Customer Loyalty in a Business To Business Context Essay

Customer loyalty is considered to be a powerful tool for most organizations in ensuring that they gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries ( Lam, Shankar, Erramilli, & Bvsan, 2004, p. 294). Customer loyalty is necessary for ensuring that organizations remain profitable while also achieving growth through reaching out to new market grounds. The importance of customer loyalty in the world of economics has developed gradually as an area of study especially business to business (B2B) environments. This is due to the need to study and identify factors that ensure customer loyalty is maintained and even increased, according to Haghkhah et al., (2013, p. 156). Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 156) further noted that increased competition for customers in the market signifies that business ought to react even faster and more specific to the demands and wants of clients in order to win their loyalty. For this reason, marketers in most organizations tend to focus on customer retention techniques and also to lay an emphasis on increasing their loyalty levels. In order to achieve this, B2B has offered vast opportunities to ensure that most organizations achieve their objectives of customer retention and loyalty. Thus, the latter shows the importance of understanding customer retention and loyalty as an important area of the research study. Customer loyalty is viewed as a behavior of repetitive buying and further developed moving forward with factors such as antecedents, consequences, and factors. This has led the researcher to gain an interest in conducting further research on customer retention and loyalty, therefore, this research paper will be on the various ways and techniques that organizations can implement in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context Customer loyalty According to Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 157) a high rate of loyalty in a B2B environment is a competitive advantage to the seller due to the client’s willingness to pay a higher price for goods and sensitive since they start becoming less price sensitive as a result of trust that has been gained. This means that the income generated is likely to increase and remain stable to move forward Customer loyalty is viewed as a strategy that aims at ensuring customers gain behaviour of repetitive purchasing from the same company. Customer loyalty in a B2B environment achieves a mutual reward that benefits both the customer and the organization. It is usually considered as ways of gaining competitive advantage by an organization over its competitors. Various companies have applied the strategy of maintaining customer loyalty since it is considered cheaper in regard trying to gain new customers in order to increase their revenue base. ÄÅ'ater.T & ÄÅ'ater.B (2010, p. 1322) view customer loyalty based on activities such as contract renewal, making recommendations to clients and increasing patronage in a business to business environments. They further note that these factors will likely influence the level of loyalty to clients of an organization. In other research, customer loyalty in a B2B environment is based on the experiences of the client, the future expectations that a client may have about the organization and the frequency at which a customer buys goods and services from the organization( haghkhah, Abdul Hamid, Ebrahimpour, Roghanian, & Gheysari, 2013, p. 158). Further, (ÄÅ'ater & ÄÅ'ater, 2010) notes that in order to influence the loyalty of clients in a B2B context, and then the organization has to understand the behaviour of the client and the attitude of the client. Literature review 2.1 Limitations and Gap in Literature The field of customer loyalty is one that has much information, but very little attention has been given to business-to-business scenarios. Most previous research has mainly focused on the customer’s point of view (Mascareigne, 2009). This could be because most view customer retentions as a behavioral factor. (Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003) In any economy, businesses have to transact to perform their daily operations. Some businesses, such as audit firms, exist to serve other businesses. Extensive research on this area could aid other businesses to learn the dynamics of customer loyalty amongst themselves. A major limitation that was also experienced in the research was the over generalization of the research based on a B2B context. Since different businesses have different operations and strategies, some aspects may works for a certain sector that may not necessarily work for another. For example, concepts that may be used to increase customer loyalty in the banking sector, may no t work in the manufacturing sector. According to Buttle (2008, p. 267) commitment is defined as the relationship that exist between the two firms and is likely to be terminated at a reasonable future date. In a B2B environment, the commitment shared by the two firms is usually on a mutual agreement. Doma (2013, p. 72) notes that commitment between two firms is usually bonded by trust among the two firms. The level of trust that is usually shared by the two or more firms that conduct business affects their commitment framework. The more a firm is committed to another increases the level of loyalty shared by the two firms. Moorman & Rust (1999, p. 183) in their research notes that commitment is usually the level of effort that is put by firms in ensuring a valuable relationship enjoyed by the two firms is maintained in the long term. The relationship usually has economic benefits for the two firms in their bid to ensure they remain profitable in their operations. For this reason, there exists a belief among organizations that the relationship has economic benefits; thus efforts are put in maintaining it. However, according to Hennig-Thurau (2004, p. 463) states that many scholars tend to argue that there is no major difference between loyalty and commitment. That school of thought has been dismissed by Morgan & Hunt (1999, p. 24) who argued there is a difference between loyalty and commitment. They, however, noted that the two are related, with a commitment being an antecedent of loyalty. This means that commitment is a factor in B2B environment that will increase the level of loyalty. This also meant that the existence of commitment had a strong positive impact on the level of commitment. Shabbir et al. (2007, p. 280) in their research demonstrated that commitment is an antecedent of loyalty. They argued that commitment in the B2B environment, it played a central role in ensuring that loyalty is always maintained and even increased to higher levels. Sharma, et al. (2006, p. 77) in their study note that commitment is the situation whereby there is a desire to make a relationship stronger with another person or even group due to familiarity or even friendship has that has been developed over time due to the personal interaction that has occurred between the two over a period of time(Eakuru & Mat, 2008, p. 125). Therefore, commitment should be as a result of identifying the values that are shared commonly between two organizations. It is crucial to note that the customer will retain a relationship with another party due to the positive effect they have with the supplier. At times, a client may be forced to continue staying in a relationship with another party due to lack of valuable options that may be available to them (Fullerton, 2005, p. 1388). However, most relationships are maintained with a commitment as a result of the benefits that both parties will benefit from (Brandi, 2001, p. 67). When commitment is the guiding principle of B2B environment, and one organization performs poorly in comparison to the incumbent organization, then due to the level of commitment shared the partners are unlikely to switch to other options (Stephan , 2002, p. 20). This makes a commitment an underlying factor that will help in influencing the level of loyalty in a B2B environment (Stephan , 2002, p. 33). Akin (2012) gives an example, in comparing the loyal between customers with low loyalty and customers with high loyalty and explains that customers with high loyalty will be not be swayed by discounted prices from other suppliers. Therfore, the higher the level of commitment that will be shared between organizations an increase in loyalty levels between the organizations will be experienced. If the level of commitment is increased through activities such as contract renewal and making of recommendations to the other organization, it will in turn increase the level of loyalty enjoyed by the two firms. Therefore, if organizations want to increase the rate of exit by their clients, then they have to build a relationship that will be founded on a commitment. Commitment will in turn increase the level of loyalty in a B2B environment. This will ensure that the future of the organization is maintained as it will continue making profit. In a study conducted by CITATION Gus05 l 1033 (Gustavsson & Lundgren, 2005) they give an example whereby airline companies use their frequent flyer programs as a means to enhance repeated purchase through provision of economic incentives to ensure that they increase and also maintain loyal among their clients. 2.2 Theories and Methodologies A common principle that has emerged from the total quality management (TQM) movement is that the decisive path, to retaining customers, is to satisfy their needs (Colby, 2013). The theory holds that if by identifying what customers expect and by meeting these requirements and expectations, these customers are less likely to opt for the services given by a competitor. Past research conducted by Colby (2013) has shown a positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. In other words, if a client is satisfied with the services offered by a business, the client is bound to be loyal to the business. Other studies have also identified a positive relationship between service quality and customer loyalty (Van Es, 2012). However, a certain level of satisfaction does not always guarantee the desired loyalty. In a certain survey, Colby suggested four indicators of customer loyalty and this include; demographics, past behavior, perception of gain or loss of switching to a different brand and attitudes towards openness to new brands. Studying these four indicators can give a better understanding of customer loyalty. For instance, if a business expects to save on costs by transacting with another business, then they are most likely to be loyal to that particular partnership. The attitudinal approach takes a view of purchase behavior and tends to explain in terms of values, beliefs and attitudes. Deterministic theory entails the logical relationship between variables and researchers in this field are responsible for identifying which variables affect customer loyalty. It appears to be acceptable to most cognitive researchers that attitude comes before behavior in a scenario that involves repurchasing a product and is very important because attitude comes before a choice. The behavioral approach holds that internal processes cannot be measured and, therefore, have no place in research (Bennet & Bove, 2002). Understanding customer loyalty in a B2B scenario is a long term relationship regardless of the importance of the transactions. Both methods may differ in views but can be both used to understand the concept. Although customer loyalty research has evolved over the years, most of this research uses a logical empiricist paradigm(Paavola, 2006). Information about customer loyalty has been derived mainly from cognitive psychology, with theories about attitude forming most of the work. Current theoretical framework could, therefore, bring a new perspective into the loyalty research. Paavola (2006) uses the social constructionism paradigm to examine the notion of customer loyalty critically. The study gives a detailed description of customer loyalty that is based on the social reality of customers. The results imply that different types of loyalty should be taken into considerations when making managerial implementations. Categorization can also be very beneficial when it comes to future loyalty research. Most theories, which are associated with loyalty studies, deal with issues such as loyalty programs, customer satisfaction, customer value, service quality and social bonds (Jacobsen, Olsson, & Sjovall, 2004). A model constructed by Jacobsen, Olsson and Sjovall (2004) shows that social bonds have the most significant effect on customer loyalty with companies in the banking sector. The study shows that the most important factors, in maintaining customer loyalty in the banking sector, were social bonds and personnel. This is because, banking services are very similar and to survive in such as market, strong competitive personnel are required to make the right connections. The same study revealed that monetary benefits are not a significant factor in that area of business. According to Kuusik (2007), the factors, trustworthiness, satisfaction, importance of relationship and image are important factors that play a role in the different levels of customer loyalty. Traditionally, most research has focussed on either the influence of individual factors on loyalty or the nature of different levels of loyalty. It is important to not only view loyalty through behavioural criteria, but also attitudinal criteria as well. Behavioural clients could be divided into; forced to be loyal, functionally loyal and loyal due to inertia (Kuusik, 2007). For instance, in a B2B context, when a certain company is a monopoly, getting supplies from them is the only logical answer, and this forces a company to be loyal by force. Businesses can be loyal by inertia due to the importance of a certain process. If the process is of low importance, then there is practically no need to get another partner. This can happen in situations where the transaction is routine such as trash- pickup. Functionality loyalty is gained from when organizations have to partner with other organizations because they have an objective reason to be. Research has shown that inertia is a situation opposite to loyalty CITATION Aki12 l 4105 (Akin, 2012). For example, a business may select another business since they require minimal effort to reach them. Dahlgren (2005) used multivariate data analysis techniques to build a link between dimensions of brand loyalty and to capture the different levels of customer loyalty. The result showed several differences in the loyalty dimensions. In a similar study, Kuusik (2007) uses a LOGIT regression model to determine the significant factors that affect customer loyalty. The model comprises of various factors that affect customer loyalty. The study reveals that image, satisfaction, importance of relationship and trustworthiness are the most significant factors in loyalty research. According to East et al. (2005) the definition of loyalty is useful if they can be used to predict phenomena such as search, retention, and recommendation. The authors establish that combination measures of customer loyalty often act as poor indicators of consumer loyalty as compared to other singular indicators such as recommendations. Apart from viewing these combinations to be of limited value, the research also establishes that there is no form of loyalty that always predicts different loyalty outcomes and a general concept of loyalty should be abandoned (East, Gendall, Hammond, & Lomax, 2005). For instance, instead of using indicators such as loyalty programs and money rewards, researchers should either look for retention of customers and any recommendation given by them. 2.3 Identifying relationships between ideas and practice to increase loyalty in a B2B context Various ideas have been drafted in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context. For example, from the above review, it is noted that identification of the company’s prospects and acting on them will help in increasing the loyalty. However a company can deliver on all the needs of their clients, but the delivery of their services will influence the level of loyalty moving forward. If when delivering all the needs of their client, and they produce a poor delivery service, then this will likely lead to a decrease in loyalty level. For example according to Akin (2012) factors that help increasing the loyalty of customers is high-level service quality delivered by firms that will lead to a high level of customer satisfaction. In another scenario, companies tend to try and find ways in which they can influence the frequency at which their clients access their websites for information. However, research indicates that half of the customers get information from their website. The lack of companies to invest and provide websites that are easy to access and provide the necessary information to their clients will lead to a decline in the level of loyalty. For this reason, there is a clear distinction between the ideas developed to increase loyalty and the practices a company will adopt. Conclusion From this literature review, it can be shown that various researches have tried to establish the existence of a positive relationship between loyalty and aspects such as service quality and customer satisfaction. Some studies have employed the use of correlation analysis to investigate this relationship. Correlation research allows a researcher to determine whether a relationship between variables exists, it allows one to define the extent of the relationship between the variables (Gall, Gall, & Bord, 2005). Qualitative and quantitative research methods both have their benefits and drawbacks. For instance, when the correlation between two variables has been established, it still does not tell the researcher what should be done, but rather what can be done. Qualitative methods, as used by Paavola (2006), can also bring out knowledge that is not familiar with other researchers. The results can also be influenced by the researcher’s personal biases. However, some of these studies tend to cover wide areas that may take long periods of research. The benefits of customer retention have been recognized by many researchers (Feihua, 2011). In the business to business scenario, certain aspects of retaining a customer bring out themselves than conducting business with the ordinary customers. For instance, paying attention to the ordinary, like attending meetings on time is not a necessary, but a crucial habit to consider. In a B2B relationship, the parties are more defined, and this is based on the assumption that both parties are seeking common benefits in the relationship (Oy, 2010). In a normal business to customer relationship, the dissolution of the relationship ends up in the consumer leaving the services of the provider. In the B2B setup, the end of the relationship is thought in terms of a process while in switching is thought as just as a change in the relationship. In customer loyalty research, perhaps it would be of vital importance to consider the industry in which the research is being conducted on. In industries wher e the businesses provide similar services, social bonds could be the prevalent factor that promotes consumer loyalty between businesses. In other industries, where the services offered are different, probably loyalty programs and monetary rewards could be the way to win customer loyalty. References Akin, E. (2012). Literature Review and Discussion on Customer Loyalty and Consciousness. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 158-170. Brandi, J. (2001). Building Customer Loyalty: The 21 Essential Elements †¦ in Action. Texas: The Walk The Talk Company. Buttle, F. (2008). Customer Relationship Management (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Doma, S. A. (2013). Relationship Quality as Predictor of B2B Customer Loyalty. SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS, 111(1), 72-78. Gustavsson, S., & Lundgren, E. (2005). Customer Loyalty. Lulea University of Technology. Haghkhah, A., Abdul Hamid, A. B., Ebrahimpour, A., Roghanian, P., & Gheysari, H. (2013). Commitment and Customer Loyalty in Business-To-Business Context. European Journal of Business and Management, 15(19), 156-164. Lam, S. Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, M. K., & B. M. (2004). Customer Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Switching Costs: An Illustration From a Business-to-Business Service Context. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(293), 294-311. Bennet, R., & Bove, L. (2002). Identifying the Key Issues for Measuring Loyalty. QUT Digital Repository, 1-29. ÄÅ'ater, T., & ÄÅ'ater, B. (2010). Product and relationship quality influence on customer commitment and loyalty in B2B manufacturing relationships. Industrial marketing management, 39(8), 1321-1333.Colby, C. (2013, December 9). A New Paradigm for Understanding Customer Retention. Retrieved from Rockbridge: http://rockresearch.com/a-new-paradigm-for-understanding-customer-retention/ Eakuru, N., & Mat, N. (2008). The application of structural equation modeling (SEM) in determining the antecedents of customer loyalty in banks in South Thailand. The Business Review, Cambridge, 10(2), 129-139. East, R., Gendall, P., Hammond, K., & Lomax, W. (2005). Consumer Loyalty: Singular, Additive or Interactive? Australian arketing Joural, 10-17.Feihua, Q. (2011). Customer Retention in E-commerce business. Haaha-Helia University press, 1-56. Fullerton, G. (2005). How commitment both enables and undermines marketing relationships. European Journal of marketing, 39(11), 1372-1388.Gall, J., Gall, M., & Bord, W. (2005). Applying educational research: A practical guide (1st ed.). Boston: Pearzon. Hennig-Thurau, T. (2004). Customer orientation of service employees: Its impact on customer satisfaction, commitment, and retention. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(5), 460-478. Jacobsen, D., Olsson, M., & Sjovall, A. (2004). The Creation of Customer Loyalty. Kristianstad University, 1-71. Kuusik, A. (2007). AFFECTING CUSTOMER LOYALTY: DO DIFFERENT FACTORS HAVE VARIOUS INFLUENCES IN DIFFERENT LOYALTY LEVELS? Tartu University Press, 1-29. Mascareigne, J. (2009). Customer Retention. Lulea University Press, 1-88. Moorman, C., & Rust, R. T. (1999). The role of marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 180-197, 63.Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1999). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. The Journal of marketing, 20-38.Oy, O. (2010). IMPROVING CUSTOMER LOYALTY THROUGH A REGULAR CUSTOMER PROGRAM. TAMPEREEN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU University Publications, 1-45. Paalova, H. (2006). Categories of Loyalty. Toward Meaning-based Theory of Customer Loyalty. European Advances in Consumer Research, 420-428. Ranaweera, C., & Prabhu, J. (2003). The influence of satisfaction, trust and switching barriers on customer retention in a continuous purchasing setting. international journal of service industry management, 374-395. Shabbir, H., Palihawadana, D., & Thwaites, D. (2007). Determining the antecedents and consequences of donor †perceived relationship quality—A dimensional qualitative research approach. Psychology & Marketing, 24(3), 271-293. Sharma, N., Young, L., & Wilkinson, I. (2006). The commitment mix: Dimensions of commitment in international trading relationships in India. Journal of International Marketing, 64-91. Stephan, B. (2002). Customer Loyalty Programs and Clubs (2nd ed.). London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Van Es, R. (2012). The Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty, and its Influence on Business Model Design. Universiteit Twente, 1-85. Source document

Life Cycle Costing Essay

Life cycle costing involves evaluating the costs related to ownership, operation, maintenance and disposal of project facilities. BusinessDictionary. com (2010) defines life cycle costing as the Sum of all recurring and one-time (non-recurring) costs over the full life span or a specified period of a good, service, structure, or system. It includes purchase price, installation cost, operating costs, maintenance and upgrade costs, and remaining (residual or salvage) value at the end of ownership or its useful life. Non-recurring costs include procurement, implementation and acceptance, initial training, documentation, facilities, transition from the suppliers, changes to business processes and the withdrawal from service and disposal. The recurring costs include retraining, operating costs, service charges, contract and supplier management costs, changing volumes, cost of changes, downtime, maintenance and repair, transport and handling (Sieglinde, 2009). The life cycle tools are used to assess the processes of production, manufacturing, distribution and the disposal of the end and by-products. It also includes the transportation of the products from the manufacturer to the consumers. The results of life cycle costing are used to make decisions about the best options to adopt when producing different products. The tool is more accurate as the project begins and the accuracy reduces as the project proceeds in the future. Life cycle costing is important because it evaluates the total costs of ownership. It also provides a guideline as to the most efficient processes of acquisition and support funding to a project (Sieglinde, 2009). The various approaches to life cycle accounting  Life cycle accounting looks at the entire value chain of a product on cost basis. The technique does not evaluate the production process but also looks into the costs associated with the research and developmental phases of the product from the beginning to the end. Life cycle accounting evaluates the cost of a product before it enters the production process until it is finally transported to the customers. However, life cycle costing is not applicable to financial reporting since it is not consistent with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). From a planning point of view, life cycle accounting is the best tool for managers. Product managers use the tools of life cycle costing throughout the product life cycle. Costs are calculated from the point of entry of the products up to the point where no more products are made. The total costs of production are then divided by the number of units produced to obtain the unit costs. The managers are able to get the actual costs of a product produced, thus, they can adjust and design the products according to the prevailing conditions. Life cycle costing is applicable when the product is being designed or in the pre-design stages. The management cannot obtain the actual life-cycle costs when the products are already in the market (Bradford, 2008). The methodology of life cycle costing is based on the idea that the purchasing decisions are made through evaluation of all available options. All expenditures related to a decision are addressed. The complexity of the life cycle costing is determined by how complex the goods and services produced by the organization are. The fundamental concepts applicable in life cycle costing are cost breakdown structure, cost estimating, discounting and inflation (Mearig, Coffee & Morgan, 1999). Cost breakdown structures vary depending on the complexity of the purchasing decisions. All cost elements which are relevant to the purchasing decisions are considered. Boundaries are determined to avoid omission or duplication of some elements. All cost elements relevant to the purchasing options are considered. All cost elements are well defined so that all people involved can understand the components used. The costs should be broken down to analyze the specific areas (Ehlen1, 1997). Cost estimating involves calculating the costs of each category. This can be determined through the known factors or rates, cost estimating relationships and expert opinion. The known rates are the inputs with known accuracy. For example, if the cost and quantity of production per unit are known, the cost of procurement can be estimated. Cost estimating relationships are generated from historical data. Expert opinion is used to support the data when real data cannot be obtained. Assumptions are included in the expert opinion as well as rationale to support the opinions provided in the data (Sieglinde, 2009). The process of discounting compares the costs and benefits occurring in different periods of time. The concept of discounting is based on time value of money, that is, people prefer receiving goods purchased now than later. Time preference for money causes people to request for supplies immediately after purchasing rather than delaying. All the future costs must be adjusted to their present costs when evaluating the time of receiving purchases ordered. The discount rates differ with the organization. Common discount rates should be applied throughout the industry to avoid bias. Inflation causes the prices of products to fluctuate and should be considered when evaluating the actual life cycle cost of a product (Sieglinde, 2009). Life cycle costing is important because it helps evaluate the competing options when purchasing products. Decisions to enter into contracts by the management are made by the use of the tools of life cycle costing. The management evaluates the various proposals about the best options to adopt. Another importance of the life cycle costing is that it improves awareness about the total costs of production. The management is able to understand the factors that cause costs as well as the resources to be used when purchasing products. The cost drivers enable the management identify the most effective strategies of purchasing products. The knowledge about the cost drivers helps the management identify the most beneficial areas of production to guarantee investing the resources of the organization (Ehlen1, 1997). The third benefit of life cycle costing is the improved accuracy in forecasting the cost profiles. The managers can estimate the full costs associated with procurement of certain products. Decision making about the major investments is easily made through the life cycle costing. The forecasting of future expenditures is accurately done with the use of the tools. Lastly, the management can be able to trade-off performance against cost by the use of life cycle tools. When purchasing, cost is not the only factor to consider. The management must consider the performance of the items being purchased. The decision makers must consider both the costs and performance of the items being purchased by the organization (Mearig, Coffee & Morgan, 1999). Life cycle costing helps to assess better the effectiveness of planning by comparing actual with budgeted life cycle costs as well as the distribution of those costs. The management is able to determine the deviations in performance of different departments. It also enhances the management to make better pricing decisions since all the costs attached to a particular product are evaluated. The tools of life cycle costing help improve the assessment of product profitability. The costs are compared with the actual amounts obtained from the production process. The costing strategies provide information about the revenues and costs associated with a particular unit of a product. It also helps in the design of more environmentally desirable products (Sieglinde, 2009). Identify how environmental issues may be integrated into life cycle costing methods  The process of life cycle costing evaluates and investigates the environmental impacts of products that are caused by their existence. The life cycle assessment compares the environmental and social impacts that can be assigned to products and services. The products with the least burden are chosen for production. The life cycle methods are used to evaluate the effects of technology on the production of goods and services. The methods of life cycle costing also provide with tools for evaluating the measuring the effects of technologies on the delivery of products. The process of manufacturing the products has some impacts on the environment. The life cycle costing evaluates the amount of wastes released to the environment at a given period of time. The ISO 14000 provides standards for environmental management. Life cycle assessment is contained in the ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006. There are four main phases of life cycle assessment. The first step involves specification and formulation of the goals and scope of the study (Ehlen1, 1997). The life cycle costing procedures help the management integrate the environmental factors to the activities of the organization. The development of products requires the exploitation of raw materials. The process of converting the raw materials to more useful products creates some impacts to the environment. The management must be aware of the various environmental impacts of the products being produced by the organization. There are various lobby groups which influence the strategies to be adopted by the organizations. Contravening to the rules of the environmental groups may bring conflicts which may lead to the closure of the business (Mearig, Coffee & Morgan, 1999). There are laws established by various governments concerning the manufacture, distribution and disposal of products. The government controls the distribution of products to ensure all people obtain goods and services. To discourage concentration of businesses in one region the government has established polices to attract investment in the remote regions. The life cycle costing determines the distribution channels to be used by the organization. The cheapest mode of distribution should be chosen even though various factors will have to be considered. The suppliers to be involved in the distribution should be reliable to ensure timely delivery of products and to provide with quality products. The business environment is composed of various participants and the organization should integrate all factors to ensure the interests of all the people affected by the activities of the organization are adhered to (Sieglinde, 2009). The process of manufacturing process involves the conversion of the raw materials to the final products for the resale to the consumers. The management should ensure the process does not pollute the environment. Emission of poisonous end-products should be controlled to ensure the organization does not contravene to environmental standards. Various standards have been created to ensure that proper components are used in the manufacturing process (Mearig, Coffee & Morgan, 1999). The consumers are the end users of the products and their interests should be considered. The life cycle of the product should consider the health standards of the products being produced. The manufacturing process should be done in a clean environment to avoid contamination of the products with substances which may affect the consumers. The government has established standards to control and protect the consumers against unscrupulous business people (Ehlen1, 1997). The employees manufacturing the products should be protected from harmful substance. A conducive environment should be created for employees to work in. To ensure the safety of the employees the organization should ensure the employees are protected from all hazards. The image of the company is affected by the environment in which the employees work in. Fifth, life cycle cost analysis is argued to facilitate an understanding of the environmental impact of products from development through manufacture, distribution, customer use, disposal and potential recycling (Mearig, Coffee & Morgan, 1999).

Early Patient Contact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Early Patient Contact - Essay Example The Family Case Study will give you the opportunity to work both independently and within a small group. You will establish a professional relationship with your assigned family, allowing you to obtain demographic, social, and health and development information, and to observe human behavior and family dynamics. The Health Care Symposia will take place on designated days during the semester. You will have the opportunity to hear, discuss and reflect on the experiences of patients and family members who have experienced and coped with a disease, disability or addiction. Your class will be divided into groups of approximately seven to eight students. Each group will be assigned to a family physician tutor. Each group will consist of two to three groups of students, and your smaller group will be assigned to a family to visit There will be a group leader for each group of nine students, and this student will have responsibility for liaising with the family physician and arranging a suitable tutorial time. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ONLY ONE STUDENT, THE GROUP LEADER, MAKES CONTACT WITH THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN. It is then the responsibility of each student in the group of nine to make contact with the group leader and to clarify specific arrangements which have been made with the family physician for the tutorial. Similarly, each subgroup of students will have a designated group leader, who will make contact with the family, and the other members of this small group should clarify (with that student) what visiting arrangements have been made. Your first visit will be to the expectant mother/ family and your second visit should take place in the postnatal period. Both visits will be preceded by a tutorial with your family physician tutor (in your group of nine) and clear aims/ objectives can be discussed at these tutorials.

The United State Automotive Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The United State Automotive Industry - Essay Example From the paper it is clear that  most of the Japanese, Korean and India companies have assemblies in the U.S. such as Chrysler-Toyota, Hyundai Mercedes among others.   Moreover, more companies are coming to set up manufacturing plants due to the high demanding market in the country.   The latest company to come to the U.S. is Volkswagen in 2011.As the study stresses the automotive industry has different sectors that define the success of the industry. The industry has and engine plant that solely manufacture engine for the companies. In addition, the companies have separately and jointly own research and development department that researches on the efficiently way of producing vehicles at cheap costs and for a better environment. In addition, the industry I characterised by design and testing autonomous departments.  The automotive industry contributes approximately 4% to the country GDP. In addition, the industry directly employs 786,000 as of the end of 2012. The automotiv e industry employs a high percentage of indirect employee through distribution, suppliers and other service sectors. In 2012, the industry supplied vehicles and other parts for $225 billion to other countries of the world.  The industry faces the problem of polluting the environment as most of the vehicles are made to use petroleum. The industry, therefore, faces a tough time researching for efficient vehicles that are made to use efficient energy.

Examining the Challenges Faced By Teachers in the Inclusion of Pupils Assignment

Examining the Challenges Faced By Teachers in the Inclusion of Pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the Mainstream C - Assignment Example 3 Causes of Autistic Spectrum Disorders ............................................................................ 4 Inclusion Defined †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Characteristics of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Expectations of teachers †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Challenges Teachers face in the inclusion ASD pupils in mainstream classrooms .......... 7 Way forward to eliminate the challenges teachers face †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 12 Conclusion ............................................................. .............................................................. 15 Introduction Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) is a term which describes a range of complex and chronic difficulties experienced by many children and young people. Such people demonstrate features of emotional and behavioural difficulties such as being withdrawn or isolated, disruptive and disturbing, hyperactive, failing to make friends and lacking concentration and mature social skills; and presenting challenging behaviours. It may also cover people with anxiety, who self-harm, have school phobia or depression and those whose behaviour or emotional wellbeing are seen to be deteriorating (DFES, 2001). BESD and learning difficulties Children suffering from BESD face many challenges in learning such as struggling to overcome trust issues, hence fail to make relationships with others, ability to cope with school routines and relationships, failure to reason appropriately. As such, their emotional and behavioural difficulties make them fail to fit well in an environment where they can learn like other normal children. Their failure to fit in the learning environment contravenes with the learning theories advanced by different psychologists such as Bandura, Piaget, Pavlov, Thorndike and Skinner. These theories imply that learning can only take place where there is punishment or reward, observation, imitation, social interaction, attachment to others and pre-existing mental cognition (DCSF, 2007, Midgley, 2008, Cooper, 2008 and Bandura, 1999). Causes of BESD There are several causes of BESD, which are from within or outside the child. Inner causes are very much associated with biological traits within an individual child. However, external causes may include single parenthood, poverty, lack of attachment, parental conflicts, erratic discipline and neglect, (Jull, 2008). Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Defined Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a lifelong disability that affect s how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It is a form of BESD which also affects how they make sense of the world around them since it affects ability to understand people, interpret events, communicate, and interact with others. This implies that, just like BESD does, ASD also plays a vital role in the learning of individuals. The term ‘Spectrum’ is used, because, autistic children experience a board band of problems which are grouped into having difficulty with social communication, social interaction and social imagination. For example, a child with autistic spectrum disorders is argumentative, disobedient, annoying, blames others for own mistakes, easily annoyed, resentful, vindictive, likes fighting, destructive, truant, a bully, intimidating, tormenting

Religious diversity in the US public agencies Term Paper

Religious diversity in the US public agencies - Term Paper Example It is because of such situations that the American government has worked towards ensuring that the various instances of religious discrimination are identified and dealt with appropriately so that all people in the workplace can be able to conduct their activities in an environment where there is no fear of being treated differently because of their religion (Marsden 1990, p.45). Moreover, individuals such as Dalia Mogahed have worked tirelessly to ensure that there is an understanding of the Muslim faith in the western world, especially in the United States so that there can be more interaction between people of other religions and Muslims instead of isolation based on stereotypes. Dalia Mogahed, through her organization Mogahed Consulting has worked to ensure that there is a better understanding of Muslims, their culture, and their aspirations so that a more positive light of Muslims can be developed on the global arena (Schultz & Harvey, 2010).. Mogahed Consulting realizes that many individuals in the western world believe that it is Muslims who are largely responsible for many of the problems in the world such as the rise in terrorism. This perception became even more prevalent after the 9/11 attacks when the stereotype of Muslims as potential terrorists became hardened. This perception was even transferred to the workplace, where Muslims were treated differently and at times with fear because some believed that they were all potential terrorists (Paulson, 2008). Moreover, there were and continue to be instances where Muslims become victims of discrimination in a manner where it is hard for them to gain employment that they apply for because of their religi ous beliefs. Mogahed Consulting helps in the dispersal of these stereotypes so that a better perception of Muslims all over the world can be seen where Muslims are not considered to be the cause of

Societal Perception Of Foreign Business In Nigeria Dissertation - 1

Societal Perception Of Foreign Business In Nigeria - Dissertation Example Such permission can only be granted by the local communities like the Ogoni. The social perceptions towards the foreign companies operating in Nigeria deteriorated as communities became displaced and their resources forcefully are taken to accommodate the oil fields. The societal perceptions of the oil-led development in many countries have many consequences. Some of these consequences include slow growth, inequality, and unemployment. Countries that depend on oil production are characterized by poor governance, high rates of corruption and high instances of conflict. This has added to the notion that foreign companies are exploitive and unfriendly. Norway has used the benefits of North Sea petroleum to develop its economy. Nigeria and Angola have been suffering from poor management of the same resource. In Nigeria, the disparity between poverty and oil wealth is notable (Parker 2006). The same trend has been observed in Venezuela. Foreign companies like Shell-BP for partnerships with domestic elites with an aim of protecting their interests. The multinational has been blamed for the inequalities created by the oil-led development. In the Niger Delta region, exploration began in 1958. The compensation of the land acquisition in the delta region has aided only a small group of people (Apter 2005). The environment and the local economy remain devastated. Gas flaring has permanently destroyed food crops and the only source of livelihoods for the local communities (Parker 2006). Barren farmlands and destruction of drinking water have created tensions between the local communities and the foreign mining companies. Thousands of villagers have been killed through explosions and raptures.

Gangs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gangs - Essay Example Different Approaches and Responses to Gangs Due to the negative effects of the gangs to the community, it is a challenging feat to deal with them, thus, there are different approaches that are being applied to prevent and to resolve problems related to gangs. The approaches and responses of the community to the gangs are based on the different factors related to the personal, the family, the social and the legal aspects of the society. The individual and family approach is the primary way to resolve gang behavior since the individual person can be isolated. For that matter, programs targeting the education of the family members and the individual gang member are included in the main actions undertaken to resolve gang problems. But there challenge in resolving gang related problem is the fact that teenagers and adolescents are very susceptible to gang membership and other delinquent activities due to peer pressure and the presence of different gangs in the community and in school. Bas ed on the survey of national schools, 7.6% of male and 3.8% of female in the secondary school students are gang members with activities such as fighting, stealing or selling drugs. Not only can these activities endanger them, gang membership can also affect the school performance and safety of the teenagers (Egley, Mason and Miller, 2006, p.362; (Gatti et al., 2005). Other reasons for gang membership and delinquency that are needed to be taken into consideration are the effects of â€Å"poverty, unemployment, and decline of the family in American cities† (Egley, Mason and Miller, 2006, p.313). The family-based policies and programs are effective to prevent the delinquent behaviors through parent support and guidance as well as personality development. Another approach to the gangs and their activities is through community-based programs and social interventions. The programs applied in such level are considered immediate and short-term responses to violence and crisis of the members and the victims of the gangs. The neighborhood, schools and localities are included in the programs implemented in the community-based levels. Commonly, local government units and NGOs in the localities are the groups working to find solutions to the problems. Their goals are specific to the needs of the community which includes crisis intervention, treatment and emergency medical care for the children and their families, and the law enforcement activities (p.313). An example of the community-based organization is the Boston Gun Project. It started as an organization to counteract gang activities in Boston by â€Å"assembling interagency work group, applying quantitative and qualitative research methods for the study and assessment of the problem related to gangs, developing, implementing and evaluating interventions† (p.338). The community based programs and policies are effective for immediate results and for solutions that are specific to the needs of the particula r community. The legal aspect is one of the most important approaches to the problems of gangs. Due to the rise of the gang problems in the 1980s, there had been a wake up call in the legislative needs in terms of gang problems. The California Street Terrorism Enforcement and

W2 Assign Human Capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W2 Assign Human Capital - Essay Example ess, then changing the procedure or process to enhance the output, boost efficiency and also the efficiency of the procedure or process (Cokins, 2009). The link between PM and improvement of performance is that their main goals of are to boost organisational efficiency and effectiveness to enhance the ability of the company to deliver services and/or goods. Another area, at times, targeted for both PM and improvement of performance is organisational efficacy, which concerns the process of setting organisational objectives and goals (Cokins, 2009). Performance management and improvement normally concern processes like statistical quality management and other softer forms of assessment like customer satisfaction surveys that are applied in obtaining qualitative information on performance from the stance of customers (Cokins, 2009). Traditional HR measurement systems mainly center on efficiency, but in order to transform this into strategic human capital management, they should attention paid to efficiency and effectiveness by measuring turnover, bench strength and attitudes (Merkle, 2011). Rarely do human resource leaders think about the impact and relative effect of diverse talent pools on organisational performance (Merkle, 2011). More significant, traditional HR measurements are hardly ever directed particularly to where they are most prone to have the utmost impact–on key/vital talent. Traditional HR management systems need to pay more concern to nonfinancial impacts, as well as sustainability needs to be improved, and strategic human resource management can persuade these, as well (Merkle, 2011). The key activities that HR managers need to participate in to be successful have to do with how corporate strategies associate with human capital management. Studying the organisations keenness to implemen t diverse strategies and supporting the execution of the corporate strategy should be activities that are conducted much more often by efficient HR functions

Thesis paper Outline Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper Outline - Thesis Proposal Example As stated by Barner and Rosenwein, â€Å"[d]emocratic values are in essence participatory values. At the heart of democratic theory is the notion that people should get involved in the process of governing themselves†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Barner & Rosenwein 1985, 59). Thus far, studies on performance appraisal in public organizations have been focused on fundamental issues such as the nature of these principles, their interpretation and significance, and their evolution and function over time. There has also been agreement among political theorists, such as Jurgen Habermas, on the essence of citizenship participation in democracy, and it has been asserted by Max Weber (as cited in Riccucci 2007) that theory should contribute more to the knowledge of how democratic principles like extensive participation or high involvement develop and evolve in highly industrialized nations, such as the United States. Nevertheless, it is important to mention here that its widespread implementation in the United States throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s was intended primarily to facilitate genuine democratic governance (Graham, Noe, & Branch 2006, 953). Practically, it was designed to promote involvement by minority groups and the poor that have been excluded from the governance and decision-making process. It is due to these issues raised above that the researcher is persuaded to study the relationship between the accountability of, transparency of, and quality of public services in performance-based organizations (PBOs) and citizenship participation in the performance appraisal of public personnel. Which features, if any, of PBOs’ processes are more vital for the enhancement of public personnel performance that reinforces democratic principles of greater citizenship participation? Addressing these questions appropriately may expand our understanding of the function of public organizations in democratic societies. As stated by Pateman, the theory of participatory democracy emphasizes the

Ultrasound Machines India China And A Skewed Essay Example for Free

Ultrasound Machines India China And A Skewed Essay General Electric Co. and other companies have sold so many ultrasound machines in India that tests are now available in small towns like Indergarh, where there is no drinking water, electricity is infrequent, and roads turn to mud after a March rain shower. A scan typically costs $8, or a week’s wages. GE has waded into India’s market as the country grapples  with a difficult social issue: the abortion of female fetuses by families who want boys. Campaigners against the practice and some government officials are linking the country’s widely reported skewed sex ratio with the spread of ultrasound machines. That’s putting GE, the market leader in India, under the spotlight. It faces legal hurdles, government scrutiny, and thorny business problems in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. â€Å"Ultrasound is the main reason the sex ratio is coming  down,† says Kalpana Bhavre, who is in charge of women and  child welfare for the Datia district government, which includes Indergarh. Having a daughter is often viewed as incurring a  lifetime of debt for parents because of the dowry payment at marriage. Compared with that, the cost of an ultrasound â€Å"is nothing,† she says. For more than a decade, the Indian government has tried to  stop ultrasound technology from being used as a tool to determine gender. The devices use sound waves to produce images of fetuses or internal organs for a range of diagnostic purposes. India has passed laws forbidding doctors from disclosing the sex of fetuses, required official registrations of clinics, and stiffened punishments for offenders. Nevertheless, some estimate that hundreds of thousands of girl fetuses are aborted each year. GE, by far the largest seller of ultrasound machines in India through a joint venture with the Indian outsourcing giant Wipro Ltd., introduced its own safeguards, even though that means forsaking sales. â€Å"We stress emphatically that the machines aren’t to be used for sex determination,† says V. Raja, chief executive of GE Healthcare South Asia. â€Å"This is not the  root cause of female feticide in India.† But the efforts have failed to stop the problem, as a growing economy has made the scans affordable to more people. The skewed sex ratio is an example of how India’s strong economy has, in unpredictable ways, exacerbated some nagging social problems, such as the traditional preference for boys. Some activists are accusing GE of not doing enough to prevent unlawful use of its machines to boost sales. â€Å"There is a demand for a boy that’s been completely exploited by multinationals,† says Puneet Bedi, a New Delhi obstetrician. He says GE and others market the machines as an essential pregnancy tool, though the scans often aren’t necessary for mothers in lowrisk groups. Prosecutors in the city of Hyderabad brought a criminal case against the GE venture with Wipro, as well as Erbis Engineering Co., the medical-equipment distributor in India for Japan’s Toshiba Corp. In the suits, the district government alleged that the companies knowingly supplied u ltrasound machines to clinics that were not registered with the government and were illegally performing India has been a critical market to GE. Its outsourcing operations have helped the Fairfield, Connecticut, giant cut costs. The country also is a  growing market for GE’s heavy equipment and other products. The company won’t disclose its ultrasound sales, but Wipro GE’s overall sales in India, which includes ultrasounds and other diagnostic equipment, reached about $250 million in 2006, up from $30 million in 1995. Annual ultrasound sales in India from all vendors also reached $77 million last year, up about 10 percent from the year before, according to an estimate from consulting firm Frost Sullivan, which describes GE as the clear market leader. Other vendors include Siemens AG, Philips Electronics NV, and Mindray International Medical Ltd., a new Chinese entrant for India’s pricesensitive customers. India has long struggled with an inordinate number of male births, and female infanticide—the killing of newborn baby girls—remains a problem. The abortion of female fetuses is a more recent trend, but unless â€Å"urgent action is taken,† it’s poised to escalate as the use of ultrasound services expands, the United Nations Children’s Fund said in a report. India’s â€Å"alarming decline in the child sex ratio† is likely to exacerbate child marriage, trafficking of women for prostitution, and other problems, the report said. The latest official Indian census, in 2001, showed a steep decline in the relative number of girls aged 0 to 6 years compared with the decade earlier: 927 girls for every 1,000 boys compared with 945 in 1991. In much of northwest India, the number of girls has fallen below 900 for every 1,000 boys. In the northern state of Punjab, the figure is below 800. Only China today has a wider gender gap, with 832 girls born for every 1,000 boys among infants aged 0 to 4 years, according to UNICEF. GE sells about three times as many ultrasound machines in China as in India. In January, the Chinese government pledged to improve the gender balance, including tighter monitoring of ultrasounds. Some experts predict China will be more effective than India in enforcing its rules, given its success at other populationcontrol measures. Boys in India are viewed as wealth earners during life and  lighters of one’s funeral pyre at death. India’s National Family Health Survey, released in February, showed that 90 percent of parents with two sons didn’t want any more children. Of those with two daughters, 38 percent wanted to try again. Although there are restrictions on abortions in this Hindu-majority nation, the rules offer enough leeway for most women to get around them. GE took the lead in selling ultrasounds in the early 1990s soon after it began manufacturing the devices in India. It tapped Wipro’s extensive distribution and service network to deliver its products to about 80 percent of its customers. For more remote locations and lower-end machines, it used sales agents. The company also teamed with banks to help doctors finance  the purchase of their machines. GE now sells about 15 different models, ranging from machines costing $100,000 that offer sophisticated color images to basic black-and-white scanners that retail for about $7,500. To boost sales, GE has targeted small-town doctors. The  company has kept prices down by refurbishing old equipment  and marketing laptop machines to doctors who travel frequently, including to rural areas. GE also offered discounts to buyers inclined to boast about their new gadgets, according to a former GE employee. â€Å"Strategically, we focused on those customers who had big mouths,† said Manish Vora, who then sold ultrasounds in the western Indian state of Gujarat for the Wipro-GE joint venture. Without discussing specific sales tactics, Raja, of GE Healthcare South Asia,  acknowledges the company is â€Å"aggressive† in pursuing its goals. But he points out that ultrasound machines have broad benefits and make childbirth safer. As the machines become more available, women can avoid making long trips into cities where healthcare typically is more expensive, he says. Indian authorities have tried to regulate sales. In 1994, the government outlawed sex selection and empowered Indian authorities to search clinics and seize anything that aided sex selection. Today any clinic that has an ultrasound machine must register with the local government and provide an affidavit that it will not conduct sex selection. To date, more than 30,000 ultrasound clinics have been registered in India. GE has taken a number of steps to ensure customers comply  with the law. It has educated its sales force about the regulatory regime, demanded its own affidavits from customers that they will not use the machines for sex selection, and followed up with periodic audits, say executives. They note that in 2004, the first full year it began implementing these new measures, GE’s sales in India shrank by about 10 percent from the year before. The sales decline in the low-end segment, for black-and-white ultrasound machines, was especially sharp, executives say. Only in 2006 did GE return to the sales level it had reached before the regulations were implemented, according to Raja. Complying with Indian law is often tricky. GE cannot tell if doctors sell machines to others who fail to register them. Different states interpret registration rules differently. GE also is under close scrutiny by activists battling the illegal abortion of female fetuses. Sabu George, a 48-year-old activist who holds degrees from Johns Hopkins and Cornell universities, criss-crosses the country to spot illegal clinics. The criminal case in Hyderabad against Wipro-GE, a company  representative, three doctors, and an ultrasound technician followed an inspection that found one clinic could not produce proper registration and had not kept complete records for two years. A team of inspectors seized an ultrasound supplied by Wipro-GE. The inspection team’s report said it suspected the clinic was using the machines for illegal sex determination. The owner, Sarawathi Devi, acknowledged in an interview  that her clinic, Rite Diagnostics, was not officially registered at the time of the inspection. She said the ultrasound machine was owned by a â€Å"freelance† radiologist who had obtained proper documentation for the Wipro-GE machine but was not there when the inspectors had arrived. She denied the clinic has conducted sex determination tests. Later, Dr. Devi’s records show, she registered the clinic with the government and bought a Wipro-GE machine, a sale the company confirms. The court case was part of a wider dragnet spearheaded  by Hyderabad’s top civil servant, District Magistrate Arvind Kumar. During an audit last year, Kumar demanded paperwork  for 389 local scan centers. Only 16 percent could furnish complete address information for its patients, making it almost impossible to track women to check if they had abortions following their scans. Kumar ordered the seizure of almost one-third of the ultrasound machines in the district due to registration and paperwork problems. A suit also was lodged against Erbis, the Toshiba dealer. GE’s Raja says that, in general, if there’s any doubt about the customer’s intent to comply with India’s laws, it doesn’t make the sale. â€Å"There is no winking or blinking,† he says. A Wipro-GE representative is scheduled to appear at the  Hyderabad court hearing. An Erbis spokesman said he was unaware of the case in Hyderabad. A court date for Erbis had not been set. A visit to the clinic in Indergarh, a town surrounded by fields of tawny wheat, shows the challenges GE faces keeping tabs on its machines. Inside the clinic, a dozen women wrapped in saris awaited tests on GE’s Logiq 100 ultrasound machine. The line snaked along wooden benches and down into a darkened basement. On the wall, scrawled in white paint, was the message: â€Å"We don’t do sex selection.† Manish Gupta, a 34-year-old doctor, said he drives two hours each way every week to Indergarh from much larger Jhansi City, where there are dozens of competing ultrasound clinics. He said even when offered bribes, he refuses to disclose the sex of the fetus. â€Å"I’m just against that,† Dr. Gupta said. But he is not complying with Indian law. Although the law requires that clinics display their registration certificate in a conspicuous place, Dr. Gupta’s was nowhere to be seen. When Dr. George, the social activist, asked for the registration, he was shown a different document, an application. But the application was for a different clinic: the Sakshi X-ray center. Dr. Gupta said the proper document wasn’t with him, adding: â€Å"I must have forgotten it at home.† Asked by The Wall Street Journal about the clinic, the local chief magistrate of Datia district called for Dr. Gupta’s dossier later in the day. When a local official arrived, â€Å"Sakshi X-Ray center† had been crossed out on the application. In blue pen was written the correct name, â€Å"Sheetal Nagar,† the part of Indergarh where the clinic is located. It’s not clear how Dr. Gupta procured the GE machine. Dr. Gupta said he bought it from a GE company representative, but he declined to show documents of ownership. GE says it does not comment on individual customers. Like the rest of India, the Datia district government has  taken a number of steps to try to boost the number of girls in the district. For girls of poor families, the local government provides a place to live, free school uniforms, and books. When they enter ninth grade, the government buys bicycles for them. Yet the low ratio of girls born had not budged much over the past decade, according to Bhavre, the district government official. Ultimately, says Raja, head of GE Healthcare in South Asia, it’s the job of the government, not companies, to change the prevailing preference for boys. â€Å"What’s really needed is a change in mindsets. A lot of education has to happen and the government has to do it,† he says. India’s Ministry of Health, which is now pursuing 422 different cases against doctors accused of using ultrasounds for sex selection, agrees. â€Å"Mere legislation is not enough to deal with this problem,† the ministry said in a statement. â€Å"The situation could change only when the daughters are not treated as a burden and the sons as assets.† Most recently, both Siemens and GE have introduced handheld  ultrasound machines, only slightly larger than an iPhone. Initially they will sell for under $10,000.

Los Angeles Kings Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

Los Angeles Kings Marketing Plan Essay I. Executive Summary The NHL has seen its fairs share of storied franchises, but non-however may stick out more than the Los Angeles Kings. At one time the Kings had acquired arguably, the best player to ever lace up his skates in Wayne Gretzky and were competing for the Stanley Cup year-in-and-year-out. The Kings have been long regarded as one of the better ran franchises in sports, thanks to managements commitment to winning. However, the Kings have not managed their ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup, they manage to remain competitive every year. The closest they came was in 1993, where they lost to the Montreal Canadians in the Stanley Cup Finals. Behind the play on the ice though comes a marketing strategy that ties it all together. This strategy will be developed in conjunction with, Vice President of Marketing Jonathon Lowe, and team owners Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski Jr. The following strategy will include sales, promotions, merchandising, advertising/sponsorships, public relations, and then of course community relations. The Kings came to the NHL in 1966, as apart of the â€Å"new 6† that doubled the size of the NHL and brought a franchise to Southern California. Then owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kent Cooke brought his passion for the sport of hockey, and for the city of Los Angeles together when he created the organization. After 44 seasons of hockey the Kings are now one of the more storied franchises in the NHL today. This past season the Kings enjoyed a great fan turnout averaging 18,803 fans filling the building to an average of 99.8% capacity, up 6% from the previous season. The Kings do not have to compete with the LA Lakers or Clippers of the NBA so much being as how all three teams play out of the Staples Center, but in a city like LA where the entertainment dollar is more competitive now than ever, it is important for the Kings to stay ahead of the rest of the competition. Fans need to know that they have the opportunity to catch the most exciting game on ice, every time the Kings play at home. If there is one thing LA fans are notorious for it is only coming to â€Å"important† games. That is why we need to branch out to new fans and make sure old fans still know the Kings run this town. II Sales: Sales, the lifeblood of any organization, the biggest factor that separates a successful franchise to a non-successful franchise. The Kings currently have their season ticket plan broken up into several different categories they include, full/half season ticket plans, along with 10-game deals, a Wild West package, and then single/group ticket sales. Also there are Royal benefits made available to full/half season ticket holders, and 10-game ticket holders. By becoming a season ticket holder be it full, half, or a 10-game plan the fan is entitled to Royal benefits that include but are not limited to: * Stanley Cup Playoff Ticket Priority * Significant saving on tickets * Flexible interest free payments * 10% off at the team LA Store * Ability to purchase advance tickets to other events at the Staples Center, Home Depot Center, LA LIVE and more * Ability to purchase Staples Center pre-paid parking They also include Royal Service Programs that include: * Access to a personal Season Ticket Service Executive * Kings CARE donation program (this gives the ticket holder the opportunity to donate unwanted tickets to the Kings CARE foundation) * Ability to upgrade account or add tickets to account * Access to LAKings.com/seasontix this website give the fan the option to view their account, access tickets, make payments, renew tickets, and sell tickets on Ticketmaster’s TicketExchange They also include Royal Treatment: * Receive invites to exclusive Team Member events like, a Meet the Players Party, State of the Franchise, private practices, listen in on conference calls, and much much more * Refer a friend to season tickets and receive free Team LA gear. The Kings play 82 regular season games in the Western Conference, Pacific division. Of these 82 games 41 are played at home, the rest on the road. For all 41 home games the ticket sales are as follows: The Kings offer great deals to buy tickets in bulk, i.e. season tickets and are willing to sacrifice some profits to bring fans into the arena. The only thing that the Kings lack in their season ticket packages are names that people can get excited for. The full season ticket holder package will be renamed the â€Å"King’s Royal Court†, this is something that will help the fan feel more connected to the team. The half season ticket holder package will be known as â€Å"the Royal package of the Crown†. The 10-Game packages needed names with a little more spunk so instead of the 10-Game, Big Game package, it will be known as the â€Å"10-Game War† to because it is war on the ice and the team will be playing some of the best competition the NHL has to offer. The Weekend Plan could be renamed â€Å"Time Away From the Throne†, because it is a weekend and people typically do not have to work. I like the name of the Flex package because it tells the consum er exactly what they are getting. Following package sales are individual ticket sales and group ticket sales. Single game tickets can be purchased through the box office or the team’s website via Ticketmaster. Pricing for tickets are based on demand, opponent, day of week, and number of days before the game. Prices may vary from week to week and will go up or down each Wednesday based on these factors. The way the price for tickets is determined is very interesting, it is good for the fans and bad for the fans, because the system relies heavily on what games being played and there performance of the team. This gives fans with a lower level of income the ability to catch a Kings game, even though the opponent might not be that good. Group tickets are available to groups of 15 or more and offer value priced seating based on the game. The idea behind group seating is to bring the groups, pride, passion, and power to the Staples Center to support the LA Kings. The Kings work with multiple youth hockey organizations, along with other organizations throughout the area to achieve group sales. III Promotions The Kings do an excellent job with promotions to get fans into the arena, different nights of the week have a different theme, all of which appeal to the people who live in the Los Angeles area. The promotions schedule is as follows: * Oct. 18: Opening Night * Oct. 22: Law Enforcement Appreciation Night * Oct. 25: Kroq Tailgate, Hockey fights cancer * Nov. 3: Canadian Heritage Night * Nov. 5: Waste Management â€Å"Green Game† * Nov. 8: Native American Pride Night, USC vs UCLA * Nov. 12: Boy Scout Night * Dec. 1: Career Night * Dec. 10: Legends Night, Firefighter Appreciation Night * Jan. 2: Legends Night * Jan. 5: Faith Family Night * Jan. 9: Russian Heritage Night * Jan. 12: Waste Management â€Å"Green Game† * Jan. 19: Jewish Pride Night * Jan. 23: Armenian Pride Night * Feb. 18: Legends Night, Black History Night * Mar. 3: Waste Management â€Å"Green Game† * Mar. 22: Law Enforcement Night presented by Enterprise Rent-a-center Along with these promotions that are geared towards promoting community bonding there is Military Mondays which honors those who have served in our military, Website Wednesdays which offer different deals on Wednesday of ever week, and Student Nights which are games that offer discounted tickets to all students with valid ID. IV Merchandising Merchandising deals with all aspects of the game, it is the difference between any old game and a sporting event. The fact that when a fan enters the Staples Center they are welcomed to a sea of black and purple and blinded by the Kings crown is what makes a Kings game a Kings game. The Kings are fortunate to have a very intensive website dedicated to Merchandise that includes jerseys, tee shirts, golf shirts, sweatshirts, and much more. The goal behind the Kings merchandising techniques is that everyone who walks into Staples Center better be wearing some type of Kings memorabilia and if they are not they better walk out with something on. In the arena itself there is a store dedicated to offering women’s apparel. The store had pink and form fitting hockey jerseys for women because the normal jerseys are too big. The store also had Kings shirts that are a little more flashy than normal and would appeal more to a women’s eye. Along with the women’s store there are several stores in the arena that are designed for children. These stores have Kings toys and mini hockey sticks, plus clothes and jerseys designed for children to wear. All along the arena there are places for men to buy merchandise they include jerseys, hats, tee shirt, sweatshirts, hockey pucks and much more. Some of the more popular items are the shirts designed for women, golf balls and hockey puck with the Kings logo on it. The Kings have a very recognizable brand and are amongst the top teams in revenue generators for the NHL. V Sponsorships The Kings have formed multiple corporate sponsorships that help fuel their organization. Most notably is Staples, whom own the naming right to the arena they play in but that is also in conjunction with the Lakers, Clippers, and city of Los Angeles. On top of that the Kings have teamed up with Verizon Wireless and Wells Fargo both of which are huge national organizations. The Kings also pair up with corporations to bring events to games. The Kings have deals wit h Pizza Hut to sponsor events, Waste Management sponsors â€Å"Green Games† for the Kings, and Kroqs also sponsored a themed game promotion. Sponsorships are a huge part of revenue and the best way to attract new sponsors is to attract fans. Some suggestions that the Kings could use would be to get a company to sponsor some type of ticket deal, it would reduce the cost to the consumer, and could come with coupons to use at the sponsoring company’s facilities. Another sponsorship idea is to have corporate sponsored events like a golf outing for charity or something of that nature. The Kings have the luxury have having a giant billboard that surrounds the ice they play on so corporate sponsors are not too hard to come by. Some notable sponsorships are Delta, Carl’s JR, Hooters, Toyota, and the Penalty Box, which is a bar located in South LA dedicated to the Kings. Another way the Kings could promote corporate sponsorship is through some type of wellness card. All card carriers would receive benefits to participating companies, and could include money off food, gas, or clothing. The card is something that can purchase through the LA Kings and will offer deals to its card carrier. VI Public Relations Public Relations are important to any organization and the Kings are no exception to this. The Kings already do an excellent job with their PR. The teams website is more than informative and gives fans a very hands on approach to press releases, game notes, and player stats/news. The idea behind good public relations is that by being perceived as good in the public’s eye will equate to more ticket sales and more support of the team. No one will support a team that is full of classless thugs, and that is why the website is so interactive. The fans have a chance to read up on their favorite players, see where they are from, and their career stats. That is fairly basic though, I propose each player prepares a short, quick, bio about themselves answering some fun questions like â€Å"what’s your favorite movie?,† â€Å"what’s your favorite food?†, â€Å"who is your favorite band?†. Questions that when answered will give the fan one more possible way to connect to their favorite athlete. Not only that, but by doing this it will give fans the chance to get to know new players. Another big part of PR is getting team new out their fast before the media gets the wrong story out there. The Kings have all updates on player personnel available on the team website and also through the teams’ Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Kings have 165-thousand Facebook fans and 49.6-thousand followers on Twitter. The Kings have really utilized social media as a positive tool while dealing with Public Relations. VII Community Relations Community Relations is similar to PR but deals more with the local community at hand rather than the view of the team under the national spotlight. For the Kings the city of LA has been very gracious hosts and the Kings have returned the favor significantly. The Kings have been in the area for the last 44 years and have maintained an excellent presence in the city. In 1996, the Kings started the Kings CARE Foundation, which is dedicated to helping less fortunate kids get through school by providing educational support the Kings were able to raise $3.5 Million since being started. This includes a $250-thousand donation that was used to help fund the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles, and another $250-thousand donation that was dedicated to AIDs victims. Another thing the Kings do is Kids Ice Knights, which donates over 10,000 tickets a year to kids who cannot afford to go to Kings games. The Kings Care Foundations hosts a silent auction every year that benefits the Children Cancer Research Fund, the items up for auction were tee shirts designed by team players and those associated with the Kings. The players all designed a dog bowl that were auctioned off, all proceeds of this went to the Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles. The 2006-2007 campaign gave the Kings the opportunity to work with Carmen Electra’s fundraiser, Head to Hollywood, which benefits survivors of brain cancer/head trauma. The team sponsored events at their home games where Miss USA and other celebrities shot pucks into an empty net to raise money. Every Wednesday the Kings feature children up for adoption in the greater LA area. In 1998, the Kings began a scholarship fund for fallen friend Michael Jund, and has been changing the lives of its recipient for over a decade. Finally the Kings pair with Toys for Tots around the holidays to bring holiday cheer to children. The Kings take a very active role in the community. On top of all of this players are constantly visiting the less fortunate and making sure the community knows the Kings care. It is important for the Kings to maintain their strong community ties because every season starts with the off-season.

The History And Origins Of Conference Industry

The History And Origins Of Conference Industry This chapter assumes a literature review of the conference industry. It begins by establishing the scene of conference through the history and origins of industry, and a reflection about industry structure. Furthermore a review the industry growth is taken into consideration. It follows with a close examination of conference impacts such as economic, environmental, technological, social and cultural, also a consideration on employment generation. Finally, it analysis the future challenges of the conference industry. 2.2 The history and origins of Conference Industry Conference has been existed for a long time as there have been people, the meeting has been happening. Researches and investigations of ancient cultures, archaeologists have found evidences of primitive ruins that has been used by people to meet and to discuss interests, or either celebrations (Spiller, 2002 p. 3). A launch event of contemporary conference was held from June 1814 to September 1814, called Congress the Vienna. The purpose of Congress de Vienna was to establish the territorial divisions of Europe at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and representatives included all of the major world powers of the day (Rogers, 2008; Davidson and Cope, 2003). Industrialisation spread throughout the Western Europe and America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth. The development of industry and commerce increases the need of meeting between businesspeople and professionals, aimed to discuss and exchange ideas (Spiller, 2002 p. 5-6). The origin of the conference industry is very recent, hardly 50 years of age in North America and Europe, in addition in the most rest of the world still very younger. However, conference and meetings of people have happened since early days of civilisation progress (Rogers, 2003). Nowadays, conference sector is believed to be one of the most lucrative and attractive sector of tourism industry, despite partly to the high economic benefits for the hosting community (Crouch and Louviere, 2004). The conference sector of the business industry is valued in a hundreds of billions of pounds per year on a global scale (Rogers, 2003). Since earlier 60s, conference sector has been supported by investments received in the whole infrastructure, helping to a steadily growth during the 90s, which was a decade with one of the highest sustained investments recorded. Even if the industry is maturing fast, due to its vigorous, a lack of some necessary description needs to be more established, such as appropriate training and education structure, and well-defined terminology. The conference industry has to address these weakness to claim a deserve position (Rogers, 2003). 2.3 The Suppliers In response to an extensive and diverse demand for meetings and conferences of all kinds, suppliers have to offer a wide variety of services, facilities and infrastructures to attend the great variety of events (Davidson and Cope, 2003). These have augmented in diversity and quantity, at the same speed the industry has grown over the past 50 years (Rogers, 2003). However, quite few of these suppliers are committed to the conference industry only (Rogers, 2003; Leask and Spiller, 2002). Rogers (2003) has separated the industrys supply into three leading type of venue as subsequent. 2.3.1 The Venues Venues are the places where business tourism events take place, in theory almost any type of building could be promoted as a conference venue (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2001). Additionally in Britain there are over 3500 venues supported as suitable for meetings and conferences (Rogers 2008). However, according to Leask and Spiller (2002), for venues develop an input of the conference industry, they should have certain characteristics, such as offers a purpose-built facilities that present multiple usages, flexibility in their design and having suitable lighting system and breakout space. Nevertheless, Rogers, 1998 and Leask and Spiller, 2002 emphasis that many venues such as hotels, academic venue and unusual venues do not focus on the conference segment entirely. The figure below represents an analysis of the different types of conference venues in the UK. Figure 2.1 Analysis of the UKs conference venues and type Source: Adapted from British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) in Rogers, 2008. 2.3.1.1 Hotels Despite the increase of many different forms of venue, hotels are predominantly vital to the corporate market sector, creating around two-thirds of all conference venues (Rogers, 2003; Davidson and Cope, 2003). The advantages of holding an event in a hotel are that guests can easily walk to the meeting rooms, which costs for transportation can be avoided (Allen, 2000). A vast range of hotels can both offer accommodation and quite a few conference and meeting-style facilities (McCabe et al., 2000). Rogers (2003) come across that hotel represents two third of all conference venues, being mainly significant to the corporate market sector and the main types of hotel active in the conference market are showed in the table below. Table 2.1 Main types of hotel active in the conference market Hotel Characteristics Central business district hotels A hotel located in the central business district of the town tends to be business-oriented, provides quality conference and meeting facilities and capable to handle corporate business. Additionally, hotels located close to large conference centres are also able to provide delegate accommodation whilst major conferences are hold. For several companies, the central location of venues is very attractive, as they comprise an effortlessly access to business offices, restaurants and entertainment. Resort hotels These types of hotels are liable to be popular for the reason that they are situated in advantageous locations with both recreational and sporting facilities in close proximity, therefore to provide an opportunity for delegates to include extra pre-and- post conference activities. In many resort hotels, the conference sector recompense the seasonality of the leisure tourism, and is acknowledged as a high-spend and high-yield business. Airport hotels Airport hotels have the prospective contribution of an additional time-saving advantage, were originally most has been built to lodge clients staying for a night, who those having a stop before, after, or in between flights. However, many companies are increasingly use them as a cost-effective way of provide a meeting for delegates travelling from between state. Also airport hotels are growing in popularity for the reason that many people are using low-cost airlines. Despite from the benefits of competitive price, convenience, and location they also provide excellent choices of meetings and conference rooms and supporting business services. Source: Adapted from McCabe et al., 2000; Rogers, 2008; Davidson, 1994; Lawson, 2000; Gosling, 2003. 2.3.1.3 Purpose-built conference centres Purpose-built conference centres can be residential and non-residential, usually provides designed areas to host meetings and conferences of large numbers of people, sometimes including an exhibition. In additionally, they normally provide halls with appropriate infrastructure to hold exhibitions and trade shows, some large rooms for plenary sessions, variety of meeting rooms, breakout areas, banqueting facilities, a business centre, offices and administration space. They also provide catering facilities simultaneously with a trained professional meetings and conference team to hold the event (McCabe et al., 2000; Davidson and Cope, 2003). Furthermore, it is argued that the future for purpose conference venues is bright (Whitfield 2007; Lau et al., 2005; Litvin, 2003), in addition, a conference venue plays an important responsibility in recovering the destinations economy as well as recuperating its neglected areas (Lawson, 2000; Laslo and Judd, 2004; McNeill and Evans, 2004; Clark, 2004; Fenich, 1992). It become visible the reason why many destinations around the world are investing in the expansion or development of their convention facilities (Laslo and Judd, 2004), and it is identify that the conference industry offers a variety of opportunities at all possible levels, national, as well as organisational or individual (Getz 2005). 2.3.1.4 Academic and civic venues An increase number of academic venues, such as universities, colleges and public schools, which are investing in the construction of quality conference facilities and accommodations, are available throughout the year during the students holiday, (Walker, 2004; Rogers, 2008). Although Rogers (2008) complete saying that many of those accommodations are equivalent to considerable 3-star hotel standards. As can be seen in McCabe et al. (2000) the cost of accommodation in academics venues are liable to be inferior than in hotels, and consequently they tend to be mostly attractive to some non-profit organisations and associations that have limited budgets. In many places civic venues include council chambers and committee rooms, town halls and other civic facilities are also available for external hire (Rogers, 2003). In UK, academic venues particularly universities are playing a considerable responsibility in both responding and stimulating to the growth of the conference and meetings market, despite the fact that earning income for educational establishments (Davidson and Cope, 2003). 2.3.1.5 Unusual venues Unusual venues have been characterized as involving an ample range of facilities that are used for conference and meetings, including art galleries, museums, historical houses (Leask and Hood, 2000 in Davidson and Cope, 2003). In additional, cultural and entertainment venues, such as theatres, sporting venues, television studios; tourist attractions, such as historical sites, theme parks, castles and heritage centres as well as transport venues, including cruise ships, ferries, steam trains and canal barges can also be included as an unusual venue (Rogers, 2003). The attraction of those venues is that they can provide an event with a special appeal, which can create it memorable experience for delegates. Although some venues have high-quality conference and meeting facilities, others can be more limited in this aspect, however the setting in which the event is being organized tends to recompense for such limitation (Rogers, 2008; Davidson and Cope, 2003). As far as most of venue types has been highlighted. The table below compare the advantages and disadvantages of those venues. Different factors regards as the conference and meetings been hold in a high quality from the corporate sectors point of view and better value for money from the associations points. 3.1 Advantages and disadvantages of venues Type of venue Advantages Disadvantages Hotels Everything under on roof All inclusive quotes Airport hotel: time saving Mixing leisure and business guest Can appear to frivolous Unsuitable for large events Lack of flexibility with syndicate rooms, etc. Purpose built-conference centres Space for large events Extensive range of technology available, plus technical know-how Many offer exhibition space May not always be suitable for the growing number of smaller events No on-site accommodation Universities Good value for money Learning ambience Everything on site Ancient/modern styles Range of sizes of meeting rooms Lack of comfort and facilities May be limited to holiday periods Large sites problems of orientation between buildings Unusual venues Memorable, novelty value Cruise ships: all-in prices Limited by design restrictions due to primary function Unlike to be used several times by same client novelty value fades No on-site accommodations Source: Davidson and Cope, 2003 2.4 The Growth of conference industry The industry has experienced outstanding growth from 1960s due to a number of features from the demand and supplier sides. Regards a larger demand for conferences and meetings, various specific aspects has contributed to the industry development. Such as the growth of multinational corporations, expansion of government and quasi-governmental organization has brought the need for meetings in a public and private sector (Spiller, 2002 p. 5-6; Lawson, 2000; Davidson and Rogers, 2006). The conference industry is growing and maturing very fast, it is youthful and vibrant. In America and Europe it is hardly 50 years old and even younger in the most part of the world. Nowadays the industry itself claims to be the worlds largest, helped with international investments in large scale infrastructure projects have been undertaken all through Asia and Pacific, East European countries such as Czech Republic and Hungary, in a number of African countries, in the Middle East (Rogers, 2008). The growth of the industry is demonstrated in Rogers (2008), the evaluation of the industrys major trade shows, which is held in Barcelona. The European Incentive and Business Travel and Meeting Exhibition (EIBTM) shows that in 1988, 54 countries were represented as exhibitors, the exhibition was held in Geneva; in 2005 the numbers has doubled to 95 countries held in Barcelona. Although, the number of visitors in the same period increased from 2850 in 1988 to 5689 in 2005. 2.5 Impacts of conference events Positive and negative impacts can be generated by the conference industry. The conference sector has been generally accepted for it is high-yield, year-round market and the possibility of gathered substantial economic gains that characterize the main motivation for many destinations to follow the conference market (Davidson and Rogers, 2006). Employment Generation Stimulation of Investment Contribution to Government Revenue Foreign Exchange Earnings Positive ImpactsAccording to McCabe et all (2000) the conference sector is an important generator of tourism expenditure, foreign exchange earnings, investment and employment. The figures below show the positive and the negative impacts of the conference industry. Figure 2.1 Positive impacts of the conference industry Source: Adapted from Davidson and Rogers, 2006 The figure above reviews some of positive impacts that conference industry can generate to the community development. In additionally, it can be see that conference sector is well accepted for a high-yield year around market boosting substantial economic gains (Davidson and Rogers, 2006). However, while the positive impacts of conference are normally noticeable and progressively more claimed by the conference industry itself, a number of unfavourable effects related to hidden cost of developing and operating conference industry and affects the host community (Rogers, 2008). The diagram below represents the negative impacts of the conference industry. Negative Impacts Infrastructure Costs Promotional Costs LeakageFigure 2.2 Negative impacts of the conference industry Source: Source: Adapted from Davidson and Rogers, 2006 2.5.1 Economic impacts The conference industry has been considered as the healthiest and well growth-orientated segment of the tourism industry. Business people and professional travel all throughout the year to attend conferences and meetings, affecting considerably in particularly tourism and hospitality industry. The reason is the need of those participants to meet, eat and sleep. However, many other direct impacts can be seen, such as cultural and sporting activities place, tourism attractions, restaurants, local shops and transport facilities (McCabe et all, 2000). The conference market is critically in nature and vulnerable to change in the business environment. The current slow-down in the global economy and recession can decrease numbers of conference and meeting activity (Weber and Chon, 2002). 2.5.2 Environmental impacts The value of the environment is vital to the successful performance of the conference and business industry (Rogers 2008). Constructive environmental impacts at basic levels, towns and cities hosting conferences need to ensure that the physical environment is maintained in a clean, tidy and healthy condition. Delegates will be expecting to find conference localities at least clean and attractive, and this is particularly when there is a motivational component to the conference (Davison and Rogers 2006). Davison and Cope (2003) say that customer concern in excess of possible and actual unconstructive impacts of mass tourism ahead the natural, built and human environments of purpose is achieving importance. Business Travel have an effect on towns and cities where conventions and exhibitions take place, open the citys potential for professional and business location and development. These are the causes why almost all big cities have situated convention centres in close combination to a high-amenity, creating a good impression to delegates. However, awareness groups are placing increasing force for conference industry to bring in more environmental consciousness. Moreover, Swarbrooke and Honer (2001) say that there are important certifies that conventions and exhibitions centres are functioning in an environmentally friendly approach, and supporting environmental schemes. 2.5.3 Technological impacts The future of the conference industry has a midpoint on the technology issues; the concern is if the advantage technology such as videoconferencing, virtual trade shows and webcasting will replace the need of face-to-face meetings (Weber and Chon, 2002). However studies suggest that has been a slow reluctance to establish state-of-the-arte technologies, simply because it often comes without adequate training staff and suitable backup support by the IT providers in difficult circumstances (Weber and Ladkin, 2001 in Weber and Chon, 2002). Thus, according to McCabe et al. (2000), the significant communication services that are available to organisers and participants of conference events are showed in the table below. Table 2.2 Communication services SERVICE CARACTERISTICS videoconferencing an electronic medium that transmits the picture of the speaker, product, or explanatory graphics teleconferencing enables sharing of ideas in real time with enhanced audio and graphics electronic data transfer allows transfer of large amounts of data between computers separated by long distances Facsimile enables quick and accurate transmission of large documents virtual exhibitions computer simulations and human computer interfacing, this takes place through a combination of visual, audio and kinetic effects Source: Adapted from McCabe et al., 2000; Medlik, 2003; Rogers, 2008. Furthermore, it is clear that information technology (IT) can be generate massive benefit for those who operating function of conference organiser and the conference venue itself, also can be noticed at operational, tactical and strategic level, Consequently, it appear that the technology, predominantly the Internet, have substituted the traditional conference diaries or filing and paper trail systems (McCabe et al., 2000). 2.5.4 Social and cultural impacts Different generation are emerging into the conference industry, those who having grow up and spending much time on the PC and using email. They are bringing very different approach to communication and require a different learning style (Weber and Chon, 2002). Another issue related to social impacts are the trend toward an aging population. An increase number of people are chosen to retired early; also many of those may decide to engage in associations (Weber and Chon, 2002). 2.5.5 Employment The industry creates an increase level of business and improvement of employment opportunities. It is seen as an attractive employment area for those who may become employees for the first time or a looking for a carrier change. It is view as dynamic industry and one that offer many career opportunities and the expectation for fast career development. The industry is responsible for a significant part of the jobs found in the transport and hotels sector, such as specialist conference professions related to the suppliers (McCabe et all, 2000; Davidson and Rogers, 2006). However the industry is not resistant to the high staff turnover and shortages in labour supply found within the tourism and hospitality industry (McCabe et all, 2000). Fenich (2005) claims the employment benefits of conference industry can stimulate construction or renovations of hotels, restaurants, retail units and entertainment facilities. Because of the stimulus a range of skilled and unskilled job opportunities are created For example, these would include meeting planners and marketers, hotel and convention sales, and promotion staff, secretarial and business services, catering staff, retail clerks, taxi drivers and security staff etc. The impact of employment may vary between cities, town and countries due to the structure of the economy. 2.6 The future of the conference industry Predictably, many people outside and inside the conference industry attempt to forecast the industry growth, and whether in the years it will experience growth or decline, even through many issues can be come across due to unpredicted circumstance those can affect conference industry (Rogers, 2008; Swarbrooke and Horner, 2001). The present slow-down in the global economy and recession has the potential to diminish conference and meetings activity in the future. Many others factors impact the current growth and health development of the segment such as social, economic, technological and environmental trends (Rogers, 2008; Weber and Chon, 2002). 2.6.2 Social trends In terms of social trends, changes happen into the work population, including an increasing number of womens conference delegates, older delegates or coming from diverse cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Additionally, many employers are developing a wide range of work-life options, for example tele-working or taking portfolio careers (Rogers and Davidson, 2006) Different generation are emerging into the conference industry, those who having grow up and spending much time on the PC and using email. They are bringing very different approach to communication and require a different learning style. Another issue related to social impacts are the trend toward an aging population. An increase number of people are chosen to retired early; also many of those may decide to engage in associations. All these social trends are going to have several implications for the conference industry (Weber and Chon, 2002; Rogers and Davidson, 2006). 2.6.3 Economic trends Despite on-going divergences and continuous intimidation of terrorist attacks worldwide, the global economy should continue to recover over the next five years, which is excellent news for the conference industry as it clearly depends on the worldwide economic situation (Davidson, 2004). In addition, the economies of Central Europe maintain expanding; Western European countries will fairly certainly experience an augment in business travel from the new EU member countries (Rogers, 2008). The expenditure on business travel and tourism in Europe, according to the World Travel Tourism Council reached $190 billion in 2003, representing 39%of the worldwide total of $488.8 billion. Although, is expecting an increase spending on business travel in Europe by approximately 75% over the next 10 years, reaching by 2013 roughly $ 330 billion (Mintel, 2003). 2.6.4 Technological trends The 21st century is involved especially about Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Buhalis (2008). Technological trends will continue to develop at the remarkable speed. It will contribute to the industry offering important prospective and benefits to buyers, suppliers and intermediaries (Rogers, 2008) However, the industry has been using ICT for many years, with e-mail and the Internet. Conferences organisers can take advantage to reach potential delegates by using email addresses or to set a web site related to the event, conference or exhibition. Nowadays, registration for various events can be possible done on-line, permitting the organisers to be and keep the web information up-to-date, also contact any delegate by their email addresses (Davidson et al, 2002; Buhalis, 2008). By the end of this decade, the conscientious for cost saving and efficiency in distribution will affect the industry (Davidson and Rogers 2006). The preferred distribution channel for making reservations, check in, registration to a conference also many other forms of business travel will be done by the internet (Cline, 2001). A report from IBM business consulting service, forecasted that on-line travel bookings would roughly double between 2004 and 2007 (OÂ ´Connor and Piccoli, 2003). The future of the conference industry has a midpoint on the technology issues; the concern is if the advantage technology such as videoconferencing, virtual trade shows and webcasting will replace the need of face-to-face meetings. However studies suggest that has been a slow reluctance to establish state-of-the-arte technologies, simply because it often comes without adequate training staff and suitable backup support by the IT providers in difficult circumstances (Weber and Chon, 2002; Weber and Ladkin, 2002). 6.4.5 Environmental trends The value of the environment is vital to the successful performance of the conference and business industry (Rogers 2008). Constructive environmental impacts at basic levels, towns and cities hosting conferences need to ensure that the physical environment is maintained in a clean, tidy and healthy condition. Delegates will be expecting to find conference localities at least clean and attractive, and this is particularly when there is a motivational component to the conference (Davison and Rogers 2006). Firstly, considering the damage of environmental issues like global warming, carbon emissions and others cause to the planet. Swarbrooke and Horner (2001) criticized negative impact on the environment, particularly in terms of transport sector. For example, pollution and fuel costs of air travel and the use of private car to take the business traveller from one destination to another. Regarding International legislation, airlines have already done a lot to reduce their environmental impacts. Davison and Cope (2003) argument saying it is obvious that the majority international business journeys are made by air, the extremely polluting form of transportation. Aviation is identified to be the highest increasing source of greenhouse gas emissions and key donor to climate change. They also criticize the police of aircraft and aviation fuel an airline tickets are zero rated for value-added tax (VAT), this means that society contribute is subsiding air transport. It should be discuss how those issues are becoming usual worries and challenges inside conference and convention industry (Rogers, 2008). Cassar (1995) mention the environmental concern will continues indoors the conference venues. It is essentially how about venues can congregate their responsibilities to anxiety for conferences and exhibitions. The positive environmental impacts generate the desires for municipalities to preserve eminence of their built and natural environment, the conference industry in addition has the potential to produce beneficial results on the environment of destination by contributing to environmental development and conservation. The conference industry has as well added large appraise to urban conservations programme, particularly during the replacing into conference centres of buildings that perhaps have been destroyed. Innumerable examples of architecturally precious buildings have been saved by their renovation into conference amenities (Davison and Rogers 2006).