, and provide an environment that enables  franchisees to approach the franchisor with questions, concerns, or ideas for improving the programs or recommended changes. Another means of communication is an intranet site accessible only by the franchisor, franchisees and their employees that provides a forum for questions, news updates, and other business information. Through these various forms of communication the franchisor can educate franchisees on the brand strategies and enhance their ability as keepers of the brand (Howe, 2003). Through a commitment to each of the key elements of effective two-way communication franchisors and franchisees can strengthen the strategies and consumer level execution that will drive their brand’s performance (Howe, 2003). Since the beginning of the change that Stage and O’Hanlon brought about, services have been implemented to acquire and satisfy customers. These services include the Express Yourself pre-arrival online check-in, the â€Å"Curtis-C† reservation system, the â€Å"Yes I can!† training program, the gold points plus customer reward program, and their 100% guest satisfaction service guarantee. These programs are designed to link the customers with the staff. The information technology used to create the check-in and reservation systems is an amazing service that benefits both the guest and the staff. The â€Å"Yes I can!† training program has been developed to train all employees consistently throughout the franchises to assist in aligning the goals of each franchise with their new brand strategy. The gold points plus reward program is a program that allows it’s customers to earn reward points that can be used for free stays or air miles. It also gives its members access to exclusive hotel and travel offers as well as in-hotel benefits. The website for the gold points program also lets it’s members make online reservations, check-in online, and select their stay preferences. In the matter of the last ten years, Radisson Hotels has escalated from a once â€Å"unfocused† brand into one of the world’s leading, full-service global hotel companies. This has been successfully accomplished through the organization of its franchises and implementation of information technology systems. Radisson Hotels & Resorts is committed to change and innovation in  all key areas including its growth strategy, operations, franchising, sales and marketing, and technology, to operate with maximum effectiveness in a highly competitive business environment (The Radisson Story). Technology will undoubtedly continue to develop and Radisson Hotels should continue to progress along with it to stay on top of the service industry as one of the best global hotel companies out there. References Al, L. (1993). Service guarantees in outpatient clinics: a case study. Health Care Management Review, 18 (3), 59-65. Cahill, D. J., & Warshawky, R. M. (1995). Beyond competence: unconditional guarantees as a customer-service tool. Journal of Customer Service in Marketing and Management, 1 (3), 67-77. Hart, C. W. L. (1988). The power of unconditional service guarantees. Harvard Business Review, 88 (4), July/August, 54-62. Howe, Michael C. (2003). Keys to a successful franchisor-franchisee relationship: through a commitment to each of the†¦ Franchising World. http://www.allbusiness.com/management/657315-1.htmlImprove service quality and enhance the customer experience. December 2007 ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/tivoli/whitepapers/GMW14002-USEN-00_SP.pdfKearns, David. Chairman of the New American Schools Development Corporation, formerly chairman and CEO of the Xerox Corporation and Deputy U.S. Secretary of Education. Rose, M. D. (1990). No strings attached. Chief Executive, 60 (Jul/Aug), 30-33. Schroeder, Roger. (2008). Operations Management: Contemporary Concepts and Cases 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill. New York, New York. The Radisson Story. http://www.radisson.com/section/aboutus.story/aboutus.sidemenus

Practical Application of Statistics in Nursing Essay

Statistics is a fundamental part of human knowledge. It is known to be the exact science of collection, interpretation, analysis and presentation of data. It is a mathematical science that gathers and explains causal phenomenon or relationship, analyzes and presents measurements, collects and analyzes information base on factual sources and presents data as accurate as possible. As Fowler, Chevannes and Jarvis (2002) put it, â€Å"Statistics looks at ways of organizing, summarizing and describing quantifiable data, and methods of drawing inferences and generalizing upon them† (p. 1). The application of statistics in nursing curriculum is important because nurses, like other medical professionals, deal with a variety of information that needs statistical treatment of the data. For example, on their everyday encounter with patients, nurses need to apply statistics to calculate the average number of patients examined per day, week, month or year. Measuring the average number of patient examination would enable nurses to predict as to what month health consultation is at its peak. Without knowledge in statistics, nurses would be clueless on what to expect during the incoming month or season. Another example, when giving medicine to the patient, nurses must be able to determine the time interval when a patient should take the prescribed medicine. Nurses, too, must be able to identify what percentage of the admitted patients are carriers of transferable diseases, victims of chronic diseases and others. Moreover, application of statistics such as econometric statistical techniques is helpful in analyzing the cause-effect relationships of diseases and the severity of diseases through correlation and regression principles. History of Statistics Application in Nursing  The demand for statistical literacy among nurses was brought by the growing importance of nursing researches which started on Florence Nightingale’s â€Å"Notes of Nursing† published in 1859. Nightingale was able to describe the factors that affected the performance of soldiers who were involved in the Crimean war. She was able to determine that other illness contracted off the field of war and caused unattended wounds. Nightingale’s notes then became the basis for a review of what and how much amount of care the soldiers should receive (Lipsey, 1993). Following Nightingale’s notes, nursing research became an important part of the nursing curriculum which led to the establishment of the American Journal of Nursing. This journal started to publish nursing research studies as early as 1930s. In 1970s, the focus of research was on the investigation of nursing practice and the outcomes of nursing. This required an in-depth knowledge of research design and statistical methods where clinical problems and issues related to nursing practices were subject to investigation. Uses of Statistics in Nursing In evaluating the use of statistics in nursing, Fowler, Chevannes and Jarvis (2002) identified two reasons why nurses need to be statistically equipped. One of the reason is that statistical literacy is required if nurses are to read and evaluate critical and intelligent data, reports and other literature related to managing health care. Another reason is that knowledge in statistics would help nurses whenever they would decide to undertake an investigation that includes the collection, processing, interpretation and analysis of data and reports on their own account. However, statistics have limitations; it does not prove anything, instead it presents the likelihood of the things to happen based on the result of an investigation (Fowler, Chevannes and Jarvis, 2002). Statistics and the Health Care Investigation Health Care investigation generally involves a five-stage process: 1) identifying the problems and objective; 2) planning; 3) collection of data; 4) interpretation and analysis of the data; and 5) presenting and reporting the result of investigation. In doing health care investigation, the following methodologies are usually utilized: sample survey, clinical trials and epidemiological studies. Usually, getting a sample population is needed to conduct such methodology. In statistics, population means a group or collection of individuals who are the subject of investigation. Variables entails the different characteristics of individuals such as age, weight, height, number of heart beat, manifestation of symptoms and economic status which relate to the health condition of individual. Since it is hard to get all the population to be involved in health care investigation, nurses may use smaller groups or sub-set who will represent the group as a whole. This group is known as sample. Each individual or unit in the sample can provide a data like measurement. This record is called an observation (Fowler, Chevannes and Jarvis, 2002). For example, the nurse wanted to find out whether Generation Y babies (which is the sample unit) are malnourished or just on average weight. The nurse must first identify the duration of the investigation, number of babies to be investigated, and the age and gender of the infants. This would be the variables. Observations would be based on the measurement of each sample infant included in the health investigation. Explanatory Nursing Studies and Inferential Statistics Researches which aim to explain the elucidate the relationship among the variables are more complex than other descriptive studies. Lines of inquiry for this study are often based on establishing theories from other research literature. Example of questions could be: Are people born with mental disease more likely to survive Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder than people with chronic diseases? Are chronically ill patients more likely to improved under the care of nursing home than on the care of their family? In explanatory study, are not being investigated based on the cause-effect relationship rather it attempt to understand how the given variables are related to each other. Thus, inferential statistics are utilized to analyze or explanatory elucidate the relationship of the variables (Plichta and Garzon, 2009). Prediction and Control Nursing Studies and Statistics Statistics, like medicine, is also an important tool to prevent and control diseases. In prediction and control studies, nurses aim to determine which variables are able to determine causality and are predictive. Such studies are usually quasi-experimental whereas the researcher is bound to introduce an intervention. Experimental designs involve random selection, an intervention, two different groups – one group that receive an intervention and another group that do not receive an intervention – and random assignment of the study participants to either the intervention or the control group. Like explanatory studies, prediction and control studies uses inferential statistics to examine the data and provide answer to the research questions (Plichta and Garzon, 2009). The Statistical Analysis of Health Data  Without the use of statistics, it will be hard to identify which diseases or ill conditions are critical or not. On any instance, medical professionals, particularly the nurses, rely on the result of clinically proven studies on attending to the needs of their patients. Nurses need not only rely on doctor’s order but also they need to be well equipped when dealing with patients. Most of the time, nurses are the primary person who attend to emergency situation. Thus, they should also be knowledgeable in analyzing their patients’ condition based on the medical variables related on the illness or disease being experienced by the patient. However, there are studies with similar topic but posses different results. For example, there are studies that prove the effectiveness of applying chemotherapy to cancer patients. On the other hand, there are studies that show how doctors negatively react on the use of chemotherapy to cure cancer patients. For nurses to avoid being trapped on ethical dilemmas, they must know how to critically analyze those studies that are of their concern, particularly those with statistical measurements. Research studies with statistical analysis of the data usually undertake three stages. First, the data should be cleaned. By cleaning the data, it means that all the variables in the study must have valid and usable values. Running frequencies and examining these frequencies must be done for the researcher to be able to identify the valid values, the amount of missing data and the adequate variability. Nurses, when reading and analyzing such data, must also be able to examine the frequencies used by medical researchers. They should be able to identify the missing data and the validity of the values presented in the studies. The second step in statistical analysis is describing the sample. Here, the researcher employs descriptive statistics with a table that displays the sample’s characteristics are presented. For example, the medical researcher uses a graph, a chart or a table to present the sociodemographic characteristics (e. g. age, weight, height and gender) of the sample patients. Such description enables not only the medical professionals but also the common people to understand the sample population involved in the study. Moreover, in describing the statistical analysis, the key dependent and independent variables are given enough presentation. Nurses must be able to categorize which variables are independent and which are dependent. The last step in statistical analysis of health data is to be able to identify the list of inferential statistics that will be used to test the hypotheses. Application of inferential statistics depends on the research design, size of the sample and the distribution of variables (normal vs. non-normal), scale measurement of the variables (ratio, nominal, interval, ordinal) in the hypothesis and the type of comparison that needs to be made. It is also important to note that for small sample population and for variables which are not normally distributed, nonparametric statistics are used while for large sample population and for normally distributed variables, parametric statistics are utilized (Polit, 1996). In order to not to be deceived by the validity of the hypothesis presented by medical professionals, nurses must be knowledgeable on the application of statistics and its variation. Generally, nurses of today’s generation must be well statistically equipped. They should be able to distinguish which studies are applicable on their field of practice and on the nature of their workplace or community. Not all nurses are working with advanced health facilities thus they should be able to manually learn the basic principles of statistics which will be helpful on every part of their duty – from giving medicine to their patient to reporting the results of treatment, generating research studies, predicting and controlling diseases and applying the fundamental results of valid health studies. Without knowledge in statistics, nurses would fail to give enough care and treatment needed by the patient. Moreover, without knowledge in statistics, nurses, who works directly and personally with their patients, would fail to understand the different conditions being experienced by the patients. With the aid of statistics, nurses would be able to contribute to the growing number of medical researches particularly those which relate to the vocation of nursing.

Cost Analysis

Table of content Introduction: Financing decisions and investment decisions are considered to be two of the most vital decisions that corporations have to take. Cost analysis is one of the factors that should be taken into consideration while evaluating financial and investment decisions. This paper reviews the concept of cost analysis, how it is used in decision making, and how firms usually involve cost analysis in evaluating different projects. Furthermore, the paper discusses some of the main concepts that are derived from cost analysis such as cost allocation, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. In addition, some of the advantages and disadvantages of cost analysis will be discussed. Moreover, the concept of intangible cost analysis will be introduced. Then, the results and findings of the research paper will be illustrated. Finally, few recommendations that are based on the results and findings will be made. Literature Review: Due to its high importance in the decision making process, cost analysis has been discussed in many books by several authors who illustrated different aspects of cost analysis. In his book â€Å"cost-benefit analysis,† E. J. Mishan discussed in depth the concept of cost-benefit analysis, which is a form of cost analysis. Professor Mishan focused on some of the key concepts that are related to cost-benefit analysis. The author started his book with few examples of cost analysis in order to illustrate to the reader the meaning of cost-benefit analysis. Then, Mr. Mishan illustrated the economical aspect of cost-benefit analysis and showed how opportunity cost could be related to cost-benefit analysis. Furthermore, Mr. Mishan tried to show how cost-benefit analysis is limited and can be used partially in the decision making process. A notable section of Mr. Mishan’s book is certainty equivalence. In this section, the author developed an assumption that â€Å"enables us formally to rank a number of alternative uncertain benefits without first reducing each to a certainty equivalent. In his article â€Å"Ways to Deliver More for Less,† Harry E. Roberts, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Boscov’s Department Stores, discussed how cost analysis can be used to reduce IT spending. Mr. Roberts discussed how the IT budgeting has changed over time. The author suggested ways to enable Information Technology, which is a cost center rather than a profit center, to â€Å"deliver more than what is expected and at a lower cost than what was budgeted. † Then, Mr. Roberts suggested that a revision for different costs, such as variable costs, fixed costs, and payroll costs, should be made. The author concluded his research by emphasizing on the fact that â€Å"every dollar invested on a cost item must deliver as much value to the business as its highest-margin product or service. † Cost Analysis: Definition According to The U. S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, cost analysis can be defined as â€Å"the process of obtaining cost breakdowns, verifying cost data, evaluating specific elements of costs and examining data to determine necessity, reasonableness, and appropriateness of the costs. Both financing and investment decisions are highly affected by cost analysis as corporations usually pay a great deal of attention to the different types of costs that are involved in the different projects that will be taken into consideration either to raise funds or to invest surplus funds that a corporation has. Sometimes cost analysis is perceived as a tool that is used only to reduce costs. In contrast to this point of view, cost analysis is believe d to be a tool that helps management to choose the best possible solution or project among many different alternatives. In their article â€Å"â€Å"Using Cost Analysis In Evaluation,† Meg Sewell and Mary Marczak believe that cost analysis methods and uses are â€Å"complex, require very sophisticated technical skills and training in methodology and in principles of economics, and should not be taken lightly. † Three Types of Cost Analysis: Three of the main concepts that are derived from cost analysis are cost allocation, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. These three methods are usually used simultaneously in order for corporations to evaluate different decisions or projects. Some of these methods might seem simple and easy to use; however, they should never be ignored or taken slightly as they can be of great benefit in determining the right decisions. Cost Allocation: Cost allocation is the simplest among the three concepts that were mentioned earlier. Sewell and Marczak stated that cost allocation refers to â€Å"setting up budgeting and accounting systems in a way that allows program managers to determine a unit cost or cost per unit of service. Furthermore, Sewell and Marczak illustrated that in many corporations, cost allocation is used to provide â€Å"some of the basic information needed to conduct more ambitious cost analyses such as cost-benefit analysis or cost-effectiveness analysis. † Therefore, it can be concluded that cost allocation is a prerequisite to both cost-benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. Example: The following table shows the monthly cost allocation for 3 different projects It is important to note that firm s usually allocate their costs based on previous experience and estimation. However, firms should expect costs to change, which can be due to financial crises, inflation, or other factors, and try to adapt their cost allocation systems in such a way that it will handle the new changes. Based on the costing method that the company uses, such as activity-based costing, a more detailed cost allocation system can be structured in order to determine the unit cost as precisely as possible Once costs have been identified and allocated, more advanced cost analysis methods, such as cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-benefit analysis, are used. Cost-effectiveness Analysis: According to Sewell and Marczak, the concept of cost-effectiveness analysis holds that â€Å"a certain benefit or outcome is desired, and that there are several alternative ways to achieve it. † However, cost-effectiveness analysis should not be used separately during the process of evaluating projects or decisions as it will favor the cheapest option. Instead, cost-effectiveness analysis should be used along with cost allocation and cost-benefit analysis in order to provide more precise and more informative outcomes. It is important to mention that cost-effectiveness is a comparative tool that compares the cost of separate projects and favors the least expensive one. If we only used cost-effectiveness to decide which machine to buy, machine 1 will be favored by cost-effectiveness since it will generate products cheaper than machine 2. However, this is not necessarily the correct decision since cost-effectiveness analysis fails to take into consideration certain criteria such as the time each machine requires to generate the product and the quality of the generated products. Cost-benefit Analysis: According to smbtn. com, cost-benefit analysis can be best described as â€Å"An analysis tool that measures the results or benefits of a decision compared with the required costs. † Cost-benefit analysis is perceived as a powerful tool that management usually use whenever a â€Å"buy-or-build† decision needs to be taken. Buy-or-build decisions are usually taken when a firm faces a situation where it has two options: (1) To buy or outsource a certain part of its business (2) To internally manufacture or perform a certain part of its business. Cost-benefit analysis can assist in taking buy-or-build decisions as it will illustrate the benefits and costs that are expected if buy decision or build decision is taken. Cost-benefit analysis consists of several tools, such as benefit-to-costs ratio, that are used to analyze and compare benefits and costs that are involved in a certain project. According to Sewell and Marczak, benefit-to-costs ratio is â€Å"the total monetary cost of the benefits or outcomes divided by the total monetary costs of obtaining them. Despite the fact the cost-benefit seems to be the most powerful tool to analyze costs and taking cost related decisions, it should be used along with other tools such as cost-effectiveness analysis and cost allocation. Using cost-benefit analysis separately from other tools can result in misleading decisions that can cost management dearly. If the benefits-to-costs ratio is greater than 1, then the project should be analyzed further, compared to other projects and taken into consideration as a potential project that the firm can invest in or use to raise funds. Advantages of Cost Analysis: Cost analysis can be of great help for management as it can be used as a tool in the decision making process. Some of the most important advantages of cost analysis are: Cost analysis can clarify all costs that are involved in a certain project. Cost analysis will draw attention to costs that may not be obvious at first. Consequently, allowing managers to take more precise financing or investment decisions. Cost analysis can help management prioritize tasks and processes when budgets are limited. It is believed that managers can distribute budgets more effectively when all costs are identified; therefore, it will be possible to get the most out of available resources. Disadvantages of cost analysis: On the other hand, cost analysis is not always sufficient by its own for management to make decisions. Some of the facts that cost analysis cannot provide information about are: _As Sewell and Marczak mentioned, cost analysis cannot always tell â€Å"whether the least expensive alternative is always the best alternative. _† Cost analysis by its own is not always enough to determine the best alternative. Usually, other criteria that cannot be determined by cost analysis, such as time, have an effect on the decision making process. Cost analysis is very complex and requires great deal of skills and expertise. Cost analysis requires not only background in finance and accounting, but also economic and decision making skills. It is common nowadays for organizations to outsource cost analysis if it cannot be done effectively in-house. According to _Sewell and Marczak, â€Å"sometimes costs and monetary values are considered less important than other, more intangible values or program outcomes. † Intangible cost analysis: Despite the fact that corporations frequently use cost analysis in evaluating the different decisions that have to be made, intangible cost analysis is not always taken into consideration. In his book â€Å"Intangible Management: Tools for Solving the Accounting and Management Crisis,† Ken Stanfield described intangible cost analysis as set of processes that â€Å"[allow] executives to identify, measure, and reduce costs that the organization has always been aware of, but has not been able to previously measure and control. Intangible cost analysis allows corporations to increase efficiency and productivity as well as decrease costs. According to Stanfield, in contrast to old cost analysis methods where tangible costs were the most important selection criteria, modern cost analysis methods favors alternatives, decisions, or projects â€Å"with the lowest total real cost (tangible costs + intangible costs). † Some of the intangible costs that should be taken into consideration are knowledge costs, time costs, and relationship management costs. Many organizations started to take intangible costs more seriously and established departments that are dedicated to deal with such costs such as knowledge management department. Intangible cost analysis is more complex than tangible cost analysis due to the fact that it depends on estimation skills and past experience. Therefore, possessing intangible cost analysis skills can be considered as a competitive advantage as it will result in better cost management and lower incurred costs. Results and Findings: Cost analysis is one of the most sophisticated concepts in business, and many economists wrote several books about it. The following points illustrate the results and findings of the research paper: Cost analysis consists of multiple tools and techniques that are usually used simultaneously to reach the best decision possible. Cost analysis not only allows firms to find ways to reduce costs, but it also suggests methods that can be applied to turn a cost center into profit center. It is vital for decision makers to be aware that cost analysis consists of tools that can estimate costs, which might differ from costs that will be incurred in reality. Intangible cost analysis should not be taken slightly as it has a great affect on the business of any company, especially on the long run. Cost analysis fails to take into consideration some factors such as time and quality Cost analysis needs advanced skills and is considered to be a competitive advantage for firms that have employees specialized in it. Recommendations and Conclusion: Using multiple cost analysis tools, which is due to the fact that the use of only one or few tools will result in misleading decisions Pay great attention to intangible cost analysis as it can make the difference between success and failure. Take into consideration factors that cannot be quantified and analyzed such as time and quality. Due to the fact that cost analysis has become a vital part of the decision making process, firms have to ensure that they possess the required cost analysis skills or outsource to specialized cost analysis firms. In conclusion, it is vital to emphasize on the fact that cost analysis is just one tool that can be used in the decision making process. Financing decisions and investments decisions are so critical that many tools and selection criteria have to be used while analyzing and evaluating these decisions. Nowadays, the world is facing a financial crisis that is affecting all companies; consequently, firms are starting to analyze costs to determine how best to protect themselves. Bibliography Mishan, E. J. Cost Benefit Analysis: An Informal Introduction, 1982. Ramji, Al-Noor, Linda Reino, Harry E. Roberts, eds. , Inside The Minds: Ways To Reduce It Spending : Leading Executives On Managing Costs, Negotiating Pricing & Reducing Overall Technology Expenditures. United States of America: Aspatore, 2004. Sewell, Meg and Mary Marczak. Using Cost Analysis In Evaluation. The University of Arizona; available from http://ag. arizona. edu/fcs/cyfernet/cyfar/Costben2. htm; Internet; accessed 1 November 2008. Stanfield, Ken. Intangible Management: Tools for Solving the Accounting and Management Crisis. Academic Press; 1st edition (July 1, 2002). The U. S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement: Federal Assistance Manual. Washington, D. C. , 1998; available from http://www. osmre. gov/fam/defin. htm; Internet; accessed 16 November 2008.

The position of the packaging industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The position of the packaging industry - Essay Example This requires further discussion. The position at Sonoco Each division has the autonomy and hence had their own HR functions, their own budgets and systems, performance management processes, and leadership and training programs. Sonoco has a tight-knit culture in which there is resistance to hold the underperformers responsible. It has inconsistent HR practices and processes. The divisional HR managers are involved in day-today employee relations issues. Lack of communication persists in the organization while the GMs have been empowered to decide on the compensation and appraisals for their subordinates which results in unfair practices. HR just had to follow the dictates of the VPs and the GMs. Career and succession planning was lacking within the organization which dampened the enthusiasm of the employees. Divisional HR can enhance performance and productivity within the organization. A hybrid structure can provide a strategic link between corporate HR functions and businesses. Ho wever, a hybrid structure does not enable interaction with line managers which is possible through the centralization approach. Moreover, Sonoco had changed over to the hybrid approach and found that it is not sure of it had the right people at the right jobs. It may be difficult to segregate the responsibilities between the head office and the individual divisions which can result in regular conflicts. Thus, the above discussions suggest that the HR changes at Sonoco were far from successful. While each division having its own GM deciding on the benefits and other HR related functions about their employees, giving so much autonomy can lead to competition within divisions in an organization. This strength ultimately results in diluting the power... This study on Sonoco has been an eye-opener on how talent has to be managed in an ever-changing business environment. It is not sufficient to formulate certain principles and implement them within the organization. To work with a globally diverse workforce, to work in different business environments, and to work with a workforce that has independent views and varied lifestyle, is a challenge. This realization has been the result of the case analysis of Sonoco which is in a dilemma whether to adopt the centralized or the hybrid approach.   CPD is essential because there has been a shift in what the people and the organizations want. ole, there would be no interest or motivation to give his best. His interests have to be sustained and hence for optimum productivity, the right talent has to match the right job role. Motivation to a large extent comes from the supervisors as they are in regular contact with their subordination.  Employees must know how to support their staff for CPD of every employee in an organization. It helps to manage and develop their careers and the Gen-yers are more conscious of their future growth than the current pay package. Talent cannot be managed in an informal way. The strategies have to be integrated so that succession planning also is undertaken. This is part of CPD, essential in an organization. CPD and talent management are all inter-related terms and to achieve the intended objectives, HRM policies have to be integrated with the strategic organizational objectives.  

International relations in theory and practice Essay

International relations in theory and practice - Essay Example Its attributes, the population, the territory ("the very foundation of principality and sovereignty" (Foucault, 1991, p93) and the authority of the government exercised upon its subjects, demanded that a dominant role be played by the nation state. Social and economic development were key factors for two seemingly antagonistic phenomena: on the one hand, there was the strengthening of the state power, and on the other hand, once World War I came to an end, the international system was faced with new actors exercising power of decision-making; the globalisation of political, economic, social and cultural relations gave rise to international actors, multinational companies, international organizations (the League of Nations, and then, the United Nations), integrating organisation (process which automatically implies a delegation of sovereignty to a higher level); among non-state actors, especially after 9/11 one can also mention terrorist organisations and "the new form of trans-national terrorism which is far more complex and difficult to monitor, analyse, and combat ()some claim that this 'new' terrorism is displacing the older forms of terrorism and has now become the major threat" (Wilkinson, 2001). This multiplication is regarded, by some analysts as being a shift in orientation from the "nation state" as the dominant actor on the international scene towards other types of actors; the motivation for such claims resides in the apparent loss of substance which the state has suffered, especially from the perspective of the integrationist process; furthermore, the arguments consider that this diminution in sovereignty is transferred to the other actors, in such a way as to legitimize their position on the international scene. Thus, the position of the state as a principal actor represents one of the most controversial aspects of IR theory. On order to present the debates surrounding the issue, the arguments and its opponents, it is important to first analyse the realist perspective on the concept of "state" and the arguments supporting its central role in the international structure of the XXI century. Seen from the perspective of the international relations, the political realism considers that if the behaviour of the states, as it had been shown up until then, cannot be reformed, it can at least be controlled. The realist tradition can be traced back to Thucydides and Hobbes, although it rose to great heights as the dominant paradigm in American policymaking during the Cold War (Roggeveen, 2001).Even so, the first valuable theory writings belong to XX st century. The classic realist theorists start their argumentation from the clear premises stated by Morgenthau who acknowledges "the nation state as the ultimate point of reference of contemporary foreign policy" (Morgenthau, 1978); moreover, as one of the leading theoreticians of realism, Morgenthau pointed out a second principle that defined the goals of politics "The main signpost that helps political realism to find its way through the landscape of international politics is the concept of interest defined in terms of power". When correlating the two ideas, the conclusion is that the nation state regards the practice of foreign policy as a means to

CT scans to detect lung cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CT scans to detect lung cancer - Essay Example In this research, the researchers have concluded that 80 percent of lung cancers can be detected in early stages through CT screening and what they are trying to tell is lung cancer is not all that bad, which is actually beneficial for a tobacco company because, the worst health problem projected against smoking is lung cancer. Funding by any other company other than a tobacco company could have avoided this conflict of interest. 2. CT screening is fraught with risk of radiation. It is also an expensive procedure and can contribute to unnecessary biopsies and surgeries in those with cancers that actually do not progress. Because of this, critics have raised ethical issues about routine screening of individuals at risk of cancer, i.e., those with history of smoking. The better way to prevent lung cancer is to educate people about the risks associated with smoking a nd various measures to prevent smoking. 3. The researchers, Dr. Henschke and Dr. Yankelevitz did not disclose one patent and 10 pending patents concerned to screening of lung cancer with CT scan. The patent was issued to general Electric, one of the prominent makers of CT scanners.

Anti-discrimination Laws Related to Employment Research Paper - 1

Anti-discrimination Laws Related to Employment - Research Paper Example Moreover, the HR Assistant is required to facilitate managers in finance and accounts departments through providing customer-focused support service which significantly helps the organization in meeting its goals and objectives. In a broader perspective, the HR Administrative Assistant has to perform multiple tasks including the preparation of job advertisements, screening of the applications (Quayle, 2006), organizing interviews between managers and applicants, providing valuable insight during the selection process through critically evaluating each candidate. Subsequently he/she has to administer the pre-employment tests if necessary. Once the most suitable candidate is hired then the HR Administrative Assistant has to facilitate him/her in acquiring the health and social security benefits extended by the organization. This further leads to resolving salary issues or any other job related problems faced by the newly hired employees. Although these are the crucial tasks performed by the HR Assistant but all of these activities are conducted at different stages. Moreover, the tasks are assigned to HR Assistants as per their qualifications, experience, interests, organizational performance and communication skills. In order to perform the duties of HR Administrative Assistant the selected candidate is expected to work independently while maintaining the organizational standards. Excellent communication skills and experience with latest technology will help you in quick adjustment. 1. The interviewer must not ask questions concerning applicant’s religion, nationality, race, color or gender because US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prohibits employment practices based on these aspects (Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices,

Advergaming and mobile advertising Research Paper

Advergaming and mobile advertising - Research Paper Example There has been need to have a different cereal than the usual wheat one and hence the introduction of the new chocolate cereals is needed, and the introduction is done through a medium that is liked by children: videogames. The traditional advertising includes the use of television, posters and billboards and children of nowadays do not bother checking out such mediums. All they are interested in is the video games and especially those that are online. Advertising the product online in a videogame is the best way to attract the market for the chocolate cereals whose target is mostly children. The company used Multi-Link Trunking (MLT) technology to help it access several links and servers in order to ensure that as many people as possible get the advertisement through the video game. Permission is not an issue but facilitation to the right channels is necessary when using the internet. Many people got to enjoy this product more since it was introduced to them through a medium they love. Sales of the Choco Krispis should therefore have gone very high due to the fact that the cereal box was fashioned to be used as the joystick in this advergaming. Taco Bell has launched yet another food product beefy nacho burrito and is still using the mobile phone to advertise it. The advert is running through smart iPhones and hence many people with the iPhone have access to the advert through the applications. These adverts have made many people aware of the product and are buying it to try it out (Hasen, 2012). There is need to have advertisements that will reach majority of the target group without the company struggling with the logistics of production of posters of billboards to attract attention of the presence of a new product. Taco Bell has therefore addressed the need for an easy to see advert that reaches majority of the target group with minimal effort. Many people are

Sibling Ties In Later Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sibling Ties In Later Life - Essay Example Siblings, unlike other familial relationships such as parent-child is not confound within the bonds of obligation, rather it is more â€Å"mechanical† since they are â€Å"generational partners† (Bedford & Avioli, 2001), where reciprocity and closeness are distinct characteristics. Sibling rivalry is normal (â€Å"Sibling ties,† n.d.). As a personal attestation, me and my siblings compete with our parents attention, during our younger years. In fact, we compete about almost anything, but end up helping each other. There are times in which our relationship was not going so well, but we still manage to work things out. I agree with what Bedford and Avioli (2001) contended about â€Å"cognitive closeness,† since me and my siblings are fond of sharing our different worlds to each other, and find it very interesting to find out that even though we have different plans in life, there are some things which we have in common, such as our interest to sports and rea ding books. These common hobbies make us spend time with each other every week. We also have different plans when it comes to family life, and we have thought of different ways on how to rear a family, so this might be one of the reasons of ‘losing’ this closeness in later life, but definitely not losing each other’s contact. Care Giving Tasks among Siblings I believe that family structure and attitude towards family members are largely cultural in nature.

A Personal Statement to Acquire Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy Essay Example for Free

A Personal Statement to Acquire Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy Essay Right from my childhood, I have always been passionate to attain my laid goals as well as preparing for challenges that may come forth as I tread the path of life with diligence. In pursuit of these goals, I do have an aura of inner heaviness that spurs me to embark on improvement program or any other initiatives found necessary to champion the goal. Regardless of any difficulties, hardships, discouragement, or intimidation, I have got good motivation for success in life. With my inherent quality of excellence, I have chosen to further education to bag a doctorate degree in Pharmacy. I have fervent enthusiasm to know how man responds to similar drugs prescription with variation. I remember once pondering extensively in my mind on this issue especially while some drugs choose to produce an allergic reaction in certain individuals but do not in others. For example, some patients react to penicillin containing antibiotics like amoxicillin. A visionless individual may find it difficult to find focus amidst opportunities and available options of courses; this was not my case as I opted for pharmacy. I believe only this can harmonize both my short term and long term goals. Ever since I had my preliminary studies, the fascinating experience was enough to always make any visionary individuals rush back for more training in other to have it all. I found the college of Pharmacy as the richest source of joy that can deliver my vision for the future. I can also substantiate my special interest in Pharmacy as a career because of my love for medicine or clinical practices, a noble profession. Far back in college, I offered Organic Chemistry and Microbiology. The courses gave me introductory science on which pharmacology of drug-to-drug interactions are based. I took those courses with great interest, paying detail attention as if I knew I would this day be yearning for more. Moreover, learning what underlines the exact principle on how and why chemicals combination react in stochiometry of biochemical reactions are intriguing. The microbiological basis of body pathogens showing inhibiting sensitivity to antimicrobial therapies was equally interesting to me. In my academic background, I also learned about how experts have researched to use medicines and technology to counteract dangerous invasive and non-invasive effects of pathogens. The fact that there still exist several questions and problems around virulent pathogens has also aroused my interest as this still leaves some room for further studies and discoveries. Today, technology has become a big influential in invariably all fields, especially in the field of medical diagnosis. Being an Information Technology specialist at the University of Oklahoma, I can professionally operate on pieces of equipment with high technological competency. I am strongly convinced that this expatriate input is still required to buttress the progress of Pharmaceutical practices in the world. I am envisioning a long term goal of being able to assist the community as a pharmacist in drug prescriptions as well as enlightening them on do’s and don’ts of medication (indications and contraindications) to safe more lives and prevent drug complications resulting from ignorance or abuse. Why the pursuit of Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy? Taking a doctorate degree in pharmacy would provide me a perfect platform to stand tall with an edge over the non-professionally trained practitioners. Reason being that the training would erase any ignorance in me when I shall be on the field fulfilling my vision in life. In summary, interaction with people has always been a very joyful experience for me. I have always had educative discussions with pharmacists at retail stores and hospitals. I personally have a preference to question pharmacist occasionally when there is a choice between pharmacy and a physician concerning any medical issue bordering my mind. However, in the abundance of different available options and seas of opportunities, I consider it a self incurred injustice if I do not stand for Pharmacy as a choice of career in accomplishing my immediate goal. With the absence of doubt, abundance of witnesses by unwavering convictions in me, I strongly believe a career out of pharmacy is a misplacement of priority. For the love of my society and the hope of helpless people who await my pharmaceutical cares in the nearest future, I love pharmacy with passion!

The Issues Of Children On The Internet

The Issues Of Children On The Internet Abstract: This paper focuses on current studies on children and the Internet in historical context noting the main themes in various research papers, books and media research by summarizing both the pros and cons surrounding childrens use of computer and the internet, and on which factors society should focus when making important decisions about the role of the Internet technology in childrens lives. Is access to the Internet for children important or not? What is the purpose of access and who need the access? How parents can assure that access to the Internet for their children leads to positive and innovative learning experience at school and at home? As the Internet becomes must in our daily lives, it is necessary to understand how the growth and the development of our child is dependent on the use of the Internet and the computer technology. Parents should determine what their children should learn from the Internet and take actions which are necessary to steer them away from bad influenc es of the same. Introduction: Due to childrens passion for computers and internet, huge funds are being spent to give them access to computers and Internet in school, at home and in dorms. Now a days near about each and every school is equipped with computer systems and large number of children have access to the Internet at their home. But is the Internet and computer technology improving childrens lives? This paper examines not only how children are affected by this emerging era of computers and the Internet but also explores how the use of Internet is affecting childrens development by all means and different ways to overcome problems from these critical situations. Overview: People usually agree that, for children to enter socially and politically in this new competing world, they must get a certain level of comfort and knowledge using computers. National polls also indicate the necessity for providing access to computers and Internet for children to enable them learn computer skills and improve their education.[1] In most of the surveys parents and children believe computers and the Internet as an information highway, despite worried about exposure to inappropriate content like commercial, sexual or violent contents.[2] Some Parents also believes that the Internet can help children in their homework. They consider that children without Internet access have a lot disadvantages compared to those with access to internet. Thus, children with access to computers and the Internet at home are growing. The spread of the Internet access has been described as nine time faster than that of radio and four times faster than that of personal computers and also three times faster than that of television.[2] Also the Internet connections are rapidly increased from 15% to 52% over the five year periods from 1996 to 2000.[2] In addition to this, in USA Congress has made a national priority to give access to the Internet at school for all their nations children. Stating that the use of such technology can help students to develop and maintain a technologically literate citizen.[3] For this Congress has established many acts like Educate America act, The Improving Americas school act etc. As a result, the percentage of schools with computer with Internet increased from 35% to 95%.[3] On the other hand, children spend most of their time in computer activities at home. Such excessive and unmonitored use of computers combined with use of other screen technologies like television can place children at harmful risk on their social development. Too much time in front of computer can deviate their mind from playing sports and other social activities which are beneficial and essential to child development. In addition, also there are chances for children to get exposed to some violent and sexual inappropriate contents beyond both at school and at home internet.[11] Currently, excessive use of computers and the Internet among children is not typical. National survey indicate that children ages from 2 to 17 spent on an average about 34 minutes per day on computers at home.[4] Usage is high, however especially older children have reported spending at-least 4 hours a day on internet.[4] Children who spend high amount of time on computers and on the Internet most likely get apart from activities required for healthy development and increasing risk of obesity and could expose them to harmful impact on their eyes. Although, the number of studies suggests that the risk of excessive computer use can be significant.[4] To reduce increased risk of obesity and several other harmful effects because of extensive use of internet, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested parents about limiting childrens time spending on the Internet should not exceed one to two hours per day.[5] In addition to this time extent, they also suggested that various activities children perform on computers and on the Internet can also affect their psychological and intellectual will-being.[5] Children can use computer and the Internet for a wide range of purposes. For example, they can choose to get engage in activities across a broad range of possibilities like making projects, creating cartoons, learning different basic computer tools such as painting, power-point etc. Games: Video games introduces children to the computer technology and the internet world. Computer games have long been the most common activity for children. Online games make children adapt and be comfortable with diverse concepts of computing. This is mainly important for girls who typically not interested in high technology as much as boys. In concern with online games, boys spent much more time than girls on computers. however, now a days the computer applications has widened, as a result girls also spent time on computers as often as boys do. Children surf the Internet mostly for music and for pictures of their favorite movie stars, and also for use of email to exchange messages among their friend. However, the effect of computer and Internet usage, vary significantly by activity children perform and quality of content the child handles. For example, the experiences of children playing offensive games on computer are different from children playing educational and puzzle games online and the experiences of children using emails to exchange messages with family and friends are quite different from children using emails to chat with strangers in MUDs and chat rooms. These games vary diversely in concern with type of content and behavioral effects. Some games have been shown to have high educational value. For example SimCity. By playing this game children can develop their problem solving skills and visualization skills . But, online games like Doom 95 and counter-strike, expose children to extreme violence, possibly exposing them to aggressive behavior. However, studies suggest that the use of computers for playing games has least significant impact on childrens behavior, on their friendships and on family relationships.[12] It can also enhance certain visual or graphical intelligence skills like to visualize 3D images and to track multiple images of different colors and shapes simultaneously. Such skills can be important building blocks, for children in computer literacy and can be very useful for children to succeed in their life. In addition to the negative impact of online games, studies have shown that the more the time children spend on playing computer games and online games, the poorer is their performance in school exams.[12] It also show that many children who play online games routinely, skip their homework to play games and many student admitted that their online game playing habits are often responsible for their academic degradation. Children can pick up bad language and behavior from other people while playing online and it can make children vulnerable to online threats. According to new study published in February 2012, children spending excessive time on playing online games may show impulsive behavior and have attention problem.[13] According to this study attention problems were defined as difficulty engaging in to reach a goal. Education: Next to games, most frequently found activity at home computer and on the Internet by children is school assignments. The use of computers at home is assumed to have a positive effect on childrens learning. An evidence shows that use of home computer has slightly better academic performance but such studies failed to control other factors.[6] A study shows that children who participated in the computer program to get knowledge in mathematics and computer knowledge were better able to score higher in school tests as compared to non-participants.[6] The dark side of this is many of the educational sites on the Internet are being obscure by the commercial sites. In that, many sites are tied to some interesting television shows and attractive toy companies. By using an unique feature of internet, companies are able to integrate their advertisement on such web pages with their brand names or brand logos encouraging children to become their consumer at very early age. According to an industry report, teenagers spent approximately $161 million online in recent years.[7] In addition to this, much more information which is not intended for the children is readily available on the Internet such as bomb making procedures, and sexually explicit images and videos. It give rise to exposure to inappropriate contents and child abuse. Although, studies shows that children who viewed more cartoons and other animation type films improved their visualization skills and academic performance. [7] The extended use of the Internet to get linked with virtual world of multi user domains as MUDs, chat rooms and multiplayer games tends children to get in loneliness and depression. In this virtual world, children assume multiple identities and starts interacting with strangers. So, no one cannot predict whether a child is really communicating with a real person or with a simulator. Sometimes children are curious about sexuality and sexually explicit materials. Children may seek to establish new relationships outside their family as they are curious about use of Internet access to actively seek out such materials. So many of the sex-offenders target children and exploits these characteristics and children need. Some children also may get attracted to online offenders , although not technically, may also be dangerous.[10] Apart from this, children also make online payments because of some attractive ads to get access to those contents. However, because of such activities childrens and ultimately their parents personal and financial details may get hacked by some third party pirate and children are unaware of this.[10] Suggestions: An executive director of a non-profit group named GetNetWise which aimed at improving online safety says that parents should talk with their children about online privacy.[9] Such discussion can address many aspects of online privacy from the use of social networking sites and the disclosure of personal information.[9] Parents should remind their child not to provide their names or other personal details online without asking them.[11] Parents also should alert their child to common tricks like flashing pop-up ads that may be dangerous to their computer and on clicking them these pop-ups may installs spywares and malicious software into childrens computer to steal their personal information. To help parents and adults protect their children from such violent content, many steps have been initiated like helping children be safe and savvy, efforts to protect children from inappropriate materials on Internet that is Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act in 1998 passed by congress, efforts to promote computer literacy etc. Many companies have created several filtering and blocking tools for parents to keep their children away from online violent and inappropriate contents. However, the study found that half of the children using Internet at home have no parental restrictions on amount of time spent online and type of content they access.[3] So it is highly recommended for parents and teachers working with children that they should limit the time for children to access Internet and also supervise for the contents their children exposes to. Schools, Universities and community organizations should also provide a guideline to parents, teachers and also to children to strengthen themselves in their critical understanding and always teach children in making right choice about their computer use. Teacher should encompasses a more active role for children that allows themselves to use computers to create good applications, to invent new technologies and to design innovative models and not to just receive information passively from computer screen.[10] To reduce the potential threats of excess use of computers, as a next step, guidelines for how long, children of different ages should use Internet each day would be helpful. State and local education agencies should bear some age appropriate guidelines for childrens computer literacy. Such guidelines should be provided to all elementary and secondary teachers and also incorporated into technology centers.[8] Conclusion: Thus, computer technology is a vast and rapidly growing field. The government should ensure that schools should be well equipped with latest hardware, updated high-quality software, and well-trained mentors, resulting children to learn the required skills to live, survive and work efficiently in the twenty-first century. Although, the task is already accomplished to a certain level, appropriate monitoring and controls must be put to practice so that there is a very little abuse of the Internet technology among children and it helps in overall development of not only of their lives but also the future of the nation.

Khajuraho Tourism: Issues and impacts

Khajuraho Tourism: Issues and impacts India is famous for its great ethnicity and diversity among the cultures and these two main elements reflect in the level of tourism development in any region of the country. Apparently this has led the government and other respective authorities of tourism to call out the importance of heritage tourism in this 21st century. This report is based on the issues and impacts of tourism in Khajuraho, a UNESCO listed world heritage site, famous for its exotic sculptured temples. Khajuraho is a located in a central state of India, and one of the oldest heritage sites in the world. The temples were built a thousand years ago and still they stand dazzling with all the ancient glory. The tourism development in the area has changed many features of the destination and there has been some issues regarding the level of tourism. The place was found only in the early decades of 20th century and even from that time Khajuraho still took so many decades to be printed in the world famous heritage sites. The basic aim of this report is to identify the tourism developments and impacts of tourism in the selected tourism site and it is structured by beginning with a concise glimpse about the destination and followed by explaining the tourism developments in the area, discussing the influences of tourism and its impacts among locals and suggestions to improve the practice of tourism followed by a conclusion which will sum up the overall report and research conducted. Background of the study India is a large nation with huge number of population and great numbers of both cultural and heritage spots. This exclusivity has made the county, a world famous tourism destination in the global tourism map and regarded as a country, famous for its great cultural diversity. Many of these heritage sites are secured by UNESCO- and are still striving to find a place in their destination list. Ethnicity and diversity are the two main key elements of Indian cultural Heritage tourism, and it is really difficult to focus on the whole countrys tourism development and the impacts being facing currently. To understand the effects of tourism on culture, environment and economy it was therefore, I decided that this study should look further deep into the heart of the countrys heritage spots which are commonly unknown for its own nationalists but relatively known by other parts of the world. Khajuraho, a world heritage tourism site in the Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh was chosen and examined to articulate the nature and dimensions of some of the common issues from the impacts of local and international tourism. The study materials used mainly are reliable sources from the internet and also referred to the theories used in the tourism industry by linking to some of the case studies conducted in the subjected destination. Moreover some parts of the report will be reflecting from my personal experience in the destination. The facts and figures received from the Indian government tourism website back up and gives an overall glimpse of the importance of international tourism occurring in that place. Khajuraho: A mirror of Indian Heritage Khajuraho, a Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh is world famous for its UNESCO recognized heritage sites and practices great heritage tourism. The site is well known for its imposing temples by reflecting the beauty of antique sculptures and structures carved in huge single sand stones (http://www.mptourism.com/dest/khajuraho.html).These temples, mirroring the sensuous images of both men and women also lead to shed some lights on the medieval Hindu and Jain cultures Pic1-Khajuraho TempleThe history of temples in Khajuraho village is believed to be dated back to a thousand years ago, erected by the great Chandela Rajput Dynasty of Central India, by taking a century to build more than 85 glorious temples with richly carved unique and magnificent sculptures. (Gill, 2008).During the depredation of time only 22 are managed to survive and they stand still calling out the glory of medieval architectural masters. Some of the temples are sculptured with enticing erotic structures representing the Tantric Vedas which the people in the village used to practice. Area 16.93 sq. km. Altitude 257 m above Sea Level Temperature Summer: Max 47Â °C, Min 21Â °C. Winter: Max 32Â °C, Min 4Â °C. Rainfall 114 cms annual Languages English, Hindi. Table1-General InformationThe other Tourism activities include Khajuraho Dance Festival, organized every year in the month of February or March for one week and the Daily Sound Light Show ((Khajuraho, n.d.). Table-1 shows some general Information about Khajuraho (http://www.delhitourism.com/khajuraho-tourism/) Level of tourism development Pic2-LocationEver since the airport is opened, a daily flight operated from Delhi, the capital city of India connected Khajuraho with some other famous destinations. These made the visitors to reach there without any inconvenience and also the ground transportation facilities improved, while connecting to nearby important towns and railway station by running daily trips to Khajuraho. The main significant changes in the level of tourism happened was the creation of a Master Plan to guide the growth of Khajuraho and the institution of the Khajuraho Dance Festival, a successful event that has, to some extent given Khajuraho a classical image (Menon,1993).D:ACADEMIC6th SemesterTOUR310reportkhajuraho-map.jpg What was Khajuraho before Pic3-SculpturesKhajuraho or the ancient name Khajurapura is believed to be derived from the word Khajurvahila meaning the garden of dates surrounded the village at that time (Krishnamurthy, 1996). Deserted after the 14th century, the area was completely unknown to outside world until it was discovered by a young British Army officer T.S. Burt in 1838 (Menon, 1993). According the Ministry of Tourism, (http://www.mptourism.com/dest/khajuraho.html) after the turn down of the Chandela dynasty in the 13th century, the temples were hidden from outside world by dense forests and shrubs around. Nobody knew the epitome of Indian Architecture was diminishing dawdling in the rampage of time. Many of the structures were destroyed by weather, the slackness and laxity of surrounding world. But this hidden identity must have saved the remaining temples from the early Muslim invasions in the past (Hegewald Mitra, 2008). According to Menon (1993) the temples were unknown to the world until 1950s and it was only the foreign journalists and photographers who published the photos to the open world. The place was opened to the tourists only a few decades after the Independence of India from British in 1947 after building adequate facilities for transportation to get there. Changes after the tourism developments Today, Khajuraho is a booming tourist spot for both domestic and international travelers. The infrastructure is modified significantly by the government to the needs of thirsting travelers, as the years pass by. According to (UNESCO, 2005) few modest hotels were built in the early sixties to attract foreigners and domestic tourists and the number of people coming to visit Khajuraho has changed dramatically ever since the airport was built as the surface transportation was not convenient enough. The draft Development Plan produced by Indian Government in 1975 is also guided consequent development of the area (Menon, 1993). Now the old village of Khajuraho is changed absolutely into a place with a number of 8 star hotels including 2 five star chains affiliated hotels and other budgeted hotels also, in an area of just few kilometers (http://www.tourism-of-india.com/hotels-in-madhya-pradesh.html) equipped with efficient roads access, other transportation and accommodation facilities. Subsequently areas around Khajuraho have also flourished and harvested the benefits from these tourism developments. Tourist profile There have been a lot of changes happened during the last few decades and this has led to have a significant change in the demographics of travelers arriving in Khajuraho. Menon (1993) stated that a few decades back, the foreign tourists visiting Khajuraho comprised 3.3% of total number of visitors to India and most of the tourists were independent and included in low budget category, half of the group tourists who visited India visited Khajuraho also. Table2-Statistics from 1984-1992The statistics published by the government a few years back, shows the tremendous hike in the number of tourists visited the destination and it gives a lucid idea about the expansion of the Khajuraho tourism plans (Menon, 1993) Table3-Statistics from 2004-2006 The number of people visited in the early 80s were higher than in early 90s in the domestic travelers as it is believed to be the reason of political instability at that time. But the number of foreign travelers remained constant between these periods. Table 2 shows that total numbers of tourists in 1985-1986 were around 203,646, but in the early 90s it was decreased to 151,350. (Appendix I-IV)There is a significant percentage of increase in the number of foreign visitors to Khajuraho in the current decade almost double the numbers in previous decades while the number of domestic tourists remained constant apparently. This increasing number of tourists mainly depends on the level of promotions of the destination or and the transportation facilities. Driving force It is not only just some sandstone structures to see in Khajuraho, but it is the picturesque depiction of medieval existence of village people ruled under the great Chandela kings portrayed by the maestros of stone architecture about a millennium ago. It is the thrusting force of quaint beauty to lead the travelers to Khajuraho from around the world. The main motivation of travelling to Khajuraho is the splendor of these sculptures in the temples. The government tourism board and other tourism agencies have recognized the demand for tourism in the region and offer various tourism packages including the nearby cities of Khajuraho. It is another value added benefit for the travelers and a motive to visit Khajuraho. Although it is an icon of Heritage Tourism, the erotic sculptures, illustrating the tantric arts in the sandstones attract many of the tourists from around the world. Rise in the economy- A positive impact Though there are many identified impacts of tourism in Khajuraho, the most significant one is the rise in the total economy, as the level of tourism in the destination parts a major share in the total number of foreign tourist flow into the country (Appendix V) As a result of tourism development programs which eventually offered more than 3,000 job offers to the local community made the status of lifestyle to go up resourcefully as there was significant growth in education and health care systems. The other noticed results are in the local handicraft industry and the offering of large scale indirect employment in other sectors especially in the farming (UNESCO, 2005). The development of tourism in the region have also reduced the level of poverty than the neighboring villages as this mass tourism has helped the local people to indulge in increasing their personal income through various tourism activities. All those improvements in the public utility infrastructures and transport infrastructures in Khajuraho show the positive economical impacts and it has been forecasted to make a dramatic change in the future number of tourists (In 2015, expecting 1,00,965 domestic tourists and 8,59,701 foreign tourists with a total number of 19,60,666) App endix-VI Negative economic impact The level of tourism has made some negative impacts in the local economy to a certain level, especially the development programs by the government which brought many outsiders into the village economy. Instead of using the natural resources, things are being imported from outside by the migrants. Most of the imported goods are manipulated as local art work and being sold to the tourists which is a leakage in the integration of locals and the government systems (Menon, 1993). Moreover, the inflation has increased due to the less supply for the high demand for local items caused by the tourism development program. According to Menon, (1993, p.37) a local guide explains that 20 years ago people were friendlier and close together: tourism, he said, has made the people money-minded. Positive Environmental impact The wild shrouded temples are titivated by the government by the level of tourism in Khajuraho. According to UNESCO, (2005) the place is now equipped with complete infrastructure including transportation, electricity, water supply, hotels and hospitals. The temples are now protected by the Indian Central Government with the help of archeological and tourism departments to preserve the Indian heritage, as they are wall protected by the security systems in order to avoid intruders and vandalisms. Now the temples are surrounded by gardens which are not truly, a part of original temple designs, to enhance the beauty of temple premises. Apart from that, a central museum is located in the village to keep the valuable broken parts from the temples and show case the ancient artwork to the visitors and the excavation areas are restricted for public .One can clearly see that the old sleepy image of Khajuraho is completely changed by the changes happened in the environment due to the tourism (M enon, 1993). Negative Environmental impact Due to the characteristics of the destination, Khajuraho poses very less detrimental effect on the physical environment as the tourists who visit are particular nature of sightseer activity and their primary intention is just to see the sculptures in the temples (Menon, 1993). Thus rate of losing the natural resources will be very less in the region comparing some other tourist destinations, however the mass amount of tourist flow into Khajuraho must have changed the environment negatively due to the air pollution and solid wastes disposal. Moreover the destruction of unique flora and fauna in the area, due to the excavation work happening nearby the temples reduced the wild life in the surrounding region. The other considerable negative impacts are the air pollution caused by the aircrafts flying. A study conducted by Indian central archaeological department found out that aircrafts flying over the temples produce a certain level of vibrations which could damage ancient monuments(Ar chaeological Survey of India, n.d) According to a monthly social awareness magazine (Khajuraho Special, 2004) land pollution and air pollution are some of the major environmental issues in Khajuraho faced by tourism. None of the hotels in Khajuraho have proper waste management system or recycling system which persuade them to litter openly and so do the tourists, especially the canned foods and other disposable items. In the same way, increasing number in tourism has caused the same number in vehicles for transportation which pollutes the air by emitting dangerous gases and causing to change the atmospheric temperature. The final thought is about the shrinking of water bodies in the area, where the improper land usage reduced the natural water resources drastically. Positive socio-cultural impact The lifestyle in Khajuraho is being affected by tourism activities as a natural consequence of socio-cultural impact. People have been more aware of the tourism needs and other cultures, to mingle with other nationalities flawlessly. The dance festivals and other cultural activities unite the local community and also portray the true image of Khajuraho to tourists. It has been proved that there hasnt been any complaint of sexual harassment or prostitution, which shows that the local community is more responsive about social norms (Menon, 1993) and some of the local people have managed to make marriage relationship with foreigners. After all, some of the local community still indulge in their daily prayers and go to the temples for worshiping which point towards the conscientious tourism in the area. Negative socio-cultural impact The migration and settlement of outsiders have changed Khajuraho social and cultural environment, as now the local populations is consisting of various ethnic groups who drifted to make business via tourism. The local language spoken is very less in Khajuraho as majority of people living in Khajuraho are nonnative. From my personal experience in Khajuraho, what I could see mainly was the children and young people are following the path of tourism to make money easily rather than going to schools and colleges. Most of them are grabbed by travel agents to become guides and receive commission from them. Ultimately tourism has brought in these multi cultural societies who sell the true art for money into Khajuraho and broken the integrity of local culture. Recommendations and final thoughts The promotional material and the information available to the tourists, reduce Khajuraho to a single-issue destination Menon (1993). This image of Khajuraho is more likely a single point destination where the tourism is only focused on the sensual sculptures in the temples. Instead of publicizing the true illustration, the tourists are falsified by the travel agent mafias which make them to take pleasure in the erotic part of the heritage art worked temples instead of understanding the true principles of an ancient civilization existed there. Hence the government should be more responsible to stop these misleading by establishing examples such as providing proper tourism marketing campaigns, awareness seminars and cultured guiding system. Instead of focusing only on the temples, tourism board should take hand in developing the vicinity and neighboring locality as they are still under poverty and the wildlife around Khajuraho still remains unguarded though it is reserved. Over the past years Asian countries have on looked incredible social, cultural, political and technological changes (Pandey, Chettri, Kunwar and Ghimire, 1995).These significant changes have been received by the far-fetched development of tourism in the subjected countries. Despite the fact that tourism fosters the national economy to a certain extent, it has definite impacts on countrys enlightening ethnicity and legacy while leaving the natural possessions to an economic item of trade for income. According to Bandyopadhyay, Morais, Chick (2008, p.791), Tourism is not just an aggregate of merely commercial activities; it is also an ideological framing of history, nature and tradition; a framing that has the power to reshape culture and nature to its own needs. It is apparent from this report that, these factors have certainly affected either positively or negatively on the values of economic, environmental and socio cultural in Khajuraho. The final say is tourism in Khajuraho has fo stered over the years and it has changed many factors, it is the obligation of each and every single tourist who comes to visit Khajuraho to practice responsible tourism while mesmerized by the prehistoric sandstone shades of ancient arts.

A Case Study of Operational Strategies Adopted By Jyoti Remedies Essay

The global Pharmaceutical sector is worth US$300 billion and this is expected to rise to US$400 billion within three years. With 10 largest drugs companies controlling over one-third of the market, several have sales of more than US$10 billion a year and profit margins of about 30%. Of the top 10 six are based in the United States and four in Europe. It is predicted that North and South America, Europe and Japan will continue to account for a full 85% of the global pharmaceuticals market well into the 21st century. (wikipedia, 2014) In 2006, the US contributed 52 per cent of the pharmaceutical sector's growth, while the seven emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey referred to as â€Å"pharmerging† contributed 16 per cent combined. This year the pharmerging economies are expected to account for 51 per cent of the industry's growth, while the US has declined to -19 per cent. The Pharmerging Countries:- In reviewing each of the world’s emerging economies, the upcoming major players are generally classified as pharmerging countries and further they are divided in to three tier. (money control, 2014) Tier 1: China. With a GDP of more than $8 trillion, China is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical market. Most of the growth in China come from branded generic products manufactured and marketed by established domestic companies, although demand for innovative products from multinational companies is rising in the country’s leading urban centres. Tier 2: Brazil, Russia and India. These countries are each expected to add $5-15 billion in annual pharmaceutical sales by 2014. Brazil and Russia both have achieved consistent double-digit pharmaceutical sales growth in recent years, while ... ...ogi, R. (2011). The indian pharma sutical industry: the emperical study. the emperical study, 40-48. Schuh and compay. (2013). Operational excellence in pharmaceutical indusry. 3-13. Jyoti Remedies. (2014, march 10). jyoti remedies. Retrieved from Jyothi remedies: http://www.jyotiremedies.com/html/index.html money control. (2014, March). Money Control. Retrieved from http://www.moneycontrol.com/stocks/top-companies-in-wor;d/net-sales-bse/pharmaceuticals.html reserch and markets. (2014, march 10). Retrieved from reserchandmarkets: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/2043060/industry_insight_crams_contract_research wikipedia. (2014, march 10). wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry wikipedia. (2014, march 10). wikipedia. Retrieved from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry_in_India

educating the global citizen :: essays research papers

Educating the Global Citizen Quote: â€Å"Washing one’s hands in conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.† Paulo Friere who was a Brazilian educator and a human right activist wrote this quote. He was born in 1922 and died in 1997. The quote means that that if you don’t to anything to change the issue of the powerless then the powerful people are the ones that succeed. All the powerful need is for no one to stand in the way. If you grant them this then you truly helping them. If you side with the powerless then you are trying to help them and you are not being neutral which means doing nothing at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example is when the Europeans used African Americans as there slaves. The Europeans were the powerful and the African Americans were the powerless. Before the Underground Railroad people were being neutral about the situation. When they started this network of freeing slaves, the sided with the powerless, so that they could be free in Canada.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This quote is trying to make us make a difference in the world, instead of doing nothing at all. By helping someone in need you are making a big difference in our global village. To make a difference it not only takes the government but also us citizens. People all around the world are connected in someway or another. One issue can affect the whole world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One way that we can apply this quote to the present is how the world has allowed Iraq and Afghanistan to be attacked. Many innocent people, including children have been harmed because no one protested. The world helped the powerful and defeated the powerless. An issue that we are helping is the tsunami that happened in parts of Indonesia, Thailand and India.

Hrm Hotel

As described by Schuler, Randall S ; Personnel and Human Resource Management, Third Etalon 1 987, recruitment Is referring to the set of activates and recess used to legally obtain a sufficient number of qualified people at the right time and place so that people and organization can select each other in their own best short and long term interests. By implementing the recruitment process, its provide organization with the qualified group of potential candidates to fill up the vacancies.However, the recruitment process must be done properly to ensure unwanted higher turnover result, wasted recruiting and training costs can be controlled at lowest level and minimized. As for Hilton case, the higher turnover rates record over the past years has rigged the HER department to begin to ponder, what went wrong with their excellent recruitment process. Another question was why their staffs disciplines such as absenteeism, conflict, and stress amongst staff are turning up gradually?Were these problems/ deficiencies happened because of poor HER recruitment planning? Trying to relate the above problems with the current recruitment process implemented by Hilton, I shall go further by analyzing the data provided as shown in Fig 1 . However, evaluations are made only to those critical recruitment sources which I believe necessary action to be taken immediately to fill the vacant and improve the current executives' workload.Therefore sustainability is a factor which Hilton should include in deciding which method of recruitment they should practice. Details of the analysis taken from the yield ratio table as follow: I Recruitment Source II year Survival I 175% Sustainability by Recruitment Source from 1996 – 1999 Quality – Recruitment is about identifying and selection process of potential candidates for the human resource requirement of the organization therefore it is also important to identify which recruitment method can pool the best quality candidate.

Perfume Behaviours Essay

Abstract: Wearing perfume has been becoming more popular among young ladies. There are thousands of perfumes in market and each young lady buy perfumes concentrate on different factors. Such as aromas, package, advertisements and so on. Therefore, this piece of research is to survey the key factor for consumers buying perfumes. This research is conducted by Qualitative Research and Secondary research. Qualitative researches are Elite Interview, Generic Interview and Observation. It used to prove my hypothesis is reliable and this research is ended with some recommendations concern with this research. Background: As perfume is regarded as one of the biggest Fast Moving Consumer Good (FMCG), revealed by 1371 different types of perfume are sold in Selfridges & co and annual global perfume industry sales revenue was $27.5 billion. Also data shows number of perfume brands carried by US department stores increased from 756 to 1160 between 2002 and 2010. (Statistic Brain, 2012) One short movie shows that when Marilyn answered a question in an interview about:† What do you wear to bed?† She said:† Just a few drops of N °5!† (Chanel2012, 2012) For some females perfume it seems like a cloth and plays an essential role in women’s daily life. Wearing a special fragrance can be one of life’s great personal pleasures. Perfumes can evoke memories, to transport you to another place, another time. Perfumes can make you feel sexy, flirty, and happy. (PR, 2012) The research shows the great Valentine’s Day gift is perfume. Mary Ellen Lapsansky, Vice President of The Fragrance Foundation said: â€Å"One drop of fragrance can say it all, do it all.†(PR, 2012) However, how can consumers decide which perfume to choose? Which factors can influence the user for purchasing perfumes? There are a huge amount numbers of advertisements in market. It seems like that advertisement or other commercial actions guide consumers to buy perfumes. Take Chanel No.5 as an apt example. In the 1990s, report reveals more money spent advertising Chanel No.5. It has been estimated, last year, that more than $20 million is spent annually on marketing for Chanel No.5. In last year the sale revenue for Chanel No.5 was â‚ ¬1.809 billion. (Nessymon, 2012) We have to acknowledge that there are many factors in mind of users which induce them to purchase a particular perfume. Some of these factors are aroma, price, packaging, brand loyalty, quality and habit. Therefore, the prime objective of my study is to analyze the effect of various factors on buying behavior of users. Methodology: This research is conducted by Qualitative research. Qualitative research methods contained three parts: Elite interview, Generic interview and Observation. Firstly, 1 sale person at Churchill Square in Brighton and two more sale people at Selfridges & co has been interviewed with some questions about what are the factors will influence the user for purchasing perfumes and their personal view on the hypothesis of this research has been asked. Secondly, 20 female consumers at Selfridges & co have been interviewed by Generic interview with their opinion on user buying behavior towards perfumes and agree or disagree with the hypothesis. Furthermore, an observation had carried out at outside of Churchill Square, which observe the number of women who were wearing perfumes out of 50 women who passed by the door of Churchill Square. In the meanwhile, their age ranges were being observed. Results: Results of observation: Outcome of observation outside of the Churchill Square was 31 out of 50 passers-by who is women wearing perfumes. Their age is that it looks like among 15-year-old and 30-year-old. Results of generic interview: The following picture gives the information of generic interview with 20 respondents about rating of importance factors when you purchase a perfume. The rating is from 1 to 5(â€Å"1† for least important and â€Å"5† for most important) with six factors (Aroma, Price, Packaging, Brand, Quality and Habit). [pic] It obviously shows that 17 respondents think aroma is one of the most important factors will influence their purchasing decisions, while only 1 person think fragrance is not an essential factor. Most Respondents think price may influence their decisions but not quit essential, therefore most rating gather around 1,2and 3. Both 12 respondents rate 3 and 4 for packaging and habit. Last, most people rate 4 and 5 for both brand and quality. [pic] This pie chart reveals that 57% of respondents will be influenced by discounts or free gifts, while another 43% are in the other side. [pic] As can be seen from the above picture 6 respondents consider samples of perfume counters not influence their choice, but 9 more respondents consist samples of perfume counters can or may influence their decisions. Then there are 10 respondents consider advertisement or brand ambassador can affect their buying behavior and one more respondents do not think so. Last, all my respondents use the famous brand perfumes, like Chanel, Dior, YSL, Givenchy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Results of elite interview with three sales people: Three sales people are interviewed with question about what will influence consumer buying behavior. Three of them are all thinking aroma is important. Consumer is not going to buy something that smells bad. Scent is a powerful tool for beauty brands, especially for perfumes. Additionally, they all think that most consumers are not care about the price of perfumes, because they think perfume plays a role of necessities in most people’s daily life or most consumers buy it as a gift. Then, one of them mentioned ingredient is important. Whether is this perfume suitable for sensitive skin persons or not. Besides, one of three think beautiful package, advertisements and brand story are all including commercial way, it has impact on sale numbers but not very essential, especially for same level brand perfumes. While, another two sales trust advertisements or brand can influence consumers buying decisions. Furthermore, one of them mentioned color of perfume also is a factor for consumer buying towards perfumes. Some consumers will come and say they want to have a perfume with green color or they need a yellow one. They do not think free gifts can influence consumers’ decisions. One of them said when a consumer buy a perfume, he or she always can get a huge number of perfume samples. But discounts can attractive more consumers. Discussion: All the above the analysis, the hypothesis is true. There are various reasons may influence the user for purchasing perfumes. No doubt, aroma is important. Consumers are not going to buy bad smell beauty product. Scent is a powerful tool for beauty brands, especially for perfumes. Besides, Scent can directly affect the mood of consumers. Nobody wants to buy a bad fragrance perfume and lead them into a sadly mood. Marketing is another cannot be ignoring factors. Almost half per cent respondents think advertisement or brand ambassador would influence their decisions. Also perfume companies invest much money on advertisements and take many actions build brand loyalty. In addition, all my respondents are all use perfumes with famous brand. Like Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, YSL. It reveals more investment on advertisements attract more consumers. But competition for same level brand. When you go to Harrods which is a very famous shopping mall located in London and all perfumes show in Harrods are famous with high quality. If before go there you do some research and want to buy a perfume which is one famous singer uses or is a very world-known brands. Sadly, you forget the name of the brand or the package of perfume. You also can pick up one suitable perfume without that information when you walking around the perfume gallery. Perfume is not same as clothes or shoes. People do not need follow fashion trend to buy perfumes they just need choose one most suitable one for themselves or pick up one suitable perfume use in a suitable atmosphere. However, there are some fans will buy same perfume as their favorite singer or actors due to they want to closer with their idols. Thus, marketing is secondary. Except aromas and marketing, there are other factor has effected on buying behavior towards perfumes. 23% respondents never change the brand of their perfumes shows that habit has the impact on buying decisions. 41 per cent of respondents change perfumes seasonally reveals that weather, life experiences or mood may change people’s taste or necessary of different fragrances. Additionally, age is one of other factors. Like many young ladies may choose the Chanel but many older ladies prefer the old brand perfumes. Color of perfume also can change consumer’s buying decisions. If my packaging and claims are â€Å"blue†, does my product smell â€Å"blue†? Successful products make these full-circle sensory connections clear to consumers. Price is not a sensible impact factor and free gifts or discounts may increase volume of sales but is small. Therefore my hypothesis is true. Fragrance is key factor for purchasing and marketing is secondary. However, it also exits many other factors can effect consumer buying actions. Conclusion: This research is reliable. But it exits several problems in my research. Firstly, I do the observation at weekend and outside of a shopping mall. Some people just use perfumes during workdays or use it only at weekend. Besides, I may neglect someone who is using a real pale fragrance. Thus the data is not very precise. Actually, I need take a quantitative research. Secondly, my research did at Selfridges & co and Churchill Square. Both of these two shopping centers are for high shopping level consumers. It means most respondents have similarity economic background and most of them use perfumes of luxury brand and do not really care about price or quality (as quality is the same). They also may more concentrate on brand story. Last, the distinct buying actors towards perfumes can vary from different culture background and different countries. However, this research is reliable due to the result collected would be same or similar if another research with the same hypothesis is carry ou t. Recommendation: For my research, I should do a quantitative research. Such as do an on-line survey. My observation should not only do outside a shopping center at weekend, I need do more at different locals and time. For perfume companies, we have to acknowledge that aroma is a key factor for consumers. Marketing (advertisement and brand ambassador) for perfume is secondary important. Although it not as essential as the clothes, shoes or other fashion products. As my first research is based on perfume of famous brand, it shows advertisements have tiny impact on product sales. But for lower brand it may opposite. Thus, I should do further research including diverse levels of brand. Then perfume manufactories should distill perfume from natural intergradient. They should take some actions related color of perfumes and package to fragrances of perfumes. This piece of research shows young ladies whose age between 15 and 30 buying behavior towards perfumes, but females on distinct ages with diverse life experience may have different consuming actions. I need collect information from wide age period. Bibliography: ‘A SENSORY JOURNEY: FRAGRANCE IN BRANDING’ 2012, Global Cosmetic Industry, 180, 5, pp. 48-54, Business Source Elite, EBSCOhost, viewed 1 December 2012 Chanel (2012) Marilyn and N °5 – Inside Chanel Available at: http://www.youtube.com/user/chanel?feature=results_main (Accessed date: 2012/11/27) PR, N (2012), ‘Going shopping for a fragrance? Don’t know what to choose? Let the Certified Fragrance Sales Specialist be your guide’, PR Newswire US, 21 June, Regional Business News, EBSCOhost, viewed 1 December 2012 PR, N (2012) ‘The Great Valentine’s Day Gift Dilemma: Question: What Gift Says It All, Does It All, in One Pretty Package? Answer: Fragrance, Fragrance, Fragrance’, PR Newswire US, 2 February, Regional Business News, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 November 2012. Statistic Brain(2012) Perfume Industry Statistics Available at: http://www.statisticbrain.com/perfume-industry-statistics/ (Accessed:2012/11/28) â€Å"FRAGRANCE FOCUS† 2012, Global Cosmetic Industry, 180,8, p.12, Business Source Elite, FBSCOhost, viewed 1 December 2012. Nessymon (2012), Analyzing Advertising: Chanel No.5 The Film Available at: www.nessymon.com (Accessed: December, 2012).