Executive compensation analysis-Is it Excessive Essay

Executive compensation analysis-Is it Excessive - Essay Example ncial Management of the company is one such domain where the management of the company can maximize the value for its shareholders by adopting various practices and policies which can help achieve them their highest goal. However there are also theoretical frameworks i.e. Agency theory which suggest otherwise that the managers and shareholders can conflict with each other when pursuing their individual goals and that the managers can engage into practices where they may take actions which may not help maximizing the shareholders value and rather work in their own benefits. Executive compensation is one such domain where modern executives are largely being criticized for taking high compensations mostly on the pretext that money spent on their compensation could have been utilized for creating value for the shareholders. This essay will look into how the financial management theories and practice can help managers to maximize the value for the shareholders and how it is achieved in practice besides providing a brief outline of how the managers may not, in practice, do things which can help maximize the value for the shareholders. The issue of executive compensation needs to be viewed in the historical context of the way modern businesses developed. The era during 1990s saw a slow and steady increase in the overall median compensation of the CEOs from 1992 to 2000 increased from USD 2.335(m) to USD 6.549(m)- a general increase of 180%1 suggesting the direction of the overall increase in the executive compensation. (Murphy). Similarly, despite the overall decline in the performance of financial sector due to subprime crisis, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has been able to gross up a bonus of $70million which is 30% more than what he got in previous year. The research conducted on the executive compensation subtly points towards the fact the executives exercise substantially degree of power over the board besides showing the attitude of grabbing opportunities at

The Celtic Religion Essay Example for Free

The Celtic Religion Essay The Celts were an ancient group of people who populated a substantial area of Europe from the British Isles to Galatia. The Celts are thought to have existed from about 1000BC to the 1st century when they were conquered by the Romans. The Celtic religion was extremely complex and is difficult for modern day man to understand. This essay will discuss the nature and role of religion in the ancient Celtic society. The Celts were polytheistic sharing some beliefs that spanned across all the tribes; however, each tribe had their own beliefs and rituals. The Celts worshiped many gods and goddesses and a lot of the Celtic religion revolved around the worship of natural phenomena including water, sky, mountains, trees and earth. The worship of water deities was common among all Celtic tribes due to their medicinal and healing properties. There have been a number offerings which the Celts made for their gods that have been discovered in rivers, springs and wells. An example of a famous Celtic-healing site linked with water is Bath found in England. Other places where Celts made offerings to their gods were in sacred groves and forest clearings. Animals were revered by the Celts for their special qualities of speed, strength, ferocity and cunning and the gods that were represented were mostly in animal form. Some of the animals important to the Celts included boars, stags, bears, hares, birds and horses. Due to the Celts close connection with nature shrines and altars were built in the forest. These were generally made of wood, evidence for this is found in classical literature. For example, Lucan, a Roman poet, describes an altar in a forest near Marseilles, â€Å"altars were erected on little hillocks and all the trees were purifies with human blood.† This is also evidence of sacrifice, which formed a part of the nature of the Celtic religion. Both humans and animals were sacrificed in honour of their gods. Julius Caesar mentions such sacrifice in The Conquest of Gaul, â€Å"†¦after a victory they sacrifice the captured the animals and collect the rest of the spoil in one spot†. The Druids were Celtic priests who played a major role in the ancient Celtic society and were of a high status among the Celts. Their role was that of priest, scholar and judge. They were in charge of religious activities; they performed rituals and also played the role of a judge. No significant political decision was made without the Druids as there attendance was seen as necessary to obtain the gods favor. When disputes arouse the Druids played the role of a judge whether the issue was between tribes or individuals; whatever the crime being committed was, it was the responsibility of the Druids to arbitrate the problem and decide on the compensation to be paid and received by the parties involved. The Druids also gave rulings on all religious questions and groups of numerous men would go to them for instruction and advice. According to the historian, Diogenes Laà «rtius, it is apparent that the Druids held three truths; the need to honour the gods, to abstain from evil and to show bravery. The Druids spent many years learning the sacred texts and passing them onto their followers. An example of the way in which they taught their followers were at feast and festivals through the bardic tradition of singing and reciting stories of gods and heroes. As can be seen, the Druids played an important role in the lives of the Celtic people. It is evident from looking at the writings of classical authors that Celtic festivals, when held, were grand. They included great feasts, processions, the making of offerings and human and animal sacrifices to their gods. The four main festivals that were held by the Celts were the Samhain, Imbloc, Belteine or Beltane and Lughnasadh. Samhain was believed to be the most important festival and occurred on the first of November, some believe this was the beginning of the Celtic year. This was not only a significant religious festival that included proper ceremonies and sacrifices, but was also a day holding important political and administrative functions. Barry Cunliffe writes in his book The Celtic World, â€Å"During Samhain†¦ the whole tribe presumably assembled for feasting and to ensure, through sacrifice, the continued fertility of the crops and herds.† The Imbloc festival was celebrated on the first of February and meant ‘ewe’s milk’, this name was given for this festival as it marked the birth of the first lambs and commemorates the return of fresh milk. This festival celebrates the return of the cycle of new life to the earth and marks the rebirth of nature and fertility. It is the celebration of bringing nature back to life. The Belteine or Beltane festival took place on the first of May and is the feast of light and marks the season of sunny weather. On this day the Druids light the beacon fires to bring good news of the coming season to the people. The Lughnasadh was a harvest festival that occurred on the first of August and marked the end of summer growth and the beginning of autumn harvest. These four festivals marked the seasons of the year and were major events for the Celtic society. The practice of human sacrifice in honour of their gods was a normal occurrence in Celtic society. Strabo, a Greek geographer, talks about the Celts and human sacrifice in his book Geography, â€Å"They used to strike a human being, whom they have devoted to death, in the back with a sword, and then divine from his death struggle.† The Celts held the belief â€Å"an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth† and also â€Å"a life for a life†. For example when a person was sick, the relatives may make a human sacrifice in order that their kin would be spared. Other reasons the Celts made human sacrifices were to ensure survival of warrior before battle, the prisoners were usually the ones that were sacrificed in this circumstance and in times of need such as famine or plague. Celtic society was heavily influenced by their religious beliefs and practices, this is shown through the connection they felt with nature, the Druids status and power in the society and the festivals that marked their calendar year. Religious matters were never expressed in writing; however, the strong oral tradition of the Celts enabled the passing down of their religious practices. This along with classical literature has provided the future generations with an insight into both the nature and role that religion played in Celtic society.

Analysing factors influencing customer satisfaction

Analysing factors influencing customer satisfaction For this study, literature review will be based on several theoretical concepts such as discusses the relationship between, perceived quality, perceived value, customer expectation and corporate image that affects the customer satisfaction. 2.1 Customer satisfaction: The increase in technology has imposed mobile operators to provide customers with new features in their connection so that save existing customers. The relationship between service quality and perceived value should be freely brought to a focus by the service provider in curiosity with satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is there in general, appraisal after using a service for a stage set a time. Different factors have different influence on customers, these factors should be taken in order to account while making a strategy for customer satisfaction Heejin(2006). Heejin Lim A1 and Archana Kumar A2 http://inderscience.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parentbackto=issue,4,8;journal,11,39;linkingpublicationresults,1:110880,1 The most common interpretations obtained from various authors reflect the notion that satisfaction is a feeling which results from a process of evaluating what has been received against what was expected, including the purchase decision itself and the needs and wants associated with the purchase (Armstrong Kotler, 1996). Bitner Zeithaml (2003) stated that satisfaction is the customers evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether that product or service has met their needs and expectations. According to Boselie, Hesselink, and Wiele (2002) satisfaction is a positive, affective state resulting from the appraisal of all aspects of a partys working relationship with another. The definition provided by Boselie et al. (2002) has been used for this study.(Øلن¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ±ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¬ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¹ Ù Ãƒâ„¢Ã…   Ù†¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¬Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯ Øلن¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¨ÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ article02_JanApr2009 ) Introduction In each company, customers are the most important element and are required to be handled and managed properly. The customers are satisfied when their expectations are fulfilled and delighted when their expectations are exceeded. Contented customers remain loyal buy more are less sensitive and speak positively about the company (Brown et al., 1992). Customer satisfaction normally indicates customer response to the state of fulfillment, and customer opinion of the fulfilled condition (Oliver, 1997). Kotler (1997) defines customer satisfaction as: Satisfaction is a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. Recently the concept of customer satisfaction has received much attention. Satisfaction may be defined as a consumers post-purchase evaluation of a product or service (Zeithaml Bitner, 2003). In the past, many businesses took their customers for granted. Brown, T.J., Churchill, G.A. Peter, J.P. (1992). Improving the measurement of service quality; School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Oliver, C. (1997). Sustainable competitive advantage: Combining institutional and resource-based views. Strategic Management Journal, 18(9), 697-713. Kotler, P. (1997). Marketing management: Analysis, planning, implementation, and control. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ziethaml, V.A. Bitner, M.J. (2003). Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. In the business when debating factors for service provider quality of service, customer value and customer satisfaction are becoming important. That is why high service quality should be focused for greater user loyalty to achieve higher customer satisfaction and to profit exceptional competitive advantage, keep for the future customer satisfaction the operator should not disregard reliability and assurance because there is a positive effect of reliability, pledge, and network quality on their satisfaction (Hing-Po 2002). Yonggui Wang, Hing-Po Lo, (2002) Service quality, customer satisfaction and behavior intentions: Evidence from Chinas telecommunication industry, info, Vol. 4 Iss: 6, pp.50 60 Whereas both service quality and customer satisfaction have certain things in common, satisfaction is widely viewed as a broader concept than service quality consideration thus; perceived service quality is a component of customer satisfaction (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). Attempts to understand customer satisfaction structure have produced several important insights. For example, disinformation and perceived quality were found to affect customer satisfaction more than expectations (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982) and expectancy-disinformation (Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988; Yi, 1990). Anderson and Sullivan (1993) also showed satisfaction to be a division of disinformation and perceived quality. Accordingly, customer satisfaction programs were praised as important implements that can increase profits by averting customers from deserting (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). Customer satisfaction usually considered as customer reaction to the state of gratification and customer mind of the performed state (Oliver, 1997). Customer satisfaction is totally anxious with the services provided to and perceived by the customers, if there is high similar between perceived and provided services than the customer satisfaction level is very high that directly leads to high customer loyalty for mobile service providers (MSP) and the opposite. There are many benefits for a firm from a high customer satisfaction level, they imprison a high market share and capable of keep and maintain it: a essential and core policy of every business that heightens customer loyalty and prevents customer switching costs, increases customer price endurance, reduces marketing cost (Fornell, 1992). Customer satisfaction The index indicates how much customers are satisfied and how well their expectations are met. This construct evaluates overall satisfaction level of customers, fulfillment of their expectations, and companys performance versus the ideal provider. Customer satisfaction Several studies have shown that it costs about five times to gain a new customer as it does to keep an existing customer (Naumann, 1995) and these results into more interest in customer relationships. Thus, several companies are adopting customer satisfaction as their operational goal with a carefully designed framework. Hill and Alexander (2000) wrote in their book that companies now have big investment in database marketing, relationship management and customer planning to move closer to their customers. Jones and Sasser (1995) wrote that achieving customer satisfaction is the main goal for most service firms today. Increasing customer satisfaction has been shown to directly affect companies market share, which leads to improved profits, positive recommendation, lower marketing expenditures (Reichheld, 1996; Heskett et al., 1997), and greatly impact the corporate image and survival (Pizam and Ellis, 1999). Studies that supported the notion that expectations precede satisfaction include: Anderson, Fornell and Lehmann (1994), who conducted investigation on Swedish firms and reported that there is a positive and significant relationship between expectations and customer satisfaction. Definition Customer satisfaction as a process is defined as an evaluation between what was received and what was expected (Oliver, 1977, 1981; Olson and Dover, 1979; Tse and Wilton, 1988), emphasizing the perceptual, evaluative and psychological processes that contribute to customer satisfaction (Vavra, 1997, p. 4). Parker and Mathews (2001) however noted that the process of satisfaction definitions concentrates on the antecedents to satisfaction rather than satisfaction itself. Satisfaction as a process is the most widely adopted description of customer satisfaction and a lot of research efforts have been directed at understanding the process approach of satisfaction evaluations (Parker and Mathews, 2001). This approach has its origin in the discrepancy theory (Porter, 1961), which argued that satisfaction is determined by the perception of a difference between some standard and actual performance. Customer satisfaction to some organizations is a key to success; the reason here is to check the ability of their product to satisfy as much customers as they can, so that they can be the market leaders in their field. Many organizations followed the strategy of customer satisfaction and became the living legends e.g. Coke, Nestle, Shell Petroleum, Nokia, Sony and the list goes on and on. Every company mentioned here are an innovator and a market leader in any one or two of their products. Customer Satisfaction in Telecommunications The academic literature on customer satisfaction in telecommunications is relatively scattered and primarily concerned with mobile telecommunications customers (Woo and Fock 1999; Lee ct al. 2001). In particular, Woo and Fock (1999) examined the behavior of mobile telecommunication customers in Hong Kong. Transmission quality and network coverage were found to be the most important factors driving customer satisfaction in their study giving, therefore, high priority to product functionality in assessing the satisfaction of individual customers. In a similar vein, Lee et al. (2001) have examined the interaction between customer satisfaction, switching costs and loyalty behavior in mobile telecommunications in France. Schul and Schiff (1993), studying the satisfaction function of telecommunications customers in Israel, examined the impact of different research strategies on customer satisfaction ratings. That is, they examined the impact of placing the question of overall customer sati sfaction either at the beginning or at the end of the customer satisfaction questionnaire. It was found that placing the overall customer satisfaction question at the end of the questionnaire increases the correlation between the partial satisfaction coefficients and the overall customer satisfaction ratings. The current literature, however, addresses specific aspects of telecommunications but docs not provide an overall understanding of the dynamics of customer satisfaction. In a series of articles Finkelman et al. (1992a, 1992b) sought to address the problem of how customer satisfaction systems should be designed on behalf of telecommunications providers. They propose customer satisfaction measures focusing on experience from sales, installation, product usage, repair, and billing. All different aspects of customer-provider contacts require a customer satisfaction framework that will facilitate the selection of unbiased customer opinion about their experience with the telecommunication operator. This research, along side the consulting contributions of Gale (1994) are among the first public material concerning the transaction-specific customer satisfaction measurement in telecommunications.(Ù†¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¬Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯ Ù†¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¨ÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ وؠ±ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯ ) 2.2 perceived quality: In recent years, there was the growing importance of service quality and customer satisfaction in business and academia alike. Sureshchandar et al, (2003) and determined that the balance of power between service quality and customer satisfaction with an emphasis on these two constructs is the concept differs from the view of customers. According to customer perception Kim et al, 2004) Perceived quality depends on the combination of experience, word of mouth and the future intuition of quality of the mobile service. Every mobile customer requires best quality accordingly. Since companies are going on continuous improvement in quality through the latest technology, installing costly equipments, trying to improve call clarity and coverage. It is also observed that customer satisfaction is as well dependent on perceived quality and has the positive role towards the dependent. Similarly, user loyalty equally important has the stronger link with user satisfaction. Hence, proper care should be taken while formulating any long term policy for customer satisfaction. At last for building, customer satisfaction is a main determinant (Serkan 2005). Perceived quality is the limit up to which the product or service provided the necessary needs of users with more satisfaction. They were seen consumer expectations and services to be main precedents for the perceived service quality Measures the quality of service that focuses on a variety of such physical aspects, reliability and speed of response, and to ensure sympathy (Parasuraman et al, 1985). (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996) said both service quality and customer satisfaction has convinced things in common, satisfaction is generally observed as a broader concept than service quality assessment; thus, perceived service quality is a component of customer satisfaction. Service quality was defined as the difference between the dimensions in customers perceived service and expectations of service (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Service quality is usually defined as the customers impression of the relative inferiority/superiority of a service provider and its services (Bitner and Hubert,1994) and is often considered similar to the customers overall attitude towards the company (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Zeithaml, 1988; Bitner, 1990). Perceived service quality (Parasuraman et al., 1985, 1988). Gro ¨nroos (1982) suggests that the consumers expectations are also influenced by marketing activities, external influences and word-of-mouth. He identifies two types of service quality; technical, related to what the customer gets from a service and functional, associated with how the service is delivered. Perceived quality is the served markets evaluation of recent consumption experience. This construct evaluates customization and reliability of a given product or service. Customization is the degree to which a product or service meets a customers requirements, and reliability is the degree to which  ¬Ã‚ rms offering is reliable, standardized, and free from decencies.PQ is expected to have a positive effect on PV and customer satisfaction (Fornell et al., 1996), and to be positively affected by image (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998). SERVICE QUALITY Another factor that contributes to satisfaction is service quality. Service quality is defined as the difference between customer expectations and perceptions of service or as the customers satisfaction or dissatisfaction formed by their experience of purchase and use of the service (Gronroos, 1984 and Parasuraman et al.1988). Oliver (1993) reported that service quality is a casual antecedent of customer satisfaction, due to the fact that service quality is viewed at transactional level and satisfaction is viewed to be an attitude. Dabholkar et al. (1996) and Zeithaml et al. (1996) reported that the service quality divisions are related to overall service quality and or customer satisfaction. Fornell et al., (1996) expressed that satisfaction is a consequence of service quality. Hurley and Estelami (1998) argued that there is causal relationship between service quality and satisfaction, and that the perceptions of service quality affect the feelings of satisfaction. Pizam and Ellis (1999) stated that the gap that may exist between the customers expected and perceived service quality is a vital determinant of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and not just only a measure of the quality of the service. Previous studies on mobile telecommunication services, measured services quality by call quality, pricing structure, mobile devices, value-added services, convenience in procedures, and customer support (Kim, 2000; Gerpott et al., 2001; Lee, Lee, Freick, 2001). Perceived quality is measured through three questions: overall quality, reliability, and the extent to which a product or service meets the customers needs. Satisfaction Measurement: Perceived Quality Measures Perceived quality is often measured through three measures: overall quality, perceived reliability, and the extent to which a product or service meets the customers needs. Customer perceptions of quality are the single greatest predictor of customer satisfaction. 2.3 perceived value: According to Heinonen (2004) defined perceived value as the consumers overall assessment of the usefulness of a product based on perceptions on what is received and what is given. Companies are able to increase customer satisfaction by creating customer value through a lot of means such as providing customers with the comparative net value, the effectiveness, efficiency, and differentiation of services, which can be delivered via logistics (Langley Holcomb 1992). Both time and place of service delivery are indicated to be important dimensions of customer perceived value, and when or where the service is delivered should be determined by consumers rather than by companies. Perceived value is related to the price extent of mobile services. Because all the businesses in the world are done for profit so investment in mobile industry is also for some advantage in terms of profits. So those gratify the basic and awaited customer value companies do not have to put so much effort into what they are doing (Gunnar Malin, 2006). On the assumption, that everyone in the world is seeking his/her benefits so customers are also expecting benefits in terms of values. Intentions to adopt or reject a mobile service seem to be determined to a greater degree by perceived benefits than by a perceived limit (Ancker et al, 2003). As MSPs are investing a lot but still there are much badly in the real and perceived value of the customers, latest survey by Barnhoorn (2006) show that although there is progress but still perceived value from the telecom players has the lowest achieve, this is risen from 71% in 2005 to 76% in 2006. However, how and to which extent MSPs are chargi ng their customers and give the value to the customers. MSPs have to increase the switching cost in order to increase natural life customer value and customer retention by implementing relationship-oriented marketing strategies (Hankel et al, 2006). As the companies give high value to customers in terms of charges than a satisfaction level gets high that leads to customer loyalty. The impact of value on customer satisfaction is studied by Cottet, Lichtlà ©, and Plichon (2006). By adopting the definition suggested by Holbrook (1996, 1999), they defined customer perceived value as an interactive, preferential and relative experience. Results of their research reveal that both utilitarian and hedonic values are positively related with customer satisfaction, and further, hedonic value is suggested to be more important for customer satisfaction than a utilitarian value. PV Perceived value is measured through two questions: overall price given quality and overall quality given price. Although perceived value is of great importance for the (first) purchase decision, it usually has somewhat less impact on satisfaction and repeat purchase. Satisfaction Measurement: Perceived Value Measures Perceived value may conceptually refer to the overall price divided by quality or the overall quality divided by price. Perceived value is measured in many ways including overall evaluation of value, expectations of price that would be paid, and more rigorous methodologies including the Van Westendorp pricing analysis, and conjoint analysis (other Qualtrics white papers and tutorials are available on these topics). Perceived value PV is the perceived level of product quality relative to the price paid by customers. PV is the rating of the price paid for the quality perceived and a rating of the quality perceived for the price paid (Fornell et al., 1996). PV structure provides an opportunity for comparison of the  ¬Ã‚ rms according their price-value ratio (Anderson et al., 1994). In the CSI-TMPS model, PV is expected to be positively affected by PQ, and it has a positive impact on satisfaction. Perceived value is defined as the results or benefits customers receive in relation to total costs (which include the price paid plus other costs associated with the purchase) or the consumers overall assessment of what is received relative to what is given (Holbrook,1994 and Zeithaml, 1988). Additionally, Zeithaml (1988) found out that customers who perceive that they receive value for money are more satisfied than customers who do not perceive they receive value for money. Several studies have shown that perceived value is significant determinant of customer satisfaction (Anderson et al. (1994); Ravald and Gronroos (1996); and McDougall and Levesque, 2000). Turel and Serenko (2006) in their investigation of mobile services in Canada suggested that the degree of perceived value is a key factor affecting customer satisfaction. Past research studies suggested that there are four features, which are key drivers of the customer value of cellular services: network quality, price, customer care, and personal benefits (Booz, Allen Hamilton, 1995, Danaher Rust, 1996; Bolton, 1998; Gerpott, 1998; Wilfert, 1999). The network quality refers to excellent indoor and outdoor coverage, voice clarity, and no connection breakdowns. Price refers to what is paid to obtain access to use the network. Customer care refers to the quality of the information exchanged between customer and supplier or network provider in response to enquiries and other activities initiated by the network provider, for example presentation of invoices. Personal benefits refer to the level of perception of the benefits of mobile communications services by individual customers. It is apparent from this review that one of the factors customers use to determine satisfaction level is the benefits received from a product or service in comparison with what is spent. Perceived value is not a focus of this study (however customer satisfaction evaluation captures perceived value; the assessment shows what consumers value in the service received). The suggested mobile services attributes (features) will be used to assess customer satisfaction in this study. 2.4 Customer Expectation Expectations are the consequences of previous experience with the companys products. This erected appraises customer expectations for overall quality, for product and service quality, and for ful ¬Ã‚ llment of personal needs. Customer expectations construct is anticipated to have a direct and positive relationship with customer satisfaction (Anderson et al., 1994). Customer expectations Expectations are the results of prior experience with the companys products. This construct evaluates customer expectations for overall quality, for product and service quality, and for fulfillment of personal needs. Customer expectations construct is expected to have a direct and positive relationship with customer satisfaction (Anderson et al., 1994). In the ACSI and ECSI, it is assumed that customer expectations have a direct effect on perceived value. Customer Expectations Expectations combine customers experiences with a product or service and information about it via media, advertising, salespersons, and word-of-mouth from, other customers. Customer expectations influence the evaluation of quality and forecast (from. customers pre-purchase perspective) how well the product or service will perform. 2.5 Corporate Image The image constructed appraises the fundamental image of the company. Image applied to the brand name, and the type of association customers get from the product/company (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998). Martensen et al. (2000) indicates that image is an important component of the customer satisfaction model. For the companies, image is a result of being reliable, professional and inventive, having contributions to society, and adding good reputation to its user. It is expected that image has a positive effect on customer expectations, customer satisfaction and loyalty. Corporate Image The image constructs evaluates the fundamental image of the company. Image refers to the brand name and the kind of association customers get from the product or service /company (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998). Martensen et al. (2000) indicates that image is an important component of the customer satisfaction model. For the companies, image is a result of being reliable, qualified and innovative, having contributions to society, and adding reputation to its customers. It is expected that image has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. Corporate image Andreassen and Lindestad (1998) posit that corporate image, through a filtering effect, impacts a customers evaluation of service quality, value, and satisfaction. In other words, corporate image creates a halo effect on customer satisfaction. In this study, a cumulative or relational level measure reflecting a customers overall impression and mental picture of the firm represents corporate image (Bloemer et al., 1998; Zimmer and Golden, 1988). Consumers who develop a positive mental schema of a brand will tend toward high customer satisfaction through a halo effect where all things associated with the brand are similarly valence. As such ( Ù†¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¬Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯ Ù†¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¨ÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ corporate image ) H 5 . Corporate image has a significant, positive effect on customer satisfaction. Corporate image is a result of a customers overall consumption experiences (Nguyen and Leblanc, 2001). The same mechanism is available for overall satisfaction. Since customer satisfaction and corporate image measures are collected simultaneously, customers consumption experiences, which can be summarized as satisfaction, naturally affect the evaluations of corporate image (Johnson et al., 2001). For this reason, it is proposed that satisfaction positively affects corporate image in Turkish customer satisfaction index model. (National customer) Concerning the role emotions play in customer evaluations, there is the indication shows that customer satisfaction is influenced by both perceptive and affective constituents (Homburg et al., 2006; Liljander and Strandvik, 1997; Westbrook and Oliver, 1991). In fact, recently there has been growing interest in studying the affective nature of satisfaction (Smith and Bolton, 2002; Zeelenberg and Pieters, 2004). Emotions experienced by individuals may leave affective follow in their memory associated with their experience with the service, and these people may admission them when judging their satisfaction level (MacInnis and de Mello, 2005). As emotions predict satisfaction, the positive and negative emotions experienced by customers after complaint handling will impact their level of satisfaction with the service (Liljander and Strandvik, 1997; Mano and Oliver, 1993; Szymanski and Henard, 2001; Westbrook and Oliver, 1991). Consumer behavior literature defends a valence congruent rela tionship between emotions and satisfaction (Dube ´ and Menon, 2000), The CSI model is a structural model based on the assumptions that customer satisfaction is caused by some factors such as perceived quality (PQ), perceived value (PV), expectations of customers, and image of a firm. These factors are the antecedents of overall customer satisfaction. one of the more commonly cited definitions is that supplied by Zeithaml (1988: 14), who defined value as: the consumers overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given. This view posits perceived value as a uni-dimensional construct that can be measured simply by asking respondents to rate the value that they received in making their purchases. Woodruff (1997: 142) defined perceived value as:[a] customers perceived preference for an evaluation of those product attributes, attribute performances, and consequences arising from use that facilitate (or block) achieving the customers goals and purposes in use situations. Woodruff, R.B. (1997) Customer Value: The Next Source for Competitive Advantage,Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 25(2): 139-53. Holbrooks typology of perceived value Holbrook (1994: 22, 1996: 138, 1999: 5) defined perceived value as an interactive relativistic preference experience. Customers determine satisfaction level of any purchased service by the perceptions of quality received. The American Customer Satisfaction Model According to the model, there exists a positive association between perceived customer expectations (PE) and perceived quality (PQ), perceived value (PV) and satisfaction. Canada. H 1 . Service quality has a significant, positive effect on customer satisfaction. In addition to the studies above, Fornell et al., (1996) report that the top two determinants of customer satisfaction are perceived quality and perceived value. Thus, the second hypothesis is: H 2. Perceived value has a significant, positive effect on customer satisfaction.

Romantic Relationships During High School Essay -- Argumentative Essay

Are relationships in high school truly worth the potential heartache? Answers to this question vary, ranging from the enthusiastic â€Å"yes!† to the skeptical view of which cutting off one’s own third toe makes more sense to indifference. Yet, how can the value of a relationship be determined when the tumult of everyday teenage life may result in the potential loss or gain of a new relationship every week? One view may be relationships teenagers enter into are valuable practice for later in life, teaching those which engage in them how to interact with members of the opposite sex in a way which leads to marriage or family. Others, however, state the truism being a significantly low percentage of high school romances result in marriage. Although some may say the benefits outweigh the risks, relationships in high school are not feasible for many and may not be worth the effort put into them. On average, of all high school romances, only an estimated eight to 11 pe rcent result in matrimony (WikiAnswers 1). To me, this renders those useless relationships, the other eighty-nine to ninety-two percent, just passing time. From these statistics, it would appear romance in high school is not only stressful, but also relatively useless. Rather than devoting large amounts of time to one person, high school students should be out with a group of friends, having fun and doing whatever it is teens do. This brings up another concern for high school relationships: time. The time some students put into a relationship can become absurd. In this way, we come across the student who never seems to have their work done or never has time to work on their work. This free time would normally be used to do important tasks for school, but rather is us... ...lly prepared for such life experiences. Though not always negative, high school relationships are also not likely to have a drastically positive impact on students either. Levels of stress in life can be at their peak during years of development, though it may seem daunting, not all are incapable of balancing a relationship and life. Nevertheless, having a relationship, the stress to succeed in within the relationship, and the stress to not become the main topic of gossip for their peers in what should have been a private matter may magnify the pressures of everyday life. Works Cited U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. â€Å"Pathways to Adulthood and Marriage: Teenagers’ Attitudes, Expectations, and Relationship Patterns† Aspe.hhs.gov Web. 17 Nov. 2010. WikiAnswers. â€Å"What are the statistics on high school relationships?† Answers.com Web. 30 Nov. 2010.

Analysis of Documentary ” the End of the Line”

The end of the line The end of the line is a part of a new wave of documentaries that not only seek prizes at Film Festival and wasn’t just primarily made to make money but change the opinions of dozens of people. What is happening to the world fish stocks is an under reported issue and End of the Line seeks to address this problem and make the issue reportable. The film was directed by Rupert Murray and narrated by Ted Danson. But the whole film is based on a book By Charles Clover himself a fisherman who tells us about his happiness when he first caught a big great salmon .Other researchers , scientists and just fishermen travel around the world to get people to pay attention to the problem of factory fishing which has reduced and made some fish species extinct . In many ways this film is like a funeral for fish . The scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now , we will see the end of most seafood by 2048 . The film takes us around the fishing world to the places like Alaska , Canada , Senegal and Bahamas . The film presentation is less like an investigation but more about discovering the guilty criminals because of which fish is disappearing .The film defines them and we listen to expert witnesses who explains us about why those people are guilty . The documentary opens on a colourful ecosystem that immerses us into the beauty of the underwater world , shows us how this world swarming with life and how it is full of various kinds of fish . Credits calmly fade in and out of the picture as beautiful fish dart in and out of coral reefs, filling the screen with happiness and vibrancy. The credits finish rolling and the music that has been playing in the background transforms from cheerful to suspenseful and dramatic .Drab, gray colors suddenly replace the bright ones, and short scenes begin to flash in sync with the music. Huge boats charge through the sea like a tank rolling into a battlefield. A fisherman’s silhouette appears an d he brandishes a knife, plunghing it into a flopping fish. Red, vibrant blood squirts everywhere, even splashing onto the screen, and it drips from the knife of the fisherman . Quick cuts , dramatic close-ups , emotional music , and vivid details are all characteristics of this film .Colors and music in this documentary , that were mentiod earlier , are directed to convey a message of hatred and disgust towards anglers , even before a single word is said . The violent shots of fish being hit in the head, nets filled with flopping fish (complete with an unpleasant slapping sound), and knives creating gushing stab wounds in huge tuna are accompanied by slow, dramatic music and music that could be straight from a horror movie. One shot from within an underwater net shows a few fish with panicked faces, eyes wide, and mouths open, lunging toward the camera as if screaming, â€Å"Let me out! . In this film , fish is occasionally personified , making people that are shown in scenes at s ushi restaurants while eating seafood and talking about how they enjoy eating it and how they love fish , in interviews is represented as they are cannibalistic fish murderers . The diction in this film is mostly voice-over and interviewees . The definite attempt of voice-over is to manipulate the emotions of audience . What about the interwiewees , many of them are very passionate about the issues presented in this documentary , and it shows in the word choice that they use .In the interviews what they do is that they are encouraging and persuading people to stop consuming fish in such big amounts as we do now , to stop fishing ilegally or reduce catch of fish , to prevent this tradegy , otherwise we will see the end of seafood . They also represent us the statistics that are intimidating . Those statistics and interwievs create a horrifying atmosphere and mood . The method of this film is to shock audience . This is the great move to engage people , because it is a shock and fear that makes people be more serious and change the way they think and their worldview .And the dramatic music only feeds those feelings . As it was mentioned earlier the film takes part in different parts of the world . For example in Africa the fishing business is very well developed , but as they were asborbing and catching fish in large quantities this led them to a shotage of fish as well as to the loss of jobs . Since fish and fishing itself for them is one of the most important kinds of food and job , many fishermen were forced to go to Europe to infiltrate their families . And this is already one of the examples that the fish is being extincted .Another example that fish is being extincted is that some corporations and fishermen cheat because they can and don’t get caught . In the documentary , a passionate Mielgo described the role of Mitsubishi that’s located in Japan in the decline of bluefin tuna . He believes the company is stockpiling bluefin for the day whe n the species will be extinct and the price of their highly regarded flesh will skyrocket. The bluefin situation demonstrates what multinational corporations, international fishing policy, and consumer demand can do to a wild species.The film gives us a lot of information, using statistics, scientists, fishermen, and people associated with the fishing industry, which makes us feel truthfully about this film and believe it and to take their message and really try to make a difference in the underwater world . All in all the main purpose of this film is to reach people , to make them to imagine an ocean without fish . Imagine their meals without seafood . Imagine the global consequences . To show that this is the future if we do not stop , the purpose is to make people think and act wisely .

Manta Rays essays

Manta Rays essays Rays are a flattened type of fish with wide fleshey pectoral fins that look like wings. Their skin is rough and scaly. The ray has a short, whip-like tail, and gills on the outside of the body. The rays mouth is broad and rectangular and contains small teeth in the lower jaw. Two cephalic lobes extend from the front of the rays head. These are used to crush prey for food since their teeth are small and useless for eating. Rays have no bones. Their skeleton is made of cartilage. Cartilage is a tough substance that is not as hard as bone. Some parts of their skeleton, like their vertebrae, are calcified. Even the rays skull is flattened. Manta Rays do not have stingers on their tails like the stingrays. Their color varies from black to gray-blue on its back. It has a white underside with gray splotches. Manta rays can measure up to 29 feet long and 22 feet wide. They can weigh up to 3,000 pounds. Manta rays are nicknamed devil rays because their extended fins look like devils horns. The word Manta in Spanish means cloak or blanket. The rays are closely related to the shark. Manta rays are the largest of all the rays. One common myth is that a manta ray can capsize a boat by leaping out of the water and crashing into the boat. Another myth is that the manta can drown swimmers by wrapping around them. Both these myths are untrue. Actually the rays even appear to enjoy the company of the divers and will play around the divers instead of swimming away from them. Manta Rays have a high ratio of brain weight to body weight. They are extremely intelligent. Scientist believe rays are probably smarter than sharks. They are also very curious animals. Rays often approach divers and just watch them. Manta rays are powerful creatures. They are harmless, non-aggressive, and are also non-territorial. The earliest known rays date back to the Jurassic period, which is about 150 million years ago. Since ray...