Misleading Advertisement - 1609 Words

Sheldon College Contract Law Term 1, Legal Studies, 2013 Mitchell Bognar Legal Speech: In Australia’s ever growing business economy, contracts are becoming more evident in enforcing promises between parties. From contracts involving informal agreements (buying food from your local supermarket) to written documents concerning a legally binding agreement (buying and selling a block of land), contracts are in practically every concordat. The legal restrictions in relation to contract law are unclear with regards to company advertisement campaigns. The legal definition of misleading advertisements is undefined within the current Queensland Legislation, with businesses being unsure with how misleading differs from invitation to†¦show more content†¦More structure and clarity is required within the legislation to remove the controversy between contract law terms. The Second issue is in relation to punitive punishments being inconsistent between cases within Australia, causing inefficiencies within the Competition and Consumer Act (2010) (Cth). Punishments awarded vary significantly for misleading advertisements, from $850 000 against Metricon Queensland to $3.6 million upon the famous phone company Optus. For a company as successful as Metricon Queensland, an $850 000 fine wouldn’t leave a dent on the company, due to the fact that each of the advertised houses were valued at $307 483 (Metricon QLD Nailed for Misleading and Deceptive Conduct, 2012). Compared to a $3.6 million fine which would be a wake up call for Optus, however the punishment is still less than 1% of the overall annual profit for the successful phone company (Battersby, 2012). Both of these successful organisations were repeat offenders, with Optus offending 11 times and Metricon Queensland misleading consumers throughout various times in 2009 and 2011. There are vario us cases where the punitive punishments are varied upon different companies similar to that of the Optus and Metricon Queensland cases, whilst at the same time enforcing insignificant punishments towards large businesses. The Competition and Consumer Act (2010)Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of An Advertisement On Advertising1073 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysis of an Advertisement In people lives, they often see advertisements everywhere. People have different views. Some people think that ads can help them know the new products faster, and also they will provide more information about the new products for audiences. Consumers will choose things well by comparing the products. It’s very convenient for audiences. However, some people don t support ads. Because there are too many ads and they may make people feel bored and unhappy. Some adsRead MoreEssay about Exploitative Commercials in Children’s TV Programming1359 Words   |  6 Pagesproblems linked to the child-targeted mass media, especially the multi- million dollar business—television commercials in children’s programming. With the disappearance of a TV-free environment, a typical American kid sees about 40,000 television advertisements each year, most of which are for soda, candy, video games, fast food and their free toys. In order to collect some information, I sat d own on a Saturday morning on July 16, 2004, and recorded several kids’ TV ads for further analysis. NeedlessRead MoreAxe: Taking the Youth of the Nation By Surprise Essay887 Words   |  4 PagesUnited State, but at what extent should one go to market that. Axe advertisements have gone so far to even promote the idea that there products help young males attract women. Axe body spray’s ad slogan â€Å"How Dirty Boys Get Clean†, truly has many people wondering what the meaning behind it is. 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This enough time to leave the commercial?s message imprinted in the child?s mind. When a commercial for a breakfast cereal comes on, with 3D animated effects, the message can be misleading. The announcer states that this cereal is part of a good breakfast, then shows a quick flash of a bowl with the product, a muffin, and a glass of juice. The child sees that the cereal is part of a good breakfast. They miss the other components theRead MoreAdvertisement and Vice Product2568 Words   |  11 PagesJeffrey Chau Zi Hao English 1A Ms Valarie Fong â€Å"Vice† Product and Advertisement When is the last time you go to order a burger in fast food shop? And recently have you ever went to a convenient store and purchased a pack of cigarette? Nowadays advertisement of fast food, tobacco and alcohol product are catchy in magazines, newspapers, TV commercials or bus stop stations and it seems these products have become part of our daily lives. 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Commercials: A television or radio advertisement. 5. Indomie Noodles: a popular food among we Nigerians. â€Æ' CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION Television is one of the strongest medium of advertising and due to its mass reach; it can influence not only the individual’s attitude,Read MoreGoogle Inc vs Australian Competition1031 Words   |  4 PagesInc v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2013] HCA 1 (Google) refers to the law of misleading and deceptive conductive conduct, both on the service provider angle and content provider angle. This analysis will firstly identify relevant and major facts and issues, then corresponding rationes. Thirdly, evaluation of the decision made by High Court, that whether Google was involved in misleading and deceptive conduct, will be conducted. Finally, as a conclusion, the implication of this caseRead MoreIs Evidence Important For Advertising?1120 Words   |  5 Pagesthe internet in their everyday lives, consumers are currently being exposed to more advertisements each day than they were before. As people become more connected to goods and services through their compu ters and smartphones, ads are getting more facetime with the public. As advertising is gaining a larger foothold in our cultural consciousness, it is important to ask the question: Does it matter if advertisements mislead possible consumers? In this paper, I will attempt to answer this question by

Chinese Immigration to Australia During the Gold Rush Essay

Chinese Immigration to Australia During the Gold Rush Following the success of the American Gold rush, the Australian Gold rush attracted many migrants from all over the globe. The Chinese prospectors were perhaps the most controversial and the most interesting nationality to come to the goldfields Assistance given on arrival There was more or less no assistance of any kind given to the Chinese migrants, as immigration was rather a haphazard affair in the 19th century (especially to an isolated young country like Australia) and the level of racism encountered by Chinese prospectors on arrival made goldmining and making a living in Australia even harder. As a people, the Chinese possessed a great sense of†¦show more content†¦Some arrived independent, fleeing the violence of the Taiping Rebellion. Numbers and Location factors The rate of Chinese migration alarmed Victorian government officials. According to the 1853 census, there were 2000 Chinese in the colony. At the beginning of 1855, there were 10,000 on the goldfields. During March 1854, four ships arrived bringing 1,400 Chinese. By June, the numbers had increased to 17,000. Approximately 10 years into the gold rush, the Chinese numbered about 40,000 – 3% of the population. However, they were concentrated in the Victorian gold-rush areas that also attracted the mass of the early white diggers - Ballarat, Bendigo, and Beechworth. Common Experiences Alien in their language, clothing, appearance, and social customs, the Chinese were rejected and harassed by every other nationality on the goldfields. The issue was not that they were not accepted, it was that they refused to be accepted. Only a small minority of the Chinese prospectors chose to adopt a western style of dress and way of life. They worked much harder and more efficiently than other prospectors did, a fact that the latter party resented. All this resulted in many racially fuelled riots and fights breaking out all over the country. Even people associated with Chinese prospectors were persecuted and mistreated. Outcomes/Impact of the Immigration While there were many positive, lasting impacts of the Chinese immigration, such as the introduction of traditionalShow MoreRelatedThe Discovery Of Gold And Australia1321 Words   |  6 Pagesdiscovery of gold in Australia dramatically changed the course of our steadily developing country. The gold rush massively impacted every aspect of the nation, although not all these changes were positive. With the gold rush came the introduction of more diverse culture, increased population and infrastructure. Before the 1850’s, Australia was a prison colony meant as a punishment for convicts of the British. 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The migration occurred because there was a growing business in a new country, there were more opportunities for trade and everyone wanted to try their luck on the gold fields. I found the migrating story’s from the Chinese to be more of an interesting theme. This is the same with the racial tension, the mass groups of Chinese were the main targets with the racism. Most migrants that came to Australia to grabRead MoreChinese Immigration Of The United States985 Words   |  4 PagesChinese Immigration to the United States in the nineteenth century until 1870 was shaped by a combination of factors including internal political turmoil and financial instability throughout China, growing western Imperial and economic influences in South East Asia, China s deepening trade deficit with European nations, and industrial and technological innovations. Concurrently, the rising demand for inexpensive labour during the California Gold Rush, (1848-1858) development of national railwayRead More The Great White Wall Essay4596 Words   |  19 PagesThe Great White Wall For most people, someone within their ancestral lineage has immigrated to a new country. Immigration has been perceived as a way to provide and enhance personal opportunities (McConville: p 73). Overpopulation began to be a problem in many of the great empires in the early 19th century, and emigration seemed to provide the best opportunity for people to better themselves in a new world (McConville: p 73). Rather than draining the resources within one society, people wereRead MoreChinese History: Hawthorne ´s Chinese Heritage Essay2223 Words   |  9 Pageswhy) Welcome on this walking tour that explores Hawthorn’s Chinese heritage. This tour will take you to places where Chinese migrants have lived and worked in the suburb since the 19th century till today. 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Customer Retention in Telecom Industry free essay sample

With the increased competition telecom service providers find it difficult to retain the existing customers. In that context the objective of this research explanatory study was to identify the main factors that determine the customer loyalty of corporate telecommunication customers. A questionnaire survey done among 131 users of corporate sector revealed that the most important factor determining the customer loyalty was the ability of the service provider to add value to customer’s business process, contrary to the common belief that the low price keeps the customer with the same provider. However, it was found that relative importance of the factors is not the same between two different groups, i. e. IT personnel and Non-IT personnel. Therefore, the findings of this research provide a guideline for service providers in designing customer loyalty programmes. Keywords : Customer Loyalty, Telecommunication Industry, Information and Communication Technology INTRODUCTION The world has taken cognizance of the emergence of the service industry as a prominent contributor to its economy over the last century. A number of countries in the last few decades have experienced a dramatic change in the importance of services and the role of the services sector in their economies (Sharma, 2002; Nankervis and Pearson, 2002; Edwards and Croker, 2001). Sri Lanka too experienced a significant growth in the services sector in the last few decades. Its share of contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment in the sector rose considerably between 1970 and 2006 [Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), 2007]. In the last couple of decades, a large portion of growth of the service industry in Sri Lanka was attributed to the development of Telecommunications industry. Telecommunications industry as a whole in the global sphere expanded and made dominance due to the convergence of it with Information Technology (IT), which resulted in the emergence of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Multi media. ICT dramatically changed the world socially, politically and economically. The deregulation of the telecom industry in Sri Lanka in the early 1990s brought multiple players/ service providers to the country. The number of telecom operators stands at 75, as of October 2007 (www. trc. gov. lk). With the competition becoming tough, service providers realized that retaining one’s existing customer base is important as much as the acquiring of a new customer (Coyles and Gokey, 2005). In that context, service providers realized the importance of knowing the attributes that customers consider as relevant, in deciding whether to continue or not to continue with a particular service provider. OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH This research intended to make an explanatory study into the aspects/ attributes that customers consider relevant in deciding whether to continue with the current service provider (retain) or to switch to an alternative provider (migrate) or to switch off completely (defect). However, the customer decision making process is not the same for individual customers and the corporate customers. Therefore, it is difficult find a set of characteristics common to both categories. Hence, this research was restricted to corporate customers. The main objective of this research was to ascertain the relative importance of characteristic/s towards loyalty of corporate telecom customers. LITERATURE REVIEW Customer Loyalty Customer loyalty is viewed as the strength of the relationship between an individual’s relative attitude and repeat patronage. The relationship is seen as mediated by social norms and situational factors. Cognitive, affective, and conative antecedents of relative attitude are identified as contributing to loyalty, along with motivational, perceptual, and behavioural consequences ( Dick and Basu , 1994). In the customer centred business, survival remains to the degree that customer satisfaction is met. Previous research studies have shows that the repurchase intent was the main benefit of customer retention. However, some had identified multiple benefits like repurchase intent, price tolerance, willingness to recommend etc. In reaching retention, vendors should manage satisfaction and consequences of Customer Loyalty (Naranyandas, 1998). Loyalty too has a pyramid effect that suggests of having hierarchy in loyalty levels between customer and vendor. Change in loyalty level will manifest itself in the presence of specific attitude and behaviour (Aaker, 1991). Customer loyalty and satisfaction are integral part of customer retention process. Customer Retention is a primary measure of loyalty. There is a positive relationship between changes in satisfaction and share of wallet. In particular, the initial satisfaction level and the conditional percentage of change in satisfaction significantly correspond to changes in share of wallet. Income and length of the relationship negatively moderate this relationship (Cooil et al. , 2007). Loyalty and retention although positively moderate with share of wallet it is necessary to examine the cost of maintaining the particular customer. It is not guaranteed that every customer retention generates contribution. Therefore the concept of Customer lifetime Value (CLV) plays an important role. In creating loyalty and thereby CLV, it would be prudent to explore qualities of loyalty. Two types of primary loyalty qualities had been identified in the previous researches, i. e. Attitudinal Loyalty and Behavioural Loyalty, out of which attitudinal loyalty could be the most important dimension for marketers to monitor (Rundel –Thiele, 2005). Rust et al. , (1999) discuss the Customer – Perceived Quality and Role of Customer Expectation Distribution. According to them exceeding customer expectation will still be required if the company seeks to delight customer. In the event of having low expectation of service quality and meeting it, researchers had found, had raised preference. Given the option to general customers two equally priced options, the customer will choose the one with higher expected quality, the research had established. They argued that a company should always focus on its most loyal customers. Retention point of view, less loyal customers’ tendency to defection is grater hence that sector should be defended with force. This research further suggested greater the experience a customer with a service provider greater the chances of meeting expectation in perceived value, hence retention. Services Quality is considered as a major determinant in customer retention and building value relationship (Venetis and Ghauri, 2004). The quality of the service has various elements namely ; a)Reliability b) Responsiveness c) Assurance d) Empathy e) Tangibles. as identified by Parasuraman et al. (1985). According to Lovelock and Wright (2001), marketing managers in service organizations make decisions regarding â€Å"8Ps† i. e. Product, Place, Promotion and Education, Price and other user outlays, Process, Productivity and Quality, People and Physical evidence. Finally, Since this research focused on ICT used by businesses it is appropriate to cite what business to business (B 2 B) transactions means. Business customers means, those buy goods and services for use in producing their own products and services or for resale to others (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). ICT and its Strategic Importance to Business The importance of ICT as a strategic tool is a moderating factor in determining the customer loyalty. The information revolution is sweeping through the economies. No company can escape from its effects. Dramatic reduction in the cost of obtaining, processing and transmitting information is changing the way business is done (Porter and Millar, 1985). They have further elaborated that IT changes the rules of competition. Advances in IT itself is changing the industry structure. It has become an increasingly important lever that companies can use to create competitive advantage. In addition IT developments have created a set of new businesses such as call centres and business processing outsourcing. ICT has become a tool of value creation, net return to IT capital is (37. 9 per cent) two and half times higher than that from Non –IT capital (14. 6 per cent) (Wong 2001). Emergence of Internet and web technology application complimented each other in the recent drive in globalization. E–Commerce applications enabled companies opening up their products to the customers world wide. This has not been limited to consumer market. B2B (Business to Business) market too enjoyed those. B2B e- commerce in 2003 reached almost US$ 4 trillion, compared with just US $ 282 billion in 2000 (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). According a recent report of Boston Consultancy Group, by 2005 this has exceeded US $6. 8 trillion. A recent report (National Geography, December, 2007) states that US shops experienced 20% drop in customers visiting them, mainly due to on-line ordering. With regard to availability of ICT services in Sri Lanka, Dassanayake (2003) suggests that changing development and competitive dynamism have created backward and forward integration in the economy of Sri Lanka. Relationship Marketing In competitive business environment where there is an ongoing / continues desire for a particular product or services , organizations focus their strategies not only on acquiring customers, but also keeping them as long as possible and encouraging them to increase purchase frequency by developing lasting relationships Relationship marketing recognizes long term value to the company of keeping customers. Berry (1983), defined relationship marketing as â€Å"attracting, maintaining, and enhancing customer relationships†. He further emphasized that â€Å"relationship marketing can be applied: when there are competitive product alternatives for customers to choose from and when there is an ongoing and periodic desire for the product or services ‘. In service industry particularly in ICT industry such strategies play a very critical role in enhancing retention. Attraction of new customers is an intermediate step in marketing process. Solidifying relationship and transforming them as loyal customers, serving customers as clients too should be a part of marketing (Berry, 1983). Subsequent thinking on relationship marketing further expanded and stressed on profitability of relationship management. â€Å"Companies are building customer relationship management to build profitable, long term relationship (Kotler and Armstrong, 2005). It implies discouragement to maintain relationship in the event profits are not foreseen. Relationship marketing in recent past has emerged as a leading strategic element of business. It has a direct effect on firm’s objective performance and also suggest that relationship marketing is more effective when the relationships are more critical to customers. Furthermore effectiveness is greater when relationships are built with an individual than a firm/ institution (Robert et al. , 2006) Payne and Holt (2001) dealt in to diagnosing customer value: integrating value process and relationship marketing . There they have argued that value creation was a dynamic element to existing value concept. Value creation shall be looked over a time on multiple transactions. Creation of mutual value will become focus of both customer and the firm , value is jointly shared among all the parties involved on relationship. According to Gordon (1999), marketing mix should be replaced by the alternative models of relationship marketing where the focus on customers, relationships and interaction over the rather markets or products. In the same light, to be effective in relationship marketing, entire firm should be geared towards the successful implementation. Many of the relationship marketing attributes such as collaboration , loyalty and trust determine what employees ; â€Å" internal customers† , do. (Gordon, 1999) Relationship marketing in the ICT service industry plays more important role due to unique features in the services. It is an accepted fact that purchase frequency is the value generator in the ICT industry. The stronger relationship marketing will enhance trust and customer bonding thereby increase exit barriers in addition to purchase frequency and mutual value generation (Berry, 1995). To end up this literature review it is to be noted that, business is meant to generate value to all share holders. In that, whilst serving the customer and establish long term relationship, this should be done only up to the extent that customer retention delivers value for shareholders. Therefore it is essential that answer is found for the question â€Å"Does customer satisfaction and retention lead to profitability? † TELECOM INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA The telecommunications sector is governed by the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Act, No. 25 of 1991 as amended by Act, No. 27 of 1996, and by the institution formed under the Act, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL). The Act defines ‘telecommunication’ as the making of any transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images, sound or intelligence of any nature by optical means or by wire or radio waves or any other electromagnetic system. The history of Telecommunication in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) commenced in 1858 with the commissioning of the first telegraphic circuit between Colombo and Galle. 1880 signifies the installation of the first telephone line. Until the government took over in 1896, it remained with private ownership of Oriental Telephone Company (CBSL, 1998). Telecommunication has been a government monopoly until early 1991, when Sri Lanka embarked on a policy of deregulation and liberalization of telecommunication sector. The first private operator license was issued to Lanka Communication Services (Pvt) Limited, a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) in 1993. Since then Sri Lankan telecommunication market has been an attractive investment ground for local and foreign investors. As at June 2007, the TRCSL has issued license to 75 operates as follows. Service Category| Number of Licenses| Fixed Access telephone services| 4| Cellular Mobile telephone services| 5| Data Communications (Facilities based)| 6 *| Data Communications (Non-facilities based) ISPs| 20*| Radio Paging| 4 **| Trunk Mobile Radio| 2| Leased Circuit Providers| 1| Licensed Payphone Service Providers| 1| External Gateway Operators| 32| Total| 75| Table 1: Cumulative number of licenses granted as of June 2007 Note: *Revoked 4 non-facilities based licenses and 1 facilities based license. ** Lapsed 4 paging licenses Source: TRCSL Statistics confirm the dynamism of the industry where 4 paging operators could not/ did not obtain renewal of their licence due to decline in the market and 5 licenses were revoked due to non performance of/ non-compliance by the companies. Telecommunications Sector can proudly boast of the most profitable company listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), Dialog Telekom, a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, and has two institutions among the top ten in terms of market capitalization, namely, Sri Lanka Telecom and Dialog Telekom (www. cse. lk). Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in telecommunications sector brought Technology and Management know-how at a decisive moment to Sri Lanka. Over 80% of investments in value is owned by regional telecommunication giants and kept the industry aligned to global trends. Telekom Malaysia with Dialog Telekom, Nippon Telegraphic Telephone Corporation with Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel (Telstra at the beginning), Hutchison HK in Hutchison Lanka, Telia in Suntel, Singapore Telecom in Call link and Lanka Com made significant contributions in the way of technology and management inputs. Number of Persons per Telephone was as high as 840 in 1948 to 246 in 1980, up to the time of deregulation. It improved to 72 in 1996: but far below the figures in other developing countries in the region which averaged at 7 (CBSL, 1998). With the deregulation and private sector participation it has now improved to 36. persons per telephone, in 2006 (TRCSL) (See Table 2). Year| Fixed telephony| Cellular telephony| Total| 1990| 0. 7| n/a| 0. 7| 1994| 1. 0| 0. 2| 1. 2| 1997| 1. 8| 0. 6| 2. 4| 2000| 4. 0| 2. 2| 6. 2| 2003| 4. 8| 6. 9| 11. 8| 2004| 5. 1| 11. 2| 16. 3| 2005| 6. 1| 17. 5| 23. 6| 2006| 9. 5| 27. 2| 36. 7| 2007| 13.. 0| 40| 53. (Estimate)| Table 2: Tele-density 19 90 – 2006 (Number of Telephone lines per 100 inhabitants) Source: TRCSL Number of System Licenses| 75| Total number of Fixed phones | 2, 215, 430| Tele-density (Fixed Phones per 100 inhabitants) | 11. 0| Tele-density (Fixed) in Colombo District | 35. 2| Total Switching Capacity of Fixed Operators| 2,500,000*| Waiting list (Fixed) – December 2006 | 77, 724| Number of Cellular Mobile Subscribers| 6, 447, 042| Mobile Phones per 100 people| 32. 1| Total Telephone Subscribers (Fixed Cellular)| 8, 662, 472| Total Teledensity (Fixed Cellular)| 43. 1| Internet Email Subscribers| 150, 000*| Number of Public Pay Phone Booths| 7, 678*| Number of Paging Subscribers| N/A| Trunk Mobile Radio Subscribers| 233*| Table 3: Statistical overview of Telecommunication Industry (2nd Quarter 2007) * Estimates Source – TRCSL Sri Lankan customers seeking telecommunication services in 2007 are offered with the luxury of 75 different service providers instead of the one they had prior to the 1990s (See Table 3). Customers had the choice and made the industry customer centric than supplier centric, different to pre–liberalized era. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Conceptual Model The telecommunication industry, up until the deregulation and private partnership was introduced in 1990s, remained a government monopoly without competition and resulting an absence of customer focus. Since the deregulation of telecom industry in Sri Lanka, the behaviour and aspirations in the customer has remarkably changed and the service providers have been forced to formulate new strategies for existence/ survival. As a result, new ways and approaches to meet the customer demand have been emerged whilst competitive environment among the service providers have become severe. Customers are now blessed with the ability to choose from wide array of services to meet their ICT/ telecommunication needs from a number service providers. Customer with voice communication needs will have the choice of product, whether fixed line, Wireless or Mobile, and further has the opportunity to select from 7 different service providers. Untapped market that prevailed due to state owned monopoly gave opportunity for acquisition and lack of credit monitoring gave a room to consumer to hop from one provider to other leaving unsettled debts to the service provider. Over a period, the decision on Customer Retention dynamism has changed from no option but with one monopoly provider to multiple options that resulting from several forces. These forces are shown in figure 1. Market Competition (De- regulation ) Technological options ICT as a strategic tool ICT consumed by all departments Customer Retention Decision Decision Making Unit Figure 1: Present day dynamism in the Customer Retention Decision As mentioned in section 2, this was an exploratory study. Therefore, questionnaire method was adopted to collect data to find out the relative importance of the factors that affecting the customer loyalty. Twelve factors (see Table 6) which will have an impact on customer loyalty, basically categorized into technology, support services and payment/value related, were identified from the literature. A pilot survey was done among a selected group of respondents and the questionnaire was modified based on the feedback received from these respondents. Data Collection Methodology and the Sample Among 75 telecommunication service providers who possess a licence issued by the TRCSL, six organizations have been licensed to maintain their own infrastructure and they provide corporate telecommunication services. To make a fair representation, customers of the top two and bottom two were selected for the questionnaire survey. Telecom services are used for different purposes by IT people and non-IT people in organizations. Therefore the factors that determine the loyalty may not be the same for these two different groups. Further, in making of decision regarding continuing or discontinuing the service provider the top management of the company may obtain the views of both IT personnel, i. e. the group that performs the tasks that are directly in to planning, implemanting and managing the the ICT Services, who are basically responcible for operatinal aspect of ICT in an organization and non IT personnel, i. e. the group of people who are the users who do not posses that much of knowledge of ICT and its opeartonal aspects. So, from each customer/ user organization two groups of representatives, one from operational and one from planning/implementation included into the sample to obtain different view points. It was targeted to select 120 respondents, by randomly selecting fourteen (14) existing customers and one ex–customer from each group in each service provider to administer the questionnaire. Those Customers were selected from companies that maintain their own corporate website and has a minimum of three branch locations that are connected for voice and data transmission applications. This criterion was used to ensure the size, the geographical spread and use of telecommunication infrastructure for business process and/or value addition. The respondents rated the above mentioned 12 factors in a 5- point Likert scale, 1 being the least important to 5 being the most important. FINDINGS The questionnaire was sent/ delivered to 160 personnel representing both IT specialists who are involved in planning, maintenance of IT infrastructure and users of ICT services as a tool in their given tasks. These two groups were equally represented in the sample. In order to ensure that views of all users are taken into consideration, all possible efforts were made to include all disciplines including production, support, marketing, finance, HR etc. Out of 160 questionnaires delivered, 131 were duly filled and returned. This included responses from 8 customers those who have at least once had changed the service provider. General Information about the Sample The sample included approximately the same number of customers from each of the selected four service providers. In the responded sample there were 94 (74%) males and 37 (27%) females. With the employed population ratio of male to female in Sri Lankan corporate sector, 2. 5:1 (Employers’ Federation of Sri Lanka) ratio in the sample has given a reasonable representation in gender difference. 53% of the respondents were from ICT planning/implementation/maintenance divisions while the remaining 47% were end users of ICT for operational purposes. Table 4 shows the division of respondents based on the usage of various telecom services. Category | Percentage of Responses | Voice only| 1. %| Video only| 4. 0%| Data only| 12. 0%| Voice and Data only | 54. 0%| All 3 services| 29. 0 %| Total| 100%| Table 4 : Telecommunication Services used Source: Interview Data Table 5 shows the distribution of telecom expenses of respondents. 83% of the respondents work in companies that use two or more services in their business. This is an opportune climate to service providers to consolidate their business an d growth. 103 (78%) of the respondents had a secondary telecom service provider while the remaining, i. e. 28(22%) had only one service provider. Telecom Expenses Range | Percentage from the Responses | Rs. 50 k Rs. 75 k | 10%| Rs. 75 k Rs. 100 k | 23%| Rs. 100 k Rs. 150 k | 30%| Rs. 150 k Rs. 200 k | 20%| Rs. 200 k | 17%| Total| 100%| Table 5 : Monthly expenditure in ICT Services Source: Interview Data Determinant of Customer Loyalty The responses for identified 12 determinants are given in the Table 6. It shows the relative importance of each factor in retaining the existing service provider for the entire sample as well as for the two selected groups. Factor | Relative importance of each factor in retainning the present service provider | | Entire Sample| Group Intend to Continue| Group Intend to switch| IT Personnel| Non-IT personnel| Value Delivery – Value addition to the customer| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Assuarence – Ability to gain confidence on knowledge and dependability| 2| 2| 2| 3| 2| Responciveness – Ability to support customer| 3| 3| 4| 4| 4| Reliability – Ability to offer assured services| 4| 5| 3| 6| 3| Ability ot Offer Solutions – Service providser’s ability to address requirements | 5| 4| 5| 2| 5| Empathy – Attention and understanding of cutomer issues| 6| 6| 6| 5| 6| Scalability and Flexibility Ability in technology and features of the services to adopt to changing requirements| 7| 7| 9| 7| 9| Intro of New Technology – Whether keep up with the trends in technology development | 8| 8| 7| 8| 8| Price – Payment outlay| 9| 9| 8| 9| 7| Payment Terms – Flexibility in payments, credit limits/periods etc. | 10| 10| 10| 10| 10| Legal Undertaking – Contractual obligations| 11| 11| 11| 12| 11| Tangibility- Appearaance and availability of tools/support | 12| 12| 12| 11| 12| Table 6 : Comparision of ratings of the respondents The common belief is that the price or the low cost is the most important factor that determines the customer loyalty. However, the findings of the present research revealed that the most important factor for all the groups was value delivery, i. e. value addition to the customer. Further, it was found that the first nine factors have been rated above average (i. e. more than 2. ) by the entire sample while the rest have been rated below average in terms of importance. In the comparision of responses received from the group that intend to discontinue and the group that intend to continue it appears the former group had ranked reliability two position higher in importance than the latter group. This may be due to the reason that relibility issue experinced by the usrs lead to the decision of discontinuation. It is also important to know the relative importance of determinants to different user groups as it will provide an opportunity for service providers to formulate stategy and to develop action plans to address the interest of all related parties. At 95% confidence level only the mean of the responses to question 13: Ability to provide solution, and scalability, significantly differ between two groups, IT and non-IT. IT personnel are naturally looking at the factors that significant at the time of acquisition and planning such as ability to provide solutions and scalability (ability to upgrade or configure with different scales/ stages). Non IT personnel may not recognize such aspects. In the comparison it was found that ability to offer solutions, scalability of the technology/ systems and availability of new technology have been figured prominently by the IT personnel who are mainly responsible for planning, designing and maintenance of the ICT Services. In contrast non-IT personnel who are mainly the users have evaluated reliability and assurance which associate with the day to day operation/ use of the services. Non –IT personnel wants to ensure the uninterrupted services are have identied with assured features and quality. Both parties are looking at the point of view of their individual responsibilities. However, both groups have identified value delivery as the most important determinant. Ratings from two categories of staff do not have a significant difference except IT personnel have rated ability of the service provider to offer technical solutions as the second most important determinant. This is quite understandable as formulating solutions is the primary responsibility of IT personnel. Non IT Personnel have emphasized more in to quality aspects as they have given a higher rating for responsiveness and reliability, when compared with IT personnel. This is a sign of insecurity from the point of view on general users who wants to offer uninterrupted service for their customers. The next section explains the impact of findings on the telecom industry. Implications to the Telecommunication industry Corporations are increasingly using telecommunication as a tool in business process for the purpose of value addition. The respondents have rated the importance/ contribution of ICT in serving customers with a mean of 4. 06 in a scale of very low (1) to very high(5). This may be the reason that the value delivery became the most important factor in customer loyalty. Therefore, it is very important that the service provider’s identify the needs of different corporate customers separately and provide the service accordingly. The analysis of data showed that respondents with higher education qualifications had greater inclination towards recognizing technology related determinants as important determinants. This may be due to the fact that those people have had exposure/ knowledge of technology and its current advancement. Therefore it is appropriate to train the service provider’s staff involved in relationship building in the development of technologies to understand the view points of the professional people who probably are a party to decision making process. However, it is to be noted that the 45% of the dissatisfied customers have indicated that the major reason for dissatisfaction was customer services whereas only 17% have indicated that the major reason was the price. Further, when 54% of the respondents have indicated that the main cause for disappointing/unpleasant experience with the service provider was people whereas 24% of the respondents have identified price as the major factor. So it is clear that price plays a minor role in customer loyalty. Regarding the existing loyalty programmes, only 55% of the respondents have ranked the importance of loyalty programmes in continuing the existing service provider above average, i. e 45% of the sample considers the impact of loyalty programmes on the retention low or very low. When the respondents were asked about the most persuasive loyalty programmes the highest ranked selection was complementary services and special service arrangements with 27% response rate while price discount and special service arrangements came second with 24% rate. This is an indication that it is time for service providers to redesign their loyalty programmes. In the developed countries such as USA and UK, telecom companies provide attractive packages to its customers under the contract obligation of using the service for a minimum period of 12 months or 18 months. However, the present study found that the respondents do not consider contractual obligation as a major factor in retaining the existing service provider. The reason for this may be the weak legal and financial system prevails in Sri Lanka in this respect. There is no proper credit rating system or direct debit system that make sure the payment of dues in Sri Lanka. If the policy makers take corrective actions, service providers may be able to provide better packages to customers under contract of minimum usage. That will be beneficial to the customers as well as the service provider. Further Research In this research the researchers found out the factors affecting the customer loyalty from the customer’s point of view. The researchers are presently engaged in a research to find out the actions taken by service providers in keeping their customers with them. This may help to identify the gap between the service provider’s perspectives and the customer perspectives. The findings of the research revealed that the loyalty programmes offered by the service provider’s do not have a substantial impact on customer decision making process. A detailed study about loyalty programmes may provide service providers a better understanding of the corporate customers. Further, This research was carried over in to corporate communication market and the consumer market has not been considered. It is noticed service providers are engaged in both sectors and share resources to corporate and consumers to great extent. Therefore a detailed study in customer retention to consumer market might lead to findings where the common resources can be optimized. CONCLUSION The objective of this research was to find out the factors affecting the corporate customer loyalty towards telecom service providers in Sri Lanka and the relative importance of these factors. Results of the questionnaire survey done among 131 corporate telecom users found that most important factor in continuing an existing service provider was the ability of the service provider to add value to users business value delivery. This was followed by assurance and responsiveness. The least important factors were tangibility, legal undertakings and payment terms. Further it was found that people factors/ contributors play a more important role in customer satisfaction than the technology, price and payment terms. Higher ranked factors such as value delivery and solution provisioning and support characteristics are mainly delivered through people contribution. The results indicate that service providers should invest more on developing skills of people in increasing the customer retention. The findings of the research can be used by service providers in building relationship with corporate customers and in designing loyalty programmes.

The Enlightenment Essay Example For Students

The Enlightenment Essay The Enlightenment is a name given by historians to an intellectual movement that was predominant in the Western world during the 18th century. Strongly influenced by the rise of modern science and by the aftermath of the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation, the thinkers of the Enlightenment (called philosophes in France) were committed to secular views based on reason or human understanding only, which they hoped would provide a basis for beneficial changes affecting every area of life and thought.The more extreme and radical philosophes-Denis Diderot, Claude Adrien Helvetius, Baron dHolbach, the Marquis de Condorcet, and Julien Offroy de La Mettrie (1709-51)advocated a philosophical rationalism deriving its methods from science and natural philosophy that would replace religion as the means of knowing nature and destiny of humanity; these men were materialists, pantheists, or atheists. We will write a custom essay on The Enlightenment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Other enlightened thinkers, such as Pierre Bayle, Voltaire, David Hume, Jean Le Rond Dalembert, and Immanuel Kant, opposed fanaticism, but were either agnostic or left room for some kind of religious faith.All of the philosophes saw themselves as continuing the work of the great 17th century pioneers-Francis Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Leibnitz, Isaac Newton, and John Locke-who had developed fruitful methods of rational and empirical inquiry and had demonstrated the possibility of a world remade by the application of knowledge for human benefit. The philosophes believed that science could reveal nature as it truly is and show how it could be controlled and manipulated. This belief provided an incentive to extend scientific methods into every field of inquiry, thus laying the groundwork for the development of the modern social sciences. The enlightened understanding of human nature was one that emphasized the right to self-expression and human fulfillment, the right to think freely and express ones views publicly without censorship or fear of repression. Voltaire admired the freedom he found in England and fostered the spread of English ideas on the Continent. He and his followers opposed the intolerance of the established Christian churches of their day, as well as the European governments that controlled and suppressed dissenting opinions. For example, the social disease which Pangloss caught from Paquette was traced to a very learned Franciscan and later to a Jesuit. Also, Candide reminisces that his passion for Cunegonde first developed at a Mass. More conservative enlightened thinkers, concerned primarily with efficiency and administrative order, favored the enlightened despotism of such monarchs as Emperor Joseph II, Frederick II of Prussia, and Catherine II of Russia.Enlightened political thought expressed demands for equality and justice and for the legal changes needed to realize these goals. Set forth by Baron de Montesquieu, the changes were more boldly urged by the contributors to the great Encyclopedie edited in Paris by Diderot between 1747 and 1772, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Cesare Beccaria, and finally by Jeremy Bentham, whose utilitarianism was the culmination of a long debate on happiness and the means of achieving it. The political writers of the Enlightenment built on and extended the rationalistic, republican, and natural-law theories that had been evolved in the previous century as the bases of law, social peace, and just order. As they did so, they also elaborated novel doctrines of popular sovereignty that the 19th century would transform into a kind of nationalism that contradicted the individualistic outlook of the philosophes. Among those who were important in this development were historians such as Voltaire, Hume, William Robertson, Edward Gibbon, and Giambattista Vico. Their work showed that although all peoples shared a common human nature, each nation and every age also had distinctive characteristics that made it unique. .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d , .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .postImageUrl , .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d , .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d:hover , .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d:visited , .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d:active { border:0!important; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d:active , .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2bdeeb15dee0a7704698ad9fa276bc6d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: True Brand Loyalty Essay These paradoxes were explored by early romantics such as Johann Georg Hamman and Johann Gottfried von Herder.Everywhere the Enlightenment produced restless men impatient for change but frustrated by popular ignorance and official repression. This gave the enlightened literati an interest in popular education. They promoted educational ventures and sought in witty, amusing, and even titillating ways to educate and awaken their contemporaries. The stories of Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle or Benjamin Franklin, the widely imitated essays of Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, and many dictionaries, handbooks, and encyclopedias produced by the enlightened were written to popularize, simplify, and promote a more reasonable view of life among the people

AP Biology Essays

AP Biology Essays AP Biology Essays AP Biology Essays While AP biology essays writing is different from other academic assignments; there are several rules common for all essays.   For example, AP biology essays should follow the standard format including abstract, outline, introduction, background, analysis, discussion, and conclusion.   Read the following short sample of AP biology essay and pay attention to the structure of paragraphs. More samples can be read in our free writing guide. If you need help with writing your AP biology essays, do not hesitate to request our writing assistance. writers will write a perfect AP biology essay for you from scratch and in accordance to the instructions. AP Biology Essay Sample Any investigation relating to natural beings needs some way of distinguishing each one of them in such a manner as to avoid confusion with the countless others which Dame Nature brings to our notice. Natural History ought therefore to possess as a basic tool some "Natural System" or comprehensive list containing an agreed name for every single being, thus enabling it to be identified by reference to its distinctive features. As no living organism is entirely simple in its character, it is insufficient to try to distinguish it merely by one single feature of its make-up. We must therefore, nearly always, rely on a combination of several distinct features if we wish to differentiate any particular individual from its fellows, which latter may in part, if not entirely, through their very similarity show traits pertaining to the first specimen. In a like manner, such original sample may present characters common to itself as well as to all the others and will then be distinguishable only through those features not possessed by the remainder. Some beings are very closely related to one another in the biological sense and possess many characters in common, whilst others show far less a degree of similarity in detail. The larger the quantity of beings requiring identification, the greater the number of characters will it be necessary to take into consideration, even perhaps down to the point of making a complete and exhaustive specification of every single detail of the living form. This state of affairs necessitates the setting-up of divisions and subdivisions. As mentioned above, some individuals will show a large number of features in common, and may then be grouped together as a genus, wherein differences in detail are slight. The genera will then have to be classified and, repeating the operation, closely related genera will be combined to form an order. Similarly, orders related in rank will form a class. All this implies some framework and method, and nothing could be more suitable than the "Natural Method," that is to say, an arrangement showing us how individual members of one particular genus are more like each other than to members of other genera, and how the genera of a particular order are more alike to each other than to those of other orders, and so on. This is the system towards which Natural History must necessarily tend, since obviously if an exact system of classification can be attained, the complete portrayal of Nature will have been achieved. AP Biology Essay Writing Service Writing AP biology essays is not easy because you have to be able to put your thoughts on the paper and possess sufficient understanding of the topic. Biology is a science and, therefore, you should adapt scientific approach to writing AP biology essays.   If you do not want to spend hours researching and reading, you have a perfect opportunity to get a custom written AP biology essay.   Contact us and we will write your AP biology essay within any deadline of your choice! No plagiarism! Custom written essays and papers are free of plagiarism and meet your requirements.

Part-Time Workers

Part-Time Workers Review Theoretical Concept of Organizational Commitment The organizational commitment as a concept is extremely popular today especially in the organizational and industrial psychology. A good proportion of the studies done in the past on this subject gave the concept an attitudinal perspective, including such aspects as being ready to identify with and be loyal to the organization for which one works. The concept of attitudinal perspective has been defined as the employees effective commitment in relation to the way, in which he or she is identified and involved in the organization, for which he or she is working. Organizational commitment is also indicated by such aspects as the intention to remaining in it, internalizing and identifying with the organizational goals and values, and finally, how much one is willing to put an extra effort for the benefit of the organization. Commitment, therefore, provides a strong linkage between the employees as such and their respective organization. According to side bet theory, individual employees are only committed to the organization whenever their positions in the organizations are still intact. The theory emphasizes that the employees level of commitment is not influenced by the experience through which they are going. On the other hand, Porter and Steer, while supporting the theory, described organizational commitment as behaviour in which the organization can lock their employees. According to Conway and Briner, there are a few researches that have been done on the topic of the differences in commitment between part time employees and full time employees. However, they note that even with the many studies, there has never been any empirical study done with the main objective on the establishment of the extent and reasons behind the difference in the level of commitment between the two groups of employees. The few studies, which have been done, have combined the relationship between commitments and satisfaction with the status of work. An example of such finding is a study conducted by McGinnis and Morrow and the findings published in 1990. Conway and Briner have identified a number of scholars who have carried out research on this topic. However, they note a high level of inconsistencies in their findings. For example, studies by both Martin and Peterson in 1987 found part time workers to be more committed, while that by Lee and Johnson carried out in 1991 found out that the part time employees were less committed. On the other hand, another study by Krausz in 2000 found out that both groups of employees showed the same level of commitment towards their work. Most of these past studies are majorly criticized because of their being theoretically designed. This has made their findings presented in the form of clear differences, which are empirical in nature, in general terms. Conway and Briner note that little efforts were put by the past researchers in trying to explain the difference between the two groups. In cases where attempts to come up with the explanations were made, the researchers employed the partial inclusion and frame of reference theories, which only included part time employees partially. The argument has been that such employees spend only a small fraction of the time in their work stations, while most of their time they spend in other activities away from the organization. It is thus clear that these theories have not given part-time employees equal treatment. For example, the theory of frame of reference categorizes part time employees as having a different reference frame from the one applicable to full time employees. This notion arose in line with the belief that during comparison, part time employees will evaluate their jobs based on different groups and environmental aspects from the aspects used by those employed on a full time basis. An example has been the finding that part time employees normally put more consideration on how flexible their job is than full time employees. All these theories have, therefore, been employed in the study in a way in which they contradict one another in their explanation of the differences in the level of employees commitment and other related factors such as job satisfaction. For instance, being poor in the way one socialize has been used to judge certain employees as not being committed to their work. According to Conway and Briner, such inferences have been based on that both the partial inclusion theory and the frames of reference theory are easy to be manipulated by any researcher in their explanation of any findings concluded empirically. They further note that all the two theories have never been empirically tested, and that based on the fact that they are both not well elaborated, the mode in which they are to be operated is not clearly defined. According to them, this is the reason as to why there has been little understanding of the reasons behind the low level of commitment among part time employees and any othe r aspect related to them. Other Factors Causing the Difference in the Employees Level of Commitment Conway and Briner reported a study, in which psychological framework was used as the basis, so as to understand the reasons why those who are not employed on a full time basis are not as committed as those who are employed on a full time basis. They defined their concept as the beliefs of individuals and noted that it is normally shaped by the agreement, which an organization signs with its employees. That means it has to do with how these employees perceive the promises that they receive from the organization for which they work. Such believes, normally, make the employees have an expectation of appreciations in terms of inducements in return to the contributions they make to the company. The psychological contract has thus been viewed as a framework that can be used to explain the relationship between employers and employees which, in turn, has a significant effect on the level to which the employees will be committed to their work. According to Conway and Briner, this concept can best be applicable so as to explain the behaviours and attitudes of the employees towards their employers. This can be done based on the contents of the negotiation and how the process of negotiation itself is carried out in a certain organization. Commitment and Attitudes Conway and Briner note studies have revealed that there is a relationship between psychological contract and attitudinal differences experienced at the various workplaces. According to them, these factors affect all the employees irrespective of whether they are employed on a full time or part time basis. However, in depth analysis has revealed that those employed on a full time basis differs from those employed on a part time basis on several attitudes, which affect the level of their commitment. This means that the level of psychological contract fulfilment, which one receives, can be used to explain their attitudes, which are useful in understanding their level of commitment. The breach or fulfilment of this contract is what determines whether an employee will be committed to the organization or not. Research has shown that, in a case where the organization is keen to honour the psychological contract, the employees always exhibit a high level of fulfilment and, thus, commitment to the organization. In such a situation, the employees will not be willing to quit the organization. It is, therefore, clear that the concept of psychological contract could be particularly applicable in explaining the behaviours and attitudes that are common with employees. According to Conway and Briner, this concept is applicable even in the explanation of the behaviours of contingent employees, provided the variety of employment contract is known. Conway and Briner identified a number of reasons why part-time employees psychological contract would be different from that of the employees employed on a permanent basis. Such differences may be caused by the disparities in the promises made to each of these two groups. Normally, the extent to which this psychological contract is fulfilled differ, which is based on reasons emanating from the differences at the level of the organization, interpersonal, individual, and those related to the fact that some employees spend less time at their station of work. At the level of the organization, studies have revealed that most of the organizations treat their part-time employees in a different manner from the way in which they treat their full-time counterparts. Their contract and its fulfilment thereof are normally based on the amount and nature of work they undertake, the advancement opportunity, the benefit coverage, and the autonomy. Giving example, Conway and Briner (281) note that most of the organizations do not usually offer the same opportunities for promotion and training to the part time employees as that which they give to the full-time employees. Equally, some organizations only hire the part timers to help them whenever they are overwhelmed. They thus use them to achieve their own motives. This is likely to affect the level of commitment that an employee will have towards the organization for which he works. According to Birkelund, it is because of the difference in their career orientations, that some part timers are loosely committed to the organizations for which they work. However, she notes that some part time employees have simply not been so much committed to their places of work because of the intension of enjoying the flexibility that comes with working on a part time basis. Such employees need more time to attend other commitments that they may have outside the official assignments from the organization. This is contrary to the permanent employees who, on the other hand, have high expectations from the organizations for which they work, making them especially committed to them. Such employees normally have higher expectations of benefiting from the organization, both on short and long-term basis. Interpersonal level normally concerns with the way in which workers are treated either by their fellow workers or their supervisors. These may include practices that are understood to be illegal like stereotypes, which may also affect the level of commitment an employee may be showing towards the organization. Finally, because they are only available at the organization for a short time, the organizations may not offer part time employees more promises as is done to other employees. In fact, in many cases, some employees are not even well conversant with the promises the company has for them. This may lead such problems as related to poor communication between the employees and the organization with lack of commitment being one of them. Birkelund has noted that irrespective of the fact that the level of significance of the part time work has grown, organizations have continued to construct it negatively. This explains why many organizations have continued to exploit their employees. She warns that there is a need to shift the theoretical representation of both the part time employees and part time work. She notes that the growth of significance of part time work should be taken positively as a pluralistic, arrangement of career, and equitable work. She notes the tendency for people in the developed nations like the US and the UK to associate part time work with penalties such as inadequate benefit. She observes that the HR of many leading organizations within the developed world normally associate part time work with low wages, higher percentage workers with low skilled and low level of commitment, lack of job security, and finally lack of enough opportunities for career development. She notes the tendency of sociologists to portray part time work as secondary work while at the same time such concepts as a new subclass of workers have been used to describe those who are working on a part time basis. He also mentioned the claim by scholars like Cathrine Hakin who had argued that women who presented themselves in Europes labour market were either self made or grateful slaves. The diffidence between the two categories, according to her, depends on the level of commitment of these women to their work. Describing her concept of grateful slaves, Birkelund notes that Hakin had argued that such women who work on a part time basis in the occupations dominated by women, especially those with low pay, are normally lowly committed to their work. She, however, emphasized that the notion of viewing all part time job as disadvantageous is not correct. According to her, such claims do not have their grounds and, therefore, only works to influence the commitment of those who are seeking to render their services on a part time basis. According to her observation, various nations and organizations have improved the commitment of their part time employees by presenting cogent formulated agreements. He notes that whenever the part time workers are presented with proportionate wages and reasonable benefits, they normally show a high level of commitment just like their colleagues employed on a permanent basis. Equally, research has shown that those part time workers who are included in viable career paths have shown significant level of commitment. Birkelund urges that countries and organizations need to integrate part time work with the policies guiding the operation of the work place. She observed that this is already happening in the majority of the European countries where the part time jobs is already being supplied as a standard work. Those working on a part time basis in these nations, therefore, enjoy reduced working hours, proportionate benefits and wages as well as full protection of their employment. She argued that this could be the reasons behind the findings that there is a high level of commitment among the part timers in the European nations, in comparison to the c ases with the US countries. It is thus clear that there are a number of other factors besides an employee being a full time or part time employee, which affects the level to which an employee will be committed to his work irrespective of whether they work on a part time or full time basis. In summary, the factors include the incorporation of part time work as a standard form of employment within the organizational policy, opportunities for career progression, benefit coverage and equitable remuneration among other kinds of social protection offered by the organizations (Birkelund, 11). Methodology In its philosophical approach, the study employed a mixture of critical realism and interpretivism. This was based on the understanding that it is almost impossible to have a research question in this study addressed entirely by the philosophical approach. The critical realism fits the study, since there are general assumptions that have been made regarding the relationship between the commitment of part time workers and their commitment in the work place. However, because the reason behind such an allegation is not yet established, there would be a need for an independent study involving all he stakeholders to help ascertain the claim. An interpretive would, therefore, help in establishing clear links between these variables. This means that the study would be able to find out and explain the reasons for the connections between part time workers and the allegations put against them. The study also takes into account the additional factors that affect the commitment of workers like the conditions the workers are subjected to and terms of employment. Such concepts are normally understood via interpretive means. This was made possible, since the approach makes an assumption that the reality cannot always be observed and is, therefore, determined by the relationship between the employer, especially the HR and the part time and full time workers. The study employed a mixture of deductive and inductive approaches. This enabled to test the existing arguments derived from the theory of the frame of reference and that of partial inclusion. The research was also based on the already known facts and the experiences of the researcher both in management and the applied, conceptual model. However, to enable the researcher succeed in generating new knowledge on the topic, the study employed the use of semi-structured interview, which is understood as being more inductive. On the strategy of the research, the study employed the use of a case study. This enabled the researcher to obtain and present holistic findings on the subject, in question. The strategy, for example, allowed a research around people, structures, and even policies. This means that the study is likely to succeed in demonstrating how the commitment of employees can be affected or complemented through the provision of favourable terms. This was made possible through employing the use of semi-structured interviews. The method was complimented by the use of the qualitative questionnaire. The two methods were considered viable since they would also help the researcher to save time, hence, enabling working within the budgeted time frame. The one on one interview was also conducted with a number of the relevant HR specialist. Overall, the two methods helped the researcher to have a better understanding of perspectives and views of the part time employees, full time employees and those of the HR managers towards difference in the level of commitments between the two categories of employees. This way, the researcher was be able to know whether the claims that part time employees are less committed to their work than the full time employees is anything to go by or mere claims having understood the conditions under which the part time employees work. This also allowed the researcher to make appropriate recommendations and conclusions which will not only be helpful to Hilton International Hotel but the entire HR profession. The case study was a holistic two cases study with two branches of the Hilton International Hotel which were the units of analysis within the United Kingdom. Thus, the research considered 100 employees with 50 employees being selected from each hotel. Out of the 50, 25 were part time employees with the other 25 full time employees. That means that each of the two hotels had 25 of their full time employees and 25 of their part time employees participating in the research. Stratified sampling method was used in selecting the participants. This enabled the employees from the two organizations to be divided into either full time or part time employee groups. After coming up with the two groups, the 25 representatives from each group were then chosen, based the on random sampling method to give each member the same probability of being considered. The use of case study enabled the researcher to carry out the study from a number of stakeholder perspectives. This means that besides interviewing the HR specialists under which the issues affecting the employees directly lies, the senior manager who is viewed to have a knowledge and influence on the formulation of the organizational policies was also interviewed on the one on one basis. The study also considered probing part time employees, so as to find out additional reasons why they would be less committed to their work places. It is also worth noting that considering two different branches enabled the researcher to compare the findings obtained from different cases. This may give additional insights like the possibility of the attitudes of the part time employees being determined by circumstances surrounding their work. Choice and Limitations of the Research Methods It is, therefore, obvious that this study employed the use of four methods. First, the semi-structured interviews, which were used to conduct the focus group study with both the full time employees and the part time employees from the two hotels. Second was the one on one interview, which helped in obtaining information from both the HR manager dealing directly with the issues of employees and the senior HR managers of the selected branches. There was also an extensive review of the job descriptions of both the part time employees and the full time employees. Finally, the study considered reviewing the organizational and the national, corporate HR documents. Of much interest were the documented policies, systems, and structures governing the relationship between the part time employees and their employers. This enabled the researcher to get insights on the conditions under which both the full time employees and the part time employees work. The semi-structured interview was chosen because it allows the researcher to seek clarifications from the interviewee. The focus group was also considered since it would enable the participants to discuss freely giving close insights about the topic of discussion. On the other hand, the one on one interview with senior HR managers and the HR managers helped give more insights on what was already known about the topic and the answers obtained from the focus group discussions with the full time employees and the part time employees. The only limitation, which could be common to these methods, would be the researcher taking more time than was allocated in the timetable. However, these methods were, therefore, highly appropriate for this research. Data Analysis and Ethical Issues The participants who were interviewed had no problem with having the researcher jotting short hand notes on the issues that they discussed. In addition, the researcher sought the permission of the participants to have the proceedings recorded. More attention was paid on the sections of the interview that were essential for answering the research questions which he transcribed. This enabled the researcher to have easy task during the data analysis considering that he transferred all the data and stored them safely in a personal computer. He then erased the data from the temporary storage digital device as was agreed with the participants. Concerning the ethical considerations, the researcher secured permissions from the management of the two hotels and that of the participants long before the actual study. Moreover, the participants voices were only recorded only after their consent was secured.

Autistic children in the general education classroom, mainstreaming, Essay

Autistic children in the general education classroom, mainstreaming, inclusion and pull out options - Essay Example This report stresses that available literature on the subject places less emphasis on exogenous variables perhaps due to the fact that it has been conclusively proved that autism is a genetic disorder. Despite this proof there is also a parallel attempt being made by teaching communities at large that behavioral tendencies of the autistic child could be altered with dynamic combinations of internal and external factors. Autism as a disorder affecting a few individuals, has been subject some of the worst misinterpretations in communities today. Yet a growing body of current research has shed new light on the many-faceted nature of this disorder as one of which the severity can at least be reduced with well designed programs that advocate a general educational environment based treatment option of inclusion instead of exclusion. This paper makes a conclusion that Schon’s indefatigable efforts have successfully proved to the world that professional attitudes have to be realigned with reflection-in-action so that a highly desirable qualitative change could be brought about to the very programs that have been hitherto administered with little or no attention being paid to the teaching/learning outcomes. This causative principle of attention re-focus has helped communities to undertake a complete reassessment of techniques and approaches based on compartmentalized thoughtless and antiquated perceptions and conceptualizations. Schon has revolutionized the treatment process by focusing on the need to be reflective-in-action.