Gap Year After Graduation Essay Example for Free

Gap Year After Graduation Essay Nowadays, students leaving high school regularly travel, do voluntary work or a job in a gap year before going on to higher education. Undoubtedly, students occupy various benefits from experiments in gap year. It is apparent that after rigorous terms, a gap year which students possibly travel, volunteer society or do temporary work before deciding to join in higher education stimulates positively their practical and adaptive capability. Initially, those dynamic activities possibly enhance empirical ability of youngsters who passively acquire knowledge during high school. In evidence, learners feasibly comprehend miracles of foreign languages when they practice experimentally via travelling or voluntary work in abroad. More significantly, not only can a gap year improves practical ability but also enhances communication skill through youngster’s real factual experiences. Only by adapting to a changeable and flexible environment can students expend their personal skill and learn how to communicate effectively. Accordingly, a period time which students perform them after high school period effects advantageously to their practical and soft skill. That the young experience in gap year is not only a principal platforms which help them choose higher education form but also a chance to become more mature. A gap year with profound considerations cumulated by real experiments justifies what kind of higher education they are advisedly appropriate for. The young who are able to apply into universities and passionate studying advanced knowledge identify accurately their choice. Nevertheless, others who are appropriate for practicing in actual life also ascertain that their selection is vocation. Additionally, facing to challenge of real life leads them to be awareness profoundly of the changing world. Hardly can the young be mature when they always are protected carefully by parents and are not responsible for themselves. Briefly, a gap year is precious chances which support the young identify what they real want. Therefore, challenge in real life which students pass in a gap year is also valuable experiments for developing in the future.

Unregistered Trade Marks Of Hong Leong Bank Bhd Marketing Essay

Unregistered Trade Marks Of Hong Leong Bank Bhd Marketing Essay Disclaimer: The trade marks, service marks, and logos (the Trade Marks) of Hong Leong Bank Bhd used and displayed in this paper are registered and/or unregistered Trade Marks of Hong Leong Bank Bhd and respective groups. Nothing on this paper should be construed as granting, by implication, or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trade Mark displayed on this paper, without the written permission of the respective authority. Views expressed in this report are those of the author. Table of Contents About Hong Leong 4 Industry Analysis 4 Why Porters 5 Model 4 Limitations of Porters Model 6 Strategic Capability Analysis 6 3.1 Stakeholders 7 3.2 SWOT Analysis 7 3.2.1 Why SWOT Analysis 7 3.2.2 Hong Leong Bank SWOT Analysis 7 3.3.3 Limitations of SWOT Analysis 9 Strategic Choices 9 4.1 Strategic Choices 9 4.1.1 Why Porters Generic Strategy 9 4.2 Strategic Direction 10 4.2.1 Why Ansoff Matrix 10 4.3 Method for Pursuing Strategic Direction 12 4.4 Implication and Evaluation of Analysis 12 Justification of a Strategy 13 5.1 McKinsey Growth Pyramid 13 Conclusion 15 References 16 Abbreviations HLB Hong Leong Bank PIN Personal Identification Number SMS Short Messaging Service SME Small and Medium Enterprise RM Ringgit Malaysia SMI Small and Medium Industry ISO International Standard Organization BNM Bank Negara Malaysia ATM Automated Teller Machine About Hong Leong Bank Hong Leong Bank Berhad was found by Ji Chiew. The bank starts operations in 1905 in Kuching, Sarawak. In 1 January 1982, the Head Office relocated from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur. The consolidation of banking institution to meet the requirement of Bank Negara Malaysia marks another milestone for Hong Leong Bank Berhad. Hong Leong Bank Berhad was listed on Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange on 17 October 1994. The market capitalization as of recent days is RM 470 million, according to bank website. Hong Leong Bank has diversified the businesses into financial services, manufacturing, and property and infrastructure development. The services available are personal financial services such as credit cards, investment, loan, deposits, insurance, priority banking, personal banking and Hong Leong Club Rewards for customer loyalty (Hong Leong Bank, 2009). Industry Analysis 2.1 Why Porters 5 models Porters model determines the competitiveness of an organization using the five different forces and shows how the forces are related. To develop business strategies effectively, organizations must understand and act in response to those forces. (Porter, 1985) (Fornell and Wernerfelt, 1987) Rivalry Among Existing Competitors There are 37 banks, which are recognized and licensed to operate in Malaysia and more financial institution are opening soon. The trend of increment of the number of banks within the industry is fast and there are great challenges for HLB to create and maintain a good market share. Other banks are seems to be more aggressive to get and retain customers. This force is not in favor of Hong Leong Bank. (BNM, 2009) Threat of Substitute Products and Services Even though there are many financial institutions available, some unique facilities can only be obtained from the bank only. American Express facilities, co-branded products (e.g. MTV), higher interest rate, club rewards, junior/senior savings, overdraft are the few products which only available to this bank. Thus this force is in favor to the bank. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) (BNM, 2009) Bargaining Power of Buyers Having the whole range of financial players apart from the retail banks, it is evident that customers can move within the 40 operators and can also decide to switch to the other non-banking institutions. Their choice can even extend to the insurance companies, depending on the nature of the product. For instance if a customer is looking for a small amount of loan, he/she can even get the said product from organizations like AEON, etc. The close location of various banks is also giving customer a very high bargaining power too. For instance in a location of Puchong Jaya, along the street of Jalan Kenari it is easy to find at least 9 banks within 100 meters Maybank, Public Bank, Eon Bank, CIMB Bank, HSBC, Alliance Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional, UOB. With this concentration the bargaining of customers always goes high before customers start looking on a differentiated service. For the said bank, this is absolutely a negative favor since the potential customers can shift easily to differ ent point. (BNM, 2009) Bargaining Power of Suppliers The core business of the Hong Leong Bank is product and services which mainly focuses on safety of monetary management. The suppliers provide some tangibles like checkbooks, lockers, private banking, priority banking. The impact of these in HLB is not much significant since they are not really like the raw material. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) Threat of New Entrants The Bank Negara Malaysia has set a minimum capital requirement of RM5 billion for a bank to be registered. The conditions set for registering a bank are not difficult to obtain, hence entry barriers become low. Thus more foreign owned financial firms are keen to open their business in Malaysia. Certainly these institutions will pose threat on existing banking business as theyll have unique products and services. This force is not in favor of Hong Leong Bank. . (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) From the above analysis of HLB 5 forces analysis, the diagram below will provide a summary of the banks overall industry analysis. Threat of New Entrants (-) Threat of Substitute Products and Services (+) Bargaining Power of Buyers (-) Rivalry among existing competitors (-) Bargaining Power of Buyers (+) 2.2 Limitations of the Porters Model Porters 5 force analysis talks about the external forces applicable to the outside of business. Todays business is much more vast and robust requiring dynamic approaches which should be an integration of different approaches rather than depends on a single analysis. Internal factor analysis requires much analysis as external. Designing, visioning and learning approaches should be considered when an industry analysis is done. Proters 5 forces are lack of these factors. (Porter, 1985) (Gronroos, 1997) Strategic Capability Analysis 3.1 Stakeholders Stakeholder Analysis identifies important groups of people or individuals that can have an influence on the Project. These Stakeholders can have their own objectives and views, which may differ and conflict with other Stakeholders. A Stakeholder Analysis is required to identify all the parties who are directly or indirectly affected by the enterprises operations. This includes not only the traditional shareholders, but also some new groups that the insights of sustainable development tell us must be consulted in decisions that affect them. (Roberts, Varki, and Brodie, 2003) (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990) In an organization, internal stakeholder is the employees or people who work inside the organization. External stakeholders exist outside the organization but have a direct interest in what it does (e.g. shareholders, governments, customers) etc. (Roberts, Varki, and Brodie, 2003) 3.2 SWOT Analysis 3.2.1 Why SWOT Analysis? SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. (Spreng and Chiou, 2002) In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors and opportunities and threats are external factors. 3.2.2 Hong Leong Bank SWOT Analysis Strength Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB) principal activity is providing consumer-banking services including credit cards, investment, mortgage, deposits, insurance and priority banking. Other activities include business banking, trade financing, working capital facilities, treasury, foreign exchange, money market operations, capital market securities trading, investment, and takaful business. It has been recognized as one of the most profitable bank in Malaysia. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) It has 186 branches, 17 business centers with talented and motivated employees throughout Malaysia making it one of the most widened banking sectors in Malaysia. Their first award year 2004, an acknowledgement for their active participation in spurring the growth of the SMEs in the country. This award certainly spur Hong Leongs strength to bring more value added financial services to customers and the SMI community and to help them face the extremely challenging and competitive business environment both locally and globally. Launched in October 2005; the Hong Leong Mobile Credit Card is the first of its kind, allowing customers who are provided with a six-digit personal identification number (PIN) to pay for goods and services using mobile phones via short messaging service (SMS). This offering is the result of Hong Leong Bank tie-up with technology provider Mobile Money International Sdn. Bhd. This unique method of payment, known as Mobile Money is speedy, convenient and cost effective. Using only the mobile phone for approval of transactions and payments, there is no longer a need for the physical plastic card, merchant terminals or Internet terminals. Payment requests are delivered via SMS. There is no need for card members to be present at the point of sales or at the merchant outlets. Payments can therefore be made from wherever card members are, at whichever place where there are mobile phone signals. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) In 2007, Hong Leong Bank bagged the Asian Bankers Best e-Banking Project 2007 with its Internet banking offering, Hong Leong Online. The award recognizes the best emerging technology practices and benchmarks in Asia Pacific banks. Apart from the Asian Banker award, Hong Leong has also been ranked as the third most popular Malaysian online banking site. Online banking transactions helped the bank save about RM24mil from March to October 2007 as each online transaction cost about 20% compared with about RM3.50 for every over-the-counter transaction. Weakness In line with its strong customer service culture, the HLB continues to maintain its superior delivery standards which have been behind against international ISO standards. HLB is yet attained bank-wide ISO 9001:2000 certifications for customer service at the front office of its branches and bank-wide loan delivery service. This is a major drawback for the HLB to have a better customer base. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) As to compete in the industry of banking, interest rate is a major challenge as customer will choose for a higher interest rate for savings account and for the lowest interest rate for the loans that the customers are seeking for their financial assistances and better service for the customer. Hong Leong Bank needs to change according to the environment as to compete and remain as the market leader. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) As Hong Leong Bank has moved ahead to the Electronic banking or transaction there is greater risk or security threats circulated to the users of online banking or transaction. There are non technical threats such as phising whereby it is the act of tricking someone into giving them confidential information or tricking them into doing something that they normally wouldnt do. The common applications of this approach is to send fake emails (email spoofing) to a victim purporting to come from a legitimate source and requesting information (such as the bank account number and the password) or directing the victim to a fake internet website where this information can be captured. Opportunities The bank may recruit young and talented staffs and provide them proper training to create a talent base as well as provide job to those who are in need. This may also reduces the unemployment rates in Malaysia. This talent base is able to adopt with internal formation and usually stay with the bank until the end. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) As the banking industry grows and provides opportunities for the local customers indirectly it also given an opportunity to the foreigners who stays in Malaysia. They tend to use banking services more frequently to have different types of account. This additional customer base will bring more money inside the bank and of course banks will gain profit from various types of transactions. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) Bringing the bank closer to the consumer could be the vital opportunity. Providing a payment gateway where ATM card could be used as like a credit card for everyday usages. Since these customers will use won money, bank may encourage them to save more to get more benefits. Establishing more ATM and branches and electronic features (e.g Western Union money transfer) will definitely bring more customers in. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) Threats Ease of distributing credit card could be a disturbing role the bank is playing. While credit card repayments are depends fully on customer payment, if it is not paid, bank has to go long way. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) The bank is not really in forefront position to introduce new products and service as market demand changes. It if often seen that the bank introduces the products in different name when the service is already available in the market by other bank. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) 3.2.3 Limitations of SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis usually very subjective. It simply looks at the negative factors first in order to turn them into positive factors. So it is advisable to use SWOT as guide and not as prescription. (Spreng and Chiou, 2002) Strategic Choices 4.1 Generic Strategy 4.1.1 Why Porters Generic Strategy Generic strategies are widely used today even though it was invented in 1980s. Three options are available for organizations to adopt to achieve sustainability which are cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Each of the three options are considered in two aspects of the competitive environment: (i) Competitive advantage talks about the prices (high or low) of the products, (ii) Competitive scope talks about the market size (narrow or broad). (Porter, 1985) (Chen, 1999) (Sanzo et al, 2003) Overall Cost Leadership The low cost products are the product leader in the market. It may also included the time required to built and delivery the products to customers. As it is mentioned earlier, using online banking, it would help the bank as well as customers to save more. Developing and maintaining online business is not low-priced itself. Yet it could provide vital thumbs-up to banks generic strategy. If more customers opt for online transactions, bank wouldnt have to spent time on serving customer physically thus itll requires less resources (e.g. less branch, less employees). These less resources will push ahead the bank with extra finance to improve other services. (Harris and Goode, 2004) (Sanzo et al, 2003) Differentiation Differentiated goods and services are designed to satisfy the customers with the lowest price/cost available for similar kind of products. HLB Flexi FD is a fixed deposit product which gives higher interest rate to the customer. Thus the bank will be in risk of loosing money. So it has to bring and retain much customer to cover the loss. The loss must be cover to be competitive. Since banking industry changes rapidly, HLB will have to customize the products and services over times to hold ensure customer satisfaction. (Dannenberg and Kellner, 1998) (Jones, Mothersbaugh, and Beatty, 2000) Focus In focus an organization can afford neither a wide scope cost leadership nor does a wide scope differentiation strategy, Here an organization focus effort and resources on a narrow segment of a market. Competitive advantage is generated specifically for the niche. A company has two options to choose: use either a cost focus or a differentiation focus. Taken example of HLB structured investments. Invested amounts are 3rd-party transactions and bank itself doesnt provide any guarantee of returns of money to the customer. In this segment, HLB is a low profile character. Even though bank is charging some commission on the investments, customers who are willing to invest are to do so at own risk. (Jarvelin and Lehtinen, 1996) (Evans and Beltramini, 1987) 4.2 Strategic Directions 4.2.1 Why Ansoff Matrix The Ansoff Growth matrix is a strategic direction tool that helps businesses decides their strategies for growth. Ansoffs product/market growth matrix discuss about the strategies on which the business deliver new or current products in new or current markets. Overall output of Ansoff product/market matrix is sets of strategies that set the direction for the business growth. (Auh et al, 2007) (Sanzo et al, 2003) These are described below: Market penetration Market penetration is a general name of selling current products into current markets. The bank continuously introduces loan and credit products to customers to leap ahead. Since the banks most incomes come from loan and credit facility, reshape of current products will ensure market growth and increase of usages by existing customers. Market penetration for HLB will be focused on the central markets that it is very familiar with, competitors are known, customer needs are defined and returns are potential. (Gustafsson, Johnson, and Roos, 2005) (Agrawal, 2001) http://strategyiseverywhere.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/ansoff_matrix.png Market development Market development tells about the distribution of current products in new market. With its existing banking facilities, the bank introduces private banking for the customers who loves personal banking. For everyday needs of banking, investment, loan, protection a dedicated personal banker is always there to serve the individual customer to fill their needs. These personal banking is nothing different than existing policies; focus goes to its loyal customers which puts big amount inside the bank. (Dannenberg and Kellner, 1998) (Filotto, Tanzi, and Saita, 1997) Product development Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. Saving multiplier plans is recently introduced by the bank. Hong Leong Savings Multiplier Plan is a unique investment tool that utilizes the powerful concept of Dollar-Cost-Averaging and offers a customized solution to tackle the distinct financial challenges throughout different life stages be it to secure a comfortable retirement or to ensure a steady flow of pension-like funds or for putting aside adequate funds even for childrens education. Islamic banking is another example of product development. (Metawa and Almossawi, 1998) (Haron, Ahmad and Planisek, 1994). Diversification Diversification is the growth strategy where new products are to be delivered in new market. This strategy is more risky for business growth as often business takes longer time to survive in a new market. HLB recently spread their business in Vietnam. Since Vietnamese culture differs from Malaysia, the bank has to adopt the culture as well as compete with well established Vietnamese banks. (Shankar, Smith, and Rangaswamy, 2003) (Evans and Beltramini, 1987) 4.3 Method for Pursuing Strategic Direction Forward Looking Policy Monetary policy management needs a forward-looking policy due to the time gap between policy actions and their intended effects on output and inflation. HLB built a macro model which would determine the impact of policy actions. Understanding the microeconomic factors are important too determine the inter-linkage of monetary policy mechanism. (Fornell and Wernerfelt, 1987) Deepening of Financial Markets New financial products are traded in the Money/Bonds market by the introduction of Hong Leong Banks Debt Capital Markets Structured Finance (DCM/Structured Finance) unit within Wholesale Banking provides innovative tailor-made solutions to financial institutions, corporate, agencies and high net-worth individuals through comprehensive offerings in the debt capital markets. (Dannenberg and Kellner, 1998) Strong Foreign Currency Reserve Foreign exchange reserves form part of the national assets and these needs to be deployed rationally keeping in mind the principles of safety, liquidity, and return. The reserves, which are currently deployed by the HLBs in-house reserve management treasury dealers, are in short-term high quality bank deposits. (Naser, Jamal, and Al-Khatib, 1999) Reliable and Secured Payment Systems To reduce the settlement time significantly and increase cost effectiveness the bank plans to establish an electronic clearinghouse to do almost every transactions online with tighten security and handy usability. Opening an account, apply for credit cards are already in place. The bank further steps in mobile banking for dedicated user. Recently the bank introduces e-broker services (HLeBroking). HLeBroking allows the flexibility of placing orders either through a phone call to our trading hub or via the internet. Professional dealers centralized in the hub are always on hand to execute transactions and monitor shares investment portfolio. (Shankar, Smith, and Rangaswamy, 2003) (Harris and Goode, 2004) 4.4 Implication and Evaluation of Analysis During this analysis it was assumed that strategies are reasonably orderly and knowable and, in turn, that evidence can help to evaluate theories that claim to explain these strategic positions. Data and information often founded confusing and imperfect. It seems almost certain that no single study can validate or invalidate a theory. Besides, there is a good chance that a large number of studies will not generate consistent results. (Agrawal, 2001) The methodology were used in analysis is not about developing a foolproof system; it is at least partly an art. There is no mechanical system that will escape judgment, sense, and intelligence. But this does not eliminate the need for techniques and standards. Product delivery approaches, geography, demography does plays role in strategic position which were missing in the analysis done. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) The strategic planning process adopted by HLB was participative, consultative and result oriented. But the takes time to achieve results. While some important factors the bank missed out during strategic choices, individual departments must do their respective environmental scans through a SWOT analysis whereby they identified their internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the external opportunities and threats. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) Business trends changes randomly. Todays product may not be available tomorrow. Thus no strategic plan could be exactly fit into business strategy. However, HLB could consider a more diversified strategy which would be more beneficial to determine strategic stand. Justification of a Strategy As the strategic position and strategic choices are different from the matrix analysis, a better strategic growth model is optimal solution. 5.1 McKinsey Growth Pyramid McKinsey growth pyramid is an upgraded version of Ansoff Matrix with broader discussing of important strategic factors. With every possible action there are certain alternatives (e.g. acquisition, joint ventures, alliances etc) with risk measurement from low to high. Existing products to existing customers This is considered lowest risk options go on businesses with current asset and current customer. But itll not be much beneficial for bank in long terms. Existing products to new customers Introduce existing products to new customer which may help them meet their daily financial needs so that they dont look for other financial choices. Consumers always look for much return while bank always looks for low give-away. New customers can be a turning point for any bank. Demographical (e.g. adult, children, senior) products would be vital products to attract new customers. (Harris and Goode, 2004) New products and services Over time, new products must be channeled into banking business. Broader distribution if Islamic banking could be a important factor. It is seen that many nom-Muslims adopted for Islamic banking. Since there is trend of Islamic banking growth, the bank should not take the risk to risk the potential customers due to lack of proper preparation. Some of the products may be delivered to existing customers. Risk may incur if the products doesnt appeal the customers. (El-Bdour and Erol, 1989) (Gerrad and Cunningham, 1997) New delivery approaches Todays consumer seek more convenient service provider. Banks are not exempted indeed. Many banks had adopted special facilities for different customers. Priority banking could be one solution. In priority banking everyone is unique and therefore has very specific financial needs. Thats why bank will offer a comprehensive range of privileges for convenience. Setting up special services only for young generation can be another important product delivery approaches. Dedicated services will invite more young generation to adopt the services. However, it could cost the bank some extra amount and if the products are not selling well, bank will face loss of resources. (Yoon, Guffey, and Kijewski, 1993) (Mols, 2001) http://www.filecluster.com/screenshots/61893.gif New geographies Geographical expansion is one of the most powerful options for growth but also one of the most difficult. The bank already went global opening branches in Singapore and Vietnam. This strategy is proven fine for well reputed bank (e.g. Citibank) but it has to be cautious in business. Geographical movement may bring new customers with solid financial needs but the bank has narrow down the scope of services due to high risk. (Sanzo et al, 2003) New industry structure The bank may re-assert the liquidity franchise and continue to address the yield challenge. While economics of the business have changed, unlike other countries, pricing and credit spreads did not adjust in tandem in the Malaysia. The quality of strategic asset-liability management, liquidity and capital management differentiates. Re-asserting core businesses with efficiency, unit cost management, operating leverage, dynamic pricing as well as customer value or returns on each customer relationship. Cross-selling and customer service are key success factors. (Agrawal, 2001) New competitive arenas Using competitive arena, business may transfer their resources and knowledge to new industry using vertical integration. This may pose immense risk to bank itself. Bank may loose it all investment. Despite the risk, this will help the bank grows rapidly and spread their products throw many distribution channels. (Gronroos, 1997) Conclusion The pre- and post-crisis strategic postures are a tale of worldwide economic fall down. The postures are characterized by the scaling up of the business, refining value propositions in each business, responding to competition and price war, building new capabilities and strengthening the risk and IT infrastructure as the bank sought to incrementally improve our market share and positioning. (Hong Leong Bank, 2009) (Gustafsson, Johnson, and Roos, 2005) The era ahead is more opportunistic in nature, with a rapidly changing eco-system and higher regulatory and prudential requirements. The shadow of the state on the sector globally is more pronounced. (Auh et al, 2007) Overall, the banks competitive strategy has to pivot on a competitive delivery, consisting of quality people, knowledge base and result oriented capability, market intelligence and local community embedment, entrepreneurialism and how it organize itself to scale and build new names. As it emerges from the crisis, it needs to re-segment the customers to market changes and re-build a compelling proposition on how to scale sustainability while staying opportunistic tactically. (Auh et al, 2007) References Auh, S., Bell, S.J., McLeod, C.S., Shih, E. (2007), Co-production and customer loyalty in financial services, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 88 No.3, pp.359-70. Fombrun, C., Shanley, M. (1990), Whats in a name? Reputation building and corporate strategy, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 33 No.2, pp.233-48. Gustafsson, A., Johnson, M., Roos, I. (2005), The effects of consumer satisfaction, relationship commitment dimensions, and triggers on consumer retention, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 69 No.4, pp.210-18. Harris, L.C., Goode, M.M.H. (2004), The four levels of loyalty and the pivotal role of trust: a study of online services dynamics, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 80 pp.139-58 Roberts, K., Varki, S., Brodie, R. (2003), Measuring the quality of relationships in consumer services: an empirical study, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37 No.1-2, pp.169-96. Sanzo, M.J., Santos, M.L., Và ¡zquez, R., à lvarez, L.I. (2003), The effect of market orientation on buyer-seller relationship satisfaction, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 32 No.4, pp.327-45. Shankar, V., Smith, A., Rangaswamy, A. (2003), Customer satisfaction and loyalty in online and offline environments, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 20 pp.153-75. Spreng, R.A., Chiou, J. (2002), A cross-cultural assessment of the satisfaction formation process, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 36 No.7-8, pp.829-39. Yoon, E., Guffey, H.G., Kijewski, V. (1993), The effects of information and company reputation on intentions to buy a business service, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 27 pp.215-28. Porter, M E. (1985) Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York: The Free Press. Gronroos, C., (1997) Value-driven Relations Marketing: From Products to Resources and Competencies. Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 13, Number 5, p. 407-419. Agrawal, P. (2001), The relation between savings and growth: co-integration and causality evidence from Asia, Applied Economics, Vol. 33, pp. 499-513. Chen, T.Y. (1999), Critical success factors for various strategies in the banking industry, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 83-91. Dannenberg, M. and Kellner, D. (1998), The bank of tomorrow with todays technology, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 90-7. Filotto, U., Tanzi, P.M. and Saita, F. (1997), Consumer needs and front-office technology adoption, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 13-21. Mols, N.P. (2001), Organising for the effective introduction of new distribution channels in retail banking, Europ

Global Interdependence Essay -- Geopolitics, Globalism

As technology of the past gives way to the technology of the future, the world is becoming a smaller and smaller place. In economic terms, Global Interdependence is increasing as time goes on. In other words, we as the United States, as well as other countries, rely on each other for the three factors of production, Land, Labor and Capital. As noted in Thomas L. Freidman’s book, The World is Flat, there are several instances in which the Global Interdependence started. For example, the introduction of the Internet created a common forum in which people could connect to each other instantly was revolutionary in the interdependence process. In addition, the Global Interdependence Center, located in Philadelphia, PA is a non-profit organization that has a global goal. According to the GIC their mission is to â€Å"encourage the expansion of global dialogue and free trade in order to improve cooperation and understanding among nation states, with the goal of reducing internation al conflicts and improving worldwide living standards.† The American Economic system has become closely linked to foreign economies through global interdependence by the rise of new technologies, methods of communications and transportations that break down barriers that previously could not have been broken. This is shown in our relationships with countries and organizations such as China, The European Union, and OPEC. As Globalization increases, countries become more reliant on each other for resources such as oil. Oil, nicknamed â€Å"Black Gold,† has become one of the most valuable resources in the world. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the United States of America is the largest consumer of oil in the world, devouring a whopping 19,150,000 b... ...ds and it would help us make a firmer footprint in history. Works Cited Thomas L. Friedman, The World Is Flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, 1st updated and expanded ed. (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006), page nr. http://www.interdependence.org/about/overview-mission/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2174rank.html http://www.cnbc.com/id/41887743/The_World_s_15_Biggest_Oil_Producers?slide=16 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/data_graphs/330.htm http://recession.org/history/1970s-oil-crisis http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/wto_dg_stat_e.htm http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact2_e.htm http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact2_e.htm#nondiscrimination

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  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dark energy what is it? Dark energy is a unknown energy said to take up 70 percent of the universe. The energy is a repulsive gravitational effect that is causing the universe to accelerate out-ward. No one knows exactly what dark energy is or where it comes from.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dark Energy is a new idea. Little is known about dark energy, yet it takes up a huge amount if the universe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scientist were able to show the universe was expanding at an accelerated rate by measuring the red-shift of an object by comparing the spectral lines of the elements and the spectral lines of the same elements measured in a lab. The more distant the objects that emit light the brighter the spectral lines. In 1998 scientist observed that the supernovas are becoming dimmer, which means they are getting closer instead of farther away. They were able to show that dark energy has an influence on light particles and photons. When a photon passes a galaxy it falls into the gravitational pull, and the dark energy because it repulses gravity makes the photon pass right through the galaxy with even more energy than when it entered. These findings make dark energy completely independent of the supernova observations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Astronomers have found the first direct evidence of dark energy in the afterglow of the Big Bang, the radiation caused by the Big Bang called cosmic microwave background (CMB). The cosmi...

The impacts of Elvis Presley

The impacts of Elvis Presley can be divided into several groups. Firstly is the impact in terms of the amount of sales that he made. He made 6 hit singles, at the time he had only been going for 10 months. This is more that any artist would hope to get in their whole career. His popularity among the younger generations also helps to see the impact the he has made, someone noticed that there was a market for music aimed towards younger generations, so they set out looking for someone; this meant that he had no competition when he was released onto the market. Because of this the impact seemed a lot greater, there had never been anything like it. Among adults there was also outrage because it went against everything that they believed to be right and good. The outrage meant that it must be cool to like him so his popularity grew. He also had a long term impact in that it wasn't just the music. You could get toys and films, records and books. All of this added to the impact of him on U. S society. The next thing to consider is whether it was down to his music. Whatever anyone says it was clear that he had amazing talent; this doesn't mean that everyone liked him but everyone acknowledged that it had its place. He was deemed â€Å"A white man that can sing like a black man†, he was something different and in this time there was no one else like him. The amount of sales from his records also helps to give evidence supporting this. He made it to number to in the company's charts in a very short time shows how effective his music was. His unique dancing style meant that people were attracted to him. If they didn't like him they still watched to see what all of the commotion was about. The fact that he appealed to the younger generations was the main reason for his success. The media, in particular the TV meant that he was always in the public eye. When he went onto the Milton Berle show for the first time they managed to knock Sergeant Bilko off of the top ratings. Everyone watched because the children liked him and the adults just had to see this controversy. The fact that he was followed all through his service in the army meant that he was given allot of credit. They saw his every move and everything he did. This built a lot of credit for him even amongst the adults. Then when he left the army he went straight into a TV special with Frank Sinatra. This meant that he had never really left the public eye, because he was still popular enough to do TV specials. There are other things that helped though; firstly there was a huge gap in the market where teenagers were concerned. This meant that there were many opportunities to offer something for the teenagers and because there was nothing else there would be no competition. They also had a greater chance of any bands released for the teenagers being liked. Marketing also played a big role in his impact on society. The amount of money that went into selling him was incredible. Everywhere that a teenager went there was something to remind you of the â€Å"King† Posters, billboards and TV's shop windows. A third thing that would have helped his impact is the wealth of the US. After World War 2 they were the only country to make it out with a profit. Teenagers as a result were able to spend à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7billion a year on clothes and records. This meant that there was allot of money available to spend. If people have this much money to waste as a country, the normal thing to do is spend it on something fashionable. The final thing that helped him to become so popular is the films that he stared in. There were so many of them and so many people went to see them, even if he was the worst actor ever and the plots were all the same. This meant that for the first time ever there were films specifically directed at the younger generation, adults didn't approve so the most sensible thing to do was to go and see it, if only to annoy the adults. So all in all there are there are many reasons why his impact on society was so great. I think that it can best be described as a combination of things. His films and TV specials all help towards making him popular, but I think that the thing to remember is people ultimately know him for his music. This is why I believe that his impact on society was so great. If you think about all of the other things, they only came because of the music, he was only found because he could sing.

Health Promotion & Alcohol

The majority (31%) of deaths from alcoholic liver disease were among those geed 50-59 years. My rationale for picking the target group under ass's is because I want to try & prevent under ass's from the onset of dying of alcoholic liver disease because 40 upwards It may be too late to prevent people from alcohol abuse. Pittance et al 2006 states that Simply delaying onset of alcohol consumption from early to late adolescence is an important goal for preventing alcohol misuse and also for preventing long term alcohol related diseases.According to Alcohol concern a very scary thought is that In London, hospital admissions for liver disease caused by drinking among the under-thirties have risen y 112 per cent in the past decade, with doctors saying professional women in their twenties and thirties, who might only consider themselves ‘social' drinkers, have played a major part in this rise. Slide 2: Health† Health Is defined In the WHO constitution of 1948 as So then what Is health promoteHealth promotion, public health, health education and health improvements are widely, and often imprecisely, defined. Tangential (2009) argues that there are so many definitions that the term health promotion' has become meaningless. According to Green & Tones 2010, Health promotion is†¦ And More recently The WHO , 2014, has defined Health promotion as † the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It moves beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a wide range of social and environmental Interventions .I was surprised while doing my research on health promotion to discover how Benton (2008) pointed out that even in successful areas, such as tobacco control and raising issues related to health inequalities, health promotion has received no credit no acknowledgement. This is where us nurses of the future come Into play. It Is our Job to make promoting health an everyday occurrence using every opportunity we can wh en in contact with patients. Ã'›â€ ¦ People who drink excessively do not perceive themselves as being unhealthy.The Department of Health 201 3, supports this by saying 83% of people who regularly drink above the guidelines don't think their drinking is putting their long-term health at risk. The health Belief Model which was originally developed by Rosenstein In 1966 fits very well into this conception of behavior change requiring a state of readiness to susceptibility to a particular health condition. Slide 3: Factors influencing health: Health is shaped by many different factors & Effective health promotion influences the determinants of health.The ‘determinants' of health† are people's values, cultural, social, economic and environmental living conditions According to Davies, 2012, The influence of social norms on alcohol misuse include peer pressure, perceived expectation, gaining respect and cultural acceptance. Lifestyle: for students: no money so they binge d rink: Many adolescents engage in ‘binge drinking, defined by as a high intake of alcohol in a short pace of time.Finance: Although London is home to many higher income residents as is parts of chloroformed, it also has its share of of poverty and disadvantaged populations. A high income individual can drink coffee and smoke a pack of cigarettes Just as often as the individual with a low income. I think as nurses it is important to consider the reasons why and understand the contextual factors such as the environment, the societal structure and the capacity to make good health decisions Socio-Economic conditions such as: Housing: One major impact on the health and well-being of people is where and how they live.Not only is the physical and social environment important, but the home is also the setting within which care is increasingly provided by both family and community based health and social care. Poor housing can affect people's health. Employment: According to Marmot & Wi lkinson 2006, Work is the area where many of the important influences on health are played out. This includes both employment conditions and the nature of work itself. Culture:According to the Poverty statistics. Org. K, 2014 (Black and minority ethnic groups) are more likely to report ill health, and experience ill health earlier tawniest British people. Bio-psycho-social needs: Clear association between Mental health and drinking. Depression. According to the WHO , 2009, Inequities in relation to alcohol, Worldwide causes 1. 8 million deaths. Unintentional injuries alone account for about one third of the 1. 8 million deaths. We have become all too accustomed to much of the global burden of disease which is unavoidable & therefore unacceptable. It is inequitable.Same can be said for the unavoidable deaths as a result of alcohol abuse. According to the UPCHUCK 2007, The highest burden of alcohol-related disease in the world is in the region of he former Soviet Union and Central Asi a, where it amounts to 13% of the total disease burden Slide 4: Effects of Alcohol So what is alcohol†¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. According to Drug free world. Org Alcohol is a drug. It is classed as a depressant, meaning that it slows down vital functions?resulting in slurred speech, unsteady movement, According to Davies, 2012, In large quantities, alcohol is neurotic.Sustained high consumption above the recommended safe intake can destroy brain cells. Excess alcohol can affect your brain and cause depression. Certain types of cancer such as mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophageal anger have also been linked to drinking too much alcohol. Drinking excessively may also increase your risk of bowel and breast cancer. Research has found that women who drink 2-5 units a day are 41% more likely to get breast cancer than those who don'.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stomach ulcers are more common if you regularly drink more than the recommended daily amount.Heavy drinking is also associated with stomachache . Liver cirrhosis and fatty liver disease are directly linked to excessive drinking, as is liver cancer. Alcohol can cause pancreatic. This is when the pancreas becomes inflamed and doesn't work as it should. You also have a greater risk of high blood pressure which can lead to stroke. Heart problems like coronary heart disease and the heart beating irregularly (arrhythmia) are also linked to excessive drinking. Damage to your heart muscle (cardiopulmonary) can cause it to pump blood around your body less effectively. Diet: †¦.. Induce hunger†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦