CUSTOMERS PORTFOLIO AS MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT Essay

CUSTOMERS PORTFOLIO AS MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT - Essay Example The implementation of these strategies must however be done in a manner that can guarantee that the strategic management plans of the companies are up to date with changing situations on the market (Levinsohn and Williams, 2004). This means that the search and implementation of strategic management plans must be undertaken as a holistic process that includes all stakeholders who have a role to play in the success of the company. In relation to this argument, Labovitz (2005), identifies the place of the customer in having a very formidable strategic management plan for the modern global economic market. It has been said that the customer is no longer a passive member of the corporate society but an active member of it (Khurana, 2002). Because of this, the need to always include customers in the planning of the company is very relevant and inevitable. With this understanding in mind, the current report is prepared to identify the place of the customer in a typical modern business and o utline ways in which companies can make use of the all new concept of customer portfolio to maximise the benefits they can make of their customer base. 2.0 Theoretical Framework A waterfall approach to the theoretical understanding of the concept of customer portfolio is developed. This approach involves the strategic review of what exists in literature as the place of customers in business entities. After this understanding has been developed, there will then be a deduction of what the definition of customer portfolio is, based on what is deduced in literature. 2.1 Customers as assets Writing on the place of customers in a typical business entity, Kets de Vries (2003) explained that the best way for companies to make the best out of their customers is to understand the place of customers as assets to the company. Commonly, the assets of companies are judged as either being tangible or intangible, with much emphasis and focus on those things that can be utilised by the company for r evenue generation purposes (Nutt, 2004). Labovitz and Rosansky (2007) laments that hardly are customers envisioned and classified as having the potential of generating revenues for the company. What companies have done over the years is to see the customer as the source of revenue, rather than a generator of revenue. But this perception is said to be erroneous, especially in cases where companies want to make the best out of their customers. As assets, customers will be seen as tangible resources that ought to be managed so as to ensure that they are transformed into revenues (Morrison and Milliken, 2000). Giving a practical explanation of how customers could act as assets, Roberts, Swanson and Dinneen, J. (2004) said that every company that has a formidable database of its customers would realise that each customer has a specific fiscal wealth they account to the customer. Since assets are also quantified as fiscal wealth, customers can be said to be assets. 2.2 Customers as stakeh olders Farrell (2004) joins a school of thought that argues that customers may best be seen as stakeholders if companies want to make the most of them. As stakeholders, customers have been explained as people, having a say in the planning and decision making process of the company. This way, customers may be included in decision making in two major ways. The first of these ways is active inclusion, which requires companies to have a mechanism by which views of customers will be collected and considered while taking management level decisions (Sankar, 2003). There is also a passive inclusion of customers as stakeholders in decision making, where the company uses a strategy to identify the views and thoughts of customers about the company and make decisions that

Young Goodman Brown Analysis Essay Example for Free

Young Goodman Brown Analysis Essay Plot: â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† tells a tale of a man named Goodman Brown and his journey into a forest one night. That night, he said goodbye to his wife Faith, who begged him not to go and stay with her. He went anyway and met with a man on the road. Goodman Brown and the man conversed on the way, while Brown was trying to convince the man that he is a good Christian and does not want a part in evil, saying that his family and the ones before him were Christians and good people; Brown did not want to be different. The man replied him saying that he knew Brown’s father and grandfather, as well as members of his church and the governor of the state. Brown was surprised by all what the man was saying, but soon found out when he finally reached the destination of his journey, the ceremony where he and a young woman are to be new converts. There, he saw faces of many respected members of the community, the minister, deacon, good Christian men and women and Indian priests. However, Brown does not see Faith and is hopeful that she might not be there. To his disappointment, Brown sees that his wife Faith is the other convert. He then tells Faith to look up to heaven and resist the devil, at this moment, Brown found himself alone in the forest. When Brown returned home to Salem Village in the morning, everyone seemed evil to him, including the minister, the deacon praying and even his wife. Brown was not sure if his forest encounter was a dream or reality and he lived the rest of his life in despair. Structure: The incidents in the story were arranged chronologically. There was a beginning and an end, with events happening in between. There were no flashbacks, but there might have been some foreshadowing, to hint that maybe Brown’s wife Faith will be at the ceremony. Type of Story: â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a short story, as defined by Robert DiYanni (2008), it revealed the characters â€Å"in dramatic scenes, in moments of action and in exchanges of dialogue† (p. 47). The story also include several characteristics of short story, such as a realistic time and place setting; recognizable human characters motivated by identifiable social and psychological forces; and a plot which illustrates a sequence of related events (DiYanni, 2008, p. 7). It told a complete story with set-up, conflict and resolution. Characters: The main characters of the story are Goodman Brown: a young, curious, good Christian and a newlywed husband of Faith; Faith: a young, beautiful wife of Goodman Brown; and the Old Man: a cunning, evil man that tempts Goodman Brown into attending the ceremony. Other characters of the story are Goody Cloyse, the Minister and Deacon Gookin. All three are Christians and respectable members of the community, but in secret, as reveled at the ceremony, they all appeared to be followers of the devil. Setting: The story takes place in Salem Village. The majority of the story happened in a gloomy forest and at night. The setting could be symbolic of the events that happened in the forest. Sorcery, witch craft, the devil and evil are often associated with darkness and nighttime. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† was no different, the ceremony took place at night and Goodman Brown had to travel through a dark, gloomy forest to get there. Symbolism: There were objects and events that served as symbols in the story. These symbols and events represent the devil, witchcraft and sorcery. The snakelike staff the old man had with him, several mentions of fire, the dark gloomy forest and the actual ceremony all represents evil. The author made this clear to the readers by having Goodman Brown point out what seemed evil throughout the story. Language and Style: The language and informal style of the story is similar to the time period in which the story was written. At that time, people spoke the way the author wrote and actual attacks took place on accused witches of the time. This can be seen with the famous Salem Witch trials in history. Theme: A theme that can be identified in the story is that of the unclear distinction between dreams and reality. The readers were presented with a blurred line between reality and dream or the supernatural. For example, it is hard to discern if the witch gathering Brown experienced in the forest actually took place or if it was a dream. Even though Brown’s life changed dramatically as a result of the forest incident, as readers, we are not clear as to if it really happened or he dreamt it. Historical Context: The author references events that took place in the Puritans’ history. The story demonstrated awareness of the social, economic and political happenings of the era it was written. For example, there are accounts of the Salem Witch trials actually taking place, and various fights between the Indians and Colonists, which the author made mention of Indians in the story.

The Impacts Of Minimum Wages Policy Economics Essay

The Impacts Of Minimum Wages Policy Economics Essay Based on the diagram above, the quantity supply of local labor before setting minimum wage (P1) is at Q1. After setting minimum wage (P2), the quantity supply of local labor increases to Q2. The quantity supply of total labor before setting minimum wage (P1) is at Q4. After setting minimum wage (P2), the quantity demand decreases to Q3. Owing to the reason that setting minimum wage, shortages of local labor at JKL arises at the minimum wage of P2 and surplus of foreign labor at EKM arises at the minimum wage of P2. The setting of minimum wages will increase the unemployment rate because employers will look to hire more specialized employees or fewer employees to maintain healthy margins (Chotin, Finch, Eaton, Engham, Goldblatt, 2009). An example of unemployment from indexing would be Washington. Washingtons teen unemployment in 1999 was 19.7% and as indexing was applied its teen unemployment increased to 29.7% in year 2008 (Chotin, Finch, Eaton, Engham, Goldblatt, 2009). The following graph illustrates the growth in teen unemployment rates in Washington (Chotin, Finch, Eaton, Engham, Goldblatt, 2009). It used to compare with the unemployment rates of the rest of United States. This graph shows that when minimum wage rises companies hire fewer employees to work. For retailers, this means fewer employees on the floor selling, maintaining inventory and helping customers to find products. For example, stores which focus on customer service will not be able to make such sweeping employee cutbacks (Chotin, Finch, Eaton, Engham, Goldblatt, 2009). Market Basket, a grocery store food chain based out of Massachussetts is an example of a store focusing on customer satisfaction, which faces issue on raising minimum wages. Market Basket hires many young teens to keep the floor full of employees to help the customers as much as possible. They also try to make sure the store clean, presentable and answer customers questions. Thus, when setting minimum wage, it will forces Market Basket and other services focuses retailers cut backs in other areas (Chotin, Finch, Eaton, Engham, Goldblatt, 2009). Besides that, if the government setting minimum wages policy, it will affect the productivity and efficiency of employers or producers (Chua, 2008). When there is minimum wage policy, the producers will seek alternative way to reduce the number of employees such as trade in new machine and new technological in order to save the cost of production in long-term basis. For example, there are two equally productive workers assigned to clear a wooded lot. The first worker is given a shovel and an axe, the second, bulldozer. Thus, the second worker is more productive compare with first worker because hard work cannot compete with better technology (Matthew B. Kibbe, 1998). In addition, minimum wages policy causes inflation in the country. When the government set higher minimum wages policy, the producers are unable to cope with costs of production. It will cause the prices of all products to increase tremendously. Thus, the population, especially the low income class, would find it more difficult to stay in the high living expenditure society. Based on the economist, this known as cost-push inflation (Michael Pollick, 2010). An increase in the federal minimum wage will increase the costs of production, which subsequently results in an inflated price for consumers. Employers prefer to hire foreigners because they are charge lower wages and are more willing to work extra hours (Loh, 2009). In year 2008, foreign non-residents individuals account for 1.2 million people of the entire population and with the assumption that foreign labor from Singapore is not foreign talent. Thus, if the country sets the minimum wages policy, it will reduce dependency on foreign labor because Malaysians will be granted priority in job placement compared to foreign workers (Chua, 2008). As a result, the minimum wage policy would bring advantages and disadvantages to Malaysia and her population. To reduce the effect of the disadvantages of minimum wage, the Malaysian government needs to work out the most effective way on reducing the disadvantages of minimum wage policy so that government and population can gain as much as benefits as hoped. The government would have to look into the details pertaining to the shortcomings of the minimum wage policy such as the possibility of increase in foreign labour instead of local labours and consider other possible problems that could arise. Question 2 2.1 Introduction Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the total market value of a countrys output. It is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a given period of time by factors of production located within a country (Case Fair, 2002). The production of a given value of goods and services would generate an equal value of income. Therefore, the necessary equality between the GDP and gross domestic income indicates that the GDP can be measured both as the total value of output produced and as the income generated in producing that output (Tregarthen, 1996). Therefore, in the following essay, GDP per capita is used as a measure of economic growth and living standards of a country over a period of time. 2.2 Measuring Economic Output Performance A countrys economic output performance is currently measured using the GDP of the country. A method practiced by almost all countries presently. The GDP is a widely used and accepted method of economic measurement in many countries. It is updated frequently and monitored by specific national statistical bodies to ensure the best accuracy of the economic measurement (Madsen, 2006). GDP enables the country planners and economic planners to monitor the economic trend of the country in a regular, periodic basis. Despite the standardized GDP, there are many limitations to this concept. One of these limitations is GDP per capita fails to include non-marketed output and household production. GDP per capita does not include the value of the effort and time put into providing household goods and services (Tregarthen, 1996). For example, a family repainted their house by themselves without using the services of a skilled painter. Their time and effort was not included in the calculation of the GDP. However, if the family uses the service of a skilled painter to repaint their house, the value would be added into the GDP. These would show in the GDP. However, it does not reflect the actual increase in production. It may reflect a shift in production from a category that is not included in the GDP (eg. household production) to another category that is included. GDP also fails to include environmental degradation (Waterson, 2010). An increasing income and growth of a country could be occuring at the expense of the environment. Fast developing countries run a risk of causing negative externalities to the environment. The manufacturing sector could be contributing a lot to the nations GDP, however, the sector could also be the major contributor to the air pollution in the area due to the smoke released. The polluted air can cause breathing problems and diseases among the neighbouring societies. Furthermore, income derived from the black market and volunteer work is not accounted for in the GDP (Madsen, Dec 2006). In the case of the black market, there are no reports of production to the government to evade tax and the law. For example, the underground activities, like prostitution, human trafficking, and drug trafficking, are very lucrative. However, they are not reported because of the law. In the case of volunteer work and charitable organizations, they do not earn income in the first place. Therefore, it is not reported in the GDP despite the output generated. 2.3 Measuring Rising Standard of Living The most common measure of standard of living is the use of real GDP per capita (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2003). Real GDP per capita is the inflation-adjusted GDP per capita. Assuming other aspects remain equal, a sustained increase in real GDP would increase the countrys standard of living provided the output increases at a faster rate compared to the total population (Riley, 2006). The advantage of using real GDP per capita is that the country planners and economy planners are able to develop economic policies and development plans since the trend in the GDP per capita at a specific period would reflect the living standards of the population (Madsen, 2006). Therefore, relating to the newspaper article in the question, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, had revealed the New Economic Model 2010 because the government believes that the living standards of Malaysians can be further improved. However, there are limitations to the usage of real GDP per capita as a measure of living standards. The failure to consider the distribution of income is one of its shortcomings. Because real GDP per capita (per capita income) is an indicator of the average living standard of individual members of the population, it cannot project the actual living standards of the population (Madsen, 2006). Income of the population varies according to the geographical region (Hillstrom, n.d.). Part of the population may be getting their income from the manufacturing industry whereas another part could be earning their income from the tourism sector. Per capita income also varies greatly through out the world. According to Susan Dentzer in U.S. News and World Report, in 1988 the top 20 percent of countries worldwide (based on annual national income) reported per capita income figures an average of 65 times greater than the bottom 20 percent of countries. As of the last quarter of 2009, Malaysias per capita income (Gross National Income per capita) figure stands at RM25,201 (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2010). The real GDP also does not take into account the leisure time . All other variables equal, more leisure time is better than less leisure time (Tregarthen, 1996). Consuming leisure would mean that less work effort would be supplied which means producing less GDP. For example, if the government imposes a maximum 5 office and working hours per day, the labour effort in the country would reduce significantly causing the GDP to fall. However, this does not mean that the population is worse off compared to the previous period. According to Tregarthen, the population would end up consuming more goods and services because of the extra leisure time. This situation implies that the fall in GDP would be accompanied by the increase in utility. 2.4 Conclusion As a conclusion, our team agrees that economic output performance and rising standards of living can be measure using per capita income. In our opinion, it is a safer and more prudent measure to understate a countrys economy growth than overstate it. Despite all the shortcomings of the GDP, GDP does measure the production of goods and services which are main focuses of economic output performance (Tregarthen, 1996). Until a more comprehensive and better model is introduced, the GDP concept still holds. In the case of living standards, on the other hand, real GDP per capita can be supported by other alternative indicators which are the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Index of Social Health.

Climbing a Tree in A White Heron by Jewett Essay examples -- essays re

Ever since the first person to climb Everest, many courageous people have been climbing, mountains, cliffs, and canons. This one special little girl decides to climb a humble tree creating a new journey for both the girl and the tree. In the passage The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett the little girl climb a magnificent tree. The author uses languages and selection of details to make the climbing of the tree into a dramatic adventure. The little girl is Sylvia and she is insignificant to the tree. The author made Sylvia into a Hero through the climbing of the tree. First the author talks about the call to adventure. Sarah begins the story with, ?Half a mile from home, at the farther edge of the woods, where the land was highest, a great pine-tree stood, and the last of its generation.? This sentence is a run-on that shows how great this tree is. Also in the passage the author tells us that Sylvia always wanted to know what is like on top of the great tree and that she often laid her hand on the great rough trunk and looking up wistfully at the tree Sylvia?s dramatic adventure beg... Climbing a Tree in A White Heron by Jewett Essay examples -- essays re Ever since the first person to climb Everest, many courageous people have been climbing, mountains, cliffs, and canons. This one special little girl decides to climb a humble tree creating a new journey for both the girl and the tree. In the passage The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett the little girl climb a magnificent tree. The author uses languages and selection of details to make the climbing of the tree into a dramatic adventure. The little girl is Sylvia and she is insignificant to the tree. The author made Sylvia into a Hero through the climbing of the tree. First the author talks about the call to adventure. Sarah begins the story with, ?Half a mile from home, at the farther edge of the woods, where the land was highest, a great pine-tree stood, and the last of its generation.? This sentence is a run-on that shows how great this tree is. Also in the passage the author tells us that Sylvia always wanted to know what is like on top of the great tree and that she often laid her hand on the great rough trunk and looking up wistfully at the tree Sylvia?s dramatic adventure beg...

John Bowlby

In the introduction to one of his many books, John Bowlby quotes Graham Greene; ‘Unhappiness in a child accumulates because he sees no end to the dark tunnel. The thirteen weeks of a term may just as well be thirteen years. ’ It is quite clear that John’s childhood was not a happy one. He experienced many years of separation from family and it can be connected as to why he developed the theory of attachment. Edward John Mostyn Bowlby, known as John Bowlby, was born in 1907 in London as the fourth of six children. His parents were Sir Anthony Bowlby and Lady May Bowlby.John Bowlby was from an upper class wealthy family. They raised their children to be strong with strict discipline. Showing signs of affections or emotions were looked to be a sign of weakness. His father was a surgeon and was gone most of the time and only saw his children on Sundays. His father also served in WWI, so was absent for quite some time. Bowlby’s mother was not active in her sonâ €™s life. She, like most upper class woman, thought that spending time with the child or showing affection towards the child would spoil them.Bowlby, therefore, only saw his mother for a short time each day. It seemed that the only time he was able to spend with her was after dinner during tea time (â€Å"John Bowlby- Child and Adolescent,† 2006). She has been described as being cold and reacted to his needs in the very opposite way that one would expect a mother to. John and his siblings were raised by a nanny, which was common within the upper class. The nanny was there until he was 4 and then left. John was sent to boarding school when he was seven. He later went to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.He decided at one point that military school was not for him and attended Trinity College in Cambridge. He studied medicine, which eventually lead him to studying psychology and graduating in 1928. While studying his psychology at Trinity he took time off, spending six mon ths in a school for maladjusted and delinquent children. He later referred to this as the most important six months of his life. While there, he noticed how many of the children had lost their mothers at a very young age. Bowlby was particularly interested in what happened around separation.Rather than going straight into clinical school, he spent a year teaching in two boarding schools, including one for disturbed children. Their early disrupted childhoods intrigued Bowlby, and he decided to combine his medical training with psychoanalytic training. Through his training and studies he became interested in what happened around separation. He and his colleagues observed young children in a hospital and noted their intense and prolonged distress when their parents had not visited. They also did home visits with the children and noticed that the relationship between the mother and child was under stress for weeks or longer.In 1950, Mary Ainsworth joined Bowlby and remained a close and influential colleague throughout his life. Bowlby introduced modern day psychology to the importance of mother-infant relationships and their dynamics (McLeod, 2007). Bowlby extensively reviewed then-current material on institutionalized children separated from parents and came to the conclusion that in order for a mentally healthy adulthood, the infant and child should be surrounded with a warm and intimate relationship with their mother.This bond between the two then would give satisfaction and joy to both parent and child. With this information, Bowlby realized that the current explanation from Freud that infants love their mother because of oral gratification was wrong. His new theory stated that infants are social from a very young age, 6 months to less than two years old. The infants become focused on a particular individual or a few individuals. Bowlby's aim was to discover the consequences of difficulties in forming attachments in childhood, and the effects this would have o n an infant's later development.He came up with the idea that infants develop a close emotional bond with an attachment figure early in life, and that the success or failure of this earliest of relationships lead the infant to form a mental representation that would have profound effects on their later relationships and their own success as a parent (â€Å"Attachment Theory,† 2011). Although Bowlby was raised in a traditional way for upper class people one could come to the conclusion that the lack of relationships can be damaging. His theory emphasizes the importance of the mother and infant bond.Bowlby’s relationship with his own mother seemed to be negative. When he did have an interaction with her, it was in short periods of time. The only relationship he had with his mother was, therefore, negative. He received no attention or affection from his mother. He also never received attention from his father, who I think could be a figure in infant’s life if the m other is not there. This relationship was also negative. The upper class did not view affection in a positive light. As an infant John was never able to form this attachment to his mother or father for the matter.He did, however, form a deep bond with his nanny. His nanny is the person who raised him and his siblings. It was common for upper class children to form a deep bond with their nannies. They seemed to be the mother or replacement mother. Unfortunately, during a crucial the developmental age of four, John’s nanny left. John has been known to say that this event was tragic and it was like losing a mother (Holmes, 1993). Not having another mother attachment figure then after his nanny left was a negative.Losing a mother figure at such a young age would leave a child not understanding what happened. One would feel lonely and have trouble coping with things later in life. His nanny was the only mother figure he had. To only have that attachment for such a short period of time I feel that it most likely left John wanting more, like most young children would. I feel that because John never had a long or lasting mother to form that attachment with it led him to find interest in this area when he was older.In his studies it was obvious that he was always drawn to children who suffered the same feelings as he did. Many of the children John studied did not have the mother and infant attachment. John was able to recognize this. He always seemed to be intrigued by kids had the same upbringing as him. I feel that it was his connection with these children is what gave him the desire to examine them further. It showed me that he had those feelings as well. John had clearly suffered and most likely was always searching for a reason has to why he felt the way he did.His theory of attachment, I feel, is a true result of his background. I feel that if John had formed an attachment with his mother he never would’ve had any interest in attachment. When someon e feels that there is a lack of something in their lives they tend to either bury the feelings or dig deeper and come to the route of the problem. John came to the route of the problem and helped develop a theory for mothers and infants around the world, but also for him.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Saying Dad in Chinese

A Step-by-Step Guide to Saying Dad in Chinese Family relations are important in China, and traditionally, the father is the head of the household. There are many ways of saying father or dad in Chinese, but the most colloquial way is the focus of this article.   Chinese Characters çˆ ¸Ã§Ë† ¸ ( bba)  means dad, or father, in Chinese. It is an informal term. The character is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese. Sometimes,  Ã§Ë† ¸Ã§Ë† ¸ is colloquially shortened to just  Ã§Ë† ¸. Pronunciation The pinyin for çˆ ¸ is b, which means the character is pronounced in the 4th tone. But when saying çˆ ¸Ã§Ë† ¸, the second çˆ ¸ is unaccented. Thus in terms of tone numbers, çˆ ¸Ã§Ë† ¸ can also be written as ba4 ba.   Other Terms for "Dad" As mentioned earlier, there are other ways to say dad in Chinese depending on a degree of formality and region. Here are a few examples: çˆ ¶Ã¤ º ² (fà ¹qÄ «n): father, a more formal term çˆ ¹ (diÄ“): dad, also informal and a regional term   Sentence Examples UsingBba WÇ’ b shà ¬ yÄ «shÄ“ng.我çˆ ¸Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã©â€  «Ã§â€Å¸Ã£â‚¬â€š(traditional Chinese)我çˆ ¸Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥Å' »Ã§â€Å¸Ã£â‚¬â€š(simplified Chinese)My dad is a doctor. TÄ  shà ¬ wÇ’ bba.ä »â€"æ˜ ¯Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã§Ë† ¸Ã§Ë† ¸He is my father. Regarding this last sentence, note that when you are saying my father, my mother and so on, you normally dont add çš„ to indicate familiarity, ie: ä »â€"æ˜ ¯Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã§Å¡â€žÃ§Ë† ¸Ã§Ë† ¸. Its not technically wrong, but its also not usually said amongst native speakers.