Analysis of Client/Consultant Interaction in the Case of Healix Consultancy Essay

Healix Risk Rating, the innovator of Healix Travel Black box – an anvanced tool in assessment of medical risk in travel insurance, is planning to launch the product into new market. As one of their appointed marketing consultancy team, we carried out the maket research and formulated a marketing plan for this project. During the implementation of the project, there are two main types of interaction involved that affects outcome of the project: intra-group interaction and client/consultant interaction, in which the later will be more focused. Based on my experience in this assignment, this reflective report is aimed to express my understanding of the applicability of learnt models and theories in client/consultant relationship as well as the limitations of the marketing consultancy service that we involves in. Key factors that determine a good consultancy project are not only the capability of consultants; financial capacity and readiness of clients; but also a strong collaboration from both sides and great emphasis on actual results instead of heavy focus on scope of work. Company description The Healix Travel Black Box offers the means for sellers of travel insurance to accurately and efficiently underwrite the increased risk associated to travellers with pre-existing medical conditions. The service is designed to be fully incorporated into the online sales processes and integrated into call centre sales processes, which allow customers to declare health conditions on the phone or online without making separate assessment with underwriters or waiting for doctors’ report. In other words, The Healix Travel Black Box provides a fully automated assessment and rating of medical risk which can be done in a couple of minutes. The Healix Travel Black Box has come as a global solution to travel insurance industry. The package is available to all regions where the public can directly buy travel incurance. The adoption of this technology is quickly spread across the globe, such as Australia, New Zealand , Canada, Denmark. And Healix Risk Rating in still on the way to seek new market for this advanced product. Summary of client/consultant process The situation in which our marketing consultancy came is when the company wants to efficiently market and launch the new product Black box into new travel insurance markets. This stage can be defined as Development stage – when client needs help at early stage of a new program. Early intervention of consultant show signs of consultee’s insightfulness and openness (Dewayne J. Kurpius, Dale A. Fuqua and Thaddeus Rozecki, 1993). Prior to the marketing plan, our team had to agree on a country of choice to market and sell the Black box. And then, we have to make a market research on that target market based on the following topics: (1) market value, (2) existing channels of distribution, (3) consumer buying behaviours, (4) average policy medical benefits and (5) how the handling of pre-existing medical conditions is currently dealt with. After obtaining the understanding of the target market, we worked out on problem identification, particularly the feasibility of the Black box launch in the country. Based on the market research, a outlined marketing plan was made prior to any detailed ones that were done later. As a marketing consultancy project done by a marketing consulting team, there are two main interaction factors during the implementation that influence the success of the project: intra-group interaction and client/consultant interaction. Intra-group interaction During the implementation, although our team had experienced many difficulties in order to obtain the relevant marketing information related to the topic, most team member is patient and very participative. We did have a clear plan to make the report in order to allocate the work to each member fairly. In order to make the job more efficiently, each member is encouraged to pick the piece(s) of work of his/her favour. Though the work of the some members is not as expected, however it is controlled promptly, thanks to regular meetings and good communication between team members. Client/Consultant interaction One of the shortcomings for us during the making of marketing plan for Healix is a lack of our understanding regarding the business situation, product development and financial capacity of the client. It is suggested that insuf? ient understanding of the client is key problem of most poor client-consulting relationships (Ford, 1985). Our limited knowledge regarding the product and business condition of Healix Risk Rating may expose us to risk of mis-identification of the real problem and consequently leading to an inapprorpiate marketing plan. On the other hand, ther is a lack of interaction from the client. The reflective practitioner model (Schon 1983) argues problems have to b e identified and solutions must be formulated in collaboration between client and consultant. During the knowledge transfer, the situation of the client should be clearly understood by the consultant, then the consultant will help the client reflect and understand the rationale for the client’s actions (Schon 1983 as cited in Nikolova, 2007). Clients then must work as reflective practitioners themselves. This reflective communication must be exchanged between client and consultant to facilitate expertise sharing. (Ibid p. 301). Schon views that Knowing-in-action implies that consultants would apply their knowledge gained from actiivities they have undertaken or situations they have experienced before. But for new and extremely sophisticated problems, the reflection-in-action is proper practice that consultant and clients need for the formulation of innovative solutions. In reflective practitioner model, the interaction between client and consultant is seen as a reflective communication. Schon views both consultants and clients as interdependent. Consequently, the relationship between client and consultant improves when expertise sharing and mutual understanding are focused. Client and consultant should closely collaborate during problem solving process to work the best out of their knowledge and experience. The relationship becomes equilibrated as knowledge and help are fairly exchanged. (Schon,1983) Furthermore, several models have been developed to gain valuable knowledge regarding how to improve cooperation between client and consultant. For example, the interpretive model established by Nikolova is to help clients and consultants to gain a better understanding of their interaction (Nikolova, 2007). Nikolova suggests that this model would be useful to explain the complexity of client-consultant relationship. This model emphasizes that clients have to be aware of the changing roles that consultants would play during the different phases of the project. This model was built based on prior generally accepted models: Expert model (O’Farrell and Moffat 1991 cited in Nikolova, 2007), critical model and reflective practitioner. It should make consultants and clients highly aware of undiscovered problems through their interactions during consultancy process. According to interpretative model, it is too simplistic to consider consultants as experts (expert model), impression managers (critical model), and reflective practitioners (reflective practitioner model). The play role of consultants depends on which context the they are in and which problems needed to be solved. For this matter of client/consultant relationship, McLachlin (1999) has several suggestions on some aspects that are necessary for a successful consulting project. Consultants must have strict discipline towards integrity in working for the best interest of clients . Besides, clients must also participate in the project and prepare a readiness to change. It is key that there are specific project requirements and expectations to be met. However, the Healix consulting project is more task-focused rather than based on expectations of the client. Schaffer (2002) also describes the â€Å"implementation gap†, which is the discrepancy between the client’s needed solution and the capability of the consultant to create that solution. He suggests that ? ve factors that most likely lead to â€Å"implementation gap† during consulting process: (1) consulting projects are de? ned and priced ased on the scope of work to be done by the consultants or the â€Å"product† delivered by the consultant, not in terms of speci? c results to be achieved; (2) project scope is focused mainly on the problem identification and solution recommendation with little consideration for the client’s capability and readiness to change; (3) the cons ultation aims for a radical solution rather than incremental value (4) The cooperation is more of a sharp division of responsibility between consultant and client rather than a solid collaboration from both sides; (5) instead of leveraged use, the consultancy make labor-intensive use of consultants. Conclusion As generally accepted, the way we as marketing consultants formulate the consulting process will affect the interaction and relationship between the consultant and client and consequently the outcome of the project. Based on multiple generally accepted empirical studies and models, it is suggested that consulting will produce good results if possessing the following success factors: Highly capable consultants; Great emphasis on client results/ satisfaction; Willingness from both sides for strong collaboration; Visible executive support; A solution adaptation that fits client capability and readiness; A full understanding of the client’s business environment. I understand that consulting approaches have to be customized based on out marketing expertise, thorough understanding of the client’s situation, intensive market research on the target market as well as an highly applicable marketing plan . Besides, the costs and benefits of client and consultant should be aligned by defining critical results with clear and measurable short-term goals. Therefore, we admit that our proposed marketing plan to Healix Risk Rating is very preminlinary and subjective due to the simplification of the scope of work and lack of interaction from the client.

Blue Tooth Technology Essay

Bluetooth is an open standard for speech and data transmission. Besides the applications for this new technology, e. g. the wireless connection between mobile station and terminal equipment, also the structure of the Bluetooth system architecture is presented. The set-up of so-called short-range ad hoc networks (piconets and scatternets) will be introduced. Bluetooth wireless technology is an open, accepted standard for wireless communication which means that Bluetooth electronic equipment can communicate as long as they are within approx. 10 meters of each other, making it possible to transfer data, speech, music or images without a physical connection. The mobile telephone manufacturer Ericsson invented Bluetooth technology, naming it after the Viking King Harald Bluetooth. Just as King Harald Bluetooth united Denmark and Norway, Bluetooth technology â€Å"unites† various types of electronic equipment to form a coherent whole. Ericsson formed the foundation for Bluetooth as early as 1994, but the standard was not ready for use until 1998. The first Bluetooth products came on the market in 2000. Today, Bluetooth technology can be found in all types of electronic equipment – including mobile phones, mobile headsets, PCs, keyboards, mouse devices, printers, GPS navigation units, video cameras and pocket PCs – and new products are emerging every day. Today, Bluetooth technology is an essential everyday tool to be found in a variety of electronic equipment. The technology makes it easy to transfer speech between a mobile phone and a headset, a mobile phone and a pocket computer or images from a digital video camera to a PC. Even though two Bluetooth units can find each other and be connected, because they both comply with the standard, it may not necessarily make sense for them to speak to each other. For instance, a Bluetooth mouse would not profit much from a connection with a digital camera, or a headset with a keyboard. The basic requirement for Bluetooth units to be able to communicate is that they are located within 10 meters of each other. That is the range of the Bluetooth radio waves – at least under the current standard. The study intents to (1) know the key features of Bluetooth technology; (2) evaluate Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and its key role in maintaining specifications of the protocol, profiles, testing and qualification, interoperability and compatibility and; (3) how Bluetooth applies to wireless technology. II. Background As Bluetooth technology becomes more common, however, we will undoubtedly see CD players that send sound to amplifiers via Bluetooth, which then transfer the sound to speakers in the same way. A Bluetooth enabled pocket computer will automatically synchronise with a company’s diary and make sure that the day’s e-mails are ready to be read on the screen. And car radios will turn the music down and transfer the speech from a mobile phone when it rings (see â€Å"Bluetooth†. New Standard Encyclopedia, pp. 36-38). Moreover, the Bluetooth brand is now recognized worldwide on products with short range wireless communication capabilities. The brand is a label that is not a single company technology but is shared by many members of the Bluetooth SIG. The brand is applied to devices implementing the Bluetooth technology; even if it says little about the way the technology works (see â€Å"Bluetooth†. New Standard Encyclopedia, pp. 36-38). III. Discussion A. Features of Bluetooth Technology The logo for Bluetooth is based on Runes surrounding the legend of Harald Bluetooth. Bluetooth the technology is based on communications central to man’s own personal space. Fundamentally Bluetooth operates within the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band at 2. 4 GHz. It is a short-range wireless communication standard defined as cable replacement for a Personal Area Network (PAN) (see â€Å"Bluetooth†. Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, pp. 87-94). Figure 1 is the Bluetooth Logo. A cable replacement standard has been defined because cables limit mobility of the consumer; they are cumbersome to carry around, are easily lost or broken. Often connectors are prone to difficult to diagnose failures; or are proprietary. To counteract these limitations Bluetooth is designed to be light and portable. It can be embedded to take the riggers of physical knocks and shocks. It includes standards and protocols to make it mobile, robust, reliable and not limited to one manufacturer (see â€Å"Bluetooth†. Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, pp. 87-94). The operating band also fits the goals of Bluetooth, imposing requirements as a cable replacement. The cost needs to be comparable with cable. Reductions can be achieved by operating in the licence free 2. 4 GHz ISM band, keeping backward compatibility wherever possible lowers the cost of ownership by avoiding upgrades and having a relaxed radio specification enables single chip integrated circuit solutions. It also needs to be as reliable and resilient as cable and cope with errors and degradation caused by interference. For mobile devices it must be compact, lightweight, low power and easy to use (see â€Å"Bluetooth†. Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, pp. 87-94). A. 1 Frequency Hopping We have addressed the reasons for the Bluetooth without delving into the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the technology to discover how it operates. For the majority of countries the ISM band used by Bluetooth is available from 2. 40-2. 4835 GHz, although some countries impose restrictions. In this band Bluetooth uses Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) techniques in order to improve its immunity from interference (see J. Bray and C. F. Sturman, Bluetooth: Connect Without Cables†, Prentice Hall). In unrestricted countries the radios hop in pseudo random sequences around all available channels, this equates to 79 RF channels with a channel spacing of 1 MHz. Starting at a base frequency of 2402 MHz then the frequency of the channels, f, can be expressed as: f =2402 + n MHz where, n, is the channel number with an integer value in the range of 0 to 78. In restricted countries a limited frequency hopping schemes with just 23 channels is used and is catered for in the Bluetooth specification. Both hopping schemes have a 1 MHz channel spacing making it possible to design a simple radio interface whereby the baseband only has to specify a channel number and the radio multiplies this up to the appropriate frequency offset (see J. Bray and C. F. Sturman, Bluetooth: Connect Without Cables†, Prentice Hall). In this FHSS scheme there are 1600 hops per second, which is a hop every 625  µs. Part of this hop timing is taken up by the guard time of 220  µs allowing the synthesizer time to settle. The frequency hopping implements time division multiplexing as shown in Figure 2. The basis of the scheme has the Master device transmitting in the first 625 us slot, k, and here the Slave receives. In the next slot k = 1 the Slave is permitted to transmit and the master listens (see J. Bray and C. F. Sturman, Bluetooth: Connect Without Cables†, Prentice Hall). Figure 2: Frequency Hopping, master and slave interact on corresponding slots The radio must be able to retune and stabilise on a new frequency within tight time constraints. This is pushed further when establishing a connection; the hop rate can be shortened to every 312. 5 us. As the radios are constantly hopping to different radio channels, this ensures that packets affected by interference on one channel can be retransmitted on a different frequency channel. To further enhance resilience both ARQ (Automatic Repeat reQuest) and FEC (Forward Error Correction) form part of the specification (see J. Bray and C. F. Sturman, Bluetooth: Connect Without Cables†, Prentice Hall). One drawback with the normal hop sequence is the time taken for production testing. Bluetooth ensures adequate frequency coverage with a test sequence allowing the radios to be tested at a faster rate (see J. Bray and C. F. Sturman, Bluetooth: Connect Without Cables†, Prentice Hall). A. 2 The Bluetooth SIG and Specifications If the success of Bluetooth is measured by its initial interest alone then its prominence has already been assured. Before products were on sale, hundreds of companies joined the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and the Bluetooth brand became recognized worldwide. Before investigating the technology further it is appropriate to comment about the role played by the SIG, the administrative structure of which is outlined in Figure 3. With membership of the SIG nearing 2500 members it is only right to look at how the SIG works to promote, shape and define the specification and position Bluetooth in the market place. Positioning of the technology is important when you consider other wireless technologies that share the same ISM band, e. g. IEEE802. 11b, HomeRF and DECT. Differentiation is key in avoiding confusion of potential users.

Sustainability of Agriculture Essay -- Environmentalism / Economics / Ag

To define the sustainability of agriculture, we must look into the several relationships agriculture has with the basic nature of making something sustainable. In this research literature, we will look at the factual information regarding agricultural practices as they relate to the long-term stability of biodiversity, ecosystems, and Natural resources. We will also compare historical and modern perspectives of economics as they relate to resources and sustainability. The researched information will give us a better idea to propose solutions and methods for a more sustainable future-global food supply. Let us first start with the DNA of agriculture: biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural resources. Agricultural biodiversity is a subset of biodiversity as it pertains to the crop varieties. Agricultural biodiversity is an important part of modern agriculture and its sustainability because it creates a complimentary variety of plants and other organisms that increase the potential of crop survival and longevity. For example, the nodules found at the end of legumes increase the nitrogen level in the soil that may produce a higher quality crop fit for consumption. It also makes the soil last longer resulting in high-yielding crops. For example, the following information is from an article in an AridLands Newsletter at an Arizona College: â€Å"It was in this dramatic scenario that the Drylands Polyculture Project was born. It was observed that despite its apparently barren prospects, the Sertà £o is a rich and prosperous land, producing many local and adapted crops and fodder plants. The problem was not the climate-as is usually implied-but the agricultural model, based on slash-and-burn, or worswhen water is scarce and when that crop is harvested, the hydrophilic crops can be planted when the wet season returns. The benefit of a monoculture is not only the profits produced, but the amount of food that can be harvested at once and the amount of maintenance needed to care for the crop is low because the variables are few since it is only one crop using the same soil for the same amount of time during the same season every year. This is convenient and profitable, but not sustainable. Works Cited Hanzi, Marsha, â€Å"Polycultures in the Brazilian drylands: A new version of an old tradition† AridLands Newsletter, No. 48, November/December 2000 â€Å"Agricultural Ecosystems: facts and trends† brochure by the World Council for Sustainable Development and the IUCN pages 3-5, July 2008 Levetin and McMahon, â€Å"Plants and Society 5th ed† page 242, paragraphs 3-4

North Street Primary School Upgrade Proposal Essay

North Street Primary School Upgrade Proposal - Essay Example The utilization of artificial lights in the presence of natural light makes the structure to be less friendly to the environment and thus contribute in emitting greenhouse emissions and harm the structure economically by increasing the energy bill for the structure. North Street Junior School is facing the similar problem thus it needs few amendments to cure the problems related to the greenhouse emission and the energy consumption. The school utilizes the artificial lights to enlighten the inner building and utilize maintain the temperature by utilizing the electricity. All the classrooms have radiators that help maintain the temperature during all seasons. In general, the building of the school is an old patterned building that utilizes an immense amount of energy for all the systems. In my view, the building was such made to restrict the outer air from being penetrated into the building but due to the lack of technology, it also restricted the natural lights from penetrating into the building that is the major reason for its higher energy consumption. On the other hand, the utilization of the fossil fuel and electricity based temperature controlled system also consumes a major portion of the electrical energy increasing the number of carbon footprints. At some place lack of insulation permits the inner atmosphere to diffuse into the outer environment making the temperature control unit to work more than required. The School is surrounded by smaller building, thus allowing a lot of light to be faced by the building (Cayless, & Marsden, 1997, p45-122). The immense amount of light may serve as to enlighten the building and to provide warm water and air to be circulated to the school. However, the dominant feature of the building is that the building is a symbol of cultural heritage and it should be touched little but implementing effective alteration in the building to consume lower energy units and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the solar water hea ters should be placed over the roofs of the building to capture the solar energy and heat the water and then circulate the heated water into the building. The structure is an attraction for its architecture and limits the renovation and thus it can be considered the biggest disadvantage of the building to make it green. The site of the school can be utilized to implement the energy-saving tactics. The ground can also help in maintaining the temperature inside the building through the process of geothermal heating (Level, n.d). In the geothermal process, water circulating pipes are buried into the ground about 4 to 10 feet under the surface. As the temperature inside the surface remains constant to 18-25 degrees on the Celsius scale, the circulated water through the ground attains the similar temperature and thus can be utilized to maintain the temperature inside the building by circulating the water. In general conditions, the thermal energy is provided by electrical energy or burni ng natural gas or oil, which is responsible for the increase in the carbon footprints(Burberry, 1997, p17-73). The better way is to utilize the alternate sources instead of conventional resources of energy. However solar heating is considered to give better results, more warn and less humid air. On the other hand, electric or gas heaters consume a huge amount of resource and emit a large proportion carbon dioxide.

The Boy scouts of America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Boy scouts of America - Essay Example This study will seek to enlighten how BSA attains its objectives of character and citizenship development and answer questions on how it promotes citizenship. Insights will come from the BSA handbook that has written its guidelines for membership and other related information. The BSA Handbook of 1965 [2] has been reviewed to arrive at a relationship in the development of citizenship. I have found out in the handbook important basic things that shape the character of an individual to become a responsible citizen. The handbook details the character development of BSA members. It explains opportunities of being close to nature; becoming a leader and member of a group; knowing how to survive; and fortifying their oaths to be always prepared, and be able to serve. It is not all about having fun, but of instilling values and training to become responsive and being a good citizen at an early age. Instilling values and training should begin at an early age. This is also the age where boys from 11 to 17 years old are invited to join the boy scouts movement. Boy scouting movement has been designed to strengthen one’s character, physical fitness and good citizenship. The program includes outdoor activities, peer group leadership opportunities, exploration of hobby, career and special interests. a. What does the BSA concept means in the context of its use within BSA and citizenship; or what form of citizenship is being promoted to the broad construction of juridical and socio-political citizenship? Immigrants of all races are attracted to enter the USA. As such, inter-racial integration in the society emerged. Two classes of world citizen have come to the corridors of America, and are classified as the juridical and socio political citizen. A juridical citizen [3] is someone who has gained immigrant status and has lawfully entered the US. Socio-economic citizen applies to investors, business

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management - Essay Example Various undertakings require examination before undertaking them so as to enable for sound judgment. Figuring out objectives and then setting up a plan on now to reach the targets is one key technique of efficient planning. One major planning tool that happens to be efficient is enquiring from the individuals carrying out the various tasks for their input. Making it happen happens to be the next procedure of the management process after obtaining a plan. The management ought to ascertain that everything required to implement to the management plan is set or is available when required. It is imperative to confirm that everyone comprehends their role and significance their role contributes to the general success. The following procedure involves telling individuals whatever they are required to perform. It is crucial to make certain everything is running according to plan. When there exists a setback, management is charged with the role of stepping in to modify the plan. Managing is no t a simple task. Nonetheless, it can be performed successfully with the experience being very rewarding. In the management process, matters that could be derailing the efficiency of individuals often pop up from the actions they are involved in that are time consuming. Internet email tends to be abused by the individuals working for various organizations. It is in this light that this report is looking to examine the management reasons that lead to their decisions to banning the use of internal email within the organizations. This report also gives an example of some of the corporations or organizations that have resulted to the prohibition of internal email usage, highlighting whether the move is an effective tool for effective management (Daft, 2011, 123). Phones 4U administrator is part of the emerging team of management that has called to the end of staff facing up their work without engaging in the utilization of email. Phones 4U ironically commends the virtues of contemporary communications to customers, however, the staff has been prohibited from utilizing one of the world’s most inexhaustible tools of communication, email. The holder of this chain’s multi-millionaire commercial holding, John Caudwell has the faith that the 2,500 staff has wasted a lot of time receiving and sending emails, rather than adequate time dealing and serving the customers face to face. The owner believes the email prohibition resulted in a dramatic and affirmative effect. According to John Caudwell, the email was insidiously overrunning Phones 4U. There had been signs by the management and staff, as well, at the firm’s headquarters and its stores, that the email propagation was inhibiting their effectiveness. The time spent per day after the ban, as articulated by Caudwell, amounted to three hours, which translated to a saving of ?6m each month. The industry players analyzed the move by Caudwell as a means to rejuvenate Phones 4U in its quest to take on it s major competitors, such as Carpfone Warehouse. On the contrary, some market analysts view such measures by managements differently. After chopping the hard expenditures to the bone, focus has shifted to the malleable expenditure, the individual time spent on the practices of management that have for years gone by unnoticed. The requirement for outstanding managers is ever present. The unprocessed number of managers required is declining. This has been necessitated by the networks

Historical place (Pyramids) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical place (Pyramids) - Research Paper Example One of those theories argues that they were build with terrestrial impetus power. However, it is important to say that the work of building the pyramids followed a period of research and experiments which resulted to the successful construction of the royal mortuary, the pyramids (Calvert). Egypt has three major pyramids, the Pyramid of Khafre, the pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Menkaure was representing three different generations (Calvert). The pyramids were a resting consign of the pharaoh and comprised of a temple and other important artifacts of the Pharaoh. Moreover, on the periphery of the pyramids were other small rectangular which belonged to the queens. The information the author is explaining aim to educate his audience about the Great Pyramids of Gaza (Calvert). The author focuses on an undisclosed audience in need of information regarding one of the Wonders of the world. The pyramids have an important history in the journey of Israelite from Egypt to their present land in the Middle East. The Israelite has been in slavery in Egypt for many years, and Christian has attachment to the history of ancient Egypt. In writing the article, the author wants his audience to know the reason behind the construction of the pyramids. He says that the pyramids were constructed as a mortuary complex of the rulers of Egypt in a thousand years, in ancient Egypt. Furthermore, Calvert intends to expound on the science behind the pyramids constructions. He says that they were constructed by an army of craftsmen’s and supplemented by 2000 seasonal peasant’s workmen. The craftsmen were grouped into 200 men and further separated into a cluster of 20 men (Calvert). Calvert says that evidence of towns near the pyramid confirms that a lot of people were used to move stone block from the quarry to the construction site. The article by Calvert Amy comprises an academic writing. It is written

CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW IN HEALTH CARE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW IN HEALTH CARE - Essay Example Due to continued swelling and pain, Arthur consulted another physician who finally diagnosed a fracture. Based on this, Arthur sued the hospital for negligence. The hospital requested the court to deliver summary judgment on the plea that physicians who treated Arthur were not employees of the hospital but they were working in the independent capacity as contractors. All reports, bills, x-rays and other documents provided to the Arthur carried the logo of the hospital and in no way, Arthur was informed that physicians with whom he was taking treatment were working as independent contractors in the Hospital. The court took judicial notice of the available common facts and took a stand that it was obvious on part of the patient/plaintiff to believe that all physicians were employees of the hospital while taking any treatment there. In Milton Bieber vs. Dr. Ash and St. Joseph Hospital case, Bieber filed a claim for physical damages against the doctor and hospital during his radiation treatment in the hospital. As a result, Dr. Ash filed a motion for summary judgment in the trial court and after the hearing the trial court granted summary judgment to Dr. Ashs motion. The trial court also granted hospital, on its motion, summary judgment. On this, Milton Bieber filed an appeal against these summary judgments in the Court of Appeal. The California Court of Appeal reversed one of the summary judgments that was granted in favor of the hospital; however, affirmed the other one in favor of Dr. Ash. The court took this view because Bieber was perfectly in good health after his surgery but it was the radiation treatment that caused him injury. According to the court, the hospitals motion could not shift burden to Milton as he alleged for the negligence on hospital while taking radiation therapy there (The Free Library,

Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Paper 2 - Essay Example In the film the director portrays the problem of racism as the byproduct of hatred towards skin color. Mark A. Reid stated that, â€Å"To gain a popular black audience, Micheaux’s action films presented the twenties from a black perspective† (12). To be specific, the director makes use of his film as a tool to expose his attitude on racism in the mainstream society. Sylvia Landry, the female protagonist knows that racism still prevails in the society, but she tries to overcome the same by immersing herself in worldly affairs. Jane Gaines opined that, â€Å"Within Our Gates was thus linked to fear of cataclysmic social change, a linkage obfuscated by the smoke screen of â€Å"race riot†Ã¢â‚¬  (163). The turning point in the film is related to the female protagonist’s unexpected meeting with Rev. Jacobs. Within this scenario, Landry realizes that she cannot alienate herself from the problems faced by the black children. So, she decides to raise fund for th e local school. This change in attitude is important because the same is related to her attitude towards racism. So, one can see that the director makes use of the female protagonist and the sad plight of black children to express his attitude on racism. From a different angle of view, one can see that the director makes use of the main characters as his mouthpiece to share his social message with the viewers. To be specific, the director leads the viewers towards the female protagonist’s past to prove that she is the victim of racism and she is trying her level best to save herself from haunting memories. Stefanie Laufs stated that, â€Å"In his movies, Micheaux addressed racial discrimination and counteracted black stereotypes with images of the New Negro and a new feeling of race pride† (43). The character named as Rev. Jacobs is symbolic of social responsibility towards the downtrodden population. On the other side, an unnamed character (say,

What's the news Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What's the news - Essay Example The reading further stipulates considerations that journalists should have in mind when collecting news these are: timeliness, proximity, prominence and consequences that their news might have. The reading makes sense as it enlightens those pursuing journalism career with the elements they ought to consider to make their profession successful. The reading highlights important fundamentals to be considered which are timeliness, proximity, prominence and consequences of particular news (Harrison 73). In case a journalist considers these elements when collecting news, they will automatically provide the best news to their readers that will make them yearn for more news from the same paper. For instance a paper has news that meets all the requirements above will make their readers have enthusiasm for their news thus their paper will definitely sell and in turn provide its editors and reporters with constant income that will improve their living standards (Harrison

Despairing Companionship Essay Example for Free

Despairing Companionship Essay â€Å"Modern Love,† a poetic sequence by George Meredith, describes a skeptical opinion on the idea of modern love. Meredith’s devastating tone, complex similes and metaphors, and dark imagery convey a sad and regretful outlook on the love of this time. â€Å"Modern Love† is riddled with a tone full of regret and heartache, making this modern love seem more like the opposite of love. The speaker says â€Å"she wept with waking eyes† and her â€Å"strange low sobs† were â€Å"strangled mute.† The words describing this woman are full of grief, full of â€Å"vain regret. † Her husband is painfully aware of his wife’s sadness, through her reaction to â€Å"his hand’s light quiver by her head† and her sobs that were â€Å"dreadfully venomous to him.† The speaker’s worried tone shows how much the husband wishes for his wife to be happy, but his actions of loving care and cautiousness do nothing to quell her tears. This makes modern love seem hopeless and full of despair for both the man and his distraught wife. Use of intense simile and metaphor throughout â€Å"Modern Love† also demonstrates a grim view on the concept of modern love. The muffled cries of the wife are called â€Å"little gaping snakes† showing how afraid and vulnerable the husband is to them. The man’s wife has a â€Å"Giant heart of Memory and Tears† which shows the heavy, almost useless organ that the wife carries around within her, empty of love, only able to remember the sadness to which she has been subjected to. Then, the husband and wife are said to be â€Å"like sculpture effigies† in their â€Å"common bed,† lying â€Å"stone-still.† Instead of two lovers talking to each other and loving each other in their bed, a place shared between the two of them, they are â€Å"moveless† and silent. This makes modern love seem empty of joy, empty of companionship, and devoid of love. â€Å"Modern Love† also utilizes imagery to portray the sadness and tension of modern love. The wife is described as lying â€Å"stone-still.† They are both â€Å"moveless† as they look back through their â€Å"dead black years.† Their life is described as â€Å"black,† which provides the image of nothingness, as if there is no memory worth seeing. Their modern love provides no light with which their lives might be made happy. They are seen as â€Å"sculptured effigies,† wishing for the â€Å"sword that severs all.† Instead of wishing for a good relationship or positive time together, they want something to end their marriage, to end the one thing that ties them together. This modern love is not love at all, but a forced binding between two people who want nothing of it. The poetic sequence â€Å"Modern Love† by George Meredith conveys a dark and regretful view of modern love through heartbreaking tone, deep similes and metaphors, and intense imagery.

Employment trends affect Gail Hunter and Selsdon Park hotels Essay Example for Free

Employment trends affect Gail Hunter and Selsdon Park hotels Essay Identify and describe external and internal influences that affect human resources planning. In your discussion relate how each factor might affect human resources within your chosen organisation. Selsdon Park Hotel Introduction: The role of a HR manager is to recruit and train new employees into a business. The business that I am looking at is Selsdon Park Hotel. One of the main roles of the hr management is to employ people into the company. This is called induction training. External influences: external influences are things that affect the human resource manager every day but things that are out of the human resource managers control. So all this external influences affect the human resource manager which affects the hr planning Economic Climate: At Selsdon Park Hotel the economic climate will change due to many external factors that may affect the company. This may include government laws coming into play, weather and many other natural factors. Also within many businesses there is a changing money climate will also affect the running of the businesses, the changing money climate would affect the job of Selsdon Park Hotel Resource manager. The changing money climate would affect the HR managers job because of many factors, this include interest rates and training new staff. This could lead to the hotel not having the correct staffing and then the slower running of the business. The stock market could play a part in this. For example in a poor economy many customers would have less disposable income. Selsdon Park Hotel with the lost of many of its customer would be making less profit which would lead to reducing non-essential staff. High and low interest rates would also have an effect on the economic climate which would infl uence the human resource planning. With higher interest rates people would have less disposable income and vice versa. Consumer Trends: Money within any business would depend on the selling of rooms at Selsdon Park Hotel. There are many factors which affect the consumer trends. This includes the amount of leisure time they customers have. Often in many the companies the higher your role in that organisation the less leisure time you have. Many companies do tend to aim a lot of there higher priced holidays at people with larger disable incomes which include senior managers etc. Also with the introduction of the internet the selling of holidays has increased greatly. Instead of people waiting around for hours in travel agencies, it is easier and less hassle to log onto the internet and choose your holidays online. Also you get the best deals on the internet. With the travel agents, they do tend to try and sell you the most expensive holidays but online you can get some great flight deals with Ryan air. This affects the job of the human resource manager because the manager must adjust and adapt to the trends of the consumer. And to adapt to the liking of the consumer the Human Resource manager must make sure that the employees within the business are up to date with new procedures implimented by HR. Employment trends Employment trends affect Gail Hunter and Selsdon Park hotels HR department greatly. Many people go for jobs which are seen as popular at the time. For example many students other the summer holidays like to have holiday rep jobs in Europe or would try to find jobs in hotels doing the summer also. This could affect the staff planning of Hail Hunter because there is a lot of competition in the area for hotel staff. These include Croydon Park hotel, Jurys Inn and the Hilton hotel .Selsdon Park Hotel would have to make sure that there positions at waiters look more desirable through there advertisement and job description through the recruitment department. State of the industry: The state of the travel and tourism industry affects the job of the Human Resource Manager a lot. This is because if a new resort or destination becomes available for customers to visit the HR manager would have to train thier staff to so they can market the destination to the customers. Also with new technologies the HR manager would have a larger budget and then would be able to employ a larger work force or give out incentives to current employees Skill shortages: As in many companies there may be a shortage in the skills needed to do a specific job. This may be because the company may not be able to find a suitable applicant and may have to put someone else with similar or not the desired skills in there place. Taking this action may lead to slow running of the company and stress being put on the staff below and on the level of these staff members. At Selsdon Park you have to get through specific process to become an employee in the business. Gail Hunter who is Selsdon Park hotels Personnel Manager or Human Resource Manager would have to select applicants and short list them down to the top 50. There are many skills needed. For example to become a Selsdon Park Hotel waiter you must have obtained the following skills first: Ideally you would need to have at least two years experience within this role, preferably within the hotel environment or quality restaurants. You must be a team player with good supervisory skills to enable you to assist in the day to day running of the kitchen and to ensure that a first class service is provided to our guests. You will be required to cook to a minimum AA one rosette standard. The hotel has a busy restaurant, extensive banqueting and a successful pub operation . There are a number of requirement that u need to become a member of Selsdon Park hotels staff. These are as follows * Experienced in a customer services environment comfortable in a selling role * Physically fit with a good attendance record in your current position * Hard working, flexible willing to operate on a shift roster * Over 18 years of age * Of normal vision (contact lenses acceptable) * Able to swim well * In possession of a valid EU passport * Fluent in English (both written and spoken) * Ideally possessing knowledge of a second European language * Prepared to work unsociable hours, any day of the year, at any time including weekends * Ready to meet the challenge of dealing with people and demanding situations * Friendly and outgoing with a lively personality As you can see from the skills required Selsdon Park hotel ask a lot from people who want to join there team. As the Human resource manager, you would have to go applications and cvs to try and find the best persons for the job who fit the criteria needed. With many applicants who do not have the skills required but who are accept on the job through a interviewing basis may need extra training, and may have to go on training courses. This would take a slice out of Gail hunters Selsdon Park hotels Human Resource managers budget. Location issue: The locations of Selsdon Park hotel may be a problem for the human resource planning for the hotel. This is because of the accessibility of the skilled staff the company needs to the airports are poor. This is when the human resource manager would have to decide carefully the most skilled staff they need for the hotel and how much out of the budget they would have to get. Also with people who live an extremely long way from the hotel there are living quarters on site which they could use. Competition for employees: When looking for specific employees needed to do a job in Selsdon Park hotel there may be external competition from other companies to employ this person also. For examples if there is a shortage of waiters companies within Croydon may all try to compete for the same person. These hotels include Croydon Park hotel and juries inn. Each of these hotels will advertise them selves in such away and would try to make them seem better to work at then the other one. They would try and sell there business to the potential employee. They would mainly do this through advertisement. Selsdon Park also has a website http://www.principal-hotels.com/hotels.asp?hotelid=2pageid=12 which explains jobs available and the pros and benefits of the job. Weather: Natural factors like the weather can also play a big part in the decisions of a HR manager. If the weathers get very serve and spoils the activates they have planned for the day outside it is up to the HR manager Laws: Also there are many laws which affect the role of the Human resource manager. These include laws and regulations that the manager has to go by. When selecting and employing people into the business the HR manager at Selsdon park hotel has to look go by the following laws. This are: 1 Equal opportunities law 2 Race relation act 3 Sex Discrimination act 4 Equal pay act Each of these acts must be follow by law and if these acts are not followed it could lead to an industrial tribunal. This laws and acts are in place to help the HR manager at Selsdon Park hotel not hinder them. If all this laws are followed correctly the HR manager would select the best person for the position applied regardless of race or sex. Internal Factors: Staff Turn Over: Within an organisation there is a number of staff they employ. In many companies like Selsdon Park Hotel they try to limit the amount of staff turn over. This is because of the costs that the company would be paying out in redundancies to the employed affected if Selsdon Park hotel does not have a valid reason. Staff turn over is a term used by a business to describe the coming and leaving of people within the company. The higher the staff turn over the more the business would suffer because the coming and leaving of people would use up resources needed by the HR manager and would also affect the businesses productivity Responding to consumer trends in terms of products and services: It is also the job of the human resource manager to respond and cater to the consumer trends in the products and services of a company. In Ryan air they would analysis the best selling product and also see why the other flight packages are not selling. They would look at there flight prices and compare them against other short haul flight providers in Europe. Staff Turner Over, Career Moves: Staff turn over is to do with the number of staff leaving and joining a company. It is the job of Selsdon park hotels human resource manager Gail Hunter to make sure they have the lowest amounts of staff turner over. This affects the human resource manager because it is his job to employ people to work in the company who have the right skills needed to perform the job correctly. Any human resource manager with a large amount of staff leaving and coming into the business would have a lot of work on there hands. This would be because they would have to go through job interviews and selection processes. Doing all this would take up a lot of the managers time so it is the human resources mangers job to make sure everyone in the company is well catered too, and are also satisfied with there job. Sickness rates and Absenteeism: Human resource managers have to monitor the sickness and absenteeism in the company to make sure no one is taking to much time off and also whether to give out sickness pay which if a lot of people are off at one time would take a large slice out of the HR budget. Organisational structures, staff roles and responsibilities: It is the job of Gail Hunter to monitor the organisational structures and staff roles in Selsdon Park hotel. The organisational structure is the structure that controls a company and dictates who you report to and who reports to you. A group of people for example cabin crew are control and overseen by a team leader which in turn reports to customer relations manager. This hierarchy is critical in the business so that all the employees know there jobs and rolls. Laws: There are lot of laws which Selsdon Park Hotel must follow to make sure of the smooth running of the business. Because Selsdon Park hotel is also a restaurant and serves food they must follow the food safety Act 1990. This act requires that owners and operators of food businesses take all reasonable precautions and exercise due diligence to ensure that they comply in every respect with current food legislation. Another thing which is tied to the food laws is personnel hygiene which when handling food must be very good with long hair tied back and also hats worn when preparing food. Source: Principal Hotels employee handbook Age of Employees: Also the age is a main factor which companies have to be aware of. They cant employ anyone under the age of 16 by law or the company could be prosecuted. Also many companies try not to employ women of a certain age. This is usually 20-30. Companies should not do this but they do because women at these ages are more likely to have children. So if a company employs a large amount of women at this age they would have to pay out maternity leave if they have children within this time. Training Organisation: It is the responsibility of Gail Hunter the Director of Human Resources at Selsdon Park Hotel to make sure all her staffs are trained well. The organisation must make sure the new employee in training noses about hazards and risks within the workplace. It would be the job of the training person to tell the trainee the hazards and risks within the workplace and also to deal with them. These hazards may include: 1 Torn or ripped carpets 2 Broken furniture 3 Overloaded sockets 4 Loose flexes 5 Trailing cables 6 Overloaded tables/shelving 7 Spillages 8 Broken Glass 9 Rubbish accumulating Most of these hazards seem simple and straight forward but when entering a new workplace the simple list of tasks may seem daunting .Another thing they will teach the new employee would be risk assessments. Risk assessments are where hazards are identified and the risk is identified from this hazards. The new employee is also told where the first aid boxes are so that if an accident does happen they can quickly deal with it. In Selsdon Park Hotel the first add boxes are situated: 1 Housekeeping department 2 Kitchen 3 Reception 4 Room Service 5 HR 6 Greens department 7 The Restaurant 8 Conference and Banqueting Vale try Source: Principal Hotels employee handbook The HR and staff are very important to the business. This is because the HR department manage the staff to make sure they are proforming well and that their needs are catered to. It is also the job of the HR department to make sure that all the employees are up to date with all the new legislation and laws implemented to company. Also HR has to make sure that all the employees are trained well. This is so important because when in the eye of the customer the employee has to know what they are doing when taking down bookings and other such things. The lack of training could lead to the company loseing large amounts of money and also customers who would look for other organisations. If all staff are trained well and know what they are doing the performance of company is going to be better, and also the employees will feel more confident when dealing with customer service and company situations.

E-Commerce Analysis: Online Ticket Purchasing

E-Commerce Analysis: Online Ticket Purchasing CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the background of the research study. It starts by providing an overview of Electronic Commerce, customer satisfaction and service quality, followed by an outline of the current situation concerning â€Å"Online Ticket Purchasing† in Kuwait. The problem of the study is then defined, highlighting the research the study seeks to investigate and its significance alongside the research objectives, questions and methodology used to achieve these desired objectives. The research limitations are then explored and the chapter concludes with an outline of the thesis structure. 1.2 OVERVIEW Unprecedented advances in Information Technology in recent decades, alongside evolving business environments have seen the emergence of Electronic Commerce (E-commerce) as a major economic force. With the increasing number of Internet users and rapid development of network technologies, e-commerce is perceived as an essential application of the computer and communication technologies (Manvi and Venkataram, 2005 cited by Zhang and Tang, 2006). As observed by Gunasekaran and Ngai (2005) e-commerce enhances communication channels and provides a virtual interactive environment where the suppliers and customers can exchange information and products. Moreover, it improves the communications between partners along the value chain and offers an integrated business model by which companies can be more responsive and flexible to the changing markets and customers requirements (Zhang and Tang, 2006). E- commerce therefore replaces or enhances the traditional market channels by opening web-based storefronts, which is known as â€Å"business to customer e-commerce†. Firms present their products and services on the web and generate revenue from the sales of those products and services to their customers (Molla and Licker, 2001). According to Khalifa and Liu (2003) there has been considerable growth of internet based services, both from internet businesses and from traditional companies developing online services. The technology of e-commerce identifies what can be offered to customers, but only customers determine which of those technologies will be accepted (Lin, 2003). As Jamal (2004) has argued, in the last forty years the issue of customer satisfaction has been one of the most important theoretical as well as practical issues for most marketers and customer research. Satisfaction is significant in the success or failure of any business depending on the performance of the perceived service, if the perceived performance is less than customer expectation the customer will be dissatisfied; whereas, if the perceived performance exceeds their expectations then customers will be satisfied. Many researchers agree satisfaction is an attitude or evaluation that is formed by the customer comparing their pre-purchase expectations of what they would receive from the product to their subjective perceptions of the performance they actually experience (Oliver, 1980). Numerous studies on service quality and customer satisfaction present service quality and customer satisfaction as conceptually distinct, but closely related constructs. Satisfaction is defined as the degree of discrepancy between customers normative expectations for the service and their perception of the service performance (Parasuraman et al., 1994; Dabholkar, 1996). Different researchers such as Gronroos (1983) and Parasuraman et al. (1985) have tried to identify features of service more related to quality assessments. The most common measure reveals ten dimensions of service quality: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the customer and access. These were then filtered to 5 dimensions and based on these 5 items a measurement tool for service quality was devised known as SERVQUAL (PUT SOURCE HERE!!!). While Yang (2001) highlighted the rapid growth of online retailing with broadening experiences of consumers online shopping, Santos (2003) believes that e-service quality can increase attractiveness, hit rate, customer retention, stickiness and positive word of mouth. It can also maximize competitive advantages of e-commerce. Numerous researchers have the discussed the dimensions of e-service quality including Cox and Dale (2001), Madu and Madu (2002), Parasuraman (2002), Yang et al. (2003), Parasuraman et al. (2004) and Lee and Lin (2005), yet online retailers appear to fail due to poor quality services provided to their customers. For that reason online service quality is significant for two reasons: (1) it influences customers satisfactions and intentions to shop online and (2) e-service quality plays a major role in attracting potential customers (Cai and Jun, 2003). Zeithaml (2002) points out online companies should focus on all elements of e-service quality before, during and a fter the transaction, as e-service quality is the extent to which a website facilitates efficient and effective shopping, purchase and delivery. 1.2.1 E-Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a critical element in the success or failure of any business. Web customer satisfaction has been emphasized as crucial by the rising demand for long-term profitability of dotcom companies and traditional companies that are â€Å"Net enhanced† (Pather, Erwin and Remenyi, 2002). An understanding of the factors that influence web customer satisfaction is vital for e-commerce. Satisfaction is a result of an effective evaluation, where some comparison standard is compared to the actually perceived performance. If the perceived performance is less than expected, customers will be dissatisfied. In contrast, if the perceived performance exceeds expectations, customer will be satisfied (Lin, 2003). A broad idea of traditional service quality might not be enough to build the e-service quality dimension, hence amending several variables is important. Santos (2003) discussed the e-service quality dimensions of, ease of use, web-appearance, linkage, structure and layout, content as the incubative dimensions; reliability, efficiency, support, communication, security, and incentive as active dimensions. This paper focuses on achieving a measurement of the service quality of the Jazeera Airways Website as perceived by their passengers, using a conceptual model of e-service quality developed by Santos (2003). 1.3 ONLINE TICKETING Electronic ticketing over the Internet facilitates the buying or reservation of tickets online, by making the process more easily accessible and convenient. Through these services tickets may be purchased from any location and at any time, provided an Internet connection exists. The tickets are ordered from a web site that provides both ticket information and the purchasing or reservation service. Internet booking or online ticketing concentrates on providing a helpful and efficient service to clients. Firms who sell travel tickets, performing arts, game tickets, concerts, movies and many other activities have notably embraced the online ticketing system according to Burford (1998). Convenience is a main advantage of buying tickets via the internet as the service is available at any geographical location, including ones home via laptop and cellular phone and at any time or day. Electronic ticket services have a further advantage by providing relevant information along with the service. This can help purchasing decisions and may encourage future usage (Burford, 1998). Another feature is that apart from maintenance and data updates, no manpower is necessary to offer the service once it has been established. The process of recording the transactions is more automated and overheads are reduced. An essential point is that ticket providers while providing a convenient service are thereby improving their public image and encouraging return customers (Burford, 1998). A number of countries across the globe are already benefiting from electronic ticketing including the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and France. In fact the U.S.A. it has 80% market p enetration, while in Europe it is approximately 40% and in the U.S.A. more than $350 million dollars in event tickets were sold online during 2000 increasing to $3.9 billion in 2004 (Bhatia, 2004). 1.3.1 Online Services and E-Ticketing in Kuwait The internet is a technology with many properties with the potential to transform the competitive landscape in many industries while at the same time creating completely new industries (Afuah and Tucci, 2003). The revolution of the internet continues to excel leading to rapid changes in many fields, at an overwhelming speed. In Kuwait, prior to 1990 internet usage was limited to electronic mail and minor services, however in 1992 a decision was made by the Ministry of Communication to facilitate the public data network. In the same year the National Science Foundation agreed to extend the Internet to Kuwait at a time when it was only available for US institutions and some selected institutions overseas. In recent years with the support of the Kuwaiti government for IT plans, practical steps have been taken in this field with the possibility of payment for mobiles and traffic tickets via the internet and the sale of online airlines tickets for the first time. These advances indicate the growth and development in the IT field in Kuwait as a whole. In 1943, the oil boom opened a new chapter in the modern history of Kuwait as The Kuwait Oil Company Limited (KOC) was founded. By 1947-1948 KOC developed the new Al-Nugra (Al-Mayass) Airport, located in the Nuzha district, operating in daylight only, with airlines opening offices in Kuwait City to handle ticketing and cargo operations for the Arab expatriate community. By 1954, the Kuwaiti National Airlines Company celebrated the arrival of the first airplane, which was called â€Å"Kazma† (http://www.da.gov.kw). The worldwide revolution of low-cost carriers (LCCs) started successfully with Pacific Southwest Airlinesin the United States, which pioneered the concept in 1949. Notable successes which have followed are Irelands Ryanair, which began low-fares operations in 1990, and EasyJet, formed in 1995. These low cost carriers then developed in Asia and Oceania from 2000 led by operators such as Malaysias AirAsia, Indias Air Deccanand Australias Virgin Blue. The low-cost carrier model is applicable worldwide, although deregulated markets are most suited for its rapid spread. In 2006, new LCCs were announced in Saudi Arabia and Mexico (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com). On September 12, 2005 Jazeera Airways owned by Marwan Boodai, Chairman and CEO, announced its first flights were open for booking. Jazeera Airways is the first privately owned airline in the Middle East, established in Kuwait. It offers passengers ticketless flights to Dubai, Lebanon, Damascus, Amman and Bahrain via the web, by phone, SMS or through travel agents (www.jazeeraairways.com). Breaking away from out-dated business models by developing a new model tasked with raising operational efficiency requires incorporating the latest revenue management procedures into the company and installing state-of-the-art technologies. This will ultimately enable travelers to become more independent in their bookings and payment. With tickets sold through a website as the main distribution channel, online booking is a very efficient distribution method for airlines. It reduces the number of back office staff and reduces the payment cycle. Jazeera Airways has worked hard to entice travelers to book through its website by making it the cheapest method to purchase tickets. Many promotional offers made by the company are available only to travelers who book online, therefore Jazeera Airways strategy is rewarding travelers who book online (www.jazerraairways.com) 1.4 PROBLEM DEFINITION Understanding customers requirements is vital to any business enterprise in order for it to remain competitive. Customer satisfaction is of great interest since it has a direct effect on customer retention, loyalty and the prospect of new customers. Retention is a major challenge, as customers can easily switch from one service provider to another considering the internet can facilitate easy access to a wide variety of choices with lesser cost. Acquiring new customers may involve significant cost on the part of the company in terms of marketing, advertising and promotion. Hence it is important to understand the determinants of customer satisfaction and assess the current experience of the customer in order to improve services. Customer satisfaction is a major issue of Jazeera Airways and good online service quality is a key factor that will determine in the long term, whether it will succeed or fail in retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. Due to rapid technological advancements in the marketplace Jazeera Airways maintains a close relationship with their customers, as their expectations and perceptions of online service quality may change. This research will therefore be conducted on Jazeera Airways, the first low cost airline in Kuwait. Jazeera Airways offers online ticketing in its website as the main distribution channel. Therefore it is important to take into account the quality of its website and to pay more attention to customer evaluation of the service given. Customers want to make their own bookings in their own time without depending on middlemen; as a result it is necessary that online service quality determinants lead to satisfaction. Dissatisfied travelers may perceive one of the following: Web sites do not seem to have many of the very basic features that experts consider important in forming relationship with customers. Service providers undervalue the attributes that customers use to judge service quality that should be monitored and enhanced to help the service performance. There are other variables of the online service quality that affect the overall travelers satisfaction. Therefore this research aims to address such problematic issues by researching the relevant factors including current opinion of the airline users. 1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES As this research study aims to examine the customer satisfaction of the service of Jazeera Airways in online ticketing through the quality delivered through its website, its main objectives are as follows: To assess the perception of each service of Jazeeras e-service Quality dimensions. To evaluate consumer satisfaction towards e-service quality for online service quality within Jazeera. To determine the important dimensions leading to satisfaction when purchasing online tickets within Jazeera. 1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS In order to fulfill the objectives of this study, the following questions need to be addressed: What key incubative dimensions do online customers perceive as important for their e-service quality? What key active dimensions do online customers perceive as important for their e-service quality? What are the most influential online service quality dimensions of the website as perceived by respondents with a high level of customers satisfaction in the Jazeera Airways website? What are the most influential online service quality dimensions of Jazeera Airways contributing to customer satisfaction when examining the Jazeera Airways website? Are the different socio-demographic variables involved perceiving e-service quality and satisfaction in the same way or differently? 1.7 Research Methodology This research is considered deductive, quantitative, descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory to some extent type of study. The research follows the survey strategy approach and consists of 67 questions composed of a two page questionnaire distributed to the target sample in Kuwait. Data was collected using Arabic and English questionnaires, from a sample size of X passengers who booked online through Jazeeras website. The questionnaire consists of four sections (A, B, C, D). Section A solicits demographic information. Section B evaluates Jazeeras Airways e-service quality using an adapted Santos (2003) model. Section C measures the level of customer satisfaction. Statements of Section B and C are scaled using a Likert type scale from 1 to 5. Section D collects information added by customers that will add value to the research. 1.8 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS Throughout this research conducted in Kuwait regarding Jazeera Airways website service quality a number of limitations were noted as follows: The thesis investigates the customer satisfaction of Jazeeras Airways website service quality and does not include the companys perspective/point of view; therefore the study is limited in its scope to customers and not employees or managers. The study does not include product quality, price, situational factors, personal factors, and other services provided by Jazeera Airways. Using a quantitative approach only towards addressing the research problems, a qualitative approach is lacking. The research scope is limited as it assesses Jazeera online service â€Å"e-ticketing† excluding airport customer services such as check in, luggage, lounge and on board services. There is limited relevant literature concerning service quality in the airline industry in Kuwait and the region, therefore there are no previous findings or frameworks to consult. 1.9 THESIS STRUCTURE This study is composed of five main chapters. Chapter One presents the background details of the selected research area and the experience in Kuwait, followed by the problem definition, the research objectives and questions, the methodology, the studys limitations and the thesis structure. Chapter Two discusses related theories, concepts and models providing a comprehensive review and an insight into the subject area as a whole, followed by an explanation of the research to the country of Kuwait. Chapter Three describes the methodology, research design and techniques used in the collection and analysis of the data. Chapter Four presents the gathered data, their interpretation and analysis. Chapter Five looks at the findings, assessing whether they satisfy the research questions and objectives to draw conclusions from the results. Based on these conclusions, recommendations for management are provided with further suggestions for future research. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter a comprehensive review of available related literature is made concerning website service quality and customer satisfaction. In the process various concepts, models and theories covering customer satisfaction, determinants of customer satisfaction, the relationship between online service quality and satisfaction and online service quality dimensions are presented and explored to give the study a wide ranging theoretical basis. In addition the relevance of the research to the country of Kuwait is also addressed. 2.2 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 2.2.1 Definition of Customer Satisfaction Oliver (1980) explains satisfaction as the summary of a psychological state resulting when the emotion surrounding disconfirmed expectations is coupled with a consumers prior feelings about the consumer experience. In other words, satisfaction is an attitude or appraisal that is created by the customer comparing their pre-purchase expectations of what they would receive from the product or service to their subjective perceptions of the performance they actually did receive. Customer satisfaction has become a key intermediary objective in service operations, because of the benefits it conveys to organizations (Ranaweera and Prabhu, 2003). The importance of customer satisfaction results from the generally accepted philosophy that for a business to be successful and profitable, it must satisfy customers (Shin and Elliott, 2001). While many authors have described satisfaction using various definitions, Table 2.1 presents a few notable explanations of customer satisfaction. Table 2.1 Definition of Customer Satisfaction Definition Author Customer satisfaction is a collective outcome of perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption experience with a product/service. Yi (1990) Satisfaction is function of consumers belief that he or she was treated fairly. Hunt (1991) Satisfaction is a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectation. Kotler et al. (2000) Source: Research based From the above table we understand that satisfaction is the consumers evaluation of the product and service that meet their needs and expectations. According to Parker and Mathews (2001) there are two main interpretations of satisfaction; satisfaction as a process and satisfaction as an outcome. Whereas Gustafsson (2005) argues satisfaction has a strong positive effect on customer loyalty intentions across a wide range of product and service categories. 2.2.2 Determinants of Customer Satisfaction Zeithaml et al. (2005) argued that satisfaction, as shown in 2.1, is influenced by service quality perception, product quality, and price as well as situational and personal factors. Economists differentiate between two categories of properties of consumer products; search qualities and experience qualities. With search qualities consumers determine before purchasing a product like color, style, price, fit, feel, hardness and smell. Experience qualities, are hard to determine; as a result it can be evaluated after the purchase and until the service is received like vacations and restaurant meals (Zeithaml et al., 2005). Keaveney (1995)ppp.jpg point out that a main reason leading to customers switching services is price, as customers, based on prior experience with the service provider, sometimes felt cheated and believed that price increases were unfair or even deceptive. According to (Zeithaml et al., 2005) comparing the price relative to value and state, research reveals that customers of services will make trade-offs among different service features such as price level versus quality. A number of customers, for example, view price as an important element for their satisfaction more than quality. Perceived service quality is only one factor of customer satisfaction (Zeithaml et al., 2005). Consequently to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction, most researchers suggest that a high level of service quality should be delivered by the service provider as service quality is normally considered an antecedent of customer satisfaction (Cronin et al. 2000). Zeithaml et al. (2005) described a consumers emotional state as a personal factor. Satisfaction will vary due to customers biographical characteristics such as age, gender, education, ethnicity and income (Gilbert and Veloutsou, 2006;Van Pham and Simpson, 2006). Customers take partial responsibility for outcomes and describe those negative feelings that influence how a consumer responds to services, causing a person to overreact negatively to the slightest problem (Zeithaml et al., 2005). Situational factors can notably influence purchase decisions such as social environment, physical environment of the purchase place, time influence and the previous states (Vysekalovà ¡, 2004; Nagyovà ¡, 2001). 2.3 The Evidence of Service (3Ps) Services are intangible; therefore customers are searching for evidence of service in every interaction they have with the organization. The three major factors of service experienced by customers are: people, process, and physical evidence. Together these elements are considered as an evidence of the service. Each evidence or subset is present in each service 2.2. Firms should essentially manage the service quality that will lead to satisfying their customers (Bitner, 1993). 2.4 SERVICE QUALITY Numerous researchers have defined service quality their own ways, including Bitner, Booms and Mohr (1994) who described service quality as the consumers overall impression of the relative inferiority / superiority of the organization and its services. Perceived service quality is only one component of customer satisfaction (Zeithaml et al., 2005). According to Parasuraman et al. (1994) service quality is defined as, the degree of discrepancy between customers normative expectations for the service and their perception of the service performance. Gronroos (1982) stated that total service quality is customers perception of difference between expected service and perceived service. Afterward in 1984, he then explained service quality of the service encounter as two different dimensions: one is technical or output quality and the other functional or process quality. Therefore, service quality has become a well-liked area of academic investigation, recognized as a major factor in differentiating service products and gaining competitive advantage (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Table 2.2 presents the concept of service quality from varied authors viewpoints who combined suggest we can understand that meeting the need and requirements and achieving customers expectations depends on delivering the best level of service quality. Notably with time, service quality takes place before and leads to overall customer satisfaction Table 2.2 Definition of Customer Satisfaction Definition Author Service quality as the subjective comparison that customers make between the quality of the service that they want to receive and what they actually get. Gefan (2002) Service quality can be defined as â€Å"the difference between customers expectations for service performance prior to the service encounter and their perceptions of the service received†. Asubonteng et al. (1996) Service quality is determined by the differences between customers expectations of services providers performance and their evaluation of the services they received. Parasuraman et al. (1985,1988) Source: Research based Gilbert and Veloutsou (2006) determined different approaches to measure customer satisfaction, varying between measuring expectations relative to perception or measuring the performance aspect only, without relating it to the desired level of service. Service quality has been found to be an important input to customers satisfaction (Caruana, 2002). 2.4.2 Dimensions of Service Quality Service quality has been the focus of increased study in recent years as many researchers have tried to reveal features of services that significantly relate to quality evaluation in traditional service environments. In 2001 Brady and Cronin presented a model consisting of interaction quality, physical environment quality, and outcome quality. These dimensions draw on, among others, the work of Gronroos (1982) and Rust and Oliver (1994) who suggest that exploring both what is delivered (Gronroos technical quality) and how it is delivered (Gronroos functional quality) are important aspects of service quality. Table 2.3 Dimensions of Service Quality Quality Requirement Description Reliability Reliability Consistency of service/ dependability, i.e. the ability to provide the service on time, accurately and dependably Responsiveness Responsiveness Willingness/readiness of employees, i.e. the ability to deal effectively with complaints and promptness of services Assurance Credibility The extent to which the service is believed and trusted; involves honesty, trustworthiness and believability Courtesy The politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness shown to the customers by the contact personnel Security The freedom from danger, risk and doubt Competence The possession of staff of the necessary skill, knowledge and information to perform the service effectively Empathy Access The ease of approachability and contact Communication Listening to customer and keeping them informed about the service Understanding the customer Trying to understand the customers needs and specific requirements Tangibles Tangibles Appearance of personnel and condition of equipment Source: Parasuraman et al. (1985); Ghobadian et al. (1994); Curry and Herbert (1998) A most widely used and accepted study done on service quality is by Parasuraman et al. (1985). Having developed ten dimensions through focus group studies: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the customer, and access. These ten dimensions were then filtered and extracted to five: tangibles, reliability, responsibility, assurance, and empathy, which constitute the basis of a global measurement for service quality, SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Based on these five dimensions researchers presented a 22-item service quality scale and on an operational level service quality research has been dominated by the SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Curry and Herbert, 1998). Table 2.3 presents a description of the service quality dimensions. 2.4.3 Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality Service quality has been found to be an important input to customer satisfaction (Caruana and Malta, 2002). Cronin and Taylor (1992) examined the causal relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention. The results suggested that service quality was an antecedent of consumer satisfaction, service quality had less effect on purchase intentions than did consumer satisfaction, and consumer satisfaction had a significant effect on purchase intentions. Customer satisfaction had a stronger effect on behavioral intentions than service quality did (Dabholkar et al., 2000). As a process in time, service quality takes place before, and leads to overall customer satisfaction. Customers loyalty was affected by product quality, service quality, and retailer image. They also suggested that quality of product and service is directly related to customer satisfaction, and then leads to the loyalty of the customer (Cà ¶ner and Gà ¼ngà ¶r, 2002). Based on empirica l findings in service quality and satisfaction literature, service quality is one of the antecedents of satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Cronin and Taylor, 1992), and loyalty is one of the consequences of satisfaction. Luarn and Lin (2004) indicated that not only customer satisfaction and perceived value directly affected customer loyalty, but also indirectly affected customer loyalty through commitment. 2.5 THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SERVING CUSTOMERS According to Parasuraman (2000), delivering excellent customer service is vital in case customers have to serve themselves by technology-based systems. With quick penetration of technology-based customer-company interfaces such as online banking and e-commerce, employee-delivered service is being replaced by self-service, reducing the need for face-to-face encounters between customers and company personnel. However, this fundamental shift does not mean that companies can afford to ignore customer service. Development of self-service technologies need to emphasize customer service to ensure the customer-technology interface is user-friendly, putting in place an excellent customer-service infrastructure (including properly tr

Comparing the American Dream in Millers Death of a Salesman and Hansbe

Comparing the Destructive American Dream in Miller's Death of a Salesman and Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun America is a land of dreamers. From the time of the Spanish conquistadors coming in search of gold and everlasting youth, there has been a mystique about the land to which Amerigo Vespucci gave his name. To the Puritans who settled its northeast, it was to be the site of their â€Å"city upon a hill† (Winthrop 2). They gave their home the name New England, to signify their hope for a new beginning. Generations of immigrants followed, each a dreamer bringing his own hopes and aspirations to the green shores. The quest was given a name – the American Dream; and through the ages, it has been as much a symbol of America as the lady in the harbor, a promise of America’s riches for all who dare to dream and strive to fulfill their ambitions. Dreamers apotheosized fellow dreamers like Rockefeller and Carnegie, holding them to be the paradigm from which all could follow. But behind the meretricious dream lies the cold reality. A country built upon survival of the fittest has no sympathy for those who serve as the steppingstones for othe rs’ success. For every person who reaches the zenith, there are countless others trapped in the valleys of despair by their heedless dash to reach the top. Playwrights Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry memorialize the failures in their works Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun. Their central dreamers, Miller’s Willy Loman and Hansberry’s Walter Lee Younger, like children at a candy shop window, are seduced by that success which can be seen so clearly, yet is so unreachable. Ardent followers of the hype of America, they reveal that, far from being a positive motivator, the Ame... ...n. Ed. Harold Bloom. Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea, 1988. 47-58. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin, 1977. Nemiroff, Robert. Introduction. A Raisin in the Sun. By Lorraine Hansberry. New York: Vintage, 1988. 5-14. Turner, Darwin T. "Visions of Love and Manliness in a Blackening World: Dramas of Black Life Since 1953." Black Scholar 25.2 (1995): 2-13. EBSCO. Wake Co. Public Lib. 5 Jan. 2001 <http://www.ebscohost.com>. Wilson, Robert N. â€Å"The Salesman and Society.† The Writer as Social Seer. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1979. 57-71. Rpt. in Willy Loman. Ed. Harold Bloom. Major Literary Characters. New York: Chelsea, 1991. 79-89. Winthrop, John. â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity.† American History Online. 28 Mar. 2001. <http://longman.awl.com/history/primarysource_2_4.htm>.

The Art of Hospitality - The Greeks and the Odyssey Essay -- essays re

Each culture treats strangers and guests with distinct differences from every other culture. One of the most hospitable cultures was that of the ancient Greeks, exemplified in Homer’s The Odyssey by both gracious hosts and guests. In Greece and The Odyssey, not only was good hospitality etiquette expected, but the added pressure from the conviction that the gods would punish the host if guests were treated without respect (whether they were poor or rich) further compelled excellent manners. The Odyssey illustrates the proper etiquette when dealing with guests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether friend or stranger, when a guest of any sort arrived the host would greet them and offer them food and drink before any further conversation or engagement of any kind would occur. If the host had considerable wealth, a maid would bring out a basin of water in a â€Å"graceful golden pitcher† to rinse their hands, seen in Book I (line 160) when Athena visits Telemachus, again in Book 4 (60) when Menelaus takes Telemachus and Athena as guests, and also in Book 7 when the King of the Phaeacians greets Odysseus. Appetizers, meats, and wines are all brought out and laid before the guest, as their coming is seen as a celebration, as seen when Telemachus is hosting Athena, â€Å"A staid housekeeper brought on bread to serve them,/appetizers aplenty too, lavishwith her bounty./A carver lifted platters of meat toward them,/meats of every sort†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Book 1, 163-166) On several occasions, a particularly h...

Jebus, king of Jews :: essays research papers

that demands actions, therefore, they often establish guidelines on how to avoid and handle sexual harassment. However, some companies still do not appear to have sexual harassment regulations or at least not publicly accessible ones. One of these companies is Firestone. It seems as though information about the recent tire recall is the only topic that one can access on it’s website or through emails. Nevertheless, an examination of the sexual harassment policies of other companies provides a basis for recommendations. EDS, Electronic Data Systems, serves as a good model in considering which rules are worth implementation. Kevin McFarling, Client Delivery Executive, sums up his company’s attitude toward sexual harassment: â€Å"Sexual harassment is not to be ignored. It is very serious and needs to be treated that way by all employees. It is inexcusable in any environment, let alone a professional one† (McFarling) EDS’s policy on sexual harassment is as follows: EDS does not tolerate sexual harassment or other lawful harassment in the workplace, whether committed by a co-worker, leader, client, contractor, suppliers, or anyone else. Actions, words, jokes or comments that are derogatory and based on any persons gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion or disability will not be tolerated at EDS (Ethics and Business Conduct). In order to create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone affiliated with EDS, tasks and responsibilities have been assigned to all employees, including leaders. These tasks and responsibilities include reporting incidents and adhering to the EDS sexual harassment policy. Leaders have the extra responsibility of educating employees about sexual harassment. EDS also makes sure that training and materials are easily accessible to all employees. These informative materials can be obtained through the EDS Employee Relations and the EDS Office of Ethics and Business Conduct. Other companies should follow the example of EDS in educating their employees so they know that sexual harassment of any kind is not tolerated. Employees should be aware of what exactly constitutes as sexual harassment and avoid any activity that could be considered sexually offensive.

1980: Miami Floridabbegin to Rise as the Crime Capital of the Nation Essay

In the 1980s Miami Florida was just beginning to rise as the crime capital of the nation, but it had been the drug capital for a decade. An estimated 70% of Cocaine imported to the U.S passes through South Florida. When president of Cuba Fidel Castro agreed to allow citizens to leave in response to a tough Cuban economy, many of them departed to the United States and landed in South Florida, unfortunately many of those allowed to leave were convicted criminals. Adding these dubious characters into the mix only served to dilute the population of law-abiding citizens, therefore increasing the crime rate in the city of Miami. Cuba wasn’t the only country that was responsible for the increasing crime rate in Miami throughout the 1980s; Colombia was heavily involved in the Cocaine business. From the movie Cocaine Cowboys, John Roberts, Mickey Munday, Rafa Cardona Salazar, Max Mermestein were all drug smugglers. They were in charge of getting the illegal narcotics into Florida. Jon Roberts flooded Miami with over $2 billion worth of cocaine throughout the ’80s. He was also one of the drug traffickers who turned government informant. Roberts operated in the downtown Miami area and was an associate of Medellà ­n Cartel during the growth phase in cocaine trafficking. Soon after he hooked up with Medellin Cartel he began using his own method to ship cocaine into the United States. He began orchestrating plane shipments of hundreds of kilos of cocaine a week. He was associated with Mickey Munday who is the last Cocaine Cowboys left alive. He too was also involved in the cocaine business during that time. Based on the Movie Jon Roberts was kind of like the thinker and Mickey Munday was like the pilot. Jon would think about where to deliver the drug and how to deliver the drug while Mickey on the other hand was the one who flew the drugs into Miami. In September 1986, FBI and Customs offici als busted the the 38 years old trafficker jon Roberts. Columbia is South America’s fourth largest country. It is about 440,831 square miles long and the capital is Bogota with the population of 27 million people. Columbia greatest agriculture crops are coffee, and coca. â€Å"Columbia is one of the world largest producers of the drugs cocaine, and heroin producing 50,900 hectares of coca that they sold 75% to the United States.† (CIA database) Drug dealers and drugs control Columbia and are the new Mafia and gangsters, who smuggle drugs in the United States, and make millions and millions of dollars a year. Smuggling had its greatest growth in the United States during the Prohibition Era. It became a full-fledged business for organized crime like the Mafia who ran Chicago in the 1920’s. The drug dealers of Columbia are the modern day Mafia who used the power of drug money to control the government. The most famous drug dealers were Pablo Escobar, Jorge Luis Ochoa Valquez and Carlos Lehder Rivas, who controlled the drug trades in Columbia and were, at the time, the new Mafia. â€Å"By the year, 1984 the Medellin cartel had controlled 80 percent of the cocaine in the country.† (Alternatives.com) Pablo Escobar was born in a small village of Rionegro seventeen miles outside Medellin. In 1976, police arrested him for possession of thirty-nine pounds of cocaine, but the officers where soon killed and 9 judges refused to hear the case due to death threats. The record disappeared and he was never tried. Soon he was worth over 2 million dollars that he used to buy himself a huge estate near the Magdalena river that included his own private zoo. Pablo Escobar built low cost housing and a hospital to get the people of Medellin on his side. In 1982, he was elected to the congress, which gave him immunity from arrest. On Nov. 18, 1986 charges where brought against Escobar, on bringing 16 tons of cocaine into the United States. The government of Columbia said they would not deport him because they feared for their lives. On, December 2, 1993, a group of military police shot the drug lord on a rooftop in Medellin, Columbia. Jorge Luis Ochoa Vasguez was the son of Fabio Ocheoa Restrepo whose family was cattle breeders until they began trafficking drugs in the mid 1970. In 1981, guerrillas kidnapped Jorge Vasguez sister for ransom. Ocheoa joined with other drug lords including Escobar to form a vigilante group called Muerte a Secuestadores who kidnapped or killed members of the guerrillas until the girl were set free. This caused these three drug dealers to work together and Escobar and Vaguez made a new pact. Jorge Vasguez and the Ocheoa family provided hitmen, guards and death squads that included high ranked military officers. The Ocheoa family also would handle payoffs to police, judges and politicians. Jorge Luis Ochoa Vasquez was arrested by police on November 15,1984 and was going to be deported to the United States. When this news reached Bogota a car loaded with dynamite exploded in front of the US embassy in Bogota killing one and injuring four Colombians. On Aug. 13, 1986, Ochea Vasquez was released. He was arrested again on Nov. 21, 1987 but he was released again on December 30,1987. Carlos Lehder Rivas was born in Michigan and was a car dealer until he deiced to use his money to start a drug smuggling operation bringing drugs out of Columbia. He found a remote landing strip in the Bahamas where he bribed Bahamian officials where drugs would be unloaded and depatched into the United States in many different types of transportation. Soon Carlos was working with the Medellian cartel and would unload 300 kilograms a day making over 300 million a year. He was worth over 2.5 billion dollars and owned over 15 cars, three helicopters, and property all over Columbia. Finally the United States government caught up with him, but he got away because he killed 11 Supreme Court Justices, two newspaper editors in Columbia and 26 other journalists. Finally in 1997 he was arrested and was brought to a cell at the U.S. Penitary in Marion, IL that had a telephone. From his cell he made contact with FBI, and CIA agents who used to work in the cartel. Leder was sentenced to life in prison plus 135 years but the FBI and CIA gave him a deal to help them convict Noriega and cut down 30 years on his prison term. A few years after he testified he mysteriously disappeared from prison. These three individuals are only a few of the individuals who used the cartel to control all levels of the government including the president. President Ernesto Sampler accepted millions of dollars from the Mafia to finance his campaign. He said that the newspaper he wrote had over 10,900 subscribers instead of the 1,000 original subscribers his wife knew about. Also the government tried to destroy drug fields by eradicating coca and opium fields by spraying herbicide glyphosate. The problem is drug traffickers are paying guerrillas $200,000 for every plane that they shot down three times what they get for destroying the fields for the government. The police and military forces in Columbia are too weak and easily bribed by the cartels. The police in Columbia are armed civilians who don’t have the right to vote and don’t have much power and only a policeman can arrest someone under a warrant in Columbia. But since most policemen don’t have much power they are afraid to arrest someone, so the military forces usefully have to get involved in order to arrest someone. The police in Columbia can’t get anything done without the help of the military and neither really knows what the other is supposed to do which causes nothing to get done. The illegal drugs that are smuggled into the United States from Colombia come by many forms of transportation. Nova Scotia, Canada, has been a major drop-off point for illegal cargo since the early 1970s. Police say that to prepare for one drug smuggling operation, a group of criminals based in Nova Scotia bought a fishing vessel and used it just for fishing until long-ti me residents took it for granted. It would make runs in and out for two to three months just for fishing. â€Å"Then it went out on its fishing trip, and instead of bringing back fish, it had hashish and marijuana† (Abadinsky 39). Between 1974 and 1986, police recorded 12 major seizures, including boatloads of hashish and marijuana (Allen 1). Drug smuggling attempts by boat usually involve a â€Å"mother ship,† a cargo vessel lying up to 250 miles off the shore. This vessel will off load a variety of drugs onto smaller fishing vessels, which then transport the drugs to other couriers on shore. Cargo vessels, coming from other countries to the United States have become the newest method in drug smuggling. On June 19, 1992, the captain of the container ship Santa Marta radioed ahead to Jacksonville, Florida, that his ship was experiencing difficulties with its ballast ducts. An alert Customs officer suspected that it was a drug shipment unknown to the captain, and he was right. Forty kilograms of cocaine were discovered by divers in duffel bags secured in the recessed ballast duct by metal wire (Goode 10). The growth of hull attachments has sparked the interest of scientists to design an invention that will detect objects underwater. Drugs are not only smuggled into the country by boats, but are also driven across by cars and trucks. Drug lords sometimes hire one-time â€Å"mules,† or couriers, who pose as vacationers in the Big Bend National Park They hide the drugs in secret compartments in the walls of trailers and motor homes as they camp through the park. Many times the drug dealers will hire or start their own trucking companies. In one incident, cocaine wrapped in grease-smeared plastic had been stuffed into about ten hollow forty-foot steel beams. They were trucked across the country from California to New York. Drugs have been known to be found in hubcaps, spare tires, glove compartments, and in the stuffing of car seats, and ceilings of cars. Also, they have been found packed in metal boxes and hooked by magnets to the underside of the truck without the driver knowing. One of the most recent techniques is through Postal Service Express. Drug dealers will send a certain amount of drugs through the Postal Service Express. They choose the Postal Service Express because it is delivered the next day, it eliminates the middle man, which means that it costs less, it is also very difficult to monitor and harder to stop. After the client receives the drugs, he/she will send money back through Postal Service Express. Although there are many other next day delivery services, Postal Service Express is connected to the United States Post offices. Which means that opening the mail would be a federal offense. Other express package companies do not face the same problem. These companies assume ownership of the parcel as soon as it is handed to them. This means they can open it if they suspect it contains illegal substances. The only way Postal Service Express can detect a drug smuggler is to watch the packages. If the packages are being sent to the same person constantly, and then packages are being sent back to the sender the next day, postal workers might become suspicious and request a warrant. They have to be almost one hundred percent sure that there are drugs inside of the packages to get a warrant. With a warrant they can legally open the package. If the package contains drugs they will deliver it to the person and then make an arrest. Many packages will have probably been sent back and forth carrying drugs and money long before someone suspects something. One of the most risky and dangerous ways drugs are smuggled is through people. Couriers will sometimes carry drugs in false-bottomed suitcases, in the hollowed-out soles of their shoes, taped to their bodies, or sewed into their clothes. Some have even swallowed them. Some people have even swallowed up to two hundred thumb-size latex pellets. T hese carriers are usually desperate people hoping to escape poverty. Others swallow little balls of heroin wrapped in condoms. Each person swallows approximately eighty to one hundred condoms. This method is very dangerous because if the pellet or condom should break open, in most cases it would cause instant death. For example, on May 12, 1993, a thirty year old man from Bolivia was found dead on the plane. When doctors did an autopsy, they discovered seventy eight packages of cocaine. Two of the packages had broken open totaling six hundred and fifty grams in his stomach. Drugs have also been smuggled in electronic components, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, peppers, coffee, and just about any product. Because of all these techniques, the government has set up the Drug Enforcement Administration. Coastal Watch Programs have been organized around the coast of Nova Scotia. James Parker, head of the program, has been telling the citizens to keep their eyes and ears open for signs of smuggling. On Parker’s wall there is a map of Nova Scotia with clusters of pins showing the locations of two thousand informa nts involved. Each person has a local number to call in case of suspicion. In the case of passengers arriving by air from known drug places, there are customs agents waiting to ask them a few questions at the baggage claim area. Judging by the passenger’s behavior, the tone of their voice, and their actions, the agents decide whether or not they might be carrying drugs. Columbia sends computer passenger lists to Customs agents before aircrafts arrive in Miami. These lists have the names of possible suspects. The police have developed programs that teach officers to stop motorists for small traffic violations and then search legally their cars for drugs. Many innocent people are stopped before one offender is actually caught. Some indicators are an open map on the front seat, a fast-food bag on the floor, or an out-of-state license plate. Police use these as signs because couriers are in a hurry and usually do not know their way around. After all of the efforts to control the drug smuggling, the new North American Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, the United States, and Canada makes things worse. This agreement makes the United States more accessible and convenient for drug traffickers. It will gradually eliminate tariffs on goods traded among the three nations and allow Mexican truckers to drive their rigs anywhere in the United States and Canada with little inspection. The United States and Columbia need to work together instead of blaming each other to stop drug trafficking and the Columbia Mafia. Columbia needs an stronger police force and to use the money the United States is giving them to make busts. Studies have shown that the money has been going to guerrilla forces helping the cortels instead of training the Colombian police. Second both countries have to recognize the supply and demand of the drugs problem. Both countries need to educate their people on the effects of drugs. If the United States lowered the demand on drugs then Columbia would not produce them. Third the Colombian government needs to be tougher on drug dealers and give them harsher sentences. Also Columbia needs new crops to grow and maybe the United States should teach the farms how to gr ow things other then coca. Coca is the major product in Columbia and many farmers do not know what else to plant. Works Cited De Lama, George, â€Å"US. Unable to Take Much of a Bite Out of Drug Traffic from Mexico.† Chicago Tribune. Chicago: Sunday April 17, 1994. Farah, Douglas, â€Å"Columbia Defense Minister Charges Samper with Accepting Drug Money† The Washington Post. Internet: http://thetech.mit.edu/v115/n66/colo.66w.html. Hallihan, Joe. â€Å"Car Searches Latest Tactic in Drug War.† N.S.L.S. Cd-Rom Database Not Given:1991. John, Harvey. â€Å"Cocaine Poisoning.† The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1993. Kirby, Joseph. â€Å"Mail-order Drug Dealers on Fast Track.† Chicago Tribune. Chicago: Thursday March 11, 1993. Moushey, Bill, â€Å"Hunted Down, then Protected.† Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Pittsburgh: May 1996, http:www.gotti.com/pwhunteddown.html. Powell, Morgan. â€Å"The Rifleman.† Chicago Tribune. Chicago: Sunday March 27, 1994. Treaster, Joseph B. â€Å"Nigerian Connection Floods U.S. Airport with Asian Heroine.† New York Times. New York: Feb. 15,1992 â€Å"Drug Production and Transit Countries DEA- Congressional Testimony,† Internet: http:www.alternatives.com/crime/deacert.html#Columbia. â€Å"In Columbia, Jailed Politicians Reveal Power of Trafficking.† CrimeData base, http://www.latinolink.com/news/0612ncol.html. â€Å"Pablo Escobar,† Internet: http://www.alternatives.com/crime/Escobar.html â€Å"Who is the Mob Today,† Internet: http://www.alternatives.com.crime/mobtoday.html. â€Å"Columbia† Internet: http://www.cia.com â€Å"Jorge Vasques†, Crimedata base, Internet: http://www.alternatives.com/crime/cm15.html.