Depression and Suicide in Native American Adolescents Essay

Depression and Suicide in Native American Adolescents Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The United States records the highest number of both successful suicides as well as attempted suicides on an annual basis. According to studies, 80 people commit suicide on a daily basis whereas emergency departments receive thousands of visits with cases of self-inflicted injuries (Ginsburg et al., 2008). Teenagers aged 15-24 report the highest cases of successful suicide and suicide attempts. Native American teenagers make the largest percentage of these suicides. According to Gary (2005), stress is the main reason why suicide related cases are ever on the rise in the US. This stress normally results from depression, which comes in different forms such as self-doubt, uncertainty about the future as well as strains of being successful. Apart from providing an analysis on the high rate of depression and suicide among Native American adolescents, the study talks about necessary measures that ought to be taken in a move to curb these suicide cases. Depression   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to studies, depression is the act of feeling sad, this occurs when one is not satisfied with a certain outcome (Walls et al., 2007). Depressions could be disastrous if not handled in the right manner. For instance, a person experiencing depression is likely to commit a heinous act if appropriate measures are not taken to curb the situation. Lack of proper attention is the reason why most Native American youths are committing suicide in the United States. According to studies, many Native American teenagers become depressed due to a number of reasons, for instance, frequent family disputes as well as poor performance in schools (CDC, 2010). Native Americans have incurred a number of problems throughout their lives. For instance, apart from exploitation, Native Americans have lived in adverse poverty for decades. This level of poverty has made it difficult for most parents to offer their children quality education since most of the m live in poor and unhealthy lifestyles (Listug-Lunde, Vogeltanz-Holm & Collins, 2013).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   High rate of poverty is the main reason why many Native American adolescents end up becoming depressed. Due to poverty, youths are forced out of school, hence; they spend most of the time working for the family in addition to seeking low paying jobs in major cities. Since these youths spend most of the time outside the classroom, this result to poor performance, hence, low self-esteem (Gary, 2005). Dropping out of school is more devastating for girls compared to boys. This is because, these girls are likely to become pregnant and this makes life even more difficult for them, hence, this is the reason why girls are the most affected with depression compared to boys (NAMI, 2014). Due to the unhealthy lifestyles, Native American parents have higher chances of divorce compared to other races. Conflicts and separations among Native American parents also play a major role when it comes to depression among youths. When a family files for a divorc e, life becomes even more difficult compared to how it was before the separation. It is through these challenges that most adolescents gradually develop the feeling of depression, making them commit inhumane atrocities such as suicide. Suicide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to studies conducted by Balis and Postolache (2008), suicide comes third among the leading causes of deaths in adolescents residing in the United States. The reason why most American Native adolescents contemplate suicide is because they tend to believe it is the only solution to the challenges they incur. There are different methods in which suicide attempts are made. For instance, apart from suffocation by hanging, other common forms of suicide include the use of poison as well as firearms (CDC, 2010). According to studies, most boys tend to use firearms when committing suicide whereas girls opt for poison or the suffocation method. According to Gilder and Ehlers (2012), most teenagers contemplate suicide after undergoing major disappointments. Apart from strained interpersonal relationships, other factors that have contributed to high incidences of suicide cases among Native American teenagers include high level of stress. Acc ording to studies, Native American adolescents are likely to undergo high levels of stress that come as a result of divorce by parents. Girls opt to commit suicide after being victims of sexual or physical abuse (Listug-Lunde, Vogeltanz-Holm & Collins, 2013).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reason why Native Americans have the highest reports of suicide incidences is due to the lack of good relations, which are of great importance especially during emotional changes (Gary, 2005). A good support network is essential since it acts as an outlet that helps them deal with the inner feeling. It is evident that people that are depressed commit most suicide attempts. According to studies, depression is usually considered a mental health disorder since it causes chemical imbalances within one’s brain. These imbalances result to lethargy, despondency as well as general apathy towards one’s life, hence, causing one to contemplate suicide (NAMI, 2014). Substance abuse is another main cause of suicide among Native American adolescents. Most youths start using illegal substances due to numerous challenges they undergo. Through peer pressure, youths are made to believe that drug abuse and consumption of alcohol will reliev e them of their problems (Faye, 2005). Risk factors   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Suicidal incidences never occur out of blues, these victims display a number of signs. The reason why most of the suicides are successful is that most people notice these signs but they never take any precautionary measures. Studies show that firearms are the most used weapons among teenagers that commit suicide (CDC, 2010). The reason why guns are the most used weapons is due to their easy accessibility. Apart from firearms, adolescents have access to other items such as alcohol and motor vehicles. Some of the signs shown by people contemplating suicide include sudden withdrawal from peers or family members as well as the loss of interest in activities that were pleasurable in the past. According to studies, people contemplating suicide tend to be more aggressive than usual (Gilder &Ehlers, 2012). Hence, it is the responsibility of family members and close peers to monitor people displaying such behavioral changes. These behaviors are rar ely considered among the Native Americans and it is the reason why this tribe records the highest rate casualties.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When it comes to risk factors associated with suicide attempts, one’s genetic factor also plays a major role. According to Theodora and Teodor (2008), some suicidal thoughts are usually genetic. Hence, the suicidal history of one’s family also needs to be put into consideration. Apart from behavioral changes, other factors that need consideration when focusing on risk factors includes gender, ethnicity one’s and socioeconomic status. For instance, in the case of gender and ethnicity, boys are five times likely to commit suicide compared to their female counterparts. As for age, teenagers above 20 years are more likely to commit suicide compared to those aged 12 and below. Geographically, most cases of teenage suicide and usually experienced in the western states such as Alaska (Theodora & Teodor, 2008). Intervention/Treatment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to reduce the rate of suicide incidences among adolescents, appropriate intervention measures ought to be considered. For instance, families and peers need to monitor each other in a move to identify any behavioral changes that might arise. Early identification of behavioral changes is quite beneficial since it minimizes chances of successful suicidal attempts. Apart from monitoring behavioral changes, identification and minimization of risk factors is also of great importance. For instance, limiting the access of firearms as well as alcohol and drugs will result to a reduction in suicidal attempts (Theodora & Teodor, 2008). Youths need to be encouraged to participate in physical activities since it tends to reduce one’s thoughts of contemplating suicide. Youths under the influence of drugs require proper attention since they are likely to commit heinous acts such as committing suicide. Such people ought to be placed under psychological or clinical care where they are to undergo rehabilitation programs (NAMI, 2014).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Family support plays a major role when it comes to minimizing the rate of youth suicidal attempts. Through family support, youths feel wanted and this results to minimal suicidal thoughts. Lack of family support increases the chances of suicidal attempts since these youths tend to believe that they are not wanted; this is because they do not feel the parental love (Gilder & Ehlers, 2012). Another intervention measure is by educating youths about religious believes. Teaching teenagers about the Bible and God’s teaching will minimize suicidal attempts (Theodora & Teodor, 2008). This is because adolescents will realize that they are the children of God who loves them and will not be happy when they commit suicide since he has good plans for them. Though the Bible, teenagers will also learn how to pray to God and ask for strengths in times of temptations. Similarly, urgent medical attention needs to be sought on youths that are undergoi ng depression (NAMI, 2014). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cases of teenage suicide in the US are ever on the rise. According to studies, 80 people commit suicide on a daily basis, most of them Native American teenagers. Stress is one main factor that causes most youths to contemplate suicide. Most American Native youths become stressed after they drop out of school due to poverty, physical and sexual abuse as well as family wrangles such as divorce. Apart from suffocation by hanging, other common forms of suicide include poisoning and the use of firearms. In order to minimize the rate of youth suicide, a number of risk factors ought to be put into consideration. For instance, apart from behavioral changes, family members need to look out for other traits such sudden withdrawal from family members and peers in addition to the sudden loss of interest in activities that were pleasurable in the past. Some of the intervention measures required in a move to curb youth suicide include the monitoring of behavioral changes, limiting the access of firearms and alcohol and seeking medical attention of youths experiencing depression. Finally, educating youths about the Bible and how to pray whenever they are faced with temptations will also reduce youth’s suicidal attempts. References Balis, T. & Postolache, T. (2008). â€Å"Ethnic Differences in Adolescent Suicide in the United States.† NCBI. 1(3): 281–296. Retrieved on 9 December 2014 from http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Portals/0/Families/Suicide%20Prevention/Native%20American%20Males/Reports/Suicide_in_Native_American_males_FINAL.pdf Gary, F. A. (2005). Perspectives on Suicide Prevention among American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Adolescents: A Call for Help. Online Journal of Issues In Nursing, 10(2), 170-211. Retrieved on 9 December 2014 from http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=daf42f13-b168-42b7-b4388b238c57fed4%40sessionmgr4005&vid=37&hid=4104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=17356288 Gilder, D.& Ehlers, C. (2012). â€Å"Depression Symptoms Associated with Cannabis Dependence in an Adolescent American Indian Community Sample.† NCBI.21(6): 536–543. Retrieved on 9 December 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3498983/ Ginsburg, G. S., Baker, E. V., Mullany, B. C., Barlow, A., Goklish, N., Hastings, R., &Walkup, J. (2008). Depressive Symptoms Among Reservation-based Pregnant American Indian Adolescents. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 12110-118. doi:10.1007/s10995-008-0352-2 Listug-Lunde, L., Vogeltanz-Holm, N., & Collins, J. (2013). A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment For Depression In Rural American Indian Middle School Students. American Indian &Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal Of The National Center, 20(1), 16-34 NAMI. (2014). Mental Illness. Retrieved on 9 December 2014 from http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness Walls, M. L., Chapple, C. L., & Johnson, K. D. (2007). Strain, Emotion, and Suicide among American Indian Youth. Deviant Behavior, 28(3), 219-246. doi:10.1080/01639620701233100 Source document

Online Restaurant Management System Essay

Project objectives usually describe the goals or missions of the company to provide better services to customers. The project scope is being developed to describe the function that required in a system. Whereas the project schedule is needed to state the time line for all the task and follow it in order to complete the system on time. For the project team is state out the task that do by the members. Development and operation environment is required to ensure the final system can be develop in a manner way and operate smoothly after being implemented. We discuss about the fact finding technique, system requirements, and all the UML diagrams. A complete and details requirements has to be gathered before a quality informaiton system can be produced. Hence, the process of requiremens analysis is very important. So, the fast finding techniques that we used are interview and observation. Thus, we had more understand about the restaurant workflow. Functional requiements had described the details of each modules. Requirements analysis is an important part of the system design process. Once the client’s requirements have been identified and facts collected, we are then in a position to design a solution. Class diagram is the database structure that comprised of many classes, interrelationships between classes, operations and attributes of the classes. the database dictionary was showed all the database table with attributes name, data description, data types, key, default values and so on. â€Å"Database design is an important step in software development†. Software testing is an important stage to ensure that the software is free of bugs. The purpose of testing is to ensure that the system will propose require function correctly, accurately, efficiency and effectively. 1. 2 Purpose: Nowadays, the world is getting into digital world. System was trying to build out to make people even more convenience on any aspects. INDIA TAKE AWAYS provides an online system to users to make order online. Indirectly, it involves seller (restaurant) and buyer (customer) which could bring benefits to each other and help to sustain the environment. It is a win-win situation that will bring benefit to the world. This system was bringing a convenience for customer that can make order by just press a button. 1. 3 Scope: Online Ordering Subsystem This Subsystem/module enable customer to make order through online. It will display the menu which includes meal name, image, price, and description. Customer can select the quantity and add the meal into order list. Then, customer can view all the orders in order list and send the order to our restaurant by click the confirm button. Staff enables to check the orders from check list and update the status after the meal is cooked. Delivery Subsystem This module is use when customers choose to delivery. They should fill in the delivery information such as name, contact number, delivery address, date and time. After fill in the delivery details, submit/send it to the restaurant. The staff will keep track all the delivery after the meal is cooked. Staff can view all the meal order, delivery detail, total amount, tax and charge by using this subsystem. They also can print delivery information for their reference Meal Maintenance Subsystem Admin or manager enables to maintain the meal by using this module. When chef have introduce a new meal, they can use it to add the new meal by enter the meal information. It also allows to edit meal information like meal price or image. Besides, admin can delete the meal if the meal is lower sales. Report Subsystem This module is use to generate report by admin or manager in order to make decision. The report include monthly sales report, top 5 monthly report, redemption report, feedback report, reservation report and so on. Different report has different purpose or usage. Most of this report is analyst by admin and make adjustment such like increase staff when higher sales month or do promotion when the sales is lower.

Annotated Bibliography Of John Steinbeck

Annotated Bibliography Of John Steinbeck East of Eden is John Steinbeck’s most famous novel. This book published in 1952 has won international critical acclaim, and propelled Steinbeck to international glory. Critics, both positive and negative, often describe the book as the most ambitious literary project of Steinbeck. The book talks about the intricacies of two families that live in the Salinas valley. The families are the Hamilton’s and the Trasks. The two families have interwoven stories. The book originally addresses the author’s two young sons, Thom and john. The book describes in detail the Salinas valley in California where the story is set. The story also involves other places like Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Salinas valley in central California is aptly described as it is the setting of the book. The story begins with the Hamilton family that has emigrated from Ireland. Samuel Hamilton raised his brood of nine children on some infertile patch of land until they are able to fed for the mselves. As Hamilton’s children begin to leave home, a well-off stranger buys the best ranch in the Salinas valley. The stranger is Adam Trask, and he has come to his riches after discovering that his father left him and his brother some worthwhile inheritance. Adam has fallen in love, and married Cathy Ames, a girl who is described as a monster. This is because she has been a manipulator of men, and she has left home after killing her parents. After giving birth, Cathy shoots Adam in the shoulders and flees. Adam has to rear his twin boys with the help of Samuel Hamilton and Lee. Lee is a Cantonese servant of Adam. The three men make good companionship and engage in lively biblical debates. Cathy turns to prostitution, and through murder, manages to acquire a brothel. The boys grow up, and Samuel Hamilton dies. Adam loses his fortune in a business misfortune. One of the boys chooses to farm, and the other twin becomes a priest. Caleb the farmer gets to be successful. During thanksgiving, he gives his father a gift of $15,000, which his father rejects. Meanwhile, his brother, Aron wants to drop out of college. The book ends with Adam bedridden, and Lee pleading with Adam to forgive his son. Benson.J. (1977). John Steinbeck: Novelist as Scientist. Novel, Vol. (10):6. It is important to note that, during the publication of East of Eden, the book did not get positive acclaim. It was rejected for many literary and biblical allusions that did not auger well with the critics of his day. East of Eden has been loved by the general readership worldwide. One of the failures of the East of Eden is that the book has borrowed heavily from Author Gunn’s book, New family physician. The borrowing is used to deepen the creative legacy and artistic portrait of Samuel Hamilton. John Steinbeck, in writing East of Eden, has strayed from his literary style and adherence to realism and naturalism. This is because of his habit of what he has referred to as creative read ing. Creative reading can be related to creative writing. Only in this case it is the opposite, for the creative reader reads to write. The implication is that Steinbeck has immersed himself in various documents, some of them scientific to come up with East of Eden. The book has been superimposed with so many allusions that it loses the fictional ability with which it is supposed to command the reader of fiction. The result is that the book borders on non fictional work. In many respects, the book is drawn from the author’s background. This makes it an autobiographical stretch of his life. For example, Samuel Hamilton, the benign farmer is a representation of Steinbeck’s grandfather. His execution of form (Steinbeck’s) is heavily influenced by other works. The problem is not the heavy borrowing, the problem is the way he has failed to disguise his borrowing. It is a fact that all great literary work is some form of copying, or stealing. Shakespeare plagiarized n inety percent from ancient Greek writing. He plagiarized in mastery disguise, and what we have of him are great works. East of Eden is blatantly plagiarized.

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Project management and communication - Research Paper Example ategies evidently facilitates them to strengthen and motivate their team members make them a commanding leader and talented project manager within a corporation. In addition, having the skills to effectively control others could be a difference between success and failure. In this scenario, communication is extremely important to a businesss decision-making procedure. Thus, all the project managers must possess effective communication skills to start as well as respond to all the kinds of communication. Moreover, the experienced project managers build mutual relationships with their colleagues and team members through active listening. In this scenario, they can considerably augment their organization’s productivity by conducting well-organized meetings and business discussions. Thus, establishing fruitful collaborative associations based on confidence and respect, achieving commitment for their vision, and training and guiding their team members and stakeholders are all the c ritical competencies for todays project managers (Learning Tree, 2011). As discussed above, communication in project management plays a significant role in keeping all the team members and project stakeholders on accurate track. Additionally, in absence of effective communication among team members and project stakeholders there could be a breakdown in procedures that could cause a negative influence on the final product. In this scenario, it is the responsibility of a project manager to be familiar with the communication procedures concerned in efficient project management. For this purpose, they should effectively plan to decide what information requires to be communicated among project team members and other stakeholders. After that, that information should be made available to all the project stakeholders and assured in a timely way. In addition, communications with project stakeholders must be managed in a way that all the requirements are convinced as well as issues are punctually

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Ethics in Communication and Public Relations - Research Paper Example Public relations also involves the organizations or individuals gaining exposure to their audiences using different topics, debates which are of public interests and news articles mostly requiring no direct payment (Seitel, 2007). According to Messina (2007), the aim of public relations in the company is to persuade the members of the public, their investors, employees, partners and other different stakeholders associated with it. The company persuades all the stakeholders to maintain a certain point of view about their products and services, the leadership and other issues including the political decisions. Some common activities involved in communication to public include speaking at conferences, working with the press to deliver information, and the entire communication by employees to the general public (Rubel, 2007). In this aspect therefore, normative ethics is applied by the individuals or organizations to determine the information delivered to the public if they are true or f alse. The amount earned globally in the communication sector, specifically in advertisements have barely declined and most of the traditional media outlets have declined their circulations in favor of social media and online news sources. The death of newspapers as a means to pass information to the public was even tracked as explained by Paul (2008).

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Economics Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Survey on Teenagers Pocket Money Essay Example for Free

Survey on Teenagers Pocket Money Essay Pocket Money is not just representing how much money that teenagers’ get; it also represents teenagers’ buying tendency, marketing size of teenagers, their finance method and possible reasons of stress because of financial problem. It’s worth to make a statistic on the topic teenager’s pocket money, for the reference of further studies on social research. In this report, the following data would be collected and analyzed. Firstly, we want to compare the pocket money teenagers how to spend their pocket money in past and that in nowadays (e. 2006 vs. 1999), then we should reveal the differences by our statistic figures like mean , mode etc, so that we can know whether they get more money or not, and other statistical information. Secondly, we also are interested in the relation between the teenagers’ ages and the amount of money they get, and then how this found out changes from 1999 to 2006. Thirdly, we want find what kind of things teenagers prefer to buy and whether they can handle their financial overload effectively by themselves. After that, we will try to find the reasons for those phenomena and then generate the conclusion. Objective To build up an online survey, to collect sample data about teenager’s pocket money, how they use it, and any financial problem they faced. Questionnaires In this project, we use internet survey instead of questionnaire survey in collecting samples from teenagers. There are few reasons for us to choose such survey method: First, teenagers are very sensitive to the money they own and they feel too nervous when other people ask about the amount of their pocket money. For those results, they prefer to refuse to answer this questionnaire by face to face method. Secondly, teenagers have a low incentive to do the survey on the street; they think it is wasting their time. This increases the difficulties in sampling from them directly. Thirdly, as a result, we choose internet survey which should be a more effective sampling method since teenagers are easier to access to computers and more willing to answer questionnaire as they feel that they can help other people. The online survey http://freeonlinesurveys. com/rendersurvey. asp? id=o2ve66ut8bs9gh7252868 was posted to HK newsgroup and forums to invite teenagers to fill the online survey since 1st December, 2006. We end the online survey and collected the data at 20th December, 2006. The Hard Copy of the online survey as follows: Result At 20th December, 2006, we collected 111 valid online questionnaires. Result of each question is shown respectively: Over 80% interviewers are in-range below 24, which stated that most interviewers are student. It shows most teenage have around $1000-$2000 pocket money, where around 36% teenage have $1001-$1500 pocket money. Around 34% students have $1501-2000 pocket money per month, which is second highest. 68% teenagers gain their pocket money from parents, where 29% teenagers gain their money pocket by part time job. The others which stated they gained by investment or gambling. But it seems there’s not reliable. In this chat rank 5 represent the highest value option to interviewee while rank 1 is refer to the lowest value option, it show that about 50% of teenagers put ‘studying’ as the last priority(rank 1) in their consumption, after that it will come to ‘saving’ at 25 %. On the other side, ‘entertainment’ is the option which people most willing to spend their money on it and it take 30% in rank 5, beside that ‘dressing ‘also an option that’s less prefer 25% in rank 5. 32% students think that they spent more than they get, which need to pay attention. In the 36 student who said that they spent more than they get, 52% of them would borrow from the money, 42% would borrow from friend. It is need to be concern that 6% of teenagers would borrow from financial company. 37% teenagers think that they can’t handle their financial problem effectively. This data seems reliable as from this survey, 32% cannot control their expanses. Calculation As it is important of founding out statistic factors of nowadays teenagers’ pocket money, calculation of sample mean, mode and median , standard deviation and coefficient of skewness and coefficient of variation are calculate as follows Assumption: Since we don’t know the exact number of â€Å"below $500† and †above 2000†, also number of this two sample is little compare with sample size, so these figures are neglect when calculation. Group Mean: = ? fimi/? fi = (750. 5*29+1250. 5*40+1750. 5*38) / 107 =1292. 5 Median = (107/2) = 53. th, so we know that the median should be in the class 1001-1500 = Lm + [(n/2-Cum Freq. )/f]*w) =1000. 5 + [(107/2 – 29) /40]*500 =1306 Mode Modal Class: 1001-1500 =Lmo+ (d1/d1+d2)*w =1000. 5+ (11/11+2)*500 =1423. 58 We are considering 107 samples. So sample standard deviation = 395. 2638 Coefficient of skewness =3(mean-media n)/standard deviation =3*(1292. 5-1306)/395. 2638 =-0. 1025 The curve is slightly skew to the left Coefficient of variation = standard deviation/ mean *100% = 395. 2638/1292. 5*100% =30. 5813% Discussion From the data posted by education department, mean of teenagers’ pocket money are 151*4 = $604 per month. Compared with sample mean we found, difference between two samples is 1292. 5-604=$688. 5. The difference due to change of HK economic environment and more teenagers earn their pocket money from attending part time job. It is advised that performing a larger survey if analyzing the relationship of teenagers and their pocket money more deeply. According to the survey data, it points out that teenagers are more concerned in materialism spending. And also, over 32% teenagers spending their pocket money is always greater than income, and teenagers are lack of ability to have their personal planning. Lower than 10% teenagers think that saving is important when they received pocket money. They spend a lot either entertainment or dressing. The government should pay more attention to this problem, and educate teenagers how to spending their money effectively, and prevent they will have the thought of ‘Using the future money’. Hong Kong teenagers usually have some part-time jobs income, to satisfy their needs on materialism. The main reason influences teenagers’ shopping style is brand, which is a teenager like to pursuit for famous brand name. Conclusion Via this survey, basically we has the expected proposes. We understand how teenagers get their pocket money and how to spend it, and also understand consumer behavior, including their mental characteristics. As a studies’ data, it can be used in the further studies in the social science. However, since the quantity of questionnaire is relatively few, so the result cannot fully reflect the fact of pocket money spending of teenagers.

Managerial Finance Closing Essay Example for Free

Managerial Finance Closing Essay The company announces that it is not expanding, what do you think will happen to the price of the bonds? What will happen to the price of the bonds if the company does expand? I believe if the company announces that it is not expanding then the prices of the bonds would not change, however if the company decides to expand then the prices of the bonds would increase due to the increase in the value of the company and the return would be greater. 5. If the company opts not to expand, what are the implications for the companies future borrowing needs? What are the implications if the company does expand? If the company decides not to expand, I do not believe that the implication for the companies future borrowing needs would differ too much from if they decided to expand. However one variation is if the company decides to expand they will receive more equity as shown above by the calculations. If the company has an increase of equity, they have the opportunity for an increase of borrowing, if they needed. However, if the company opts not to expand, they can still borrow in the future, however, their equity will remain the same, which would give them less variation in regards to borrowing. 6. Because of the bond covenant, the expansion would have to be financed with equity. How would it affect your answer if the expansion were financed with cash on hand instead of new equity? From my perspective, I do not see an issue with the expansion being financed with equity rather than â€Å"cash on hand†. I believe it would be an easier wait to keep track of the finances. I thought the primary reason some companies use equity to finance new projects is because they do not have the â€Å"cash on hand† to begin with, and although they have equity, it would be far too much trouble to convert it over to cash. So, they would rather use equity to finance.

Leadership Theories Of Bill Gates And Oprah Winfrey Management Essay

Leadership Theories Of Bill Gates And Oprah Winfrey Management Essay This paper serves to critically survey the various leadership theories and evaluate the leadership qualities of two prominent and successful business leaders in USA Bill Gates (Founder and Chairman of Microsoft Corporation) and Oprah Winfrey (Global Media leader). Chapter 2 describes the background of Gates and Oprah. Gates, from his early interests in computer programming, dropping out from Harvard by choice, to how he successfully transformed his software company, Microsoft, from a small start-up company to one of the worlds largest and most powerful corporations. On the other hand, Oprah, from her difficult childhood experience but early exposure to public speaking, to how her perseverance and self-motivation in doing her best in whatever she does, have brought her to become a global media leader (her own The Oprah Winfrey Show, her own Harpo Productions, her own O, The Oprah Magazine, etc.). Chapter 3 explores the evolution of leadership theories, from Great Man and Traits to the current Transformational Theory. Gates and Oprah leadership qualities are then listed and compared with earlier described leadership theories in Chapter 4 and 5. Chapter 6 covers the authors opinions and reasoned analysis about the leadership styles of Bill and Oprah before making the final conclusion in Chapter 7. 2. Background of Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey 2.1 Bill Gates William (Bill) Henry Gates was born in Seattle USA, in 1955. His father was a successful attorney and his mother was a teacher. At age 13, Gates discovered his interest in software and began programming computers on a school computer at the private Lakeside School (Microsoft 2010). In 1973, Gates enrolled at Harvard University but dropped out half-way as he wanted to concentrate on his start-up software business and did not want to miss the opportunity of developing software for personal computers. His company Microsoft, the worlds first microcomputer software company, was born in 1975. Gates later wrote, Our initial insight made everything else a bit easier. We were at the right place at the right time. We got there first (Krames 2003, p.157). In 1980, Gates was offered an agreement to provide the operating system (MS-DOS) for IBMs new PC. He secured his future by insisting that Microsoft retained the copyright to the system, so that he could also license it to other hardware manufacturers. This contractual masterstroke helped propel Microsoft into its position as the countrys largest software company. In 2002, Gates topped the Forbes 400 list of the worlds wealthiest individuals, with a personal fortune of $43 billion (Krames 2003). Gates handed the reins and the title of CEO over to Steve Ballmer in 2000, as Gates became Chairman and acted as Chief Software Architect of Microsoft Corporation to help in developing next-generation products (Krames, 2003). Since 2006, Ray Ozzie has assumed Gates previous title as Chief Software Architect as Gates wanted to devote an increasing proportion of his time to the philanthropic The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation (Microsoft 2010). However, Gates continues to serve as Microsofts Chairman and an advisor on key development projects after July 2008 (Microsoft 2010). Time Magazine named Gates one of the most influential people of the 20th century. For the fiscal year ending June 2007, Microsoft had revenues of US$51.12 billion and employs more than 78,000 people in 105 countries and regions (Microsoft 2010). Till now, Microsoft is still one of the worlds largest and most powerful corporations and currently ranked No.36 in Fortune 500 Companies list (CNN Money 2010). 2.2 Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey was born illegitimate in Mississippi USA, in 1954. She lived her first six years with her grandparents and was taught to read at an early age. Oprah began speaking in front of audiences since she was only 4 years old, touring local churches and reciting others sermons by memory (ONeil 2004). From age 6 to 13, she stayed with her mother in Milwaukee but suffered repeated abuse and molestation by her relatives. Her mother later sent her to live with her father, Vernon Winfrey, in Nashville. With strict rules and high standards, Vernon helped to turn her life around. He taught her that she always had to pursue excellence in order to succeed. Oprah absorbed that attitude and said, Theres no such thing as failure in my life, I just dont believe in it (ONeil 2004, p.13). Oprahs broadcasting career began at age 17, when she was hired by WVOL radio in Nashville, and two years later signed on with WTVF-TV as a reporter. She also attended Tennessee State University, received her Bachelor Honours Degree in Speech Communications and Performing Arts. Oprah moved up quickly and in 1978 discovered her talent for hosting talk shows when she became co-host of WJZ-TVs People are talking. In 1986, she began broadcasting nationally, via The Oprah Winfrey Show, which became the highest rated talk show in television history. Shes now the host and owner of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which consistently wins high ratings, and the founder of the Harpo Productions, Inc. which produces her television shows and movies. Her O, The Oprah Magazine, launched by Hearst Publications in 2000, ranked in the top tier of new magazines for circulation and advertising, becoming the first magazine ever to be both Advertising Age Launch of the Year and Magazine of the Year (ONeil 2004). In 2003, Oprah became the first African-American woman to join the ranks of billionaires, as published by Forbes magazine for that year (ONeil 2004). From 2004-2009, she was the only woman to have been included in all six of TIMEs 100 Most Influential People in World lists. Today, Oprahs accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist has made her as one of the most respected and admired public figures in the world. 3. Theories on Leadership Critical Literature Survey Leadership definition and list of leadership theories According to Richard Daft (2008, p.4), leadership is defined as follows: Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes. The evolution of leadership theories started from Great Man and Trait theories to the present Transformational leadership. Kippenberger (2002) reflects the time-line of such evolution: Period Leadership Theory Up to mid-1900s 1900-48 1930s 1945-60s 1957-70s 1967- Present Day 1970s-Present Day 1970s-Present Day 1970s-Present Day 1978-Present Day 1982-Present Day Great Man Theory Traits Theory Lewins research into autocratic, democratic laissez-faire styles Behavioural Theory (especially Ohio, Michigan, Texas) Situational Theory Contingency Theory Charismatic Leadership Team Leadership Servant Leadership Transformational Leadership In search of Excellence thousands of management books on leadership Table 3.1 Source: Time-line figure from The Leadership Styles by Tony Kippenberger (2002) Great Man Theory Based on the belief that leaders are born with innate leadership qualities and destined to lead. This is no longer true in todays leadership concept. Trait Theory Arose from Great Man theory which assumed that people are born with inherited traits and so by identifying the list of traits of successful leaders, it was believed that people with such traits could subsequently be recruited into leadership position. However, there exists people with these traits but are not leaders or people without some of these traits but are leaders; making the results inconsistent and inconclusive. Therefore, researchers started to evolve the next two theories (Behaviorist and Situational). Stogdill (1974) identified the following traits and skills as vital to leaders: Traits Skills Adaptable to situations Alert to social environment Ambitious and achievement-oriented Assertive Cooperative Decisive Dependable Dominant Energetic Persistent Self-confident Tolerant of stress Willing to assume responsibility Clever (intelligent) Conceptually skilled Creative Diplomatic and tactful Fluent in speaking Knowledgeable about group task Organised Persuasive Socially skilled Table 3.2 Leadership Traits and Skills (Stogdill, 1974) Behavioural Theory Behavioural Theory looks at the behaviours of leaders instead of focusing on their inborn traits or capabilities. It believes that leaders can be made, rather than are born and behaviours can be learned more readily than traits. This opens the floodgates to leadership development and schools of researchers. Tannenbaum and Schmidt (cited by Daft 2008) illustrated that leadership behaviour could exist on a continuum reflecting different amounts of employee participation. Thus one leader can be autocratic (boss-centred), another democratic (employee-centred), and a third a mix of the two styles. However, Tannenbaum and Schmidt suggested that the leader might adjust their behaviours to fit the circumstances. John Adair Blake and Moutons Leadership Grid (cited by Daft 2008), as simplified in below table, focuses on production (task) and employee (people) orientations of managers, and combination of concerns between the two extremes. Leaders are rated on a scale of one to nine according to two criteria (Concern for People on vertical axis and Concern for Results on horizontal axis). The highly recommended and most effective style is Team Management as it rated High (for People) and High (for Task) and work accomplishment is from committed people while leader is committed to both people and task. Today, the consensus is that leaders can achieve a high-high leadership style (Daft 2008). Concern for People High Country Club Management TeamManagement Medium Middle-of-the-road Management Low Impoverished Management Authority-Compliance Management Low Medium High Concern for Results Table 3.3 The Leadership Grid (simplified) Situational or Contingency Theory Leadership style adopted is contingent upon situational factors such as the characteristics of the followers, characteristics of the work environment and followers tasks, and the external environment (Daft 2008). Leadership style that is successful in some situations may not be effective in others. Hence, in order to increase the likelihood of successful leadership outcomes, the leader has to fully discern the characteristics of tasks, followers and organizations and subsequently adopt the most effective leadership style. Fiedlers Contingency Model (Daft 2008) serves to diagnose whether a leader is task-oriented or relationship-oriented and match leader style to the situation in terms of 3 key elements (Leader member relations, Task structure and Position Power) which can be either favourable or unfavourable to a leader. Task-oriented leaders tend to do better in very easy or very difficult situations whereas relationship-oriented leaders do best in intermediate favourability. Hersey and Blanchards Situational Theory (Daft 2008) focuses on the readiness level of the followers to determine the effective leader behaviours such as Telling, Selling, Participating and Delegating style. The Path-Goal Theory (Daft 2008) states that leaders are responsible to increase followers motivation by clarifying the behaviours necessary for task accomplishment and rewards. The four types of behaviours the leader can adopt are supportive, directive, achievement-oriented and participative styles and the two important situational contingencies are the personal characteristics of followers and the work environment. The Vroom-Jago Contingency Model (Daft 2008) focuses on varying degrees of participative leadership, and how each level of participation influences quality and accountability of decisions. The model has three major components: leader participation styles (Decide, Consult individually, Consult Group, Facilitate or Delegate), a set of 7 diagnostic questions (High or Low answer) with which to analyse a decision situation, and a series of decision rules. It also takes into account factors such as concern for time versus concern for followers development. Leaders can analyze each situation and answer a series of questions that help determine the appropriate level of followers participation. Charismatic Leadership Charismatic Leadership is based on leaders personal characteristics as a source of power to emotionally impact people by appealing to both the heart and mind. These leaders create an atmosphere of change, articulate an idealized vision of the future, inspire and motivate followers with an abiding faith. Team Leadership Daft (2008) believes that team leadership is based on three principles: Firstly, team leaders must create a vivid vision that is challenging and inspiring so that it provides a strong sense of purpose and direction. Secondly, team leaders must be willing to admit their ignorance or mistakes and the third principle is to provide support and coaching to team members. Transactional Transformational Theory James MacGregor Burns conceptualized leadership as either transactional or transformational in 1978. Transactional leadership is a transaction or exchange process between leaders and followers (Daft 2008). Transactional leaders recognizes followers needs and desires and then clarifies how those needs and desires will be satisfied in exchange for meeting specified objectives or performing certain duties. Thus, followers receive rewards for job performance, whereas leaders benefit from the completion of tasks. Transformational leadership is characterized by the ability to bring about significant change in followers and the organization (Daft 2008). Transformational leaders have the ability to lead changes in an organisations vision, strategy, and culture as well as promote innovation in products and technologies (Daft 2008). Transformational leaders stimulate and inspire followers to both achieve the outcomes and develop them into leaders. Transformational leadership is based on the personal values, beliefs and qualities of the leader rather than an exchange process between leaders and followers (Daft 2008). Recent studies support the idea that transformational leadership has a positive impact on follower development and follower performance. Avolio, Bass and Jung (Cited by Bass, 2006) have identified the four components of transformational leadership as: Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation and Individualised Consideration. 3.9 X (Female) Y (Male) of Leadership Liz Cook and Brian Rothwell (2000) convincingly describe the differences (structural, operational and chemical) in the brain of male and female, which attribute to their different thinking and act even when faced with similar leadership situations. Their interpretation (Cook Rothwell, 2000) is that the natural and genetic gifts that the average female and male brain brings to leadership are as follows: Feminine Masculine Relationship orientation Dialogue Listening Coaching Appreciation of paradox Interpersonal connections Social awareness Group working Multi-tasking Appreciation of distinction Action orientation Competitiveness Vision Inventiveness Risk-taking Target orientation Status quo challenge Desire to be the best Focus Structure and form Table 3.4. Average Female and Male genetic gifts Much of the debate in the 1990s spent time persuading leaders that it was good to be female and it was men who needed to change their leadership style to feminine-oriented leadership, with the emphasis on building relationship. Nevertheless, Cook Rothwell (2000) believed that leadership training should embrace the strengths of both approaches as the strengths of both sexes are needed to counteract the weaknesses that each sex brings to the leadership equation. 4. Comparison of Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey Leadership Qualities 4.1 Gates Leadership Qualities Gates possesses the following traits: Introvert, Intelligent, Knowledgeable, Aggressive, Charisma, Visionary, etc. Original vision when Microsoft was founded was a computer in every home. Oprah Leadership Qualities Oprah possesses the following traits: Extrovert, Intelligent, Self-Confident, Determined, Persistence, Excellent Communicator, Charisma, etc. Comparison of Gates and Oprah Leadership Qualities with Leadership Theories Both Gates and Oprah follows Transformational Leadership Theory 5. Comparison of Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey Leadership Qualities and with Leadership Theories/Models 5.1 Comparison of 6. Authors opinions about Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey Leadership Styles A REASONED ANALYSIS AND APPROACH Comparison of Bill and Oprah Motivation and Empowerment, Communication, Teams, Diversity, Learning Organization, Ability in bringing about change Motivation: Employees satisfaction à   Customers Satisfaction à   Customers Loyalty à   Companys Profitability Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Leadership Communication Effective listening and understand why listening is important to leadership communication. Recognize and apply the difference between dialogue and discussion. Appropriate communication channel for your leadership message. Use communication to influence and persuade others. Effectively communicate during times of stress or crisis. Transformational and charismatic leadership 7. Conclusion Based on extensive reading and research on leadership books, the authors conclude that effective leadership really boils down to how each leader first understand himself and then his followers, his organization and all external factors (inclusive of awareness of diversity, cultural differences and fast changing environment) prior to adopting the appropriate leadership styles and behaviours to suit these situations. In other words, theres no one fixed style as his or her leadership style should vary as per todays rapid changing and diversified business world. Gates is a visionary whereas Oprah is a transformational leader.

Comparing three b2b or b2c web strategies :: essays research papers

I. Introduction The worldwide network of computers, called "Internet", provides opportunities for a company to do business in cyberspace. Organisations find it more and more important to represent them on the Internet to get more customers, to increase the public's awareness of the companies and their products, and to sell more of their products. However, corporate leaders are finding it difficult to keep up with fast-moving markets and the customer conditions that are the hallmark of the Internet. There are numerous and widely varying predictions of the potential of doing business via the Internet, including the increasing numbers of people with Internet access, of corporate Web sites, of Web spending by advertisers, and of total online shopping. Yet, confusion abounds concerning exactly what is happening, how much potential there really is, and what businesses should be doing to take advantage of it. The very nature of commerce on the Net can be baffling, even to the experienced marketer . Both businesses and consumers perceive many obstacles to successful online commerce. In order to successfully cultivate online market share, companies are compelled to design marketing strategies specifically for the information highway. I.A. Popularity of the Internet From its comparatively humble beginnings in the 1960s as a means for protecting US mainframe computer systems in the Cold War, to a 1970s link for scientists and academics to share data and research, the Internet has blossomed in the 1990s into the information age's curious marriage of the personal computer and citizens' band radio (Hof and Verity, 1994), instantaneously linking a user with the whole electronic world and providing the means to interact with that world. This explosive growth of the Internet, including commercial networks and services, has been accompanied by an astounding increase in the population of Internet users. The huge potential of customers and consumers has businesses scrambling to get on to the Web, with its low cost and broad reach. Millions of people worldwide can utilize the Web's affordable and easy access to view product, service and information offerings from an unknown number of potential entrepreneurs. (Chaffey et. al., 2003) Estimates say that the business side of the Internet is small today, but with untold billions in potential sales looming ahead. The prospect of millions of bright, well-educated, upwardly mobile people searching for some new outlet in which to spend their money has been too attractive for many businesses to ignore, in spite of slow initial momentum (Johnson, 1995).

Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA: Defining Our Life Essay -- Biology Scien

Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA: Defining Our Life Genetics is defined as the study of heredity. Heredity is controlled by genes, which aid in the development of a cellular organism’s definite characteristics. Such characteristics include sex, hair color, eye color, and countless other traits. Genes are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly abbreviated as DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid carries the genetic material for all cellular organisms. These molecules carry the information needed to direct many important processes that take place inside of the cell. This information is vital to the survival and health of the organism. Genetics has a long history filled with numerous different scientists building off of their predecessors’ data in order to form new theories. There are many events and scientists who have been important influences on the study of heredity over time. In 1809, a French biologist, Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, proposed the first complete theory of evolution. He claimed, â€Å"new species originate by natural processes and that man has an ape ancestry† (Bailey 13). His ideas become an important influence on evolutionary thinking for the next one hundred and twenty five years. In 1859, Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection called The Origin of the Species. This very controversial work is still the subject of debate over a hundred and forty years later. For this reason, some of the most basic scientific fundamentals remained unnoticed due to the shadow this controversy cast over science. In 1866, Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, publishes his theories of inheritance. His experiments dealt with the inheritance of â€Å"factors† in pea plants. Thes... ...ematical qualities, qualities important enough to play ma major role in a book, a book that has now been made into a college class! Without this tiny molecule, than can be represented in three letters, DNA, life as we know it today would not exist. That is one powerful molecule. Bibliography Lewis, Ricki. Human Genetics. Boston, McGraw-Hill, 2001. Bailey, Jill. Genetics and Evolution: The Molecules of Inheritance. New York, Oxford University Press, 1995. Parkin, David T. An Introduction to Evolutionary Genetics. London, Edward Arnold Publishers, 1979. Ford, E.B. Understanding Genetics. New York, Pica Press, 1979. Hofstadter, Douglas R. Godel, Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. New York, Basic Books, 1979. Relethford, John H. The Human Species:An Introduction to Biological Anthropology. The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003.

Harry Potter Archetype paper -- J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter, in many ways follows the hero journey and archetype. Throughout the book many of his adventures and exploits leave many of the others feeling as if he were a hero. The journey he takes part in is ones that make me feel he's living a hero's journey. Harry was born with many special talents and abilities. The following paragraphs I state my views and how Harry fits the hero archetype and journey. In many ways Harry Potter fits the hero archetype. A few of the examples are as follows. When Harry was born his life was planned to be one of an ordinary wizard, but due to his parent?s death by Voldemort he was destined to live a normal muggle life with the Dursleys. Also at age ten Harry discovers he was a wizard was a surprise to him not knowing what lay ahead of him. Harry inherited many of James and Lily's traits and skills in the wizarding world, he was soon to face many of the challenges they faced. For example Harry using the flute to memorizing Fluffy to access the chamber bellows chapter sixteen page two hundred seventy five. In chapter three Harry states that when ...

Abstract – Analysis

After Jobs' death (201 1), the video of his speech turned on the internet, gaining millions of views. On Twitter and Backbone, people quoted pieces of the speech, and one of the cost highly circulated quotes was his last line: â€Å"Stay hungry, stay foolish. â€Å". Steve Jobs' powerful speech consisted of three stories from his life. The first story, which he calls â€Å"connecting the dots†, touches upon his early life and how it all affected the inception and development of his company and career.The second story, about â€Å"love and loss†, reveals how he pursued what he loved, and the twists and turns in that pursuit, and his eventual success and attainment of happiness (American dream). The third story he speaks about relates his feelings of being at the end of the road, and how facing death every day inspired him to work and live as if it were his last day (Carper diem theme).This speech is more Interesting because It is full of rhetorical, philosophical messa ges and figures, there are the recurring themes of birth, death, rebirth, love, and determination. Indubitably, Jobs has struck a core with the American Dream: â€Å"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. † and â€Å"Don't settle. † , a few of his aphorisms for the young students are determined to Join the workforce, pursue their livelihoods, start their families, and achieve their â€Å"Dream†.While It may seem plausible and appealing to â€Å"stay hungry, stay foolish† for one person, It may seem unreasonable and Inauspicious to another. The reference about the â€Å"Instinct† that for Jobs prevails over the â€Å"reason† creates divergent opinions as also the history has shown through the thinking of some philosophers Like B. Pascal, S. Segregated, F. Nietzsche or rationalist philosophers Like D. Home or R. Descartes. Finally, there are many other Ideas and Items that come out of this discourse, where the path os always wins the audience.

Family Relation Portrayal in Korean Films Essay

It has been said of cinema that it is much lesser an art that it should be because it cannot afford the unpredictable. Therefore it seeks the security of successfully established formulas (Encyclopaedia Britannica 904). This may be the reason why Korean films, like most Asian films, tend to focus on domestic issues. The most important part of Korean life is family, and Koreans are proud of their excellent relationship among family members. Members of the family are tied to each other by very strong bonds. Over the years, however, the Korean family has undergone tremendous change in terms of structure and function. These changes in family structure and function are dramatically mirrored in Korean films. Korean films show viewers about how the Korean family has evolved over the last few years. In addition, Korean films reflect the rapid change that the structure and function of the Korean family is undergoing. Value for Family Family welfare is much more important to Koreans than individual needs (â€Å"South Korea – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette†). This may be the reason why Korean families are called a ‘small society’. The action of each family member becomes a reflection of the rest of the family. Koreans put into mind that family is the most important group for themselves and for their country (â€Å"Korean Family†). The Korean value for family is depicted in the film A Romantic Papa, a Korean film released in 1960. This is a story about an employee at an insurance company who is the head of a happy household which consists of his wife, two sons and three daughters. When his company began downsizing, however, he is forced into retirement. He does not tell his family about losing his job because of fear of disappointing them. His children learn the truth as they thought of a way of comforting their father. A Romantic Papa is a film which depicts the traditional Korean family. The film also shows that the father holds supreme power in the family. When the protagonist loses his job, he does not tell his family because he does not want to disappoint them. This goes to show the great value that Koreans place over their families. In an unconventional sort of way, the film also shows the father, who holds supreme power in the family, stepping down to relinquish his authority to the next generation. A Romantic Papa was adapted to the big screen from a popular radio drama. It was directed by Shin Sang-Okk and starred Choi Eun-Hee, Kim Jin-Kyu, Shin Seong-II, Kim Seung-Ho and Joo Jeung-Nyeo. (â€Å"100 Korean Films†). Mr. Park, which was also released in 1960, is another Korean film which depicts the traditional Korean family. The film is about a man who has provided for his children by repairing charcoal fireplaces. He disapproves of the fact that his eldest child is dating a hoodlum. He is also unhappy that his younger daughter is dating her co-worker. He, however, bestows his blessing upon his son when he expresses the desire to marry. His eldest daughter runs away and his son asks his permission to work in Thailand after marriage. The film ends with him accepting the man his eldest child wants to marry while granting permission to his son to go to Thailand. The film is Korea’s representative family melodrama. It reveals the conflict of values through the clash between the protagonist and his children. The film was directed by Kang Dae-Jin. It starred Kim Seung-Ho, Cho Mi-Ryeong, Kim Jin-Kyu and hwang Jeong-Sun. (â€Å"100 Korean Films†) The Extended Family The extended family was the social norm about 50 to 60 years ago in Korea (Bae). This is reflected in the film Festival which was released in Korea in 1996. Festival was directed by Im Kwon-Taek and stars Ahn Seong-Ki. A film about family, Festival is about a renowned writer who received word that his mother had passed away. The death of his mother elicited different emotional responses from various persons. As the funeral begins, so did conflict deepen among his family members. As the funeral progresses, their conflicts find gradual resolution. Festival is about filial piety, a Confucian ideal that places the virtue of caring for one’s parents among all else. Filial piety connotes being good to the parents and to take care of them. It connotes engaging in good conduct towards parents and towards society so as to bring a good name to the parents and ancestors. It also means performing the duties of a job well to obtain the material means to support the parents. The film The Birth of a Family also depicts extended family life. Released in 2006, the first part of the film is about Mi-ra and her trouble-making brother, Hyung-chul. After being discharged from the military, Hyung-chul goes missing. He comes back five years later with a middle-aged woman whom he introduces as his wife. Mi-ra allows them to stay with her at the family home until Mi-ra’s daughter Chae-hyun arrives and the three reach a breaking point. The second part of the film concerns a young woman called Sun-kyung whose relationship with her estranged mother is aggravated by the mother’s relationship with a married man. Her mother dies of cancer, however, and Sun Kyung must care for her half-brother Gyeong-suk. The third part of the film brings together the two story lines with the relationship of Chae-hyun and Gyeong-suk who is accepted in the end by Chae-hyun’s adopted family from the first part of the film (â€Å"The Birth of a Family†). The Birth of a Family was directed by Kim Tae-Yong. It starred Moon So-ri, Kong Hyo-jin, Jeong Yu-mi and Bong Tae-gyu. Extended family is also portrayed in the 1998 film A Quiet Family. This is the story of a family who buys a hotel in the mountains. At first, no one comes to check in at the hotel but after a while a guest checks in and dies. Two more guests arrive and suffer that same predicament, and soon the bodies start piling up. This movie is a comedy but effectively portrays the modern extended family and their relationship to each other (â€Å"The Quiet Family†). The Quiet Family was directed by Ji-woon Kim and starred In-hwan Park and Mun-hee Na. Single Parents, Divorce and Late Marriages It is said that the economic crisis in the late 1990s was the catalyst in changing the Korean family structure in an essential way. Before this, concepts such as single parents, divorce, late marriage and having children at a later age were unheard of to most Koreans. Today, however, this is no longer the case (Bae). Mirroring the theme of being a single parent is the film Mother which is a Korean film released in 2010. Mother is the story of a Hye-ja, a single mother who sells herbs and acupuncture treatments to support her mentally slow son. Her son, however, becomes involved in the murder of a schoolgirl and is thrown into jail. This is when Hye-ja’s quest to prove her son’s innocence begins (Harris). The film shows the hardships and difficulties of being a single parent and what a mother’s love can do for her beloved child. Mother was directed by Bong Joon-ho and starred Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin. The film stayed within the top 50 films on the United States box office. Being a single parent is also depicted in the film A Family which was released in Korea in 2004. A Family is about the extraordinary love between a father and his daughter. Pickpocket Jeong-eun comes back home to a father and an eight-year old brother after being in prison for two years. Her father Joo-suk loves her dearly but does not know how to express it. The film A Family is about troubled relationships and conflict between family members, but above all, it is a story about family in these modern times (â€Å"A Family†). A film that also depicts the hardships of being a single parent is The Way Home, a Korean film that was released in 2002. The Way Home is the story of a spoiled city boy whose single mother ships him off to his grandmother in a rural town. The grandmother is a hunchback and a mute who works hard without complaining. The boy disrespects his grandmother at first but learns a lesson about love and selflessness after seeing all the sacrifices she made for him. The film is a drama about the healing power of love. The unconditional love the grandmother gives to the boy is something that he is not used to. This eventually softens him. He also begins to see the downside to his selfishness (â€Å"The Way Home†). Single parenthood is also shown in Marathon, a 2005 film which deals with an autistic youth training to be a marathon runner. The story is primarily about the relationship between the boy and his mother. Because of his condition, his mother controls various aspects of his life in the name of ‘protection’. The film also tackles the realities of being mentally ill (â€Å"Marathon†). Marathon became the runaway box office smash of 2005. The film marked the directorial debut of Jeong Yun-Cheol and starred Cho Seung-Woo and Kim Mi-Sook. In 2007, the film Cherry Tomato tackled single parenthood by way of a grandfather caring for his granddaughter. When his son is released from prison and steals his savings and his bicycle-drawn cart is destroyed, he ends up trying to steal meat for his hungry granddaughter (â€Å"Cherry Tomato†). This film depicts the love a grandfather has for his granddaughter and the actions that he is capable of doing in the name of love. Cherry Tomato was directed by former television producer Jeong Yeong-bae and starred Sin Goo and Kim Hyang-ki. Meanwhile, the theme of divorce is exemplified in the film The Marriage Life which is a film released in Korea in 1992. The Marriage Life is about a couple who gets married for love despite objection from their family and friends. Their married life seems successful at first until endlessly busy nights made conversation almost nonexistent. Their marriage then begins to suffer. Their clashes began to become intense that they finally resort to divorce (â€Å"100 Korean Films†). Marriage Life was directed by Kim Yui-seok and starred Choi Min-Su and Shim Hye-Jin.

Father-Daughter Conflicts in Shakespeare’s Plays Essay

William Shakespeare is a playwright and poet with no need of introduction. He has written several of the most distinguished and well-received plays in the history of literary writing. With so much reflection focused on his works and writings, little is said about Shakespeare’s personal life. It has been generally accepted however that Shakespeare himself had two daughters and one son. Shakespeare placed great value in the ability of his offspring to immortalize his own name and to uphold the dignity of his family (Bevington 193). However, his hopes were not to be carried out through Hamnet, his only son. With Hamnet’s early death, Shakespeare was left to look to his daughters for the propagation of the respect due his family name (Bevington 193). This close relationship with his daughters may have played a part in the establishment of many father-daughter conflicts in his plays. This paper will further inspect several plays written by Shakespeare with particular focus on the father-daughter relationships displayed in the texts to be studied. Five plays have been chosen for this study: The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Othello. The elements of the father-daughter relationship in each play will be discussed individually. By the end of this paper, it will have been shown that Shakespeare uses father-daughter conflict both as a plot device and as a means of reflecting views regarding father-daughter relationships. Where there is a conflict between father and daughter, the theme invariably revolves around the daughter’s pulling away from her father. Thus, it can be seen that through the daughter’s falling in love and the father’s choice of an ideal mate, there is a strain between father and daughter. The struggle to maintain authority over daughters causes fathers to hold indomitably to their decisions, leading daughters to resort to other means to accomplish their own desires. A Midsummer Night’s Dream In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Egeus demands that his daughter Hermia wed Demetrius when in truth it is Lysander whom she loves (Shakespeare 6). This causes the rift between the father and the daughter. A dominant theme in the play is thus the father’s stubborn belief that his word is law over his daughter’s affairs. Because of Egeus’ mislead belief; Hermia is forced to resort to her won measures in attaining the love she professes. Smith discusses that the conflict between the father and the daughter in this play serves to highlight the need for Hermia to establish her own character in order to free herself of the dictates of the authorities in her life. It should also be noted that the play reflects the empowerment of women. Egeus gives no reason why Hermia should follow his wishes apart from the fact that he is her father and he is the primary male authority in her life. Hermia gets her way and her own will is upheld against that of her father’s. However, this does not clearly show the power of the woman to decide for herself. If nothing else, the play only serves to put the point across that the woman’s opinion is of import as well as the man’s. It is the duke, Theseus, who overrides the will of Egeus and validates Hermia’s love for Lysander (Shakespeare 152). Thus, it is the will of a man of greater authority from which Hermia derives her freedom to act as she would. In this particular play it can be seen that the conflict between father and daughter serves more to move the plot forward than to speak of the actual interaction between the two. Egeus’ stubbornness gives insight into the latter but serves more as a blocking mechanism for Hermia’s story to develop (Bevington 193). The refusal of Egeus to have Hermia wed Lysander served to birth the entire story. This shows how Shakespeare used the relationship between the father and daughter as a plot device. It is true that Shakespeare expressed through the scenes how Hermia needed to break free from her father’s authority in order to accomplish her own ambitions. However, Hermia inevitably found such freedom only through another man clothed with a greater power than her father but to whom they both were subject. Thus, the intricacies of the father-daughter relationship though touched on, were not fleshed out. It served a greater purpose as a literary device. Romeo and Juliet Another clear illustration of the utility of the father-daughter relationship as a plot device is the relationship of Juliet with her father. The feud between the Capulets and Montagues was an inherited rivalry strongly advocated by Juliet’s father. Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father, serves as a literary plot device designed to give an obstacle to the blossoming love of Romeo and Juliet (Bevington 193). In this regard, Romeo and Juliet is much like A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lord Capulet also serves as the authority figure over Juliet’s life and her decisions. Thus, Juliet and Romeo have to overcome the restrictions set by Lord Capulet Upon finding her own voice, Juliet is able to overcome the prohibitions of her father against her desiring a Montague. Juliet thus matures and finds that there is no sin in a name and Romeo’s name does not make him her enemy. This reflects how Juliet is pulling away not only from her father’s rules but even from her family’s tradition in order to blaze a path for herself and her love. Unlike in Hermia and Lysander’s story, the greater authority figure does not arrive to bring a peaceful reconciliation of the conflicts; rather the arrival of the Prince and his judgment of exile for Romeo starts the unstoppable turn of events leading to the demise of the two lovers. It is only upon seeing his daughter dead and hearing of the monument that the Montagues have decided to erect for Juliet that Lord Capulet decides to accept this love that his daughter has found by erecting a monument for Romeo as well (Shakespeare 239). Given however that even this last act of acceptance is fueled by rivalry, it can be shown that there was no real reconciliation between father and daughter and the strain between them a mere tool for the evolution of the plot. The Merchant of Venice In The Merchant of Venice, Bevington insists that the father-daughter conflict is yet another simple plot device (Bevington 193). However, in this play there are more distinct reflections of the daughter’s pulling away from her father. The character in focus herein is Jessica, the daughter of Shylock the merchant. It should be noted that one of the strongest themes in this text is the religious battle between Jews and Christians. Shylock himself is a strong advocate for Judaism, as is shown in a number of his lines as he mocks and argues with Christian philosophy. It is therefore a devastating blow when Jessica falls in love with a Christian. She professes, although not to her father’s face, that she is willing to become a Christian in order to become Lorenzo’s wife: â€Å"Alack, what heinous sin is it in me To be ashamed to be my father’s child! But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners. O Lorenzo, If thou keep promise I shall end this strife, Become a Christian and thy loving wife. (Shakespeare 61). † This shows how willing Jessica is to sever her ties with her father and pursue her own heart’s will. Considering the importance that Shylock places on his religion, Jessica’s defiance of her inherited religion is much the same as Juliet’s repulsion of her family’s rivalry. When Jessica finally succeeds in running away with Lorenzo, the importance that Shylock places in her worth as a daughter is revealed. Shakespeare reflects the basis of the strong paternal possessiveness: â€Å"My daughter! O, my ducats! O, my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O, my Christian ducats! Justice! The law! My ducats and my daughter! A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats (p. 81)† Smith interprets these lines in the context of Jewish tradition regarding the role of daughters in the continuation of family lineage. It is explained that in Jewish tradition families are matriarchal by nature thus the family line is passed down through the female line (Smith). Jessica being an only daughter, Shylock’s security in his lineage depended on her acquiring a suitable husband. The cries of Shylock connecting his money with Jessica reflect how he viewed her as another instrument for the attainment of his success. This theme hits quite close to the personal views and state of family affairs that Shakespeare himself was subject to at the time. Othello Othello on the other hand presents a more distinct portrait of the tension between father and daughter. Even Bevington (pp. 193-194) admits to the different quality of father-daughter relationship that is made manifest in this text. Here the conflict is more than a simple plot device utilized to move the story forward. Much like in The Merchant of Venice, the theme of the story touches on the role of marriage in the life of a family. In the former play, marriage was a means of joining together people while those who were not married became isolated and desolate. In Othello, marriage again serves as a divider between father and daughter as Desdemona elopes with the protagonist, Othello. Their elopement causes much hurt to her father, Barbantio who feels that he has been deceived by his daughter (Bevington 194). In an attempt to maintain his authority over his daughter he asks of her to whom she owes her allegiance but is devastated by her answer: â€Å"I am hitherto your daughter. But here’s my husband, And so much duty as my mother showed To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord (Shakespeare 41). † This shows how upon marrying, the daughter ceases to hold primary loyalty towards her father and his house and moves toward the household of her groom. The pain that Barbantio manifests is thus not only a result of the elopement of Desdemona but more so of his feelings of loss of his progeny. This play therefore serves to show more vividly the change in relationship that occurs between a father and his daughter as the daughter marries. Even though reason is planted in the wisdom of Desdemona, the possessiveness of fathers as a result of the many years of watching over and protecting their daughters is a force to be reckoned. The desire to bind unto themselves their daughters is so strong that fathers brashly discount the bind of the matrimonial tie between their daughter and another man. King Lear The sense of entitlement to the loyalty and love of a daughter are best demonstrated in Shakespeare’s King Lear. In this play King Lear tests his three daughters in order to assess whether or not they deserve to get their share of the inheritance of his kingdom. Because of their desire to gain, Goneril and Regan outbid each other in professing their love for the King. However, the third daughter, Cordelia, professes that she loves the King as she is under obligation to do so but will reserve some of her love for her future husband (Shakespeare 36). This outrages the King and he refuses her the portion of the inheritance allotted to her, believing her to be an ungrateful daughter. It is revealed however that Goneril and Regan are the ungrateful ones as they soon plot to overthrow their father and appropriate for themselves his rule. King Lear’s desire to possess the entirety of his daughters’ hearts and their dedication is not without reason. His use of the word â€Å"ungrateful† reflects how he sees his relationship with his daughters. He has invested much into their relationship – both in terms of material and emotional store. He therefore expects to reap what he has sown into all three daughters. The King has reached old age, an age wherein it is only fitting that he be cared for by others. As most parents who reach this age feel, the King imagined that the years he had spent taking care of his daughters should be repaid through service to him at his infirm age. However, Cordelia spoke wisely when she pointed out that her heart should be allowed the freedom to serve other men aside from her father. The words of Desdemona ring true herein as well. A wife should first be loyal to her husband before serving her father. Although a daughter is obligated to show respect and gratitude to her parents through her service to them, she is also allowed to experience the freedom of a life apart from her parents. Should a parent disallow a child such liberalities, then the entire essence of watching such a child grow and mature should have been for naught. Conclusion The five plays reviewed herein serve to show the importance that the father-daughter relationship held for Shakespeare. The relationship was one so strong that instabilities in the same justified the evolution of complete stories based on singular notions. There is no doubt that the conflict between a father and daughter is a strong plot device which was utilized by Shakespeare in a number of his plays. The result gave rise to some of the best works written by Shakespeare, including the popular Romeo and Juliet. The conflict may take the form of a daughter’s moving away from the den of a father or from a father’s overzealous attempts to keep a daughter’s love. The former has been shown in Shakespeare’s plays through several acts. It may be a simple disobedience to a father’s will. Sometimes it may take the form of invariance to the beliefs and traditions held by the father. However, it is seen that Shakespeare repeatedly uses the escape of marriage and love to dishonor the father. It has also been shown though that father’s themselves may desire unreasonably the regard of their daughter. In King Lear most especially has this desire been shown to be impractical as the daughter who was punished had committed no act of disobedience to her father. In the various plays it can thus be seen that the underlying theme in father-daughter conflicts is the daughter’s desire to break free from the authority of her father. This act of separation allows for the daughter’s ability to decide for herself what is best and what is desirable. Along with the freedom that the separation gives the daughter however is the anxiety that it visits upon the father. The daughter to some is the only means of ensuring family lineage and to most the daughter is the gem that has been protected for so long and should be given away only to the most worthy. The breaking away of the daughter from the father’s authority therefore leads to insecurity and feelings of loss from the side of the parent. It is this sense of loss which causes the strife between father and daughter, particularly so as the father continues to cling to the power he holds over his daughter. It is this pattern of removal from the father’s fold that is repeatedly shown in Shakespeare’s themes. Works Cited Bevington, David. Shakespeare: The Seven Ages of Human Experience (2nd ed. ). MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2005. 1. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edited by Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine. NY: Washington Square Press, 1993. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Edited by Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine. NY: Washington Square Press, 1992. Shakespeare, William. Othello. Edited by Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine. NY: Washington Square Press, 1993. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Edited by Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine. NY: Washington Square Press, 1992. Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Edited by Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine. NY: Washington Square Press, 1992. Smith, J. N.. â€Å"GradeSaver: Midsummer Night’s Dream – Study Guide. † www. gradesaver. com. 11 May 2008. GradeSaver. 11 May 2008 . Smith, J. N.. â€Å"GradeSaver: Merchant of Venice – Study Guide. † www. gradesaver. com. 11 May 2008. GradeSaver. 11 May 2008 .

Crm Banking Sector Essay

A study of customer perception of CRM initiatives in the Indian Banking Sector Vanisha Oogarah-Hanuman Lecturer Faculty of Law and Management University of Mauritius Sharmila Pudaruth Lecturer Faculty of Law and Management University of Mauritius Vinod Kumar Research Scholar Department of Management Studies School of Management Pondicherry University Victor Anandkumar Reader Department of Management Studies School of Management Pondicherry University ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the front-end effectiveness of CRM strategies in the banking sector in India by studying the customer perception of CRM initiatives. This is an empirical research which is descriptive in nature and relied mainly on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire to study the perception of Indian customers. Findings: Banks operating in India have failed to impress their customers on their CRM efforts. Various CRM initiates and dimensions measured in this study report unfavorable response. This under-performance has occurred in spite of technological developments and new processes in place Practical implications: The findings will have useful implications for Banks operating in India in order to think in line with the customers’ response. The study emphasizes the importance of retaining profitable customers for a lifetime and the growing importance of CRM in order to better satisfy customers in the Indian Banking Industry. Originality/value: Crucial aspects pertaining to CRM in the Indian banking sector had been under-researched and the aim of the present study is to have a broadened investigation of the CRM initiatives adopted by Indian banks. The study provides a discussion on the concept of CRM in the Indian banking sector and proposes recommendations to assist the banking sector on how to nurture profitable, long-term relationships with the customers Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. org Page 1 1. Introduction In today’s banking environment, it is becoming difficult to build and maintain strong and lasting relationships with customers. In fact, the challenges of building strong customer relationships have become even greater for banks with the emergence of e-business, diffusion of innovations and agile new competitors in the banking sector. The introduction of Customer Relationship Management has provided banks with a driving philosophy, a reoriented information system and a communication tool that helps to create invaluable and knowledge based relationships. Therefore, banks are developing a continuing long-term business relationship with customers and they are shifting their focus from market share to mind share of customers. The literature review has focused on the importance of CRM in the banking sector and the importance of maintaining profitable relationships with banking customers, which in turn leads to profitability through customer loyalty. Close relationship with customers will require a strong coordination between IT and marketing departments to provide a long-term retention of selected customers. Accordingly, this paper will aim to investigate important attributes which customers value as far as customer relationships in the Indian banking sector is concerned. No doubt, considerable literature on CRM is available worldwide but there is limited research throwing light over the importance of CRM in the Indian banking sector. Therefore, the paper reviews pertinent literature on CRM in the banking sector. Then, the methodology employed to collect and analyse data is outlined. Then the findings are discussed, implications are described and the paper further makes strategic recommendations towards enhancing customer relationships in the Indian banking sector. Directions for future research are also proposed in the arena of customer relationship management and banking sector. 2. The Indian Banking Sector and CRM The economic reforms initiated by the Government of India roughly about a decade ago have changed the landscape of several sectors of the Indian economy [1]. The Indian banking sector is no exception. The economic reforms have also generated new and powerful customers (huge Indian middle class) and new mix of players (public sector units, private banks, and foreign banks). The emerging competition has generated new expectations from the existing and the new customers. The new rules of competition require recognition of the importance of consumers and the necessity to address the needs through innovative products supported by new technology. Perceptions and expectations of the customers have undergone a sea change, with the innovative and modern banking services offered to the customers. This necessitates banks to include a customer-oriented approach whereby they build, maintain and manage longstanding relationships with their profitable customers in order to gain sustainable competitive edge. 3. Conceptual background Over the past two decades, the literature has argued that businesses across all sectors will have to change their approach to marketing, which should now be carried out through relationships, networks, and interactions [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Such a marketing approach is very Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. rg Page 2 different from the more traditional one based on transactions affecting the Four Ps (product, price, place and promotion). 3. 1. CRM in the Banking sector Customer relationship management (CRM) has been as important to the banking industry at the start of the 21st century as it has been to any other industry. Many banks have used CRM tools to acquire more customers and to improve relationships with them. A key aspect in banks embracing technological platforms and delivery systems is the impact this will have on bank-customer relationships. Therefore, in order to achieve banking excellence, meeting customer needs and offering innovative products is not sufficient in itself. The balance between relatively high costs of relationships with customers and the need to maintain profit growth needs to be finely tuned, if marketing is not to revert back to a transactional paradigm [8]. Likewise, increased customer expectations have created a competitive climate whereby the quality of the relationship between the customer and the institution has taken a greater significance [9, 10]. The development of effective customer relationships is widely advocated as a key element of marketing strategies in the service sector (Ennew, 1996). Therefore a binding and long-term customer relationship seems to be necessary for many banks to react to the changed conditions and to guarantee the continuity. For many customers, a strong banking relationship is as vital as any other business relationship they maintain. This gives CRM-driven banks an advantage in that customers want the benefits of a solid relationship. Common benefits for customers of banks using CRM include wider access with branch locations, Internet and ATMs; access to service and support; discount credit rates and enhanced savings; and other customization opportunities. Attracting new customers should be viewed only as an intermediate step in the marketing process. Developing close relationships with these customers and turning them into loyal ones are equal aspects of marketing. Thus relationship marketing ought to be perceived as attracting, maintaining, and in multi service organizations, enhancing customer relationships [12, 13, 14, 15]. Another important facet of CRM is customer selectivity. As several research studies have shown not all customers are equally profitable for an individual company [16]. 3. 2. Role of Service Providers in the Banking Sector Although CRM has become widely recognized as an important business approach, there is no universally accepted definition of CRM. Swift defined CRM as an ‘enterprise approach to understanding and influencing customer behaviour through meaningful communications in order to improve customer acquisition, customer retention, customer loyalty, and customer profitability’ [17]. Kincaid viewed CRM as ‘the strategic use of information, processes, technology, and people to manage the customer’s relationship with your company (Marketing, Sales, Services, and Support) across the whole customer life cycle’ [18]. Parvatiyar and Sheth defined CRM as ‘a comprehensive strategy and process of acquiring, retaining, and partnering with selective customers to create superior value for the company and the customer [19]. 3. 3. Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention and Customer Relationships Customer satisfaction and loyalty are some key elements of business success and profitability. The more satisfied the customer, the more loyal the customer and the more Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. org Page 3 durable the relationship. And the longer this lasts, the more profit the company stands to make and the higher the market share. Getting existing customers to provide referrals should be one of the effective ways to add new business [20]. A referral from a customer can often open the gates and allow a salesperson access to previously unreachable prospects. Huntley found that when the quality of relationship is high, customers are more willing to recommend the seller’s offerings to colleagues and they purchase more from the seller [21]. Maintaining high-quality relationships with customers appears to increase their willingness to provide referrals [22]. Customer satisfaction and loyalty are highly correlated [23], but they form two distinct constructs [24]. Customer satisfaction with a bank relationship is a good basis for loyalty [25, 26], although it does not guarantee it, because even satisfied customers switch banks [27]. One important reason for switching is pricing [28, 29]. Hence, banks have launched customer loyalty programmes that provide economic incentives. Although the effectiveness of loyalty programmes has been questioned [30, 31, 32], research has shown that they have a significant, positive impact on customer retention and share of customer purchases [33, 34]. In a similar vein, Reinartz and Kumar suggest that customers can be grouped according to share-of-wallet and profitable lifetime duration, and that each customer group should be targeted with a specific strategy [35]. By adopting such a customer focused strategy, organisations can maximise the lifetime value of each customer by anticipating needs and offering timely solutions [36]. Likewise, according to Hartfeil, ‘Products are not profitable; customers are, and we analysed our customer base, segment by segment, we found that each required a different strategy to maximize its profitability to the bank [37]. For instance, every customer (both business and personal) is assigned to a banker at National Australia Bank Ltd whereby bankers are required to actively manage their portfolios according to volume of business, interest margin spread, fee income, profitability, customer retention, and the acquisition of new customers [38]. While ample literature is available on generic CRM today, hardly any information is forthcoming on the gains from CRM initiatives in the Indian banking sector. There is scarce literature on how the customers respond to the CRM measures adopted by the banks. This research has attempted to study the customer perceptions pertaining to the CRM initiatives adopted by the banks in India. Thus it helps to investigate the front-end effectives of CRM strategies in the banking sector. 4. Research Methodology This is a descriptive study using primary data collected through an experience survey. The data collection instrument used was a 3-part structured questionnaire using a 5-point Likert Scale. Part-1 was pertaining to the relationship building aspect of CRM and it had 19 questions which were framed using the relevant variables identified from literature review. Part-2 focused specifically on the interaction with the customer service representatives. Part-3 was concerned with customer perceptions on complaint handling and his/her behavioural intentions. Necessary demographic details were also collected to serve as categorizing variables. Prior to data collection, a pilot test was conducted to ensure comprehensiveness, clarity and reliability of the questionnaire. The pretesting of the questionnaire was done among 10 customers randomly, resulting in some minor modifications of the wordings of some survey Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. rg Page 4 items. The method used to administer the questionnaire was through a personal interview so as to obtain more accurate, reliable and valid information and to make the respondents at ease by maintaining a social rapport with them. The target population to be sampled was the individual customers of the Indian banking sector. Owing to the need for a relatively large sample size while at the same time keeping the research costs down, the sample size of this study amounted to 150 customers and the quota sampling technique was adopted based on the net profit and market share figure as shown in Table-1 below.