Creating Customer Value: General Concept Questions

Chapter 5: Creating Customer Value, Satisfaction, and Loyalty GENERAL CONCEPT QUESTIONS Multiple Choice 1. ________ are adept at building customer relationships, not just products; they are skilled in market engineering, not just product engineering. a. Profit-centered companies b. Customer-centered companies c. Production-centered companies d. Sales-centered companies e. Promotion-centered companies Answer: bPage: 119Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Reflective Thinking 2. The opening vignette on Ritz-Carlton shows that successful marketers are the ones that fully ________. a. understand promotional strategy b. diversify their product line . divorce themselves from a production mentality d. satisfy their customers profitably e. understand the sales concept Answer: dPage: 120Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking 3. In the modern customer-oriented organizational chart, which of the following is considered to be at the top of the organizational pyramid? a. Sales b. The president c. Front-line people d. Customers e. Middle management Answer: dPage: 121Difficulty: Medium 4. ________ is the difference between the prospective customer’s evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives. a. Perceived usefulness . Failure avoidance rate c. Report rating d. Customer-perceived value e. Competitors’ market share rate Answer: dPage: 121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills 5. Total customer benefit is the perceived monetary value of the bundle of economic, functional, and ________ benefits customers expect from a given market offering. a. psychological b. intangible c. realized d. fabricated e. advertised Answer: aPage: 121Difficulty: HardAACSB: Analytic Skills 6. The bundle of costs customers expect to incur in evaluating, obtaining, using, and disposing of the given market offering is called the ________. a. rganizational expense ratio b. shopper’s fatigue c. total customer cost d. analysis paralysis e. comparison shopping to comparison buying ratio Answer: cPage: 121Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills 7. In applying a customer’s perceived value to a decision, a seller who is at a disadvantage with respect to customer-perceived value has two alternatives: to increase total customer benefit or ________. a. increase a cash-back bonus b. decrease total customer cost c. lose the sale to the competitor d. advertise more frequently e. offer an extended warranty Answer: bPage: 123Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills 8. The final step of customer value analysis is to ________. a. identify the major attributes and benefits that customers value b. assess the company’s and competitors’ performances on the different customer values against their rated importance c. examine how customers in a specific segment rate the company’s performance against a specific major competitor on an individual attribute or benefit basis d. monitor customer values over time e. assess the quantitative importance of the different attributes and benefits Answer: dPage: 122Difficulty: Medium 9.The ________ consists of the whole cluster of benefits the company promises to deliver; it is more than the core positioning of the offering. a. customer promise b. mission statement c. corporate pledge d. corporate-perceived value e. value proposition Answer: ePage: 123Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills 10. A company’s ________ includes all the experiences the customer will have on the way to obtaining and using the offering. a. value proposition b. value delivery system c. customer-value analysis d. total customer benefit e. total customer cost Answer: bPage: 123Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills 11. Total customer satisfaction is measured based on the relationship of ________. a. anticipated and real performance b. perceived performance and expectation c. advertised outcomes and real outcomes d. past experience and present experience e. customer attitude and salesperson’s attitude Answer: bPage: 124Difficulty: HardAACSB: Reflective Thinking 12. The ultimate goal of the customer-centered firm is ________. a. high customer satisfaction b. high profits c. low costs d. maximum stakeholder satisfaction e. none of the above Answer: ePages: 124–125Difficulty: HardAACSB: Reflective Thinking 13.Buyers form their expectations from all of the following EXCEPT ________. a. past buying experience b. friends and associates advice c. marketers’ information d. competitors’ information e. governmental newsletters Answer: ePage: 125Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills 14. A customer’s decision to be loyal or to defect is the sum of many small encounters with the company. In order for all these small encounters to add up to customer loyalty, many companies, such as Joie de Vivre Hospitality, strive to create ________. a. a reward program b. a comprehensive customer database c. a branded customer experience . strong word-of-mouth promotions e. a top-notch advertising campaign Answer: cPage: 125Difficulty: HardAACSB: Reflective Thinking 15. One key to customer retention is ________. It would be wise for a company to measure this factor frequently. a. heavy promotion b. deep discounts for intermediaries c. to have an ethics officer d. customer satisfaction e. to have customers on the board of directors Answer: dPage: 125Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Thinking 16. ________ can track customer satisfaction directly and also gauge consumers’ willingness to recommend the company and brand to others. . Periodic surveys b. Mystery shoppers c. Customer loss rates d. Customer focus statements e. All of the above Answer: aPage: 126Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills 17. Studies of customer dissatisfaction show that customers are dissatisfied with their purchases about 25% of the time, but only about ________ complain. a. 1% b. 5% c. 10% d. 15% e. 20% Answer: bPage: 128Difficulty: Hard 18. Of customers who register a complaint, ________. a. the majority will do business with the company again because they are unwilling to dedicate the effort required to find another vendor b. one will do business with the company again c. customers whose complaints are satisfactorily resolved spread more word of mouth than those who continue to be dissatisfied d. the speed of resolution has no impact on the likelihood of repeat business e. between approximately half and three-quarters will do business with the company again if their complaint is resolved Answer: ePage: 129Difficulty: Hard 19. ________ is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. a. Performance b. Value c. Quality d. Customer retention e. Ð ¡ustomer loyalty Answer: cPage: 129Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills20. Total quality is the key to value creation and customer satisfaction. A marketing manager has several roles to play in a quality-centered company, including ________. a. participating in cross-functional team building b. correctly identifying customers’ needs and requirements c. ensuring costs are adequately controlled during order fulfillment d. setting expectations both internally and externally e. working closely with the sales team to create a dynamic sales message Answer: bPage: 130Difficulty: HardAACSB: Analytic Skills21. The 20–80 rule reflects the idea that ________. a. the top 20% of customers often generate 80% of the company’s profits b. the top 20% of customers are highl y satisfied and 80% of customers will recommend the company to a friend c. 20% of customers are unprofitable, and 80% make up a company’s profits d. 20% of the company’s profits are generated by the top 80% of customers e. any new product offering will be accepted by 20% of the customers immediately, but 80% of the customers will be up for grabs throughout the product’s life cycle Answer: aPage: 130Difficulty: HardAACSB: Analytic Skills22. Most companies have learned that the ________ are often the most profitable because of service expectations and their willingness to pay almost full price. a. large-size customers b. midsize customers c. small-size customers d. niche customers e. target market customers Answer: bPage: 130Difficulty: Medium23. A(n) ________ customer is a person, household, or company that over time yields a revenue stream that exceeds by an acceptable amount the company’s cost stream of attracting, selling, and servicing that customer. a . profitable b. semiprofitable c. unprofitable d. niche e. target Answer: aPages: 130–131Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills24. Customer profitability analysis (CPA) is best conducted with the tools of an accounting technique called ________. a. input-output analysis b. factor analysis c. revenue-based costing (RBC) d. activity-based costing (ABC) e. future date costing (FDC) Answer: dPage: 131Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Thinking25. ________ describes the net present value of the stream of future profits expected over the customer’s lifetime purchases. a. Activity-based costing b. Customer profitability analysis c. Customer value analysis . Customer-perceived value e. Customer lifetime value Answer: ePage: 132Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills26. The aim of customer relationship management (CRM) is to produce high customer ________. a. value b. loyalty c. profitability d. satisfaction e. equity Answer: bPage: 133Difficulty: Medium27. A customer touch point in the airline industry would include an item such as ________. a. reservations b. mechanics’ ability to service the airplanes c. ease of access to the airport d. the value of air travel versus surface transportation e. competency of a travel agent Answer: aPage: 133Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Thinking28. Customer relationship management enables companies to provide excellent real-time customer service through the effective use of _______. a. reports from mystery shoppers b. survey data from customers who have defected c. market research into overall consumption trends d. individual account information e. demographic trend data Answer: dPage: 135Difficulty: HardAACSB: Reflective Thinking29. All of the following would be among the Peppers and Rogers’s four-step framework for one-to-one marketing that can be adapted to CRM marketing EXCEPT ________. . customizing products, services, and messages to each customer b. interacting with individual customers to l earn their needs c. always offering the lowest price d. differentiating customers in terms of their needs and value to the company e. identifying your prospects and customers Answer: cPage: 135Difficulty: HardAACSB: Analytic Skills30. Winning companies improve the value of their customer base by excelling at each of the following strategies EXCEPT ________. a. retaining all customers regardless of profitability b. reducing the rate of customer defection c. ncreasing the longevity of the customer relationship d. making low-profit customers more profitable or terminating them e. focusing disproportionate efforts on high-value customers Answer: aPage: 136Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Thinking31. Harley-Davidson sells more than motorcycles and accessories. Its dealerships also sell branded clothing and licensed goods. This expansion of dealership sales offerings is an attempt to increase the value of the customer base by ________. a. reducing the rate of customer defection b. incr easing the longevity of the customer relationship . enhancing the growth potential of each customer through cross-selling d. making low-profit customers more profitable e. terminating low-profit customers Answer: cPage: 136Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking32. Although actual costs vary from business to business depending on the complexity of the sales process, the most expensive customer acquisition method based on cost per solicitation is ________. a. personal selling b. direct mail c. telemarketing d. banner advertisements e. e-mail Answer: aPage: 137Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills33.Another term for high customer ________ is customer churn. a. retention b. defection c. value d. perception e. belief Answer: bPage: 137Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills34. People with the motivation, ability, and opportunity to make a purchase are known as ________. a. potentials b. advocates c. members d. prospects e. partners Answer: dPage: 137Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Ana lytic Skills35. Customers who enthusiastically recommend the company and its products and services to others are known as ________. a. potentials b. advocates c. members d. prospects e. partners Answer: bPage: 137Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills36. Satisfied customers constitute the company’s ________. a. customer relationship capital b. customer churn c. prospects d. high-value customers e. customer touch points Answer: aPage: 138Difficulty: Medium37. Acquiring new customers can cost ________ times more than satisfying and retaining current customers. a. two b. three c. five d. seven e. 10 Answer: cPage: 138Difficulty: Hard38. All of the following are methods to form strong customer bonds EXCEPT ________. a. creating superior products, services, and experiences for the target market b. aking it easy for customers to reach the appropriate company personnel and express their needs, perceptions, and complaints c. organizing and making accessible a database of informati on on individual customer needs, preferences, contacts, purchase frequency, and satisfaction d. running award programs recognizing outstanding employees e. concentrating the planning and management of the customer satisfaction and retention process within the marketing department Answer: ePage: 138Difficulty: HardAACSB: Reflective Thinking39. When companies provide rewards to customers who buy frequently and in ubstantial amounts, this is referred to as ________. a. benefit programs b. frequency programs c. satisfaction programs d. loyalty programs e. quality programs Answer: bPage: 139Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills40. Typically, ________ gains the most benefit from introducing a frequency program. a. the first company to introduce a frequency program in an industry b. the fast follower, who is second to introduce a frequency program in an industry, c. the industry sales leader d. the niche player in the industry e. the low-cost leader in the industry Answer: aPage: 140Diffi culty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Thinking41. All of the following are CRM imperatives EXCEPT ________. a. acquiring the right customer b. crafting the right value proposition c. instituting the best processes d. motivating employees e. learning to make profits through marginal customers Answer: ePage: 141Difficulty: HardAACSB: Analytic Skills42. CRM technology can help motivate employees by ________. a. analyzing customer revenue and cost data to identify current and future high-value customers b. better targeting the company’s direct marketing efforts c. racking customer-service satisfaction levels d. aligning employee incentives and metrics e. developing new pricing models Answer: dPage: 141Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Reflective Thinking43. According to Stanford’s business guru Jeffery Pfeffer, â€Å"the best companies build cultures in which frontline people ________. † a. can refer serious problems to senior management b. have strictly limited freedom to deviate f rom standard operating procedures c. are also consumers of the company’s products d. are empowered to do what’s needed to take care of the customer e. ive in the communities they serve Answer: dPage: 142Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking44. An organized collection of comprehensive information about individual customers or prospects that is current, accessible, and actionable for such marketing purposes as lead generation, lead qualification, sale of a product or service, or maintenance of customer relationships is called ________. a. a customer database b. a customer mail list c. target market segments d. customer segments e. relationship markets Answer: aPages: 142–143Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills45.The process of building, maintaining, and using customer databases and other databases for the purpose of contacting, transacting, and building customer relationships is called ________. a. data warehousing b. datamining c. database marketing d . custom marketing e. electronic marketing Answer: cPage: 143Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills46. A _____________ is simply a set of names, addresses, and telephone numbers. a. customer database b. customer mailing list c. call-waiting list d. psychographic list e. demographic list Answer: bPage: 143Difficulty: Easy47. A customer database should contain all of the following EXCEPT ________. a. customer’s past purchases b. demographics c. psychographics d. mediagraphics e. an assessment of competitive strengths and weaknesses Answer: ePage: 143Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Skills48. A ________ would contain such items as past volumes, prices, profits, buyer, status of current contacts, and an assessment of competitive strengths and weaknesses. a. customer mailing list b. contact list c. customer database d. business database e. general corporate database Answer: dPage: 143Difficulty: EasyAACSB: Analytic Skills49. Savvy companies are capturing information every time a customer comes into contact with any of its departments. As a marketing manager all of the following would be available customer touch points for your consideration EXCEPT ________. a. a customer purchase b. an online query c. a mail-in rebate card d. an ad run on a national television network e. a customer-requested service call Answer: dPage: 143Difficulty: Medium50. Using his company’s ________ lets a telemarketer respond to customer inquiries more effectively because he or she can see a total picture of the customer relationship. a. data warehouse b. call back list c. call rejection list d. corporate database e. Better Business Bureau contacts Answer: aPage: 143Difficulty: Medium51. Through ________, marketing statisticians can extract useful information about individuals, trends, and segments from the mass of data. a. data accumulation b. target market information supplied by the government c. datamining d. data management e. data marketing Answer: cPage: 143Difficulty : MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills52. ________ involves the use of sophisticated statistical and mathematical techniques such as cluster analysis, automatic interaction detection, predictive modeling, and neural networking. a. Data management b. Data marketing c. Target market analysis d. Data accumulation e. Datamining Answer: ePage: 143Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills53. In general, companies can use their databases in all of the following ways EXCEPT ________. a. to predict competitive strategies and plans b. to identify prospects c. to decide which customers should receive a particular offer d. to deepen customer loyalty e. to avoid serious customer mistakes Answer: aPages: 143–145Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills54. Susan Lefferts’ company advertises widely. Ms. Lefferts uses business reply cards attached to her company’s magazine ads to build her company’s database. In which of the following ways would Ms. Lefferts most likely use the dat abase? a. To deepen customer loyalty b. To reactivate customer purchases c. To avoid serious customer mistakes d. To determine if up-selling is appropriate e. To identify prospects Answer: ePage: 143Difficulty: HardAACSB: Reflective Thinking55. Phil Langston has just ordered a number of expensive executive gifts that he will be sending as an appreciation token to a select few customers from his client database. In which of the following ways is Mr. Langston most likely using his database? a. To identify prospects b. To decide which customers should receive a new sales offer c. To deepen customer loyalty . To avoid serious customer mistakes e. To beat the competition to a sale Answer: cPage: 145Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Thinking56. Royal Caribbean uses its ________ to offer spur-of-the-moment cruise packages to fill all the berths on its ships. It focuses on retired people and single people because they are more able to make quick commitments. a. advertising b. database c. mail catalogs d. public relations department e. radio advertising Answer: bPage: 145Difficulty: Easy57. Which of the following is considered to be one of the four problems that can deter a firm from using CRM (customer relationship marketing)? . Competitors can often hack into CRM systems. b. Building and maintaining a customer database requires a large investment. c. It is very difficult to find and train database employees. d. Long-term results of such systems are still unproven. e. Focusing too much on databases separates a company from its customers. Answer: bPage: 145Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Reflective Thinking58. Building a database would not be worthwhile for a company in all of the following cases EXCEPT ________. a. where the product is a one-in-a-lifetime purchase b. where customers show little loyalty to a brand c. here the company already has an above average relationship with its customers d. where the unit sale is very small e. where the cost of gathering the informati on is too high Answer: cPages: 145–146Difficulty: Hard59. All of the following are examples of the perils of CRM EXCEPT ________. a. implementing CRM before creating a customer strategy b. the enormous cost that might eventually drain significant profits from the organization c. rolling out CRM before changing the organization to match d. assuming more CRM technology is better e. stalking, not wooing, customers Answer: bPage: 146Difficulty: Medium60.Marketers from which of the following are most likely to use database marketing? a. An airline b. A candy bar manufacturer c. A grand piano maker d. A toothpaste manufacturer e. None of the above would use database marketing. Answer: aPage: 146Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking True/False61. Managers who believe the customer is the company’s only true â€Å"profit center† consider the traditional organization chart to be obsolete. Answer: TruePage: 120Difficulty: Easy62. The modern customer-oriented organi zation chart places top management at the top of the pyramid as long as they can think like consumers. Answer: FalsePage: 120Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking63. There are two determinates of customer-perceived value: total customer benefit and total customer cost. Answer: TruePage: 121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills64. Customer-perceived value is the perceived monetary value of all the purchases a customer makes on an annual basis. Answer: FalsePage: 121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills65. Consumers tend to be value maximizes—they estimate which offer will deliver the most perceived value and act on it. Answer: TruePage: 121Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Analytic Skills66. At the heart of a good value delivery system is a set of core business processes that help to deliver distinctive customer value. Answer: TruePage: 123Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills67. Professional buyers and purchasing agents operate under various constraints and occasional ly make choices that give more weight to their personal benefit than to the company’s benefit. Answer: TruePage: 123Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking68. The value proposition is stated in the price of a product and readily recognized by the average consumer. Answer: FalsePage: 123Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills69. The value delivery system includes all the experiences the customer will have on the way to obtaining and using the offering. Answer: TruePage: 123Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills70. For a consumer to be delighted with a product or service he or she must perceive that performance exceeds expectations. Answer: TruePage: 124Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Analytic Skills71. The ultimate goal of the customer-centered firm is to create high customer satisfaction. Answer: FalsePage: 124Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Reflective Thinking72.One key to customer retention is customer satisfaction. Answer: TruePage: 125Difficulty: Easy73. Consumers’ expe ctations result exclusively from past buying experiences. Answer: FalsePage: 125Difficulty: Medium74. A highly satisfied customer generally stays loyal longer, pays less attention to competing brands, and is less sensitive to price. Answer: TruePage: 125Difficulty: Medium75. Price perception is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Answer: FalsePage: 129Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills76. Conformance quality and performance quality is essentially the same thing in a marketing sense. Answer: FalsePage: 129Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills77. Two products with very different performance qualities can have the same conformance quality if both products deliver their respective promised quality. Answer: TruePage: 129Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills78. Marketers have found that pricing plays the most essential role in defining and delivering high-quality goods and services t o target customers. Answer: FalsePage: 130Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Reflective Thinking79.The midsize customers for most organizations receive good service, pay nearly full price for the products and services they purchase, and are often the most profitable. Answer: TruePage: 130Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking80. A profitable customer is a person, household, or company that over time yields a revenue stream that exceeds by an acceptable amount the company’s cost stream of attracting, selling, and servicing the customer. Answer: TruePages: 130–131Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills81. The best thing a company can do in the face of company mistakes is to discourage the customer from complaining. Answer: FalsePage: 129Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Reflective Thinking82. Quality is the key to value creation and customer satisfaction. Answer: TruePage: 130Difficulty: Medium83. The least profitable 10% to 20% of customers can reduce profits by 50% to 200% per acc ount. Answer: TruePage: 130Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills84. Most companies measure customer satisfaction and individual customer profitability. Answer: FalsePage: 131Difficulty: Medium85. Unprofitable customers who defect to a competitor should be encouraged to do so. Answer: TruePage: 131Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking86. Customer profitability analysis (CPA) is best conducted with the tools of an accounting technique called activity-based costing (ABC). Answer: TruePage: 131Difficulty: Medium87. According to customer profitability analysis (CPA), platinum customers spend the most money with the organization, thereby making them valuable. Answer: FalsePage: 131Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills88. Customer lifetime value (CLV) describes the net present value of the stream of future profits expected over the customer’s lifetime purchases. Answer: TruePage: 132Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills89. A good illustration of a personal touch in the hotel business would be if the hotel employees (e. g. , registration, maid service, et cetera) call a guest by his or her name. Answer: TruePage: 133Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Reflective Thinking90. A customer touch point is the time when the customer makes a purchase. Answer: FalsePage: 133Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills91. The aim of customer relationship management is to keep the costs of meeting and tracking consumers as low as possible. Answer: FalsePage: 133Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking92.All companies should practice one-to-one marketing. Answer: FalsePage: 135Difficulty: Medium93. A key driver of shareholder value is the aggregate value of the customer base. Answer: TruePage: 136Difficulty: Medium94. Customer churn is how rapidly a store can move customers through its checkout facility or process. Answer: FalsePage: 137Difficulty: Medium95. The average company loses 25% of its customers each year. Answer: FalsePage: 138Difficulty: HardAACSB: Analy tic Skills96. A customer database is simply a listing of a customer’s name, address, and phone number for credit reference.Answer: FalsePages: 142–143Difficulty: Easy97. It’s often easier to reattract ex-customers (because the company knows their names and histories) than to find new ones. Answer: TruePage: 142Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking98. Cluster analysis is a good example of a statistical technique that might be employed in datamining. Answer: TruePage: 143Difficulty: MediumAACSB: Analytic Skills99. It always costs less to serve loyal customers than to attract new ones. Answer: FalsePage: 146Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills100.Database marketing is most frequently used by business marketers and service providers (hotels, banks, airlines, and insurance, credit card, and telephone companies) that normally and easily collect a lot of customer data. Answer: TruePage: 146Difficulty: Medium Essay101. Compare and contrast the traditional o rganization chart for an organization against the modern customer-oriented organization chart. Suggested Answer: For a visual comparison, see Figure 5. 1. With respect to a written description, students should note that the modern customer-oriented organization chart is inverted (see the traditional model [e. g. top management—middle management—frontline people—customers]). Customers are at the top, followed by frontline people, then middle management, and, lastly, top management. Students might also provide some discussion on why the inversion is beneficial. Pages: 120–121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills102. Provide a customer-centered definition of the term quality. Suggested Answer: Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on the ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. This is clearly a customer-centered definition. Page: 129Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Reflective Thinking103.Differentiate betwee n performance quality and conformance quality. Give an example of two products that have different performance quality but are of equal conformance quality. Suggested Answer: Performance quality is the quality of the product’s attributes. Conformance quality is the extent to which the product delivers the performance quality promised to consumers. A Lexus provides higher performance quality than a Hyundai: The Lexus rides smoother, goes faster, and lasts longer. Yet both would deliver the same conformance quality if both delivered their respective promised quality. Page: 129Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills104. The case for maximizing long-term customer profitability is captured in the concept of customer lifetime value. How is customer lifetime value calculated? Suggested Answer: Customer lifetime value describes the net present value of the stream of future profits expected over the customer’s lifetime purchases. The company must subtract from its expected reve nues the expected costs of attracting, selling, and servicing the account for that customer, applying the appropriate discount rate (depending on cost of capital and risk attitudes). Page: 132Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills105.Peppers and Rogers outline a four-step framework for one-to-one marketing that can be adapted to CRM marketing. What are those four steps? Suggested Answer: The four steps are: (1) Identify your prospects and customers; (2) differentiate customers in terms of their needs and their value to your company; (3) interact with individual customers to improve your knowledge about their individual needs and to build stronger relationships; and (4) customize products, services, and messages to each customer. Page: 135Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills106. A key driver of shareholder value is the aggregate value of the customer base. Identify the five strategies employed by winning companies to improve the value of their customer base. Suggested Answer: Win ning companies improve the value of their customer base by excelling at the following five strategies: (1) reducing the rate of customer defection; (2) increasing the longevity of the customer relationship; (3) enhancing the growth potential of each customer through â€Å"share-of-wallet,† cross-selling, and up-selling; (4) making low-profit customers more profitable or terminating them; and (5) focusing disproportionate effort on high-value customers. Page: 136Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Reflective Thinking107. Today, companies are increasingly concerned about customer defection. There are three main steps a company can take to reduce the defection rate. Characterize those three steps. Suggested Answer: The three steps are: (1) The company must define and measure its retention rate; (2) the company must distinguish the causes of customer attrition and identify those that can be managed better; and (3) the company must compare the lost profit equal to the customer lifetime value from a lost customer to the costs to reduce the defection rate. Page: 137Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills108. Discuss the concepts of a data warehouse and datamining. Suggested Answer: Data are collected by the company’s contact center and organized into a data warehouse. Company personnel can capture, query, and analyze the data. Inferences can be drawn about an individual customer’s needs and responses. Through datamining, marketing statisticians can extract useful information about individuals, trends, and segments from the mass of data. Datamining involves the use of sophisticated statistical and mathematical techniques. Page: 143Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills109.Assume that a marketing manager of a small company is in the process of implementing the use of a database to assist his or her company in its marketing efforts. Considering the information found in the text, list five ways that the marketing manager might be able to use the database for marketing efforts. Suggested Answer: Five ways to use a database for marketing efforts include: (1) to identify prospects; (2) to decide which customers should receive a particular offer; (3) to deepen customer loyalty; (4) to reactivate customer purchases; and (5) to avoid serious customer mistakes. Pages: 143–-145Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking110. Describe four situations or cases when building a customer database would not be worthwhile for a company. Suggested Answer: Four situations or cases when building a customer database would not be worthwhile for a company would be: (1) where the product is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase; (2) where customers show little loyalty to a brand; (3) where the unit sale is very small; and (4) where the cost of gathering information is too high. Pages: 145–146Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective ThinkingAPPLICATION QUESTIONS Multiple Choice111. John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, said, â€Å"Make your customer the ce nter of your culture. † Customer-centered companies are adept at building customer relationships, not just producing products; they are skilled in ________, not just product engineering. a. service engineering b. market engineering c. cultural engineering d. innovation engineering e. management engineering Answer: bPage: 119Difficulty: Medium112. Immediately below the customers in a modern customer-oriented organization chart, we would expect to find the ________ of an organization. . top management b. marketing department c. middle management d. frontline people e. service department Answer: dPage: 121Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Analytic Skills113. All of the following are considered to be customer costs EXCEPT ________. a. financial cost of acquiring the product b. financial cost of disposing of the product c. time spent acquiring the product d. the risk of social stigma associated with acquiring the product e. All of the above are considered to be customer costs. Answer: ePage: 121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking114.When a consumer considers a product or service, he or she will choose whichever product or service delivers the highest ________. a. customer-perceived value b. customer-perceived cost c. consumer discount d. consumer relationship e. consumer synergy Answer: aPage: 121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills115. Buyers do not always make logical or rational decisions. They might purchase the most expensive and least quality item for example. Which of the following would be another good example of this behavior? a. The buyer is not seen by the seller as being very intelligent. b. The buyer might be under orders to buy at the lowest price. . The buyer might be underage. d. The buyer might be under pressure to resist sales messages. e. The buyer refuses to listen to or read any advertising. Answer: bPage: 123Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking116. If a company were to focus its marketing efforts on all the experiences the customer will have on the way to obtaining and using the offering, it would be focusing its marketing efforts on the customer’s ________. a. perception system b. cost versus benefit system c. demand d. psychological system e. value delivery system Answer: ePage: 123Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills117. _______ is defined as â€Å"a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product or service in the future despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior. † a. Customer satisfaction b. Customer value c. Loyalty d. Customer profitability e. Quality Answer: cPage: 123Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills118. Whether the buyer is satisfied after purchase depends on the offer’s performance in relation to the ________. a. buyer’s reactions b. buyer’s expectations c. seller’s delivery d. seller’s expectations e. both the buyer’s and seller’s demand s Answer: bPage: 124Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills119. Buyers form expectations in all of the following ways EXCEPT ________. a. from past buying experience b. from friends’ and associates’ advice c. from marketers’ information d. from competitors’ information e. from inherited traits Answer: ePage: 125Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Analytic Skills120. Field Grocery is considering using _________ to pose as customers and report on strong and weak points in customer service at Field Grocery stores. a. intelligence agents b. covert operatives c. mystery shoppers d. market mavens e. opinion leaders Answer: cPage: 126Difficulty: Easy121. 3M makes it easy for dialog to occur with its customers. 3M claims that over two-thirds of its product-improvement ideas come from listening to ________. a. customer suggestions b. entrepreneurial product ideas c. customer complaints d. media feedback e. customer reactions to competitive products Answer: cPage: 129Difficu lty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills122. According to GE’s former chairman, John F. Welch Jr. , â€Å"________ is our best assurance of customer allegiance, our strongest defense against foreign competition, and the only path to sustained growth and earnings. † a. Quality b. Customer satisfaction c. True value d. Sustainable enterprise e. Motivation Answer: aPage: 129Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills123. With respect to customer profitability analysis, ________ customers are the most likely dropped as customers because of poor profitability. a. granite b. wood c. iron d. plastic e. lead Answer: ePage: 131Difficulty: Medium124. Jim is a residential construction contractor. Although one particular realtor provides Jim with a large volume of work, the realtor frequently demands discounts for sending him customers. This realtor is best described as a(n) ________ customer. a. latinum b. gold c. lead d. iron e. ivory Answer: dPage: 131Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking125. Harrah’s has used effective ________ to almost double its share of customers’ gaming budgets by targeting offers to specific customer segments. a. customer relationship management b. customer lifetime value c. customer profitability analysis d. customer satisfaction analysis e. customer-value delivery Answer: aPage: 135Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills126. Many banks and phone companies now charge fees for once-free services to ensure minimum customer revenue levels. This is an example of ________. . reducing the rate of customer defection b. making low-profit customers more profitable c. enhancing the growth potential for each customer through cross-selling d. increasing the longevity of the customer relationship e. focusing disproportionate effort on high-value customers Answer: bPage: 136Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking127. When Bob found out his friend was thinking about buying a new car, he strongly recommended that his friend lo ok into the newest line of Ford sedans. Bob is best characterized as a(n) ________ for Ford. a. first-time customer b. member c. partner d. advocate e. rospect Answer: dPage: 137Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking128. Carol is currently considering buying a Motorola cell phone offered by her service provider in conjunction with a two-year service contract. Carol is best characterized as a(n) ________ for Motorola. a. first-time customer b. member c. partner d. advocate e. prospect Answer: ePage: 137Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking129. Southwest Airlines offers a Rapid Rewards program, an example of a ________ that allows customers to count flights they have taken toward free future flights. a. value proposition b. value delivery system c. lub membership program d. one-to-one marketing program e. customer churn Answer: cPage: 140Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Analytic Skills130. The skillful use of database marketing and ________ has made catalog house Fingerhut one o f the nation’s largest direct-mail marketers. a. everyday low prices b. expanded home delivery options c. relationship building d. competitor’s mistakes e. retailer alliances Answer: cPage: 145Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills Short Answer131. What do modern managers believe is their company’s only true â€Å"profit center†? Suggested Answer: Managers believe the customer is their only true profit center. Page: 120Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Analytic Skills132. Customer-perceived value is based on two components. What are those components? Suggested Answer: The two components of customer-perceived value are total customer value and total customer cost. Page: 121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills133. What is the definition for customer-perceived value (CPV)? Suggested Answer: Customer-perceived value (CPV) is the difference between prospective customer’s evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alter natives. Page: 121Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills134. Using European automobile giant Volvo as your illustration, create a value proposition for the company. Suggested Answer: Students may have several answers; however, any value proposition must be built on their stated positioning objective of â€Å"safety. † Other benefits that might be worked into a value proposition could be a long-lasting car, good service, and a long warranty period. Basically, the value proposition is a statement about the total experience customers will gain from the company’s market offering and from their relationship with the supplier. Page: 123Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking135. How do customers determine their level of satisfaction with a product? Suggested Answer: In general, satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure or disappointment that result from comparing a product’s perceived performance to the customer’s expectations. Page: 124Di fficulty: Easy AACSB: Reflective Thinking136. Give an example of a â€Å"branded customer experience. † Suggested Answer: Students may have several answers. One example from the book is that of Joie de Vivre Hospitality Inc, which operates a chain of boutique hotels, restaurants, and resorts in the San Francisco area. The boutique concept enables hotels to offer personal touches, such as vitamins in place of chocolates on pillows. Page: 125Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Reflective Thinking137. Companies need to be especially concerned today with their customer satisfaction level. Why? Suggested Answer: Companies need to be especially concerned today with their customer satisfaction level because the Internet provides a tool for consumers to quickly spread bad word of mouth to the rest of the world. Page: 126Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Reflective Thinking138. Identify three ways companies with customer complaints can recover customer goodwill. Suggested Answer: Five methods are identifie d in the text. Students should present three of the following: (1) Set up a 24/7 toll-free â€Å"hotline† to receive and act on customer complaints; (2) contact the complaining customer as quickly as possible; (3) accept responsibility for the customer’s disappointment; (4) use customer-service people who are empathic; and (5) resolve the complaint swiftly and to the customer’s satisfaction. Page: 129Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills139.Define the term quality. Suggested Answer: Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Page: 129Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Analytic Skills140. What are the three ways that customer profitability can be assessed? Suggested Answer: Customer profitability can be assessed individually, by market segment, or by channel. Page: 131Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills141. What are the four classifications (tiers) of customers in cus tomer profitability analysis using activity-based costing? Suggested Answer: The tiers would be platinum customers (most profitable), gold customers (profitable), iron customers (low profitability but desirable), and lead customers (unprofitable and undesirable). Page: 131Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills142. What is a customer touch point? Suggested Answer: A customer touch point is any occasion on which a customer encounters the brand and product—from actual experience to personal or mass communications to casual observation. Page: 133Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills143. One-to-one marketing is not for every company. For whom does this style of marketing work best? Suggested Answer: One-to-one marketing works best for companies that normally collect a great deal of individual customer information, carry a lot of products that can be cross-sold, carry products that need periodic replacement or upgrading, and sell products of high value. Page: 135Difficulty: Ha rd AACSB: Reflective Thinking144. A 5% reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits by 25% to 85%, depending on the industry. Explain how this is so. Suggested Answer: Acquiring new customers can cost five times more than satisfying existing customers. Customer profit rate also tends to increase over the life of the retained customer due to increased purchases, referrals, and price premiums and reduced operating costs to service. Page: 138Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking145. Explain how a company frequency program might work. Suggested Answer: Frequency programs are designed to provide rewards to customers who buy frequently and in substantial amounts. Frequency programs acknowledge the validity of the 20–80 rule. Page: 139Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills146. Describe the process of database marketing. Suggested Answer: Database marketing is the process of building, maintaining, and using customer databases and other databases (products, suppliers, resellers) for the purpose of contacting, transacting, and building customer relationships. Page: 143Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills147. How do companies use their databases to identify prospects?Suggested Answer: Many companies generate sales leads by advertising their product or service. The ads generally contain a response feature, such as a business reply card or a toll-free phone number, and the company builds its database from customer responses. It sorts through the database to identify the best prospects, then contacts them by mail, phone, or personal call to convert them into customers. Page: 143Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking148. Give an illustration of how a company can use a customer database to reactivate customer purchases. Suggested Answer: Companies can install automatic mailing programs that send out birthday or anniversary cards, Christmas shopping reminders, or off-season promotions. Other illustrations by students should be in a similar vein. Page: 145Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Reflective Thinking149. One of the main problems that can prevent a firm from effectively using CRM is that some of the assumptions behind CRM may not always hold true. Give an example of one of these assumptions that might not always hold true. Suggested Answer: It may not actually cost less to serve more loyal customers. Page: 146Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills150. According to information provided in the text, what are the four main perils of CRM? Suggested Answer: The four main perils are: (1) implementing CRM before creating a customer strategy; (2) rolling out CRM before changing the organization to match; (3) assuming more CRM technology is better; and (4) stalking, not wooing, customers. Page: 146Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills

Eva’s death Essay

Also at the beginning of the play, Mr and Mrs. Birling come across as a well-off couple who are very well educated and in the public eye a lot when Mr Birling says to Gerald, â€Å"I could be in line for a knighthood, providing nothing goes wrong.† This means that if a scandal is linked with his family, then the public will turn against him, and therefore he won’t be able to get a knighthood. Because of this, the audience wouldn’t expect them to behave in the way they did, and when we find out what they did, and the affect they had on Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton, it’s quite shocking to see that they were both somehow involved in her death. And when we find out the reasons behind what they did, it changes the impression we get of them, and you see that they are quite selfish and take advantage of the power they have and who they inflict it upon. They are both quite wrapped up in their own lives, and anything that would lose them money or cause them grief, they take no notice of and dismiss the idea. Sheila and Eric are Mr and Mrs. Birling’s children. At the beginning of the play Sheila comes across as a bit childish and immature and maybe still relies on her mum and dad a lot when she say, † yes, go on, mummy. You must drink our health.† We get an impression of Sheila as being naive and shallow, but her comment, â€Å"last summer, when you never came near me,† which refers to Gerald, may suggest to us that she isn’t as stupid as she may seem. Eric seems a bit more mischievous and much more naive than Sheila, in the way he talks and how he acts. He seems embarrassed and nervous, as soon as he is mentioned in the play, as it says, â€Å"Eric suddenly guffaws,† and then doesn’t tell the other characters why he came out with it, which suggests he is nervous about something, which we later find out that it is the money he recently stole from his father, Mr. Birling. hI think Mr and Mrs. Birling are more ashamed of Eric and careful that he doesn’t do anything stupid to embarrass the family, but the family seem to get on with each other quite well, although you get the impression that there is some tension between Eric and Mr. Birling, when Gerald, Mr. Birling and Eric are talking about women’s love of clothes before the Inspector arrives. Sheila also has a link with Eva, who was employed at ‘Milwards,’ because Sheila thought Eva, was laughing at her when she tried on a dress that didn’t suit her. Eva was prettier than Sheila and the dress suited her more, which made Sheila irritated and envious of Eva, so she was guilty of a deadly sin, which was envy. Eric’s link with Eva was that he met her in the palace bar one thing lead to another and he got her pregnant, which made him guilty of lust towards Eva. Although Eric doesn’t seem very responsible he shows some initiative, as he was concerned enough to give Eva some money, which shows his priority was Eva’s future and not necessarily the consequences of stealing from Mr. Birling’s office. I don’t think the audience are too shocked to find out what Eric and Sheila are capable of, because they are young and quite naive, and they don’t seem to have much empathy towards other people, maybe because they haven’t experienced the things Eva has before. Their actions can be linked to their parents as they have a lot of power, so this may be filtered down to them, which they might exploit and take advantage of. By the end of the play Eric and Sheila have changed more than the other characters. Sheila feels extremely guilty for what she has done to Eva and frequently cries and sobs when the Inspector mentions Eva in the infirmary. Eric also feels guilty for what he did to Eva, he says, â€Å"the girl’s dead and we all helped to kill her- and that’s what matters.† I think they have both changed because they are young and impressionable, whereas Mr and Mrs. Birling refuse to take responsibility for Eva’s death to save their reputation, and they have never been forced to examine their consciences before and they find that they can’t do it now, and are relieved when they find out the Inspector wasn’t real and want to forget about it and move on. At the start of the play we find out that Gerald is from a family who are socially better than the Birlings. We know this because after Mr.Birling tells Gerald he has the same port as his father gets, Gerald says, â€Å"The governor prides himself on being a good judge of port†. Gerald is also described as â€Å"an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred man-about-town.† We also know that he is the son of Lord and Lady Croft, and we are given the impression that they are not to keen on the engagement of Gerald and Sheila as they didn’t accept the invitation to the dinner. This makes us wander why Gerald would want to marry a woman of a lower status than him. Gerald was involved with Eva when he met her at the palace bar and let her stay in his friend’s empty flat in Bromley, as she had nowhere to stay, and he felt sorry for her. Eva, or Daisy Renton as Gerald knew her as, was his mistress for a time until she had to move out because Gerald was away on business. His involvement with Eva was different to the rest of the characters, because he actually tried to help her and did something good. In a way his actions are the most shocking because he is better-off than even the Birling’s, so you wouldn’t expect him to help out someone like Eva who hangs around in places like the palace bar, and you would have thought he would look down on people like her, and have no sympathy for them. I don’t think his actions fit in with the Gerald at the beginning of the play because he tells Sheila the reason why he didn’t see her much last summer was because he was busy at work, when he was with Eva at the flat, so we find out he was lying to Sheila, which you wouldn’t have thought he’d do as he says he wants to be part of the family and they seem to have a lot of respect for each other. Although Gerald seems moved by the news of Eva’s death, he isn’t entirely willing to admit his involvement with her, and this could be because of the same reason as Mr. Birling, that he wants to protect his own interests. At the end of the play he tries to come up with as much evidence as possible to prove that the Inspector isn’t real, which could potentially get him off the hook, if he could convince the rest of the characters that they had been hoaxed.

Reflection Essay

Matthews (2004) explains that reflection is an important tool for clinical development. Rolfe (2011) provides the argument that reflection is just as important and works alongside evidence based practice. Schon (1991) cited in Howatson-Jones (2011) describes the link between professionals reflecting in and on action and how this leads to increased efficiency in working through problems and issues. In order to adhere to the objectives governing nurses and midwives, through the NMC Code of Conduct (2008), the names and service providers mentioned within this discussion have been replaced by a pseudonym. This discussion with utilise Gibbs’ model of reflection as it provides simple headings within which thoughts and feelings can be collated effectively. Also Gibbs provides a section for which to plan for further or future action which is an important part of reflecting. Gibbs’ model differs from other simpler models such as Borton’s REFERENCE in that it offers that final stage on what to do with reflective ideas in order to formulate an action plan for future events. Description George Wilson, an 80 year old gentleman with Parkinson’s, was admitted in the early hours of the morning onto my placement area. While my mentor observed I began to assess George using an ABCDE approach, whilst the nurse transporting him handed over his notes and care plan. It became apparent that his medication was not properly prescribed. Parkinson’s medication is a very important aspect of treatment and must be given on time everyday. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition which affects the production of dopamine in the brain stem causing motor and cognitive mpairments. (Mattox, et al. , 2001) Evidence suggests that the impacts of missed, incorrect or delayed doses affects the Parkinson’s patient greatly. Leopold et al, (2004) state that it can result in lowered mobility including swallowing and can put them at risk of falls. Another issue was that in the move some of George’s medication had been misplaced. In order to be given his medication in the morning on time it would need to be prescribed correctly and retrieved from pharmacy.

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Evidenced Based Research Activity - Case Study Example From this study it is clear that  sensory domain data showed no overall statistical differences between the two groups, and children in both the treatment and control group, had no dissimilar variation in sensory impairment during the pre-assessment. Secondly, the paired t-test revealed positive, though statistically insignificant enhancements for those children under the treatment group, in terms of sensory impairment, as well as stationery body control. However, there were indications of affirmative and remarkable improvements for children in the treatment group in terms of their locomotion and object manipulation. Nevertheless, children in the control group had minimal and non-statistically significant changes.This paper discusses that  using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, the study revealed that children with down syndrome experienced positive but statistically significant improvements, in terms of their sensory impairment and locomotion domains. On the other hand, children w ith cerebral palsy experienced positive and statistically significant enhancements, in all of the three motor domains. This included stationery body control, movement or locomotion, and object manipulation. Therefore, outcomes improved significantly from pre-intervention, follow-up and then to post intervention, that is why there were no dissimilarities in longitudinal outcomes between children with CP and those with DS.

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Immigration, civil rights, terrorism Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Operational Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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Letter to the Editor of the New York Times Essay

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Report on Ethical Decision-Making - Essay Example Critics point to â€Å"Big Pharma† manipulating research in order to increase their profit margins. These are all very important and major contemporary issues that must be addressed when we look at a topic as broad and profound as pharmaceuticals and pharmacology. Questions I asked myself included: Do pharmaceutical companies have duties and obligations to society? Is pharmacological care a right rather than a service to be sold on the market place? These are obviously very emotionally engaging questions because they involve life and death. It was very hard for me to come to a conclusion about them. The best illustration of this ethical dilemma.is the question of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Do American drug companies have the responsibility to provide very cheap drugs to people in Africa who are infected. If the drugs were given to someone for free they might live longer—but since they don’t have money they certainly will die. I wrestled with this one long and hard. This aspect of the debate really illustrates the idea of a social obligation to people above and beyond the notion of a profit margin. Critics of course will say that if drugs were given away for free there would be no money for research and so more people would die because there would be no drugs for their disease. This too would be a serious problem. In the end I decided that it was right for pharmaceutical companies to advertise and sell their products for a profit. It took a lot of time and consideration for me to reach this conclusion. As of 2008, the United States is the world leader in medical research, especially in pharmaceutical development. American companies create most of the world’s most innovative drugs and the FDA stamp of approval is sought by drug makers worldwide because this organization is so respected. This is an interesting point and one that may contradict in some sense the idea of Big Pharma having a social contract. The only developed

Edgar Allan Poe Essay Example for Free

Edgar Allan Poe Essay Edgar Allan Poe was evil genius for his time and a great literary forerunner of today. He created the mind set for current writers such as Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Robin Cook by creating the horror story. Poe invites the reader to enter the mind of the narrator by using our senses as a way to provoke terror, suspense, and awe. His writing was influenced by many tragic losses in his life, and this would explain why Poe was a writer of such morbid short stories and poems. Poes experiences in life definitely influenced the remarkable literary work he produced. In his early life he had to deal with the death of both his parents, a difficult experience, but Poe accepted it as time went on. Later on in his life Poes stepfather disowned him. Young Edgars life was changed due to abandonment, alcoholism, and depression. In 1832 Poe moved in with his aunt and his 11 year old cousin in Baltimore. Poe then married his younger cousin in 1836. However, Poe did not know that he would suffer yet another terrible loss, the loss of his love, his wife. Poes ability to write literature was the window for him to express his feelings. All of Poes tragic losses affected the way he wrote. Poe used his life experiences to make his writing a lot more interesting. Poes writing is remarkably interesting. The poem The Raven showed how Poe erected a crazed state of mind, as the poem shows how the loss or a loved one drove a person crazy. This poem was possibly created for his wife that he had lost. While reading the poem it seems as if the stresses of the life of Poe, and his thoughts and feelings were all put into this poem. Throughout Poes life, many factors have contributed and influenced his writing style. He lived a difficult life, because he was raised in a dysfunctional household. But the final product of Poes mind is printed in his short stories and poems. Poes stories all have similar motifs and composition that would suggest suppressed emotions from life experiences are being discharged through his writings. The most prominent feature of Poes writing is his obsession with death. Poes writing does more than entertain the reader. It can be an insight into the dark and somber world of Edgar Allan Poe. One does not understand the meaning of Poe if one reads at the superficial level. One has to read into Poe, and understand the hardships of his life and how he maintained them that way. He knew that death was an inevitable part of life, it is the price of life, but he tried to fight it as if it was an unnatural part of life. He was an extremely intriguing man from all viewpoints, and he was and is, the dark side of all of us. It is difficult not to link Poes fictional stories with his real life. Evidence shows that Poe had a heart condition during his later years in life. Could The Tell Tale Heart be his own fear of the disease? Who knows? Could Poe have been expressing his fears that his alcoholic rages may cause him to hurt the ones he loved most in his tale The Black Cat? Finally, was the Pit and the Pendulum an allegory of his life? Did he find himself caught between the pendulum of financial adversity and the pit of degradation of death? Poe made the reader feel as if the reader were there, in the story, struggling with the same terrors of the characters. All his famous mystery thriller works give the reader a sense of nervousness, a sense of fear, and a sense of evil, by making our five senses awaken by reading every word. Critics say that Poe did not merely imitate the Gothic tales, but he also enriched them by preserving a central action while adding philosophical speculations and lore that deepened the impressions of the tales. As a result of the traumas he endured, Poe was unafraid of taking his readers for a walk on the dark side, where lines between life and death were sometimes blurred. His ability to tap into humankinds deepest fears and his consistency in portraying such intriguing and captivating themes is what has kept the work of Poe timeless. In short, Edgar Allan Poe has created many great stories for us. He liked to illustrate the dissolution of an individuals mind and body, as he had suffered it himself for quite a long time. He thought death is unavoidable, because he experienced keenly deaths all around him and its threat on his own life. He was obsessed by the loss of love of ideal women, for he had the same experience in life. Now, we can understand why Poe had a tendency of choosing such themes. Poe is an author of the inner world and his writings are his psychological autobiography to some extent. In this respect, Poe pioneered a new field in literature. He is the first one who focused on mans mental and spiritual activities, and his writings have deep influence on many of later writers. WORKS CITED Poe, Edgar Allan. Introductory Notes and Editors preface by Phillip van Doren Stern. In Selected Tales and Poems. The Viking Portal Library, Penguin Books, 1993. Moore, R. The Tell-Tale Heart: Discussion. 2002.Online. Internet. 11 November 2002. Available WWW: http://www.allpoe.com Murphy, Sally. Poes Poetry. 2002.Online. Internet. 12 November 2002. Available WWW: http://www.allpoe.com Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe His Life and Legacy. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992. Peters, James. Edgar Allan Poe. April 1, 2002.http://www.island-of-freedom.com/POE.HTM Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: A Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Death of Edgar Allan Poe. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998

Fashion retail industry | Strategic Management

Fashion retail industry | Strategic Management Strategic Management of fashion retail industry Introduction The fashion retail industry is a very sophisticated, constantly growing sector. It is the second largest industry in the UK. However Studies show that 80% of clothing retailers fail within the first five years (Power home biz). Consumer taste and preferences relentlessly changes thus organisations have to constantly evaluate the market to ensure the strategies fit with those of environment. According to Michael Porter, 1980s in order to compete in the market, organisation has to be either a cost leader or a differentiator. He went on further in his value chain analysis model to state that organisations who gain competitive advantage exploit their core competences to create value for both the organisation and the customers. However, the fashion retail industry encompasses many opportunities for growth as well as many threats that can negatively affect an organisation. In their quest to gain competitive advantage and grow many organisation adopted different strategies; they are organic growth by reducing the cost in all value chain activities while others has grown through merger, acquisitions and or strategic alliances. In order to gain an insight into why some organisations remain competitive this project will 1. Undertake a detailed analysis of two companies within the airline industry by evaluating their past corporate strategy using supporting evidence from quantitative and qualitative data. 2. Identify the ways in which these organisation are gearing up to cope with the current global crisis Methodology An analysis Asos and New look was done using Secondary data. These companies have adopted unique strategies which enabled them to remain competitive in the airline industry. However, the secondary sources used were journal articles text books, websites, annual reports, press releases, newspaper clippings and other studies. Secondary analysis was chosen because of time constraints and the kind of information requested, it was impossible to collect it using other research methods. Secondary data analysis, saved time and money and also information were readily available. Conversely, some data was of questionable accuracy and reliability and furthermore the data was old and did not reflect the changing market conditions. Background to models Every organisation must have strategies. According to an ancient Greek writer Xenophon (Cummings 1993: 134) â€Å"strategy is knowing what business you propose to carry out.†(MacMillan and Tampoe, 2000). There are many academic contributions to strategy, Writers such as Drucker (1995), chandler (1962), Ansoff (1987) and Andrew (1971) has all provided the framework for the classical school approach. McKinsey 7S framework. Developed in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman the basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful. This model is on the basis that Out-of-date approach because it insufficient account is taken of personality factors Also, it Creates organisational structures where people can exercise only limited control over their work environment. However there are many other frameworks to understanding strategic position such as PEST analysis, Michael Porter five forces or even the BCG Matrix. According to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (1998) there are 10 school that can be used to understand strategic thought, the first three are design, planning and positioning which is classified as prescriptive on the other hand entrepreneurial, cognitive, learning, power cultural environmental and configuration the classified as the descriptive John and Scholes, (2008). Overview of New Look and Asos New Look and Asos are both Public limited companies located in the UK. These organisations operate in the fashion retail industry. However, they have equally enjoyed success but have adopted diverse strategies in order to gain competitive advantage. On one side of the continuum is New Look which was established in 1969 in Taunton. The company has combined both block and mortar and online services in order to gain competitive edge through the use of low cost strategies. On the other end of the Continuum is Asos which is an online retail store which was established in 2000. It has over 35, 000 branded and own label products available and over 1500 new lines added each week. The company Internal analysis of Asos and New Look using Mc Kinseys 7s model Qualitative analysis Structure: The structure of an organisation is important for innovation, expansion and transformation. New Look headed by its Chief Executive Officer Carl Mc Phail since 2008 has continued to prosper by grasping every opportunity and addressing challenges. The structure of New look is one where teamwork is encouraged, time and resources are spent developing employees also there is high investment in processes which creates value for stakeholders. As part of their global objectives, a review was undertaken of the way the company is structures and an assessment of the difficulties faced was done. As a result organisational functions such as merchandising, design and marketing was moved to London which resulted in increased access to the existing talent pool that London offers and unlocks This will provide marketing synergies with Others functions such as Finance, IT and HR support functions remained at the head office in Weymouth, this strategy is a shift from centralised decision maki ng process to more decentralised process that enables flexibility. A bi-annual review of risks is conducted at the Group level linked to the budgeting process, to which all departments contribute. On the other hand Asos is managed by a Board of directors who are responsible for taking all major strategic decisions and also addressing any significant operational matters, they monitors monthly progress in order for effective and efficient operations within the workplace. The structure of Asos is one where there is a lot of bureaucracy (Max Weber) in the decision making process, hence Asos has adopted the Classical school approach. System: New look has combined offline and online operations in order to gain competitive advantage. It has core competences to develop an ecommerce operation which has allowed the company to reach a large audience with no extra cost for marketing, advertising or operating long channels of distribution. Additionally the retail outlet provides for customer who needs to make immediate purchase, as a result of its efficient stock rotation, with stores receiving fresh stock weekly, this has encouraged shoppers to return regularly. The combination of both online and offline business has enabled new look to make efficient use of human resources, proper stock management and reduce cost significantly. This has provided marketing synergies with the international store roll-out to strengthen our brand and offer to customers. On the other hand Asos has only adopted the online approach to business as a result in the organisation has the ability to constantly increase its product offerings with no additional cost for advertising and marketing. Over the past year, we have invested in systems to support our back office operations of buying, merchandising and fulfilment, recently installing a new warehouse management system at our Hemel Hempstead warehouse. This system will support our increasing range size, international expansion, as well as our demands for advanced delivery and returns options. In March 2009, new navigation features such quick and easy browsing of the extended product ranges, 360 degree view of all shoes and accessories and catwalk for men wear and for ASOS Outlet. A unique distribution platform for its brand partners. Style: New look has a transformational leader who believes in change through communication. Hence In September 2008, a major company communications day was held in London to embrace the growing international status and clearly communicate the strategy and goals, approximately 800 employees from the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium and Middle East franchise partners attended. Also employees are constantly survey to find out how they feel about working for the organisation and also a web forum called ‘my Look staff was created to allow employees to communicate directly with each other and also tell us their opinion. On the other hand Asos has a transactional leader who works with the current organisational structure, where by the board that in order for the organisation to be successful constantly monitor the overall. Staff: New look has a lot of experienced staff, which are considered stars and a few learner and a hardly any deadwood as result the organisation has introduced a fair recruitment methodology and an induction programme to the company, which highlights areas and the job that will give people the best possible start to their career with New Look. Also the company has launched some initiatives during the year to ensure that develop the learners and retain the star employees these programmes includes leadership training programmes, further management workshops and development of our Staff Council consultations. On the other hand Asos as an online retailer deals with limited staff in comparison to new look. Similarly they have training programmes that encourages employees to develop. Skills: New Look through it skills and experience is now producing 71% of its products, an increase from 62% in 2008 which enabled the organisation to continue make further market share gains. With its powerful brand, seasoned management team and dedicated employees, new looks is able to gain competitive advantage. On the hand Asos is heavily reliant on their IT infrastructure. Significant impact on the business could result from a failure in these systems. Regular testing and updates are undertaken by the Group to ensure the continued integrity and efficiency of its systems. Shared Values: New Look has a strong culture that encourages employees to be more involved in the decision making process, this enables them to develop their leadership skills. According to Herzberg, it creates motivation that leads to higher productivity and efficiency. On the other hand Asos retain control through centralised decision making by top level management, this type of management speeds up the decision making process but it could act as a de-motivator. Strategy: New Look has adopted a value-priced strategy which is dress smart for cheap featuring low-priced fashions often imitating the ready to wear designer labels. These items are as much as 10 to 15 percent lower than competitors. Also as part of it expansion strategy, it is constantly relocations from smaller stores in existing markets to successful larger format stores. On the other hand Asos acts an online department store where they provide high fashion brands and inspired by catwalk ready to wear. This strategy has enabled the company to company to have a variety of product range which grew by 157% resulting in 21 21,300 option on site at the end of march 2009 up from 8,300 at the end of march 2008. Quantitative Analysis of New look and Asos Market Share According to the annual report of 2008-2009 New look has a market share of 2.99% whereas Asos has a market share of 5.13% this was as a result more user friendly application by Asos such as the cat walk feature and 360 degree view which makes the website more user friendly. Operating Profit New looks operation profit decreases significantly from  £138.6 million to  £138.2 million a decrease of  £.4 million this was as a result of increased administrative cost. On the other hand Asos operating profit increased by 100% to  £13. 9 million but the operating margins weaken slightly from 8.6% in 2007-2008 to 8.4 % in 2008-2009. The 270 basis point gross profit margin decline was offset by an improvement in operating cost ration. Similarly, New Looks experienced net loss which increased from  £ .1m to  £.4m a difference in loss by  £.3 million. Alternatively Asos achieved a net profit increased of 98% from 5.1 million in 2008 to  £10 milion in 2009. New Look revenues has increased from 1169.10 million in 2008 to 1332.6 million in 2009 an increase of 2.1milion it was due to an increase in concession whereas Asos revenues increased from  £81 million in 2008 to  £163.4 million in 2009 a difference of  £ 82.4 million According to the annual account of 2008-2009 New look net cash flow has increased from  £211.6 million in 2008 to 220.7 a difference of  £9.1 million in 2009 this was as a result of working capital management, which enabled the company to increase its net cash flow from operating activities. Whereas Asos net cash flow has increased from  £8.1m in 2008 to  £16.54 in 2009. Asos net cash flow was up by 105% in comparison to 2008, this was as result of enhanced product choices coupled with compelling promotions. Earnings per Share Asos, earnings per share increased from 6.9% in 2008 to 13.6 in 2009 and increase by 6.7 on the other hand there was no earning per share for new look. Trade Receivables and Payables New looks trade payables have increase from to  £207.5m in 2008 to  £260.8m in 2009 difference of  £53.3million % and similarly its receivables increase from  £6.7m to  £7.8 million a difference of  £1.1million conversely Asos trade payables remained constant at 381 million while trade receivables increase from  £0.47miliion to  £0.50 million a difference of .3million. An assessment of the current Corporate and business strategies of New look and Asos. Business organisation operates in a very dynamic environment which requires organisation to develop strategies to ensure future success. In order to prevent strategic drift an organisations objectives must be â€Å"alignment† with the long term goals furthermore the business strategies and organisation strategies must â€Å"fit† with the environment. As a result value would be created for stakeholders. Objective of New Look â€Å"The goal is to be The Favourite International Fashion Value Group, with a significant presence outside the UK.† Objective of Asos â€Å"The goal is to be the leading fashion Website in the UK and attract a growing number of overseas markets.† Joint Ventures New Look has a product supply joint venture in Turkey and an office in Singapore to co-ordinate the shipment of stock sourced from the Far East this. Similarly Asos joint venture with Crooked Tongue allows them to participate in sales from additional customer segment these joint ventures enables to reduce cost by creating efficiency and increase profitability hence market growth. IT strategies Secondly, the investment in IT strategy enables better management of information systems; this in turn reduces cost and increase efficiency. This investment support back office operation such as buying, merchandising and execution. With the unique distribution platform, supersaver option, premium same day delivery including Saturdays and 85 % of trackable orders, all create value for the organisation and customers. Additionally the installation of the new warehouse management at Hemel Hempstead supported the increased in international expansion, returns option, size range, and the demand for an advance delivery. Motivational Strategies In addition, New Look motivate, retain and develop high calibre staff by rewarding them with competitive salary and benefit packages which are linked both to individual and business performance as well as the external employment market. The Group operates an Employee Share Ownership Trust that has been established for the issue of shares to certain Group employees, engaging managers in the ownership and financial success of the organisation. Incentives also include a 50% product discount in our stores. Asos combines a list of Motivational strategies such as bonuses, performance share option scheme, and share and management incentive plan with these type of encouragement employees are motivated to go the extra mil Expansion Strategies New look and Asos has both expanded into international market, But Asos has used a low cost mode of entry by extending its shipment to 58 different countries through low cost distribution, While New look used the franchising mode of entry, these reduce risk. Low cost and marketing Strategies New look and Asos used similar product and marketing strategies by offering cat walk features and similar brands from designer for lower cost. Similarly they have both used designers to market their own labels, but Asos differ from New look slightly because they offer a vast range of high branded product through it strategies alliances. Also both New Look has magazines that provide customer information about the latest trends and fashion; these marketing strategies help the organisation to penetrate the marketing using low cost strategies a term supported by (Ignor Ansoff). CRM Strategies Finally both New Look and Asos focus on Customer Relationship Management, through its social networking such as Twitter, Bebo and Facebook, this enables the organisation to get customer feedback about the product or service. However, Asos has 24 hours customers online care, which give the organisation the competitive edge. SQUARE FEET OF Plans to cope with the current global crisis The global economic crisis has forced organisation such as New look and Asos to think outside the box in order to survive. A result these organisation has developed strategies cope in the current economic crisis. Customers are seen as prosperity for an organisation as a result New Look and Asos has planned to continuously focus on customer satisfaction through improved customer service, quality for cheaper prices. Secondly New Look and Asos in line with their objective have plans to increase expansion into overseas market. However Asos wishes to maximise efficiency by investing heavily in Management information Systems and also in logistics to meet their international expansion strategies. While New Look plans to open new stores in new markets and develop the small stores in the existing market Also, the Group has now embarked on a significant development Programme to ensure all trading platforms and systems are fit for future international growth. This future operating model will take nearly three years to complete with total investment of  £30m and deliver significant benefits in trading strategy Additionally both companies wish to expand their product ranges and further develop their website to create a better customer experience. However New Look capitalising further on fantastic fashion press and online advertising. We will continue to build our global press coverage and develop high profile associations. O the other hand Conclusion In conclusion technology has brought many dimensions to the shopping, product are just a click away, consequently retailers have to be innovative, and constantly monitor the market to identify the trends, fashion and changing consumer taste so that their products could meet the need and wants of the target market. From the analysis above New Look and Asos are two organisations that operate in the retail industry. New look has been successful for the last 40 years because their flexibility, and ability to innovate, they have combined both off line and online operations, through reduced cost, quality and exploitation and efficient use of resources this has increased profitability. Whereas, Asos is an online retail organisation through the efficient use Management information systems, exploitation its unique core competences and efficient use of human resources has gained profitability, this organisation has adopted more a classical school approach to management. According to the Blue Ocean theory organisation has to develop a unique strategy, which is evident in these organisation analysis. Recommendations Even though these companies have experience high growth there are still areas that needs addressing: Asos Ø Asos needs to offer incentives not only to senior management as stated but to all members of staff in order to increase motivation which could in turn increase efficiency. Additionally should adopt a more participative approach in the decision making process. Ø Asos needs to carry out research and development activities which help the organisation to identify a niche which could create an economic advanatge. Also, the Organisation needs to be involved in more corporate social responsibilities activities. Ø Asos can adopt the Boston Matrix Analysis to help assess the value of different product categories. It must manage the dogs by removing or cuttings cost and convert question marks and stars into cash cows through promotion, this will increase the overall profitability of the business. New Look Ø New Look needs to increase shareholders value, this could be done using Michael Porter Value chain Analysis, this would help the organisation to invest resources on areas that gives the most value and subcontract those that add value which will increase effectiveness Ø Also New Look need reduce its overhead and administrative cost which is affecting the profitability. In this case the company should focus more on line shopping which reduces operating cost. Ø Also New Look focuses on other entry modes that would create profitability with risk such as exporting, distribution until they have studied the market. However in order for New look and Asos develop strategies that please all the stakeholders it should adopt the Balance Score Card model by Norton and Kaplan, this combine both qualitative and quantitative measures, acknowledges the expectations of stakeholders and relate an assessment of performance to choice of strategy Johnson and Scholes (2008). 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