Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Short answer question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Short answer question - Essay Example Blood test is the most reliable test during the earliest stages of pregnancy. Blood tests reveal pregnancy hormones in the blood stream such as the chorionic gonadotrophin. Urine test can also be conducted at home with high accuracy of the instructions (Choi 2010). False labor is characterized by irregular contractions from as early as four months of pregnancy while true labor is characterized by regular contractions that do not stop despite movement r change of position. This is assessment employed by professionals to determine whether the newborn is safe enough to survive the outside environment without further medical assistance. The score is determined after consideration of several factors such as the heart rate, skin color, respiratory effort, and reflex irritability. Mayoclinic.org, (2015).  Painful intercourse (dyspareunia) Definition - Diseases and Conditions - Mayo Clinic. [online] Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/painful-intercourse/basics/definition/con-20033293 [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]. Sparknotes.com, (2015).  SparkNotes: SAT Subject Test: Biology: Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis. [online] Available at: http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/biology/chapter7section2.rhtml [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]. Wade, J. (2012).  False Labor - American Pregnancy Association. [online] American Pregnancy Association. Available at: http://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/false-labor/ [Accessed 24 Mar.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Research Proposal Essay Example for Free

Research Proposal Essay This research project is entitled ‘Safe pedestrian practices: the perception of children in Sri Lanka’. Road traffic accidents are one of leading causes of death amongst child pedestrians in low-income countries. Despite this, little research has been done into effective interventions to reduce child mortality in these countries. This study aims to provide original and useful data from Colombo, Sri Lanka which will help in the development of new or existing road safety interventions and education, particularly in relation to child knowledge and perception. The method of research involves recruiting school children aged 8-9 years from the Holy Family Convent and St. Peter’s College schools situated on Galle road, Colombo. These schools have been selected as they have similar location, one being a girls school, the other a boys school. The first part of the study involves a draw and write technique where the children will be asked to draw a picture of themselves crossing Galle road, the main road by their school. They will then be given a piece of paper with the instruction ‘tell me what you have drawn and why’. Six children from each class will be then purposively selected to take part in a focus group. Content analysis will be used when analysing this section of the results. Finally I will carry out a two day observation of child pedestrian behaviour on Galle road. Behaviour of the children will be compared using the UK’s Green Cross Code. It is estimated that the research will take approximately four weeks to complete. This includes, recruiting and gaining consent from the participants, carrying out the draw and write activity, completing two focus groups and carrying out the observational study. The estimated cost of this research  £1163. Background Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide with 86% of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries despite accounting for only 40% of motor vehicles[i]. RTAs are the overriding cause of child injuries killing approximately 180 000 children under 15 each year. Children are rarely the cause of road traffic accidents but suffer as pedestrians, cyclists and passengers[ii]. Lack of research in low-income countries has meant a slow introduction of effective intervention strategies to reduce the mortality rates. Many factors are accountable for the high RTA rates in low-income countries including impaired driving, lack of enforcement and vehicle type. However the most significant differences found in low-income countries are the wide variation in road vehicles and the high number of vulnerable road users. The mixture of road users including pedestrians, bicycles, handcarts, mopeds, rickshaws, motorcycles, vans, cars, trucks and buses means that schemes to combat this problem have not been required in the same extent in high-income countries and therefore local research is needed[iii]. Child pedestrians account for a large proportion of vulnerable road users. The high number of pedestrian and cyclist casualties in these countries reflects not only their inherent vulnerability but also insufficient attention to their needs in policy-making3. A study in Pakistan observed 250 pedestrians in the top 10 risk areas for pedestrian RTAs in Karachi. They observed walking and crossing the road and walking on the pavement. Only 60% of the pedestrians looked left and right before crossing. 52% crossed the street less than 2 seconds before a vehicle passed the point they had just crossed. 35% caused the traffic to swerve to avoid the observed pedestrian. Of the 250 pedestrians observed walking on the street edge, 82% had a pavement available to them but were not using it[iv]. Of the pedestrians using pavements 28% encountered an encroachment and 84% of these stepped on to the street to avoid it. Among those who were observed stepping on the road from the sidewalk, 66% did not look out for oncoming traffic4. Possible study limitations were that only pedestrian behaviour was studied, not actual accidents and the study sites were the top ten risk sites for RTAs in Karachi so may not be transferable to other situations. The advantage of this data is that it was carried out in a low-income country which means the findings can be drawn on for other settings. Policy changes such as restricting the amount of pavement space being used by stalls or shops and publicity to highlight the danger of such behaviour along with the important of observation when crossing roads may make a large difference to fatality rates. Risk perception has been widely studied as a risk factor for injuries however literature relating to child pedestrian safety is seriously lacking. Zeedyk et al[v] carried out research on children who had been taught a programme of road safety. They carried out two studies, both focussing on the skill of finding a safe place to cross the road. Firstly they tested the effect of the programme in improving knowledge and secondly whether the children transferred their knowledge to change their behaviour in a traffic environment. Initial results encouragingly showed that the interventions were effective in increasing the children’s knowledge of safe and dangerous places to cross roads and that this information was retained for six months. The second study however showed that this knowledge did not influence behaviour and that those children who had received knowledge on safety when crossing roads behaved no differently from those children who had receive no information whatsoever. That is the children were not applying the knowledge they had displayed during pre-testing5. The study’s main limitation is that it does not allow any further information on why the children didn’t apply their knowledge in the real situation, only that they didn’t. Research in Australia[vi] into the parental risk perceptions of childhood pedestrian road safety found that cultural risk factors significantly affected risk perception and safety behaviour. The results showed that Chinese and Arabic speaking parents perceived the road environment to be significantly less risky to their children than parents from the other two language groups. One significant limitation of this study is that assumptions were made that the language spoken by an individual was closely linked to their cultural make-up. Since the main finding was the differences between perceptions from different cultural groups it seems important that this factor is reliable. Despite this, this study reinforces the need for local research from which local interventions can be implemented. As described there is very little research on road safety in low-income countries, particularly regarding the safety of child pedestrians. Intervention strategies to help reduce child pedestrian mortality can only be implemented if the factors underlying the increasing rates are established. It is hoped this study will help to describe the behaviour and perceptions of children in a named area in Sri Lanka regarding safe pedestrian practice. The study will help build on existing knowledge of child pedestrian safety but provide an original and detailed description of the behaviour and perceptions of Sri Lankan children in a defined area. The data produced from this study will identify the knowledge and behaviour of child pedestrians, what they perceive to be safe practices and why they think this. This study anticipates highlighting the importance of child perception in safety behaviours. Child perceptions should be taken into account when considering the design of safety education programmes and road safety interventions. Research Question The background literature shows a clear gap in research into the behaviour, knowledge and perceptions of child pedestrians in low-income countries. The research question for this study is: Child pedestrian fatalities: the accountability of child perceptions in Sri Lanka The aim of this study is to discover the perceptions children in Sri Lanka have regarding road safety and specifically related to their own safety as pedestrians which may influence their risk of being involved in a RTA. The results of this study will enable a greater understanding of how a defined group of children in Colombo, Sri Lanka use the local roads, what they know about road safety, how they perceive it and therefore whether they generally behave in accordance to their knowledge and perceptions. This was discussed above by Zeedyk et al5 who found the knowledge of the children in their study did not affect their behaviour. The objectives of this study are to: Observe and record the road behaviour of children in the local area Identify what the children know about pedestrian safety Discover whether the children know why certain practices are safe Make comparisons between what the children know about road safety and say they are aware of and how they behave in the real situation Detailed Research Proposal pedestrian injury Children are particularly vulnerable to pedestrian death because they are exposed to traffic threats that exceed their cognitive, developmental, behavioral, physical and sensory abilities. This is exacerbated by the fact that parents overestimate their children’s pedestrian skills. Children are impulsive and have difficulty judging speed, spatial relations, and distance. Auditory and visual acuity, depth perception and proper scanning ability develop gradually and do not fully mature until at least age 10. Method RTA death rates in Sri Lanka totalled 11 per 100 000 population in 1995[vii] with pedestrian accidents accounting for 45% of the total fatal accidents, one of the highest rates in Asia[viii]. The research will be carried out among children in Sri Lanka. The selected site is Galle Road, Colombo which is the main road from Colombo to Galle along the west coast of Sri Lanka and is the location of a number of schools. The assumption will be made that the majority of child pedestrians walking alongside and crossing that particular road are from one of the local schools. The study population will be girls and boys aged 5-15 years old attending schools in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Research shows RTAs predominantly affect those under the age of 15 [ix]. Schools in Sri Lanka are commonly single sex which means children will be selected from 2 schools, St Peter’s College, a boys’ school and Holy Family Convent, a girls’ school. Worldwide, boys are more likely to be affected by RTAs than girls so studying boys and girls may highlight important differences which could account for such a difference between them[x] [xi]. I was unable to find any research indicating which children are most at risk of RTAs only that those under 15 are an increased risk compared to the rest of the population. Research from Canada suggests children aged 6-9 years are most at risk and in a survey on children’s road safety practice several countries including the UK, New Zealand and the US identified those under 10 as most at risk[xii]. Research such as this in low income countries is scarce. Consequently I have decided to select the age groups 7-8 and 9-10 years as my sample. The methods being used in this study have been deemed inappropriate for children under 6 to carry out. Two classes of children, aged 7-8 and 9-10 from each of the schools mentioned year group will be studied, giving a total of 4 classes. Variations in ages might allow for difference in safety knowledge due to age to be identified. For example if the younger children perceive a certain dangerous practice to be safe and the same results are found in the older children this may indicate a problem with safety education or local road dangers rather than naivety due to age.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Transformation in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Essay -- Movie

Transformation in Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since Francis Ford Coppola’s   Apocalypse Now was based on Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, it is possible to draw many parallels between the two works. Both can be interpreted as metaphors for a journey through the inner self, and each has its own particular message to convey. In many ways they also appear to have similarities to Arthurian Legend, in particular the quest for the holy grail, and other allegorical journey narratives. The sum of the experiences of the protagonists, Marlow in Heart of Darkness and Willard in Apocalypse Now, reveal to them how the horrors and effects of war or conquest, can lead some people to madness, while other persons may discover the light and find absolute truth.    Traveling on a river is often used as a symbol for a journey of self-discovery in numerous literary works. For example, in works such as Dante's Inferno and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the protagonists journey down the River Styx, and the Mississippi, respectively;   encounter many challenges which provide them with opportunities to reach an understanding of themselves. In Heart of Darkness Marlow accepts his quest to journey up the long and dangerous Congo River to transport ivory from Kurtz's Inner Station back to the Outer Station. In Apocalypse Now Benjamin Willard who began as a special military recruit is sent on a mission up the Nung River to "exterminate with extreme prejudice, (Apocalypse Now)" Kurtz. In each work the protagonists witness and endure unspeakable hostilities along their journeys and in order to survive and accomplish their ultimate goals, both push themselves beyond their physical, spiritual, and mental limits to the point o... ...ard takes the role of a father and leads a young military away from the jungle, and Marlow returns to the pristine waters of the ocean.    Works Cited    Conrad, Joseph. Apocalypse Now. New York: Norton and Company, Inc. ,1988.  Ã‚      Heart of Darkness. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. with Marlon Brandon, Robert Duvall, and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Martin Sheen. Paramount, 2000.    Topic: Heart of Darkness vs Apocalypse Now. http://grassroots.mediacentre.com/csdsescalb1/unit5/heart_vs_apocalypse.htm. (19 May 2002).    Baxter, Gisà ¨le. "Notes on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness." The G.M. Baxter Page.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   28 October, 1999. http://www.interchange.ubc.ca/gmb/conrad.html. (20 May 2002).    Krall, Aaron, Aimee Lanoue, and Matthew Pavesich. What is the Heart of Darkness? http://www.stfrancis.edu/en/student/kurtzweb/darkness.htm. (19 May 2002).   

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Can You Imagine a Life Without Computer?

Imagine before the Christ when people communicated with the smoke of wood fire which even is not used to warm up in today or an ambassador travelled by a horse for a long time to provide communication between the two kings. These are strange for us who are the slaves of the computer era, are not these? Do you realize that computers have become a main part of your lives in time, too? It is amazing to see how computer come into our lives in just several decades. It is impossible to imagine a day without working on our computers or spending time with the computers.Mainly there are two reasons regarding for this enormous change because of the rising popularity of computers. The most important reason is that it makes our lives easier. First, we experienced this ease in the education life. When students research on the Internet instead of going to the library, they can reach enormous resources easily so they save time. For example, if they are reading an essay, they can change the language of the essay or reach the references with only one click instead of searching a lot of books. In addition, they can study easily thanks to the variety of programs.For instance, since some computer programs calculate basic mathematical operations faster than human brain, these are beneficial for study. Second, we experienced this ease in the business life. To illustrate, online banking has brought to ease for businessmen so they do not have to go to a bank and wait for a long time. They can also store enormous knowledge such as contracts, knowledge of customers and statistics in the hard disc. Thus, they do not need huge area or effort to store these. Furthermore, businessmen can attend their meeting in different place at the same time thanks to the online conference communication.Thus, they can gather when they want easily. Another reason why computers become so popular is that it provides opportunities for leisure time activities. Computer plays a great role in the communication a spect of our lives. Social Network is the most common area in which the computer is used in communication. The fact that you can not find anyone who has not got a facebook account is the clearest example how online communicating has become so popular with facebook. In addition to facebook, some other websites such as twitter and instagram started to be more and more popular in time.Everyday millions of people are engaged in these websites and share their activities, feeling and photographs so that other people can follow them in their leisure time. Besides, people can spend their free time on the computer to recreate. For example, Second Life which is an online game has millions of members. In this game, people create avatars and direct them. As the avatars represent how they wish others to perceive them, they can spend their all leisure time enjoyable. Moreover, people can archive both music and film in the computer.In other words, computer enables us to keep both music and film. T hus, they can reach the archives and listen to music or watch the film anytime and anywhere. All in all, since computer makes our life easier by doing something faster than us and gives a lot of chances to communicate and recreate, its popularity is increasing. In the future, it will develop even further. However, if the popularity will go on to increase, all of us will be computer addicted. These machines will be an inseparable part of our lives. We can not do anything without computer as life without air.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Business Analysis on Sony Corporation

Business Analysis on Sony Corporation for the years between 2001 and 2011 Overview Looking back on the past decade of Sony Corporation, opportunities walked along with challenges. The â€Å"combination of giants† between Sony and Ericsson caught attention of the whole world. The invention of mini vertical mobile phone promptly captured the youth market. When Sony Ericsson was at its best, its sales figures were ranking Top Three in European and American markets. However, since 2008, Sony Ericsson almost has opted out of the top list in mobile phone industry.The revolution of iPhone and Android ruined Sony Ericsson’s confidence thoroughly. In addition, the political conflicts and historical factors, such as Diaoyu Island incident, to some extent, have affected the sales in recent years further. Our business analysis emphasizes on the development of Sony Corporation during the period from 2001 to 2011, especially the overseas market expansion in mobile phone industry. We will introduce the development process of Sony and the challenges they faced or will face from three perspectives: business, political and socio-cultural factors.Besides, we, as well as Sony Corporation, concentrate most is how to turn these challenges to the opportunities. Firstly, let us illustrate the organizational structure of Sony Ericsson, especially Sony Ericsson China. The market share of Ericsson has ever ranking no. 3 in global mobile phone market in late 90s of 20 century. Their promoting strategy in Chinese regions made an excellent success because of selecting LIU Dehua and JIN Chengwu as spokesmen. However, Ericsson suffered a huge loss resulting from a mistake in generating strategy in 2000.Meanwhile, Sony mobile phone could scarcely capture the market share, for they were too late to get access to the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) market. It was in this context that Sony and Ericsson reached a consensus that each of their mobile phone departments sub scribed 50 percent shares to establish a joint venture corporation, that is, Sony Ericsson. They two operated the company together that Ericsson was responsible for technology and quality control while Sony was in charge of the outlook design and sales.The organizational structure is as following. Since 2008, the tablet revolution led by Apple and Android has inflicted a severe impact on Sony Ericsson. In 2011, Sony broke up with Ericsson and purchased the remaining 50 percent shares owned by Ericsson before. Sony kept the mobile phone production department, but their market share cannot be compared to the past. Secondly, the development of Sony mobile phones went through a tough procedure. Let’s briefly review the milestones and look forward to the future.Sony Ericsson sustained high losses in the first two years, until T618 was launched in 2003. T618 was an influential mobile phone type which directly turned SE into profits. And then, to make full use of Sony’s techn ology in Walkman, SE launched W800 in 2005, bringing the concept of music phone to the public. After that, K790 was the first professional camera phone with flashlight, which beyond any other brands at that time. The net income in Sony reached a peak in 2008 with 369,435 yen in millions, while it decreased abruptly in 2009 resulting from the rapid rise of Apple and Android.The cooperation with Android cannot revived SE as the development of X10i and Xperia arc Lt15i could not make ends meet. The continuing losses upset Ericsson and accelerated the termination of the contract between Sony and Ericsson. Therefore, we recommend that Sony should change their marketing strategies to â€Å"low cost, low price† strategy in order to capture the markets in developing countries. In addition, the conclusion of financial annual reports in the past decade is one of the core factors to evaluate the development of Sony. SONY ‘s Net Income(Loss) 2001-2011YearNet Income (Loss) 200116,75 4 200215,310 2003115,519 200488,511 2005163,838 2006123,616 2007126,328 2008369,435 2009-98,938 2010-40,802 2011-259,585 According to the financial figures, it is not hard to track the operation status in Sony for the ten years. 2003, 2008 and 2009 are remarkable turning points and we will demonstrate the business, political and socio-cultural causes in detain as follows. Analysis on Business Aspect In 2000, the subsidiary of famous telecoms giant, the world's third-largest mobile phone company Ericsson, suffered a continuous loss.Ericsson used it as a trigger to start the joint venture company with Japan electronics giant Sony with equal-shared stake in global mobile phone business. Sony Ericsson was established in 2001 as a prestigious international brand for youth. Its global headquarter was located in London which was incompatible with the common thought that Sony Ericsson belongs to Japan . Its international employees were up to 7500 including the research and development talen ts from Europe ,Japan ,China and America.It was a hidden danger for two parties’ division that a considerable number of the technology was mainly transplanted from Sony Company. The new co-operation company combined the Sony’s capability of planning and designing video product, marketing electronic product and promoting brand with the Ericsson’s specialization in mobile telecommunication technology, operators relationship maintaining and network facilities construction. At the beginning two years, Sony Ericsson took debts of 16. 2 billion Swedish grams from Ericsson causing 5 percentage market shares shrunk which made large shareholders have to reinvest 300 million.By virtue of the support of parent companies, Sony Ericsson was booming later and embodying its own style in processing image and wireless telecommunication. In the September of 2003, it first gained profit with introducing an influential upright mobile phone using a few-but-delicate strategy to compe te with corresponds’ mass products. In the next year, the developing trend for Sony Ericsson was irresistible that it opened Valentine’s party cooperated with many outstanding brands to launch its new phones .Its classic and innovate products started to be appealing to various consumption levels in different areas. Starting from the second season of 2005, Sony Ericsson used existed brand Walkman in Sony to create the first bi-brand phone which took over electronic entertainment career of Sony. It made a good performance for increasing both market share and profit . Furthermore, it transplanted Sony Walking and Cyber-shot brand successfully getting a reputation. However, photographing and music functions were commonly imitated by other brands causing Sony Ericsson lose its edge in advanced technology.Some demerits of its products also appeared such as inconvenience of phone download, insufficiency of capability and incommodity of background use. Main reasons for the dec lined performance were that products did not keep up with the rhythm of market and not pay attention to the Smart mobile phone market. Its delicate high-price strategy was in a dilemma for consumers were unwilling to pay a large bill of non-smart cell phone . Meanwhile its internal management was in chaos and the contest for leadership among the executives led to the change of personnel in 2007.Coincidently, an economic crisis happened and changed the consumer’s demand of phone. Sony Ericsson found itself left behind on account of insufficient supply of low-end phone, lack of brand-new products for high-end and shortage of amazing spot in the field of smart phone. Its ever strongest music and photography phones for the mid-market were surpassed by competitors. And it also did not recognize the great demand in Chinese market that it was doomed a tough year for Sony Ericsson . In 2008, Sony intended to purchase the equity of Ericsson which was set aside.Considering the unsatisf ied performance in new products launch and market share for last three years, Sony Ericsson former executive in Silicon Valley Nordberg became the CEO . He abandoned futureless Symbian system and low-end market focusing on the Google’s Android system to reform the company strategy. The decision turned out to be wise that Sony Ericsson launched several excellent Android phone and turned losses into gains gradually. The hesitation between multiple platform system let Sony Ericsson miss a lot of golden chances to boom.It seemed to be an irresistible trend for Sony Ericsson’s ending which will provide space for Sony to shine itself. At the end of October in 2011, Sony officially announced that it offered 1. 05 billion euros to take over the other 50 percent stake Ericsson held. Now Sony Ericsson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony and will no longer exist but with a Sony logo. Sony mobile takes advantage of Android platform to develop rapidly and its market share grows gr adually with Xperia series launching. In addition, Sony closed its functional phone production and was dedicated to operate Android smart phone.It can also integrate its huge resources under its name Analysis on Political Aspect Political factor is playing a crucial role in the process of oversea market expansion, for it decides what entrance mode that a company will choose. This section will critically discuss about the political aspect in the way of Sony Company’s internationalization and conduct an analysis on both Sony in China and Europe as a particular example. Political Environment and Company Strengths From 1945 after the World War? international political situation turned to be stable and peace in general, which create a valuable moment for Japan and other countries to develop economy in postwar time. USD-centered International Monetary System provided a comparatively stable condition for international trade. And in 1946, Sony was started from scratch. Inside the cou ntry, on the one hand, with western democratic political system and legal institute built in Japan successfully, Japanese government gradually relaxed the restriction on import and export trading since 1960 in order to push economy grows.On the other hand, economy development brought with living-level to rise. The demand for household appliance rose as well. These are basic national conditions to Sony for its oversea business activities. For Sony itself, firstly it has a clear and specific goal and plan on inland and oversea marketing. Secondly, it insists on high quality product with high price strategy, which establishes the reputation for the brand. Thirdly, enterprise culture attracts customers to build up a brand loyalty to Sony. Political Challenges of Sony’s InternationalizeAs the company did an excellent sales performance in Japan, it decided to stretch its branches into oversea area. In January, 1959, Sony became the new brand name instead of the original company nam e to meet the international trend. Opportunities and threats are both exist on the way of oversea expansion. Here is an analysis on Sony Company’s expansion worldwide and the main challenge of its entrance mode select in different countries and areas, under the effects by the political factors. In November, 1986, Sony set up its first European headquarters Sony Euro in Germany.Before that, it settled the branches respectively in US(1968), Germany(1970) and France(1973) to enlarge the sales revenue and promote its concept of localization around the world. A remarkable example that Sony Company joint venture with Ericsson Company to create a new brand of Sony Ericsson, which both of them holding 50% of the share. And in February, 2012 Sony took over it as sub company via acquisition. For Asian companies, European monetary system provide them a ideal trading base, for they can easily enlarge the sales target in Euro zone.Meanwhile, the main challenges they faced with in European market are serious as well. Exchange rate risk in monetary policy and stability of financial system is uncertainty. Crisis of finance would make a great loss once spread rapidly. Bank industry can be depressing while economy recession, then debts and mortgage challenging the foreign companies. During the last economy crisis, Sony Company reduced the staffrimmer at a number of 10,600 around. Sony first established its branch office in Beijing, China in the year of 1996.Since the company already had a far-spread reputation, brand effect was its strength to open the market of China. And Sony had accumulated fairly enough capital by the end of 20th century after decades of development and expansion. At that time, Chinese government executed positive policy on introducing foreign capital, such as tax preference and concessional debts, which greatly supported Sony to set the branch office in the format of foreign-owned enterprise with confidence. However, there is always an unpredictable and essential factor that may influence its sales in mainland.Challenges came and went following the complex relationship between China and Japanese. Recently, it is reported that sales volume of Sony products in China has an obvious drop-down after the Diaoyu Island Event. Advertising activity was limited in some local TV station, and the public called for boycott of Japanese products. All these made the sales volume of Sony decreasing. In view of this condition, Sony Company continue focusing on product quality and carry out necessary promotion campaign.According to top manager, they insist of positive attitude towards further development in China. Analysis on Socio-Cultural Aspect Socio-culture is one of the crucial factors which will largely affect development of a company. In this part, we will discuss the social-culture problems in Sony. Sony Enterprise Culture As is known to all, Sony Corporation ( ) , commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate co rporation headquartered in Konan Minato, which established in 1946, Tokyo, Japan.As a Japanese enterprise, it has a wealth of enterprise culture. The first one is that Sony’s founder not only knew the importance of science and technology, but also determined the declaration when the company was founded, â€Å"the company’s aim is to rapidly progress the war a variety of techniques are applied to the national life to†, â€Å"in a timely manner to all universities and research results into products and commodities†. In addition, they also vigorously introduce foreign advanced technology.The second one is that, in order to give full play to the enthusiasm and pioneering spirit, Sony launched a unique personnel system, which allows and encourages people â€Å"volunteered† to apply for various research and development projects according to their interests, hobbies and expertise. Sony believes that those who are not complacent, do not stick to convention s, jump around in the various research groups are most likely to develop a new tech or product. The third one is that, innovation is an important part of Sony’s corporate culture, as well as the key to success.The company founder once said:† Sony’s success is due to the innovation in science, technology, management, marketing and other aspects. † Now Sony develops about 1,000 new products, an average of every working day 4 species. The last one is that, Sony keeps the faith† love and respect each other†. All the employees ranging from director to humble workers are equal. During working time, they all wear the same jackets, just like a harmonious family. Sony’s Executives do not have their own office. They work with others together.So everyone can get on well with each other in a very short time. I think this kind of enterprise culture largely determines the success of Sony. The employee will feel relax in such culture environment instead of feeling nervous. So they can work more efficiently and have more room to innovate. But there are also some discordant parts. As Sony is a Japanese company, they usually start their work early while the Europeans do not like to work before 10. 00 a. m. This will cause â€Å"culture shock† when the Sony approaching to the world market.Adapt to European market In order to foray into the European market, Sony created a joint venture named Sony Ericsson. They use global localization strategy to adapt to the whole world, especially to European market. They established their factory in America, Europe, southeast Asia and so on to realized the localization production. The localization production realized localization management. Sony employed the local talents with high management skills. I think the global localization strategy has its two sides. There are several advantages.The one is, due to this strategy, they will hire the local people. Generally, the local people know more detail. So they can help the enterprise adapt itself to local culture and environment. Secondly, this strategy can ease and avoid political risk, desalinate host country residents for the joint venture of foreign capital impression. On the contrary, this strategy will cause technical secret problems. It is hard to guarantee that not let out any secret though the sharing of technical knowledge. Secondly, there will have some coordination problems between subsidiary and parent company.It seems to be impossible to reconcile the subsidiary’s target with parent company’s target. Finally, this strategy needs more capital and resource. So it will suffer a higher risk. Conclusion Through the analysis we have done, we present the worries about Sony’s future development. Although its shared working place and enthusiastic company culture are impressing that shows the respect of equality and the concern of individuals, the lacking sense of fashionable technology will not sm ooth the development way of Sony.Its high quality control spirit will appeal to the frequent and honest customers, but the imitators and the allure of competitive prices will finally take away Sony’s customer base. In addition, the stressful political relationship between China and Japan will influence the choice of electronic consumption in China so that Sony had better seek a boarder market to maintain its sales and work harder on nurturing its product identify.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Benchmarking Money Transfer Services

Benchmarking Money Transfer Services Free Online Research Papers Money transfer overseas is that process in which money can be transferred from one location to another. Various companies are offering this type of services to a large number of customers. Money transfer process is fast, reliable, as well as convenient to manage. By these methods, money can be sent or received in any part of the world without any harassment. Western Union Money Transfer was incorporated in the year 1851 and is a leading financial services provider specializing in money transfer business in the United States. Western Union Money Transfer offers a wide variety of services to its customers, which include money orders, consumer-to-consumer money transfer and many other types of commercial services. In 2006, the number of operating units of the Western Union Money Transfer was 2700,000 with branches of this renowned financial service in more than 200 countries worldwide. When it comes to sending money from place to place, Western Union is the most well-known money-transfer company around. While Western Union is the forerunner in this service industry there are alternatives. Western Unions main competition is from MoneyGram. MoneyGram allows customers to send and receive money through 75000 centers throughout 175 countries across the world. MoneyGram has been providing trusted payment and financial services since 1940. MoneyGram diversity of branches gives you choice and convenience, with many offering extended hours so you can send and receive money at a time that’s convenient for you. MoneyGram claims to be cheaper than the leading money transfer provider, although costs may vary by country and the amount of the international money transfer. Furthermore, Western Union started a strategy to decrease their prices in 2009, and they could be cheaper than MoneyGram. This issue will be presented and analyzed through this research. 1.2 Problem Presentation In this case study, I’m working with Ahli Bank (quality assurance department), who are looking forward to improve the performance of MoneyGram service in Jordanian market. They need to measure the level of people awareness of their money transfer service as a main competitor of the leading Money transfer service Western Union, taking in consideration that Western Union has a monopolistic position in Jordan. They need also to know how satisfied the current customers with their service in order to make any improvements and to be able to close the service gaps. They need also to plan their marketing strategy accordingly, so they need to know where they should align their plans, how they could increase their market share by increasing people awareness in the first place. They need a real comparison between two services to take a full image about the current situation, and how could Western Union succeed with continuous efforts for improving themselves, and rewarding their cust omers to keep their loyalty. They need to collect Jordanian feedback and measure their responses, measure their awareness, and loyalty level. So, which attributes should be measured? How much do a quick response, the spread and costs affect customers’ satisfaction? How should they gather the customer expectations? How should the company fulfill these expectations? How could they close the service gap? How could they achieve and sustain a competitive advantage? And how could they shine in money transfer industry in Jordanian market?! 1.3 Why benchmarking Benchmarking is the master key to becoming the best; and it is one of the most effective means to identify improvements which can make a significant difference to our service. This improvement could be defined as increasing customer satisfaction in the most effective manner. In this research, we are trying to provide Ahli Bank with solid data about the awareness and performance of MoneyGram service comparing with the main competitor Western Union. 1.4 Purpose 1. To highlight money transfer services in Jordan. 2. To benchmark money transfer services – MoneyGram and Western Union – in the following dimensions: Spread Cost Awareness SERVQUAL five dimensions: Reliability Responsiveness Assurance; Empathy, and Tangibility 3. To discover the gaps between MoneyGram and Western Union, and come up with recommendation that may close the gaps and help Ahli Bank to improve the performance of MoneyGram. 1.5 Strategy The strategy in this project as follows: 1. Distributing a survey which built on SERVQUAL model, the results of this survey are analyzed and measured to give us a feedback about the gap between MoneyGram and the money transfer leader Western Union. 2. Visiting the suppliers of money transfer services (banks, and money exchange agents) 3. Electronic awareness survey to measure the awareness level of MoneyGram service as a competitor of Western Union. 4. Calculating the net promoter score NPS, to measure the responses on the recommend question, and measure the loyalty of customers. 5. Collecting information about the cost and spread of both services. 1.6 Limitations 1. Limited time to complete the study. So we can’t conduct interviews with money transfer users to get more information about their needs and attitudes. 2. Confidentiality of data regarding the visited agents, especially when they know the visit is for research purposes. 3. Confidentiality of Ahli bank documents: all data are gathered outside the bank, using surveys and mystery shopping. 4. Jordanian culture: Jordanian can’t understand the importance and added values of research, so they keep their information confidential, they are preservatives from participating in surveys, and they are not aware of their requirements and needs when they are answering the service quality questions. These issues complicate data collection process. 2.0 Methodology 2.1 Process Analysis – Flowchart The following flowchart represents the process of sending and receiving money through money transfer agents. 2.2 SERVQUAL Survey SERVQUAL is an instrument for measuring how customers perceive the quality of a service. This method is based on the five quality dimensions: Tangibles – the appearance of the physical facilities and materials related to the service Reliability – the ability to perform the service accurately and dependably Responsiveness – the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service Assurance – the competence of the system and its security, credibility and courtesy Empathy – the ease of access, approachability and effort taken to understand customers’ requirements The data obtained from this tool can be used to compute service† quality gaps. By examining these various gap scores a company can not only asses its overall quality of service as perceived by customers but also identify the key dimensions, and facets within those dimensions, on which it should focus its quality improvement efforts. Our survey in this project is based on SERVQUAL instrument, with 20 questions to cover the service quality five dimensions, 4 questions each (See Appendix 1). We had distributed the survey in Arabic language, and we tried to cover different age groups, different education levels, and different occupations. 2.2.1 Survey Analysis Sample size: 64 participants (Random sampling) 48 responses were included in our analysis. (75%) 16 responses were excluded from our analysis (25%). These responses were from Ahli bank employees, which could bias our analysis to MoneyGram. Western Union users: 67% of the sample ïÆ'   81% using money exchange subagents 19% using banks MoneyGram users: 23% of the sample ïÆ'   18% using money exchange subagents 82% using banks Other services users (SpeedCash, Wire transfer †¦): 10% of the sample ïÆ'  supplied by banks Sample demographics: Demographic variables Segments and percentages Gender 52% Male 48% Female Age group 2% Less than 21 48% 21 to 30 25% 31 to 40 17% Above 41 years Educational level 45% Bachelor 6% Master and above 13% College and less 36% Unspecified Occupation Teachers, Lawyers, Pharmacists, Managers, students†¦ Table 1: SERVQUAL survey sample demographics 2.2.2 SERVQUAL methodology 1. The answers of survey 20 questions were entered in an Excel sheet, where the answers of Western Union users separated from the answers of MoneyGram users. 2. Find the average score for every statement of 20 statements. 3. Calculate the Gap Score for each of the statements where the Gap Score = Perception – Expectation. (We have considered the expected score to be 4.25 for all questions) 4. Obtain an average Gap Score for each dimension of service quality by finding the average gap score for the statements that constitute the dimension. 5. Calculate the importance weights for each of the five dimensions of service quality constituting the SERVQUAL scale. The sum of the weights should add up to 100. We had distributed the dimensions statements (in Appendix 2) for some people where every statement represents a one specific dimension (Sample: 30 participants) The average weight score for each dimension after analyzing the responses is displayed in the table 2. 6. Calculate the weighted average gap score for each of the five dimensions of service quality multiplying the average gap score for every dimension by the weighted scores. Then sum the calculated scores to obtain the average weighted gap score. (See table 2) 7. Calculate the weighted average score for each of the five dimensions of service quality by weighting the average score to the weight for each dimension (for example: Tangibility weighted score = ( 3.84 * 18.93 )/5 = 14.55). Then sum the calculated scores to obtain the average weighted score. (See table 3) 2.2.3 Findings Our results for Western Union and MoneyGram in the following tables: Dimension Western Union MoneyGram Average Gap Score Weight Weighted Gap Score Average Gap Score Weight Weighted Gap Score Tangibility -0.41 18.93 -7.69 -0.55 18.93 -10.33 Reliability -0.32 22.78 -7.29 -0.43 22.78 -9.84 Responsiveness -0.25 22.44 -5.61 -0.41 22.44 -9.18 Assurance -0.14 18.9 -2.66 -0.41 18.9 -7.73 Empathy -0.38 16.95 -6.36 -0.64 16.95 -10.79 Average Weighted gap score -29.61 -47.86 Dimension Western Union MoneyGram Average Score Weight Weighted Score Average Score Weight Weighted Score Tangibility 3.84 18.93 14.55 3.70 18.93 14.03 Reliability 3.93 22.78 17.90 3.82 22.78 17.40 Responsiveness 4.00 22.44 17.95 3.84 22.44 17.24 Assurance 4.11 18.9 15.53 3.84 18.9 14.52 Empathy 3.88 16.95 13.14 3.61 16.95 12.25 Average Weighted score 79.08 75.43 Table 2: SERVQUAL Weighted Gaps Scores Table 3: SERVQUAL Weighted Scores Chart 1: Displaying weighted gap scores Chart 2: Displaying weighted scores Implications 1. A negative Gap score indicates that the actual service (the Perceived score) was less than what was expected. Accordingly, we can find that the two services are supplied under expectation, but with higher gap for MoneyGram service. 2. The highest gaps are in tangibility and empathy dimensions for MoneyGram, they should work more on these two dimensions to provide them in more quality oriented manner. 2.3 Awareness Survey Electronic survey had been created using Vista survey (vista-survey.com/). It was arranged logically, so the questions that will be presented are related to the previous answers. For example, if the participant said that he never heard about MoneyGram, I will not ask him if he ever used MoneyGram service. (The complete sets of questions in the awareness survey are listed in Appendix 4). 2.3.1 Survey Analysis Sample size: 73 participants Western Union users ïÆ'   56% (40 participants) MoneyGram users ïÆ'   8% (6 participants) Other services users ïÆ'   5% Not current users of money transfer services ïÆ'   34% Sample Demographics: Demographic variables Segments and percentages Gender 52% Male 48% Female Age group 7% 18 to 25 47% 26 to 30 27% 31 to 35 5% 36 to 40 14% Above 41 Employment Status 79% Employed full time 3% Employed part time 12% Homemaker Full time student 3% Retired 3% Currently unemployed 2.4 Net Promoter Score (NPS) NPS is a management tool that can be used to gauge the loyalty of a firms customer relationships. We can calculate NPS based on the answer of the recommend question in the survey, the answers are classified as follows: Promoters – who answered YES are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fueling growth. Passives – who answered Not Sure are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings. Detractors – who answered NO are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth. NPS captures two key behaviors: 1. Buyer economics (the value of the customer) 2. Referral economics (their potential value through referral). The first deals with an individual’s own choices and the second with how those choices influence others. The difference- the net- is the metric of interest. It takes into account the positive impact of Promoters (higher repurchase rates and referrals) and the negative impact of Detractors (negative comments, lower repurchase rates) to yield a summary metric. Higher percentages of Detractors also link to reduced growth rates. This evidence shows that it is not just Promoters but the absence of Detractors that create a positive growth engine. The ultimate question (The recommend question) We asked the following question in our survey to calculate NPS: Q. Would you recommend the service provider for other people? Results from SERVQUAL survey: Western Union users MoneyGram users YES 84% 74% Not Sure 13% 26% NO 3% 0% NPS = Promoters – Detractors NPS (Western Union) = 84% – 3% = 81% NPS (MoneyGram) = 74% 0% = 74% Results from electronic awareness survey: Western Union users MoneyGram users Absolutely, all of the time (Promoters) 36% 17% Most of the time (Promoters) 39% 67% May or may not (Passives) 15% 17% Probably not (Detractors) 5% 0% Would never recommend (Detractors) 5% 0% NPS = Promoters – Detractors NPS (Western Union) = (36% + 39%) – (5% + 5%) = 65% NPS (MoneyGram) = (17% + 67%) – 0% = 84% Implications: NPS for Western Union is greater than MoneyGram, so Western Union users could promote the service more than MoneyGram users. We have some passives for both services (higher for MoneyGram); those can be attracted by competition easily. MoneyGram in the two surveys doesn’t’ have detractors. This is a good indication of potential growth. But in this study, we can relate this result to the few no. of participants from MoneyGram users. That’s because, we used random sampling, and we expect the percentage of MoneyGram users in the sample is reflecting the actual no. of users. The two scores are considered quite high, we need more research and interviewing people with open-ended questions to elaborate more about their attitude toward their money transfer service, and this should be conducted by Ahli bank on 60% of MoneyGram users as this research has limited time to be finished. NPS is a good methodology to adapt it. It needs more research, and group discussions to be implemented in the bank. 2.5 Area of study Our area of study is Gardenz Street. We did choose this street as it has a well and large coverage of money transfer agencies. We have found that the spread of the services over the banks and money exchange agencies in this area as follows: 15% MoneyGram 85% Western Union International spreading of the two services as follows: 97% for Western Union 3% for MoneyGram We can find that these international spreading numbers are reflected into Jordanian market, regardless that the spread in our area of study was quite higher than international numbers. 2.6 Mystery Shopping Duration: 3 days Location: Banks and money exchange agents in Gardenz Street. Tool: Checklist (see Appendix 3) The visited suppliers: Western Union MoneyGram Banks Housing bank Jordan Kuwait bank Commercial bank Jordan bank Ahli bank Money exchange agents Petra ME Aboud ME AlFurat ME AlAlami ME Abu Shaikha ME Mesharbesh ME AlRaed ME Summary: The above listed money transfer suppliers were visited. These suppliers are located in our study area (Gardenz Street). We are looking in our visits to check if the standards are implemented and to which level they are performed. We have covered the following dimensions in the visits: the sign, promotion and feature knowledge, application filling, and extra benefits provided to customers. Analysis: Suppliers average scores: Western Union MoneyGram Banks 3.51 3.19 Money exchange agents 2.72 2.6 Field Observations: 1. The banks supply the service in more quality oriented manner. That’s because the banks are well prepared for providing financial services, and the money transfer is one of the main services delivered to customers. 2. It was obvious that the banks don’t give attention and priority for money transfer service as one of their services, so they don’t have a specific employee for this service, the customer should wait in a queue most of the time, and you could wait a long time to find the responsible part inside the branch to deliver the service to you. 3. The money exchange agent can supply the service without long waiting time, they have specific employee to serve you, and the time for delivering the service is more convenient for customers. But the money exchange agents don’t follow standards in tangibility (cleanness, modern equipments), and their employees don’t have the required knowledge in delivering this service. 4. The sign of Western Union is attractive in its color and size in most suppliers’ offices. That’s doesn’t apply on MoneyGram at all, it could takes you long time to perceive an agent while you are passing by the car. 2.7 Price Comparison (Transfer Fees) The transfer fees are set from the international companies of both services. Sending $1000 from Jordan to the following countries: MoneyGram Western Union Egypt $12 $15 Philippines $12 $15 Srilanka $19.9 $15 Indonesia $9 $10 Emirates $50 $47 Implications: There are some countries were MoneyGram is cheaper than Western Union. Western Union revised their prices and minimized them since one month from starting this study. It was more expensive than MoneyGram. Western Union used the same low transfer fee for all the countries which have high number of labors inside Jordan. Those labors are the most targeted customers who care about the prices to be low and competitive. 3.0 Outcome 1. Benchmarking results Based on the previous analysis, each one of the following criteria will be given a rate out of 5, to be able to determine the gap between the two services. Western Union MoneyGram SERVQUAL Dimensions 3 2 Market Share 5 1 Awareness 4 1 Price 4 4 Spread 5 2 The above table shows that the Western Union is better performing in most criteria, and the price is the only one that provided on the same level from both services. 2. Awareness The following pie chart illustrates the awareness level of MoneyGram in Jordanian market (based on awareness survey results) 3. Service quality The service quality in which money transfer service is supplied should be revised and work on for both services to be more reliable and competitive, but MoneyGram should work more on service quality as it has higher gap from expected performance than Western Union in SERVQUAL dimensions. 4. Spread The spread of MoneyGram suppliers over the studied area was in very low percentage comparing with Western Union. But we can find lower percentage in international spreading of MoneyGram which could reflect on most areas inside Jordan (3% MoneyGram, 97% Western Union) 5. Customers Preference The customers would like to use money exchange agencies for transferring money for their prompt service and availability for longer period of time, but the most suppliers of MoneyGram are banks!!! 6. Money Transfer Fees The transfer fees of the two services could be on the same level, some countries are cheaper for Western Union, and some are cheaper for MoneyGram. 4.0 Recommendations 1. Increase the number of money exchange agents who supply the service on the quality standards of the contactor (Ahli bank). That’s because most of money transfer users prefer to use money exchange agencies for this service. 2. Apply NPS score and its improvement methodology. NPS when combined with appropriate diagnostics and follow-up actions; it drives improvements in customer loyalty and enables profitable growth. Ask the customers the recommend question, calculate NPS form time to time, and seek to increase the promoters and decrease the detractors. 3. Increase Awareness level. Jordanian people are not aware of MoneyGram service as a main competitor of Western Union, and a reliable service for money transfer, and half of them they don’t hear about it before. Accordingly, Ahli bank should start awareness campaign and creative marketing to increase the awareness level. 4. Apply quality standards for money exchange subagents. They should implement Ahli bank quality standards, to deliver the money transfer service as customers’ expectations. That could be applied by providing them with training on service quality, and continuous monitoring for their commitment to standards. International company should assign a budget for these training as well. 5. Review prices with the international company. Provide the customers with affordable and competitive prices to keep their loyalties. Moreover, offer them extra benefits like special discounts and gifts in continuous manner. 6. Review the sign with the international company. It should have more attractive colors and design, and which should reflect the brand all of the time, and the color should be positioned in customer mind for MoneyGram as we always perceive the yellow color for Western Union. 7. Activate online money transfer for Jordan. The online money transfer is available through MoneyGram website for some specific countries. They should negotiate with the international company to make Jordan one of them, so customers can send money from and to Jordan electronically with lesser transfer fees. 8. Continuous quality improvements and benchmarking. Find new area for improvement; evaluate the processes, benchmark against competitors continuously. References http://finance.mapsofworld.com/money/transfer/western-union.html,  © Mapsofworld.com 2008 https://www.moneygram.com/,  © 2009 MoneyGram Ms. Rawan Sharabi Ahli Bank Quality Manager Email: rawansa@hotmail.com Appendix 1 – SERVQUAL Survey Talal Abu Ghazaleh College of Business Questionnaire The following survey is built to benchmark the money transfer services and to assess the quality in providing this service. As a user of money transfer service, we would like you to participate in this survey. All data will remain confidential in strict accordance with the ethical standards. Please answer the following questions as accurately as possible. Thank you for helping me to complete this dissertation research. Which money transfer service are you using? Moneygram Western Union Other What is the service provider channel that you are using the money transfer service through (Name the bank or the money exchange agency)? Why did you choose it for this service? Read the following items carefully which concerns money transfer service that you are using: Circle one number for each statement: Strongly Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Not Sure (3), Agree (4) and Strongly Agree (5) 1. The service provider has modern looking equipment. (LCD, furniture, PCs, printers, queuing system, ) 1 2 3 4 5 2. The service provider has clean office and equipments 1 2 3 4 5 3. The service providers reception desk employees are neat appearing (well dressed, well shaved, suitable makeup, ) 1 2 3 4 5 4. Materials associated with the service (such as postures, brochures) are visually appealing at the service provider. 1 2 3 4 5 5. When the service provider promises to do something by a certain time, it does so. 1 2 3 4 5 6. When you have a problem, the service provider shows a sincere interest in solving it. 1 2 3 4 5 7. The service provider performs the service right the first time. 1 2 3 4 5 8. The service provider insists on error free records. 1 2 3 4 5 9. Employees in the service provider tell you exactly when the services will be performed. 1 2 3 4 5 10. Employees in the service provider give you prompt service. 1 2 3 4 5 11. Employees in the service provider are always willing to help you. 1 2 3 4 5 12. Employees in the service provider are never too busy to respond to your request. 1 2 3 4 5 13. The behaviour of employees in the service provider instils confidence in you. 1 2 3 4 5 14. You feel safe in your transactions with the service provider. 1 2 3 4 5 15. Employees in the service provider are consistently courteous with you. 1 2 3 4 5 16. Employees in the service provider have the knowledge to answer your questions. 1 2 3 4 5 17. The service provider has operating hours convenient to all its customers. 1 2 3 4 5 18. The service provider has employees who give you personal attention. 1 2 3 4 5 19. The employees of the service provider understand your specific needs. 1 2 3 4 5 20. The service provider has your best interests at heart. 1 2 3 4 5 Would you recommend the service provider for other people? Yes No Not sure Name(Optional): _____________________________ Gender: Male Female Age: _______________ Nationality: ___________________________________ Education: ____________________________________ Occupation: ___________________________________ Appendix 2 – Survey Dimensions Weighting German Jordanian University Questionnaire Money Transfer Services Benchmarking Listed below are the five sets of features pertaining to money transfer suppliers. We would like to know how much each of these sets of service features is important to you. Please set the points for each of the following features according to how important it is to you (Points: from 1 to 5). Features Points 1. The appearance of the suppliers’ physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials. 2. The suppliers’ ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately 3. The suppliers’ willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. 4. The knowledge and courtesy of the suppliers’ employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. 5. The caring individual attention the supplier provides its customers. 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Please answer the following questions as accurately as possible. Thank you for helping me to complete this dissertation research. 1. Have you ever heard of MoneyGram service before? ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) Not sure 2. How did you first hear about MoneyGram service? ( ) Magazine ( ) Radio ( ) Internet ( ) TV ( ) Friend or relative ( ) Other If Other, please specify: 4. Are you currently using the money transfer service? ( ) Yes ( ) No 5. Which is the money transfer service you are using? [ ] MoneyGram [ ] Western Union [ ] Express [ ] Other If Other, please specify: 6. Overall, how would you rate MoneyGram service? ( ) Excellent ( ) Very Good ( ) Good ( ) Fair ( ) Poor 8. What is your favorite thing about MoneyGram service? 9. Would you recommend your money transfer service to another person? ( ) Absolutely, all of the time ( ) Most of the time ( ) May or may not ( ) Probably not ( ) Would never recommend 10. Name (Optional): 11. Your age: ( ) Under 18 ( ) 18 to 25 ( ) 26 to 30 ( ) 31 to 35 ( ) 36 to 40 ( ) 41 to 45 ( ) 46 to 50 ( ) 51 or older 12. Your Gender: ( ) Male ( ) Female 13. Which category best describes your employment status? ( ) Employed full time ( ) Employed part time ( ) Homemaker ( ) Full time student ( ) Retired ( ) Currently unemployed ( ) Disabled ( ) Dont Know/Not Applicable Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 4 1.1 Background 4 1.2 Problem Presentation 5 1.3 Why benchmarking 5 1.4 Purpose 5 1.5 Strategy 6 1.6 Limitations 6 2.0 Methodology 6 2.1 Process Analysis – Flowchart 6 2.2 SERVQUAL Survey 8 2.2.1 Survey Analysis 8 2.2.2 SERVQUAL methodology 9 2.2.3 Findings 10 2.3 Awareness Survey 12 2.3.1 Survey Analysis 12 2.4 Net Promoter Score (NPS) 14 2.5 Area of study 15 2.6 Mystery Shopping 16 2.7 Price Comparison (Transfer Fees) 18 3.0 Outcome 20 4.0 Recommendations 22 References 23 Appendix 1 – SERVQUAL Survey 24 Appendix 2 – Survey Dimensions Weighting 27 Appendix 3 – Mystery Shopping Checklist 28 Appendix 4 MoneyGram Awareness Survey 29 Research Papers on Benchmarking Money Transfer Services Twilight of the UAWThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NicePETSTEL analysis of IndiaAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanThe Project Managment Office SystemOpen Architechture a white paper

Monday, October 21, 2019

Its a Wonderful Life - Quotes, Values, and a Swim Gym

Its a Wonderful Life - Quotes, Values, and a Swim Gym On December 20, 1946 a post-war, sentimental Christmas film was first shown to a charity gathering. The main character in Frank Capras movie Its a Wonderful Life wants to travel and see the world when hes young - Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum - all traditional places to study architecture. Then he wants to build things  - skyscrapers a hundred stories high and bridges a mile long. George Bailey has the mind of an architect.   Although this quotable Hollywood classic is traditional Christmastime fare, Its a Wonderful Life continues to say plenty about American values, the housing sector, and the way we live. The Swim Gym A favorite scene in the movie is the graduation dance at the local high school. During the Charleston competition, the actors Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart plunge beneath the gym floor into the swimming pool below. What a stunt! Was that just more Hollywood magic? Not at all. The Beverly Hills High School was used in that classic 1946 film scene, and the Swim Gym is still used today. The architecture works just the way it does in the movie - a gym floor covers a swimming pool and can mechanically roll aside with a key and a button. The system was designed by architect Stiles O. Clements and built in 1939 under the Work Projects Administration (WPA). The WPA was one of the top New Deal programs that helped America out of the Great Depression. The federal government paid millions of unemployed Americans to build schools, bridges, beaches, and hundreds of other public works projects. Like the Swim Gym, many of these federal projects from this era are still in use today, including the Levitt Shell in Memphis where Elvis Presley first performed, the art deco structures in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, and many, many post office buildings throughout the United States. WPA projects often brought new ideas and artistry to everyday buildings and structures. The Beverly Hills High School Swim Gym is a great example of innovative public architecture paid for with government funds. The Film Also Explores Values But this film is much more than showing off the technology of the day. It begins with youthful dreams and fun, but the plot revolves around business values during the post-Depression, midcentury building boom in the United States. The ongoing conflict is between an unrelenting old businessman named Henry F. Potter and his local competition, the family business known as the Bailey Building and Loan. The character of George Bailey, who took over the business after his fathers death, explained the workings of his familys financial institution to anxious patrons who had just made a run on the bank: Youre thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The moneys not here. Your moneys in Joes house...right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklins house, and a hundred others. Why, youre lending them the money to build, and then, theyre going to pay it back to you as best they can. Now what are you going to do? Foreclose on them? The arch enemy to the savings and loan lending system was the banker, Mr. Potter, who would have foreclosed on any rabble who could not pay. Back in 1946, the Baileys saw a community of people helping each other - to Potter, everything was money and business. Fast Forward to the 21st Century When Its a Wonderful Life is shown every year around Christmastime, we are reminded of the value conflicts between builders and banks. We remember our own 21st century housing crisis. Profit-driven practices in the banking and housing industry contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and economic downturn. Banks loaned money to people who could not pay it back, and lenders did this purely for financial reasons - the liability for those loans was shipped away from the community and sold for a higher investment return. Unlike the Bailey Building and Loan, 21st century banks were not investing in the community - profit was the only goal. The system may have made financial sense to some, but the scheme was unsustainable. Architecture is about building and design, but in most cases the business of architecture is about cost and value. What does this design cost compared to another design? Can One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan be built for less money if the symbolic height of 1776 feet is made up of a spire instead of full floors? What if we build an office building and cant lease the space? Could we make more money in this housing development if we overlooked accessibility and green design? What will we sacrifice to save money, to make money, or to advance a career? A Couple of Decent Rooms and a Bath In the end, Its a Wonderful Life is a cautionary tale, examining the values of a community and the strengths of its individual members. In our lives, we each have choices to make, and decisions have consequences. The undesirable Pottersville explored in the what if section of the movie has become a metaphor for the Las Vegas-ization of our urban landscape. Is there a Pottersville in your community? In addition to the fun at the swim gym, the other idea that makes this movie so uplifting is that the community of Bedford Falls did not succumb to urban decay and become the metaphoric Pottersville - in large part because George Bailey stood up for the common man. As Bailey tells Potter: Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble youre talking about...they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didnt think so. People were human beings to him, but to you, a warped frustrated old man, theyre cattle. When we think about building our communities, consider that people live in these built environments. The person is part of the architectural world. And, like Laugiers 18th century primitive hut, the architectural requirements are generally modest. Make sure that everyone has a couple of decent rooms and a bath. And a more modern actor like Brad Pitt would add, Make it Right. The power is in the person, and one person can make a difference. Source National Federation of State High School Associations. Beverly Hills Swim Gym combines diverse sports. http://old.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id6251

Sunday, October 20, 2019

10th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas

10th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas 10th-grade science fair projects can be fairly advanced. By 10th grade, most students can identify a project idea on their own and can conduct the project and report on it without much assistance, but they can still seek help from parents and teachers. 10th-grade students can use the scientific method to make predictions about the world around them and to construct experiments to test their predictions. Environmental issues, green chemistry, genetics, classification, cells, and energy are all appropriate 10th-grade topic areas. 10th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas Test products for impurities. For example, you could compare the amount of lead in different brands of bottled water. If a label says a product does not contain a heavy metal, is the label accurate? Do you see any evidence of leaching of hazardous chemicals from plastic into water over time?Which sunless tanning product produces the most realistic-looking tan?Which brand of disposable contact lenses last the longest before a person decides to switch them out?Which brand of rechargeable batteries delivers charge the longest before needing to be recharged? Does the answer depend on the type of battery-operated device?Test the efficiency of different shapes of fan blades.Can you tell how much biodiversity is in a water sample by how murky the water is?Determine whether ethanol really does burn more cleanly than gasoline.Is there a correlation between attendance and GPA? Is there a correlation between how close to the front of the classroom a student sits and GPA?Which method of cooking destroys the most bacteria? Which disinfectant kills the most bacteria? Which disinfectant is safest to use?Examine the effect of growing one plant species near another.Can you build your own electrochemical cell or battery? Test its output and efficiency.Try to see if there is a correlation between two different factors, such as sunspot activity and mean global temperature or skipping lunch and low test scores. How valid would you expect such a correlation to be?What type of cooling mat is most effective at removing excess heat from a laptop computer?What is the best way to store bread to preserve its freshness?Which types of produce induce ripening or premature rotting in other produce?

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Paper Example Because the updating of the insurance form is very important, even a small error in the form could lead to big problems. So the updating process should carried out in a correct manner. Introduction: Medicare insurance is a governmental program offered to the elderly of the United States population, which has essential and inherent problems as the needs of the aged population grows. â€Å"Medicare is a centralized health insurance program that compensates for hospital and medical care for elderly and disabled US citizens† (Getting Started, n.d.). Many health organizations and common companies are using Medicare services and, therefore, companies use Medicare insurance for their employee’s health security. These organizations would need to get the updates and new information from the insurance company. So a permanent relation between both the parties is necessary. To get the updates from the insurance company, the employees should maintain permanent contacts with the comp any. Body: The situation in this case is that the billing assistant is sick and the manager has asked me to fill in. I decided to quickly review the office protocol for Medicare insurance billing. I noticed that a new form is now required and that the office is not currently following it. I brought this problem to the office manager’s attention. He asked me to update the office’s Medicare form.

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 27

Ethics - Essay Example e that the engineers of Telecommunications did influence the decision-making process by establishing engineering specifications that only BNC could meet. The engineers received free travel and lodging from BNC but only after the job was completed. Is there anything wrong with this picture? Yes, if the situation transpired as has been described above, then the kick backs for free travel are merely extended as a direct result of the prior unethical level of business interaction between the two parties in question (Santoro, 2010). 3. Do you think that Ed Keller is right to be concerned about the values of Telecommunications and the senior engineers who accepted the offers of free travel and lodging? Why or why not? If you believe that Keller’s concerns are warranted, which values should be of concern to him? He is right to be concerned; however, he must also be careful with regards to appearing to overstep the boundaries of his job description. Ultimately, entire ethics departments and legal teams exist as a means of understanding the unique nuances of performing business in transnational settings; however, if legitimately concerned with regards to the bid process, he should have merely asked what was standard accepted practice rather than appearing to question the legality or ethical nature of the engagement that took place in Colombia (Cragg & Muchlinski, 2013). In this way he would not have come across in an accusatory tone but instead appeared as if he were merely hoping to gain a greater level of knowledge with regards to standard

Friday, October 18, 2019

Proposal for martin college Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal for martin college - Essay Example Film and TV is a field that is full of entertainment. It consists of music, drama and films of course. The foundation may prove to be useful for students who possess strong acting or singing skills. This course is purely based on arts and it may also provide opportunities of recreational activities for the students. Main objectives. The prime objective of this proposal is to create an environment that promotes the talent of different countries and to interest those who are attracted to the film world. This course may also release some of the academic pressure from the students as they can come and relax themselves by singing or doing a little drama. This course may also polish the talent of those students who are already in this field and also want to opt for it as their career. Another major objective is to encourage those international students, especially from Asia and Singapore, who are reluctant because they are not able to find a right course for them. The proposal will also cr eate job opportunities, local or international, which is a good indicator. This course is purely based on arts and it may also provide opportunities of recreational activities for the students. Benefits.

Punishment Philosophy in the Criminal Justice System Essay

Punishment Philosophy in the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example Lawyers sometimes argue that punishment should depend on the magnitude of the destruction. However, cases may be similar but their severities differ (Weisberg, 2012). The incapacitation principle proposes strategies put in place to help eliminate the level of crime through various physical restraints of the actions. The principle insinuates that individuals’ confinement to specific areas may help them to avoid a criminal act. The community may restrict the movement of their people to different places to preserve their cultural ties. The most practical example in the society today is the restriction of the children moving to some places like bars and clubs, would reduce the chances of children involving in drinking alcohols and the like. The deterrence principle raises fundamental concerns on the connection between sanctions and human behavior. Punishment is a tool of reward to offenders. The deterrent effect of the punishment may lead to conformity. Severe punishment for a particular crime may deter an individual with an intention to commit an offense to abstain. The principle of deterrence relates to the freedom of choice for an individual. Most individuals would choose to maximize their pleasures at minimum risk. The UN and the World Bank, for instance, may choose to impose serious economic sanction on some countries because of their misconduct. This imposition of the sanction may deter other countries which would otherwise involve in similar misconduct because of the fear of conviction. The type of punishment applied to the offenders injects fear in other parties hence deterring them from committing an offense. Rehabilitation is a strategy for correcting the victims as discussed by Muhlhausen (2010). The principle focuses on restoring and reforming an offender. It may look ambiguous because it is a punishment coupled with treatment. The correctional centers are increasing all over the world because the punishment for the offenders

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Banking Concept of Education Paulo Freire Essay

Banking Concept of Education Paulo Freire - Essay Example Freire demonstrates that the banking concept is considered by oppressors to be the most suitable method of imparting knowledge on learners. The banking concept is where knowledge is deposited the same as how money is deposited in a bank. Therefore the application of the banking system of education makes students to be treated as if they are empty vessels which need to be filled with knowledge (Paulo 319). The teacher is the subject in the banking method of education while the student is the subject. This shows a relationship between the teacher and the student where the teacher narrates knowledge with the student being expected to be the listening objects. Paul Freire is opposed to the banking education because it is makes education petrifying and lifeless due to the narration process through which students are expected to learn (Mejia 63). The narration which characterizes the banking education involves teachers filling information or content to students. In this method of education , students are disconnected and detached from reality because they may not find the narrated content to be significant. The students are thus made to memorize content without attaching any importance to it. On the other hand, the problem posing method of education involves both the teacher and the student in solving problems during learning. The teacher and the student therefore work together and hence both play equal roles in the process of knowledge acquisition without the student being the object into which information is filled. The student is enabled to engage in the learning process and thus making the problem posing method of education realistic because students are able to engage with the reality of the content being learned. Unlike the oppressive banking method of education, the problem posing approach enables learners to act as thinking beings

Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Accounting - Essay Example It also caters to a wide variety of financial services like short and long term financing, credit cards, working capital, etc. UPS was founded in 1907 and has its origin in Atlanta, Georgia (United Parcel Services, Inc. (UPS) n.d.). Companies, big or small need to analyze how their business is faring. With big organizations like FedEx Express and UPS, whose operations are from continent to continent, the need to inform its creditors and stockholders how their respective financial operations are faring is essential to attract more solid investments in order to maintain overhead costs, increase yearly profits and gain the public trust for a better flow of business. To identify and project a company’s financial condition, financial ratio analysis is often used to evaluate the financial stability of a certain entity. Financial ration analysis falls into the following categories (Credit Research Foundation, 1999): By taking a look at the above sample computations for FedEx Express and UPS, the ratios indicate that both companies are adequately liquid and could cover up for any financial loss without losing their creditors’ investments. Using financial ratios to directly compare the financial standing of companies using a different accounting method or flow different accounting practices is not feasible. However, there is no world wide standard for calculating the data But if investment is to be made, a good investor would not only look at the financial statements and calculate ratios. Other factors must be taken into consideration like how long has the company been around, the stock value of the company and the coverage of its operations. Given the history of FedEx and UPS it could be seen that United Parcels Services, Inc. has been around longer being founded in 1907 while FedEx was found in 1971. However, investors also look at the fluctuation of stock prices of the company shares. The stock

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Banking Concept of Education Paulo Freire Essay

Banking Concept of Education Paulo Freire - Essay Example Freire demonstrates that the banking concept is considered by oppressors to be the most suitable method of imparting knowledge on learners. The banking concept is where knowledge is deposited the same as how money is deposited in a bank. Therefore the application of the banking system of education makes students to be treated as if they are empty vessels which need to be filled with knowledge (Paulo 319). The teacher is the subject in the banking method of education while the student is the subject. This shows a relationship between the teacher and the student where the teacher narrates knowledge with the student being expected to be the listening objects. Paul Freire is opposed to the banking education because it is makes education petrifying and lifeless due to the narration process through which students are expected to learn (Mejia 63). The narration which characterizes the banking education involves teachers filling information or content to students. In this method of education , students are disconnected and detached from reality because they may not find the narrated content to be significant. The students are thus made to memorize content without attaching any importance to it. On the other hand, the problem posing method of education involves both the teacher and the student in solving problems during learning. The teacher and the student therefore work together and hence both play equal roles in the process of knowledge acquisition without the student being the object into which information is filled. The student is enabled to engage in the learning process and thus making the problem posing method of education realistic because students are able to engage with the reality of the content being learned. Unlike the oppressive banking method of education, the problem posing approach enables learners to act as thinking beings

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Essay Example Harry’s argument easily wins him over and he is totally changed person after the meeting. â€Å"The few words that Basils friend had said to him--words spoken by chance, no doubt, and with willful paradox in them--had touched some secret chord that had never been touched before, but that he felt was now vibrating and throbbing to curious pulses.† But the worldly and satanic wisdom of his mentor makes him break the heart of the innocent soul. He feels remorse at first but again justifies himself in the light of Machiavellian morality of Lord Henry. Lord Henry is the evil angel of the story .Every moment the hero is close to repentance, he appears from nowhere and through his devilish speech changes the mind of Dorian. One is wonderstruck at the callousness of both Henry and Dorian they show at the death of Sibyl. â€Å"What is done is done. What is past is past." The yellow book is another diversion provided to him by Lord Henry. This book further goads him to indulge in â€Å"all the passions and modes of thought that belonged to every century except his own.† Now Evil in him is in its true attire. Under his influence, the friends meet destruction. He murders his once beloved Basil as he exposed the ugliness of Dorian’s soul .The portrait is a surrogate of soul, so when he sins his soul is changed . Even in the end to avoid the pangs of consciousness, he resorts to opium. He seems to be following Henry’s philosophy â€Å"To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul.† When Dorian has ominous hallucinations about his possible end, all his fears are dispelled by Lord Henry who declares that destiny is too wise or cruel to send us omens. The bad influence of Lord Henry even subdues the feelings of guilt created in Dorian’s heart. His resolve to reform himself is diverted to some other thoughts. The damnation is complete .The inherent evil in the

Monday, October 14, 2019

At universities and colleges Essay Example for Free

At universities and colleges Essay In today’s society, a large number of the students in universities and colleges have less physical exercise than ever before and hardly go out of the campus to have some social activities. Many people argue that students pay more attention to the study than their health which may because they[SQQ1] do not get enough financial support. As to this problem, I hold the opinion that sports and social activities are just the same significant as classes and libraries and receiving equal financial support can have many benefits though it still has some shortages[SQQ2]. In what follows, I will illustrate my point of view. First of all, today’s students need to face more challenges which means they specially should have a better body[SQQ3] to fight for their future. Enough sports and social activities can help them become healthy not only physically but also mentally. As we can see, some of the students in universities choose to end their own lives because of their pressure on scores or other things and we can easily find most of these students hardly do exercise and even never go out to do social activities such as volunteer work. If this part of the students can regard sports and social activities quite important, they may have a healthier psychology and may not end their own life[SQQ4]. Secondly, if the universities can give sports and activities equal financial support as classes and libraries and build up enough gyms and exercise areas, it can be more convenient for students to keep fit. Because of the schools’ support, the students do not need to go out of the school to do social activities and they can find more chances in school campus like joining the school’s Red Cross to visit the local welfare center for children. Also, the increasing sports place can even bring students the convenience to do any sports any time they like. However, it can still have several disadvantages. For example, the schools  may have less money than before to support students’ study which means the school may invite less famous professors from all over the world to make speech for students. In conclusion, I hold the view that sports and social activities should be regarded as important as classes and libraries and should also get the same large amount of financial support which can help the students have a healthy body physically and mentally. These two facto

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Personal Development Plan Management Essay

Personal Development Plan Management Essay 1 In accordance with the requirements of the task, and identifying individual and organizational goals and smart analysis, and the need to achieve these goals, and skills necessary to analyze and explain the work.  Skills in the objectives of the organization in the future, the goals of individuals and organizations to achieve. Personal Objectives In focusing towards the acronym of SMART, my personal and organizational objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and bounding within time. It means that it is personal or company specific, type of medium is obtained and bounding should be in time. Specific purpose means the purpose of airport facilities, well defined, with broad and focused.  Moreover, special purpose primarily, results and direct further action is discussed.   The goal should be average.  Purpose of measure, for the purpose of this development objective measure awareness and action needed to ensure the identity of the source should be.  Objective standard to compare the performance goal setting is obvious. Another feature  is that the  goal should be  an attainable goal.  If  the target  specified  by the  person  can not be achieved, then  people do not  feel  interested, never  power  to achieve  these goals.  Can not be achieved  when the target  person,  then his  frustration  and  loss of motivation. Cannot be achieved  if the target  is  unrealistic.  This means that  the source  of the  goal should be  specific,  are available.  In order to achieve the desired objectives  of the  purpose and  have some resources, such as: skills, capital, equipment, etc.  will also be  a period of time  to achieve, which means that  there is a  deadline  to achieve this goal  needs.  Time management is  very necessary  in order to achieve  this goal. For a  shortcut  from the  Smart,  my personal  goal is to: 1.To  achieve from  the London  school  of management and accounting  degree  courses. 2.  In order to  complete the  degree. 3.  To become a  good manager  in the organization. Organization objectives Short  to  Smart  organization  as director,  be considered,  there  is a  five  goal  should be that  managers  are  by: Forecasting and planning Intelligence,  attention  briefly  to  the community as  a  supervisory  director,  the director there  are  five  goals: Organizing building of structure division of task resources must be in hand e.g technology, money, material, human. Insurance of security 3:Command =reporting of hierarchy =mentioning of activities =control of all activities by manager 4:Co-ordination Harmony of all efforts Supervision of co ordinated manage Motivation Support must b provided 5: Controlling In order to check efficiency of the personnel, rules are set and commands are expressed to conduct the managerial work. Time management strategies: Managing time for a week: time more effectively and efficiently to use, there are a few ways such as time management. To do this, time can be divided into smaller units. In the case of a business organization, it is seen that the time is spent on various activities of the organization is producing the majority and often ineffective time management time is wasted because of the employee. There are some strategies for time management: 1: Establishing Objectives: To achieve profit maximization, with a realistic way to plan the use of time. Time management is a manager or an organizational objectives more effectively and efficiently helps the entrepreneur to achieve. 2: Evaluation of spending time: Place to spend way too much time at work is required to determine. Hours of work or my availability is also calculated. Actions and activities which a person can do in a week the amount of numbers should also be calculated. In addition to these, other priorities are: 1.Assess the difference between actual and ideal use of time.    2. Give priority assignment work.    3. Necessary and important work towards putting. requirement of skills for achieving personal and organization objectives For the  purpose of this meeting  and every  goal,  individuals and organizations  goals, there is a  need for  certain skills, such as: communication  skills  with other  people,  and information technology and skills, problem solving and  skills and  team  performance and self-learning  Ability of  job skills.  These skills  and basic skills, it is very  important  to achieve  a personal  goal of  many. However, in order  to achieve  the organizations  objectives,  such as the  departments  necessary to include  the  four  skills:  planning, organization  and leadership, and coordination. Task 2: Personal Development Plan Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6 Column 7 SKILL Existing PROFICIENCY Proficiency of target Scope of development Judging success criteria Time frame proof No 1. Priority Skills of presentation To be able to give presentation in classroom but feel nervous and cant give presentation as the standard of professional Classroom presenter as confidently Be able to give presentation in the group of tutor I want to achieve A grade in my project by giving successful presentation in the class. Till the academic year ending By giving successful presentation in the class No 2. Priority Skills Of writing The description as technical is good but critical thinking of mine seems to be difficult to present Descriptive writing is good and critical writing is satisfactory To college writing fellow, I can show my work and also in relation to business studies I can make better assignment 2.1 achieving by me in relation to the business studies and assess my skill in accordance with my teacher feedback. I can achieved confidence to make better assignment Till the year of 2nd By making successful assignment in relation course studies No 3. PRIORITY Awareness as commercial I have interest in the issue of business but lack of the awareness as practical Knowledge as practice To participate on the training program for achieving commercial awareness Complete the program of training program for achieving commercial awareness Till the year of 3rd By achieving commercial awareness No 4. PRIORITY Skills Of Team working Cant adjust to work with the team member and cant appreciate other works and also hate to appreciate other ideas Goals are understood by me greatly in order to achieve objectives I appreciate the other team member roles and activities Team progress can be monitored by me in order to meet the difficulties and overcome these difficulties Till the year of 3rd By lead a team successfully No 5. PRIORITY Skills of leadership Not confident and cant lead or motivate other people with my own word Achieve confidence to lead the team and also delegate with others Working as a team leader on a group project. Group is satisfied with me, project is considered as most successful and I can achieve confidence at the best level Till the year of 3rd Working as a team leader on a group project. Task 3 Professional skills Tesco, Sainsbury Marks and Spencer: To respond to this task, here I select the three organizations.   The definition of professional skills and knowledge skills that are obtained for the purpose of personal growth and career advancement as well as can be provided. Facilitate learning opportunities for personal development as the formal work, as conventions and helped with the range of educational opportunities related to the practice involves. Features intensive and collaborative learning opportunities are related with the assessment phase. Consulting, training and community practice, lessons, training, supervision as reflective studies, and technology support: personal development, for example, includes several ways. Personal skills Is also the personal skills and personal skills of the person which consists of mental and communicative algorithms that are applied for the purpose of social communication and interaction with other peoples in order to determine the specific effects or results.   In order to be a successful manager, should be him or her to contain some professional and personal skills such as: leadership, skill and time management, Meeting management, making the presentation, stress management and other given of these skills and new lives. Leadership skills Leadership  skills,  management skills  are considered, is  to promote the Groups  people  use  to achieve  common goals.  In this competitive  market, it is very  necessary to  control,  through its manager,  he or she  can make  the effective and  efficient  leadership skills.  Leadership is  primarily  the ability to  include  local leaders  to listen to  the views of others,  and observe  the activities of employees.  Moreover,  the decision  in decision-making,  the much-needed  skills  for the  manager of  an organization.  Another thing  is that if  employees  have no incentive  to do their own  work  then the business  cannot run, and with the  leadership skills  of  managers, can greatly  stimulate their  works  on the  staff,  to  give them the best. Time management skill Time  management skills  can be  specified in  the definition  and development  processes  to increase efficiency  and productivity  of the  technology tools.  Time management skills  is regarded as personal skills, the use of  the  valuable resources  within the time frame  oriented.  For  the purpose of  time management, managers should be more  organized, efficient, and  fun.  Of personal  time management  skills  including  setting goals, planning  activities, priorities,  making  decisions, delegating, and  scheduling.  By using time management  skills, you can  eliminate waste,  make  the preparations for  the meeting,  refused to  excessive work load, monitor  progress, plan  for  every day, every  week  to  be effective. Stress management skill Stress  is defined as  a specific  event  can provide  the body  the nervous system  response.  Stress management  can be defined as with  stress  reduction and  with people who  include  the  skills,  can contribute to  the specific  situation and  to adjust the  target  system. Stress management  skills are  very  necessary  purpose of  this meeting  managers  and said  the meeting,  the then  managers  should control the  pressure. The above  techniques, such as: leadership,  time management skills, stress  management techniques  is essential  managers success  in his career  and personal life  and his or her  own  through which  to meet  and  achieve organizational  goals and  objectives. Recommendation Several methods currently exist that promote the professional skills for personal purposes, appropriate: leadership, time management skills and management skills is the pressure on managers need in their career success and good life as an individual, through his or she was able to meet the individual and the achievement of the objectives and organizational goals.   For the purpose of developing these skills, can take a number of methods that are described below:   1.  As a structured approach is used to aim to solve the problem   2.  Training programs   3.  The links created between the problem and try to resolve it   4.  Between problem solving and decision-making and relationships   5.  Problems can be solved, through their opinions, to take the peoples support and use, as well as skills development resources required to   Here, the training program and practice development into its own as the most practical approach is to develop personal and professional skills for the purpose of considering professional and personal skills.  The training program mainly related to knowledge acquisition and learning process, sharpening, skills, attitude and behaviour change components, in order to improve employee performance.   Not only that, by the practitioner himself, a person can reach the required skills, such as: Through practice, one can manage time, to solve this problem. Task 4: Personal development plan The definition of personal development plans, providing the persons skills development, as opposed to development or to establish personal and career as well as important things to consider.  In order to develop their own personality, so that the purpose of personal development plan is necessary.  In order to achieve skills and confidence as a professional life, personal development plans to provide support.  And building a career in the relationship between the two main aspects, personal development and characteristics, as well as making good career development characteristics.  Therefore, we can say that a person should have to do a personal development plan.  Here, in relation to the personal and professional and organizational goals, Kolbs learning style is used to learn through it to find appropriate ways and methods to determine the purpose of achieving personal and professional goals and organizational goals. Several methods currently exist that promote the professional skills for skills for personal purpose, appropriate: leadership, time management skills and management skills is the pressure on managers need in their career success and good life as an individual, through his or she was able to meet the individual and the achievement of the objectives and organizational goals.   For the purpose of developing these skills, can take a number of methods that are described below:   1.  As a structured approach is used to aim to solve the problem   2.  Training programs   3.  The links created between the problem and try to resolve it   4.  Between problem solving and decision-making and relationships   5.  Problems can be solved, through their opinions, to take the peoples support and use, as well as skills development resources required to   Here, the training program and practice development into its own as the most practical approach is to develop personal and professional skills for the purpose of considering professional and personal skills.  The training program mainly related to knowledge acquisition and learning process, sharpening, skills, attitude and behaviour change components, in order to improve employee performance.   Not only that, by the practitioner himself, a person can reach the required skills, such as: Through practice, one can manage time, to solve this problem.   Continuing Professional Development:   Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is the means by which members of professional associations maintain, improve and expand their knowledge and skills, develop their career in the personal qualities required.   Refer to as continuing professional development is to improve the structure of personal skills and professional capacity or commitment.  Continuing professional development can also be defined as awareness of the professional knowledge and expertise throughout a persons working life to improve the update. This is a dedicated, constantly updated, constantly seeking to improve commitment.  It is the optimization of the employment opportunities, both now and in the key to the future.  Should participate in continuing professional development, information and progress and embrace best practice, easy to digest knowledge.  It should neither be too harsh, not boring.  It should stimulate the desire to understand more and more involved in your career. Task 5: Skill audit: There are such questions which consist of point value: Strongly disagree 1 Disagree 2 Agree 3 Strongly agree 4 Team work 1 2 3 4 1. Can adjust to work with all team members o o o o 2: understood the goals in order to achieve objective o o o o 3: my responsibilities are indicator of team efforts o o o o 4: I appreciate the team efforts and its role o o o o 5: In order to meet and overcome the difficulties, o o o o I will monitor my team progress. 6: I will be delighted to lead my team o o o o Problem solving: 7: I may break the task and distribute to my 1 2 3 4 Team. 8: I may ask for help to solve problems. o o o o 9: I face challenges to solve my problems. o o o o 10: Brainstorming is my main tool to generate o o o o ideas. 11: I can anticipate the possible results o o o o to complete a task successfully. 12: I can also predict the alternative solution o o o o in order to solve problems. Time management: 13: Tasks are organised by me on deadline of every task. o o o o 14: I make coherence between the work progress as well as targets. o o o o 15: I evaluate my strength and weakness to meet my o o o o targets and weakness. 16: I may ask for help to solve the problems. o o o o Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary