Victoria`s Secret Economic Environment

IntroductionThe apparel industry faces various supply chain challenges, many due to the fact that the major part of apparel manufacturing activity for the United States market has moved outside the country to low-labor-cost countries in the Far-East. Thus, due to long physical distances, apparel companies in the US are continuously challenged to quickly respond to changing trends, to reduce long lead-times, to execute collaborative product development with suppliers using effective communication and to ensure total supply chain visibility. Moreover, fickle consumer preferences and shortening of the product life cycles make the apparel industry very challenging from a supply chain perspective.The Victoria's Secret business provides a case study representative of most supply chain challenges faced by the apparel industry as a whole. Victoria's Secret is a multi-channel retailer selling its products through physical stores located throughout the United States, as well as through a colle ction of printed catalogs and an online shop. Its major product offerings lie in the category of intimate apparel, sleepwear, beauty, apparel, shoes and swimwear. For the purpose of this research, we focus on the intimate apparel segment of Victoria's Secret. Intimate apparel represents the largest portion of Victoria's Secret business and is sold through all the retail channels described above.Company HistoryAccording to company lore, after a disagreement with his father in 1963 over the operation of the family store (Leslie's), Leslie Wexner, then 26, opened  the first Limited store in Columbus, Ohio, with $5,000 borrowed from his aunt. Leslie Wexner's desire was to focus on moderately priced fashionable attire for teenagers and young women (Hoover's Online). The Limited went public in 1969 with five stores. Rapid development of large malls spurred Limited's growth to 100 stores by 1976.Two years later, The Limited acquired Mast Industries, an international apparel purchasing an d importing company. In 1982, Limited purchased Lane Bryant (a plus size brand) and Victoria's Secret (lingerie). In March 2002 the so called The Limited changed its name to Limited Brands. Limited Brands is currently focusing on its star players, Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works.Company StrategyThe company strategy has evolved over time. Prior to 1995, the company's strategy was primarily driven by a knock-off design, shop-and-copy system. During this period, the company's merchants searched for forthcoming fashion designs, all over the world, especially in Europe, and produced merchandise inspired by these designs. Their strategy involved speed sourcing of the products and selling them out even before the original brand could actually be launched. By the early nineties, there remained little competitive advantage in this approach, as the rest of the world had figured out similar ways to do business (Limited Brands Presentation, 2005), between 1995 and 1998, the company st rategically planned an overhaul, focusing on developing a distinct brand identity.The Limited became the largest employer of apparel designers in the world (as mentioned by a top executive). The company re-positioned itself to operate like an upscale consumer package company. With aspirations to be a large powerful brand that controlled its own retail distribution channels and seeking a consistent repeatable business, the company soon incorporated vertically integrated capabilities into its supply chain. In its quest to narrow its portfolio and create a distinct brand image, the company closed all of its poorly performing businesses, including the sale of its bank, and spun off or sold Abercrombie and Fitch, Lane Bryant and six out of seven Henri Bendel stores (Limited Brands Presentation, 2005).Financial PerformanceVictoria's Secret Business UnitWithin Victoria's Secret, all three channels – Victoria's Secret Stores, Victoria's Secret Beauty and Victoria's Secret Direct â₠¬â€œ are experiencing revenue growth as well as profitability. As of august 2013, Victoria`s Secret stores sales increased 3% on top of a 9% increase last year. Increase was primarily driven by strength in bras and panties. Victoria's Secret Direct, the catalog and online business, also experienced growth. Direct enjoyed a 3% increase in sales in 2013. The growth came from improved clothing assortment at more competitive prices and growth of its intimate apparel category, especially of panties and sleepwear.Direct now represents approximately a third of Victoria's Secret sales. A 2001 â€Å"share of drawer† analysis indicated that one-third of the typical customer's lingerie drawer comes from the Victoria's Secret brand. Most of the drawer, however, consists of daily wear lingerie products, of which Victoria's Secret is a relatively lower percentage. Thus, the trend for the new product introductions will likely be toward more pretty, yet every day, styles like the Body by Vic toria sub-brand, a line of everyday intimate apparel.Victoria's Secret StoresVictoria's Secret (VS) is the most profitable as well as the biggest revenue generating brand for Limited Brands. Its net sales for the year 2013 were $ 271 million correspond of 16.7% of the total % of sales. Victoria's Secret comprises 3 sub-businesses: Victoria's Secret Stores (VSS), Victoria's Secret Beauty (VSB) and Victoria's Secret Direct (VSD) network of stores. VSD sells VS lingerie, sleepwear as well as 3rd party brands in the categories of apparel, shoes and accessories through its online store and catalogs. This case study focuses on Victoria's Secret's lingerie business.ProductsVictoria's Secret sub-brands or collections can be said to focus on a central theme. For example, the most recently introduced Victoria's Secret sub-brand called ‘Pink† is a new collection of intimate apparel aimed at a 19 year old  woman (Limited Brands Interview, 2005), and the â€Å"Victoria† is t he new glamorous fragrance launched that build on its fragrance business. Each of these collections is offered in a variety of different styles based on the extent of coverage given by the bra, the configuration of the bra strap or even its entire silhouette.Overall, the products carried by Victoria's Secret Stores can be divided into 3 broad categories: Launch Fashion Products, Non-Launch Fashion Products and Basic Products. About 60% of units in store are basic, 25% non-launch fashion and the remaining 15% are launch products. Basics consist of products which sell all year round and have styles and colors which can be sold in all seasons and for the most part, never go out of style. Beige Dream Angel's bras, white and black bras from the Body by Victoria collection are examples of basic products.Fashion products are loosely defined as items with styles, colors or silhouettes which typically sell for one season (1 season = 6 months) and then shift to regular replenishment. Launch p roducts are fashion items which are heavily promoted and may even announce the introduction of a completely new category. These products involve special planning and are typically launched two times per year, in spring and fall. An example of a highly successful recently launched product is the new The Close-Up ®. The company also engages in about fifteen annual reconfigurations of its stores also termed as â€Å"floorsets†. A floorset may or may not involve a launch.Customer SegmentsVictoria's Secret Stores is trying to be the dominant, young, sexy and sophisticated lingerie and beauty brand in the world. Victoria's Secret serves a wide range of customers with varied psychographics and demographics. On a household income scale, the VS customer loosely lies between 30-75 percentile ranges. With presence in almost all major malls in the United States, VSS aspires to become a destination brand, which means that a customer would be tempted to visit the malls just to see the VS store. With the Pink ® sub-brand, the space Victoria's Secret is trying to fill as â€Å"young and casual†, a category which had been previously overlooked  by Victoria's Secret.Pink was developed in response to the fast growing Abercrombie & Fitch brand, which was once a part of The Limited. Out of the three key words describing the overall target customer above, â€Å"young† is the most important. The goal is clearly to target a young demographic. Finally, the company sees VS as an â€Å"aspirational† brand, and as such, older women may be encouraged to buy Pink  ®' products as well, as a 40 year old is likely to aspire to look like 30 rather than to look.Demand Forecasting and PlanningOn the demand planning and forecasting front, the Catalog and Web businesses are governed by separate strategies. This is primarily because the drivers of demand for the two channels are different. For the catalog, the demand forecast is mapped against the curve of the pr oduct life cycle from the point the catalog is mailed to when 98% of the product is sold. Moreover, circulation of printed books is the primary driver of sales. Within a catalog, dynamics related to location of the display of product, and to the model selected for the display, are sales drivers. Once Direct has visibility as to the actual product layout of the catalog, it re-forecasts the demand several weeks before it is mailed, and subsequently adjusts its purchase orders.For the web, on the other hand, the forecast is based on individual item performance on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. One of the key metrics that Direct uses to monitor its sales is given by the Net-Growth Ratio. This ratio measures for every $1 of demand generated, how much was generated for sales after accounting for returns, cancellations and failure to fulfill back-orders. Victoria's Secret Direct, especially the catalog business, has additional levers in the way that offer a wider breadth of fashion asso rtments. This is because the marginal costs of carrying fashion versus basics product in Direct is governed by different dynamics in comparison to stores, as the stores have huge fixed costs due to real-estate.Moreover, it is possible for Direct to leverage assets between the catalog and web operations such as common photography. About 400 million catalogs are mailed in a year; approximately one fresh book a week having anywhere between 60 to180 pages and including between 250 and 600 items. About 95-98% of the Direct products are sold in US. Semi-annual sales are  tied together with Victoria's Secret Stores and a sale period is comprised of 8 weeks, requiring approximately 8 mailings during this time (Limited Brands Interview, 2005). Last, but not the least, if a product doesn't perform well in one media, it is not introduced in the other.Sourcing and ProductionVictoria's Secret Direct utilizes the Mast network, as do the Victoria's Secret Stores. Direct is able to maintain accur ate data about customer preferences and buying patterns due to the online nature of its business. It is therefore able to quickly translate this information to its vendors, making it much more responsive to changing customer needs than the Victoria's Secret Stores. This allows Mast to adopt a sourcing strategy based on the vendors' ability to deliver smaller and more frequent orders. Smaller orders mitigate risk of over-stocking and frequency allows the company to react closer to the demand and to get the right product out to market in time.Distribution and FulfillmentOn the distribution front, Direct uses its own distribution center in Columbus, Ohio, separate from the Victoria's Secret Stores' distribution center. Both web and catalog share this DC. The process of picking in distribution centers is different from stores, as these products are picked as single items based on orders, whereas in the Victoria's Secret Stores' operations the products are picked and shipped in cases. Th e average time it takes to get to customers is about two days. The online business is well integrated to inventory systems at the DC level, but is not integrated with Victoria's Secret Stores. With only about 15-20% of overlap in SKUs between the stores and Direct, this is not an immediate need (Limited Brands Interview, 2005).Direct keeps a close watch on its inventory and maintains fairly accurate item levels as well as order level data. For example, the current percentage of service level that Direct operates shows an 88% in stock and 12% back-order at the item level. This level of data integrity allows Direct to be much more responsive than Victoria's Secret Stores and  as a result allows them to make dynamic changes to order quantities, pre-packs and size-curves based on latest selling patterns. In contrast to placing large orders with Mast, as do Victoria's Secret Stores, Direct can thus place smaller and more frequent orders. Moreover, Direct doesn't require excess inventor y for the purpose of its floor and window displays as do Victoria's Secret Stores.Goals and ChallengesAs a part of the INSIGHT project, Victoria's Secret Direct is working closely with its production team to create a library of fabrics and raw materials to make a choice matrix such that lead times can be reduced dramatically. They are also a part of the same initiative to reduce concept to market lead times from 72 to 40 weeks.The challenge for the company is in the area of returns. Currently, returns amount to approximately 25% of demand and are primarily driven by the Swim and Apparel categories; however, a considerable part of returns are put back in stock. These are products which are in reasonable condition to be resold. The return rate for lingerie is negligible. One of the challenges that Victoria's Secret faces overall is in the category of fringe sizes. Fringe sizes are the ones which are on the tail-end of the demand curve and whose demand patterns are harder to predict. C ustomers looking to buy these sizes typically feel the need to try them on before purchase.If these products are carried by Direct, there is potential for reduced customer service levels. On the other hand, if Victoria's Secret Stores decides to carry these sizes to provide better customer service, they will be faced with challenges of less predictable demand patterns for these sizes, leading to over or under stocking of product. Therefore, the company has to work a delicate tradeoff between providing better customer service levels and the subsequent financial impact of this service. A survey about multi-channel retailing tactics used by retailers, conducted by Forrester research, showed that 87% of retailers allowed purchases made online to be returned to stores.Limited Brands fully integrated Victoria's Secret with its Direct business. This involves large logistical challenges for the brand but have a  positive impact of customer satisfaction levels as the customers are able to return goods purchased online to Victoria's Secret Stores, and are even able to order products in stores which they purchased online and have them delivered to their house with no additional cost.Victoria's Secret's Supply Chain FrameworkVictoria's Secret's business strategy has evolved from a shop-and-copy system to a branded concept, that of selling innovative, technologically advanced products at reasonably high profit margins. The Victoria's Secret brand is positioned to be the dominant, young, sexy and sophisticated lingerie and beauty concept, targeting young customers who appreciate the value of possessing innovative lingerie. At the same time, the company is somewhat risk averse.It does not rely solely on its fashionable bra launches for all of its sales. It distributes risk by having a mixed assortment of fashion and basic goods. However, having this mixed assortment adds complexity, in that the brand has to operate two supply chains; one for each of these types of products . Below I underlined the operating model, operational objectives and important tailored business activities that drive sustained competitive advantage within the Victoria's Secret supply chain and align with the overarching business strategy.Complementary Operating ModelThe operating model at Victoria's Secret Stores is to achieve desired brand recognition through innovative product development, glamorous bra launches and high shelf availability of its products. Most of the Victoria's Secret Stores' new product introductions are offered in both fashion (items with less predictable demand) as well as basic (stable demand) styles. This mix of fashion and basic items helps Victoria's Secret to distribute risk, to ensure profitability and to offer compelling value to customers. The company identifies that there is not a single all-in-one supply chain solution for both of these categories of products and therefore it maintains two different types of supply chains for each.The supply chai n for Victoria's Secret's fashion items is driven by â€Å"Speed-to-Market† to ensure responsiveness. This is reflected in the company-wide initiative to shorten its â€Å"Concept-to-Market† calendar. This supply chain is further governed by a sourcing strategy that requires a set of suppliers with an excellent record of product innovation, value-adding capabilities and no minimum volume requirements. Due to the prioritization of speed over low labor cost, these items are made in the most capable factories in the world, wherever they may be, and are consistently air shipped to the company's distribution center in Columbus, Ohio.On the other hand, the supply chain for Victoria's Secrets basic items is driven by factors like asset utilization and supply chain efficiency. As a result, basic goods are manufactured in vertically integrated factories which provide close control over capacity utilization and productivity. These factories run at full capacity and provide econo mies of scale (Limited Brands Interview, 2005). Mast holdings have an equity stake in two of Limited Brands' largest factories in India and Sri Lanka. This is a strategic decision in order to maintain tighter control and better supply chain visibility.Operational ObjectivesThe help of Limited Logistics Services (LLS), Victoria's Secret has drafted a Service Level Agreement that defines various performance metrics for services to Victoria's Secret Stores. This agreement also defines the role of the Victoria's Secret Stores in successfully meeting these objectives. The performance metrics are divided into three broad categories as defined below.Customer ResponseThese metrics are customer-focused and customer-facing. They include a set of distribution metrics as well metrics related to store performance such as responsiveness, floor-set, business priorities, new stores, Value Added Services (VAS), meeting cadence, reporting, and air shipments.EfficiencyThese are internal metrics. They are productivity and cost-related and include a set of metrics at the manufacturing as well as distribution center level such as Auditing/Cycle Counts, Through- Put, Network Productivity, DC Metrics, DC Throughput, and Store Throughput.Asset Utilization These metrics are also internal-facing and largely focus on maintaining economies of scale. They include: Capacity Utilization and Inventory Turns.Objectives Balancing FrameworkThe focus placed on each of the metrics mentioned, varies by whether the product is basic or fashion. For example, in the category of basic products, asset utilization metrics like capacity utilization and efficiency objectives like supply chain costs and productivity carry more weight than responsiveness. The factories making these products run at full capacity with two shifts per day to efficiently deliver these products to market at minimum possible cost of production. These products generate moderate margins for the company in comparison to the fashion pro ducts.On the other hand, in high-margin product categories of fashion goods, particularly in highly promoted launch-related fashion goods, which are most often a result of innovative product development and have relatively short-product-lifecycle of just one season, responsiveness metrics are seen to carry more weight overall. The focus in this model is to increase in-season product availability to reduce lost sales and maximize margins.Tailored Business ActivitiesAt the operational level, there are a set of three tailored business activities that provide significant competitive advantage to the Victoria's Secret supply chain and place Victoria's Secret in a unique position in comparison to its competitors. These activities are aligned to the overarching strategy, which is to deliver an assortment of innovative  fashion products and less risky basic products. The first tailored activity emanates from the company-wide open innovation model. The decentralized design culture within V ictoria's Secret adds unique capabilities to its supply chain design.Product Innovation can come from the supplier, from in-house development or through design inspirations from external concepts. This creates the possibility of inter-company operating ties with outside suppliers. For example, if Limited Design Studios in New York initiates a design concept, it can go to a preferred supplier to be further developed and even changed. This relationship during the design process adds flexibility, which is hard to replicate.The second tailored activity has to do with the sourcing model that Limited has adopted as a whole. The presence of Mast Industries as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Limited Brands is of tremendous value to the company. Mast carefully selects its vendors based on capabilities to manufacture and deliver fashion versus basic products. Mast works with a set of vertically integrated factories as well as raw material suppliers to create a product that is hard to replicate.V ertical integration helps the company to control the production process from fiber to garment. On one hand, this leads to greater manufacturing efficiency required for producing basic products, which generate relatively lesser profit margins than fashion items. On the other hand, vertical integration also helps to speed the product development process essential for new and fashionable products.Finally, the role of Limited Logistics Services' (LLS) â€Å"shared service model† in the smooth operation of its supply chain is indispensable. As mentioned earlier, the Service Level Agreement with each of its brands, including Victoria's Secret, not only defines the detailed performance metrics but also defines the role of each brand in order to carry out the objectives on time. LLS consistently benchmarks itself against outside logistics providers and has been able to provide higher service levels to its brands at competitive costs. The dynamic ability of LLS to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate its performance against external agencies, helps Victoria's  Secret to stay ahead of the competition. In its logistics design, LLS incorporates the fact that whether a product being delivered is fashion or basic.For example, in most cases, fashion lingerie is air-shipped from Asia to Columbus, OH and basic products are ocean-shipped. This is because the fashion products, which have relatively higher margins, are less expensive to transportation costs per unit. Fashion and launch products may also have to go through a customized value-added service process in order to cater to the requirements of the individual stores to which they are shipped. These value-added services are performed at the DC level and the company claims to perform them more cost effectively and efficiently than an outside third party logistics provider. MarketMonopolistic competition is a form of imperfect competition where many competing producers sell products that are differentiated from one a nother (that is, the products are substitutes, but, with differences such as branding, are not exactly alike). In monopolistic competition firms can behave like monopolies in the short-run, including using market power to generate profit. In the long-run, other firms enter the market and the benefits of differentiation decrease with competition; Textbook examples of industries with market structures similar to monopolistic competition include restaurants, cereal, clothing, shoes, and service industries in large cities, which the company Victoria`s Secret fit perfectly.The â€Å"founding father† of the theory of monopolistic competition was Edward Hastings Chamberlin in his pioneering book on the subject Theory of Monopolistic Competition. Joan Robinson also receives credit as an early pioneer on the concept. Monopolistically competitive markets have the following characteristics: There are many producers and many consumers in a given market, and no business has total control over the market price. Consumers perceive that there are non-price differences among the competitors' products. There are few barriers to entry and exit.Producers have a degree of control over price.

State Capitol Building

The first state capitol building in Jefferson City was built in the period of 1823-1826 and was destroyed by fire in 1837. A new capitol building had been approved at the time and was completed in 1840. The second capitol was destroyed by fire on February 5, 1911, when a bolt of lightning struck the dome. The present capitol was built in the period of 1913-1917 and stands upon the same spot as the first, high atop a bluff overlooking the Missouri River.One significance in the capitol building is the Missouri State Museum, which is located on the first floor of the Missouri State Capitol Building, and run by the Department of Natural Resources and Division of State Parks. The museum contains long-term exhibits and regularly changing temporary exhibits. Also, there is a program that develops a series of traveling exhibits that can be used as educational tools by schools, civic and other groups. The Missouri State Museum is responsible for a large collection, consisting of approximately 93,000 artifacts and objects from all aspects of Missouri’s history.These artifacts and objects have been collected since the museum was first opened. One of the highlights of the collection is the collection of over 125 Missouri Civil War battle flags. Thirty-three of the flags have been conserved and eleven have been framed. The â€Å"Missouri Veterans Gallery† is in the east end of the Missouri State Museum is a new long-term exhibit. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a brass model of the USS Missouri battleship built by the U. S. Navy for research. The exhibit also includes artifacts and images related to Missouri veterans as well as excerpts from interviews with veterans.The Museum staff developed this exhibit to inform visitors about the key role of Missouri veterans in the history of the state. In 1935, Missouri native Thomas Hart Benton was summoned upon the Missouri House of Representatives to paint a mural on all 4 walls of the House Lounge, which is a large meeting room on the third floor in the Capitol’s west wing. The mural portrays bold and vivid scenes of everyday Missouri life, which at first sparked controversy among the legislators. Benton’s mural represents a source of pride and a popular stop for visitors touring the Capitol.In addition to housing the two legislative bodies, the Capitol provides office space for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, State Auditor and some administrative agencies. The structure is also notable for its architectural features, including its eight 48-foot columns on the south portico and six 40-foot columns on the north side; its 30-foot-wide grand stairway and its bronze front doors, each 13 by 18 feet. There are no weaknesses of the capitol building when providing a historical museum, free guided tours, and opened almost everyday of the year.The purpose of the capitol building is more to inform tourist about Missouri history than housing for two legisla tive bodies, the Capitol provides office space for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, State Auditor and some administrative agencies. The museum had excellent exhibits, including the brass model of the USS Missouri battleship. Throughout the first floor, the capitol building had exhibits about the early settlers. I would recommend to people who love to learn about history to take a tour of the Missouri State Capitol Building.

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Essay

Oscar Wilde and his trials, both literal and figurative, has been the subject of quite a few films and plays apart from the considerable mass of writing that exist on this subject. This is because Oscar Wilde, as a metaphorical figure has never failed to capture the public imagination as the veritable revolutionary against society’s delimiting and deterministic conventions and a crippling value system. And yet, Moises Kauffman’s latest play Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde manages to turn the relatively familiar material – the trials and indictment of the legendary Wilde on charges of sodomy and pederasty – into a riveting and powerful document against social determinism. The theme of Kauffman’s play is the ever-continuing conflict between art and morality and of course with such a theme, Wilde, the martyr to nineteenth century morality, with his assertion that there are no immoral books, only badly written ones is the perfect hero. Drawing from a huge variety of sources that includes trial transcripts, journalistic articles, contemporary autobiographies (including the one by Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred Douglas) and later biographies, Kauffman in the play successfully brings alive the past in a way that Wilde himself would have approved of. The play breaks all generic boundaries and has the elements of a historical drama, a docudrama, a courtroom drama, a social commentary, tragedy and comedy all rolled into one. The oft-repeated tale of Wilde’s fall from fame and fortune is by no means old wine in new bottle, primarily because the playwright’s in-depth research brings in new life into the tale by documenting new perspectives and exploring newer avenues and thereby problematizing the positions of victim and victimizer, secondarily because Kauffman concentrates in showing history in its own context and does not overtly attempt to make it contemporary, and finally because by showing Wilde’s plight in his confrontation with a world that found him fundamentally subversive to the interests of the society the playwright strikes an universal chord. Wilde’s passionate attempt to live a life on his own terms is superbly dramatized in the play. Most riveting are the dramatizations of those moments that change the life of the author for once and all. Such a fateful moment comes when Wilde denies kissing a young man with a witty putdown of his looks instead of a straightforward ‘no’. In the first of the three trials and in a climactic moment Wilde is asked by the prosecuting attorney Edward Carson, if he had ever kissed one of the young working class men with whom he was known to keep company. Wilde, with his suave and polished wit replies: â€Å"Oh, dear, no, He was a peculiarly plain boy. † Carson leaps victoriously at the implication of such a comment, that Wilde would have kissed the boy if he was a little more attractive and the author’s fate is sealed. From this moment onwards the play takes on a destructive momentum as Wilde’s entire life spirals out of control betrayed by his own wit. Never again is he able to gain control of his life. Through the presentation of Wilde, with support from his extensive research, Kauffman manages to subtly problematize the positions of victimizer and victim in the play. For as we find in the play, even before he stabs himself with his own clever tongue Wilde frittered away his prodigious talents by surrounding himself â€Å"with the smaller natures and the meaner minds. As he quotes from â€Å"De Profundis† towards the end of the play â€Å" I became the spendthrift of my own genius, and to waste an eternal youth gave me a curious joy. † Still, the intrinsic irony of the fact that it is his suavity, wit and incomparable craft with words that would bring his downfall is also highly symbolic as far as the theme of the play is concerned, for the play, among other things, engages with the typical Victorian debate over morality and art. Wilde refused to side with the dominant discourse of compartmentalizing his personal erotic longings and keeping it separate from the aesthetic side of his life. And the fact that he raised his personal sense of morality to the level of an art turned out to be the ultimate source of his tragedy in an age which preferred to look at art as a mode moral dispensation for social welfare. Apart from tracing the tragic downfall of this hero with a sincerity and passion that raises Wilde’s conviction and his untimely death to the level of a crucifixion so that the protagonist becomes a patron saint for all those whose life has been crippled by the narrow moralities of a compulsively prohibitionist society, the play also successfully and subtly presents a multilevel study in public perceptions of class, art and sexuality and this is what makes Kauffman’s themes universal. The playwright uses a chorus of actors, who appear both on stage and in front of it posing as the investigators in a hearing, almost classical in its simplicity. This modern chorus continuously reads, quotes or acts out from a huge variety of sources – fruits of the playwright’s research on his subject – establishing an ever-shifting mosaic of perspectives. This chorus takes up several convincing and often hilarious figurative perspectives. The multiple roles bring to the table the likes of Queen Victoria (the author of the Gross Indecency Law), and G. B. Shaw to name a few. The chorus quotes from the memoirs of Wilde and his lover, the accounts of Sir Edward Clarke and the editor Frank Harris. A particularly inspired scene is the one when a later day academic is brought into the play to deconstruct Wilde’s performance in court with insights that are nonetheless valid for being presented satirically. However the most hilarious of all these is probably the scene where the chorus dons long white underwear to display how Wilde procured his ‘gross indecencies’. The greatest success of Kauffman’s use of the chorus lies in the fact that by means of it, very subtly but surely, he manages to communicate a rather unsettling idea to the readers of the play: that even in our age of individual freedom, we are not very far from the social Puritanism that crippled Wilde during his lifetime.

Lean management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Lean management - Essay Example r strategy assists firms to get rid of the issues associated with excessive inventory, which is very common with the traditional make to stock strategy. Dell Computers is an example of a corporation that employs the MTO production strategy. The Assemble to Order (ATO) is also a business production strategy by which quick actions are taken on orders placed by customers, and these products are customizable to a certain extent. Under this production strategy, the basic parts of the products are already built but not assembled yet. Once the customer places an order, these parts are assembled quickly to deliver products that are customized to the buyer’s specifications. It is to be noted that the ATO strategy is a hybrid between the make-to-order strategy and the make-to-stock strategy. Finally, the Make to Stock (MTS) is a traditional business strategy used by organizations to match production with consumer demand forecasts. Under this strategy, particular stock levels are maintained to meet the forecasted demand levels. This business production strategy can be efficient only if the product demand is forecasted accurately. However, inaccurate demand forecasts would end up in financial losses resulting from excessive inventory or stockouts. Fleuren, H., Hertog, D & Kort, P. (2006). Operations Research Proceedings 2004: Selected Papers of the Annual International Conference of the German Operations Research Society. US: Springer Science & Business

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children Research Paper - 1

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children - Research Paper Example in Shaw et al., 2012). Equally important, the numbers of children who report second-hand smoke at home has largely increased over time. Quite surprisingly however, most of the children who report second hand smoke exposure point out that they have at least one of their parents smoking (Shaw et al., 2012). This therefore shows that there is a very close correlation between the pervasiveness of second-hand smoke exposure in children in homes and the increasing number of people who smoke. In the disadvantaged areas where smoking rates are higher than the average and the rehabilitation rates are lower, the topic of second-hand smoke exposure has become a major issue that has affected the children. To elaborate, previous researchers have found out that socio-economic status of people living in different areas has largely influenced the prevalence of people smoking due to lack of employment or sufficient income, overcrowding, poor housing or homelessness, and single parenting among others (Shaw et al., 2012). This can largely be attributed to the fact that smoking has been widely used by people as a means of virtually reducing their stress, more so when they face the mentioned economic conditions. Equally important, Shaw et al., point out that the cases of smoking in homes is more dominant among poor or low income parents (2012), and thus due to this fact, the people who come from a lower social group face the challenge of becoming addicted to smoking as compared to the people who come from higher social group. Besides, the people who reside in areas that are of lower socioeconomic status have less chances of experiencing or having a total ban on smoking in their homes relative to the individuals who reside in areas that are of high socioeconomic status. Besides, Shaw et al., contend that introduction of smoke free legislation will result to the reduction of cotinine levels among the children (2012). However, it is worth noting that Akhtar

Privacy philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Privacy philosophy - Assignment Example The question is, Should voyeurs and exhibitionists be punished for their uncanny sexual interests? This paper develops and discusses deeply the theme of voyeurism and Exhibitionism. To begin with, let us discuss deeply the social and psychological condition of voyeurism. To understand Voyeurism better, let us look at its meaning from the meaning of the term itself. The term voyeurism is a derivative of the French term voyeur, which literally means, one who watches or one who looks (Rooth, 136). This fact, therefore, shows that voyeurs are only interested in watching or looking, secretly, on other people’s sexual affairs. From a medical point of view, Voyeurism is generally conceived as a social and a psychological disorder. For this reason, therefore, the main treatment method of Voyeurism involves psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. From the Criminology point of view, Voyeurism is deemed as a form of sexual abuse. Exhibitionism can variously be defined as an obsessive desire to expose to the public, one’s private parts, with the intention of either amusing the members of the public, or causing fright and shock to the members of the public. There are a number of public exposures that amount to exhibitionism. The following are three forms of exposure that are regarded as exhibitionism. Just like Voyeurism, exhibitionism is a form of social and psychological disorder. For that reason, therefore, the treatment of exhibitionism involves psychoanalysis. From a legal point of view, exhibitionism is regarded as a crime of indecent exposure. To begin with, Voyeurism causes damage to the subjects of voyeur’s interests. This is because every person has a right to privacy. For this reason, therefore, Voyeurism is an affront to and a violation of the individual right to privacy. On the other hand, however, Voyeurism is a social and Psychological disorder, and this in essence means that the voyeurs cannot be held accountable for their

What was the most important factor behind Saladin's series of Essay

What was the most important factor behind Saladin's series of successes - Essay Example Saladin was one of the important warriors in the history of Islamic world who has great influence on the West also. Due to his successes in crusades, Saladin has remained one of the important historical figures for West to study and explore specially the reasons and key factors behind his success. He was a Kurdish Muslim who became the first Ayyubid ruler of Egypt and Syria and also the major force behind the recapturing of the Jerusalem from the European crusaders. It was mostly because of this reason that he is a very well known figure in Islamic history and is considered as one of those individuals who could muster the courage and strength to recapture Jerusalem. (Hamblin)1 A closer analysis of his successes however, would reveal many important facets of his rise to the power and glory. His success against the crusaders in Jerusalem is mostly attributed to the internal conflict between the Crusader States. Further, his own ambitions to create an alternative Ayyubid dynasty in Arab world and use of Jihad as a tool to gain military power are other important reasons which could be considered as the key reasons behind his rise to the success. The lack of interest by the Franks as well as the failure of the agreements with the Byzantines can also be considered as the different factors which provided Saladin a perfect environment to establish his own authority and might. This paper will attempt to discuss the key success factors behind the success of Saladin and his rise to the power Saladin’s rise to Power It is important to discuss briefly as to how Saladin actually rose to the power in Arab world and became the force which actually defeated the Crusader States. Saladin’s father, Ayyub, was in military services for the Turkish Military Leader Zangi who was controlling Aleppo and Mosul. At the early age, Saladin joined his father and uncle in the army at Aleppo which was at that time controlled by Zangi’s son Nur al-Din who also emerged as on e of the strongest personality within Muslim world to successfully challenge the threat posed by the Crusaders. (Davenport)2 Saladin’s real chance for success came when Nur al-Din sent army to Egypt when the Fatimid Empire in Egypt was weakening due to the internal conflicts as well as the constant invasions from the Frankish States. It was during this campaign that Saladin’s uncle, Shirkuh, leader of Army, died and Saladin started to take control. He was first appointed as the Vizier in Egypt and than subsequently overtook the Egyptian government in the name of Nur al-Din. (Lane-Poole). 3This episode is also considered as the starting point of the rising conflicts between Nur al-Din and Saladin and on the death of Nur al-Din, Saladin went on to capture the Syria from the heirs of Nur al-Din also. (Meri and Bacharach)4 This brief recapture of Saladin’s rise to the power indicates that he actually attempted to take advantage of the internal conflicts which were e xisting within Muslim dynasties at that time. Fatimid Empire weakened not only due to the internal strife within the empire but from the constant invasions and threats posed by the Frankish States. This not only weakened the State but also allowed alternative forces like Saladin to take make their move to the throne. It is also important to note that Saladin’s rise to become the Vizier of Egypt was also based upon the fact he was Sunni Muslim and due to his age and family background, he was preferred over others as it was considered that he was too weak to pose a significant challenge. His rise to this position is also considered as a political maneuvering by the existing regime to undermine other stronger forces within the Muslim Empire. It was during his tenure as a Vizier in Egypt that Saladin started to use religion as one of his weapons to start consolidating his power. (Azzam)5 It is also important to note that Nur al-Din also emerged as one of the strongest forces agai nst the Crusader States and also help widening the conflict between the Crusader Stat

Work Place Module II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Work Place Module II - Essay Example Some people may argue that accountability is a myth that can not be elucidated due to the complexity of procedures involved and evaluation criteria. However, compliance evaluation may involve formal and informal procedures. In general, accountability is crucial to governance because it ensures public organisations perform in a professional manner in order to offer value for money in the line of public service provision (Dowdle 2006). With regard to accountability in the health care sector, this paper will focus on NHS. In essence, NHS has the role of improving health of the local population in the UK. However, NHS has to be accountable for its service delivery to the people (Cooper 1995). NHS Board is accountable to the department of health. The government is required to provide a statement of NHS accountability clearly describing its responsibility and accountability. NHS provides a range of services, which some of them are accrued from different organisations, not forgetting the de partment of health under which NHS is accountable to (Cooper 1995). ... It is apparent that not a single entity can be argued to comprehensively exercise accountability. Therefore, it will be essential to assess some of the barriers that hinder employment of accountability in NHS. In the long-term, this project benefit both the NHS, the public, and also to me as a student. Through the findings and recommendations of this project, NHS will be able to utilize the information contained in it in order to evaluate its performance in terms of accountability, and various ways through which it can improve as it will be stipulated in the recommendations. Other public organisations can also benefit from the findings of this paper. There is no difference in accountability exercised or required in NHS and accountability exercised or required in other public organisations. Therefore, the government may find it crucial to implement recommendations of this project, in advising other public institutions on how to institute and maintain accountability. On the same note, the public will also benefit from this project in that the project will elucidate on matters concerning how the public can ensure that the government and its institutions are accountable for their actions. For example, the public will be enlightened about consumer/customer accountability. Most people lack the idea of how the government can be made accountable for their service deliveries especially on matters pertaining health service delivery. It is argued that public organisations should ensure that the public gets the value for money in health provision. It is also my strong believe that this project will be of importance to me especially in my studies. I will have not only acquired report writing skills, but I will also have gained a grasp of

The Stopped voyages and the Stopped Social Improving Essay

The Stopped voyages and the Stopped Social Improving - Essay Example Apparently, the initiation of the voyages marked a great Chinese historical period in cultural exchanges and trade. The number of ships in each fleet that Zheng led to the Western Sea had about 40 to 60 ships and over 27,000 people. In each envoy, Zheng acted as the business representative and herald of the Ming court. The voyages navigated through various countries where Zheng stopped and presented gifts to the rulers as a perfect way of enhacing cooperation and relationships. Unfortunately, in 1424, Yongle Emperor who was the sponsor of the expensive voyages was murdered in a skirmish touching the Mongols. Zheng could hardly undertake any other voyages, and set out for his last voyage in 1429 before the Hongxi Emperor who succeeded Yongle Emperor banned the voyages in 1433 on the grounds that they were a misappropriation of resources and money. While the emperor did this to circumvent China from external influence, it limited china’s development by cutting trade with the outside world, and advanced Europeans could easily target China (Jessie, 2). It is evident that Chinese voyages had cr eated great contribution to the Chinese culture and Economy and the decision of stopping more voyages was undeniably wrong. The Chinese society could have been improved much better if Hongxi Emperor did not stop the voyages. The voyages greatly contributed to growth of trade between China and the outside world as well as spreading Chinese culture to the outside world, factors that contributed to the growth of China. In the ships, there was a myriad of special Chinese products that were meant for the foreign countries such as India and coast of Africa. These included skein, newly established celadon, enamelware, gauze, and brocade. Noteworthy, during the Tang Dynasty, people in China had already understood the technology of making glass to be heat resistant through addition of

Experience of Mosque Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Experience of Mosque - Assignment Example I visited the ICM on Friday and attended ‘Jumuah’ prayer at 1.30 pm. Besides, I went through the prayer calendar to find out the exact time of ‘Jumuah’ because my religious faith is different from Islam. Besides, this helped me to attend the congregational prayer that started at 2.00 pm. One can see that mosques are flooded by believers on Fridays. So, I parked my car at Lot ST8 and walked to the ICM. Entering the mosque, I noticed that most of the visitors are students. Besides, the only noticeable difference in dress is the cap or ‘Taqiyah’. But most of the visitors were not wearing ‘Taqiyah’. Besides, pants and t-shirt/shirt is the common dress among the visitors. So, one can see that there is no strict dress code implemented by the authorities because most of the believers are students. The mosque’s exterior is not so different from other buildings in the neighborhood. To be specific, the exterior does not represent the traditional mosques in the Middle East. Entering the mosque, I noticed that the main hall used for prayer purpose is symbolic of modern construction because there are fewer symbols or images that signify Islamic architecture. But the only difference is that there is a separate facility for womenfolk to pray. Besides, the noticeable symbol of Islamic architecture within ICM is the ‘minaret’ type protrusion on the bu ilding. As the believers are aware of the rules within mosque premises, there are no strict rules to be followed at ICM. Besides, silence during prayer time, proper dressing, ‘hijab’ (say, for womenfolk) are general rules. My conversation with an African American and an Indonesian student proves that they feel satisfied with the prayer services at the ICM. Still the conversation shed light into the differences between Islamic and Christian faiths. Renard (2011) states that, â€Å"In fact, a Christian attending services on Sunday could

Hypothetical Family Health Promotion Assessment Essay

Hypothetical Family Health Promotion Assessment - Essay Example While some families may consist of the standard two-parent home, there are a numerous amount of ways in which families are organized and in which social groups they exist. The modern nurse must be sensitive to these unusual circumstances and adjust one’s attitude accordingly, being careful not to place judgment upon clients who need nursing services. According to Bomar (2004), â€Å"During the past two decades, the evolution of family nursing assessment in nursing theory, practice, education, and research has been observed and documented in the nursing literature† (pp. 275). Nurses must be sensitive also to the fact that various ages, races, ethnicities, and other demographics of people may not fit perceived stereotypes, or that their lives’ paths vary significantly from what is considered socially appropriate or aesthetically pleasant. Some people live in abject poverty while other patients may be quite rich—and it is important for the nurse to understand that she must treat all of her patients with the same amount of dignity and care as she would anyone else. This is especially true of the Morrison family as evidenced in Mary Lawson’s book Crow Lake. Katie is definitely not the typical caregiver, as she is an young adult herself and learning how to take care of a young sister who is less than five years old. Katie is one of the focal points of the book, a scientist who struggles with the issues that surround being impoverished, but, at the same time juggling responsibilities while aspiring to a better life. The FFAM is, according to Stanhope and Lancaster (2006), â€Å"[o]ne family assessment model and approach developed by a nurse†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pp. 335). The FFAM is able to assess various family issues that are of concern to the nurse in his or her chosen profession. Obviously, in any family there are immediate telltale signs of problems. The most obvious sign of some problem is physical abuse, although, the problems to b e discussed here are more internal, invisible, intangible problems which can have effects on patients. Although one can’t see a bruise, indeed, the individual is injured, albeit in his or her psyche. It is the emotional pain that can also scar a patient irrevocably for life, and this is what the nurse seeks to diagnose in order so that he or she can assuage the patient’s fears and continue to pursue a plan that will plot a course of treatment appropriate for the patient. Affective Involvement is the first aspect that I would think would be very key in assessing the Morrison family’s situation. The family’s young ones are taught not to express themselves overtly in a strong manner. Says Lawson (2003), â€Å"Understatement was the rule in our house. Emotions, even positive ones, were kept firmly under control† (pp. 9). Most relevant for promoting the Morrison family’s health in this category comes under the concern of the young people basicall y not being cared for in the ways they need to develop. For example, one very important concern is Katie’s younger sister Bo, who is a toddler. Toddlers need lots of love and affection from parents in order to develop properly, and without that kind of support, Bo will rely almost entirely upon her older sister as a mother figure, and upon her brothers Matt and Luke as father figures. However, since Luke at one point might go away to college, and Matt establishes his own family—only Luke remains once he decides that he is going to get a job to support the family instead, even though he

The Complete Works of William Shakespear Essay Example for Free

The Complete Works of William Shakespear Essay A burn is an injury caused by excessive energy transferred to the body. There are four different kinds of burns. The first type of burn is a thermal burn. A thermal burn is caused by an external heat source that causes the temperature of the skin and tissue cells in the skin to rise which causes the cells to get damaged or die. Thermal burns are usually caused by coming in contact with open flames, hot metals, or scalding liquids. The second type of burns are radiation burns. Radiation burns are be caused by extended exposure to radiation, such as Ultra-Violet  radiation from the sun. The third type of burns are Chemical burns. Chemical burns are caused by coming in contact with strong acids or alkalies. The last type of burns are electrical burns. Electrical burns are burn from coming in contact with an electrical current. Along with the four types of burns, there are also three different classifications on the levels of the severity of the burn. The least severe level of burn is called a first-degree burn or a superficial burn. A first degree burn only affects the epidermis, the  outermost layer of skin. An example of a first-degree burn is a sun-burn. First degree burns do not usually have any long term affects but sun-burns have been known to cause skin cancer. First-degree burns are very minor an heal quite easily. In the area around the burn and undamaged skin cells in the basale, or deepest layer of the epidermis grow and begin to spread out over wound until it is covered. A hormone called epidermal growth factor causes the basale epidermal skin cells to multiply until the skin reaches it original thickness. The next level of burn is called a second degree burn or a partial thickness burn. Second degree burns involve the epidermis and the dermis, the layer under the epidermis. The burn will be red, blistered and may be swollen. Second degree burns are painful and may cause scarring. The worst level of burns is a third-degree burn. Third degree burns destroy both the epidermis and dermis and may even damage muscles, tendons, or bones under the dermis. The wound will appear white or charred. The victim will feel no pain because all of the nerve endings have been destroyed. Second and third degree burns have a much more complex way of healing. The healing process has four stages. The first is the inflammatory phase in which the blood clots and the wound gets inflamed to kill off microbes, foreign objects and dead skin. The next stage is the migratory phase in which the wound begins to scab. The cells around the scab begin to migrate under the scab to cover the wound. In third-degree burns skin cells need to be implanted to start cell growth. Also in this stage blood vessels and scar tissue begin to grow. The next stage is the  proliferative phase in which epidermal cells begin to grow rapidly under the scab and blood vessels continue to grow. The final stage is the maturation stage in which the scab falls off after the skin under the scab have grown to its original thickness. The process in which scar tissue is formed is called fibrosis. Scar tissue has fewer blood vessels than regular skin and will have a different structure than regular skin. Scar tissue is usually lighter than your normal skin because of the lack of blood vesselsMore scar tissue is needed in more severe wounds.

Importance of and Benefits of Good Customer Service

Importance of and Benefits of Good Customer Service Chapter 1 Introduction: Providing Quality customers service is one of the practical jobs that cannot be learned without experience, so it is very much important to deliver the best possible quality service to all the customers. When studied and analysed carefully about the importance of customers to organisation , the researcher found out that the cost difference between getting a new customer compared to retaining a current customer is that it costs 7 times as much as bringing in a new customer, than to keep an existing one. Eddy. B.W (1983); Therefore we must ensure loyalty with our customers through utilizing all the back to basics of customer service. The customers change the organisation or leave because of a lack of attention that is given to them When customers go to any of the organisation, there grows an opportunity to improve or worsen the relationship with the customers. Hopefully each and every organization wants to improve the relationship with the customers. Saunders, J A. (2004) Thus utilizing this opportunity as one of the precious one, a good impression can be created by satisfying each and every need and wants of the customer from the organisation. It is in fact tough and hard to do so, but it is not impossible. 1.1 Aim: To make a review on the need of quality Customer service in the Brassiere Restaurant Hilton Hotel As we know, each and every individual in this world is a customer to each other which are linked like a world wide websites. Providing the quality customer service is the need of the Hilton Hotel from every department because customers are their building blocks, and if the blocks are not sufficient the probability of declining and closing down the business rises. The Brassiere is a Samplecontinental cuisineat this celebrated Paddington restaurant. The Brassiere brings asumptuous menuserving breakfast, lunch and dinner for up to 160 guests. Patrons of the Hilton London Paddington enjoy a comfortable atmosphere for relaxed dining Customers want proper attention and timely service as they pay for each and every activity. A very frequently uprising question in every manager or the executive bodies of the Hilton Hotel Restaurant is the importance of customer service. Thus the main endeavour of this examination is to find the need of quality customer service in the Brassiere of Hilton Paddington Which is empathetic, supportive and accessible. The system utilized by Hilton Paddington to measure the guest satisfaction level is widely known as SALT, which means Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking Survey. This is a system designed by Hilton and is updated daily. Different Department has different scores which at the end is the overall score. This determines the areas and the department that needs to improve and take the score high. (Hilton Hotel Paddington, 23rd March 2009). 1.2 Objectives: It is often said and extensively accepted that, eminence customer service is the keystone to all service-oriented business. Yet the words and concept are often not fully comprehended by many within the service providing department (Brassiere of Hilton Hotel). The objectives of this research is to, Study the importance of quality customer service in the Brassiere To understand the benefits of Good customer service to Brassiere. To find the factors affecting Good customer service in the Restaurant, To study the techniques used by Hilton employees to satisfy Guests. Find proper way to satisfy guest and increase the revenue of the Hotel. Criticism and appreciation on the customer service level of Hilton Brassiere. It is very difficult to track down the factors that affect the delivery of customer service, but the techniques and comments can lead us to determine it. There is no mystery to solve it but a simple understanding is enough. Every hotel gives service but something small and extra-ordinary from Hilton Brassiere will raise the satisfaction level. So the above objectives have to be met in order to keep the business in good level. 1.3 Rationale The underlying principle for the research on the Need of quality customer service in Brassiere Restaurant of Hilton Hotel is to clearly understand and manipulate the standard and rectify its standard. To meet the need and wants of the customers by deploying some basic principles of Quality Customer Service in each and every step while dealing with the customers as a professional. This helps to bring the improvement in Hiltons Brassiere SALT score as the level of customer service is standardized. SALT scores can be increased by considering the following given points: Standard Service, Diversity and Equality, Physical access, Timeliness and Civility, Handling Complaints, making appeals, installing variations and choices and official language equality in both external and internal customers. 1.5 Summary: Customer servicelevel of Brassiere, Hilton is a series of conducts designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the guests expectation. To understand the importance of Quality customer service in Brassiere, and to deliver it accordingly is one of the major task of the Hospitality staffs. Quality customer service plays a vital role in creating a good and positive impact to each and every one who comes and goes in Hilton Paddington Hotel. To survive in todays highly-competitive global marketplace of business and customer service, Hilton has improved and is on the way to reach excellence in their quality products and service. So Quality customer service in current market matters a lot and is the key route towards growth and success of the Hiltons Brassiere and the Hotel itself. Chapter 2 Literature Review: Introduction: Defining quality customer service and its components is a form that is actionable in the workplace is an important endeavour that an organisation should not take lightly. The quality of service must be kept always in a high standard either the organisation is medium or large sized business. Customers are so critical that they always look for value for money oriented products and services. So to attract more customers towards the particular business the level of service standard must me raised and carried consistently in each and every step while dealing with the customers. Without a clear and unambiguous definition of service quality, employees will be left with vague instructions and technique on improving and delivering service quality within the workplace. The result will be that each employee will be left to form and act upon his or her own definition of quality customer service which, more often than not, may be incomplete or inaccurate. This paper will review and analyse the literature on need of quality customers service, particularly those that delineate its components as well as those that provide links to behavioural intentions. Various thoughts are put into to understand the need of quality customer service in the hospitality industry as well as in other sectors. As per PZB (Parasuraman, Zeithaml Berr) RATER method, we can see and find the level of quality customer service delivered in every aspect and in every organization. R: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to Inspire trust and confidence. Tangibles: Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and Communication materials. Empathy: Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers. Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt Service. Quality Service: PZ (Parasuraman, Zeithaml ) defines quality customer service as the degree and direction of discrepancy between customers service perceptions and expectations (2006). Thus if the perception is higher than expectation, then the service is said to be of high quality. Likewise, when expectation is higher than perception, the service is said to be of low quality. Realising that there was not enough literature to produce a rigorous understanding of service quality and its determinants, PZB (1985) conducted an exploratory investigation to formally delineate service quality. Their investigation was composed of interviews with executives from four types of service businesses (i.e. retail banking, credit card, securities brokerage, and production repair and maintenance) as well as a number of focus groups composed of individuals who have recently received services from those businesses. Quality Service Process: One of the results of this investigation was the identification of ten determinants of service process quality. PZB (1985) listed them as follows: Reliability: Involves consistency of performance and dependability. Responsiveness: Concerns the willingness or readiness of employees to provide service. Competence: Means possession of the required skills and knowledge to perform the service. Access: Involves approachability and ease of contact. Courtesy: Involves politeness, respect, consideration, and friendliness of contact personnel (including receptionists, telephone operators, etc.). Communication: Means keeping customers informed in language they can understand and listening to them. It may mean that the company has to adjust its language for different consumers-increasing the level of sophistication with a well-educated customer and speaking simply and plainly with a novice. Credibility: Involves trustworthiness, believability, honesty. It involves having the customers best interests at heart. Security: Is the freedom from danger, risk, or doubt. Understanding/ Knowing the Customers: Involves making the effort to understand the customers needs. Tangible: Include the physical evidence of the service. The SERVQUAL instrument has been the predominant method used to measure consumers perceptions of service quality. It has five generic dimensions or factors and is stated as follows (van Iwaarden et al., 2003): (2) Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. (3) Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. (4) Assurance: (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence. (1) Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel. (5) Empathy : (including access, communication, understanding the customer). Caring and individualized attention that the firm provides to its customers. (Gronroos, 1982; Lewis and Booms, 1983; Parasuraman et al. 1985). Customer Satisfaction: The relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty can be divided into three categories. The first is extracted from the management of service literature. This study accommodates service and customer satisfaction as an antecedent of customer loyalty towards the company, which in turn influences the profitability, (Anderson et al, 1994). The second focuses on the individual level and contains mainly studied customer retention by customer purchase intention. This constitutes important shortcoming retention by the customer purchase intention. (Chandon et al, 2005). The third group focuses on the satisfaction loyalty link on the basis of individual level with the real purchase data. This group has tendered to reveal a weak or insignificant relationship between satisfactions and repurchase behaviours.(Bolton, 1998; Mittal and Kamakara, 2001). Customer Perception: One of the obvious difficulties in meeting customers expectations is that Perception is Reality. The way that customers perceive the staff is the only reality that matters to them. Therefore everything done for customers affects the customers perception of the organisation, and different customers can perceive the same service level differently. (Stuart Emmitt, 2000). Chapter 3: Introduction to Methodology 3.1 Introduction: Adissertation methodologyon the above topic on Quality customer service in Brassiere of Hilton Hotel Paddington is truly divided into two definite parts. These are the process of data gathering and then the process of data analysis on the concerned topic. Both of the parameters are important aspects in researching because these helped the researcher to gather the most in a good time. These items induced the credibility level of the results and findings. Data gathering methods utilized according to the preference of the researcher are listed below: 3.2 Research approach: To accumulate the required information, two specific research approaches has been used, which are as follows, a) Primary Research: This research approach involves the collection of data that does not already exist; this is done through numerous forms, including questionnaires to the manager, staffs and to the selected customers. This information has been collected from things like questionnaires, magazines and Interviews. Interviewing: The researcher in order to gather the data took an appointment with the manager of the Brassiere Hilton Hotel for an interview, where most of the questions were answered on the basis of the topic. The interview with the manager gave the researcher the points focused by the management of Brassiere on delivering the quality customer service and explained how they maintain their SALT score each and every day in their operation. The brand standard is followed very carefully so as to meet the guests expectation on their whole duration of stay. There are various service standards that are shown and taught to the staffs as they are on the operation. Data Mining: Data miningis the process used for extracting hidden patterns from data. Data mining became an increasingly important tool to transform the collected data into information to deeply understand and know the guest satisfaction strategy used in the Brassiere. The data mining step was a very crucial stage where the researcher faced a lot of difficulties in gathering the information. Various serious questions were delivered to the manager on how they gathered the SALT score and the comments from the guest that was posted or replied online. Magazines: The monthly issue of magazines that is found in the library and hotel are used to find and travel deep into the research. The magazines have some information that states the importance of good and quality customer service in the organisation. Questionnaires: Three questionnaires were designed in order to find the need of quality customer service in the outlet Brassiere of Hilton Hotel. The second questionnaires were delivered to the manager of the Restaurant and five staffs of the Brassiere, which has two supervisors. The third questionnaires were delivered to ten guests through the permission of the manager, as it is the non-business part of survey conducted within the Restaurant outlet of Hiltons Brands. b) Secondary Research: A) Printed Source: Printed resources like books, magazines and some Hiltons customers satisfaction comments were taken into consideration in order to accomplish this research. Various libraries were visited to get the information regarding the need of quality customer service in an organization, which were related, compared and placed in this project. B) Online Source: Many websites were visited in order to obtain the main factors that are needed for the organisation to maintain quality customer service at all time of their operations. The structure of a website address (URL) indicates the sites origin and status, for example, .ac or .edu indicate an academic or educational institution, .gov a government body, .org a non-profit organisation, .co or .com a commercial organisation. The visited dates are also indicated which all are listed in the bibliography of this project. C) Other Media: Some of the media were also referred in order to get the complete idea and knowledge of maintaining the quality customer service and its need in Hiltons outlet Brassiere. The medias like the video of the Hilton hotel that was provide to us in our induction day, and the videos from www.youtube.com were referred in order to accomplish the research. Research Strategy: The following steps outline a simple and effective strategy for finding information for a research paper and documenting the sources found. This research strategy on Need of Quality Customer Service in Brassiere will aim to help secure lasting improvements to the business of Brassiere in Hilton Hotel Paddington, London and improve the quality of service and cost-effectiveness customer services and customer care. In order to achieve these ambitious aims, the Researcher will support quality research in priority areas of relevance customer service and care and; a) Work with the staffs to identify topics which are important to the Brassiere and Service improvement, and amenable to research; b) Revise the importance of quality customer service in the Brassiere c) To understand the benefits of Good customer service to Brassiere. d) To find the factors affecting Good customer service in the Restaurant, e) To study the techniques used by Hilton employees to satisfy Guests. The strategy used to complete this research is interview and action research strategy. Other strategies are also carried but in few aspects only. In his strategy the questionnaires will be used during the interview that is designed in an easy format to answer. Qualitative Research: There are a wide variety of methods that are common in qualitative measurement. In fact, the methods are largely limited by the imagination of the researcher. Here the researcher discusses a few of the more common methods of collecting data in order to whole the project. a) Focus groups The researcher brought together a small number of subjects to discuss the topic on Need of Quality Customer Service in the outlet of Hilton, Brassiere. The group size was kept deliberately small, so that the members do not feel intimidated but can express opinions freely. A topic guide to aid discussion was usually prepared beforehand and the researcher usually chaired the group, to ensure that a range of aspects of the topic are explored. The discussion was written down and analysed. This focused groups provided a good amount of information and data to sum up the research. b) Direct observation In this type of study the researcher aimed to become immersed in or become part of the population being studied, so that the researcher can develop a detailed understanding of the values and beliefs held by members of the population. The researcher used observations to gather evidence about how value judgements made by staff and customers can impact on decision making. In this study, the researcher participated in the operation of the Brassiere observing situations where other staffs were faced with difficult moral choices. Observations were recorded as field notes and analysed for content. In-depth interviews The researcher was able to obtain few detailed information for the subject. The researcher used unstructured interviewing to explore the Brassieres functioning and customer relationships through the perception. The reason for choosing this method is due to lack of adequate theory and definitions in the field to produce a deep knowledge and facts in quality customer service delivery. Data Collection: The data collection on the desired topic is a time consuming process and also requires quite a long time. It is very complicated and enforces high pressure with work load. However in completing this research, two methods of data collection is employed, which are an interview and the questionnaires. Interview was with the manager of the Brassiere Restaurant of Hilton Hotel and the questionnaire was specifically designed to know the importance of quality customer service. Pilot testing was supposed to be conducted in the college but it is not done due to lack of time and busy schedule of the people who were targeted to run a pilot test. The researcher could not conduct the pilot test as some information is not complete due to this conduct. Questionnaires that were designed were given to the working staffs of Brassiere to fill in the staff questionnaire, the manager was given the questionnaire at the time of the interview and the questionnaire designed for the customers were given to 5 customers of brassiere as permission was taken before conducting this act from the manager. Case Study: Interview and Questionnaire The researcher is an employee of the organization Hilton, working there for about 4 months. The researchers overall goal is to study and formulate the need of quality customer service in the Brassiere. The researcher mentioned numerous challenges that he faced in gathering the data from the organization, some of which needed specific, technical information to address. The reason for choosing the interview and questionnaire method of collection data from the Manager of the Restaurant (Brassiere) and from the selected customers and staffs is basically to get the actual answers and the facts that is expected. This method is very practical and correct data will be extracted. The interview method was chosen but the manager of Brassiere postponed the date and time twice due to his busy schedule and work load within the department. The interview method is very straight forward method to gather facts and practical information that is going through in daily operation of the Brassiere. However the questionnaire method is the best technique to gather data, because it is very specific and straight to the point. This method gathers more and deep information in simple words that can be evaluated according to the operation method. Thus this technique extracted more and expected data based on the topic. Sample Size: To produce the project, the research approach taken by researcher is primary and secondary. The sample size for this research was not complicated and tough but was time consuming. The development of the sample of the population in the carried research was well designed and not much complicated, because the researcher carried out this research in the organisation where he works and has been continuing the work since last four months. The designed sample size of this research is small and choosy as it is based only on one department of food and beverage operation in the Hotel- Brassiere Restaurant. The sample population comprises of The Manager of the Restaurant, Staff of the Department Brassiere, and some of the chosen guests of hotel who were sampled with the recommendation of the manager of Brassiere. The total number of people sampled comes to a total of 12 plus some of the staffs who helped as well. These populations are involved in the customer satisfaction and care line on daily basis. They all enthusiastically agreed to provide good level of information. Totally 25 different questions were of which few were received back and the filled copies are attached. (Please find the attached sheet at the back). Thus all of the staffs and the management were very helpful in achieving this task. Reliability and Validity: The research strategy carried here is significantly contributively and increased the positive response towards the research. The interview and questionnaire that was delivered was regarding the customer satisfaction and quality service in Brassiere. The questionnaires that were asked have obviously accomplished the grade of reliability and validity. Findings and Results: The section of the research will produce the summation of the data accumulated with various methods and techniques. Mainly the data extracted from the questionnaire and the interview will be focused along with other results of methods. The response is well and good from the provided questionnaires and is received back completed from the population selected. The employees capability of setting up problems is about developing human supply with essential skills to carry successful service in the near future.(H and Huang H.C (2008). Thus the hotel aim and major priorities in providing quality customer service is based on the responses accumulated from the interview and the questionnaire which are as follows; 1. Delivering High standard service. 2. Proper Knowledge of operation and relationship. 3. Quality customer service 4. Guest Relationship of Manager and the Supervisors 5. Customer service skills. 6. Overall performance and quality of Brassiere Team. 7. SALT Score of Brassiere. 8. Good customer service and customer care 9. Staff training for development and further knowledge. 10. Handling Complaints 11. Methods of operation 12. Summary of quality customer service in Brassiere. Delivering High standard service: The outlet Brassiere aims to deliver high standard service at all time of their operation and always moves forward to perform the best. The standard in this will require a management support with skilled and knowledgeable staff. The staffs of Brassiere are aspiring to achieve the quality in the product and the service by focusing on customers and the business. Proper Knowledge of operation and relationship: The team members of Brassiere are guided and trained in each and every step while moving forward in the operation of the outlet. They are given training on the operation system and functioning of the business in various steps with gaps. A systematic job chat is done with the staff by the supervisor and the manager to identify the problems faced by the staff and the improvement made till date. The relationship is maintained and unity in diversity is basically followed and the working environment is very flexible and professional. Quality customer service: Quality customer service is a complicated and a broad term to use but, major aspects of it are achieved by the team of Brassiere. The service standard if Brassiere has better quality as compared to other similar kind of outlet or business. Professionalism is maintained and carried in each and every operational process. The guests expectation level is always met and exceeded as per the questionnaire sums up. Guest Relationship of Manager and the Supervisors: The guest relationship of the manager and the supervisor of Brassiere are superb. The manager during the operation of the restaurant goes to the guests of the hotel during the dinner, breakfast and lunch to extract the value and quality they are experiencing in the outlet. 13. Customer service skills. Chapter 5, Discussion: Introduction: Customers are the most important part of the Brassieres business. Quite simply, without customers there would be no business! So it is vitally important that customers are looked after well and given the highest standards of service, so that they come back again and also tell their friends about the good time they had staying and eating in Hilton Hotel London. Need of Quality Customer Service in Brassiere: These days customer service is not just about meeting customers needs, but it is about exceeding them. It is also important to stress giving excellent and not just good customer service. The staffs at Brassiere of Hilton Hotel Paddington are fully trained in all aspects of excellent customer service. The companys customer service aim is to give our guest a truly short break holiday and business experience which far exceeds their expectations. But, In Brassiere of Hilton Hotel customer service is much more than just being nice to the customers. It is about all staff in the Restaurant working towards a positive approach to customers which involves, a) Identifying Customers Needs: Knowing what the guests wants is fundamental to the success of Brassiere business and reputation. However knowing the guests need is often relatively easy, what can be more difficult is putting into practice the actions that are recommended. b) Developing the right products and Services: Having found out what its customers wants, Brassiere can begin to develop products and services that matches the various requirements to make sure that they are offered at the right price, in the right place and, in the case of profit. c) Measuring Customers Satisfaction: Customer service is a constant process to strive to be as successful as possible in satisfying customer needs. The product and services will need careful monitoring and adjustment to meet any changes that the customers are demanding. SALT scores (Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking Survey) must me maintained as they use this technique to measure customers satisfaction level. d) Developing Internal System: Hilton Hotel need to give attention to the needs of the internal customers i,e the staffs working for the Brassiere Restaurant. Mechanism to improve internal communications, including regular meetings, social events and staff newsletters, are all part of improving the overall level of service to the customers. e) Staff Training: Training in excellent customer service skills is vital for all staffs in Brassiere Restaurant, not just those whose work brings them into daily contact with customers. Staffs working behind the scenes, like Back area, main kitchen, and the stewarding etc need to appreciate that they too have an important role to play in keeping the customers happy and satisfied. Benefits of Excellent Customer Service to Hiltons Brassiere Restaurant: Excellent customer service not only brings benefits to the customers, but also to the Restaurant and of course to the hotel. Staffs working in the Brassiere Restaurant will also reap rewards, recognition, with increased job satisfaction and star points ( a system of rewarding followed in Hilton when a Guest comments good about an individual). The main benefit to the Brassiere Restaurant Department on delivering quality customer service is shown in the figure below; Reason for Poor Customer Service: Providing excellent and quality customer service is highly a skilled task requiring motivation, effort and commitment from the staff involved in the operation of Brassiere and support from the supervisors and the manager. However even the most experienced staff can have bad days! There are various reasons why the performance level of the staff deployed in the operation of Brassiere falls down. Four of the most common are as follows; Lack of commitment: Insufficient Knowledge about the product and the service. Poor communication level. Lack of proper training. What can management do to demolish these factors? a) Discover any underlying problems that are causing the lack of commitment. b) Arrange staff training session to help deal with the problems. c) Provide a supportive environment in which the staff can flourish. d) Involve all staff in customer service improvement. Quality Customer Service: There have been quantum changes in the attitudes towards quality customer service in Hiltons outlet Brassiere in the recent years. An organisation that delivers consistent good and quality service is usually seen as being Quality Company. Indeed, quality has many parallels with the customer service, a

Impact of Global Forces and Complex Interdependencies

Impact of Global Forces and Complex Interdependencies Impact of Global Forces and Complex Interdependencies on the Modern State System In Distant Proximities: Dynamics Beyond Globalization, Rosenau argues that the world is a rapidly undergoing an epochal transformation. Part of this random transformation is the relentless scientific and technological advancements which have resulted in a collapsed time and distance. Consequently, this has altered the dimensions of the political space. In addition, Rosenau provides a detailed and multifaceted analysis of the complexities of globalization as opposed to the ever-shrinking world of uncertainty, contradictions, and change. In his analysis, Rosenau traces the links which indicate the interactions between people at the individual level and institutions such as states, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations. In addition, the emerging new realities at the global level has contributed to people increasingly pervading the routines of life at home and opt for distant proximities. Rosenau distinguishes between local, global and private worlds through their inhabitants orientations towards developments elsewhere. He also analyzes how the residents of these worlds shape and are also shaped by the diverse collectivities of the global stage. The local worlds such as the state level of governance are undergoing an enormous transformation which is leading to a decline (Rosenau 79). However, it is still not possible to draw clear-cut lines between the local and the global worlds because they both embrace the concepts of mental constructs as well as geographical spaces hence not easy to delineate unmistakable boundaries that separate various types of local worlds (Rosenau 80). Similarly, Rosenau states that there are at least four global worlds which are totally different from one another. As opposed to the local worlds, the global worlds are populated by individuals who share the tendencies to think and act on a scale exceeding the local context. However, the global worlds are differentiated by the ways in which the large scale is conceived (Rosenau 118). Three of the four worlds is populated by the Affirmative Globals, elites activists and persons whose thoughts and actions are worldwide in scale. In addition, the people are not bound by the territorial boundaries. However, there is one global world which is resistant and it is no less worldwide in scale in terms of orientation. Rosenau also suggests that the Specialized Globals are the persons whose territorial orientation are not bounded locally. However, they are only oriented towards limited issues on the global agenda. Rosenau further asserts that states as local worlds cannot alone suffice to achieve a benign globalization. However, he is quick to note that through enhanced local worlds, it is easier to achieve environmental protection, global social equity, large scale bureaucracy and undemocratic tendencies at the global level. The introduction of global democracy through the existing state-wide systems is not innovative according to Rosenau. The reason is because the practice of adhering to the traditional modes of international relations through multinational treaties among nations results to difficulties in terms of enforcement. According to Rosenau,   states cannot be forced to bind themselves and neither can binding treaties be forced absolutely. Therefore, since the world is taking a global perspective in terms of economies and governance, the state system is slowly crumbling hence rendering the realist paradigm obsolete. In the first three chapters of the book, Rosenau outlines the crux of his theory in terms of world affairs. According to his theory, the emergent epoch in globalization is characterized by the fact that no events are truly remote or irrelevant (Rosenau 3). According to him, even the most seemingly localized happenings usually have far-reaching consequences to other people regardless of their locations. In addition, the contemporary world is highly fragmented which implies a perversive interaction between both the fragmenting and the integrating dynamics which are unfolding at every level of the community (Rosenau 11). The author also undertakes a comparison between the past state of events before and after globalization. According to him, the macrostructures such as the governments and corporations are less central and historical currently than they used to be before the age of globalization. Unlike in the past when state system was common, individuals have become more involved with the course of events. Therefore, a primary reason why the state system is breaking down is because it was more concerned with the macro structures. On the contrary, the global forces of complex interdependencies are rapidly emerging because it is not only based on the actions and motives of the collectives, but also to the micro-macro interactions between the individual people and the institutions representing them (Rosenau 25). Under fragmentation, Rosenau describes four major trends which describe the current fragmenting and interacting forces. The first trend evident in the modern world is skill revolution whereby the pace at which individuals are acquiring skills has expanded at a faster rate compared to the previous epoch (Rosenau 233). The second trend which is hampering the state system while promoting globalization is the modern technological advancement and concurrent information revolution leading to a rapid exchange of the same (Rosenau 256). The last two major developments which have supported fragmentation include the attenuation of the traditional authority structures such as governments and replacement of the same by new, more flexible spheres of authority such as nongovernmental actors. The new development has shifted the linear into the nonlinear and the sequential into the simultaneous (Rosenau 262). Rosenau also applies his theoretical framework on globalization in four main global issues including corruption, human rights, quality of governance and poverty. He categorically outlines the changes that have been experienced in human right protection in terms of the four fragmegrative dynamics. Among the major issues analyzed include the tension between the national sovereignty and individual liberties. Also, the author discusses the human right issues related to civil versus social and economic rights. As opposed to the state system which has a reputation for denying individual rights depending on the constitution and the form of government in charge, the global system is more open to various aspects of human rights. In addition, the global system counterchecks the rights of individuals on a global scale hence deriving the existing differences between various systems. The book also discuss various ways in which the people experience fragmentation in the current global system. According to Rosenau, people are more concerned about populating any of the twelve worlds which correspond to a predominant perspective of life. Based on this perspective, people are likely to arrange their priorities in consistent with the available opportunities, the values they hold dear, the goals they aspire, the horizons viewed as salient and the threats conceived as serious (Rosenau 41). This provides the ultimate difference between the state and the global system which Rosenau names as the local and the global worlds. According to him, people think and act on a scale which exceeds the local context (Rosenau 118). The four private worlds which are neither local nor global worlds include the Tuned-Out Passives, the Cynics, the Illegals and the Circumstantial Passives (Rosenau 154). Using the twelve world model, Rosenau has created an innovative method of contemplating a bout globalization both at the state and at the individual level. In the global level, the society and its people are increasingly becoming interdependent. Consequently, its situations and conflicts are also becoming complex. These complexities are proving extremely difficult to address using the long-standing norms (Rosenau 205). Some of the complexities of the global system which are are increasingly paralyzing the state system include the expanded war on terrorism, the effort of the International Criminal Court to prosecute foreign heads of state accused of crimes against humanity and cyber terrorism. Although Rosenau emphasizes the need to reflect on the past recorded processes of observation, it is also critical to select out some circumstances as important and dismissing others as trivial. Another impact of globalization outlined by Rosenau is on the structures of authority. According to him, most of the authority structures in various parts of the world have become overtaken by crises as a result of dynamics of fragmegration (Rosenau 273). Most of the state systems are vulnerable to global crises requiring a wider range of solutions beyond the territorial boundaries. In addition, it is important to move meaningfully beyond globalization in the transformation of   structures, institutions and processes which are key to the sustenance of the modern economic, political and social life (Rosenau 274). Although Rosenau makes critical arguments in the book, there are several shortcomings with his theories on globalization. For instance, the concepts of distant proximities, micro-macro interactions which he describes at the books postscript are so obvious. Secondly, he does not back some his contentious claims with adequate evidence such as historical comparisons. This makes his theoretical constructs null and void. In addition, Rosenau fails to take a position consistently on most of his argument especially on the matters of the importance of dichotomies in his theoretical constructs. However, he provides an alternative and unique angle through which globalization can be studied and its influence on the current state system clearly seen. Work Cited Rosenau, James N. Distant proximities: dynamics beyond globalization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2003.