Business communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business communication - Essay Example f the experience that you have procured amid your time in therapeutic deals there are a few profession ways to consider where you will have the capacity to utilize this experience specifically. Inside of a pharmaceutical organization you may have the chance to move into any of the accompanying parts: Specialist Representative - Hospital Sales, Biotechnology, NHS Liaison P.R. Preparing - Central or Regional area Field Management - 1st line deals administration Product Management - Specialist showcasing If you move into the pharmaceutical administration division there are different roads to consider. Promoting, Medical Education, P.R. Preparing, Recruitment Whatever parkway you picked, the beginning preparing that you get as a therapeutic agent will be major in building your future vocation. Graduates with applicable capabilities in life sciences, drug store, pharmaceutical, nursing or dentistry. Newcomers typically get a starting period (up to six months) of extreme preparing, after which they may shadow experienced deals staff before beginning to take a shot at their own. Medical delegates are the key purpose of contact in the middle of pharmaceutical and therapeutic organizations and medicinal services experts, advancing item mindfulness, noting questions, giving guidance and presenting new items. Ctb.ku.edu. (2015). Chapter 10. Hiring and Training Key Staff of Community Organizations | Section 5. Developing Personnel Policies | Main Section | Community Tool Box. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from

O2's branding and marketing strategy Dissertation

O2's branding and marketing strategy - Dissertation Example eting 38 Achieving Branding and Marketing Goals 39 Effectiveness of O2’s Branding and Marketing Strategy 40 Effect of O2’s Marketing and Branding Strategy on the Market 41 RECOMMENDATIONS 41 References 54 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Background of the Problem Aghapour, Manafi, Hojabri, Salehi, Saeidinia and Gheshmi (2011, p. 136) demonstrate that branding allows companies to promote their products and services in the market to achieve more sales. In this regard, branding has been described as one of the most effective methods of marketing a company’s products and services within its market. It is through branding that businesses have been able to win the confidentiality and loyalty of their customers (Marketing Week, 2009, p. 1). O2 is the second leading mobile operator within the telecommunication industry of the United Kingdom. O2 has concentrated in building brand loyalty within the UK mobile market. The company has remained unique in its branding an d marketing strategy. There are many changes within the UK telecommunication industry which O2 must adapt to in its marketing communication so that it would remain in the top of the mobile business. O2 whose parent company is Telefonica has maintained leadership in the UK mobile market through the use of loyalty deals (Marketing Week, 2009, p. 1). This is through alluring advertisements which are designed to depict the company’s brand as the most authentic and reliable within UK’s telecommunication sector. Technological, political, economic, legal, environmental, social and cultural changes have played a role in influencing the direction of the mobile business in the UK. O2 Mobile is no exception in the effects of the changing market forces especially for its branding and marketing strategy. According to Marketing Week (2009, p. 1), the marketing strategies used by O2 have received criticisms and assertions that the company has maintained old fashioned approaches of ma rketing its products. For example the company delayed in adopting 3G and 4G services like its business rivals because it considered them costly. Regardless of this, the company has been able to capture more than 24 million customers within the UK mobile market (Marketing Week, 2009, p. 1). This has led to annual turnover of more than 5 billion pounds from the company’s operations in the UK. However Marketing Week (2007, p. 10) reports that the changes in information and telecommunication industry are likely to catch up with O2’s branding and marketing strategies and make them less effective within the dynamic market. It is in this regard that the effectiveness of O2’

The difference between management and leadership

The difference between management and leadership Management and leadership are critical elements in the ongoing success of any business. Yet, there has been, and continues to be, a long standing debate over whether good management or good leadership is more important and holds more value to a companys success. Each of these topics have been both written about, and discussed, heavily over the years and drawn countless opinions from both sides about each ones importance Some believe that management holds greater importance because of its reliability and stability, and tends to deal the daily results and performance while others believe that leadership is most critical because it is believed to deal with higher thinking and creativity relying on an individuals character traits, does not appear to be teachable, seems to be inherent in some people and not others, and is responsible for setting direction and laying out the pathway that a business will follow. In the opinion of this writer trying to set one above the other is a flawed approach and that those who hold these ideas have yet to come to the realization that management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. Without one the other is incomplete, and it is a balance of each of these in varying measures at varying times that will yield success. Both good management and good leadership represent very different traits within people and it is a combination of these traits that is necessary for both individual and company performance. This becomes more evident after carefully examining the arguments for both management and leadership, the different traits and characteristics that managerial and leadership ability possess, and how each contribute to positive outcomes. When these traits are put in the context of a crisis situation it becomes apparent how vital both are to the result. Management has long been considered by many organizations to be the most important aspect of an organization. This is why many organizations find that defined and structured management practices are more useful than leadership because it focuses on the structure of an organization, where as leadership is more focused on social interactions and innovation (the so-called big picture), whose outcomes many times are unknown, thus making them a little instable (Kearsley, 2005). For this reason many managers use innovation not to change how things are done, but to improve the ability of its people and its resources control to improve its efficiency (Elliott, 2002). This becomes useful in the day to day activities placing leadership as a secondary contributor. Still, in a changing society and marketplace where organizations are forced to constantly evolve effective leadership that can develop and communicate a vision becomes a necessity to not only compete, but excel both today and in the f uture. Managements focus has mainly been in administrative duties such as the what and when, where as leadership is more imaginative and emotional, which focuses on the why and how (Kearsley, 2005). The why and how the questions are the ones needed to find innovated new ways of doing things, which will assist them in developing and keeping a competitive advantage. A challenge because even though the outcomes of the innovations of leadership can at times be questionable they are essential to an organization especially when the work environment becomes unstable and innovation can assist an organization adapt. What accentuates the need for leadership even more than maintaining a competitive edge is the fact that it in todays society the hierarchical aspect of organizations have become more intricate and ones superior (manager) has become less defined (Rogers Tierney, 2004). As such, leadership becomes important in the completion of tasks especially with the heavy emphasis placed upon a groups successful performance within an organization today and a leaders ability to form a group into a cohesive unit. Before this hierarchical change there was a specific top down flow to an organization so that only those at the top needed leadership abilities because everyone else followed what they said, so management was more important to the organization. Now that we compete globally this dynamic has changed and control cannot be achieved without having a more flexible approach to management and leadership as a result of the expanding environment they have come to be in. In this way leadership has dev eloped into a more significant and critical aspect relative to that of management because leaders dont control; they influence (Rogers Tierney, 2004, p. 79). This goes beyond the scope of good management. Management is supposed to maintain a set structure within an organization through the use of control. If control has become less attainable, and stifles the flexibility of a company to effectively adapt and innovate then one now needs to be able to exact influence rather than control an organization and must adapt to continue to be a viable enterprise. This represents one reason as to the necessity for both management and leadership in cooperation to yield success. Management sets what must be done and leadership helps them accomplish that despite a lack of direct control. This effectively debunks the argument in favor of management over leadership. But, what about the arguments supporting the value of leadership and its role to the organization? Many hold the idea that leadership is more important to an organization. One argument in favor of this idea is that education. They believe that leadership is inherent and cant be taught. Leadership has been likened to that of a pathfinder. Being innovators they are searching for something never before done and as such they have nothing from which to learn from (Hodgson, 1987, p. 13). Innovation is creativity, you arent taught it you just know it. In a sense this is true, most scholars readily agree that leadership is based upon experience, but many fail to realize that experiences can be taught. When looked at in the form of learning a sport a person can study the rules of a sport and it will help their understanding of the game, but to be truly good at something it is necessary to go out and play (Doh, 2003). So, the key to teaching leadership is to put people in situations where they are forced to lead. But, a person must understand that teaching can only go so far and just becaus e you have been taught something doesnt mean you will be a master at it, nor does it mean that youll successfully administer leadership (Doh, 2003). When dealing with people a leader faces diverse challenges in personality and capability and their ability to be flexible and provide both the direction and opportunity for those under their influence to be successful and feel they are contributing is critical to the success of the endeavor. An example would be that many people have been taught how to play chess, but even though they know how to play doesnt mean they are going to masters (Doh, 2003). Another argument in favor of leadership is that it can be seen a form of social problem solving in that it is necessary in resolving conflict within to help direct it along the path that management has set down to reach an organizations goal making leadership and management necessary for an organization to achieve its goal (DeChurch et al.,2011, p. 153). But this is only half what defines the necessity of both aspect within an organization. It is also necessary to consider the views of time that each aspect takes. That management has its eye always on the bottom line, the leader has his eye on the horizon meaning management focuses on the present and leadership focuses on the future (Kearsley, 2005, p. 265). It is necessary for an organization to have both if it wants to be successful. This can be examined within the firefighter, firelighter debate within the Leadership Debate. This debate explains that management within a project takes the stance of a firefighter with regards to its problems, only facing them when they occur, where as leadership takes the firelighter approach in that they try to anticipate and prevent problems from occurring (Leadership, 2005). When looking at the two one could say the author believes the firelighter is the more desirable approach in by focusing on the future and preventing problems from occurring could increase efficiency and success, but this is only useful so far as problems can be predicted or anticipated, which in a fairly unpredictable world is generally difficult. As such it is necessary to also hold not only the leadership approach, but management approach as well because if a person fails in predicting a problem the management approach is able to account for this failure and more expediently correct the problem. A study done by the British Royal Navy in the effort to find management and leaderships effect on performance showed that leadership characteristics were more emotional in nature while managements were more im personal and focused on order and consistency to complex operations, but neither alone brought about top performers, but a blend of both were necessary for the success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment (Young Dulewicz, 2008, p. 28). From this study it can be extrapolated that managerial and leadership approaches are counterpoints within a business. This becomes apparent when looking at organizations within a time of crisis. When examining an organization in a time of crisis one must focus on the managerial aspect, which are the operations and contingency plans, as well as the leading aspect which focuses more on people and emotion. In looking at leadership in a crisis it becomes twofold because many see a crisis as an opportunity to change; as such leadership must first stabilize the organization so they can adapt to the crisis (Heifetz, Grashow Linsky, 2009). This is contrary to the view held by management that a crisis is in fact an emergency and a company needs to make an effort to weather the burdens. In this way leadership becomes a necessity in a crisis due to its ability to cope with social pressures. In a time of crisis when an organization is forced to adapt there are many conflicting emotions within the workers. A leader has the capability to orchestrate the inevitable conflict, chaos, and confusion of change so that the disturbance is productive rather than destructive, which will enable the organization to work as a cohesive unit to further their goals (Heifetz, et al., 2009, p. 66). This is possible because those who possess leadership capabilities tend to possess emotional intelligence, which enables them to understand their own emotions and control them. As a result they can better empathize with others members of the organization (Young Dulewicz, 2008, p. 26). This helps gain loyalty and trust towards a leader, improving their ability to work towards a common goal. Despite the necessity for leadership during a crisis management is just as important as change being an adaptation of an organizations original practices rather than a complete overhaul of their practices (Heifetz, et al., 2009). A good example of this is when Best Buy changed its strategy to one established in store boutiques to better capture the female buyers interest rather than solely focusing on the male buyer in an effort to avoid a looming crisis (Heifetz, et al., 2009). They were effective beca use despite a drastic change the majority of the overall business scheme was left intact and the manager who put this ups the ability to effectively convince others that it was necessary and gains their support to follow through. However, not all change occurs in time to prevent a crisis. In such instances an organized plan, which is constantly monitored for flaws, is necessary to ensure transitional ease throughout this period of adaptation. This is the idea of a contingency plan; which can only be successful through the application of skilled management. Contingency plans are necessary during a crisis because that occasion is usually characterized by complexity and dynamism (Elliott, 2002, p. 146). This complexity makes it difficult to enact change unless an organization has made preparation in case of troubles to lessen the affect felt by the crisis and to support these changes throughout the crisis. This explains the necessity for a systematic approach for dealing with real crises so that the organization continues to function normally in most of its operations (Keefe Darling, 2005, p. 49). In order to achieve this goal it is necessary to have administrative skills, which can only exist within good management skills. Also due to necessity of a flexible nature of a contingency plan they must be constantly updated to account for a changing environment (Mitome, Speere Swift, 2001). This requires someone to constantly monitor the plan to ensure it is up to date and / or make effective changes and adaptations to the plan as required a nd communicate them to the organization without interfering in daily operational activities. As has already been stated leadership is useful for social interaction and decisiveness, through the use of innovation. As such it is lacking in the necessary qualities to set up and maintain a contingency plan. However contingency plans are not solely managerial functions. Two problems found within an organizations contingency plan require the additional support of leadership abilities in order to fix. The first was because the chaotic environment and unpredictability of a crisis made it very difficult to build a contingency plan that could cover every eventuality. Resulting in necessity to keep the plan flexible so that it is possible, no matter the situation, a plan could be adapted to suit whatever need (Mitome et al., 2001). This flexibility makes leadership necessary so that in the case of crisis the organization can be decisive in its adjustments, thus decreasing the time of adaptation. As has already been stated leaders are pathfinders (Hodgson, 1987, p. 13). So during a time of crisis when things are unknown it is up to a leader to see the solutions and managers to follow that solution they are give. This would hopefully enable an organization to return to normal business practices in a timely manner. The other problem is in how contingency plans are used during a time of crisis. It is common for organization to use small teams to find a solution for their problem because, generally, they outperform individuals (Elliott, 2002, p. 148). This makes it necessary to have a leader who can unify the team to a common goal and improve the coherence of team members to quicken the development of a solution. Without a leader to coalesce the efforts of management in a directed problem solving approach any answer might be delayed and result in a sub-optimal conclusion. It becomes quite apparent the necessity for both leadership and management are necessary within a crisis situation because they must develop next practices while excelling at todays best practices (Heifetz, et al., 2009, p.65). In other words management is important because it can help prepare for crisis helping to minimize the damage it causes and through the continuation of normal practices so that the organization still has the ability to develop next generation practices. The importance of management and leadership in a time of crisis can be seen by the failure in relief distribution in the aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake which resulted because of the lack of a contingency plan that took into account the conflicts that could arise between various authorities and agencies and determine ways to prevent them. This still might have been prevented, but if not for the lack of leadership within the organization which failed to come to an agreement (Piotrowski, 2010). This shows that b oth a strong contingency plan and leadership abilities is needed because if the contingency plan is strong everything is planned and little can go wrong, but in the case that it fails leadership can minimize the damage. It has become clear of the necessity for both management and leadership. The comparison between a leader being a pathfinder and management being a path follower is in part true (Hodgson, 1987). But managements do not merely follow a path they reinforce it and improve its foundation enabling leadership to continue to grow. Their relationship is similar to that of a building. Leadership goes up, while management builds within. If a company was devoid of effective leadership it may not be able to maintain a competitive position within the market place through the effective identification and development of plans, strategies, tactics and business acumen to target positive results. And, without effective management a leaders vision, ideas, and direction may not be sustainable which might limit a businesses long term competitive position and success. The reason being that leadership is within focus of people while management is the focus administrative duties. An organization needs both le adership and management to be effective just like Yin and Yang to provide balance to the ongoing performance within an organization. While leadership provides vision, resources, and communication management provides execution identifies challenges and opportunities and communicates both throughout the company, and back-up to the leaders who can in fact adapt plans and direction continuously for success.

Dangerous Liaisons: Present and Past Essay -- Dangerous Liaisons Essay

Dangerous Liaisons: Present and Past      Ã‚     Halfway through viewing Dangerous Liaisons, a remarkable contrast as well as a huge parallel came to mind.   The film's principal characters' treatment of their promiscuity was quite different from what we see today.   They were quite covert about their sexual relations, and often concocted cunning plans to assure the secrecy of their activities.   Today we find quite the opposite taking place on our news programs and talk shows.   It seems to me that the cause of this whole difference in treatment of sexuality is due to the advent of mass media.   That pre-Revolutionary French society was not completely different from today, however.   Like our treatment of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, the common people of the late 18th century French society were quick to ridicule the Marquise for her promiscuity revealed.   We, as a society, are still just as quick to gossip over someone else's sins while being guilty of the same.   It is simply a conditi on of being human.   In short, the story set forth in the film Dangerous Liaisons shows both a striking contrast, due to technology, and a very remarkable parallel, due to a double standard brought on by the human condition, between the way sexual relations and promiscuity were viewed in the late 18th century and how we view them today at the close of the 20th.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The importance of stealth in promiscuous relations to the French aristocracy pervades the entire film.   We see throughout the film that the Marquise is quite fond of entertaining guests in her domicile, which is flanked by a wall of mirrors.   Early in the film we learn that there is another set of rooms entirely behind the wall, her "private" bedchambers.   It... ... French revolution.   Most of us really don't care if the rest of the world thinks, or even knows for sure if, we are carrying on promiscuous lives.   Sex is just another daily event.   It is pop culture thanks to mass media.   Our cunning Valmont would probably be very bored today, for his sexual conquests would just be too easy for him.   The Marquise would probably be having sex on the other side of the mirrors.   However, when the truth about them is known for certain, I bet we would treat them just as badly as we are treating the leader of the free world.   Our society is quick to judge, even when we could easily be judged for the same offenses.   We are humans after all.   Ã‚   WORKS CITED Heinein, Maryam.   "Couple plan to lose virginity online" Los Angeles, CA Channel 4  Ã‚   News Home Page.   16 July 1998.   <www.msnbc.com/local/KNBC/111301.asp>

The Media’s Effect on Women’s Body Image

The Media's Effect on Women's Body Image September 1, 2010 While women have made significant strides in the past decades, the culture at large continues to place a great emphasis on how women look. These beauty standards, largely proliferated through the media, have drastic impacts on young women and their body images. Arielle Cutler ’11, through a Levitt grant, spent the summer evaluating the efficacy of media literacy programs as a remedy to this vicious cycle. Put simply, the beauty ideal in American culture is: thin. Large populations of ‘average’ girls do not demonstrate clinically diagnosable eating disorders—pathologies that the culture marks as extreme and unhealthy—but rather an entirely normative obsession with body shape and size,† Cutler said. â€Å"This ongoing concern is accepted as a completely normal and even inevitable part of being a modern girl. I think we need to change that. † Anyone who is familiar with American cul ture knows that many of these cultural standards are established in the media. â€Å"We are constantly surrounded by all sorts of media and we construct our identities in part through media images we see,† Cutler remarked.And the more girls are exposed to thin-ideal kinds of media, the more they are dissatisfied with their bodies and with themselves overall. The correlation between media image and body image has been proven; in one study, among European American and African American girls ages 7 – 12, greater overall television exposure predicted both a thinner ideal adult body shape and a higher level of disordered eating one year later. Adolescent girls are the most strongly affected demographic; â€Å"More and more 12-year-old girls are going on diets because they believe what you weigh determines your worth,† Cutler observed. When all you see is a body type that only two percent of the population has, it’s difficult to remember what’s real and what’s reasonable to expect of yourself and everyone else. † As women have become increasingly aware of the effect of media on their body images, they have started media literacy programs to make women and girls more aware of the messages they are inadvertently consuming. â€Å"Media literacy programs promote an understanding of the effect media has on individual consumers and society at large.These programs aim to reveal the ideologies and messages embedded in the media images that we encounter on a daily basis,† Cutler said. Advertising, she asserts, draws on people’s insecurities to convince them to buy a product, and few populations are as insecure overall as adolescent girls—which is why media literacy programs are so important for them. In programs such as that designed by national organization Girls, Inc. , girls learn how to look behind the scenes and messages that advertisements are producing in order to reconcile their own bodies with the view of â€Å"perfection† presented by the media.The programs already in place have been found to be very effective; â€Å"College-age women have been the main focus, but 10-11 year-old girls are the most important target so that they can have these [critical] processes going on before internalizations of messages have really started,† Cutler explained. But what sorts of standards do the media portray for women who are not white and not upper class, and how does this affect the body images of women in these groups? This question, Cutler has found, is one that is not always well addressed in the scholarly material she has read. I realized at some point in my research that I had been universalizing the experience of a particular set of girls privileged by their race and, even more so, socioeconomic background. It did not help that this blind-spot was reflected back to me in some of my research,† Cutler said. While she asserts that certain standards of beauty are un iversal throughout the country and across all demographics, Cutler believes that media literacy programs should take racial and socioeconomic backgrounds more into consideration.Different groups have different issues and concerns, she said. For example, overeating is a real issue as an eating disorder, especially for lower-class women. How does this fact change the women’s relationship to the beauty ideal? Cutler is reading studies about the body image problem among women in the U. S. as well as evaluations of media literacy programs. She recommends greater sensitivity to the concerns of non-white, non-upper-class groups in order to increase the effectiveness of media literacy programs.

10 Tenets of MOT and the IT Organization Essay

A tenet is a principle based on observation, intuition, experience, and in some cases, empirical analysis. Based on a study presented in the Handbook of Technology Management by Gerard Gaynor, Ten tenets are proposed as guiding principles for an organization to operate within a technology cycle framework. These are: 1. Value diversification is a poor substitute for MOT. 2. Manufacturability must keep pace with inventiveness and marketability. 3. Quality and total productivity are inseparable concepts in managing technology. 4.  It is management’s responsibility to bring about technological change and job security for long term competitiveness. 5. Technology must be the ‘servant’ not the ‘master’; the master is still the human being. 6. The consequences of technology selection can be more serious than expected because of systematic effects. 7. Continuous education and training in a constantly changing workplace is a necessity, not a luxury. 8. Technology gradient is a dynamic component of the technology management process, to be monitored for strategic advantage. 9.  The RTC factor must be carefully analyzed and meticulously monitored for gaining the most out of any technology, particularly a new one. 10. Information linkage must keep pace with technology grow th. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay In the case of an IT Organization, the essence of the management several factors of technology are realized based on the above specified MOT principles. The following may be derived: †¢ Importance of Core Technologies and Core Competencies. Analysis of the competencies and technological capability of an IT Organization will provide information on the inherent competitive ability of the organization, or the absence of such. This is a step towards active management of technology. †¢ Inventiveness versus Market Drive. For an IT Organization, this translates to building an output-driven innovative culture versus customizing products and processes based on Market-demand. †¢ Total Quality Management. Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures are essential to monitor processes and the process improvement practice within an organization. †¢ Initiation and Management of Technological Change. Conscious effort to improve current technology should e a consistent activity in an IT Organization. This may be a result of observed updates in the industry or an internal effort to innovate and update according to changing business needs. †¢ Security for Competitiveness. As an industry with established processes, functions and professional track, job security through skills-based retention and promotion should be encouraged. This will invite constructive competitiveness and improve the industryà ¢â‚¬â„¢s workforce. †¢ Technology is the medium and the tool, it is not the solution.  The main product for an organization that offers Information Technology as a service is the solution. The technology is the enabler, while the process is the company-specific activity that adds value to the solution. †¢ Organizational Systems and the Effect of Technology. The effect of information technology to the organization encompasses structures and organization systems. As processes and needs are updated, technologies or the manner that it is implemented should be revised complementarily. The reverse does not always follow. The Essence of Training and Education in an IT Organization. With the Human Resource as the main and sole source value and new service introduction, investment in further education is essential to an IT Organization. Technology managemet assessment: TA is the study and evaluation of new technologies. It is based on the conviction that new developments within, and discoveries by, t he scientific community are relevant for the world at large rather than just for the scientific experts themselves, and that technological progress can never be free of ethical implications. Also, technology assessment recognizes the fact that scientists normally are not trained ethicists themselves and accordingly ought to be very careful when passing ethical judgement on their own, or their colleagues, new findings, projects, or work in progress. Technology assessment assumes a global perspective and is future-oriented, not anti-technological. TA considers its task as interdisciplinary approach to solving already existing problems and preventing potential damage caused by the uncritical application and the commercialization of new technologies. Therefore any results of technology assessment studies must be published, and particular consideration must be given to communication with political decision-makers. An important problem, TA has to deal with it, is the so-called Collingridge dilemma: on the one hand, impacts of new technologies cannot be easily predicted until the technology is extensively developed and widely used; on the other hand, control or change of a technology is difficult as soon as it is widely used. Some of the major fields of TA are: information technology, hydrogen technologies, nuclear technology, molecular nanotechnology, pharmacology, organ transplants, gene technology, artificial intelligence, the Internet and many more. Health technology assessment is related, but profoundly different, despite the similarity in the name. Forms and concepts of technology assessment The following types of concepts of TA are those that are most visible and practiced. There are, however, a number of further TA forms that are only proposed as concepts in the literature or are the label used by a particular TA institution. 2] †¢ Parliamentary TA (PTA): TA activities of various kinds whose addressee is a parliament. PTA may be performed directly by members of those parliaments (e. g. in France and Finland) or on their behalf by related TA institutions (such as in the UK, in Germany and Denmark) or by organisations not directly linked to a Parliament (such as in the Netherlands and Switzerland). [3] †¢ Expert TA (often also referred to as the classical TA or traditional TA concept): TA activities carried out by (a team of) TA and technical experts. Input from stakeholders and other actors is included only via written statements, documents and interviews, but not as in participatory TA. †¢ Participatory TA (pTA): TA activities which actively, systematically and methodologically involve various kinds of social actors as assessors and discussants, such as different kinds of civil society organisations, representatives of the state systems, but characteristically also individual stakeholders and citizens (lay persons), technical scientists and technical experts. Standard pTA methods include consensus conferences, focus groups, scenario workshops etc. [4] Sometimes pTA is further divided into expert-stakeholder pTA and public pTA (including lay persons). [5] †¢ Constructive TA (CTA): This concept of TA, developed in the Netherlands, but also applied and discussed elsewhere[6] attempts to broaden the design of new technology through feedback of TA activities into the actual construction of technology. Contrary to other forms of TA, CTA is not directed toward influencing regulatory practices by assessing the impacts of technology. Instead, CTA wants to address social issues around technology by influencing design practices. †¢ Discursive TA or Argumentative TA: This type of TA wants to deepen the political and normative debate about science, technology and society. It is inspired by ethics, policy discourse analysis and the sociology of expectations in science and technology. This mode of TA aims to clarify and bring under public and political scrutiny the normative assumptions and visions that drive the actors who are socially shaping science and technology. Accordingly, argumentative TA not only addresses the side effects of technological change, but deals with both broader impacts of science and technology and the fundamental normative question of why developing a certain technology is legitimate and desirable. [7] †¢ Health TA (HTA): A specialised type of expert TA informing policy makers about efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness issues of pharmaceuticals and medical treatments, see health technology assessment.

Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets. The WritePass Journal

Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets. Introduction Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets. Introduction  I.  Ã‚  Research ObjectivesResearch Process  II.  Ã‚  Research QuestionsDefined the Research QuestionsResearch Questions for this ProposalIII.  MethodologyResearch PhilosophyResearch Philosophy for this ProposalResearch MethodResearch Method in this ProposalIV.  Research DesignDefined Five Research DesignResearch Design for this Proposal  V.   Ã‚  Data Collection DesignDefined the way of Data CollectionData Collection Design in this proposal  VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  SamplingSampling methodSampling method used in this proposalQuestionnaire Design in this proposalVII. Collection DataDefined the method of data collectionVIII.  Data Analysis ProcessDefined Data AnalysisData Analysis in this proposalIX.  BudgetX.  Ã‚  Ã‚  RecommendationsConclusionsBibliography BibliographyRelated Introduction Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets, but the business of banking services is intensely competitive. In order to Barclays Bank attract more university student customers and to keep them in a long term, Barclays requires understanding the target market, what are universities students in the UK â€Å"needs and wants†. By describing the research process, the objectives of this market research will be notified. Following with the research questions and research design and method details will be formed. In addition, this research proposal is helping Barclays to increase its market share, and using market research to ensure Barclays provide the right product and services to the UK students target market.   I.  Ã‚  Research Objectives The main objective of this research proposal for Barclays Bank is to achieve the target which can provide the right products or services to university students in the UK and understand what are their â€Å"needs and wants† for bank account. Otherwise, we will add value propositions to attract more students for Barclays and keep these customers over time. This has divided into the following objectives: To understand the reason that students choose Barclays as their first bank account. To investigate what feature would be considered when university students start a new bank account. To inspect the property for Barclays banking services can attract new university students. To increase university student account market. To ensure the graduate students will continue obtain their bank account. Research Process According to Kumar (2005), a well managed severe, systematic, reliable, demonstrable, experimental, and critical is substantial research. In the next parts, it will describe the following research process for Barclays Bank. Kumar (2005) has defined those eight steps for process of research, which is shown in Figure 1: The following research will be chosen some parts for the proposal.   Ã‚   Figure 1 Research Process (Kumar, 2005)   II.  Ã‚  Research Questions Defined the Research Questions According to Saunder et al. (2007) research design questions are related for many aspects: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What intrigues me? ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why am I doing it? (Is it a contribution to knowledge?) ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What models, frameworks, etc? ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How am I going to collect data? Research Questions for this Proposal In this research, the title â€Å"Barclays Bank and targeting University Students† is being chosen the object of research and analysis. Otherwise, the questions are to understand student customers’ needs and wants. By using questions can get information that can utilise on market decision. There are four main research questions that can be developed and easily to understand this research objective. Which bank is your first account? What bank features would attract university students? What bank services would customers need? What reason would affect customers to continue their account? III.  Methodology Grinnell (1993) has pointed out that the word â€Å"research† can define as ‘a structured inquiry that utilises acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and creates new knowledge that is generally applicable’. Methodology sections will separate into two factors which are research philosophy and research method. Research Philosophy In research philosophy area, the research methods are discussed ontology and epistemology commonly. According the theory, both of methods are related to philosophical perspectives. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ontological perspective: The researchers can discover the essence of knowledge which exists in the world (Snape Spencer, 2003). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Epistemological perspective: The perspective is to discuss what knowledge can be believed (Bryman Bell, 2007). Research Philosophy for this Proposal For this research, it utilises the epistemological aim to help the proposal to find out the right services, which may provide Barclays Banks to attract more university students. In addition, to understand the purchased behaviour by students, it may use EKB model on research survey to realise Barclay’s customers. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   EKB model: Engel et al. defined EKB model in 1978. EKB model will be the method for survey, and it can help to realise customers buying behaviour on decision-making. Engel et al. (2001), defined five steps that consumers decided to purchase the products, which are shown in Figure 2. These steps are showing the process of purchase behaviour by customers. Figure 2 EKB five steps (Engel et al. 2001) Research Method In order to find out the value propositions for Barclays Bank, the main two research methods which are qualitative research method and quantitative research method will be considered in this proposal. Quantitative and qualitative research methods are the two ways usually use in the research area. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quantitative research method: This method is to collect quantifiable data and make it from objective views to produce the final results (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualitative research method: This method is focus on understand and describe peoples’ perspectives to create a logical outcome (Snape Spencer, 2003). Creswell (2003) point out that how to choose a research method in the analysis research, which is based on the target audiences or past experiences. In addition, customers’ behaviour may affect their purchase decision. According to Engel, Kollat and Blackwell theory, EKB model is the basis of decision-making process for customer behaviour, and this process is referred to the actual consumers’ cognitive thinking when they purchase products. That is to say, EKB model is one of important elements to understand what customers’ thinking when they have decision-making situations. Research Method in this Proposal ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quantitative research method was identified to be more suitable for this research. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quantitative questioning will be used in the proposal. All quantitative questions will be shown in Appendix. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Using EKB model in questionnaires and it will be shown in Appendix as well. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Likert scale will be one of the parts in the questionnaires, Likert scale will be used in most of questionnaires. The typical five levels for Likert item are: Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree, strongly agree. IV.  Research Design Defined Five Research Design There are five kinds of research design different purposes such as, ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Experimental design: This main concept of design is to analysis of qualitative or quantitative research which can examine the differences and form the foundation (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cross-sectional design: This design is usually used in quantitative research (Kumar, 2005). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Longitudinal design: Longitudinal design is a study to determine the amount of changes (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Case study design: Only single instance will be studied in the most case, and details related to that case will be collected. This model is suitable for qualitative research (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Comparative design: The research can be seen as the comparative design which has consisted of more than one case and to compare or evaluate the differences or similarities (Bryman Bell, 2007). Research Design for this Proposal As for Barclay’s research, the aim is to add value propositions that can utilise in marketing decision. To consider of this research design, this research is to find out the customers behaviour for university students in the UK and to the collect a certain number of different information is needed to support for this research. This research would follow case study and collection data in order to have a deeper understanding of the impact on value propositions from the research, obtaining the appropriate strategy by the UK university students’ requirements. Moreover, the EKB model and Likert scale discussed previously will be the fundamental theories to analyse the survey data.   V.   Ã‚  Data Collection Design Defined the way of Data Collection According to Kumar (2005), data collection can be use in observations, interviews, and questionnaires these possible ways. The advantages of interviews are that when researchers are helpless to fulfill participants, researchers still can see specific information from interviewees, and interviewees can describe â€Å"history† which is suitable to the research case of topic to wider and deeper understanding (Creswell, 2003). In addition, researchers can be more flexible by asking questions which is comparing with interviews questionnaires (Bryman Bell, 2007). For research, the direction we need to see is the students consideration when they opening a new account. Qualitative research strategy in interview is too unstructured than in the quantitative research design. Researchers can an unstructured interview, which is more like a general chatting and more similar to having conversations with interviewees; researchers have to make a discussion guide with which has listed questions to understand (Bryman Bell, 2007). Data Collection Design in this proposal The collection of the information is to be the first step of data collection. The data focus on the bank services and marketing decision. In addition, there are three methods that will be use to collect the require data. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First approach :Face-to face ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second approach :Telephone ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Third approach :Mail by post or email However, using three methods are too complicated to this research; Table 1 is shown the compare results. Compare Mail by post Telephone Face-to-face Budget Low Low High Flexible Need address Need phone number Go to every university Ask Questions Less questions Less questions More questions Validity Low Low High Non-response error High Low Low Collect Time Long Short Long Table 1 Comparison ofthree kinds ofinvestigation methods. After the compare evaluation, the mail survey approach is most appropriate to investigation of this study, these reasons are: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This study research has budget consideration and restriction. Mail by post may be the lowest cost for the required questionnaires. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mail or email address from interviewee is easy to obtain. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The questionnaires cannot be too long, but it is clear to see on mail. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The validity by mail questionnaire is low. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mail questionnaires may have a high rate of non-response bias, but it can improve by send more mails. This action may help to reduce the rate of return non-response bias. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mail survey, takes a long time, but it may not influence the data results.   VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sampling Sampling method According to Patton (1990), the sampling method can be defined like ‘criterion sampling’ and the sampling is adopted in this research. It will find samples from criteria that receive research objectives. This sampling method also can ensure that the interviewees are supplied with complete information feedback that is required in the research (Patton, 1990). Using the Sampling method in the qualitative research can be same as in quantitative research, for instance, random sampling method. Most of the samplings in qualitative researchers are with some purposes or criteria since sampling may affect the outcome significantly (Coyne, 1997). However, the sample size is required in qualitative research; the result is not larger than quantitative research. Researchers are using purposeful sampling to acquire sufficient knowledge interviewees who can present the related research topic, and help researchers to get wider and deeper view points from interviewees (Patton, 1990). Sampling method used in this proposal There are several sampling methods that can adopt in survey research. For research, random sampling will be chosen as the research method. Following elements are the approaches for sampling: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Element: Target market , all the UK university students. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Population: Estimate5000 university students. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sampling Units: Collection of about 5000 survey elements from the population. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frame: A frame is a list of sampling units, same as 5000 sampling units. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Select sampling methods: Random sampling. Questionnaire Design in this proposal SNAP is an assistance software tool that can create questionnaires. This questionnaire will divide into three sections: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First part: Personal information for Interviewees University students in the UK or not. Demand for the services. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second part: Interviewees’ personal bank. First bank account. Bank name, it is Barclays or not. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Third part: Using EKB model to design questionnaire (Likert scale will be used). Banking service satisfaction. Bank Loyalty. VII. Collection Data Defined the method of data collection The approaches to collect data have mention in front of part. That is, there are kind of ways can use in interviews. Interviews can be face-to-face, through telephone, or gather a lot of people to do the interview at the same time, which is also known as priority group (Creswell, 2003). Data Collection in this proposal ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Collection data will follow the front part which decides to choose mail by post method to collect to necessary data. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are 5000 surveys will be sent by mails and emails. (2500 mails by post, 2500 by emails) ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Following data collection time divided into two main stages. Collection time will be a month. First stage is to collect post mail will from 1st of June 2011 to 16th of June 2011. Although first stage is to collect post mail, email questionnaires feedback may return as the same time. Moreover, this period of time will continue collection data until 30th of June 2011. These stages are shown in Table 2. Main stages Time Activity First stage   1st June 2011- 16th June 2011 Collect mail by post from interviewees Second stage 1st June 2011- 30thJune 2011 Collect email from interviewees Table 2 Survey Collect Time VIII.  Data Analysis Process Defined Data Analysis In the qualitative research validity can be seen from three ways, which are descriptive validity, interpretive validity, and theoretical validity; or to consider from another aspect which can be classified as internal validity and external validity (Johnson, 1997). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Validation of research Validity is divided into three types, including content validity (Content Validity), criterion validity (Criterion Validity) and construct validity (Construct Validity). Content validity: The primary purpose is to systematically check the appropriate of questionnaires; the questionnaires consider the samples and conduct appropriate proportion. Criterion validity: It is outside test criterion with the assessment based on the correlation coefficient. Criterion validity refers to test data which has been found, also name as the statistical validity. Construct validity: It refers to the test the measure theoretical construct or common quality level which observed variables and other theoretical consistency. Data Analysis in this proposal In this research, SPSS will be use in data analysis. As for the collect data, all questionnaires will be recorded and transcribed. The benefit of doing transcription is to help researchers who can get all details mentioned and to re-examine the data afterwards. The process of data will firstly help researchers to organised and it enabled to rethink and restructure the following analysis stages. At the same time the second stage data were collected and filed. In this data collection, the clearer idea information between data and final findings will be formed, and it will shown data analysis to support results. IX.  Budget With the research process, the budget will come with it. Higdon Topp (2004) has pointed that, to reach the project objectives of timeline and methodology, the research proposal budget is intertwined with its development. Therefore, the detail of the budget will be notified. The budget of details required to expense to a complete itemized accounting list for the project (Higdon Topp, 2004). The budget table3 and 4 will displayed the total research fees. Table 3 Worksheet Personnel Role Salary/month Smith Principle investigator  £3000 Brown Co investigator  £2750 Tsou Statistician  £2750 The research plan will spend one month. Table 4 Equipment Phase Description Fee Mail by post  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2500 mail letters  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚    £500.00  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2500 stamps  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚    £1250.00 Email 2500 email   Ã‚ £0 Data collection and analysis will consume a month as well. Total   fees     £10250.00 Timeline Date Activity 21st May 27th May Proposal Needed 28th May- 30th May Survey Development 1st June- 30th June Data Collection 2nd July – 6th July Statistical Data 8th July Final Report X.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recommendations Here are some reasons that our team should be chosen. Our research team provides complete the research methodology and Data Collection. The objects reflect the goals and orientations of the organisation. Our agency wish to submit Barclays Bank with a compelling demonstration that has effectively represents. The research results will reflect new projects and interests, and provide for both current clients and new in customers. We can discuss this plan at your convenience.  Ã‚   Conclusions The valuable segmentation for Barclays Bank business banking markets is university students, however, the business banking competitive. Barclays Bank wants to attract more student customers and keeps them in over time. This research proposal starts from research process. Quantitative research method is adopted and the data collection is through by mail interviews. Then, the secondary data is from journals, articles, books. Finding of the research will help Barclays to increase its market share, and the market research will ensure Barclays provide the right product and services to the UK students target market. Bibliography Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2003) Business Research Methods, Oxford University Press. Cresswell, J.W. (2009) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 3rd ed. Sage Publications. Coyne ,I .T. (1997 ) Sampling in qualitative research. Purposeful and theoretical sampling; merging or clear boundaries? Journal of Advanced Nursing , 26(3),623–630. Engel, J. F.,R. D. Blackwell P. W. Miniard (2001 ) Consumer Behavior 9th ed. Fort Wort: Drvden Press. Higdon,J.and Topp,R. (2004) How to Develop a Budget for a Research Proposal. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 26(8) 922-929. Johnson ,R. B. (1997)Examining the validity structure of qualitative research. Research Library 118 (2) 282. Kumar, R. (2005) Research Methodology: A Step-by-step Guide for Beginners. London: Sage Publications. Patton, M. Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods ,2nd ed., Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Saunders, Lewis Thornhill (2007) Research Methods for Business Students, FT Prentice Hall Snape, D. and Spencer, L. (2003) Qualitative Research Practice: A guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, London: Sage Publications. Bibliography Barclays Bank Website   barclays.co.uk/PersonalBanking/P1242557947640 Online Survey Software: SurveyMonkey Website   surveymonkey.com/MySurveys.aspx