Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Analysis of Policy of Tourism Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Analysis of Policy of Tourism - Case Study Example Infrastructure should not be provided at the cost of disturbing the cultural and environmental phenomena of the region. It is a challenge for the government to take steps to build the infrastructure, take adequate care of the tourist attractions, and create sufficient, round-the-clock tourist facilities and all the imaginable necessities without hurting the attractions or the environment much. All these should be done by keeping the environmental impact in check on not just the eco-balance of the region, but also the possible impact on old historical buildings, precariously balanced ancient monuments and other equally endangered manuscripts, books, records, paintings, murals, scriptures, caves etc. This needs a highly strategic management and professional approach from every angle. Ritchie and Crouch's model belongs to the global (macro) environment because global forces are shaping the world of tourism. "the totality of global forces affecting destination competitiveness/sustainability is captured within what we term as onionskin taxonomy'. By this, we mean that the global forces may be viewed as consisting of different layers surrounding the destination (represented by the globe in the center)" Richie and Crouch (2003, p. 80). According to them, the environmental forces internal and external, rule the tourism of the region. The core resources and attractors are the essences of destination appeal and the climate is one of the chief issues of tourism. Even though social events could be attractive to tourists, they cannot take the place of cultural and environmental attractions. Economic environment definitely is a great encouragement of tourism, because tourism holds the potential of reducing unemployment while increasing and distributing income to the grassroots of society. It is also a multiplier of an economy in various levels of income, output, employment and the balance of payments and thus, can create a cultural, social and economic awareness in it. It can also show immense possibilities by giving more importance to the local skills, dying arts, ancient customs, social peculiarities, anthropological educations and resurrecting the historical and cultural importance of the place that could have been long forgotten. At the same time, it can create a sense of pride and belonging in the local society, and hence, tourism as an industry is absolutely essential and worth investing. Ã
Sunday, October 27, 2019
The Importance Of Market Segmentation
The Importance Of Market Segmentation Market segmentation is one of the most important concept in marketing and business (Bowen, 1998). It is believed that segmentation is the most powerful tool to develop strategies and to understand market (Richard and Sundaram, 1994). Segmentation that carried out properly will actually boost up sales and profits (Reid, 1983). However in contrary, the industry players which in this case restaurant seems to believe that by segmenting their market will actually narrow down their business, they tend to believe that price is the most effective tool to attract and win the market (Crawdford-Welch, 1994). Finally, looking to the reasons of the pro and contra, the researcher decided to segmenting the market further which are by psychographic or the lifestyle and behaviouristic or the purchase occasion. It is because the researcher believed that by segmenting the market may lead to understand the market deeper and therefore can come out with right strategies. To this end, the following section will reviews the literature on market segmentation which focus on Generation Y, psychographic and behaviouristic, next will also review about the factors influencing Generation Y in choosing restaurant and last but not least type of consumers by psychographic segmentation. 2.2 The importance of market segmentation Market segmentation does exist because it is believed that market is not similar (Beane and Ennis, 2007) and it is very important as this is a marketing strategy that contributes to business or industry players (Bowen, 1998).Segmentation can actually act as a key to enhance sales and profits while it can help to maximize the usage of facilities by the specific target market, besides that, it as well help to penetrate new market segment and to maintain repeater (Reid, 1983). Besides that, it is as well open up new chances to create new product and advertising strategy (Beane and Ennis, 2007). Kotler (1980) believed that in order for segmentation to be useful and effective, it must be measurable, accessible and substantiable. Kotler (1980, pp.308) mentioned that a segment should be the largest possible homogeneous group of buyers that it pays to go after with a specially designed marketing program. Segment is opportunity (Beane and Ennis, 2007). For instance, senior customers take qual ity of food as their first concern (Knutson and Patton, 1993). While for young customers, food quality is not the most important factor in choosing restaurant (Soriano, 2002). These show that different generation has different demand and need, therefore it is necessary for industry players to understand clearly the characteristics and the trends of each generation. However, industry players in this case restaurants seem to believe that by focusing on one market, it is not effective as it may reduce the sales volume. Most of the industries players emphasize on price while they believe it may attract and retain customers but at last it actually drive to less profit (Crawford-Welch, 1994). It is not a false to target more than a market segment, however, different segment has different characteristic, and hence it is unnecessary to have all discount or price reduction while it is not the most important thing for some market segment. On the other hand, a theory of restaurant revenue mana gement believed that it is important to maximize revenue by keeping the balance of demand and supply but without putting aside customer satisfaction (Kimes, 2004). 2.2.1 Four major markets segmentation Kotler divided market into four main areas which are geographic, demographic, psychographic and behaviouristic. Geographic segmentation is the simplest segmentation. It is to differentiate customers by region, climate and population density. Demographic segmentation in the other hand is the most common segmentation. This is perhaps because demographic segmentation provides the easiest information and allows it to be transferred from one study to another study (Beane and Ennis, 2007). The segmentation divided by age, sex, income, education level, type of family, nationality and race (Beane and Ennis, 2007). Psychographic segmentation or known as lifestyle segmentation is a complicated segmentation as it demands way of life and social class. According to Plummer (1974) psychographic segmentation gives better answer in describing segments compare to demographic segmentation. Last but not least is behaviouristic segmentation, it consists of purchase occasion, benefits sought, user status , degree of usage, degree of loyalty, readiness stage, and marketing factor sensitivity (Kotler, 1980). In this study, the researcher will go through demographic segmentation which is focusing on Generation Y and psychographic segmentation which will divide Generation Y according to their specific character and last behaviouristic which will look into the occasion they have for dine in restaurant. 2.2.1.1 Demographic segmentation Kivela (1997) studied about types of restaurants and he found that factors such as dining occasion, age and income are the main variables that contribute to decision in choosing fine dining, theme, family or fast food restaurant. Apart, it is believed that segmentation especially demographic segmentation plays significant role to help the industry players as Shank and Nahhas (1994) found that in family dining restaurant, older and younger consumers have different preferences. One is more loyal than other and they as well have different habits. Similary, a study conducted by Becker-Suttle, Weaver and Crawford-Welch (1994) found that in term of menu variety and food portion in a full-service restaurant, senior citizen has different expectation with the non-senior one. However, in contrary, Oh and Jeong(1996) believed that demographic variables are not enough to understand specific expectation. Similarly, Swinyard (1977) as well mentioned that demographic variables are the lowest betwee n segmentations. These reasons drive the researcher to believe that it is important to segment market by demographic segmentation but it has to be narrowed down. Therefore, the researcher will go to more specific segmentation which is not only Generation Y in general but specific them by the psychographic as well as behaviouristic segmentation. 2.2.1.2 Psychographic segmentation Psychographic segmentation is help in developing consumers profiles from psychology side based on lifestyles. (Hsu, Kang and Wolfe, 2002). It involves the evaluation of interest, activities and opinions. (Kotler, Bowen and Makens, 1998). Furthermore, psychographic segmentation is used in order to identify deeper consumers psychology and to understand consumers way of living. (Schewe and Calantone, 1978). For instance, Woodside and Pitts (1976) found that psychographic which include lifestyle variables are more useful and accurate than demographic. Same opinion mentioned by Abbey (1979) who found that lifestyle variables are more reliable and applicable rather than demographic. Moreover, Weaver et al. (1994) said that if psychographic research is carried out properly, it will have a great impact on promotional effort. Proper audience and media will be targeted by looking on their psychographic needs. Zins (1998) as well believed that psychographics segmentation is increasing because i t will explain in various ways than demographic segmentation. Based on the Swinyard and Struman (1986), there are three customer segments in restaurant industry which are family diners, romantics and entertainers. While Oh and Jeong (1996) stated that there are four different segments which are classic diners, convenience seekers, service seekers and indifferent diners. On the other hand, Bahn and Granzin (1985) found that there are health, gourmet, value and unconcerned segments that exist. The researchers stated that for those health concerned segments, absolutely they will not choose fast food restaurant as their main dining destination. Using cluster analysis, Yuksel and Yuksel (2002) divided market into five which are value seekers, service seekers, adventurous food-seekers, atmosphere seekers and healthy-food seekers. The researchers conducted the study because they believed that demographic variables like age, gender and income are not enough to understand market expecations (Oh and Jeong, 1996). Crawford-Welch (1991, pp.301) criticized segmenting by demographic and noted decriptive data, by their very nature, are of little analytical worth in that they are not capable of implying causality and are, in turn, poor predictors of behaviour. Demographic has low power of describing market (Swinyard, 1977). Looking for these reasons, the researcher of this study decided to not only look for Generation Y but also narrowing the market to psychographic segmentation and behavioristic segmentation like what Yuksel and Yuksel (2002) had done in their study. 2.2.1.3 Behaviouristic segmentation To be more effective, previous researchers used consumers buying behaviour as one of the segmentation variables (Oh and Jeong, 1996). Some believed that behaviour are better determinants in order to understand the market segments (Loker and Purdue, 1992). It has been mentioned that in order to predict behaviour, benefits has to be offered rather than looking only to the lifestyle, personality, age, gender or nationality. In restaurant cases, services act as attributes that can be called benefits (Bahn and Granzin, 1985). On the other hand, Boulding et al. (1993) mentioned about links between behaviour and service quality, customers help in word of mouth advertising. Customers do will to recommend one establisment if they get better service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1994). However, service is not the only thing that sell by one establishment. Therefore, to understand better customers is a necessary. 2.3 Generation Y Generation Y is people who born between 1974 and 1994 (Neuborne and Kerwin, 1999 in Hanzaee and Aghasibeig, 2010) and they are children of Baby Boomers or Generation X (Herbig, Koehler and Day, 1993). Adults Generation Y are married, but younger one are still students. Industry players are now focusing on Generation Y as their biggest target market because this generation are large in size and they have potential spending power (Wolburg and Pokrywczynski, 2001) and therefore they are trying to meet up the expectation of this people. Moreover, the reason why it is important to know deeply the expectation of Generation Y is because Generation Y is not easily influence by marketing therefore it needs more effort to target this generation (Bush, Martin and Bush, 2004). It is obvious that age is a factor that makes different generation act differently however it is not the only factor. Teenagers nowadays are different compare to previous teenagers. Commonly, they have less financial commitments. They spend 70% of their income for food, travel and entertainment. They love to go for party, movie and listen to radio (Mark McCrindle, xxxx). He as well believed that people act different according to the age. However, he believed that it is the only reason as he mentioned that experiences play in the part. For instance, Generation X era was where AIDS, single parents, personal computer and multiculturalism took part, while Generation Y have internet, globalisation and environmentalism issues. {{Read : BB understanding gen Y}} Generation Y is optimistic, energetic, technology driven, pragmatic, resilient, with high social awareness and open to and eager for new experiences (Coyeman, 1998, p.40). However, this group will be de-motivated if they are insulted especially regarding their intelligence, over-promised and over exposed (Coyeman, 1998). On the other hand, based on generational theory, different generations bring different values, beliefs, interests and expectations (Benckerdorff et al, 2010) and thus different strategy has to be used. Fields et al (2008) believed that Generation Y is more focused on brands, fun, friends and digital. Generation Y was born and raised during brands period, therefore they are used to it and have different respond compare to other generations (Merrill, 1999). They are relaxed, confident, educated but impatient and self-focused. They are multitasked that greatly influence by friends and mates. Mark McCrindle (xxxx) also mentioned that Baby Boomers rely on data and facts i n making decision while Generation Y rely more on peers. Generation Y live in community and therefore they rather make decision in group than individual. {{Read : BB understanding gen Y}} Previous studies also mentioned that Generation Y are much more needy compare to other generations (Randall.S.H, 2010) and it is because Generation Y has been socialized into consuming earlier (TRU, 1999 in Bakewell and Mitchell, 2003). Furthermore, The purchasing power of adolescents in the market cannot be underestimated. Being customers of their own, adolescents have experienced how to react when services provided were not satisfactory. (Hsu and Chiu, 2008, p.244). These prove that Generation Y are unique and they have different demand and expectation with previous generation, thus to study deeper of what needed by Generation Y is important to help in improving business. 2.4 Generation Y and dining Generation Y spend more because of unusual purchasing power (Phelps, 1999) and they have more disposable income compare to previous generation (Tomkins, 1999 in Bakewell and Mitchell, 2003). They spend their income for entertainment, travel and food (McCrindle, 2002 in Hanzaee and Aghasibeig, 2010). This supported by a survey that conducted by the National Restaurant Association found that most of Generation Ys income is spent for outside food and restaurants (Brook, 2005). Another study by Auty (1992) also found that students who are in the group of Generation Y eat out for social occasions, do not really concern about others recommendation and money. These facts build curiosity of the researcher and therefore the researcher decided to conduct the study in order to find out the factors that considered by Generation Y while choosing restaurant for birthday celebration, hence, industry players especially restaurants may know what exactly to do and what promotional tools to develop. In fact, technology changes play important role in causing Generation Y become more materialistic compare to previous generation. (Bakewell and Mitchell, 2003), this may means Generation Y want technology while they are eating. Hence, it is believed that marketers are being challenged by this young generation because they keep seeking and exploring a new dining places and experience (Wishna, 2000). 2.5. Factors influencing restaurant selection criteria Consumers choose a restaurant based on several factors and knowing what factors that may drive the success of the company is very important in order to plan future strategy of the company (Geller, 1985). 2.5.1 Menu variety and choices Food variety involves various different items in menu. Industry players keep developing menu in order to attract consumers because it had been found that menu variety is one of a crucial factors in creating good dining experience (Kivela et al, 1999). Some concern about healthy menu option and it actually gives great impact in customer perception of dining experience (Johns and Tyas, 1996). Supported by Kivela et al (1999) who mentioned that healthy food is one of the important factors in dining satisfaction. On the other hand, Auty (1992) mentioned that food type and food quality are the most important factors that determine the restaurant choice but when it comes to dining out for celebration or social night, atmosphere is the most important factors. Supported by Lewis (1981) who found that food quality, menu variety, price, atmosphere and convenience are the most important factors. To discuss deeply about menu, West and Olsen (1990) said that menu innovation is very important in o rder to stay competitive and the researchers also said that to maintain reputation and efficiency of operation are the important factors. HA1 : Menu variety and choices have positive relation with restaurant selection criteria 2.5.2 Value for money Marketing tools such as sales promotion including discounts and special offers act as tools that motivate consumers (Mill, 2007). This researcher as well believed that when consumers perceived the value got less than the price given, they will not be satisfied. Some of them that price to assume the quality of the restaurant (Muller and Woods, 1994). File : from mei Different literature has different opinion, according to GeorgeCurasi, Bellenger and Danny (2003) discount are major factors that influence restaurant selection. Apart, another study by Mohsin, Mclnthos and Cave (2005) mentioned that general customers choose a restaurant in New Zealand due to value for money, offer variety and quality of food, own skilled and mannered staff and has well timed service. This study was conducted for general customers not Generation Y and this show a contrast with other studies that mentioned money is not the most important factor. HA2 : Value for money has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria 2.5.3 Ambience Physical environment such as ambience, decoration and atmosphere have a great influence on the dining experience (Sloan, 2004) and behavioural intentions (Ryu and Jang, 2007). Ambience or known as atmosphere is an element that plays an important role to customers. It involves design, space and layout, textures and patterns and building style (Collins, 2010). Mehrabian Russell (1974) believed that environment affect feelings that can cause one to stay longer even remain. Lighting and music influence customers senses (Baker Cameron, 1996). Music is frequently used nowadays whether it is in restaurant or shopping center, Smith Curnow (1966) found that shop with loud music indirectly chase customers. This study also has been study deeper by Milliman (1986), the researcher found that they are music volume and tempo that affect time and money spent by consumers. Furthermore, Zopiatis and Pribic (2007) who did their study among students in Cyprus as well mentioned that atmosphere as one of most influencing concern. Supported by Jang Namkung (2009) who found three main factors and one of them is atmosphere of the dining place itself. Obviousily, the design of the dining place itself is very important to generate sales of restaurant. To support this, there was a study which found that design in a store has a significant effect on customer it influence the decision of customer to approach, explore even purchase (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). Even if the customers perceive the environment as a pleasure, customer will spend more time and money for it (Donovan et al, 1994). Hence, it is obvious that design of ambience plays a very significant role in affecting customers choices. HA3 : Ambience has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria 2.5.4 Peers Decision makers tend to decide something with regard to consequences of their choices in future, however the future is uncertainty, hence it can be concluded that the decision is a process (March, 1997 in Maitlis and Ozcelik, 2004). Furthermore, during the decision process, one decision is closely related to others decision (Dewey and Bentley, 1949 in Langley, A et al., 1995). To relate to this study, in celebrating birthday, friends and parents may as well play role in deciding the venue, thus, ones decision is made by interference of others. This supported by the finding of GeorgeCurasi, Bellenger and Danny (2003) who found that recommendation from peers are one of the factors that lead customers in choosing restaurant. Although in contrary, Auty (1992) found that young generation does not really concern about others recommendation, but it is still a possibility that one individuals decision is built from others interference. Furthermore, a recommendation from a friend influences significantly in decision to choose a restaurant (Sweeney et al., 1992). Mill (2007) believed that because recommendation from friends is not profitable and it different from advertising thus consumers will believe more and make decision in choosing the restaurant. According to Devine et al., (2003), social influences bring great impact to food choice, because they believed it shows attitude and habits. Apart, consumers heard the dining experience from friends and it help them to judge one restaurant better (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003). Bailey and Tian (2002) did their study at Indian restaurant and they found that recommendations from friends greatly influence the decision. HA4 : Peers has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria 2.5.5 Service quality Tucci and Talaga (2000) mentioned that service quality affect the customers most in choosing restaurant. Service quality includes staff and physical environment. Human resources are the main key to success. (Enz, 2004). Therefore to have good staff is to start with success. As what had been mentioned by Jang and Namkung (2009) one of the main factors is service quality, which in restaurant case means staff and their services. A staff attitude may harass ones sattisfaction (Oliver, 1981). However, in contary, Clark and Wood (1999) mentioned that tangible factors like food influence more than intangible factors such as friendliness of staff. But that study against by study of GeorgeCurasi, Bellenger and Danny (2003) who found that customers want personalized service which indirectly means they want good staff. In Cyprus, a study has been conducted by Zopiatis and Pribic (2007), the researchers also mentioned that staffs attitude and professionalism are the main factors that influence t he student criteria in choosing dining place. During the time period of the study conducted, students are the Generation Y, therefore those factors are being consider. Moreover, length of waiting time on restaurant service is one factor that concern by customers too (Richarme Colias, 2007) because service time is a very sensitive issue for customers (Christopher, 1999). This supported by Jang Namkung (2009) who found service quality as attribute that influence customers in choosing restaurants. And more, GeorgeCurasi, Bellenger and Danny (2003) did mention about fast check-out as one of the factors that influencing the most. HA5: Service has a postive relation with restaurant selection criteria 2.5.6 Food quality Food is the fundemental of restaurant. There should be no doubt that food is one of the major factor that give impact on restaurant. Food should be fresh and tasty in order to maintain the quality and this is one of the factor that plays role in succeed of a restaurant. (Namkung and Jang, 2007). Even some studies had already focused on the food presentation, variety, healthy, taste, freshness and temperature. Kivela et al., (1999) focused on taste and they took it as the attribute in dining experience. It is believed that taste of food is very essential to customers (Cortese, 2003) and it gives impact to future behaviour (Kivela et al., 1999). Fu and Parks (2001) examined quality of food as one of the factors in choosing restaurant. MacLaurin and MacLaurin (2000) did the study on theme restaurants at Singapore and found food quality as one of the most important elements. Same goes to Clark and Wood (1998), they as well found food quality as the most influential factor in restaurant c hoices. Last but not least, Jang and Namkung (2009) found that product quality is important as one attribute that determine the choices of the restaurants consumers. Even Soriano (2002) believed that this is one of the factors that can attract customers to return to the restaurant. However, apart from all those studies, Cullen (2004) added that the attributes will change depends on demographic variables, experience, mood and dining occasion. File : food quality HA6 : Food quality has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria 2.6 Different expectation for different types of restaurant Many previous researchers did not concern about type of restaurant in conducting their study while it is believed that type of restaurant has significant influence on customers perception and expectation (Kim and Moon, 2009). According to Lewis (1981), there are three types of restaurant, family, atmosphere and gourmet restaurants. Different expectation will be bring by customers depends on the restaurant. For example, cleanliness as major factor has been mentioned by Knutson (2000) who did the study in fast food restaurant among Generation Y, followed by staff friendliness, price, service speed and consistency. The researcher as well found that atmosphere, promotional items, discount coupons and drive-through availability are the minor factors that affect the decision in choosing fast food restaurant. While in the study of Kivela (1997) mentioned that for fine dining restaurants, customers wish for good food quality and friendliness of staff, but in casual dining restaurants, they preferred speed of service to be improved and value-for-money food. Noone et al (2007) have done their study and found that customers show unsatisfied when they are rushed in a fine dining restaurant rather than in casual dining restaurant. Other findings as well mentioned by Sulek Hensley (2004), according to them, food quality is a must to full-service restaurants, while the most important factor for fast-food restaurants is waiting time (David Vollmann, 1990). Kim, Lee and Yoo (2006) believed that staff performance plays very essential role in a luxury restaurant. In fact, by considering those factors, therefore this study is conducted in order to find out what factors actually play roles for Generation Y in choosing restaurant for their birthday celebration, as it has been mentioned that different expectation will be bring by customers depends on their needs and perception. But in this study, the researcher decides not to differentiate the respondents by different type of restaurant because there has no previous study conducted yet hence the researcher would like to find out in general which may lead to further details result that can be use for further study. 2.7 Dining Occasion Dining behaviour is depends on dining occasion. For instance, restaurant behaviours are lead from the occasion (Kivela, Inbakaran and Reece, 1999). According to Sweeney et al. (1992), there are two dining occasion exist which are dinner with a group of friends and dinner with a friend. While according to June and Smith (1987) four occasion do exist: a birthday celebration, a business lunch, an intimate dinner and a family dinner. Different occasion bring different level of factors. In this study, an occasion which is birthday celebration is the main concern. By the finding of the previous studies regarding level of importance brings to different occasion, thus it is obvious that different factors and value bring by consumers while they choose their restaurant for birthday celebration. 2.8 Type of restaurants consumers In previous study of Yuksel and Yuksel (2002), they divided market using psychographic segmentation. The researchers used cluster analysis in order to analyze their data and they found that there are five different category of consumers. 2.8.1 Value seekers The researchers suggest that this group put high priority food quality and hygiene while choosing a restaurant. Moreover, they usually do not take location, atmosphere and service quality as their main consideration. HB1 : Value seekers are one type of restaurant consumers 2.8.2 Service seekers In this group, there are people who looking for quality of service while dining, they does not consider food quality as their preference but the price of the food is very important for them. HB2 : Service seekers are one type of restaurant consumers 2.8.3 Adventurous-Food seekers They find that availability of various and interesting food is the most important factor for this group of people. They do not concern about the prices and atmosphere. HB3 : Adventurous-Food seekers are one type of restaurant consumers 2.8.4 Atmosphere Seekers In contrast to other groups, this group want everything while dining, not only the atmosphere but they as well concern about prices, availability of interesting food and the location of the restaurant itself. HB4 : Atmosphere seekers are one type of restaurant consumers 2.8.5 Healthy-Food seekers The researchers as well found that there are certain group of people who concern about the healthy and nutrious food while they dine in a restaurant. They take food quality and hygiene as the most important factors. It will be a plus point for them if they have smoking and non-smoking area in seperation. While they have these high expectations, they do not mind to spend more money as well. 2.9 Hypotheses and Conceptual Frameworks Based on the literature review, six hypotheses appeared as factors that influence Generation Y in choosing restaurant and four other hypotheses appeared as type of restaurant consumers. Show the conceptual framework here (ramework, factors and type of consumers) The conceptual framework provided has positive relation between the factors and Generation Y in choosing restaurant. However, during birthday celebration, different factors may be arised. Moreover, consumers are not homogeneous, different type of people are expecting different. Therefore, the conceptual gaps appeared. In depth, six hypotheses that appear as factors that influence Generation Y in choosing restaurant are: HA1 : Menu variety and choices have positive relation with restaurant selection criteria HA2 : Value for money has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria HA3 : Ambience has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria HA4 : Peers has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria HA5 : Service has a postive relation with restaurant selection criteria HA6 : Food quality has a positive relation with restaurant selection criteria These six hypotheses have direct relation to Generation Y while choosing restaurant for dining but there has been no finding for birthday celebration before, hence this study helped in answering the gap. Yuksel and Yuksel (2002) by cluster analysis classified restaurant consumers into five groups, however, in this study the researcher decided to take out a group which is Healthy food seekers as the study is for occasion dining. Therefore, the researcher to not include healthy food seekers as part of the study. The other four are: HB1 : Value seekers are one type of restaurant consumers HB2 : Service seekers are one type of restaurant consumer HB3 : Adventurous-Food seekers are one type of restaurant consumers HB4 : Atmosphere seekers are one type of restaurant consumers This study designed in order to find out the relation of each type of consumers to the factors. For instance, value seekers may do not concern about atmosphere while service seekers may do not bother about food quality. While for the behaviouristic segmentation, it came from Question 8 and 9. The researcher will further analyze the answers obtained.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Uranium :: essays research papers
Uranium was discovered by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, a German chemist, in the mineral pitchblende (primarily a mix of uranium oxides) in 1789.Klaproth, as well as the rest of the scientific community, believed that the substance he extracted from pitchblende was pure uranium, it was actually uranium dioxide (UO2). After noticing that 'pure' uranium reacted oddly with uranium tetrachloride (UCl4), Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896 when Antoine Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, detected it from a sample of uranium. Today, uranium is obtained from uranium ores such as pitchblende, uraninite , carnotite and autunite as well as from phosphate rock , lignite (brown coal) and monazite sand . Since there is little demand for uranium metal, uranium is usually sold in the form of sodium diuranate , also known as yellow cake, or triuranium octoxide). Uranium, a radioactive element, was first mined in the western United States in 1871 by Dr. Richard Pierce, who shipped 200 pounds of pitchblende to London from the Central City Mining District. This element is sorta boring but I found something interesting, they used it to make an an atomic bomb in the Cold War. In 1898 Pierre and Marie Curie and G. Bemont isolated the "miracle element" radium from pitchblende. That same year, uranium, vanadium and radium were found to exist in carnotite, a mineral containing colorful red and yellow ores that had been used as body paint by early Navajo and Ute Indians on the Colorado Plateau. The discovery triggered a small prospecting boom in southeastern Utah, and radium mines in Grand and San Juan counties became a major source of ore for the Curies. It was not the Curies but a British team working in Canada which was the first to understand that the presence of polonium and radium in pitchblende was not due to simple geological an d mineral reasons, but that these elements were directly linked to uranium by a process of natural radioactive transmutation. The theory of radioactive transformation of elements was brilliantly enlarge in1901 by the New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford and the English chemist Frederick Soddy at McGill University in Montreal. At dusk on the evening of November 8, 1895, Wilhelm Rontgen, professor of physics at the University of Wurzburg in Germany, noticed a cathode tube that a sheet of paper come distance away. He put his hand between the tube and the paper, he saw the image of the bones in his hand on the paper.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Crime and Good Human Beings
Now-a-days, the crimes are increasing everywhere. Everyday we hear the news that someone was robbed or murdered. This has lead to instability in many countries. In India, it has many adverse effects. The crime rate is going up at a very fast rate in India. Most of the crimes in India involves robbery, theft, etc. Sometimes shops are looted or sometimes houses are looted. Recently in Kolkata, fire broke out in a hospital in which about 92 people died. Also in past, in BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY, about 22,000 people died and thousands of people were seriously injured.These crimes are not intentional. But they accidentally took place. Criminals should not be punished severely. But before punishing, we should try to know why they did so. No one wants to do crime, but situation forces them to commit it. Many people commit crime because they need money to maintain their families. When criminals are kept in jail, they become hardened criminals. They loose their respect and only thinks to hurt other s. But now-a-days, the government has started many rehabilitation programs to help criminals to convert them into good human beings.When jail ââ¬â authorities see improvement in criminals, they release them even before completion of their period of imprisonment. SUPREME COURT OF INDIA has also said that severe punishment cannot be given for any small crime. The court while sentencing the convicts should deal with them under the PROBATION OF OFFENDERS ACT, 1958. The courts should release the convicts of minor offences by giving them the benefit of probation. Crimes are to be hated not the criminals. So at last, I want to say that the criminals should not be given severe punishment.They can be converted into good human beings by humanitarian values like love, careness, etc. So, they should be guided not to do such actions in future instead of sending them to jail. AGAINST No man take birth as a criminal. Their circumstances force them to do what their heart never wills. Their circ umstances can be anything it can be due to poverty, ailments or shortage of food. As in the drama bishops candlesticks the convict steals to save his wife from suffering which he never wanted to do. But there was no way other than stealing. But after stealing as by his luck he was caught.And the punishment given to him was too big for his shoes. This was just an example. Imagine how many people in this world would be suffering like this. Instead of understanding the pros and cons of the prisoner he is chained and whipped behind the bars. After a great suffering in the jail they just convert the criminals into a wild beast. Criminals are also human beings and they need to be consulted. No man is born great and no man is a criminal. They want to get wok but there is no employement for them because of shortage of wealth. Society should treat them like normal people.They should be consulted and given a job. People are the future. People should change the world. In this generation by ste aling or by lazing around there is no escape. They have to be preached in a certain manner. By these i conclude that criminals arent wicked and do not deserve punishment. we can leave even 1000 criminals to escape but nowhere should one innocent be prosecuted CRIMINALS ARE NOT WICKED AND SO DONOT DESERVE PUNISHMENT I do not agree with the statement that All Criminals Are Wicked And Deserve Punishment. No body is a criminal from birth.It is the environment in which he grows that makes him a criminal or a respected man. Some people turn into criminals due to poverty as they are not able to nourish their family as the Convict in the Bishopââ¬â¢s Candlesticks. He is a good man but his poverty made him worst. Crime needs punishment but first one must look into the reason of the crime and then punish the culprit. Nowadays it is seen that criminals are roaming free and innocent people are sent to prison. One wrong step can turn innocent people into criminals. To remove crime and crimina ls we have to clean and purify this world and there should bejustice for everyone.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
8ps of Services Marketing
Assignment Of Services Marketing Topic Develop 8Ps of Services marketing for any new service Submitted To Mr. Selman Rabbani Submitted By Syeda Sahar Fatima Kanza Khurshid MBA 6(A) Registration # 20381 and 20351 Bahria University Karachi Campus Dated 24-10-2012 THE FLAGENCE JEWEL INN (BRIDAL JEWELLERY ON RENT) Following are the 8Ps of services marketing for this new Service. In which we provide service of all types of Silver and Imitation Bridal jewellery including necklaces, ear rings, Bengals, bracelets, anklets, rings, chains, tika, jhomer and nath. Our target market is upper middle, middle and lower middle class of society. . PRODUCT ELEMENT: * Matching & designer bridal jewellery according to latest fashion. * Matching bridal jewellery according to traditional and cultural taste & demand. * We also have jewellery looking very comprehensive but have very light feeling after wearing it, as it made up of very delicate material. * Also cause no side effects for allergic peoples. 2. PLACE & TIME: * We have our outlets in all major cities of Pakistan. * Bookings can also be done on phone calls. * Our outlets are open from 12:00 noon to midnight. * Safely home deliveries. 3. PRICE: We are using penetrating pricing strategies, 4000 per day function without any further alteration and 4500 with alteration. * Tasty refreshments for our customers. * Individual attention for each customer by sales representatives to reduce their time cost. * Availability of baby chairs. * Special discounted packages for all three days of wedding. 4. PROMOTION AND EDUCATION: * We mostly use the print advertisements in weekly & monthly fashion and general magazines. * Pena-flexes in Shopping Malls and bill boards on busy roads of major cities of Pakistan. * Page on social media and have websites too. Private Cable T. V ads. * For our brand strengthening we establish some business partnering relationships with THE DEVAAS (the bridal dresses on rent outlet) and leading bridal boutiques. 5. PROCESSES: * We make sure that evaluation or feedback card must be filled by each customer while they are leaving the outlet. * We have well trained sales representatives to excellently deal with customers. * Our rent paying system is like this: we ask Rs. 1000 on without alteration jewellery and Rs. 2000 on altered jewellery more, which is refundable when customers return back the jewellery. While on home deliveries this amount is increased by 10% on each type. 6. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: * The glass walls appearance with decent bright lightening enhance the name and outlook of outlets. * Air fresheners and hanging T. Vs are placed on walls to make the inner atmosphere fresh, pleasant and enjoying. * Outlets are centrally air-conditioned. * Proper clean and shiny glass counters are available. * Maximum space is available in outlets to at-least deal with 08 to 10 customers at a time. * Comfortable & smart looking form chairs and besides lying sofas are placed to sit. . PEOPLE: * We ha ve representatives, who are very active, hardworking and friendly also welcoming & dealing customers with very positive gestures and postures. 8. PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY: * We keep quality by purchasing that kind of jewellery for rent which is according to accurate demand of customers and made up of material which is totally un-harming and delicate in nature. * We have customer oriented environment and have completely helping sales peoples. * We provide memorable, enjoying & pleasant experience of shopping and of visiting our outlets.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Explore Our Pointers For Choosing A Grade TOEFL Topics
Explore Our Pointers For Choosing A Grade TOEFL Topics TOEFL Essay: Choosing the Right Research Topics All the topics that we have covered in this article can be found in the fort edition official guide to the TOEFL. This book holds a good reputation so you should make an effort and grab it! If you are to take a TOEFL exam, I would advise you to get this book and use it as our guide. Letââ¬â¢s now focus on the list of topicsà below for a TOEFL essay: Question no. 1 Looking in the modern world, the internet has become a sensation that many people use on a daily basis. This has made access to information quite easy as compared to the previous generation. What are the ways that these aspects extend the accessibility of data? How does this influence our everyday life? Question no. 2 Many students prefer classes that they feel free to express themselves, talk to the teacher and the lectures given are on the minimum. Concerning this, several students have a different opinion in that less open discussions, and more lectures are the perfect combination for success. In your own opinion, which of the two options is the best? For the support information, you will add, utilize precise incentives and occurrences. Question no. 3 Have a look at the provided statement: the best research can be done by the use of sources such as publications or articles, as compared to website sources. Do you agree or disagree with this notion? To provide support for your point of reason, make use of motivations and occurrences. Question no. 4 Brainstorm on the following statement: grades motivate a student to study. Do you agree or disagree with this insinuation? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 5 Take a look at the following account: while some people are content with the small countryside settlement, others prefer the big city life. Which of the two aspects do you align with? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 6 Think through on the following statement: the popularization of television is the reason for the destroyed communication between people. Do you agree or disagree with this point of reason? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 7 The people living around you are your neighbors.à In your own opinion, what characteristics define a good neighbor? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 8 In your own opinion do you think that the people living in North America have become too dependable on cars for movement purposes? Question no. 9 Imagine a situation that you are to choose a country abroad that you will stay for two weeks. Which country will be your preferred choice? If so, why? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 10 Some people prefer traveling with another group of people, while others prefer traveling alone. In which of the two options do you fall in? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 11 Think through on the following situation: a particular firm needs to choose between spending a specific amount of money to support artists and redirecting the same funds to environmental protection. In our opinion, which of the two alternatives should the firm finance? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 12 What strategy do you employ while trying to fix issues? While you at it do the strategy employed give youre your desired results? As a way of providing support to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 13 Use comparison and highlight the similarities and differences between your parents and your personal lifestyle. Based on the answer you get, in your opinion, which of the two lifestyles will be more gratifying even in the evolution of a new generation? Question no. 14 Humans these days have a prolonged life. Discuss the factors that influence this phenomenon. When drafting your paper, use brief but related motivations and instances. Question no. 15 A certain amount of people prefers spending money on things they are passionate about, while others are big time savers and have future goals that support this behavior. In your own opinion, which of the two options would you prefer? As a way of providing support to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 16 Most of the youths become university or college students based on the colossal amount of different motives (for example, they experience new things, acquire life skills, training for a career). In your opinion, what reason drives an individual to become a student? Question no. 17 What are the ways that someoneââ¬â¢s actions are shaped by the TV shows and films they watch? As a way of providing support to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 18 Given a chance, what aspect of the town you come from would you like to change? As a way of providing support to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this Question no. 19 Humans can only be successful if they put in an effort to achieve their desired results. You cannot achieve success by luck. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 20 Think through on the following situation: colleges need to distribute the same amount of funds to sports activities, just like they do for their college libraries. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 21 Many people visit museums whenever they are in a new country. In your own opinion, why do people like museums, justify your basis using motivations and occurrences. Question no. 22 Do you agree or disagree on the following statement? it is prudent to raise your kids in a rural setting as compared to urban areas. Provide reasonable justification for the basis of your opinion using reliable occurrences and motivations. Question no. 23 Some people believe that our actions and activities destroy the planet. On the other hand, others believe that these actions are beneficial to the planet. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? As a way of providing a basis to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 24 Most people get jobs to earn a source of living and sustain their daily lives. Can you give out other reasons why people need jobs? Justify your opinion using motivations and occurrences that relate to this. Question no. 25 People use different actions to ensure they preserve their health. What actions do you employ in your life to stay healthy? Justify your opinion using motivations and instances. Question no. 26 Picture the following situation: you have recently found out that commercial buildings are being constructed near your residential place. Do you agree or disagree with this project? As a way of providing a footing to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 27 While some students find it as an advantage to study with a group of people, others prefer studying on their own.à Which of these two aspects would you favor? To justify your opinion, use motivations and instances suitable to address this. Question no. 28 While other people find comfort and pleasure through dining in restaurants and high tables, others prefer cooking in the comfort of their houses. Which of the two categories are you in? Justify this using motivations and instances. Question no. 29 As some people think that class attendance should be graded, others do believe that it should be facultative. Which of the two options would you agree with? For justification purposes of the support to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no.30 A number of people believes that studying is well done when someone is alone, rather than having a professor teaches and explains it.à However, others do think that a professor is an integral part of learning to ensure you achieve the desired and required educational wisdom.à Which of the two alternatives do you agree on? To justify the basis to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 31 In your own opinion, what are the characteristics that your employer should possess? As a way of justifying to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 32 As a rule, human beings enjoy a long life these days. What are the reasons behind this? As a way of providing a basis to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 33 When you get employment, you are bound to interact inevitably with several different types of people with different characters. From your perspective, what are the characteristics that a work colleague should have? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 34 Think through on the following situation: within 20 years, people will own less number of vehicles than they do today. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 35 Think through on the following situation: these days, many people spend most of their time entertaining themselves and having fun, more than they should be doing what needs to be done. Do you agree with this point of view?à As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 36 Think through on the following situation: life these days is simpler and less complicated as compared to the lives of our grandparents back in the days. Do you agree or disagree with this notion? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 37 Think through on the following situation: we can source good advice, and valuable lessons from people who hold a higher level of professional setting as compared to our peers do you agree or disagree with this? As a way of providing a basis to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 38 Think through on the following situation: one should never assimilate an important measure on their own. Do you agree or disagree with this? As a way of providing a foundation to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 39 Think through on the following situation: You recently found out that a new shopping mall was to be constructed near your residential area. Do you agree or disagree with this move? As a way of providing a basis to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this. Question no. 40 Think through on the following situation: in some situation, it is advisable to lie. Do you agree or disagree with this? As a way of providing a footing to your opinion, use motivations and occurrences suitable to address this.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics essays
Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics essays In Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics, he expresses his opinions on the basis of thought through eudaimonia and arete. Eudaimonia is the goal of human conduct, or telos in Greek. In English, Eudaimonia translates into happiness, but Aristotle uses it as a well being through prospering and flourishing. To achieve this prospering and flourishing, one needs satisfaction of a job well done. Arete is excellence in fulfilling a function, also known as an ergon. Aristotle finds arete, or a virtue in all objects, animate and inanimate. Aristotle explains his view of the chief good throughout the Doctrine of the Mean, through the comparing and contrasting of virtues and vices. Aristotle begins Nicomachean Ethics with an explanation of the chief good. This good is presented by him through thoughts and theories of the Doctrine of the Mean. He states that all men who are in search of the good and knowledge of the good have a profound influence on life. He then writes how a good man, sets goals for himself on a specific task. This experience in the function of the task gives self satisfaction. An example used by Aristotle is a sculptor who participates in the art of sculpting. The end result of his sculpting is a beautiful piece of artwork. This proves that the function done by the sculptor makes him satisfied in performing the action. The final result is the chief good which is sought out by the man who is doing the activity. Aristotle believes that since the activity culminates the soul, it will have an end result in making the soul happy. Aristotles view in the Doctrine of the Mean on human virtue is split into two parts; intellectual and moral virtue. Intellectual virtue is birth and growth through teaching, experience, and time. Moral virtue comes as a result of habitual activities. He explains that there are three rules of moral virtue. The first ...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Understanding the Wuthering Heights Title
Understanding the Wuthering Heights Title Wuthering Heights is a great title! It sounds Gothicit sets the mood for one of the most dramatic and tragic love stories in literary history. But, what is the significance of the title? Why is it important? How does it relate to the setting or characterization? The title of the novel is also the name of the Yorkshire family estate, located on the moors, but Emily Bronte appears to have used the title to imbue the text with a feeling of dark foreboding. She carefully created the mood of the novel and placed her characters on the wild moors. Other reasons for the title: Wutheringmeaning quite literally windy or blusterysets the scene for the volatile, often-stormy-passionate relationships in the novel, but it also sets the stage with the feeling of isolation and mystery.The setting is based on the Elizabethan farmhouse, Top Withens (or Top Within), located near Haworth, West Yorkshire, England. Heres more information (photos, description, etc.), from Haworth Village.In Ch 1 of the novel, we read: Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliffs dwelling. Wuthering being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily, the architect had the foresight to build it stron g: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones. In the Preface, we read: It is rustic all through. It is Moorishà and wild, and knotty as a root of heath. Nor was it natural that it should be otherwise; the author being herself a native and nursling of the moors. Doubtless, had her lot been cast in a town, her writings, if she had written at all, would have possessed another character. Even had a chance or taste led her to choose a similar subject, she would have treated it otherwise... her native hills were far more to her than a spectacle; they were what she lived for, and by, as much as the wild birds, their tenants, or as the heather, their produce. Her descriptions, then, of natural scenery are what they should be, and all they should be.We also read in the Preface: Having avowed that over much of Wuthering Heights there broods a horror of great darkness; that, in its storm-heated and electrical atmosphere, we seem at times to breathe lightning: let me point to those spots where clouded daylight and the eclipsed sun still a ttest their existence. The setting of the placeso dark moody and stormyalso sets the perfect stage for her obstinate lovers, who carry on such a tumultuous relationship. And, with ghostly visitations, and multiple generations in the mix, its all a mess of supernatural portents and mad passions. (We could almost recollect a Shakespearean tragedy.) Every relationship is charged... The landscape is the personification of the turmoil experienced by the characters of Wuthering Heights. Also, the raw, even (what has been described as) animalistic passions of the novel reminds us once again of the long and controversial history of the novel.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Luxury Brands, Why People Spend a Lot of Money to Buy Luxury Goods Essay
Luxury Brands, Why People Spend a Lot of Money to Buy Luxury Goods - Essay Example People buy luxury items because they can afford it. This is the only way to show their richness to people. Luxury brands are obviously made for such people who want to prove that they are rich and they can pay any cost for their favorite things. People and fashion celebrities buy the branded goods of Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and Gucci to wear robust and durable products. Louis Vuittan is footwear giant and fashion people spend a lot of money on branded products to show richness. Alexandra says, ââ¬Å"I love the process, the quality, and the craftsmanship involved behind most good luxury products. Some people think luxury goods are very expensive and overpriced. Expensive, yes, overpriced not always.â⬠(Alexandra 2010) Now the one more reason is export of branded items. Branded companies like Hermes, Gucci, Adidas and Nike are manufactured and used in economically strong countries. When these goods are imported by the third world countries, these goods become very expe nsive after inclusion of different taxes. Louis Vuitton is world leader in footwear collections. Other brands in competition are Prada and Alexander Wang. The very important factor behind buying the branded items is that people buy emotion, luxury, image and status linked to brand of their choice. Manufacturer keeps the interest of buyer in mind and makes items to fulfill needsof people. Inflation and difference in currency rates is also influencing factor in offering the different rates of single brand at different places of the world. Brands like Louboutin and Jimmy Choo have a big name on social media. These two are the most visited brands on the internet. Because they claim that they do not only sell shoes, they also sell the lifestyle. This is the lifestyle which convinced people to go for such stylish shoes. When Smith was asked about his interest in buying luxury brands, he reported, ââ¬Å"Luxury brands have valid prices because they offer the best quality and whenever one u ses a brand, it speaks of its quality. They never get weird and out of fashion. They are always in fashion.â⬠The imprecision of the bags has proved that it is one of the most desirable bags since Hermes named it after British actress Jane Birkin in 1984, the prices of these products starts from about $9,000 to about $34,000 for a crocodile skin bag (Goldsmith 2008). People pay large amounts for buying Hermes bags because of already discussed reasons. Hermes bags are good looking and are made of very fine material. Costly and finished leather is used in making of these bags. Companies depend on good labor and material. Just for making the name of brand known to people Hermes bag making is free of any shortcuts. Tonello said, ââ¬Å"The bag has become the iconic 'it' bag, the symbol of ultimate luxury, because of its inaccessibility to the general publicâ⬠(Goldsmith 2008). Another beauty of Hermes bags is that these are hand made by highly skilled people. Quantity is decid ed and then bags are made according to decided quantity. No extra bags are manufactured in a year. Making of certain number of bags depends upon the availability of skilled labor. Variety of colors and styles are used in molding the leather in a very good looking bag. This fascinates the people and they become bag lovers by paying the high costs. When
Friday, October 18, 2019
Marketing Plan- Marketing metrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Marketing Plan- Marketing metrics - Essay Example This will involve advertising campaigns. There has been significant improvement in database technologies which has made it possible for companies to gain access of customer specific information as well as competitor specific information. GGI should use such information while devising their strategies. They should identify innovative drivers to determine customer value. They need to work on enhancing their brand image since they are a relatively new entrant in the retail market. They have to build a favorable image for their brand in the customerââ¬â¢s mind and find out ways to attract greater number of customers and retain their existing customers. Identified Key Marketing Metrics GGI is planning to open 10 new retail stores in addition to the one it already has. This will involve substantial expenditures which have necessitated the identification of certain key marketing metrics that will enable GGI to justify their marketing expenditure. These marketing metrics will facilitate t hem to formulate strategies to enhance the performance of the company. The company can use a wide range of marketing metrics namely brand value metrics, word of mouth and referral value metrics, acquisition and retention metrics, customer value metrics, multichannel shopping metrics, product return metrics and cross buying and up buying metrics (Peterson & Et. Al., 2009). Other metrics include direct mail response rates and advertising, market share, wallet share, return on investment and customer relationship management (CRM). Recommendation on How GGI Can Improve on the Key Marketing Metrics The brand image is an extremely important intangible asset of a company. The brand image determines the future purchases made by customers, helps in developing customer loyalty and ensures customer retention. Thus, the brand value metrics is very important for GGI since it is a new entrant in the retail industry. The brand value metrics can be improved by creating an ethical and responsible im age for the company and stressing on quality of products. A company can experience considerably high purchases based on word of mouth publicity generated for the company. The predicted referral value score of each customer determines which customers should be targeted during the next period by providing them referral incentives. The word of mouth and referral value metrics and acquisition and retention metrics can be improved by enhancing the experience of the existing customers by providing superior quality products and excellent services. Multichannel shopping metrics can be improved by introducing innovative methods of purchase. The company can introduce online purchases. Improvements in cross buying and up buying metrics depend on special efforts on the part of the sales personnel. The enhanced efforts of the sales personnel makes customer buy products that they may not have planned to purchase earlier. The direct mails should be increased. The advertising should be done through multiple advertising vehicles. Wallet share refers to the amount of business generated from specific customers. Reaching out to wider range of customers by providing a wider range of products helps in increasing wallet share. This will also help in improving the ROI metrics. The CRM should be made more interactive. A closer watch on the competitorsââ¬â¢
Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 7
Case Study Example l has been classified by majority of sport investigators as a game sport, which depends on ââ¬Ëadenosine triphosphate-phosphocreatine systemââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëlactic acid system.ââ¬â¢ Nevertheless, it has been argued that a large volume of literature on fitness testing in field and individual sports such as running and cycling are performed more consistently, while the same for court sports such as basketball is contended to be fairly less. In the past, investigations pertaining to physiological and anthropometric profiles of elite basketball players have been evaluated. Notably, the performance pertaining to team sport is generally associated with various factors, specifically fitness of the team members, psychological attributes, team strategies and sport-specific expertise among others. In the present day context, several changes in the rules and development of strategies have been witnessed in the domain of basketball (Schelling & Torres-Ronda, 2013). Correspondingly, such changes have resulted in increasing physical demands of basketball players (Scanlan, Dascombe, Reaburn & Dalbo, 2012). In order to be a successful basketball player, a well-built physical fitness is extremely important for an athlete. Alongside, body size of players and elements including experience, stamina, body composition, stability between anaerobic fitness and aerobic fitness are determined to be vital for evaluating the performance of successful players. Coaches as well as sport scientists are identified to use battery of sport-specific physical tests for evaluating the aforesaid factors such as body size and composition, stamina and aerobic fitness. Testing is usually performed to determine the changes in athletes as well as to draw understanding regarding the efficacy of training programs. Sports science research has established certain values for determining the degree of changes within-athletes as well as between-athletes (Drinkwater, Hopkins, McKenna, Hunt & Pyne, 2005). Lately developed
B2B and Reseller Markets Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
B2B and Reseller Markets - Coursework Example Thus, the report provides a view about which business relationship the organisation should develop by taking into concern the theories of business relationship and b2b marketing. Every successful business is established on the basis of solid and progressive relationship with the customers. The origin of business relationship has been traced back to the 19th century and since then the idea of business relationship has changed considerably. Traditionally, b2b market is dependent on encompassing the predominant view of consumer marketing. It was fairly unsophisticated approach, which was subjected towards manipulation of certain marketing variables such as products, price and promotion among others for raising desired rate of returns. The viewpoint of customer relationship was overwhelmingly adversarial and short-term in nature. However, after 1990s, it was appreciated that such aspect does not satisfactorily reflect the intricacies of how b2b market perform. Rather, it was argued that b2b marketing is long-run in nature and involve proper relationship between buyers and sellers to reap mutual advantages (Buttle, 1996). Unlike b2c model, customers in b2b model are basically organisations or companies, which signify that there are few customers for Airslash to serve in its respective market. However, it is worth mentioning that although there are small number of customers, they make large amount of purchases and the purchasing procedure is quite complex in nature. Besides, in comparison with business to consumer (b2c) customers, relationship in b2b customers are quite close in nature. In general, Airslash can develop two types of relationship with its customers namely transactional or cooperative. In this similar context, transactional relationship comprises timely interchange of basic services for extremely competitive prices and cooperative relationship constitutes strong ties established over times with the aim of accomplishing shared
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Envy at Work Article Summary Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Envy at Work Summary - Article Example Because envy is generally considered a negative emotion, individuals repress these feelings. Still, these repressed feelings of envy emerge in harmful ways. Menon and Thompsonââ¬â¢s research suggests, however, that it is possible to avoid being consumed by these feelings and to implement them to oneââ¬â¢s advantage. In further considering the ways that envy emerges and is impactful, Menon and Thompson examine a hypothetical instance involving Scott and Marty. While these individuals were once strong friends, this gave way. While Marty was the better performer, Scottââ¬â¢s personality and social network helped him advance his career at a more rapid rate. This caused significant envy; this envy subsequently started to detrimentally impact Martyââ¬â¢s work performance. Most notably, Marty demonstrated disparagement and distancing. One of the main recognitions was that individuals pull away from others they envy because they feel the emotion more intensely with those they are close to. This distancing then directly impacts functionality and success within the organization. One notable example was that individuals were more willing to accept a project idea if it emerged outside the organization rather than within. The main recognition in these regards was that individuals within the organization worried that by adopting a project from a colleague they would lose status. In this way the colleague would be deemed the intellectual leader. This then costs the organization more money as it is less efficient to adopt ideas from outside the organization than to implement them internally. This is recognized as occurring in a real world example through the restaurant Fresh Choice. While the restaurant appreciated the menus and dà ©cor of a rival restaurant, after acquiring this rival opinions changed. The recognition then became that this newly acquired entity was not as chic as originally determine; this then resulted in the creative professionals leaving the organization. As a
Finance International Investments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Finance International Investments - Assignment Example The country is expected to capture 1% of the global trade in the near future. The level of exports has grown to nearly 24% as compared to the last four years (Guenthner). India is expected to be among the largest economies by 2035 (Guenthner). This is the right time to invest in India based on the level of economic growth and future prospects. India is viewed as an appropriate market for investors who have long term objectives. Risks of investing in India Investing in India is considered as a huge risk by a number of investors claiming that the chances of success are equal to those of failure (Canada.com). However, these risks are known to exist in any given business venture in a country. This concerns the acceptability of the new product in the market (Trade Chakra). The Indian population is at 1.1 billion however only 40 million people frequently use the internet (Guenthner). Funds should be invested in the online sector as it is among the most promising. In the past, the country h as experienced a couple of terrorist attacks and this has had negative effect on investor confidence. However, this concern has a short-term impact and it should not prevent investors from investing their funds in India. Nevertheless, it is a country with high levels of poverty and strict traditions and it may be hard to introduce new products in the market. Its economy has a long way to go before it fully develops and this poses a risk and challenge of growth to any company. Most of the people are employed in the agricultural sector and 30% of the population lives below the poverty line (Guenthner). The country has a poor infrastructure and this may prove to be a challenge to an investment. Long-term potential for growth in India Indian economy possesses immense economic promise and potential. This has captured a great deal of attention from investors globally. India is said to be an economy with numerous possibilities and can have unpredictable impacts on businesses (Hall and Polo z, 771). The economy is expected to grow at a high rate (12.8% per year) in the near future and this is quite attractive to the investors. The income for Indians is also expected to increase in the coming years. The economy is expected to be among the most powerful in the next two decades. While it is true that the market in India has greater potential than other markets globally, available funds should be invested in sectors with long-term prospective growth such as technology more so the internet. The funds should be invested in areas where the rate of return is over 15%. Political or economic upheavals that might impact performance of the fund Political stability in any given country is vital since it determines the stability of the business environment. India is considered to be the biggest democracy in the world. The current political situation in the country can be described as fairly stable. The major problem facing politics in India is corruption which is a contributing fact or to poor investor confidence. Citizens feel that democracy is not fully exercised which can lead to an uprising in future leading to political instability. The economic state has been improving over the years as earlier mentioned. In terms of purchasing power and GDP, India is ranked third globally after the US and China (Guenthner). The GDP in 2007 was estimated to be $2.965 trillion and the GDP per capita was estimated to be $2700 (Guenthner). The FDI in 2007 was $16 million while in 2006 it was $5.5 million
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Envy at Work Article Summary Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Envy at Work Summary - Article Example Because envy is generally considered a negative emotion, individuals repress these feelings. Still, these repressed feelings of envy emerge in harmful ways. Menon and Thompsonââ¬â¢s research suggests, however, that it is possible to avoid being consumed by these feelings and to implement them to oneââ¬â¢s advantage. In further considering the ways that envy emerges and is impactful, Menon and Thompson examine a hypothetical instance involving Scott and Marty. While these individuals were once strong friends, this gave way. While Marty was the better performer, Scottââ¬â¢s personality and social network helped him advance his career at a more rapid rate. This caused significant envy; this envy subsequently started to detrimentally impact Martyââ¬â¢s work performance. Most notably, Marty demonstrated disparagement and distancing. One of the main recognitions was that individuals pull away from others they envy because they feel the emotion more intensely with those they are close to. This distancing then directly impacts functionality and success within the organization. One notable example was that individuals were more willing to accept a project idea if it emerged outside the organization rather than within. The main recognition in these regards was that individuals within the organization worried that by adopting a project from a colleague they would lose status. In this way the colleague would be deemed the intellectual leader. This then costs the organization more money as it is less efficient to adopt ideas from outside the organization than to implement them internally. This is recognized as occurring in a real world example through the restaurant Fresh Choice. While the restaurant appreciated the menus and dà ©cor of a rival restaurant, after acquiring this rival opinions changed. The recognition then became that this newly acquired entity was not as chic as originally determine; this then resulted in the creative professionals leaving the organization. As a
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Psychometric assessment Essay Example for Free
Psychometric assessment Essay Certain people tend to be more obedient than others. Individuals who have the tendency to adopt a submissive, uncritical attitude toward authority figures authoritarian submission (Adorno, 1950) tends to perform tasks when demanded. Also, people with an external locus of control (a sense that fate rules their life rather than their own actions) tend to be more obedient. However, despite the popular myth that women are more submissive, women and men are relatively equal in the degree to which they will obey demands (Eagly Carli, 1981). Dehumanisation or deindividuation is the loss of the sense of individual identity and control over our behaviour. Sensory overload, arousal, anonymity, and reduced self awareness are key factors which loosen inhibitions and thus uncharacteristic behaviour is not inline with usual internal standards. According to deindividuation theory, the psychological state of deindividuation is aroused when individuals join crowds or large groups. The state is characterized by diminished awareness of self and individuality. This in turn reduces an individuals self-restraint and normative regulation of behaviour. In social psychology, deindividuation is a major theory of group behaviour: it provides an explanation of collective behaviour of violent crowds, mindless hooligans, and the lynch mob. In addition, deindividuation has been associated with other social phenomena such as genocide, stereotyping, and disinhibition in other settings such as computer-mediated communication. Several influential studies were conducted to illustrate the force of deindividuation. For example, Zimbardo (1969) carried out a study that inspired much subsequent deindividuation research. In this study, participants were rendered anonymous by clothing them in oversized lab coats and hoods, compared with normal clothes and name tags in the control condition. The participants task was to shock a confederate in a situation similar to the classic Milgram studies on obedience. In a first experiment using groups of female students, Zimbardo demonstrated that anonymous participants shocked longer (and therefore more painfully) than identifiable participants, in confirmation of his theory. Another area of controversy in psychology is the area of psychometric testing, which aim to make important decisions affecting individuals and society. Tests are used in a variety of settings to aid selection in education and work and for diagnosis for those with learning and psychological problems. Ability tests were amongst the first psychometric tests to be developed, and controversy has surrounded their use since. Binet and Simon (1905) were commissioned by the French government to find a method to differentiate between children who were intellectually normal and those who were inferior. The purpose was to put the latter into special schools where they would receive more individual attention. In this way the disruption they caused in the education of intellectually normal children could be avoided. This led to the development of the Binet-Simon Scale, and constituted a revolutionary approach to the assessment of individual mental ability. Revisions to the Binet-Simon Scale resulted in the concept of mental age, an easily understandable concept which significantly increased the popularity of ability testing. Further developments of the tests produced the concept of intelligence quotient (IQ) and resulted in one of the currently most widely used tests, the Stanford Binet Scale. Most intelligence tests measure the general reasoning ability that is involved in many different types of problem solving behaviour. Older types of tests referred to this intelligence factor as general ability, whereas more recent tests have tended to divide the general ability into fluid intelligence (innate and not particularly influenced by ones environment) and crystallised intelligence (underlying fluid intelligence that is a product of environmental experiences. In recent years, the introduction of the eleven plus exam, which is largely compiled of IQ tests, was used to distinguish those who would proceed to grammar school and those who would be relegated to academically inferior secondary schools. Research into the psychometric assessment of intelligence has been the focus of many eminent psychologists including Spearmen, Burt, Eysenck, and Cattell. The latter two also went on further to develop (separate) personality tests, Cattells 16PF in 1970, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) in 1975. These involve analysing a series of short yes/no questions in an attempt to decipher the nature and character of the person answering them. Today, personality assessments are mainly used in clinical settings, with their use in occupational settings increasing. They may also be used in educational settings in assessing individuals with learning problems and are still widely used and developed within academic and research settings. Personality tests are also widely used today within the work environment, perhaps for deciding whether to employ someone or not, or even to decide who gets made redundant. On the whole, psychometric tests have acceptable validity and therefore make them less prone to error than other types of assessment. The interpretation of psychometric data requires the use of norms, against which the scores of a particular individual can be compared. Psychometric assessments tend to be the only measures for which norms are available. Psychometric tests are fairly short and therefore time and cost efficient. Many are group tests, and so can be given to a number of people at the same time. In fact the development of computer programmes concerned with psychometric testing means that tests can be administered and scored by a computer, enabling results to be made available quickly and can form the basis of a discussion. Personality tests are particularly cost efficient as they prevent money being wasted on training unsuitable personnel. However, there can be an undue reliance on the results of psychometric tests. Simply discovering that a person has an aptitude for a particular occupation does not guarantee that they will be successful at that job. The mystique of psychometric test results means that they are frequently not discussed with those who complete them. In this sense there is a failure to use psychological testing humanely. Test scores can also be misused. The results of tests should not be used to withhold educational or occupational opportunities from those who may perform less well on tests of ability due to factors that have little to do with intelligence. In any instance, the results can be faked by the participant to influence the results in their favour, and so can be unknowingly misinterpreted anyway. Because of the cheapness and predictive success of many psychometric tests, there may be a failure to use other important information. Psychometric test results should ideally be used alongside other reliable information about a person, otherwise they may wrongly stereotype an individual. Furthermore, there are many cultural and sub-cultural issues that can arise when measuring IQ, which causes much controversy. At the extreme, IQ tests were used to keep out certain immigrant groups from the United States during the 1920s. Jenson (1969) suggested that genetic differences were the cause of consistently lower IQ scores observed in non white racial groups. Recent controversies relate to the systematic differences attained by different groups in society. Critics say these are the results of bias in test items. Typical examples relate to previously learned information and items using verbal information, typically English, which require reading and writing. Even when tests are translated to the native language of the participants, questions are still raised over the cultural equivalence of certain items (Zindi, 1994). Even tests which explicitly attempt to be culture fair have been questioned. The Ravens Progressive Matrices test showed that the performance of Asian immigrants has been found to improve over a five year period by an average of 15-20 points, which demonstrates that minorities will be disadvantaged in taking them until they learn different ways of approaching them (Roth, 1990). In 1972, Williams produced the Black Intelligent Test of Cultural Homogeneity (BITCH) in an attempt to highlight cultural biases in test items, which was heavily loaded towards black minorities. Using this test, it is black people who tend to score higher than whites. Particularly in IQ tests that use visual cues, participants may misinterpret an action, and their own cultural biases produce expectations which can alter what they see. They may use methods derived from an alien culture (emics/etics) and may have a hostile reception which will bias their observations. Observations are made of a sample and may not be typical of the whole culture being studies. It is also wrong to imagine a culture as being a homogenous group of people; differences within a culture may be as large as those between cultures.
Monday, October 14, 2019
The Effects Of Divorce On Children
The Effects Of Divorce On Children The term divorce is defined by Merriam Webster Langenscheidts Pocket Dictionary as an act or instance of legally dissolving a marriage. It is usually between a man and a woman. However recent evolution and other social constructs have tended to see divorce as a legal dissolution between partners, for example, a marriage between gay or lesbian partners. The latter statement goes to explain the fact that some jurisdiction recognizes marriages between the same sexes. Therefore the definition of marriage cannot be restricted to the traditional description of what marriage is. It must also be noted that various cultures have a way of dealing with divorce. To Margulies, Sam (2004), the decision to divorce is the beginning of two streams of events. Firstly, filing for divorce triggers legal, emotional and financial process in which the house hold must be split into two. The second stream of event is the building of new lives, households, who has custody of children of the union and new protocols being negotiated. Again, one of the things that makes divorce such a unique and often troubled experience is that it involves a complex interaction between two different processes. Firstly, divorce is a difficult emotional process. It causes intense feeling of sadness humiliation, abandonment, disappointment, rejection and rage. Most of all, divorce engenders fear, particularly fear of loss. People fear lost of identity as spouse and parents, loss of economic and security, loss of control over their lives and loss of dignity. So the emotional process of divorce is one in which people have to manage all their feelings at the same time. As with any other transition, there are stages that most people pass, beginning with initial turmoil, followed by struggle with change, and eventually with adaptation and adjustment. Children of the marriage to be honest are not speared the pain of these processes. Margulies, Sam (2004). For the purposes of this academic discourse, a child is somebody who is primarily under the age of eighteen or someone who is not yet twenty three but still in a training program. For instance, it concerns a person who is studying in a training institution like Sheridan College. The word consequences as would be used in this research represent the various experiences, children whose parents are going through divorce face. This paper will therefore establish and make clear a hypothesis to be analyzed. Various arguments would be adduced to support and prove the said hypothesis. On the other hand a counter argument will be made to refute the hypothesis. A balance discussion on the research will also be delved into. Finally a presentation on the outcome of the research will be done. HYPOTHESIS The hypothesis is there are lifelong consequences for children whose parents go through divorce. Almost 50 percent of children whose parents divorce show signs of psychological damage during the first year after the event. According to a 1994 policy statement from the American Academy of Paediatrics, such boys become aggressive whiles adolescent girls get depressed. To prove further the devastating nature of divorce on children whose parents go through divorce are more likely to develop drug and alcohol problems. Pemberton K.C.(1998) in reviewing Psychologist Judith Wallersteins twenty- five (25) year study on the impact of divorce on children, found out that although the divorcing man and woman might be able to overcome the trauma and challenges associated with divorce, the circumstances of the children are different. Children of such unions can carry the ill effects of divorce into their own adult years. Such adults tend to have fear of commitment, unstable father-child relationshi ps and bitter memories of the legal system. In explaining this position further, Pemberton K.C. (1998), asserts I do not argue that children have no chance of healthy or happiness after their parents had divorced but the challenges children must meet after their parents divorce are severe and devastating. As much as scholars like Pemberton K.C. (1998) and Emery (2004) have painted a horrible picture of the situation, the same scholars have conceded to the fact that some children who experience this phenomenon grow to live a healthy and a successful life. For example there are enhancing programs in our schools that go a long way to support and prepare such children for future healthy living. ARGUMENT TO PROVE HYPOTHESIS As it has been noted, there are various arguments that go to support the premise that, children whose parents go through divorce suffer lifelong consequences. Some of the issues are best explained when put under emotional, physical and social consequences. To most children, divorce will constitute the first major crisis of their lives. Children turn to exhibit many emotional and psychological traumas. For instance in a conversation I had with a child and youth worker at Apple wood Height secondary school as part of my preparation towards gathering information for this project, enumerated that, children whose parents had gone and are going through divorce turn to be withdrawn in class. This behaviour tends to manifest itself in their academic performance. This Psychological effect makes them act aggressive towards their peers and seems to struggle with normal processes of growing up. In much the same way, Emery, E. R.(2004), supported this hypothesis by stating that There are those who contend that divorce inevitable and invariable devastates children and set the stage for a lifetime of emotional problems, period. To prove this point further, he attempted to compare the behaviour and attitudes of children who are perceived to be normal because they are under the guidance of their two parents and those children whose parents are going or had gone through divorce. He found out that, the very process of divorce between parents causes the children to struggle through the pain and upheaval of their parents divorce. Secondly, through sensationalistic media or our own hysteria, we lay the burden of carrying a ticking time bomb on kids by inaccurately trumpeting the tug of war between the parents. Even if parents seem to be doing well by handling the divorce crisis, children are inevitable doomed or damaged because of divorce. After the divorce process, it introduces huge changes into the lives of most children. This encompasses direct involvement in parental conflict, economic hardship, changes in residence and school. To him, divorce also increases the risk for psychological, social and academic problems among children. This increased risk is a legitimate concern for children, parents and the community. Finally, he stipulated that, despite parents fervent desire to protect children of divorce, the mere divorce process is a burden to children. To prove further the long term consequences divorce has on children whose parent are going and had gone through divorce, Emery, E. R. (2004), made available some statistic to throw light on his thoughts. These are; such children are twice as likely to see a mental health professional, up to twice of such children are likely to have problems managing their behaviour. He also said, perhaps 1.25 to 1.5 times are more likely to have problems with depressed moods. Again, twice of such children are likely to drop out of school before graduation. What is more interesting and sad enough to support the Hypothesis is the realization that, 1.25 to 1.5 times of children at one point or the other experienced the challenges of their parents divorced. Similarly, the same children are likely to get divorced themselves. Is this not scary enough to prove the hypothesis? Besides, Price E. (2000), in her book Divorce and Teens has not described the situation in any positive way. She explained that, the issue of parents fighting each other, why are my parents divorcing, why must one parent move out, must I tell my friends and what should be my level of loyalty to each parent, all go a long way to frustrate such children. Eventually, anger takes over and this manifest itself in aggressive behaviour towards life issues. Another practical perspective to the situation at hand is cleverly summarised by his lordship, Mr. Justice Harvey Brownstone as follows; After more than fourteen years of presiding in family court, one question has never seized to amaze me: how can two parents who love their children allow a total stranger to make crucial decisions about their leaving arrangements, health, education, extracurricular activities, vacation time and degree of contact with each parent? This question becomes even more mind-boggling when one considers that the stranger making the decision is a judge, whose formal training is in the law, not in family relations, child development, social work, or a psychology. Now add the fact that, because of heavy case loads and crowded dockets, most judges have to make numerous child custody, access, matrimonial property and support decisions every day on the basis of incomplete, subjective and highly emotional written evidence (called affidavits), with virtually no time to get to know the parents and no opportunities to meet the child whose life is being so profoundly affected. What person in their right mind would advocate for this method resolving parental conflict flowing from family breakdown? This are some of the questions that family called judges agonize over. Some say the answer are complicated and have much to do with social conditioning, economic class, level of education, sophistication, familiarity with community resources and even culture. I say the answers are simple. The institution of marriage has not been a great success in North of America Brownstone, J.H. (2009). P.1. COUNTER ARGUMENT TO THE HYPOTHESIS In spite of the scary picture painted by the various authors supporting the hypothesis that, there are lifelong consequences for children whose parents go through divorce, the same topic and ongoing controversies have resulted in the change of authors views. For instance, Emery (2004) has stated that The Risk of Divorce Are Real but Not the Whole Story. By this, he has discounted some of the arguments he had put forward to support the hypothesis. He acknowledges that divorce increases childrens psychological problems but also sought to emphasize the need to put it into its right perspectives. To him, the large majority of children from divorced families do not suffer from psychological problems. His argument is centred on the theory of correlation and causality. He went further to explain that divorce is correlated with more psychological problems among children but this does not mean that it is the cause of all the problems. Scientific evidence has at least proven that divorce canno t be the cause of all the affected childrens emotional problems. Another important factor, Emery (2004), considered is that what happens after divorce can go a long way to eliminate risk and promoting resilience. Besides, he used the half full and half empty analogy to refute the premise that all the children who experience their parents going and had gone through divorce face, Emery (2004). He duelled heavily on a major national study conducted by Nick Zill, Donna Morrison and Mary Jo Cairo. The study looked at children between the ages of twelve and twenty-one. The study revealed that 21% of children whose parents have had divorce received psychological assistance. In comparison, 11% percent from married families also received similar help. It is a fact that, there is a 100% increase between the two groups. Once again, this situation looks scary but the truth of the matter is that, if 11% of children from the normal situation seek psychiatrist assistance, then it presupposes 89% do not. On the other hand, if only 21% of the said troubled children seek for psychiatrist assistance, then the whole phenomenon is not a case of the glass being half empty and half full but rather the statistics sh ould be looked at in both ways. When this happens, it can be adduced that the glass is only 20% empty and 80% full. There are no doubt that divorce disrupts the lives of almost every child who goes through those challenges. However, great majority of these children are able to sort through these difficulties and succeed. We must not also lose sight of the need to applaud and build on the strengths (strength based approach) of such children. Besides, evaluating it from both scientific and statistical point of view, shows that psychological problems of children whose parents had gone through divorce starts before the actual divorce issues begin to manifest. Emery (2004). To back up his finding, a substantial figure of 50% was found. A BALANCE DISCUSSION ON THE RESEARCH At this point, it is important for one to have a balanced analysis of the overall views of the topics of divorce. That is, the ideas which support the hypothesis and the ones that refutes it. On a personal reflection however, I still stand by the hypothesis that, there are lifelong consequences for children whose parents go through divorce. The opponents of this hypothesis have sought to argue that divorce, in itself, does not impose any lifelong consequences. Realistically, most children from divorced families are resilient. There are instances where such children have gone through those challenges and still succeeded in their life endeavours. Most have good careers and are happily married. This disproves the stance portraying children whose parents have gone through divorce as a serious and unimaginable consequence. To me, what those children go through emotionally are equally experienced by children who stay and grow with their parents. Some have even tended to suggested that, it is a normal process of growing up. As noted above, only 20% of such kids experience the phenomenon. Looking at my social location, I was from a divorced family. However, I had the benefits of some social and traditional structures to support me and my sibling. For instance, my grandmother took up the fathering responsibility so we never felt the absence of our father. Similarly, when we migrated to Canada, the school system has counselling facilities that helped to sustain us to go through the normal processes of growing up. I am proud to say my brother and I are now in college and are determined to succeed in our choosing endeavours. These achievements would probably have not been possible in a case of somebody living with parents. This example goes to support Emery (2004), assertion that even after a separation, what you do is the most important determinant of whether your children are at risk or resilient. In-spite of the argument put up by the opponent of the hypothesis, proponents still argue that children whose parents go through divorce experience lifelong consequences. It has been proven above that such children suffer emotional and psychological consequences. It is estimated that over 21% of such children have mental health issues and are likely to fail in their marriages. To substantiate this point further, I would like to draw once again on the conversation I had with the Child and Youth Worker at Apple Wood Height Secondary School. She explained the following points from her practical perspective. She said children who have experience the consequence of divorce lack trust. They are unable to give back love because psychologically it has been registered within their sub conscious mind that if their parents who claim to love them are fighting and doing things regardless of the interest of such children, then whom are they to trust. Isolation of such children from peers and some school activities affects their ability to develop properly into adulthood. In most cases, they are seen to be withdrawn from extracurricular activities because of the shame, having to explain to friends that their parents are divorced. This is more prevalent in religious based schools like the Catholic schools. The issue of step-parents does not help matters either. In the unlikely event that the step-parents do not get along with such children, it raises tension within the household and puts the child under constant psychological trauma. I am of the opinion that it is some of these problems that makes these children have mental health issues. Finally, what is more dangerous to society is the fact that such children are unable to establish and maintain positive relationships. Some traditional views, though not fully supported by me, have suggested to the belief that it is some of these societal problems that have led to the emergence of the sub-culture like gay and lesbian communities. Research Outcome From the above discussion, it has been established that different communities and different scholars have divergent views on the impact of divorce on children. One perspective view is that such a situation is not serious. However, those who support the hypothesis of which I support still believe that there are lifelong consequences for children whose parents go through divorce. This new found knowledge will form as the basis for new theories to be developed. It will also give the opportunity for other research to be carried out in this area. Practically, it will enable single parents form alliances to advocate for policy change in schools and child centres to strengthen child and youth counselling within such facilities. This research will also assist people within the helping profession such as Psychologists, Child and Youth workers and Social workers to come to the realization that this phenomenon is very prevalent within our schools and that serious efforts should be made to assist children with such challenges to overcome them. As an anti oppressive Child and Youth Worker, it is necessary to pay special attention to the situation even if a child suffers as a result of our inaction to deal with the situation.
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