Notes The Revolutionary And Controversial Aspect Of The...

TRAVESIA To write to be a writer, I have to trust and believe in myself as a speaker, as a voice for the images. I have to believe that can communicate with images and words that I can do it well. A lack of belief in my creative self is a lack of belief in my total self and vice versa- I cannot separate my writing from any part of my life. It is all one (95). Thirty years ago (1987),Gloria Anzaldà ºa published Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza . The editor notes the revolutionary and controversial aspect of the book, first because of its context and second because of the historical moment in the USA: the socio-political environment that Hispanic, queers and people of color had to endure. Though in 2017 many organizations thrive†¦show more content†¦Further, for Church one is possessed by demons. Thus by being Mexican and lesbian, she violates her tradition of a typical woman. In an anecdote in page 41, talks about the woman [lesbian] who has magical power and was believed to be half-half: man and woman. Indeed, one common belief in the Hispanic culture is that gay men are hyper creative. Another example of this duality in people from Latin America living in the United States is the constant proof of proficiency. For instance, one goes to the primary care, the first question when they notice you have a Hispanic last name and speak with an accent, do you understand English? Other times, they would speak slowly as if the patient was two year-old. e.g., h- o-w ol-d are you? If one is lucky, he/she will have a bilingual physician who pretends that his/her Spanish has faded away. Another place where this test is taken is in Manhattan Corporate buildings (e.g., one enters the building and says, I would like to go to the XY Company. The door man or clerk at the security desk would say ok, give me your ID, right at the moment security person sees your last name, you are a dummy to them. Again, the security person would guide you in slow motion pointing out every single step to the elevator, the instructs you to press the 8th floor written in the address slip you handed to the m. Plus, the

Atlantic Computer Case Study - 1279 Words

Introduction Atlantic Computer developed a product, the â€Å"Atlantic Bundle†, to meet an emerging basic server market. The Atlantic Bundle is a Tronn server coupled with the Performance Enhancing Server Accelerator software tool â€Å"PESA†. Atlantic Computer must decide on the pricing strategy. Situational Analysis The external analysis is as follows: †¢ Customers: The first customer identified has a primary need to host websites, â€Å"Web Server† customer. The second customer identified has a primary need for file servers that help layout designers share graphic, text, and layouts, â€Å"File Sharing† customer. Customers in these segments appear to be the ones that will benefit the most from the PESA tool. †¢ Competition: The primary competition†¦show more content†¦Alternative Courses of Action Free PESA Software with Purchase. Rather than regarding the PESA RD as a sunk cost, I chose to distribute the costs to every server. The price under this route was determined to be $2,122 (see Appendix B). The primary drawback is that a customer who would have normally purchased the Tronn without the software would be charged a higher price ($2,122 vs. $2,000). Continuing with the tradition and norm of free software, staff would not have to be retrained and customers will not feel alienated. Furthermore, the one-bundle price could easily be transitioned to on-line sales, and the low price will increase market share. The â€Å"free† software could create an illusion of low perceived value. Finally, the lower price will result in lower profit margins, and it does not take into consideration the value advantage received by the customer. Competition Based Pricing. The price under this route was determined to be $3,400 (see Appendix C). Under this route, the company will earn more profit per bundle sold. Additionally, minimal effort is required to determine the price. However, the competition based pricing creates indifference between the â€Å"Atlantic Bundle† and its competition. The higher price will also reduce market share and could stir a pricing war. Cost-Plus. The price under this route was determined to be $2,245 (see Appendix D). Atlantic would gain market share under this route as the price is lowShow MoreRelatedAtlantic Computer Case Study1225 Words   |  5 PagesAtlantic Computer: Case Study Strategic Management Mitchell D. Upchurch Dr. Johnny Eluka July 19, 2011 Amidst an emerging U.S. marketplace opportunity, Atlantic Computers tasked the newly appointed product manager, Jason Jowers, with marketing and selling the company’s new product, the Atlantic Bundle. A server, software combination, the Atlantic Bundle would offer performance up to four times faster than the competitions standard speed, all within one machine. External Analysis: ExternallyRead MoreAtlantic Computer Case Study1535 Words   |  7 PagesAtlantic Computer is a large manufacturer for servers and other technology products. They have seen great success in the last 30 years since they have been competing in the market. While they have previously dominated the high-end server market, they are looking to expand to an emerging market, the basic server market. In order to do so, they have developed Tronn along with the Performance Enhancing Server Accelerator, otherwise known as PESA. Because Atlantic is penetrating new market segment thanRead MoreAtlantic Computer Case Study - 11092 Words   |  5 PagesATLANTIC COMPUTER Atlantic Computer, a large manufacturer of servers and other high-tech products, has assigned Jason Jowers the responsibility of developing the pricing strategy for the new ‘Atlantic Bundle’. The bundle incorporates a new Tronn server and the Performance Enhancing Server Accelerator (PESA) software tool which allows the Tronn to perform up to four (4) times faster than its standard speed. The Tronn was specifically developed to meet an emerging U.S. marketplace opportunity andRead MoreAtlantic Computer Is A Leading Developer Company Of High Tech Servers832 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Atlantic Computer is a leading developer company of High Tech Servers; it has recently started manufacturing Basic servers and now company is looking to decide the pricing of the servers based on the four models given in the case i.e status-Quo pricing, competition based pricing, cost-plus pricing and then there is value-in pricing. Situation analysis For this situation, Atlantic Computer is a producer of servers and technology products. Two business sections exist in the serverRead MoreComputer Aided Mammograms And Trans Atlantic Data Transfer Privacy1726 Words   |  7 PagesPaper: Computer-Aided Mammograms and Trans-Atlantic Data Transfer Privacy Garrett Gutierrez CSE 485: Capstone I #80015 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM Introduction: As new technologies emerge, they cause new and surprising impacts on the world, which shape how people experience life. Yet, these advancements in computing and engineering may have some negative consequences. Thus, they become controversial issues. Two recent issues in the computing and engineering field are the effectiveness of computer-aided mammogramsRead MoreEssay on Borgata Hotel and Spa Casino Case Study1214 Words   |  5 PagesIn early, 2003, the Borgata Hotel and Spa Casino began recruitment in a very tight the tight employment market of Atlantic City. The Borgata was the first hotel to be opened in Atlantic City in over 13 years. (Overman, S. 2004). The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges at each step of the recruitment process. Point in a strategic plan to attract a large pool from which the best talent can be pulled and ability to receive and screen candidates for an efficient job identification andRead MoreThe Fashion Channel1288 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fashion Channel - Preparation for Class Discussion As preparation for discussing this case in class, students should be ready to respond to the following: 1. How would you interpret the consumer and market data if you were Dana Wheeler? 2. What is the expected outcome of each of the targeting scenarios? (Complete both the Ad Revenue and Financial calculators to fully understand the financial impact of the scenarios.) 3. Develop a factual analysis of the segmentation optionsRead MoreThe Ethical Relationship Between Apple And Foxconn1120 Words   |  5 Pages Evident within the contemporary society, individuals are indulged with their technological devices such as smartphones and computers. However, society are unaware about the rising ethical issues that are presented behind the production of different technologies. The relationship between Apple and Foxconn displays a strong primary example of the ethical issue. Apple is perceived as one of the dominant technological and innovative company providing the world with its technology. Despite this, FoxconnRead MoreThe Prisoner s Dilemma Was Coined Later By Albert Tucker1353 Words   |  6 PagesPrior to this discovery, it had been assumed that if each player behaved rationally and sought to maximise her individual benefit, then the system as a whole would be at its most efficient. The example above demonstrates that this may not always be the case, and highlights the rather intuitive value of cooperation between players. This notion is commonly referred to as the suboptimization principle, which states that optimising each subsystem individually does not always lead to the Pareto efficient outcomeRead MoreEssay on The Dangers Posed by Public Use of Assault Weapons760 Words   |  4 Pagesdesigned for military use. A n assault weapon might have characteristics like a pistol grip, a silencer, a bayonet mount, a grenade launcher or a flash suppressor. The Violence Policy Center, a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., provided a study that listed the top ten points about what assault weapons are and why they are so deadly. This document stated, â€Å"Semiautomatic assault rifles (like AK-47 and AR-15 Assault rifles) are civilian versions of military assault rifles and there are virtually

School Systems in Japan India and the US Free Essays

This site is an first-class one to utilize in that it defines what a typical school twelvemonth looks like in England. This site besides describes what the standardised testing that is required for each pupil, what vacations are observed during the school twelvemonth, and when pupils are able to go forth school. This web site was written by a former instructor at the school. We will write a custom essay sample on School Systems in Japan India and the US or any similar topic only for you Order Now Bing a instructor, Ms. Barrow was able to easy depict how the educational system works in England. ( Barrow, 2009 ) Combs, K. A ; Angela Bartlett. ( 2007, October ) . Education in Japan. Retrieved from www.education-in-japan.info This website gives an first-class overview of the school system in Japan and what the national course of study is in Japan. This site besides explains how the Japanese came up with the current system of primary, in-between and high schools. This site besides explains the learning doctrine in Japan and the four key functions pupils have in modern Nipponese schooling. This site was started by two adult females who wanted to explicate how the instruction system worked in Japan. They lived in Japan for a clip and wanted to assist people who were either traveling to Japan or non-Japanese people populating in Japan understand the school system. ( Combs A ; Bartlett, 2007 ) Education system in India. ( 1998 ) . Retrieved from www.indiaedu.com/education-india/education-system-india.html This website gives an overview of the instruction system in India. This site besides talks about the universalization of an simple instruction in India and why it has non to the full occurred. It tells at what age a pupil is required to go to school and at what age they are allowed to go forth school. This site besides gives stats demoing the literacy rate between males/females and rural/urban countries. This site was started by a company that is based in India and was started in order to supply resources for the people of India to be able to obtain higher instruction grades. ( â€Å" Education system in, † 1998 ) Miller, D.C. , Sen, A. , Malley, L.B. , Burns, S.D. , A ; Owen, E. US Department of Education, ( 2009 ) . Comparative indexs of instruction in the us and other g-8 states: 2009. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. This article compares the G-8 states and gives statistics demoing where the United States falls in assorted classs such as subject jobs, and entire population, per centum of pupils enrolled in formal instruction. There are besides statistics comparing instructor experience in the United States and the United Kingdom. This article besides goes on to give really elaborate information on the school systems of each of the G-8 states, which include Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Because this article was written by people in the US Department of Education, it should be accurate and timely. ( Miller, Sen, Malley, Burns, A ; Owen, 2009 ) Osgood, R. L. ( n.d. ) . Dawdlers, idiots, human cinders and other curious childs: progressivism and pupil differences in determining public instruction in the united provinces. Unpublished manuscript, Muskingum University. This was a address given by Mr. Osgood which explicating how labels ( both good and bad ) were applied to pupils in the United States and how these labels affected their public presentation in school. Mr. Osgood went back to a book published in the early 1900 ‘s to obtain some of the background for his address. He talks about how labeling pupils either helped them stand out or keep them back from accomplishing ends in school. He besides spoke on how labels changed since the early 1900 ‘s. For illustration, a pupil, in the early 1900 ‘s, who was falling behind in school was called a dawdler. Today, he would necessitate particular instruction categories which would cement the label of being slow. Mr. Osgood was President of Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio and an pedagogue so he is a believable beginning. ( Osgood ) Ruddock, G. A ; Sainsbury, M. ( 2008 ) . Comparison of the Core Primary Curriculum in England to those of Other High Performing Countries. Department for Children, Schools, A ; Families. This article was written by two bookmans in England who were comparing the instruction given to English kids from ages 7 – 11 to kids from around the universe. This article focuses on three chief countries, Mathematicss, Science and Literacy. The bookmans found that in Mathematics, the stuff was similar to the eight other states included in this survey. In Science, the bookmans discovered many assortments of course of study. No 1 was perceived to be better than any other. In literacy, the bookmans discovered that the other states were more likely to include the doctrine and principle behind the linguistic communication where in England, this was instead brief. This paper was written by two bookmans by petition of one of the British Government Departments. School old ages in England. ( n.d. ) . Retrieved from www.learnenglish.de/culture/educationculture.htm This website gives a elaborate listing of what ages are in what classs. It besides explains the difference of a Public school and a Government tally school. This site besides explains what national testing is done at what age degree and at what age a pupil is allowed to go forth school. This site was written to let non-English speech production people to larn English. All of the information obtained on this site was able to corroborate information received on other web sites refering to the English Education system. ( â€Å" School old ages in, † ) Schutz, G. , West, M.R. , and Wobmann, L. ( 2007 ) , â€Å" School Accountability, Autonomy, Choice, and the Equity of Student Achievement: International Evidence from PIDA 2003 † , OECD Education Working Papers, No. 14, OECD Publishing. Department of the Interior: 10.1787/246374511832 This article explains the doctrine that if a kid succeeds in schools so they will win later in life. This article besides explains whether supervising instructor lessons has any impact on pupil public presentation. This article talks about holding issue tests before a kid is allowed to go forth school and if that is a productive thought or non. This article besides touches on the thought that kids with low socio-economic alterations achieve every bit much as those with high socio-economic alterations. OECD, or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is a authorities organisation in France and should be a really dependable beginning for this paper. ( Schutz, G. , 2007 ) Schmidt, W. H. , Houang, R. , A ; Shakrani, S. ( 2009 ) . International lessons about national criterions. Thomas B Fordham Institute. This article, written by three writers at the Thomas B Fordham Institute, gives information refering to the Indian School System. It provides more information refering how the Indian Government perceives instruction and how the schools are funded. It besides explains the National Curriculum that India has and who is responsible for implementing that the course of study is followed. It explains who comes up with the course of study for each topic, what topics are taught in what schools and when national tests are given. The Thomas B Fordham Institute is an organisation that wants to progress educational excellence for every kid. ( Schmidt, Houang, A ; Shakrani, 2009 ) Wieczorek, C. C. ( 2009 ) . Comparative analysis of instruction systems of American A ; Nipponese schools: positions and visions. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio. This article explains how the Japanese and the United States school systems are similar, but it besides explains how they are different. The writer ne’er comes out and says which is better, but he does indicate out that the United States seems to hold more troubles to get the better of. This writer wrote this paper as a consequence of an assignment for a category he was taking at the University. Some of the information that was given in this paper could be verified by other beginnings. ( Wieczorek, 2009 ) World Bank, ( 2000 ) . Investing in instruction: analysis of the 1999 universe instruction indexs, instruction and accomplishments Washington, DC: Retrieved from www.electrade.gfi.fr/cgi-bin/OECDBookshop.storefront This article explains in item how the instruction system in India plants. It explains what ages are in what school each age is assigned. This article besides explains how the federal authorities and the provincial and regional authoritiess are involved in the instruction system. The World Bank is an organisation overseen by the United Nations. The information presented by them should be every bit accurate as possible. ( World Bank, 2000 ) How to cite School Systems in Japan India and the US, Essay examples

Memoirs Of Geisha Essay Example For Students

Memoirs Of Geisha Essay Plot: This exotic fable is about a young, innocent girl named Chiyo (9 years oldin 1929) who lives in a poor fishing village in Yoroido with her older sisterSatsu, her father and sick mother. Since Chiyos mother is going to die soonand her father cant do much to support their family, he sells his twodaughters into slavery to a renowned geisha house. Chiyo has unusual blue-grayeyes, which later helps her capture peoples attention, especially mens. Unfortunately, her sister is taken to a different district and from this timeon, little Chiyo lives her life in agony because she has no family left andshes a maid serving a notorious geisha named Hatsumomo. Hatsumomo can also bereferred to as a witch because she does anything like spreading false rumors tomake Chiyos life miserable. One day while running an errand for the housethat she lives in, Chiyo falls down on a stone near a river and starts to cryfor she can no longer endure the pain and hardships she is going through at sucha young age. Luckily, the Chairman of a wealthy electric company comes acrossher while hes walking with his business associates. He takes notice of herand goes up to see what is the matter with her. As he lifts her chin up andlooks into her eyes, he is marveled by the beauty her eyes posses. All he can dois stare. He gives her a handkerchief and a few compliments and tells her not toworry because everything will be fine. The Chairman then leaves but he nev erleaves Chiyos thoughts or dreams. He is the only person who has been kind toher all her life and for the past years, all she dreams about is meeting thiswonderful man again and getting to know him. To make a long story short, theChairman never forgets Chiyo and how beautiful she is, so he goes to awell-known geisha by the name of Mameha and asks her to adopt Chiyo as heryounger sister so she can train her to become a geisha too. The Mother of thehouse where Chiyo lives is a wicked woman and when Mameha comes to arrange Chiyoto become her younger sister, Mother agrees but knows that Chiyo wont eversucceed. Hatsumomo tells people lies about Sayuri (her named changed from Chiyoto Sayuri after she became an apprentice geisha) so she can ruin her careerbecause she is jealous. Mameha, on the other hand, is Hatsumomos enemy so sheintroduces Sayuri to popular men so she can wins their hearts and attention. This is the next time Sayuri meets the Chairman but now shes all grown up;she doesnt know if he remembers her. The Chairmans partner, Nobu likesSayuri and he wants to become her danna ? having Sayuri as his mistress. Yearsafter years of struggling to be with Sayuri, he never succeeds. During thiswhole time Sayuri is in love with the Chairman but he never seems to payattention to her. Finally, the Chairman and Sayuri tell each other how they feeltowards one another and he becomes her danna (sort of like a husband, but notexactly). They travel to the United States on business trips and after a fewyears, Sayuri moves to New York City from Gion, Japan to make her living as ateahouse owner and an artist?geisha. 2) Ending: Sayuri is able to find her wayout from becoming the mistress of a few men who are interested in her. All herlife of living in misery comes to an end the day the Chairman comes to talk toher and tells her how much he likes her and has liked her ever since he laideyes on h er by the river when she was just a little girl. Sayuri tells him thathe is what shes wanted all her life and they finally are able to be together. .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede , .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .postImageUrl , .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede , .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede:hover , .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede:visited , .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede:active { border:0!important; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede { 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; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede:active , .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .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; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u9fb4f129b078b299464723c882ef2ede:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Vegetarian (Health, Ethics And Environmetnal Effects) EssayThey travel together and she settles in New York City and opens a teahouse wheremen go there and engage in a conversation with geishas. The Chairman dies afterSayuri moves to New York City but he lives on inside her heart. 3) a. Maincharacter: Of course, the main character in this book is Sayuri who is a mostlybelievable heroine. Her ambitions were not always rational but this creates amore imperfect and human character. Through her eyes, we see the decadent heartof Gionthe geisha district of Kyotowith its marvelous teahouses andtheaters, narrow back alleys, ornate temples, and artists streets. Hertransformation is seen as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance andmusic; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup and hair; pouring sake to reveal just atouch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for mens solicitude andthe money that goes with it. Soon, World War II begins and the geisha houses areforced to close. Sayuri, with the help of her admirer, Nobu, is taken into ahaven where she spends the remainder of the war sewing balloons (hot-air balloonand parachutes). Growing up without any parents, she leads an awful life butwith the help of the Chairman and Mameha, she is able to work herself up andbecome a dignified woman who captures the hearts of many. b. Problem-conflict:The main conflict is that some geishas in Japan would do anything to ruin thereputation of others because the fewer geisha there are and the more popularthey are, the more money they will make. So Hatsumomo, an envious geisha setsout to ruin Sayuris life who has nothing nor anyone in this world. In thisnovel, Say uri proves to be the toughest one out of Hatsumomo and many othergeisha because she works herself up respectively and wins the admirations ofso many people that she is soon adopted as the daughter of the house she used toserve and live in. After all, the one who deserved all the kindness and respectreceived it although it took many years and a great deal of sufferings. c. Antagonist Id be a liar if I didnt tell you that Hatsumomo was theantagonist in this story although some other people tried to do bad things too. But she was the corrupt one who caused Sayuri so much grief and made her liveunder her control. One time, she told the Mother of the house that Sayuri hasstolen her bracelet and the Mother believed her. She beat Sayuri and asked herto pay for an expensive piece of jewelry she had not even touched. Hatsumomoalso tried to end Sayuris geisha days but Im happy to say that she wentdown herself, d. Climax: The climax of the story was when Sayuri had arranged tosleep with the Minister and have Nobu find her with him. Something happened thatchanged everything. Instead of Nobu discovering them together, the Chairmanwalked in and you can imagine how Sayuri felt. The reason why Sayuri had plannedthis scheme for Nobu to find them was because Nobu wanted to become Sayurisdanna and Sayuri didnt like him although he had been kind enough to her tosave her from working in the factories because he cared about her. Obviously shedidnt like him so she had planned that if Nobu walked in on them together, hewould change his mind about her. But after the Chairman saw her with theMinister, he went and told Nobu. As for Sayurishe thought the Chairman wouldhate her and she would never have a chance with him. She was wrong, for in fact,this incident made the Chairman realize how important she really was to him andhow much he liked her. Therefore, three days later he sought to see her andthats when he told her how he felt about her and she was stunned. This eventturned things around and they ended up being together after 18 years of waitingto make a move. e. Resolution: After Nobu heard how unfaithful she had beentowards him, he completely erased Sayuri from his life. Never did he mention hername again. He had told her before that if she were to betray him, he wouldnever forgive her. So as I mentioned before, the Chairman and Sayuri becamelovers and she became his mistress since he was married. And for the remainderof their lives, they lived pleasantly. f. Theme (deeper meaning) What I tak e tobe the theme of this memoir is that a person can accomplish anything in life ifthey have set their mind on it and if they believe they can get there. Nevergiving up hope and always looking for a brighter day will eventually lead you towhat youre out there searching for. In Sayuris case, she was a slave whowon the heart of a man and worked herself up to become one of the mostsuccessful geishas in all of Japan and to be united with the man she loved whomotivated her all her life. I learned to be courageous from Sayuri and nevergive up dreaming because I believe that if you want something badly, you cantransform your dreams into realties. g. Foreshadowing This could have been seenwhen wherever Sayuri went in the evenings, Hatsumomo followed her and it becameobvious that she was plotting to go to those teahouses and spread rumors abouther to the people she had recently entertained. Another foreshadowing can beseen when the Mother of the house adopts Sayuri because we know that Hatsu momohad been living in that house much longer than Sayuri had and she had hopes ofbeing the one adopted. So it was apparent as to what would happen to her andthat is, she became enraged and fought with the Mother, therefore, she waskicked out of the house onto the streets. The final foreshadowing I was able tosee was when Sayuri was sleeping with the Minister because there were footstepsnear the building and the Minister assumed it was only birds chirping but Ifigured it would either be Nobu or the Chairman and indeed, it was the Chairman.

The Tenets of a Successful Advertising Campaign Understanding the Role of Good Ideas Creative Minds

Introduction Today, more than ever before, academics and practitioners are coming to terms with the increasingly complex nature of marketing and advertising brought about by media fragmentation and varied viewing and purchasing habits across consumer groups (Soberman, 2005).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Tenets of a Successful Advertising Campaign: Understanding the Role of Good Ideas Creative Minds specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, according to this author, media fragmentation has made it extremely hard to cost-effectively inform a mass audience about one’s products and services, not mentioning that consumers now have increasingly varied habits with regard to media. This view is reinforced by Hackley Kitchen (1999), who note that advertising and other forms of promotional activity have flourished to such a level that they may be viewed as constituting a form of social pollution, particularl y in the developed world. According to these authors, not only are marketing initiatives and advertising campaigns delivered in unparalleled quantities, but their tone is becoming increasingly complex to classify in the Postmodern Marketing era. The fundamental question that arises is how firms can manage their marketing and advertising to guarantee that these activities are not lost in the ocean of messages and noise that confronts the contemporary consumer. This question demands a careful analysis of the tenets of successful advertising, alongside a critical evaluation of the paradigm shifts that have been witnessed in this critical area as organizations align themselves to become more competitive. It is against this background that the present paper aims to critically evaluate the claim that ‘a good idea and a good creative department are all that are needed for a successful advertising campaign.’ The Old and the New: Toward a Paradigm Shift in Advertising Effectiven ess Earlier advertising studies focused on the central role played by the advertising message and the importance of the executional strategy adopted by marketers and practitioners. To achieve advertising effectiveness, therefore, earlier framers of advertising theory suggested that there is a particular order in which the targeted audience respond to advertisements (Aitken et al, 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The argument projected by these theorists opinionated that advertisements must be developed to achieve particular responses from the intended audience according to the nature of the communications and marketing objectives preferred by the advertisers. It was assumed that for advertisements to achieve success in influencing consumer behaviour, they must have the capacity to lead the intended audience through a sequence of reception stages described as cognitive, affecti ve and conative, and which were perceived as â€Å"†¦essentially, and in some cases, entirely, hierarchical in nature† (Aitken et al, 2008 p. 280). This view has also been well documented by Shankar (1999). As noted by Aitken et al (2008), this line of thinking brought forth the information-processing model, which puts much focus on the advertisement message, the executional strategy and the significance to the targeted audience of the brands, products and services featured in the advertisement. The basic assumption of most of the linear sequential models of advertising, such as the information-processing model, is that if the message is unambiguous and it is conveyed effectively, it will be construed effectively by the targeted audience. It therefore follows that the role of the targeted audience in this arrangement is intrinsically dependent on explicit individual needs and particular responses to the advertisement (Aitken et al, 2008). These models also â€Å"†¦ rely on the assumption that an increase in awareness, for example, will predict purchasing behaviour and hence, sales, an assumption derived from the sequential, self-fulfilling nature of the theories† (Shankar, 1999 p. 2). However, as noted by Aitken et al (2008), these models are no longer tenable under the present market conditions as they view advertising as a process that is deliberate, conscious and, presumably, predictable while ignoring the obvious fact that meaning has to be negotiated.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Tenets of a Successful Advertising Campaign: Understanding the Role of Good Ideas Creative Minds specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, the centrality of ‘meaning’ in advertising has triggered an upsurge of meaning-based models of advertising as witnessed in Mick Buhl (1992) works on developing a meaning-based model of advertising. The linear sequential models of advertising also draw substantial criticism from the fact that they negate the role of the receiver (targeted audience) in the communication process; that is, they view advertising as doing things to people rather than people doing things with advertising (Shankar, 1999). In his study on ‘consumer initial processing in a difficult media environment’, Webb (1979) observed that studies on the response of consumers to television advertising traditionally concentrated deeply â€Å"†¦on characteristics of the message itself and of the message audience, but much less on the situational aspects of the message environment† (p. 225). Due to the inadequacies of such advertisements, however, modern studies have demonstrated a mounting concern that the environment in which an advertisement is aired may be as important in the determining the response levels of the targeted audience to the advertisement as message or audience characteristics. While the traditional hierar chical models of communication had the advantage of having the capacity to measure quantifiable intermediate variables with maximum logic and minimum ambiguity, it was obvious that the interests of consumers were not being put into consideration (Shankar, 1999). Towards the shift from emphasizing the advertising message and executional strategy to a focus on the intended audience, Aitken et al (2008) highlight the reader-response theory, which â€Å"†¦questions whether the meaning of an advertisement can be understood outside the interaction between that text (words and other images) and the individual† (p. 281). As observed by Stern (1996b), this theory seeks to move away from the primacy traditionally accorded to formal analysis of textual properties and elements toward a more integrated and holistic approach of the interaction process that puts much focus on the targeted audience rather than the advertising message and/or executional strategy to coincide with mounting interest in consumer culture theory, brand communities, and the novel service dominant logic of marketing.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This shift in advertising is effective for two important reasons. First, it locates the targeted audience at the core of the communication process rather than at the periphery as a receiver who is only dependent on the advertising message and the executional strategy (Aitken et al, 2008). Indeed, Mick Buhl (1992) posit that â€Å"†¦contemporary advertising is conceived of not as an occasional conduit of product information but rather as an omnipresent communication arena in which human reality is mediated† (p. 317). Aitken et al (2008) further note that it is not wrong for advertising firms to direct attention to concepts such as consumer involvement, motivation and intentionality; however, this line of thought should not cast the intended audience as ‘receivers’ of advertising information but as the fundamental actors in the communication process who co-create value, meaning and relationships to generate an enabling environment in which successful advertis ing campaign can occur. The second reason why this paradigm shift to a more audience-centred approach in advertising is effective is that â€Å"†¦it stresses the interactive nature of the communication process and fundamentally takes issue with the notion that meaning can exist in an advertisement independent of the viewer or the reader† (Aitken et al, 2008 p. 281). Hirschman Thompson (1997) are categorical that consumers often process advertisements for implied meanings and do not necessary view advertisements as important sources of information. Stern (1996) observes that the popular view held by many advertisers that an advertising message can have a fixed meaning is impossible. According to the advocates of deconstructive theory, there exists no possibility for advertisements to employ self-enclosed language that presumes an agreed-upon meaning. This implies that the act of ‘reading’ and responding to an advertisement should never be simply viewed as a process of deciphering the clues to ascertain the preferred meaning contained in the advertisement message; rather, it should be acknowledged as a proactive engagement with both formal and the informal components of the advertisement and with the genus of advertising to generate a negotiated understanding. More fundamentally, the perspective of targeted audience as active participants in and trendsetters of the communication process delinks itself from the popular view within behavioural psychology that underlines the importance of classical conditioning as an illustrative framework for human behaviour, and instead project the view that understanding, knowledge and behaviour are the outcome of negotiations between the targeted audience and the advertiser (Aitken et al, 2008). Consecutive research studies, according to these authors, have demonstrated that responses to advertisements demonstrated by the targeted audience are also ingeniously conditioned by culture, context and experi ence. Indeed, Lannon and Cooper (1983) cited in Shankar (1999) argued for the adoption of a ‘holistic cultural approach’ to advertising; that is, the creation of advertising should take into consideration the symbolic meanings that individuals attach to products, the language individuals use to describe their experiences of brands, and the social implication of product usage or non-usage. In developing the theoretical foundations for their study on advertising experiences, Mick Buhl (1992) adopted the symbolic and interpretive interactionism and existential phenomenology to project the assertion that each individual perceives the world differentially to a considerable degree, and that human experiences should be studied and assessed as they are subjectively lived and experienced. These assertions underscore the importance for practitioners and marketers to develop and evaluate advertisement campaigns through the lens of the consumers. In other words, the targeted audie nce must exercise substantially more independence in determining the response to a particular advertisement for it to be considered successful (Aitken et al, 2008). Hackley (1999) views the symbolic and interpretive nature of consumers from a social constructionist perspective, which takes consumers of advertising messages as the locus for a sequence of social engagements that together constitute unique individual identities, but which are dependent on the social context of being. This view also receives support from Hackley Kitchen (1999), who argue that â€Å"†¦the source of ideas is the self and the subjectivity of experience leaves us alone in the universe to construct meanings through our interpretations of our own sense experience† (p. 18). Successful advertising campaigns, according to Hackley (1999), should never perceive consumers as introverted subjects, without desires or identities, and who only reacts to advertisements through linear phases or limited persu asion trajectories for the principal purpose of judging. This assertion is reinforced by Shankar (1999), who observes that advertisers fail to capture the targeted audience in their advertising campaigns because they don’t include consumers in determining the meaning of the advertising message. The implication of this assertion is that the meaning of any advertising message should not originate wholly from the source of the message; rather, the desires and identities of the targeted audience must be considered for any advertising campaign to be successful. Hackley Kitchen (1999) introduce another dimension by suggesting that a successful advertising campaign should not be perceived as constituting a form of social pollution. In their research, these authors introduce an emergent perspective of â€Å"†¦Communications Leviathan, an entity of colossal size made up of a multiplicity of marketing communications messages and which may constitute a form of social pollution th rough the potentially damaging and unintended effects it may have on consumer decision making† (p. 15). These multiple marketing communications are not only intrusive to consumers, but the high level of exposure is perceived to contribute towards circumscribing their moral development. Kotler (1988) cited in Hackley Kitchen (1999) argued that consumers in the developed world may be exposed to an estimated 2000 advertising messages in a day. As a direct consequence of the high level exposure to these messages, consumers are increasingly facing demands on their decision making faculties which may ultimately have a damaging effect on their ability to make rational and morally coherent purchasing decisions. This view is consistent with Hackley (1999) assertion the advertising culture continues to be perceived as a metaphor for a general moral dilapidation in the post-modern era. The Interplay between Good Idea, Creativity Successful Advertising Lannon Cooper (1983) cited in Sha nkar (1999) observed that â€Å"†¦advertising operates more effectively at the symbolic, intuitive level of consciousness†¦To design such advertising and to check on its effectiveness in the marketplace requires methods for opening up the inner world of what consumers do to advertising† (p. 4). Since such symbolism cannot be evaluated quantitatively to determine the effectiveness of a particular advertising campaign, it requires that both advertising agencies and practitioners to have good ideas and be creative enough if they are to design advertising that is able to arouse the consumers’ symbolic, intuitive level of consciousness. Indeed, the attribute of having a good well-processed idea resonates well with the Post-modern theories of language, which underscores the importance of text production and how such text is used and situated within our cultural practices to generate meanings (Proctor et al, 2002). A good idea and creative minds on the part of adver tisers will certainly enable consumers to process advertisements for implied meanings (Hirschman Thompson, 1997). This paper has underscored the fact that the targeted audience in any advertising campaign should not be viewed as passive receivers but as active participants in the communication process. The meanings that any form of advertising is capable of eliciting are constructed in communication, not supplied as pre-packaged or predetermined reality in the content of advertising (Aitken et al, 2008). This perspective demands good ideas and a good creative department to be able to develop humanistic advertising capable of delivering qualities of openness, acceptance and critique, which facilitate creativity, innovation and new ways of thinking (Shankar, 1999). To design advertising that is able to catapult consumers’ interactive and interpretive processes demands creativity on the part of the advertisers rather than relying on quantitative benchmarks which only demonstrat e a biased approach to advertising effectiveness. Soberman (2005) posits that it is important for marketers and advertisers to collect valuable market information on the behaviour patterns and consumption habits of consumers if their advertising campaigns are to have an impact under the prevailing market conditions. According to this author, â€Å"†¦this information can be used to form groups of high potential buyers for targeted marketing efforts† (p. 421). But as noted by Shankar (1999), the collection of such valuable information requires creative and innovative ways of thinking due to its qualitative nature. Creative ways of advertising, such as the employment of targeted advertising, are indeed important if organizations are to substantially reduce their price competition (Soberman, 2005). Targeted advertising, however, cannot become a reality if firms fail to capitalize on the use of qualitative market information, thus the interplay between creativity and successf ul advertising campaigns. Consequently, an organization must find creative ways to target heavier advertising to consumers who are traditionally oriented towards buying their products as opposed to targeting advertising to consumers who are less oriented towards the organizations’ brand preferences. Webb’s (1979) research on the environmental influences of advertising demonstrated that advertising effectiveness significantly decreases with too many placements of a particular commercial or non-program material to be aired alongside prime-time programs. This finding runs against the popular view held by many advertising agencies, which suggests that buying time in higher clutter environments enhance the likelihood of receiving a good advertising position on television. An innovative and creative department is all that is needed to dissect the fact that buying commercial time in high clutter environments only increases the probability of receiving a poor position (Webb, 1 979). It requires a good idea and creative minds to be able to deconstruct words and imply meanings that would appeal to the targeted audience for any advertising campaign to be successful. Stern (1996a) observes that â€Å"†¦paradox is rooted in the multiple and contradictory meanings of words† (p. 137). A creative advertising department would, according to this particular author, untangle moments in a text that demonstrate a space between what is articulated by the advertiser in an advertisement (the signifier) and what is actually mentally construed by the target audience (the signified). The postmodern insights of deconstruction, according to Stern (1996b), have assisted to redefine textual meaning as open to continual changes. Proctor et al (2002) argue that many advertisements fail to achieve a sustainable level of effectiveness because the meaning of words and the structure are not easily discernable. Consequently, a good idea and creativity are fundamentally impo rtant for advertisers if they are to design advertisements using words which the target audience can readily identify with, particularly after the realization through research that the text used in advertising is treated as unfixed, unstable, and undefined, ultimately incapable of accounting for its usage because the perceptions of stability, immovability, and duration are too lax and open to every significant investiture (Stern, 1996a). There exists a popular saying that ‘creativity is the mother of all innovations.’ It therefore require a good idea and creative minds to design advertisements that will infer causal relations from temporal and fixed juxtapositions of advertising images, thereby assisting consumers to make the ideas contained in the advertisement meaningful through reference to the consumers’ sense experience (Hackley Kitchen, 1999). This way, the huge quantities of advertisements and other promotional activities exposed to consumers on a daily b asis will cease to be perceived as a source of social pollution because consumers will start to view advertising as meaningful to their own buying behaviours. Indeed, a good idea and creativity may provide the foundation for the development of the ethical facet of advertising management based on a sounder understanding of the possible damaging effects that unregulated marketing communications is bound to have on the intended audience. Hackley (1999) is of the opinion that understanding something of the complexity of human meaning rather than assuming a hierarchical approach to advertising messages might provide useful insights which could be used by advertisers and consumers to inform ethical judgments. Such an understanding, it is believed, can only add value to advertising campaigns by assisting consumers to understand the meaning behind each advertising campaign. Conclusion This evaluation has effectively brought into the limelight the tenets that differentiate successful adverti sing campaigns from unsuccessful ones. The critical role played by a sound idea and creative minds in creating successful marketing campaigns have been well documented. The central role of consumers in developing advertising strategies has also been well established. One particularly important facet that has been emphasized by a number of researchers is the fact that people should not be perceived as passive receivers of advertising information but as fundamental actors in the communication process who have the capacity to co-create value, meaning and relationships with the view to generate an enabling environment in which successful advertising can take place. Overall, the tenets of successful marketing campaign discussed in this paper can be used to develop what Kliatchko (2008) refers to as integrated marketing communications, which is basically â€Å"†¦the concept and process of strategically managing audience-focused, channel-centred, and results-driven brand communicatio n programs over time† (p. 140). Of importance, however, is the finding that a good idea and creative minds are central pillars through which the tenets of successful advertising campaign can flourish. List of References Aitken, R., Gray, B., Lawson, R (2008). Advertising Effectiveness from a Consumer Perspective. International Journal of Advertising, 27 (2), pp. 279-297. Hackley, C (1999). The Meanings of Ethics in and of Advertising. Business Ethics: A European Review, 8 (1), pp. 37-42. Hackley, C.E., Kitchen, P.J (1999). Ethical Perspectives on the Postmodern Communications Leviathan. Journal of Business Ethics, 20 (1), pp. 15-26. Hirschman, E.C., Thompson, C.J (1997). Why Media Matter: Toward a Richer Understanding of Consumers’ Relationships with Advertising and Mass Media. Journal of Advertising, 26 (1), pp. 43-60. Kliatchko, J.G (2008). Revisiting the IMC Construct. International Journal of Advertising, 27 (1), pp. 133-160. Mick, D.G., Buhl, C (1992). A Meanin g-based Model of Advertising Experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (3), pp. 317-338. Proctor, S., Proctor, T., Papasolomou-Doukakis, I (2002). A Post-Modern Perspective on Advertisements and their Analysis. Journal of Marketing Communications, 8 (1), pp. 31-44. Shankar, A (1999). Advertising’s Imbroglio. Journal of Marketing Communications, 5 (1), pp. 1-15. Soberman, D (2005). The complexity of Media Planning Today. Journal of Brand Management, 12 (6), pp. 420-429. Stern, B.B (1996a). Deconstructive Strategy and Consumer Research: Concepts and Illustrative Exemplar. Journal of Consumer Research, 23 (2), pp. 136-147. Stern, B.B (1996b). Textual Analysis in Advertising Research: Construction and Deconstruction of Meanings. Journal of Advertising, 25 (3), pp. 61-73. Webb, P.H (1979). Consumer Initial Processing in a Difficult Media Environment. Journal of Consumer Research, 6 (3), pp. 225-236. This essay on The Tenets of a Successful Advertising Campaign: Understanding the Role of Good Ideas Creative Minds was written and submitted by user Lilia Ramos to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Russias Approach to Peacekeeping Resembles Neo-imperialism †Government Essay

Russias Approach to Peacekeeping Resembles Neo-imperialism – Government Essay Free Online Research Papers Russias Approach to Peacekeeping Resembles Neo-imperialism Government Essay Russian peacekeeping operations have been described by McNeill as â€Å"intervention disguised as peacekeeping missions† (1997). In the early nineties there was a large body of writers arguing that post-Soviet Russian peacekeeping operations were aimed at expanding Russia and consolidating a powerbase throughout the region and subduing the newly independent states of the Transcausas and Central Asia. This essay examines this argument in relation to two case studies of Russian military intervention, Moldova and Tajikistan. The accusation by McNeill that Russian peacekeeping amounts to little more than self-interested military intervention is one that must be rejected upon further analysis of Russian operations as is demonstrated below. After examining the situation it becomes clear that Russia is pursuing a foreign policy that is far from unilateral and self-serving and no different from what any other state would do in a similar situation. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR resulted in a huge shift in the structure of international relations, with balance of power shifting from a bipolar system to a unipolar, or multipolar one depending on one’s point of view (Krauthammer 2002; Huntingdon 1999). This change in the global system and the demise of the USSR caused a large debate in the Russian Federation (RF) about what should constitute its new foreign policy in the post-Cold War era (Shakleina 1995: 83), both in relation to states of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and at a global level. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the severe economic crisis in Russia, it lost its place as a world superpower, having neither the military, economic or political strength to maintain such a position. The post-Cold War world has been characterized by ethnic tensions and regional conflicts, with civil and regional wars becoming the norm, for example the disintegration of Yugoslavia and conflict in Somalia (Nikitin 1996: 83). The greatest concern amongst policy makers is the stability and survival of the RF, threatened both internally and externally by ethnic conflicts. Rejecting the idea of having a concrete doctrine, the first Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation (RF) Kozyrez, instead claimed that Russia would adopt a flexible definition of its national interest, based on â€Å"reactions to specific situation[s]† (ibid.). During the early nineties policy makers involved in foreign policy were restricted in both numbers and outlooks, causing policy making to be a confused and fragmented area of the Russian government (Arbatov 1993: 8). Following the break-up of the USSR, there was no mechanism in place to deal with issues of collective security until 1996 when the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreed on guidelines, though this was after all the conflicts had started (Yermolaev 2000). Five points of justification for military action by Russia have b een identified by Holoboff: it must contribute to maintaining Russia’s position as a great power; protect ethnic Russians; prevent the spread of instability; secure Russian geopolitical interests and finally that it coincides with nationalist opinion (1994: pp156-157). For all the rhetoric of Russia as aspiring to play the role of regional hegemon by the West, it is difficult to see how these foreign policy aims are any different to most other states. This view is backed up when examining the examples of Russian intervention/peacekeeping. For the purposes of this essay the main focus will be upon the Yeltsin years, as it was during this era that all of the RF’s peacekeeping operations in â€Å"near abroad† were initiated. The term â€Å"near abroad† is used by Russian policy-makers to refer to the states of the FSU: the old Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) of Central Asia, the Baltic and the Transcaucas (Aldred Smith 2000). The CIS was formed in 1991 in the final days of the Soviet Union, and was intended to be mainly an economic group, though there were also plans to develop it as a defense organization as well. However as with most groups of this nature it merely reflected existing power relationships, with Galeotti describing it as a â€Å"gigantic fig-leaf†, which Yeltsin could use or ignore as he chose (1995: 150). Critics of Western security policy could argue that in this respect it differs little from the US domination of NATO or the UN. The â€Å"near abroad† is not qu ite synonymous with the CIS as the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have so far refused to join. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, 25 million ethnic Russians and 5 million Russian speakers found themselves living in the new states of the near abroad outside the boarders of the RF (Tolz 2001: 242). This diaspora has had a significant impact on Russian politics regarding the near abroad, especially in relation to peacekeeping operations (Kolsto, 1993: 198). As with most political concepts, the term â€Å"peacekeeping† has many different interpretations and meanings, resulting in states adopting differing interpretations regarding what can be classed as â€Å"peacekeeping† operations. This is one of the main issues of difference between Russian foreign policy and Western foreign policy, both in theory and in execution. Three key differences between the Russian and Western conception of peacekeeping have been identified by Nikitin (1996: 92). Firstly Russia has acted under a reduced mandate in all operations in the FSU. Instead of operating through the UN, it has been enough to have discussed peacekeeping with both, or even one of the conflicting sides and then only to agree in principal, rather than a full plan. Secondly there is no commitment to using military forces from a neutral party with no interests at stake in the conflict so as to avoid accusations of impartiality or the use of â€Å"peacekeeping† as a t ool for strategic gain (ibid.). The RF has believed that in several of conflicts detailed below that it is acting in a neutral position, as is not directly one of the two sides involved, however the many ties and linkages between the states of the FSU (Arbatov 1993: 7) make true neutrality impossible between any of the CIS states. Thirdly international observers should work separately, rather than alongside peacekeeping forces. Fourthly Nikitin argues that Russia is more concerned with peace-enforcement operations, rather than peacekeeping (1996: 92). These differences in policy help to account for some of the accusations of a neoimperialist agenda. Intervention has a range of definitions, from economic and political coercion by peaceful means to full scale military involvement in another sovereign states’ affairs (Halverson 1994: 76). The idea that Russia operates totally without regard to world opinion and without caring about UN legitimacy is is shown to be false on examination of the evidence. In 1994 Yeltsin claimed that the norms and principals of international law would be the basis of Russia’s foreign policy (Nikitin 1996: 86). Yeltsin also sought UN recognition that the FSU be accepted as part of the Russian sphere of influence and that she should be granted â€Å"special powers as guarantor of peace and stability in the regions of the former Union† (Yeltsin cited in Galeotti 1995: 180). This attempted to give international legitimacy to Russia pursuing an adaptation of the Monroe Doctrine, giving it free reign in its â€Å"backyard†. However this rhetoric was greatly weakened by Russia n actions in Eurasia contributing greatly to much of the instability (ibid.). In addition Holoboff argues that this was based on little more than Yeltsin trying to bolster public support for him by demonstrating that his sympathies lie with Russian’s in the near-abroad rather than with the West (1994: 170) Since 1990 Russia has been involved in four main â€Å"peacekeeping† operations in the area of the FSU; Moldova (1992), Georgia/Abkhazia (1992-), Georgia/South Ossetia (1992-) and Tajikistan (1992-) (Fleitz 2002: 117) and Chechnya within the RF (1994-). These have all been conflicts of secession based on ethnic, rather than political differences. Many of these conflicts were based on tensions that were suppressed in the USSR as the communist government attempt to unite all the ethnic groups of Russia and the CIS region under the banner of the socialist state (Treninl 2000). Yet the Soviet Union was in many ways a continuation of the Tsarist state, and Russians continued to dominate, especially in the SSRs, where ethnic Russians and Russian speakers were privileged over local ethnic groups. The idea of the Soviet Union as the union of many different nationalities was also predominantly the idea of Russians alone and many non-Russians in the outlying republics had a strong r esentment towards Moscow (Kolsto 1993: 198). Russian peacekeeping in these regions has differed greatly from Russian support for UN based missions, for example in Bosnia and Angola where Russian observers supported the UN missions (Yermolaev 2000). Reasons for Russia’s different approach to the near abroad are considered below. Russian peacekeeping operations in the Transdniestria region of Moldova have been one of the most controversial, due to the lack of adherence to international standards in peacekeeping. Following the independence of Moldova from the USSR in 1990 there were fears amongst the Russian section of the population that Moldova would seek to reunite with Romania (OSCE 1994: 1). The major ethnic group in Moldova are the Romanians, accounting for 65% of the population, in comparison Russians account for only 13% (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004). In response to the adoption of Romanian as the official language protests developed in the Transdniestria area, resulting in the declaration of a â€Å"Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic† (OSCE 1994: 2). This area had a high level of communist sympathies and a low level of Romanians, with the result that the â€Å"elected† communist government was sympathetic to Moscow. Problems were caused by the Russian 14th Army, led by the hard-line conservative Major-General Lebed, openly siding with the secessionist opponents of the Moldovan government (Holoboff 1994: 163). The 14th Army also supplied weapons and training to civilians during the conflict, in contradiction of all peacekeeping norms (OSCE 1994: 4), though whether this was done officially or not is unknown. The conflict started in December 1991 and it was not until July 1992 that a peacekeeping mission was discussed amongst the CIS states. Originally it was agreed that a CIS peacekeeping taskforce consisting of troops from Ukraine, Romania, Belarus, Russia and Bulgaria would be sent if the Moldovan government requested (OSCE 1994: 3). This initiative failed however as the other states backed out, leaving Moldova with little option but to accept the Russian plan of peacekeepers from Russia, Moldova and Transdniestria. Moldova eventually secured OSCE observation and assistance in 1994. However, even up the present day the Russian 14th Army re mains in Transdniestria, more than 1000km from the Russian border (ibid.) The former republics of Central Asia have been the other main hotspot of instability which the RF has become involved in peacekeeping operations and provides a useful comparison to operations in Moldova. Peacekeeping operations were started in Tajikistan in October 1993, following the bloodiest stage of the Civil War (Nikitin 1996: 91). The civil war started following the break-up of the Soviet Union and was between the Moscow backed communist government and a lose coalition of tribal and regional clans, some of them Islamic fundamentalists. Tajikistan’s location made it vulnerable to Islamic fundamentalism, a situation which has worried both the nearby authoritarian and largely secular former SSRs as well as Moscow (Vasilyev 1996: 69). Fears of a â€Å"domino effect† resulting from the Islamization of one of the former Republics are prevalent both in Moscow and in neighbouring states (Splidsboel-Hansen 1997: 1503; Holoboff 1994: 165). The most distinctive feature of Russian peacekeeping in Tajikistan has been its more multinational dimension and presence of a CIS mandate. In 1993 the heads of the CIS agreed to send a multinational peacekeeping force, consisting of military contingents from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajiks themselves (Nikitin 1996: 91). Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan later changed their minds, and Russia provided most of the troops eventually. Support from CIS states outside of the region was also non-existent; Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova all refused to send troops. Russian troops were used to seal the â€Å"transparent† Afghan border to prevent the movement of weapons and drugs and mujahidin. In 1994 a UN peacekeeping mission, UNMOT, was despatched to supervise the ceasefire and to stabilise the country (Taylor 2002). By the time of the UN’s involvement support from CIS states other than Russia amount to little more than a token effort (Shakleina 1995: 103) The two above case studies arguably demonstrate little in the way of a neoimperialist foreign policy pursue by the RF under the guise of peacekeeping. Certainly Russian conceptions of peacekeeping have differed from traditionally accepted ones in many ways, however there is no strong evidence that Russia is embarking on a deliberately expansionist policy. Firstly in both cases there has been an eventual acceptance of the need to involve supranational bodies, in Moldova the OSCE and in Tajikistan the UN, which is hardly consistent with the idea of an expansionist state seeking to further its own regional gains. Russia also assisted with peacekeeping in Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh somewhat reluctantly and at its own expense (Holoboff 1994: 168) In none of the cases has Russia acted unilaterally with no consultation, there has been no Afghanistan or Hungarian type operations in response to perceived security threats. Russia has found it hard to act multilaterally when states in the CIS refuse to send troops to backup their declarations. One of the main reasons for CIS states refusing to send troops is that it would be of no benefit to their state, for example this was the reason given by Turkmenistan for refusing to send troops to assist in Tajikistan (Brown 1996: 237). Russia has also had to step in when other states outside the region have refused assistance. The UN initially refused to become involved in the conflict in Abkhazia as conditions were â€Å"not ripe† (Ivanov 1996: 78) for UN involvement, as a result of the bloodshed Russia was forced to step in and provide the framework and troops for peacekeeping, again out her own pocket. Secondly there appears to be a development of Russian policy as it becomes used to a new concept, for example the adoption of a CIS doctrine on peacekeeping. Peacekeeping formed only a very limited feature of the Soviet Union’s foreign policy, instead preferring to see conflicts in a more black and white approach such as its support for national liberation movements, for example in Angola. Thirdly Russia’s approach to its neighbouring states seems more concerned with guarding its own borders and preserving its security. Refusing to allow places such as Tajikistan to become Islamic fundamentalist states represents a prudent, rather than expansionist foreign policy, especially when considering the large level of non-Russian Muslims in the Central Asian states and the destabilising effect this would have on Russia proper. In addition to these factors the RF has also not installed puppet regimes in either of these conflicts, or any of the other ones which it has been inv olved in, signifying a major break in policy from the days of the Soviet Union. In many ways the shedding of the outlying SSRs in Central Asia has been a benefit to the RF as she would no longer have to economically support them or use troops to resolve ethnic and tribal conflicts (Smith 1999: 49). Regardless of its long lineage, the new RF is less than 15 years old as a democratic state; as such it must be expected to take some time to develop its foreign policies. Certainly in light of recent US/UK actions in Iraq and Afghanistan it is hard to accuse the RF as being alone in pursuing an â€Å"imperialist† agenda. A more accurate description I would argue is that the RF is adopting a Monroe Doctrine-esque strategy and that policies in Central Asia and the Transcaucas are more readily comparable to US actions in Latin America than any of the â€Å"classic† European Empires such as the British or French. Russia’s actions in Moldova and Tajikistan appear to have very limited geostrategic benefits for the RF, for example it would not be in Russia’s interests to have another Kaliningrad. It would be incorrect to view them as altruistic peace-orientated acts, though is peacekeeping ever without some form of hidden agenda? The Central Asian states are also dependent on Russia to a large extent to provide security for them. Following the dissolution of the Union, the Central Asian states wanted a common CIS defence force to provide security, removing the financial burden on their already weak economies (Brown 1995: 235). When this failed to happen they became dependent on Russia for training, equipment and enforcement in times of crisis (ibid.). This further weakens the case for the neoimperialist argument, making Russian activity seem more like an â€Å"empire by invitation† than imperial aggrandisement. CIS member states have also been unwilling to provide the military personal needed for peacekeeping operations, resulting in Russia bearing the burden unilaterally, despite CIS approval, for example in Tajikistan (Yermolaev 2000). It is also too early yet to see whether hostility will emerge at a governmental level to Russian involvement in Central Asia. A criticism by Holoboff of Russia’s peacekeeping operations is that despite Russia’s official democratic status, Moscow has supported hard-line communist governments numerous times (1994: 165). This is implying that Russia has not changed her old ways, yet how many authoritarian and repressive governments has the West supported in favour of ones they believe will be more hostile? A good example is the estimated $3bn worth of aid the US has given to Pakistan, despite being ruled by an unelected military junta that came to power in a coup d’etat (Kux 2003). This aid is being given as a reward for Islamabad’s support for the US’ war on terror, even though Pakistan has provided a large level of support for Islamists in the past, has an active nuclear weapons programme, a poor human rights record and a hostile foreign policy towards India over the Kashmir region, which may yet degenerate into nuclear war. When compared to examples like this, Moscowâ⠂¬â„¢s realpolitik foreign policy of supporting corrupt or repressive regimes almost looks as if it is just following international norms. Since the â€Å"war on terror† was declared by the US, criticism of Russia for its activities in suppressing Islamist fundamentalism has been lessened, especially in Chechnya (Csongos 2001). Criticism against Russian actions in the region have subsided in recent years as Moscow has been transformed into an ally of the West in the â€Å"war against terror†. It is also likely that it has become apparent that the â€Å"old Russia† of the Cold War has disappeared, and that there is no longer the political will or capacity for future large scale conflicts with the West. Russia has even been criticised for not having an active enough presence in Transdniestria in order to prevent the proliferation of the large amount of ex-Soviet weapons located there (Warrick 2003). Vasilyev concludes by claiming that Russia’s peacekeeping operations are not motivated by a â€Å"neo-imperial ambitions† but by a rational calculation of Russia’s security interests; without peace and stability on its borders Russia will find it difficult to achieve its full economic potential (1996: 80). I would support his conclusion with reference to the lack of unilateral action taken, the acceptance of outside mediation and support and the very real need for Russia to secure itself as evidence for the strength of this conclusion. Bibliography Books Fleitz, H. (2002) Peacekeeping Fiascos of the 1990s (Praeger: London) Galeotti, M. (1994) The Age of Anxiety (Longman: Harlow) Raevsky, A. Vorob’ev, I. N. (1994) Russian Approaches to Peacekeeping (UNIDIR: New York) Smith, G. (1999) The Post Soviet States: Mapping the Politics of Transition (Arnold: London) Tolz, V. (2001) Inventing the Nation: Russia (Arnold: London) Edited Books Brown, B. (1995) â€Å"Security and Military Issues in Central Asia† in Parrot, B. ed. State Building and Military Power in Russia and the New States of Eurasia (M.E. Sharpe: London) Halverson, T. (1994) â€Å"Disengagement by Stealth: The Emerging Gap Between America’s Rhetoric and the Reality of Future European Conflicts† in Freedman, L. ed. Military Intervention in European Conflicts (Blackwell: London) Holoboff, E. (1994) â€Å"Military Intervention: The Russian View† in Freedman, L. ed. Military Intervention in European Conflicts (Blackwell: London) Nikitin, A. (1996) â€Å"Peace Support Operations on the Territory of the Former Soviet Union† in Carlton, D. et al. eds. Rising Tension in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (Dartmouth: Aldershot) Shakleina, T. (1995) â€Å"Russian Policy Toward Military Conflict in the Former Soviet Union† in Parrot, B. ed. State Building and Military Power in Russia and the New States of Eurasia (M.E. Sharpe: London) Journal Articles Arbatov, A. (1993) â€Å"Russia’s Foreign Policy Alternatives† International Security Vol.18:2; pp5-43 Huntingdon, S. (1999) â€Å"The Lonely Superpower† Foreign Affairs Mar/Apr99, Vol. 78:2; pp35-60 Kolsto, P. (1993) â€Å"The New Russian Diaspora: Minority Protection in the Soviet Successor States† Journal of Peace Research Vol.30:2; pp197-217 Krauthammer, C. (2002) â€Å"The Unipolar Moment Revisited- United States World Dominance† The National Interest Winter 2002 McNeill, T. (1997) â€Å"Humanitarian Intervention and Peacekeeping the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe† International Political Science Review Vol.18:1; pp95-113 Splidsboel-Hansen, F. (1997) â€Å"The Official Russian Concept of Contemporary Central Asian Islam: The Security Dimension† Europe-Asia Studies Vol.49:8; pp1501-1517 Online Sources Alder, K. Smith, M. (2000) â€Å"Imperial Ambition or Humanitarian Concern? Russia and its `Near Abroad† jha.ac/articles/a025.htm Accessed 25/5/04 (Journal of Humanitarian Assistance) Csongos, F. (2001) â€Å"Russia: U.S. Says No Deal With Moscow† cdi.org/russia/173.html##1 (Centre for Defense Information) Accessed 27/5/04 Kux, D. (2003) â€Å"Looking at US aid to Pakistan† mideasti.org/articles/doc146.html Accessed 28/5/04 (Middle East Institute) Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia (2004) http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566942/Moldova.html#s4 Accessed 25/5/04 (Microsoft) OSCE (1994) â€Å"Transdniestrian Conflict: Origins and Main Issues† osce.org/moldova/documents/files/background.pdf Accessed 25/5/04 (OSCE) Taylor, R. (2002) â€Å"Tajikistan: Time to Reflect† http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1309/is_4_39/ai_96951759 (UN Chronicle: Dec.2002) Accessed 26/5/04 Treninl, D. (2000) â€Å"Peacekeeping in the Former Soviet Union: Lessons for Africa† iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No46/Peacekee.html Accessed 26/5/04 (Monograph) Yermolaev, M. (2000 â€Å"Russias International Peacekeeping and Conflict Management in the Post-soviet Environment† iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No44/RussiasPeacekeeping.html Accessed 31/5/04 (Monograph) Newspaper Articles Warrick, J. (2003) â€Å"Dirty Bomb Warheads Disappear: Stocks of Soviet-Era Arms For Sale on Black Market† Washington Post 7/12/03 washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp- dyn?pagename=articlecontentId=A41921-2003Dec6notFound=true Accessed 31/5/04 Research Papers on Russia's Approach to Peacekeeping Resembles Neo-imperialism - Government EssayAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Assess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropePETSTEL analysis of IndiaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andTwilight of the UAWThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationOpen Architechture a white paperBringing Democracy to AfricaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Discussion wk5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion wk5 - Essay Example Binge eating disorder is characterized by eating a lot of food at once. Primary health problems include obesity, high cholesterol levels, gastrointestinal complications, osteoarthritis, and sleep apnea among others. Eating disorders may lead to many health problems. For instance, Night eating syndrome may cause sleep apnea, abdominal distention, anemia, preeclampsia, and other obstetric complications. Compulsive overeating disorder may lead to obesity, high cholesterol levels, gastrointestinal complications, and osteoarthritis, among others. Bulimia nervosa may cause hypokalemia, boerhaave syndrome, gastro paresis, dehydration among others. Undeniably, obesity has many health complications. However, measures to control obesity are sometimes predisposing factors to more problems. Although I was quite familiar with some of the health complications associated with obesity, I had not realized that treatments for obesity could present worse complications. For instance, I have learned that homeopathic weight loss remedy by use of products containing the hormone (Human chorionic gonadotropin) HCG can cause such serious health effects. It is therefore important to control obesity using appropriate methods (Hellminch, 2011). It also caught my attention that sedentary behavior is indeed a contributing factor towards overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular complications. Although this field is receiving heightened attention from researchers, it is evident that the complications result from failure to expend extra calories. Although sedentary behavior is not classified as an eating disorder, it can cause complications such as obes ity that is often classified within the reams of eating disorders. Hellminch, N. (2011). Feds crack down on homeopathic weight loss remedy. Retrieved from

Resume and Cover Letter Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Resume and Cover Letter - Assignment Example I have worked as a management assistant at Booz Allen Hamilton and the professional experiences gained, in conjunction with the theoretical framework continuously being developed at George Mason University (GMU) would be appropriately honed through your internship program. My previous work experiences assisted in developing teamwork and working in a collaborative and cohesive atmosphere. My responsibilities as management assistant in Booz Allen Hamilton required working effectively with diverse teams to specifically ensure that team members are duly motivated towards the accomplishment of identified organizational goals. My proposal for innovative performance evaluation programs that recognize and acknowledge exemplary performers using merit based standards assisted in achieving higher productivity, higher morale and job satisfaction. I likewise envision assisting in motivating teams within the Net Social environment. I have acknowledged the importance of completing my degree in Accounting at GMU to augment the professional skills gained at Booz Allen Hamilton, and to make me more competitive and competent in a global environment. Currently, support from the faculty and administrative staff at GMU assist in the development of more leadership skills, as well as in gaining more expertise in interpersonal communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. The multidisciplinary approach to learning enabled me to effectively share the knowledge, abilities, and skills gained during the course and assist in addressing unique and distinct team requirements at Net Social. Enclosed is a copy of my resume for your review. I would be genuinely interested to be part of the internship program. I likewise look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship. I could be reached at Telephone Number or Email Address. Thank you for your time and

Kill Me Now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Kill Me Now - Essay Example This new piece by department of Theatre and Dance is the ultimate competition game show â€Å"Kill Me Now†. It is based on a group of people belongs to different background such as Afro-American gay dancer, Indian, Russian, Spanish, religious dancer, psychopath, weigh filter etc. having a dance competition between them; they fight to win a prize of best dancer. In this game show audience is also a part of the article and dramatic version of this reality show. Dance show Kill Me Now features almost eight characters in this competition along with a host and judges, a DJ which holds the background music, a score keeper and the Dance crew of Kill Me Now. Dancers are very excited to win and every time they want to give their best in front of judges. Dancer is not concern with the winning amount, they are not aware of what they get prize in result of this competition they just want to win. And they do also not know the ultimate prize for the winner. At each performance of this game show, audience will cast votes to choose the winner of this dance competition. At the end of this dance show the winner found its ultimate prize for which they were competing for and it is the death of the winner of this dance competition; winner gets kill by judge of this show. Through this play writer delivers the message that sometimes we do not use are senses. This game show is modeled after current reality shows on TV in which some are comic based, highly interactive experience, fast-paced where the audience is very excited and wants to watch these kinds of reality shows always. And the main theme of this game show is that we are belong to a culture whom always love to compete and audience enjoy watching these competitions they don’t care about cast, religion, color of competitors. Every day we watch in different reality shows on different channels. People are very keen to watch these reality shows either they are kids, youngsters or old age people they just have an interest in

Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort

Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort Chapter I: Introduction 1.1 Background In recent times, customers satisfaction is the main concern for every hotel and resort. Customers are now more valued and every effort is being made to keep them loyal to the resort and make them permanent visitors. The hotel industry believes that higher level of customer satisfaction may result in higher levels of repurchase. Repeat purchasing is essential to a continued stream of profitability through achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997). The customers satisfaction can be defined as â€Å"the fulfillment response† which they feel towards given service. It has been a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of underfulfilment or overfulfilment† (Oliver, 1996, p. 14). The concept of consumer satisfaction occupies a central position in marketing thought and practice. Conceptually, satisfaction is an outcome of purchase and use results from the buyers comparison of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences. Operationally, satisfaction is similar to attitude in that it can be assessed as the sum of the satisfactions with the various attributes of the product or service. With due consideration of this marketing approach, every effort is being made to provide the customers with better services in order to keep them loyal and make them a repeat visitor. The customer behaviour is considered as the ultimate success scale within the industry. The hotel industry is also among those sectors which have been trying to attract customers as long term visits. For this purpose, the hotel industry consistently implies different approaches to assess the customers satisfaction level in order to introduce new methods to attract them and make them their repeat visitors. The Samui Island has many attractions for the tourists and visitors from all around the world and a great number of visitors come to the island in order to enjoy tranquil and naturally beautiful beaches, hospitality of the local population and the unique services like spa offered by the hotel industry. There are a lot of visiting places on the island like the Big Buddah, Namuang Waterfall, Hin Ta Hin Ya, Sawadee Shrine, Hin Lad Waterfall, Scuba Diving, Dinning and restaurant and Samui nightlife etc. These attractions have attracted visitors tremendously and have contributed significantly to enhance the business opportunity for the local hotels and resorts. Nora Beach is one of the most famous resorts of the Samui Island. It is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samaui, the 3rd largest island. The resort offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a seclude bay just north of the world famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach and Spa, 2007). Nora Beach Resort and Spa has strived to offer its customers excellent service over the years. 1.2 Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to analyse the level of customers satisfaction at Nora Beach Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand. This analysis would be made by assessing customers opinion through a well designed questionnaire. Considering the results of this analysis, the study will try to suggest the strategy for achieving a desirable customers satisfaction in the light of new marketing approaches. 1.1 Objectives of Study The objectives of the study are: To understand the level of customers satisfaction by conducting a survey. To analyse the characteristics of the customers satisfaction which contribute their loyalty for the particular resort or hotel. This will be done by analysing purpose of visit, gender, age, education and other characteristics. To suggest a strategy to retain customer loyalty by adopting an effective marketing strategy. 1.4 Study Structure In order to analyse customers satisfaction with the service at Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui, this study will review the current literature in the context of customers satisfaction and the services provided by the hotel industry. It will also examine the customers satisfaction in relation with the services provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa through the primary data. For this purpose, in the literature review chapter, different theories relating to service, customers satisfaction and different categories of hotels will be reviewed. The methodology chapter will present philosophy and methods of research undertaken for this study. It will also describe the sampling, data collection tools and the method for data analysis. The fourth chapter will present the results of the research in relation with demographic analysis of the respondents and their satisfaction level at the Hotel. In the fifth chapter, conclusions will be made resulting from the data analysis. This researcher w ill offer recommendation to the industry with due consideration to the results of the primary data and the review of the literature. Chapter II: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Service The service is defined as a â€Å"prototype for service, covering the need of the customer and the design of the service†. Edvardsson and Olsson (1996, p. 149). Goldstein et al. (2002) suggest that the service concept integrates the â€Å"how† and â€Å"what† of service design while keeping both the customers needs and strategic intent of the firm in mind. In other words, the service concept gives a detailed description of what the customer needs and how the organization will deliver the service. The study of customers satisfaction in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. Since the success of a business has been linked to providing high levels of customers satisfaction, a substantial amount of effort has been focused on identifying how consumers perceive service quality in various settings. Gronroos (1982) has defined service quality as â€Å"the outcome of an evaluation process where the consumer compares his expectations with the service he perceived he has received.† Hence we can say that perceived service is measured against expected service. Service quality has been seen as the result of comparing a customers expectations prior to receiving the service with the customers experiences with the service. Wyckoff (1984) defined the concept of service quality from the companys perspective. Service quality is the degree of excellence for meeting the customers requirements, and control over the variability in achieving that excellence. 2.2.1 Service Theories According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) the study of service in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. With growing competition and emerging of hotel industry as a high profiting business, much preference is made to deliver a quality service to the customers. The researchers have defined service quality as the result of comparing the expectation of service quality and the perception of feelings. That is, the service quality not only includes the evaluation of the service performances, but also includes the process of service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985, 1988). According to Sherden (1988), service quality is defined as a relationship between a customer and the particular employee with whom the customer is dealing. Although the actual level of service quality is developed in the employee-customer relationship, management must ensure that customers experiences are in line with their expectations. Lovelock (1991) has defined the characteristics of service quality. According to him, service quality is that; which is delivered in a performance, in which the customer is involved in production in which other customers are often similarly involved in production (e.g., a theater) in which quality control can only be performed during delivery in which service cannot be inventoried, deliver is â€Å"realtime†, and; distribution channels are nonexistent or compressed. Examining service quality and its relationship with relevant constructs not only requires recognition of essential dimensions of service quality, but also identification of dimensions that are most meaningful to the customers in measuring the overall satisfaction. Therefore, having a better understanding of service quality is associated with considering various dimensions of service quality. Service quality dimensions or elements are those attributes that contribute to the creation of consumer expectations and perceptions of service quality. Service Quality called â€Å"SERVQUAL† is an instrument for measuring the gap between the services.† Therefore, what consumers think should be provided and what they think actually has been provided. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985, 1988) initially offered ten attributes, which they regard as essential to the quality of all services. These ten dimensions were tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding/knowing the customer, and access. These ten dimensions and their descriptions served as the basic structure of the service quality domain from which items were derived for the SERVQUAL scale (Table 1). 2.2.2 Elements of Service Researchers agree that it is hard to measure customer satisfaction and the service quality as every customer perceives service from his or her own preferences (Gavin Eccles and Philip Durand, 1997). To overcome this problem of defining the service level, hotels have addressed it through star ratings, where guests can gain a perception of the quality on offer through the number of stars attached to he hotel. However, as service quality depends more on customers perception, there are different criteria used by different customer groups to evaluate service. The purpose of The SERVQUAL scale is to measure levels of service quality. In this technique, it is assumed that the levels of service quality experienced by customers are critically determined by the gap between general expectations of the service and the customers perceptions of what they actually receive from a specific service provider. The customers can evaluate the service quality from the following five factors: tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy. The benefit of the SERVQUAL scale is that the management can assess and monitor the service quality and design better strategies and policies to improve it. Furthermore, understanding the customers satisfaction level and perception of service quality may yield important information influencing the design and specification of this and other, related, services provided by the organization. Finally, it helps the hotel industry in better developing future service improvements (Gavin and Durand, 1997). 2.3 Impact of Service on Customer Satisfaction The improved service quality provided to the customers enhances their loyalty to the service provider. Thus, attention has been paid to the concept of customer satisfaction as a corporate goal among academics and business practitioners (Rust Oliver, 1995). Satisfaction is a major outcome of marketing processes that culminate in purchase, and satisfaction is also thought to contribute to post-purchasing phenomena such as word-of-mouth communication, repurchase intention, and brand loyalty. Gronholdt, Martensen, and Kristensen (2000) administered a study on sixty companies and found that customer satisfaction would have significant impacts on customer loyalty. Bowen and Chen (2001) focused on the hotel industry to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results showed a slight increase in customer satisfaction would highly improve customer loyalty. Hence, customer satisfaction was inferred to have great impacts on customer loyalty. Moreover, Tam (2004) established an integrated framework of service quality, customer satisfaction, and perceived value, suggesting that customer satisfaction and perceived value have significant influences on customers future purchase behaviors. Anderson and Sullivan (1993) believed that customer satisfaction positively influenced repurchase intentions. Repurchase intentions is considered a possible outcome of customer loyalty. Jones and Sasser (1995) stated that customer loyalty is â€Å"a feeling of attachment to or affection for a companys people, products, or services.† Customer loyalty is often referred to as a purchase behavior, unlike customer satisfaction, which is an attitude. Repurchase behavior is a form of loyalty. Customer loyalty, a key mediating variable in explaining customer retention is concerned with the likelihood of a customer returning, making business referrals, providing strong word-of-mouth, as well as providing references and publicity (Bowen and Showemaker, 1998). Although most research on loyalty has focused on frequently purchased package goods (brand loyalty), the loyalty concept is also important for industrial goods (vendor loyalty), services (service loyalty), and retail establishment (store loyalty) Prior research has shown that ones emotions have an influence on behavior, and that one responds to an event in certain ways to maintain positive emotions (i.e. happiness) and to avoid negative emotions (i.e. depression) (Strauss and Neuhaus, 1997). Oliver, Rust, and Varki (1997) found that positive emotion led to higher levels of customer satisfaction and increased repurchase intentions. On the other hand, Andreasen (1999) found that initial negative emotion caused by a service failure results in customer exit behavior. Dick and Basu (1994) posited that true loyalty only exists when repeat patronage coexists with a high relative positive attitude. In addition to attitude, it has been argued that loyalty may also be based on cognition (Lee and Zeiss, 1980; Oliver, 1980). 2.2.4 Quality in Customer Service The quality of service provided to the customers matters a lot more not only for the customers but it is a matter of great concern for the service provider as well. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. Spreng and MacKoy (1996) also studied the relationship between service quality and satisfaction based on their modified Olivers (1993) satisfaction/service quality model. Their modified model fitted the data well where service quality was hypothesized to influence satisfaction. In their study, the path coefficient between two constructs appeared to be significant (t = 9.4). Woodside, Frey, and Daly (1989) supported the causal relation of service quality and satisfaction with data collected in area of health care. Several researchers stated that overall service quality is determined only by the customers perception of a service, rather than the difference between the customers expectation and actual service performance. 2.3 Customer Satisfaction The service literature has been contributed to the confusion over the relationship between consumer satisfaction and service quality. The most important that service providers need to know are how their objectives meet or exceed the customers satisfaction with their performance. The importance of this issue has been led to several recent efforts to clarify the relationship between satisfaction and service quality. The SERVQUAL measurement tool suggests that a consumers perception of service quality involves the difference between his or her expectations about the performance of a general class of service providers and his or her assessment of the actual performance of a specific firm within that class. SERVQUAL confounds customer satisfaction and customer attitude. In contrast, the SERVPERF version of the original SERVQUAL scale only concerns performance. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. 2.3.1 Customer Satisfaction Theories The customer satisfaction theories stress that quality of service is more important than the goods provided. Customers get satisfied mainly because of the quality and it is a psychological effect on their choice when they choose a particular hotel or resort to visit and stay. That is why one of the fastest growing segments in marketing research is the study of customer satisfaction (Dutka, 1994). When customers get satisfied with a particular service, they become loyal for it and in this way, the business have more repeat visitors. Customers satisfaction is directly linked with his or her expectancy level. The perception of customers are always different and there is no hard and fast rule to determine what kind of service satisfy more. As the satisfaction expectancies consistently change, so, there are three stages which the customers pass through before rendering satisfaction. At the first level, expectations are simple and take the form of assumptions. In the next level the expecta tion level become complex and the customer has higher expectations. At the third level customers expectorations are even higher and he or she years for something which may attract him or her and have some delightful effects rather than the normal routine services. (Service Marketing, 2007). When a customer achieves this kind of highly attracting service, he becomes a loyal and repeat customer and remains loyal until the service quality begin deteriorating. 2.3.2 Functionalities of Customer Satisfaction The functionality of customer satisfaction in the business world is that how effectively the services/goods meet the customers expectations. Therefore we can see across marketing world that each businesses success story relies on â€Å"Customer Satisfaction†. Thus the customer satisfaction has become the key element of business strategy in todays market place (Buchanan, Gilles, 1990). Although the customer satisfaction varies from an individual to individual, however certain recommend standards can be opted in-order to mitigate positively the popular perception. The common tool to opt the level of customer satisfaction is survey or collection of primary data where customer is asked to evaluate the open ended and close ended statements in accordance with the customers own perception. Thence the performance of the service/goods becomes contingent of that certain level of Customer Satisfaction. 2.3.3 Customer vs. Employee Satisfaction Satisfaction can be seen from two different perspectives. Customers satisfaction implies that they should get satisfied with the quality of service they receive while the employees satisfaction means how satisfied they are in the workplace and how they are able to serve the customers with commitment. As the satisfaction on both sides is imperative the hotel industry has not only to ensure the satisfaction of its customers but also those of their employees because without satisfaction of employees there is no justification to expect commitment of employees. Employees satisfaction may be achieved through incentives and rewards, acknowledgment of their performance and motivating them for achievement of further goals. Similarly, customers satisfaction can be achieved through offering them unique and high standard services and fostering better public relations with them. 2.4 Hotel Categories Hotels can be categorised according to the services they provide, i.e., location, facilities and services offered and clientele served. Restaurants mostly provide the customers with eating stuff but do not offer accommodation. However, hotels mainly have accommodation facilities as well as provide the customers different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some hotels offer accommodation but does not have their own chef so customers have to have their meals outside. Furthermore, the services of hotels further differ according to their location. In Thailand, usually hotels have begun to offer spa and other health facilities besides providing them normal accommodation and meals facilities. 2.4.1 Types of Hotel Most of the hotels have their own star rating. But the interesting thing is that there is no unified system to determine the service quality of the hotels. Throughout Europe, rating of hotels is determined either by government or by the private organisation according to the service they provide (Martin, 2007). There are 1 to 5 star hotels across the globe and the cost of their services differ according to their rating. For example, a four star hotel is much costly than a 1 star hotel. Similarly, four star hotel is expected to have more facilities than a 1 star hotel. A four to five star hotel may have more services and amenities, including meeting space for conferences 2.5 Nora Beach Resort and Spa 2.5.1 Information of the Hotel The Nora Beach Resort is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samui, the 3rd largest island, which offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a secluded bay just north of the world-famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach Resort and Spa, 2007). The profound services of Nora Beach Resort and Spa are as follow: Bars and Restaurants. Recreation Anodas Spa Rooms The additional supportive services of the Resort are as follow: Travel and Tours Desk. Taxi/Limousine Service. Swimming pools Laundry and Dry Cleaning. Gymnasium/Fitness Room. Baby Sitting Facilities. 2.5.2 Type of Customers The type of customers visit Nora Beach Resort and Spa are holiday makers, however the professionals on travel also frequently visit the resort. According to a study by Thailand Tourism Statistics that 87% of tourists are holiday makers at Koh Samui Island; where the Nora Beach Resort is jewel of the attraction for the holiday makers at Koh Samui Islands. These categories of visitors consist of male, female and children with age diversity from 13 to 55 years on average. They prefer Nora Beach for the reason that major attractions of Island are nearby the resort. 2.5 Conclusion In this chapter, different theories of customers satisfaction have been evaluated and reviewed. Further, the importance of service quality on customers loyalty has been discussed. Besides, the review of literature from customers perspective, different categories of hotels and the system of rating has also been discussed. The review of literature shows that with the competition in hotel industry, customers perception and expectation of service has increased to a great extent and now the hotel industry has to enhance, improve and add up more services for the customers to make them loyal to the services. Chapter III: Methodology 3.1 Introduction This chapter presents details about the methodology adopted and elaborates the chosen research philosophy, approach and strategy used and the reasons for their selection. Further, this chapter describes the sample population and how the primary data was collected and processed. It also describes the secondary data collection for the literature review. This chapter further explains the data collection tool and highlights validity, authenticity and reliability of the data collected. 3.2 Research Framework Saunders et al. (2007) define an exploratory study as a valuable means of finding out what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light study. Further, they define interpretivism as a theory of knowledge that depicts the methods, validity and scope of the research. This theory advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand difference between humans as social actors (Saunders, Lewis Thornhil, 2007). ). Hence, the study was conducted in the interpretivism philosophy, because the aim of the researcher was to know the difference of human behavior in relation with satisfaction in the service quality provided by the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The researcher aimed to know how customers get satisfied with the service provided by the Resort and how they perceive service quality. The research strategy utilized was case study. The case study strategy has considerable ability to generate answers to the question ‘why? as well as the ‘what? and ‘how? questions (Saunders et al., 2007). In addition, a case study strategy can be very worthwhile way of exploring existing theory or to challenge an existing theory (Saunders et al., 2007). The study also sought answers to what the customers satisfaction level and how customers can be attracted to revisit the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. 3.3 Sampling The population of this research were customers who stayed in Nora Beach Resort and Spa; a total of n= 113 customers completed the survey. The sampling technique needed for the case study was non- probability sampling which are purposive and convenience. 3.4 Data Collection tool The data collection tool for this study is a well designed questionnaire consisting of three parts as questionnaires are one of the most widely used data collection techniques in the survey strategy (Saunders et al. 2007). The first part is related to the customers satisfaction consisting 15 questions based on five likert scale ranging from very satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied and very dissatisfied. The purpose of this part is to assess the perception of customers about the quality of the Resort in relation with menu variety, room service, cleanliness etc. The second part consists general type of questions like accessibility of the Resort and the reason to choose it. The third part of the questionnaire is demographic one assessing customers gender, age occupation and the purpose of their visit. In all, there were twenty two questions asked to analyze the customers assessment and expectations regarding the facilities and services as provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa, T hailand. 3.4 Data Collection The research was based on positivism principles with deductive approach. The questionnaire developed was placed in the guest rooms, as well as in the lobby and was collected by Ms.Napaphon Rattanarak, a proctor who was trained according to the guidelines established. Permission was granted by the resort manager to conduct this study following highest ethical standards and principles. 3.6 Data Analysis As this study aims at providing recommendations on improving service quality of Nora Beach Resort and Spa, the dully filled and returned questionnaire was analysed using SPSS, the software having good analytical capabilities. The analysis of the questionnaire offers insight about the conception of customers with regard to their perception of service quality at Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The results of this analysis will be discussed in the preceding chapter. 3.7 Conclusion This chapter has highlighted the research philosophy, techniques and methods used for this study. The study has relied over Likert Technique because in-order to assess the level of customer satisfaction the best available method was to conduct survey. The respondents were visitors to the resort staying at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. Although the responses of the customers may be biased as their opinion may be influenced by the service provided at that very moment, yet, this research provides a lot of interesting information regarding their perception of the service quality. Chapter IV: Results 4.1 Introduction In this chapter, the researcher will show the results of the data collected from the questionnaire which were gathered from the customers/visitors of Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui. In this section, the researcher will present the demographic information from the respondents, and will also discuss the customers response towards the questions asked about the services provided. Further, the researcher will discuss the general information analysis of the customers as to how they found the resort, why did they choose to stay at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa and whether it was their first visit or they are a repeat visitors. 4.2 Demographics There were total 113 questionnaire placed in the guest room and the lobby of the resort which the customer staying at the resort had to fill up which, in return, were collected and returned to the researcher by Ms. Napaphon, a protector trained for the purpose. All the 113 questionnaires were duly filled up and retuned y the customers. Of these 113 respondents, 56 were male (49.56 per cent) and 57 female (50.44 per cent) 4.3 Level of Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort Chapter I: Introduction 1.1 Background In recent times, customers satisfaction is the main concern for every hotel and resort. Customers are now more valued and every effort is being made to keep them loyal to the resort and make them permanent visitors. The hotel industry believes that higher level of customer satisfaction may result in higher levels of repurchase. Repeat purchasing is essential to a continued stream of profitability through achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997). The customers satisfaction can be defined as â€Å"the fulfillment response† which they feel towards given service. It has been a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of underfulfilment or overfulfilment† (Oliver, 1996, p. 14). The concept of consumer satisfaction occupies a central position in marketing thought and practice. Conceptually, satisfaction is an outcome of purchase and use results from the buyers comparison of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences. Operationally, satisfaction is similar to attitude in that it can be assessed as the sum of the satisfactions with the various attributes of the product or service. With due consideration of this marketing approach, every effort is being made to provide the customers with better services in order to keep them loyal and make them a repeat visitor. The customer behaviour is considered as the ultimate success scale within the industry. The hotel industry is also among those sectors which have been trying to attract customers as long term visits. For this purpose, the hotel industry consistently implies different approaches to assess the customers satisfaction level in order to introduce new methods to attract them and make them their repeat visitors. The Samui Island has many attractions for the tourists and visitors from all around the world and a great number of visitors come to the island in order to enjoy tranquil and naturally beautiful beaches, hospitality of the local population and the unique services like spa offered by the hotel industry. There are a lot of visiting places on the island like the Big Buddah, Namuang Waterfall, Hin Ta Hin Ya, Sawadee Shrine, Hin Lad Waterfall, Scuba Diving, Dinning and restaurant and Samui nightlife etc. These attractions have attracted visitors tremendously and have contributed significantly to enhance the business opportunity for the local hotels and resorts. Nora Beach is one of the most famous resorts of the Samui Island. It is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samaui, the 3rd largest island. The resort offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a seclude bay just north of the world famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach and Spa, 2007). Nora Beach Resort and Spa has strived to offer its customers excellent service over the years. 1.2 Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to analyse the level of customers satisfaction at Nora Beach Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand. This analysis would be made by assessing customers opinion through a well designed questionnaire. Considering the results of this analysis, the study will try to suggest the strategy for achieving a desirable customers satisfaction in the light of new marketing approaches. 1.1 Objectives of Study The objectives of the study are: To understand the level of customers satisfaction by conducting a survey. To analyse the characteristics of the customers satisfaction which contribute their loyalty for the particular resort or hotel. This will be done by analysing purpose of visit, gender, age, education and other characteristics. To suggest a strategy to retain customer loyalty by adopting an effective marketing strategy. 1.4 Study Structure In order to analyse customers satisfaction with the service at Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui, this study will review the current literature in the context of customers satisfaction and the services provided by the hotel industry. It will also examine the customers satisfaction in relation with the services provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa through the primary data. For this purpose, in the literature review chapter, different theories relating to service, customers satisfaction and different categories of hotels will be reviewed. The methodology chapter will present philosophy and methods of research undertaken for this study. It will also describe the sampling, data collection tools and the method for data analysis. The fourth chapter will present the results of the research in relation with demographic analysis of the respondents and their satisfaction level at the Hotel. In the fifth chapter, conclusions will be made resulting from the data analysis. This researcher w ill offer recommendation to the industry with due consideration to the results of the primary data and the review of the literature. Chapter II: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Service The service is defined as a â€Å"prototype for service, covering the need of the customer and the design of the service†. Edvardsson and Olsson (1996, p. 149). Goldstein et al. (2002) suggest that the service concept integrates the â€Å"how† and â€Å"what† of service design while keeping both the customers needs and strategic intent of the firm in mind. In other words, the service concept gives a detailed description of what the customer needs and how the organization will deliver the service. The study of customers satisfaction in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. Since the success of a business has been linked to providing high levels of customers satisfaction, a substantial amount of effort has been focused on identifying how consumers perceive service quality in various settings. Gronroos (1982) has defined service quality as â€Å"the outcome of an evaluation process where the consumer compares his expectations with the service he perceived he has received.† Hence we can say that perceived service is measured against expected service. Service quality has been seen as the result of comparing a customers expectations prior to receiving the service with the customers experiences with the service. Wyckoff (1984) defined the concept of service quality from the companys perspective. Service quality is the degree of excellence for meeting the customers requirements, and control over the variability in achieving that excellence. 2.2.1 Service Theories According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) the study of service in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. With growing competition and emerging of hotel industry as a high profiting business, much preference is made to deliver a quality service to the customers. The researchers have defined service quality as the result of comparing the expectation of service quality and the perception of feelings. That is, the service quality not only includes the evaluation of the service performances, but also includes the process of service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985, 1988). According to Sherden (1988), service quality is defined as a relationship between a customer and the particular employee with whom the customer is dealing. Although the actual level of service quality is developed in the employee-customer relationship, management must ensure that customers experiences are in line with their expectations. Lovelock (1991) has defined the characteristics of service quality. According to him, service quality is that; which is delivered in a performance, in which the customer is involved in production in which other customers are often similarly involved in production (e.g., a theater) in which quality control can only be performed during delivery in which service cannot be inventoried, deliver is â€Å"realtime†, and; distribution channels are nonexistent or compressed. Examining service quality and its relationship with relevant constructs not only requires recognition of essential dimensions of service quality, but also identification of dimensions that are most meaningful to the customers in measuring the overall satisfaction. Therefore, having a better understanding of service quality is associated with considering various dimensions of service quality. Service quality dimensions or elements are those attributes that contribute to the creation of consumer expectations and perceptions of service quality. Service Quality called â€Å"SERVQUAL† is an instrument for measuring the gap between the services.† Therefore, what consumers think should be provided and what they think actually has been provided. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985, 1988) initially offered ten attributes, which they regard as essential to the quality of all services. These ten dimensions were tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding/knowing the customer, and access. These ten dimensions and their descriptions served as the basic structure of the service quality domain from which items were derived for the SERVQUAL scale (Table 1). 2.2.2 Elements of Service Researchers agree that it is hard to measure customer satisfaction and the service quality as every customer perceives service from his or her own preferences (Gavin Eccles and Philip Durand, 1997). To overcome this problem of defining the service level, hotels have addressed it through star ratings, where guests can gain a perception of the quality on offer through the number of stars attached to he hotel. However, as service quality depends more on customers perception, there are different criteria used by different customer groups to evaluate service. The purpose of The SERVQUAL scale is to measure levels of service quality. In this technique, it is assumed that the levels of service quality experienced by customers are critically determined by the gap between general expectations of the service and the customers perceptions of what they actually receive from a specific service provider. The customers can evaluate the service quality from the following five factors: tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy. The benefit of the SERVQUAL scale is that the management can assess and monitor the service quality and design better strategies and policies to improve it. Furthermore, understanding the customers satisfaction level and perception of service quality may yield important information influencing the design and specification of this and other, related, services provided by the organization. Finally, it helps the hotel industry in better developing future service improvements (Gavin and Durand, 1997). 2.3 Impact of Service on Customer Satisfaction The improved service quality provided to the customers enhances their loyalty to the service provider. Thus, attention has been paid to the concept of customer satisfaction as a corporate goal among academics and business practitioners (Rust Oliver, 1995). Satisfaction is a major outcome of marketing processes that culminate in purchase, and satisfaction is also thought to contribute to post-purchasing phenomena such as word-of-mouth communication, repurchase intention, and brand loyalty. Gronholdt, Martensen, and Kristensen (2000) administered a study on sixty companies and found that customer satisfaction would have significant impacts on customer loyalty. Bowen and Chen (2001) focused on the hotel industry to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results showed a slight increase in customer satisfaction would highly improve customer loyalty. Hence, customer satisfaction was inferred to have great impacts on customer loyalty. Moreover, Tam (2004) established an integrated framework of service quality, customer satisfaction, and perceived value, suggesting that customer satisfaction and perceived value have significant influences on customers future purchase behaviors. Anderson and Sullivan (1993) believed that customer satisfaction positively influenced repurchase intentions. Repurchase intentions is considered a possible outcome of customer loyalty. Jones and Sasser (1995) stated that customer loyalty is â€Å"a feeling of attachment to or affection for a companys people, products, or services.† Customer loyalty is often referred to as a purchase behavior, unlike customer satisfaction, which is an attitude. Repurchase behavior is a form of loyalty. Customer loyalty, a key mediating variable in explaining customer retention is concerned with the likelihood of a customer returning, making business referrals, providing strong word-of-mouth, as well as providing references and publicity (Bowen and Showemaker, 1998). Although most research on loyalty has focused on frequently purchased package goods (brand loyalty), the loyalty concept is also important for industrial goods (vendor loyalty), services (service loyalty), and retail establishment (store loyalty) Prior research has shown that ones emotions have an influence on behavior, and that one responds to an event in certain ways to maintain positive emotions (i.e. happiness) and to avoid negative emotions (i.e. depression) (Strauss and Neuhaus, 1997). Oliver, Rust, and Varki (1997) found that positive emotion led to higher levels of customer satisfaction and increased repurchase intentions. On the other hand, Andreasen (1999) found that initial negative emotion caused by a service failure results in customer exit behavior. Dick and Basu (1994) posited that true loyalty only exists when repeat patronage coexists with a high relative positive attitude. In addition to attitude, it has been argued that loyalty may also be based on cognition (Lee and Zeiss, 1980; Oliver, 1980). 2.2.4 Quality in Customer Service The quality of service provided to the customers matters a lot more not only for the customers but it is a matter of great concern for the service provider as well. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. Spreng and MacKoy (1996) also studied the relationship between service quality and satisfaction based on their modified Olivers (1993) satisfaction/service quality model. Their modified model fitted the data well where service quality was hypothesized to influence satisfaction. In their study, the path coefficient between two constructs appeared to be significant (t = 9.4). Woodside, Frey, and Daly (1989) supported the causal relation of service quality and satisfaction with data collected in area of health care. Several researchers stated that overall service quality is determined only by the customers perception of a service, rather than the difference between the customers expectation and actual service performance. 2.3 Customer Satisfaction The service literature has been contributed to the confusion over the relationship between consumer satisfaction and service quality. The most important that service providers need to know are how their objectives meet or exceed the customers satisfaction with their performance. The importance of this issue has been led to several recent efforts to clarify the relationship between satisfaction and service quality. The SERVQUAL measurement tool suggests that a consumers perception of service quality involves the difference between his or her expectations about the performance of a general class of service providers and his or her assessment of the actual performance of a specific firm within that class. SERVQUAL confounds customer satisfaction and customer attitude. In contrast, the SERVPERF version of the original SERVQUAL scale only concerns performance. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. 2.3.1 Customer Satisfaction Theories The customer satisfaction theories stress that quality of service is more important than the goods provided. Customers get satisfied mainly because of the quality and it is a psychological effect on their choice when they choose a particular hotel or resort to visit and stay. That is why one of the fastest growing segments in marketing research is the study of customer satisfaction (Dutka, 1994). When customers get satisfied with a particular service, they become loyal for it and in this way, the business have more repeat visitors. Customers satisfaction is directly linked with his or her expectancy level. The perception of customers are always different and there is no hard and fast rule to determine what kind of service satisfy more. As the satisfaction expectancies consistently change, so, there are three stages which the customers pass through before rendering satisfaction. At the first level, expectations are simple and take the form of assumptions. In the next level the expecta tion level become complex and the customer has higher expectations. At the third level customers expectorations are even higher and he or she years for something which may attract him or her and have some delightful effects rather than the normal routine services. (Service Marketing, 2007). When a customer achieves this kind of highly attracting service, he becomes a loyal and repeat customer and remains loyal until the service quality begin deteriorating. 2.3.2 Functionalities of Customer Satisfaction The functionality of customer satisfaction in the business world is that how effectively the services/goods meet the customers expectations. Therefore we can see across marketing world that each businesses success story relies on â€Å"Customer Satisfaction†. Thus the customer satisfaction has become the key element of business strategy in todays market place (Buchanan, Gilles, 1990). Although the customer satisfaction varies from an individual to individual, however certain recommend standards can be opted in-order to mitigate positively the popular perception. The common tool to opt the level of customer satisfaction is survey or collection of primary data where customer is asked to evaluate the open ended and close ended statements in accordance with the customers own perception. Thence the performance of the service/goods becomes contingent of that certain level of Customer Satisfaction. 2.3.3 Customer vs. Employee Satisfaction Satisfaction can be seen from two different perspectives. Customers satisfaction implies that they should get satisfied with the quality of service they receive while the employees satisfaction means how satisfied they are in the workplace and how they are able to serve the customers with commitment. As the satisfaction on both sides is imperative the hotel industry has not only to ensure the satisfaction of its customers but also those of their employees because without satisfaction of employees there is no justification to expect commitment of employees. Employees satisfaction may be achieved through incentives and rewards, acknowledgment of their performance and motivating them for achievement of further goals. Similarly, customers satisfaction can be achieved through offering them unique and high standard services and fostering better public relations with them. 2.4 Hotel Categories Hotels can be categorised according to the services they provide, i.e., location, facilities and services offered and clientele served. Restaurants mostly provide the customers with eating stuff but do not offer accommodation. However, hotels mainly have accommodation facilities as well as provide the customers different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some hotels offer accommodation but does not have their own chef so customers have to have their meals outside. Furthermore, the services of hotels further differ according to their location. In Thailand, usually hotels have begun to offer spa and other health facilities besides providing them normal accommodation and meals facilities. 2.4.1 Types of Hotel Most of the hotels have their own star rating. But the interesting thing is that there is no unified system to determine the service quality of the hotels. Throughout Europe, rating of hotels is determined either by government or by the private organisation according to the service they provide (Martin, 2007). There are 1 to 5 star hotels across the globe and the cost of their services differ according to their rating. For example, a four star hotel is much costly than a 1 star hotel. Similarly, four star hotel is expected to have more facilities than a 1 star hotel. A four to five star hotel may have more services and amenities, including meeting space for conferences 2.5 Nora Beach Resort and Spa 2.5.1 Information of the Hotel The Nora Beach Resort is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samui, the 3rd largest island, which offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a secluded bay just north of the world-famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach Resort and Spa, 2007). The profound services of Nora Beach Resort and Spa are as follow: Bars and Restaurants. Recreation Anodas Spa Rooms The additional supportive services of the Resort are as follow: Travel and Tours Desk. Taxi/Limousine Service. Swimming pools Laundry and Dry Cleaning. Gymnasium/Fitness Room. Baby Sitting Facilities. 2.5.2 Type of Customers The type of customers visit Nora Beach Resort and Spa are holiday makers, however the professionals on travel also frequently visit the resort. According to a study by Thailand Tourism Statistics that 87% of tourists are holiday makers at Koh Samui Island; where the Nora Beach Resort is jewel of the attraction for the holiday makers at Koh Samui Islands. These categories of visitors consist of male, female and children with age diversity from 13 to 55 years on average. They prefer Nora Beach for the reason that major attractions of Island are nearby the resort. 2.5 Conclusion In this chapter, different theories of customers satisfaction have been evaluated and reviewed. Further, the importance of service quality on customers loyalty has been discussed. Besides, the review of literature from customers perspective, different categories of hotels and the system of rating has also been discussed. The review of literature shows that with the competition in hotel industry, customers perception and expectation of service has increased to a great extent and now the hotel industry has to enhance, improve and add up more services for the customers to make them loyal to the services. Chapter III: Methodology 3.1 Introduction This chapter presents details about the methodology adopted and elaborates the chosen research philosophy, approach and strategy used and the reasons for their selection. Further, this chapter describes the sample population and how the primary data was collected and processed. It also describes the secondary data collection for the literature review. This chapter further explains the data collection tool and highlights validity, authenticity and reliability of the data collected. 3.2 Research Framework Saunders et al. (2007) define an exploratory study as a valuable means of finding out what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light study. Further, they define interpretivism as a theory of knowledge that depicts the methods, validity and scope of the research. This theory advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand difference between humans as social actors (Saunders, Lewis Thornhil, 2007). ). Hence, the study was conducted in the interpretivism philosophy, because the aim of the researcher was to know the difference of human behavior in relation with satisfaction in the service quality provided by the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The researcher aimed to know how customers get satisfied with the service provided by the Resort and how they perceive service quality. The research strategy utilized was case study. The case study strategy has considerable ability to generate answers to the question ‘why? as well as the ‘what? and ‘how? questions (Saunders et al., 2007). In addition, a case study strategy can be very worthwhile way of exploring existing theory or to challenge an existing theory (Saunders et al., 2007). The study also sought answers to what the customers satisfaction level and how customers can be attracted to revisit the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. 3.3 Sampling The population of this research were customers who stayed in Nora Beach Resort and Spa; a total of n= 113 customers completed the survey. The sampling technique needed for the case study was non- probability sampling which are purposive and convenience. 3.4 Data Collection tool The data collection tool for this study is a well designed questionnaire consisting of three parts as questionnaires are one of the most widely used data collection techniques in the survey strategy (Saunders et al. 2007). The first part is related to the customers satisfaction consisting 15 questions based on five likert scale ranging from very satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied and very dissatisfied. The purpose of this part is to assess the perception of customers about the quality of the Resort in relation with menu variety, room service, cleanliness etc. The second part consists general type of questions like accessibility of the Resort and the reason to choose it. The third part of the questionnaire is demographic one assessing customers gender, age occupation and the purpose of their visit. In all, there were twenty two questions asked to analyze the customers assessment and expectations regarding the facilities and services as provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa, T hailand. 3.4 Data Collection The research was based on positivism principles with deductive approach. The questionnaire developed was placed in the guest rooms, as well as in the lobby and was collected by Ms.Napaphon Rattanarak, a proctor who was trained according to the guidelines established. Permission was granted by the resort manager to conduct this study following highest ethical standards and principles. 3.6 Data Analysis As this study aims at providing recommendations on improving service quality of Nora Beach Resort and Spa, the dully filled and returned questionnaire was analysed using SPSS, the software having good analytical capabilities. The analysis of the questionnaire offers insight about the conception of customers with regard to their perception of service quality at Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The results of this analysis will be discussed in the preceding chapter. 3.7 Conclusion This chapter has highlighted the research philosophy, techniques and methods used for this study. The study has relied over Likert Technique because in-order to assess the level of customer satisfaction the best available method was to conduct survey. The respondents were visitors to the resort staying at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. Although the responses of the customers may be biased as their opinion may be influenced by the service provided at that very moment, yet, this research provides a lot of interesting information regarding their perception of the service quality. Chapter IV: Results 4.1 Introduction In this chapter, the researcher will show the results of the data collected from the questionnaire which were gathered from the customers/visitors of Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui. In this section, the researcher will present the demographic information from the respondents, and will also discuss the customers response towards the questions asked about the services provided. Further, the researcher will discuss the general information analysis of the customers as to how they found the resort, why did they choose to stay at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa and whether it was their first visit or they are a repeat visitors. 4.2 Demographics There were total 113 questionnaire placed in the guest room and the lobby of the resort which the customer staying at the resort had to fill up which, in return, were collected and returned to the researcher by Ms. Napaphon, a protector trained for the purpose. All the 113 questionnaires were duly filled up and retuned y the customers. Of these 113 respondents, 56 were male (49.56 per cent) and 57 female (50.44 per cent) 4.3 Level of